Off the Record (April 4, 2018)

THE COUNTY'S helping pros packed the Ukiah Convention Center last week to talk back to the author of the Marbut Report, Marbut himself. Marbut had been paid a cool fifty grand by the County to suggest ways to more effectively deal with the County's growing population of persons unable or unwilling to care for themselves. Few of these people are homeless in the old sense of accumulated misfortune; they are crazy or live to drink or drug.

MARBUT suggested a consolidation of services and a triage approach to long-term access to government-subsidized charity, with a focus on help for people with Mendo roots while moving the professional transients on down the road after a free meal or two.

THE HELPING PROS, most of them self-interested because the walking wounded provide them with funding, seem to think that it's humane to continue present strategies, which aren't strategies at all but merely more of the same, as if it's humane to allow disturbed persons to live unsheltered, uncared for in any purposeful way.

I DON'T know where Mr. Hensley lives in between overnight stays in the County Jail, but the helping pros certainly haven't extended an effective helping hand to him. And everyone else out there is a version of Hensley. 

THAT TERRIBLE accident (presumably) yesterday afternoon near Juan Creek north of Fort Bragg, raises an old question: Why aren't there at least log barriers at the pullouts overlooking the ocean? An entire family of five from West Linn, Oregon, somehow managed to drive over the side for a hundred-foot plunge to their deaths. Update: No presumably about it. It was a murder-suicide, and one more episode in the daily deluge of The Awful.

ABOUT TIME. KZYX's primary funder, the federal government, is sending an auditor to Philo for a close look at the station's books and, by extension, station management. Even without an audit, and looking at Mendo Public Radio from a distance, which is the only way management allows even its membership to look, it's clear that fiscal chicanery is afoot, not to mention insider hiring, nepotism, a general manager who is permanently unavailable, and the positively weird and comprehensively baleful grip a former EST cult partisan presently has on station ops. This guy, Stuart Campbell, has direct access to the station's depleted purse and has recently hired his girlfriend as a station reporter. The entire apparatus curtsies to him.

FOR YEARS, KZYX limped along with a series of wacky-to-incompetent managers, but then an extremely unpleasant fellow named John Coate assumed the reins about ten years ago, and the station's ramshackle hippie-dippo-stoner vibe went to cult-secretive and, where women were concerned, cruel. One of Coate's first acts was to fire the capable reporter Christina Aanestad, and doing it with no notice on a Friday morning when Ms. Aanestad arrived for work, replacing her with a stone male nutcase who soon claimed that verified charges revealed in the ava (where else?) that he'd tried to forge a winning lottery ticket was the work of vengeful Oregon "bulldykes.” The bulldykes were stalking him, you see. Coate’s unerring bad judgement subsequently saddled the station with the creepy EST guy, and here we are with staff taking nearly half the station's annual revenue, and membership declining, and the general manager out when he’s in, in when he’s out.

SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED. It has belatedly occurred to me that Mendocino County Public Radio is indeed a cult. The station apparently went clear over into blood oaths and midnight dog's blood rituals with former manager John Coate, who brought in another eviscerated personality to succeed him in Stuart Campbell. Mos def a Moonie-like vibe prevailed during the lock-step candidate's affair at Mendo College, what with all these blissed-out looking old white guys creeping around in ancient birkenstocks, their eyes and speech devoid of all life. I understand a federal intervention is scheduled for May, but will it be soon enough to prevent Coate and Campbell from moving on to full human sacrifice?

THE JUAN CREEK stretch of Highway One between Westport and Rockport is a uniquely desolate, treeless several miles of the otherwise scenic roadway only twenty miles north of Fort Bragg. In the 1980s, four murders were associated with the Juan Creek area, three of them drug related, one of them not.

THE MURDER that was not drug related was that of Harlan Tod Sutherland, 24, of Berkeley, a graduate student in geology at U.C. Berkeley. It took four years, but dogged police work by the Sheriff's Department was finally able to identify a career criminal, Robert Sutton, as Sutherland's killer.

SUTTON was just out of prison and homeless, roaming the coastal stretch north of Fort Bragg while sustaining himself by breaking into cars of tourists and campers. He fatally encountered Sutherland, 24, on the sliver of beach near the site of this week's deaths of two women and three of their adopted children, with three more adopted youngsters still missing.

SUTHERLAND, the aspiring geologist, had been studying the cliff faces at Juan Creek when Sutton shot him and took his watch and cameras. There were no witnesses to the crime, and police had no suspects until jail house informants identified Sutton, who died in prison of AIDS.

ODDLY PAINFUL meeting of the Coast Democrats last Wednesday night at the Harbor Lite in Fort Bragg. With active Democrat and candidate for 5th District supervisor, Chris Skyhawk, looking on, the Coast Demos endorsed Ted Williams, who wasn't present, for what is supposed to be a non-partisan job. Also odd was Fort Bragg middle school principal, Lura Vieira's ringing endorsement of Brian Barrett, not present, for Superintendent of Schools without so much as an intro for Anderson Valley's candidate, Michelle Hutchins, who was present. Val Muchowski grabbed the mike to introduce Ms. Hutchins.

ALL YOU NEED to know about Barrett is that his election is supported by former superintendent, Paul Tichinin, the Rain Man of public ed. These two intellectuals once teamed up to publicly deem "niggardly" as a foul ethnic insult. If you ever wonder why Our Nation's Future can't read, take a look at who's in charge of Our Nation's schools.

IF YOU asked any ten residents of the County to identify the Mendocino County Office of Education and received one correct answer you'd be doing well. Few people outside education circles know what it does, which is basically credentials checks and payroll — nothing the individual school districts of the County couldn't do cheaper. In the early days of Mendocino County, teachers were hired out of Ukiah and dispatched to outback schools, which the teachers reached by horseback. Since then, this redundant apparatus, rather like the mafia, has glommed on to state and federal funding, taking a nice cut for itself, before channeling the remaining money to the individual school districts of the County.

CHAOS in Point Arena schools? At Point Arena High School, apparently. A caller tells us that drug use (cocaine) is rampant among students, the school has lost three teachers lately, one to drug use on the job, another in reaction to homophobic insults, the third to "lemme outta here-ism." PA is having a hard time even finding substitute teachers, a part-time job that pays better than a hundred bucks a day for babysitting duties.

SPEAKING of Our Nation's Future, how to educate 'em is a question that comes up more and more often, especially given that the large majority of ONF's graduate after twelve years of edu-seat time without knowing how to read at better than a pre-literate level, can't write at all and are unable to perform the simplest mathematical calculation. How about, for starters, reinstating vocational programs and combine them with apprenticeships for the young ones to people who know how to do stuff.

LOW COST HOUSING, how to, is another staple at candidate forums, but so far Third District candidate John Pinches is the only candidate to suggest trailer parks, and not only suggest them but suggest where one might be sited just north of Willits where CalTrans appropriated a vast swathe for dirt for the Willits Bypass. Candidates, at least some of them, do suggest a loosening of density standards and a generally more reasonable application of building and planning regs, which would also help.

ANY LEAD STORIES on any media every morning these fraught days would have rattled the sedate rural precincts of the Northcoast for weeks in 1955, the year Stephanie Bryan,14, was kidnapped in Oakland by an accounting student at Berkeley named Burton Abbott. The girl was eventually found dead in Trinity County. This terrible event was headline news for months in the Bay Area newspapers. Today, it would be page three the next day:

I BRING IT UP to make the obvious point that The Great Unraveling has picked up much velocity since 1955, but we almost never, even in the more cerebral journals, lay the blame for crime, and all other expressions of aberrant behavior, where it belongs, which is, in my simpleminded opinion, the nature of American capitalism. It drives people criminally insane.

WITH ULTRA-VI increasing daily, the cops are like attendants in a mass, open air psycho ward. Three police shootings in just the past couple of weeks, two of them in San Francisco, one of them in Sacramento, have inspired the usual lib-conservative opinion split. The libs generally think all three were avoidable, the conservatives say all three victims caused their own deaths.

JESUS DUARTE was shot and killed by San Francisco police when he emerged from the trunk of the car driven by a young couple who had earlier committed a street robbery. The police were yelling at Duarte in Spanish to climb out of the trunk when they shot him. A gun was recovered from the trunk of the car.

A FEW DAYS ago, a young man of Middle Eastern descent named Jehad Eid was shot in a barber shop deep in the Mission District of San Francisco. His family had called police to say Eid had a gun and had been threatening them. When police confronted Eid in the barber shop an exchange of gun fire ensued and Eid was killed.

THE SACRAMENTO shooting of Stephon Clark has become a national story whose partisans say, or at least imply, that Clark's death was a police murder. Clark had been breaking into cars when the police arrived to confront him in his grandmother's backyard. Police say in the un-illuminated yard the cell phone in Clark's hand was assumed to be a gun and they shot him numerous times, mostly in the back, killing him.

FAMILIES AND FRIENDS of all three young victims claim that all three are racially-based murders by police who are quicker to deploy lethal force against black and brown people than they are white people. I would argue that in each of these circumstances a white person would also have been shot.

ACCORDING to the most recent census data, there are nearly 160 million more white people in America than there are black people. White people make up roughly 62 percent of the U.S. population but only about 49 percent of those who are killed by police officers. Black people, however, account for 24 percent of those fatally shot and killed by the police despite being just 13 percent of the U.S. population, which means black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers. Yeah, cops do seem quicker on the draw when the perp is black.

THE TERM "TECHNO-NARCISSIST" describes the fantasists who think the self-described geniuses of Silicon Valley should quit lollygagging around and invent a non-lethal device for police. In lieu of such a device, and given the givens of late capitalism, and the early capitalism that enslaved black people to hasten the capital accumulation stage of development, police shootings of black people at a higher rate than white people are unlikely to subside.

RURAL LEGAL out of Santa Rosa is suing to keep a massive homeless camp in place on the grounds that it's un-constitutional to move the homeless unless alternative housing is provided. “We’re not saying that everyone needs to stay there forever,” said Jeffery Hoffman, with California Rural Legal Assistance in Santa Rosa. “What we’re saying is we need to figure out a way to accommodate everybody in a fashion that works.”

BECAUSE THE ROSE CITY is unable to provide housing for the homeless, especially the homeless addicted to drugs and alcohol, or are mentally ill, this camp and others like it will remain in place while the comfortably housed hash out its fate in court, the whole of it being an endless game of Whack-A-Mole because only the state and federal government have the resources to actually do something about the rising tide of the walking wounded.

RANDY BURKE, like everyone else on the South Coast, wonders why the Supes refused to grandfather in Gualala's heli-pad: "Dan [Hamburg], what the heck???? We are enough of a third world nation down here as it stands, and regardless of McCowen's non association within your district, I have no idea why you guys would not support the existing heliport at RCMS and support waiving fees, and helping us obtain any permits. It may turn out to be a pre-existing non-conforming condition, but it works, and many family members of a bi-county nature have had to go out of that site. Why make it difficult with your minor comments to this vital public health resource? Grow some, before you retire, and help us in the effort to retain our resources. Come on Dan, Make a difference where it counts. For lives, for the coast, for your district, and for the survivable future of this coastal clime!" 

THE CHILD-LIKE REASONING of the Supervisors in turning down a break for a life-saving piece of simple, strategically-placed pavement was, "Well, golly, if we give you a break we'll have to give all the other heli-pads a break."

FIRST OFF, each case is different, brand new. The Supes wouldn't have to approve every subsequent request for a break to exempt necessary public amenities from fees, assuming there would be any or even one begging for a free pass, because Gualala's existing heli-pad is a one-off, having been in place for at least two decades and has saved any number of lives. But as a general principle, existing public construction of the life-saving type deserves every consideration, not "Bobby has an ice cream cone so I gotta have one, too" "reasoning." Jeez.

GENTLEMAN GEORGE HOLLISTER of Comptche observes: "I attended the 5th district supervisor candidates event yesterday in Comptche. In terms of learning the candidates’ positions on county issues, and their relevant abilities, the event was a waste of time. in terms of understanding why we are so screwed up, the event confirmed what most of us already know. Most of the time was spent on pot. Candidates forums should keep pot questions to two. Do you support making pot regs simpler? Yes or no. Next question. Then allow one more pot question, just in case I missed something. The elephant in the room regarding pot is economics. Legal cannabis growers will have to produce a quality product for less than what the black market does. Ultimately, the county has little control over this. The county has absolutely no control over California Fish and Wildlife, or California Water Resources, either. These two state agencies are the hammer. I might add, a supervisor will have to deal with other realities of regulating pot, that go beyond the needs of those who want to grow pot. ‘We don’t live the County of Marijuana, we live in the County of Mendocino.’ We elect people to public office for the wrong reasons. Then we complain about the results. The candidate forum in Comptche yesterday was a confirmation of that."

LIKE MOST NON-STONERS I, too, get tired of the obsessive pot discussion. I also agree with Gentleman George that no matter what rules Mendo comes up with the state trumps them. I also agree with Supe's candidate Pinches of the 3rd District that the present Board of Supervisors has made a farce out of the local permit process, leading to endless and endlessly Talmudic-quality discussion of Mendo's cockamamie attempt to grab as much pot cash as possible while at the same time making the rules so onerous that little potential cash is generated. 

LAST TUESDAY, the Board of Supervisors and top officials from the Health and Human Services Agency engaged in one of the more disgusting displays of fake concern we’ve seen in Mendo, where false feeling is traditional among County bureaucrats. 

BECKY EMERY, Social Services Branch Director, along with Gina Connor, Deputy Director of Family and Children’s Services, presented an item with the cuddly compu-title of “iFoster.” — iTunes, iPad, iPod, iPretend – that kind of thing. 

EVERYONE INVOLVED spent about 15 minutes congratulating each other for arranging to snag part of a national grant program to fund 40 laptops for local foster kids which, they claim, will “reduce anxiety, communication and control with adults,” (whatever that means), “increase access and efficiency with resources,” (whatever that means), be a “valuable resource in school, college & work,” and “increase participation in the community” (whatever that means). It also supposedly helps build stronger relationships with the orphaned one’s biological family. And the machines magically improve grades and employment prospects! 

BESIDES being empty claims without follow-up or evidence to back it up, this mawkish presentation is also typical of the kind of techno-compu-gibberish that buttresses every silly idea coming out of the Helping Professions these days. In this case it’s just another variation on the bogus “computers in the classroom,” “digital divide,” etc. arguments that are in the same category as the “marijuana cures every disease” claims of the potheads.

IF OFFICIAL MENDO gave a hoot about foster kids they’d want to know how effectively spent are the millions presently expended on its foster children. We should be getting regular reports on numbers of placements, funding, transfers, backlogs, staffing, returns to families, academic progress, and so on. 

THE BOARD’S response bordered on orgasmic. Unreserved approval. Supervisor Gjerde wanted to make sure Coast kids would get some of the laptops. Supervisor Croskey said it was “great” and wished everybody could get one! She wanted the age limit to be lower and more free computers handed out. Supervisor Brown said she had tears in her eyes when the computers were distributed, adding that it was all so “wonderful.” Supervisor Hamburg smiled and said it was “a great program.” Only Supervisor John McCowen was able to curb his enthusiasm, perhaps because he knows the foster kid prognosis does not wear a computer generated Happy Face.

A READER WRITES: “I love libraries. I’ve used them often in the past in other places and in school, but I don’t visit the Ukiah Library much these days because it’s dingy, most of the books are old and outdated, and they don’t have much that interests me in the non-fiction area. They do have a decent on-line system which apparently is an off-shoot of the Sonoma County system which gives access to more books and titles and formats. But there’s very little reason to visit the Ukiah library anymore. The few times I’ve been there lately it seems that the computer area is popular, as is the glassed in children’s menagerie. There are always a few vagabonds and disabled people who don’t seem to be there for the library. You never see any actual book-related features either. Their limited “new acquisitions” cart is mostly bad new fiction picked by who knows who from who knows where. They don’t have any “featured books” sections with blurbs about what’s new or good in the various categories. Granted, I’m kinda old-school. I gather they have some interesting on-line features like downloadable audiobooks, and e-books, and such, but I have no idea how to do it and the few times I’ve asked, the person who knew how to do it wasn’t available to explain. They also seem to do a lot of stuff that has no real library value, like games, play time, computer help, paper mache projects, and other crafts and kid-exercises. But nothing literary for adults. They also have very little local stuff, and what there is tilts heavily toward previous decades, if not centuries. No book clubs, no readings, no featured local authors…

“SO IT IRKS ME to hear the knee-jerk library defenders complain about what they see as a “power grab” by CEO Angelo. Given Ms. Angelo’s history, it may indeed be a power grab. But so what? What’s wrong with consolidating the library, museum and parks and rec into one administrative unit? Sure there are differences between the functions, but that could be handled by proper staffing decisions (which I grant are not guaranteed and would need to be funneled through the various, but currently useless, advisory boards). Also, the County Museum is indeed underfunded and, again if properly staffed and funded, could become a much more interesting place and which indeed could be very complimentary to the library and parks and rec, not to mention a County attraction. 

“UNTIL the Library people show me that they’re really interested in spending all that money (much of it new from the sales tax) on real and direct library things, I’m all for CEO Angelo’s “power grab” — as long as it is properly overseen and the Museum and parks and recs and trail programs get tangible benefits out of it. Why is the library so sacrosanct? They have plenty of time and money to spend on non-library programs and activities. So why can’t they “share”? Go get ‘em, Carmel!”

THIRD DISTRICT CANDIDATE FORUMS:

(1) Covelo, Saturday, April 14th, 3pm at the Covelo Library

(2) Willits, Thursday, April 19th, 6:30pm, Willits Community Center

(3) Laytonville, Saturday, April 28th, 2pm, Harwood Hall

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE WEEK: “I want to remind everyone that this Playboy culture has trapped many power motivated men into salacious activity. Does anyone think that a fifty percent divorce rate is for irreconcilable differences? Just think about Hollywood where folks act out the testosterone dreams of these overgrown teenagers. That they get the press time they get is disgusting to me. How about the TV show Playboy after Dark or the exposes of the Playboy mansion in the 70’s-80’s? Both just plain glorified this behavior pattern. And their contributors were just as much female as male. Hollywood does not want to acknowledge how many of the elite posed for Playboy or otherwise joined Hefner’s group to get ahead. It really shows how low we as a society have descended to consider this bedroom behavior acceptable family entertainment on Sunday night. I think that Walt Disney was much better entertainment.”

MENDOCINO SPRING POETRY * SUNDAY APRIL 22

Sunday, April 22, 2018, 43nd Anniversary

Mendocino Spring Poetry Celebration

 

At Hill House in Mendocino town on the coast.

This event draws some 40 poets from northern California and beyond. Two open readings: afternoon and evening.

Prepare up to four minutes for either of the two sessions, or both.

Noon: sign-up and mixer; afternoon reading at 1:00.

Break: enjoy the town, the sea and the headlands.

5:00 PM: sign-up and mixer; evening reading at 6:00.

Choice comestibles. Open book displays. Contributions welcome. All poems considered for broadcast by Dan Roberts on KZYX&Z. Info: Gordon Black, (707) 937-4107, gblack@mcn.org