Mendocino County Today: Thursday, March 22, 2018

• Parigi Out
• Curry Appreciation
• Harborside
• Missing Girls
• Quiz Night
• Ed Notes
• Potter Chemists
• Honey Lab
• Medical Thanks
• Washroom
• Mateel Partnership
• Doggie Deals
• Yesterday's Catch
• Corruption
• Marijuana Smoke
• Nixon Bus
• Political Interference
• Simon's Rumors
• Idiot Warning
• Cost of Living
• Garden Show

COAST HOSPITAL CEO EDWARDS FIRES PARIGI

On Monday Mendocino Coast District Hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Edwards gave interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) John Parigi his two week notice. Parigi had only been on the job since December. There is no one else in line to take Parigi's place. Parigi's last day on the job may well be the MCDH Board of Directors meeting on March 29th. According to sources close to the situation, when Parigi asked what he should tell the public concerning the situation, Edwards responded that it's a personnel issue.

(Malcolm Macdonald)

RUN DIANE, RUN

Editor,

What the hell is going on at the Mendocino County Department of Agriculture?

First the new Agriculture Commissioner gets canned after just a very short run and now they have fired Diane Curry. What a mistake that was. Diane is well known with grape and pear growers, nurseries, landscapers, weights and measures and of course the good old cannabis growers.

Being a vineyard manager for almost 40 years, I have dealt with the Department of Agriculture in several situations over the years and anything that Diane was involved with was handled with calmness, care and with good common sense. Maybe the County and CEO Carmel Angelo could borrow a few of those traits to run Mendocino County.

I would like to make a shout out to the past agricultural commissioners whom I have had the pleasure of dealing with: Dave Bengston, Tony Linegar and Chuck Morse. I never had a chance to meet — was it? — Joe?

Carmel Angelo is doing nothing but thinking about cannabis cash and hires Kelly Overton to disrupt the whole Agriculture Department with no regard for the rest of the agricultural community. The Planning and Building departments, Calfire, Fish and Wildlife, and the Sheriff's department should take care of their own obligations and not pass any of those obligations off to the Agriculture Department.

This whole mess might even be against some California state laws. Where is the California Department of Food and Agriculture? Why are they not involved? Does Kelly Overton have the necessary credentials to legally run the cannabis department? And who's running the Agriculture Department and with what credentials now?

Diane, run for an office of County government where you might be able to make some changes of your own, if you get my drift. I think you would be elected.

Name Withheld

Ukiah

OLD NOYO HARBOR BUILDING

(Photo by Judy Valadao)

TWO GIRLS MISSING IN COVELO:

One a Lincoln, one a Britton

Dearest Editor:

There has been a sad and questionable situation going on here in Covelo since February of this year. A young woman by the name of a Khadijah Rose Britton has turned up missing.

Since then there have been numerous stories and speculations circulating about what "might" have happened to Khadijah.

One man is in custody on charges stemming from domestic violence to kidnapping.

The man in question is supposedly her boyfriend, Negie Fallis.

Now this is the screwed up part. Mr. Fallis is going to court facing these accusations and on the outside his family is getting bullied and being called murderers and looked down upon. One family member even got beat up over this. Apparently these bullheaded individuals don't believe in innocent until proven guilty. So they appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner!

Mr. Fallis’s family is tagged with Guilt by Association!

This guilt by association immediately brings to mind my niece Belle Rodriguez. And all of the underhanded and conniving and despicable ways her violent murder was handled. From the [bleep]ing sorry-ass cops to the lame-ass investigators. Their nonchalant and biased unprofessionalism was obviously because she had been the grand niece of Eugene ‘Bear’ Lincoln Jr..

Guilt by association can be a mother sometimes but then, so can karma.

In my heart I truly hope they find Khadijah safe and sound. But it's too late for Belle. I love you Belle.

As such,

Eric Lincoln

Covelo

QUIZ TONIGHT! Thursday, March 22nd at 7pm at Lauren’s Restaurant. This is the 4th Thursday and with a 5th one next week (29th), the next Quiz after tomorrow will be the 2nd Thursday in April 12th. Consider yourselves warned. Hope to see you there.

Steve Sparks, The Quiz Master.

ED NOTES

SPARE US, BIDEN. Joe Biden, the male Hillary, has clearly been anointed by corporate Democrats to take on Pence, Trump having been twenty-fifthed long before the 2020 elections. Here's the self-certified gallant defending women: “When a guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, ‘I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it, they asked me if I’d like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, ‘If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him. I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms my whole life. I’m a pretty damn good athlete. Any guy that talked that way was usually the fattest, ugliest SOB in the room." High school? Hell, Joe, why not take a swing at Trump next time you're in a photo-op with him?

 

SURE ENOUGH, the Tweet Monster takes up the challenge:

* * *

HEADLINE THIS MORNING: "The US is still the fattest country in the world! American men tip the scales at 196 lbs on average and die 4 YEARS before Japanese men on average, figures show."

HEADLINE from a local paper: "Healthy Mendocino Project Summit in Willits"

UH, EXCUSE ME, but is there an adult anywhere in the country who doesn't know the diff between a healthy diet and negative food value viands? And is there any adult who doesn't understand that to stay reasonably healthy even if you're a fatso-watso you've got to get up and move around every day for at least an hour? And didn't the Old Testament warn us that gluttony and sloth were original sins? (Check that. I know God generally disapproved of indiscipline, but He was writing way before Cheetos.)

* * *

THE ICO out of Gualala, in its edition of March 16th, went so far as to burden Point Arena’s 4th graders with tales of gun violence and the neo-legacy of Our Nation's Future. The little ones appear on the paper’s front page holding signs that their teachers took up class time having them write, replete with expressions they don't understand like "Never Again." Call me old school, but how about letting kids be kids? They'll get their share of random violence soon enough. It comes with citizenship.

'OUR NATION'S FUTURE.' Please. I can remember when that cloying, meaningless phrase might have been applied to me, a product of a time much less sentimental about young people. People would have laughed at it being applied to teenagers, then and now correctly regarded as silly and irresponsible. My biggest generational shock came around age 35 when I realized that people I'd gone to school with were now at the levers of real power! The horror, the horror! And, sure enough, look at US now.

* * *

RECENT HEADLINE from the UDJ: ‘Ukiah Unified School District seeks input for Strategic Plan.’ What's the diff between a plan and a strategic plan? And any time you see a public agency soliciting "input" to help it along with their strategic planning you know that agency is truly lost, and it no more wants to hear from the great unwashed than it does the Rajneesh.

* * *

THERE ARE FIVE candidates for the 5th District Supe's seat: Alan Rodier, who ranches in the Alexander Valley; Arthur Juhl, retired in Gualala, having prospered mightily in many areas of endeavor; Chris Skyhawk of Albion, who works in the helping professions; Ted Williams now out of Mendocino but a fire captain out of Albion and computer programmer; and Dave Roderick, a Hopland-based business owner.

AN INTERESTING development in the contest for County Superintendent of Schools. We assumed Kathy Wylie would be a candidate, and she would have been the person to beat off her impressive work history as a union rep and as foreman of the County Grand Jury, but she didn't complete the application process, leaving the lushly compensated job to two persons to battle it out for the big office where the telephone never rings — Bryan Barrett and Michelle Hutchins. Barrett has been around Ukiah public ed for years, distinguishing himself for accusing a teacher's union rep of racism when the rep wrote that the district had been niggardly during pay negotiations. Mrs. Hutchins has been Superintendent here in the Anderson Valley for four years. (And she knows what niggardly means.) Has she done a good job in Mendocino County's most happening community? Given the givens of Boonville's educational legacy, yes, she’s done pretty well, learning from her mistakes, while Barrett appears uneducable. We would certainly support Mrs. H over Barrett.

AND ANOTHER ONE. The 3rd District race now has eight candidates in the race for Supervisor. Quick name them! But they all seem to think Johnny Pinches is vulnerable, and maybe he is but we doubt it, especially when he’s got seven people dividing the vote among themselves. Mike Horger, a volunteer firefighter with the Little Lake Department is a last-minute sign-up. The other six hopefuls for the non-partisan seat, are John Haschak; Cyndee Logan; Susan Barsotti; Pam Elizondo; Shawna Jeavons; and Tony Tucker, the last being the first candidate for County office in many years from Covelo. Pinches, a Laytonville rancher, has served two terms as Supervisor; Cyndee Logan is a Willits realtor and the widow of the well-known public administrator Gordon Logan; Haschak and Jeavons are Willits teachers; Mrs. Barsotti is from the Laytonville Hog Farm; Ms. Elizondo is a Laytonville resident who runs for something every election; and Tony Tucker of Covelo describes himself as an emergency childcare worker.

JUDGE CLAY BRENNAN, presiding judge at Ten Mile, is unopposed for re-election, which is a surprise given the constant criticism of him by much of the County’s legal community. He got elected to the Mendocino County bench via his mom’s and his then-wife’s influence. She was a long-time judge in the Bay Area with the requisite juice with the Democrat’s appointments process. His then-wife Mari Rodin was one of the many ineffectually liberal rubberstamps on the Ukiah City Council at the time Brennan was elected.

MEASURE G will also be on the June ballot. It would apply the “transient occupancy tax,” aka bed tax, to private campgrounds.

SHERIFF ALLMAN, DA EYSTER, Treasurer Shari Schapmire; and Auditor Lloyd Weer are all unopposed, as is freshly appointed Superior Court Judge, Carly Dolan.

* * *

MEDIA TIP: The Brit on-line tabloid, The Daily Mail, gets breaking news up two-three hours faster than any of the Yankee websites (that I know of). They had the mad bomber of Austin's name and his alias "Kelly Killmore," and much of this odd lunatic's background up minutes after he blew himself up. Locally, no other media in all of Mendo beats MSP for breaking news, and how the amazing Paul McCarthy does it all by himself is truly a Mendo marvel.

SOPHISTICATED, EXPLOSIVE DRUG LAB FOUND IN POTTER VALLEY

Deputies and detectives raided a Potter Valley home Tuesday and found it converted into an elaborate, explosive hash oil lab capable of making large amounts of concentrated cannabis, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies arrested Joseph Scorese, 30, of Lakeport, and Joseph Loren, 36, of Willits. The search turned up 48.3 pounds of concentrated cannabis, valued on the street at $770,000, and 1,150 pounds of cannabis, officials said in a news release Wednesday.

“That is probably the largest, most sophisticated (butane hash oil) lab I’ve seen in my career,” said Lake County sheriff’s narcotics Sgt. Luke Bingham, a 20-year law enforcement officer with 10 years in narcotics.

The suspects were at the property, in the 6600 block of rural Highway 20, when about 10 investigators from the Lake County sheriff’s narcotics bureau and the Mendocino County sheriff’s marijuana and major crimes task force arrived about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday with a search warrant.

Officials estimated the equipment in the 1,300-square-foot home to be worth more than $250,000. Five large cylinders holding hundreds of pounds of explosive chemicals for hash oil production sat in the living room.

They also found a second, smaller lab, using alcohol extraction to make concentrated cannabis, ledgers showing more than $100,000 in sales and signs that leftover chemicals had been dumped outside.

Investigators spent about nine hours documenting and dismantling the volatile lab.

A 2017 Jeep Rubicon and $5,700 in cash were seized and may be kept by the agencies if connected to the suspected drug operation. The two men were arrested on suspicion of making drugs using a chemical process, and possessing marijuana for sale. They were booked into the Mendocino County Jail, with bail set at $50,000 each. Narcotics detectives still are investigating, Bingham said.

WHAT A BIG TIME HONEY OIL OPERATION LOOKS LIKE

On Tuesday, March 20, 2018, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputies were in the Orick area serving a search warrant that was unrelated to controlled substances or cannabis. During the service of the warrant, deputies discovered a large concentrated cannabis manufacturing facility contained within a barn.

The property did not have a conditional use permit for manufacturing concentrated cannabis utilizing volatile chemical extraction methods. Deputies from the HCSO Drug Enforcement Unit obtained a search warrant to investigate the manufacturing facility. The Drug Enforcement Unit was assisted in this investigation by the following agencies: Humboldt County Drug Task Force, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Humboldt Bay Fire HAZMAT, Humboldt County Environmental Health HAZMAT and Humboldt County Code Enforcement.

After rendering the facility and the manufacturing equipment safe, deputies located nine concentrated cannabis extractors that were utilizing butane and propane, as well as two extractors that were utilizing carbon dioxide in the extraction process. Deputies also located a facility that was utilizing ethanol to refine the concentrated cannabis.

Deputies seized 586 pounds of concentrated cannabis and 4,726 pounds of cannabis shake/trim from the site.

Manufacturing concentrated cannabis utilizing volatile chemical extraction methods without a county and state commercial cannabis permit is a felony under Health & Safety Code 11379.6(a). This case is still under investigation. All criminal violations stemming from this investigation will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s office for review. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office maintains a cooperative relationship with all agencies that participated in this investigation and all future investigations into non-compliant commercial cannabis operations will continue to be investigated in this manner.

Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.

(Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office)

IT'S A MIRACLE

To the Editor:

Medical miracles do happen. I am a nurse and have heard of them happening but never did I imagine one happening to my own father. Tuesday March 6 my father collapsed in front of his mailbox while getting the paper on Road B in Redwood Valley. Cars barely drive by the house. Someone named Amy drove by, saw my unconscious father laying in street and promptly called 911 and held the head of my non-breathing father. My parents’ neighbor Spike saw the activity and ran and got my mom. Within minutes the Redwood Valley Fire Department arrived and started CPR until the ambulance arrived.

Countless people worked on him at UVMC ER, able to get him on life support and to ICU. He was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in the leg and clots throughout his lungs. As a nurse, I know most people don’t survive this. When I arrived my father was unresponsive on life support. My mom and I spoke to him and told him we were there. By the next day he was taken off life support, able to breathe, talk and eat. Within days he was discharged home.

There were two main nurses in ICU. Brandy and Lisa tended to my father and took excellent care of him. While in the hospital the doctors and nurses were nothing but superb. As a nurse I don’t say that lightly.

Thanks to my long time friend Jenifer Estevo at Sutter Care at home that arranged home health. And old friend Shelly Brazzani who got my dad in to see a doctor within days of being discharged from the hospital.

My parents long time friends Bruce and Ann Gove and their family who sat with my mom and checked in on my father and our family daily. These people lost their home in the recent Redwood Valley Fire and are the kindest, most wonderful people whose support will never be forgotten.

There are so many faces and names who worked on my dad, and supported and prayed.

I thank you all.

For all the bad in the world, this was a miracle and couldn’t have happened with out everyone involved caring for and supporting my parents Eric and Sandy Jurgensen.

Robin Armstrong

Manteca

WASHROOM

by Zeek Hopkins

To some a washroom is where the laundry room is located. For others it’s where you do your business.

When I was growing up we started with a five-gallon bucket under a toilet seat on a stand. It wasn’t long before we upgraded to a pit outhouse. My older male cousin was visiting for a week and he did most of the digging.

Our outhouse went from a five-gallon bucket under a stand with a toilet seat attached on the back side of the shop to a single seater shack with a roof and two and a half walls.

Let me tell you a story. The summer we were building “the shop” — which turned out to be the main house — the only bathroom we had was a five-gallon bucket under a stand on the back side of the shop. No walls, everyone just knew that when someone called a bathroom break no one went to the back side of the house.

That worked fine until my more civilized aunt came for a visit with her son and youngest daughter. I’m sure we embarrassed her no end. She was very important to us kids and she didn’t even have the option of hiding in the bathroom from our thirst to communicate with her. One time she was headed to the facilities and we tagged along, but turned our backs so as not to look and kept talking with her. The very next hour we were in the process of building a “proper” outhouse with walls and a roof. By the end of the week we had a wonderful little shack built over a 4x6x6 pit. The north and east walls were corner to corner floor to ceiling. The south wall was only half the length of the side and the west end was wide open.

The view was quite pleasant. Manzanita, oaks and firs, the meadow peeking through the tree branches. You could almost make out where the spring was through the thick brush.

Within a few years we did get a flush outhouse that had running water — when you picked up a bucket and ran with it. We didn’t bother to fill the tank. We just lifted the seat and poured the bucket down. The flush outhouse did have four walls and a door. The door was a half sheet of quarter-inch plywood that could be pulled over the entrance. We did want the dogs drinking out the bowl.

REGGAE ON THE RIVER FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH HIGH TIMES

High Times Productions, Mateel Community Center Pair to Grow Iconic Music and Culture Celebration

REDWAY, CALIF. – March 21, 2018 – High Times Productions, the event-management team for High Times Media, today announced an exclusive partnership with the Mateel Community Center to breathe new life into the iconic Reggae on the River festival.

High Times will assume all responsibility for the upcoming festival’s talent lineup, marketing, and monetization efforts. The brand will also provide the Mateel Community Center with best practices learned from it’s long and successful production history in an effort to ensure the experience is on par with what the industry has come to expect from it’s premiere brand.

“Reggae on the River is a beloved institution in the Northern California music and countercultural scene, and a natural fit for High Times,” said Adam Levin, CEO of High Times Media. “We already operate numerous music and lifestyle events across three continents and see Reggae on the River as an extraordinary addition to the amazing experiences we curate annually for tens of thousands of fans.”

The festival has been connected since 1984 to the Mateel Community Center in Redway, and held on land controlled by the Arthur family. Originally, it was a one-day musical event to raise money to replace Mateel’s hall, which had been destroyed in a fire.

Under the new partnership with High Times, the center will have the resources to continue growing and developing the festival, said Garth Epling, the MCC Board President.

“Reggae on the River has been a treasured part of Northern California’s cultural scene for decades, and Mateel’s board has been committed to finding a long-term, sustainable partnership to ensure the festival thrives for years to come,” Epling said. “This High Times partnership ensures that Reggae on the River will remain a cornerstone of life in Humboldt county.”

High Times Productions produces a series of Cannabis Cup events annually as well as several other lifestyle and music events tied to High Times magazine, the oldest and best-known brand in the business of legalized marijuana. Given their production chops, knowledge of the landscape, and successful history in both events and media, High Times was the perfect partner for the Mateel Community Center. Reggae on the River marks an important step for High Times Production to manage a broader music event not explicitly tied to the legal cannabis industry, Levin said.

About Reggae on the River:

Reggae on the River is an annual music festival in Northern California, nestled along the south fork of the Eel river amongst the redwood trees. 34 years running, this cultural gathering has grown into North America’s premier live-reggae concert destination. Originally conceived as a fundraiser for the Mateel Community Center, the event has become known from Jamaica to Humboldt as the place to be on the first weekend in August. Visit us on the web at http://www.reggaeontheriver.com/

About Mateel Community Center:

The Mateel Community Center has fostered the arts in rural Northern California for approximately forty years. Serving as the cultural hub of the Southern Humboldt community, we provide arts, educational, and social service programs, and present a myriad of multicultural musical, theatrical, dance, comedy, film, craft, and rental events- earning our non-profit organization international acclaim.

Located in the town of Redway, CA, the Mateel Community Center hall is a showcase of fine woodworking, craftsmanship, and solar design that first opened in 1988. Owned and operated by the MCC, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the Center is well utilized by the entire community and serves as a venue for both commercial and non-profit rentals, as well as in-house Mateel productions.

About High Times:

For more than 40 years, High Times has been the authoritative voice of authentic cannabis culture, leading the fight for legalization and empowering the burgeoning industry’s legal entrepreneurs. High Times content spans digital, social, video and print platforms as well as location-based events highlighted by the Cannabis Cup global franchise and the High Times Business Summit conference series. Visit us at HighTimes.com, and follow @HIGH_TIMES_Mag on Twitter, @hightimesmagazine on Instagram or like us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HIGHTIMESMag/

(Press release from the Mateel Community Center)

DOG LICENSE AMNESTY DAY AND RABIES VACCINE CLINIC

The Mendocino County Animal Shelter will be holding a Dog License Amnesty Day on Saturday, April 7, 2018 from 10:00 am through 4:00 pm. The Shelter will be closed briefly from 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm for a short lunch break.

All participants in the Dog License Amnesty Day are required by Mendocino County Ordinance - 10.12.010 (Dog Licenses) to provide proof of a current rabies vaccination for their dog(s). Please remember to obtain a paper copy of a current rabies vaccination for your dog(s) from your Veterinarian prior to Amnesty Day.

If your dog(s) requires a rabies vaccination, Animal Shelter Clinic Staff will be providing them for an “at cost” charge of $6.00 from the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Dog owners requiring rabies vaccines must use the west entrance where Animal Shelter staff will be positioned outside to greet & direct owners and their dog(s) into the facility.

All delinquent charges will be waived in an effort to gain dog license compliance for the dog owners that reside within Mendocino County. Dog Licenses for dog(s) that have been neutered or spayed will be $25.00. Dog License for intact dog(s) will be $55.00. Microchipping for dogs is being offered for $25.00.

No credit card transactions will be accepted on this date. Only cash & checks are permitted methods of payment in an effort to speed up the process.

The shelter is located at 298 Plant Road, Ukiah, California. For more information please contact the Animal Shelter at (707) 467-6453.

Carmel J. Angelo, Chief Executive Officer

CATCH OF THE DAY, March 21, 2018

LESLIE ADELMAN, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

SHAWN BROWN, Willits. Under influence, drug sales, suspended license, purchase of controlled substance for sale, controlled substance, conspiracy.

ROBERT DOUGLAS, Ukiah. Community supervision violation.

PEDER ELDER, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

DAKOTA FAWCETT, Ukiah. Unspecified violation.

SAMUEL FINLEY, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

JUSTIN GIBNEY, Fort Bragg. Assault with deadly weapon with great bodily injury, special allegation: victim over 70 years old, failure to appear.

EDMOND HAMILTON, San Diego/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

CARA KESSLER, Fort Bragg. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, stolen property.

WENDY LAGASSE-WILLIAMS, Fort Bragg. Burglary, conspiracy.

CARRIE MATA, Fort Bragg. Burglary, conspiracy.

RICKEY PHILLIPS III, Willits. Probation revocation.

DAKOTA QUAYLE, Upper Lake/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

NOE REYNOSO, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

JOSEPH SCORESE, Lakeport/Ukiah. Honey oil extraction, pot possession for sale.

CHRISTINE SEIGLER, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

ANTHONY WOODWARD, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

If any of you people out there are into your local politics and government as I am, you are well aware of the dirty dealing and corruption that takes place every damned day. In my Township, the dollar figures are almost non-existent, yet those in power will lie, cheat, steal and do absolutely anything to remain in power. If small places like Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey are as bad as WE are, the pure, raw evil that exists in Washington DC simply HAS to be unfathomable. (Mendocino County for a slam dunk fact!)

STUDY: MARIJUANA SMOKE 3 TIMES WORSE FOR YOU THAN TOBACCO SMOKE

usnews.com/news/health-care-news/articles/2018-03-20/study-marijuana-smoke-3-times-worse-for-you-than-tobacco-smoke

“PLEASE LISTEN TO ME and take to your viewers and listeners what I am about to say. We are holding discussions with our American friends and partners, people who represent the government, by the way, and when they claim that some Russians interfered in the US elections, we tell them (we did so fairly recently at a very high level): ‘But you are constantly interfering in our political life.’ Would you believe it, they are not even denying it. Do you know what they told us? They said, ‘Yes, we do interfere, but we are entitled to do so, because we are spreading democracy, and you are not, and so you cannot do it.’ Do you think this is a civilized and modern approach to international affairs?"

— Vladimir Putin, in a recent interview with NBC News.

NEIL SIMON'S RUMORS!

Neil Simon's RUMORS continues this weekend on the Mendocino Theatre Company stage! This zany comedy from one of America's best-loved playwrights is a wild stew of ridiculously hilarious complications that will have you laughing out loud!

For tickets and information, go to mendocinotheatre.org/rumors-by-neil-simon/ or phone the box office at 707-937-4477.

Watch the video trailer HERE youtu.be/u5ih7kywgio.

THE REAL COSTS OF LIVING

The Chapwood Index reflects the true cost-of-living increase in America. Updated and released twice a year, it reports the unadjusted actual cost and price fluctuation of the top 500 items on which Americans spend their after-tax dollars in the 50 largest cities in the nation.

chapwoodindex.com

2018 SAN FRANCISCO FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW

“RETURNS TO PARADISE” APRIL 4-8

Showcase Gardens, Edible Gardening, Orchids, Seminars, DIY Stations, Plant Market and More

SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 15, 2018) – The 2018 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show returns to the Bay Area Wednesday, April 4 through Sunday, April 8 for the 33rd annual event. This year’s theme “Return to Paradise” is very fitting as the Show returns to the historic Cow Palace for the first time in 10 years. For five special days, the Cow Palace will be in full bloom with spectacular showcase gardens, orchids, edible gardening displays, seminars, make-and-take DIY stations, thousands of flowers and plants for sale and more. From horticulture newbies to urban gardening enthusiast, this is the place for everyone to immerse themselves in the world of all-things flowers and gardening.

“We are thrilled with the line-up of gardens, seminars and hands-on fun for this year’s San Francisco Flower & Garden Show,” said San Francisco Flower & Garden Show Producer Sherry Larsen. “Our gardens will feature some amazing highlights including a 40’ pagoda, koi ponds, and even a garden built around a fully furnished container home. I know everyone will be amazed by all of the possibilities for their own gardens and landscapes. From display gardens to nearly 60 seminars, this is the place to be inspired and learn about the latest techniques and trends from the industry’s leading flower and garden experts.”

Following are features that will fill the 2018 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show throughout the weekend:

2018 Showcase Gardens – Explore 13 amazing full-size garden displays created by top landscape designers utilizing thousands of blooming flowers, California natives and exotic plants. A panel of landscape design and horticulture experts will judge the Showcase Gardens in several categories for the 2018 Garden Awards, while showgoers are invited to pick their favorites for the People’s Choice Award.

Edible Garden Display – New this year, the edible garden display will be a learning center for those that want to see the latest method, plants and materials for their backyard garden and urban homesteading.

Discovery Stage – From beginner to expert gardeners, there is something for everyone at the Discovery Stage. More than 25 seminars will focus on all types of gardening topics including butterfly-friendly gardens, soil biology, garden design, use of palm trees and native plants, the latest new plants and edible varieties, vertical gardening and a full day devoted to discovering the principles of permaculture.

Hands-on Garden Workshops – Informal workshops will take place within the Edible Garden display. Workshops will cover planning an edible garden, drip irrigation, and raising backyard chickens. They will explore the type of planting methods, planting bed and selection of plants and trees.

Floral Design Stage – The country’s leading designers will take the stage for floral design demonstrations and seminars. More than a dozen experts will share techniques and tips as part of this non-stop seminar series that will focus on locally grown and sustainable methods of creating beautiful floral displays. Topics will include foraging for natural materials, creating gorgeous tablescape, and from the farm to the vase designs. National known floral artist, author and TV personality, J Schwanke, will take center stage on Sunday for a day of fun with flowers. He will shares his passion for flowers and will even lead a workshop where attendees can try their hand at creating a lovely bouquet of their own.

Plant & Orchid Market – Shop a variety of hundreds of plants – everything from bulbs to blooms and annuals to perennials. Vegetables and unusual plants will all be on sale.

Backyard Paradise – New this year – Enjoy an array of small designs that will expand your horizons on how to use your small back yard or patio for outdoor living.

TableScapes New this year – Enjoy the creations of various artist, event planner and non-profit groups as their share their design of a unique “Garden Party” table.

The Marketplace – Exhibitors will offer the hottest new tools, gardening gear, art for the garden and more.

About the 2018 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

The 2018 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show will be open to the public Wednesday, April 4 through Sunday, April 8, at the Cow Palace, located at 2600 Geneva Ave., in Daly City, Calif. Show hours are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $22 for a one-day adult admission, $20 for a one-day senior admission and children 16 and under are admitted free. For more information, visit www.sfgardenshow.com or follow @sfflowershow on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Official hashtag is #sfflowershow.

Contact:

Sherry Larsen
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show
415-684-7278 ext. 3
sherry@sfgardenshow.com