Mendocino County Today: Friday, Aug. 3, 2018

• Evacuations & Closures
• Evacuee Report
• Red Flag
• Fire Updates
• Complex Meeting
• Fighting Nature
• Little Dog
• Trapper Watch
• Hospital Board
• Painted Rocks
• AV Farms
• Ed Notes
• Westport BBQ
• Clothing Swap
• Evans Murder
• Elk BBQ
• Supe Response
• Yesterday's Catch
• Getting Hotter
• Witch Hunts
• Facebook Harm
• Nature Sketching
• Visual Propaganda
• Medicare Extra
• Grampa's Chili
• Giant Asteroid
• Identity Politics
• Criminal Society
• Cold Ride
• Listening Workshop

MANDATORY EVACUATIONS AND ROAD CLOSURES ROLLING IN TODAY...

 

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10am, Lucerne, Glenhaven & Clearlake Oaks:

 

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10am, Road Closures:

 

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11am, Blue Lakes:

 

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1pm, Potter Valley:

 

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2:30pm, Cow Mountain:

 

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4pm, Highway 175 Reopening:

WHAT: Highway 175 opening up to east and westbound traffic.
WHEN: AUGUST 3, 2018 at 4:00 P.M.
WHERE: Highway 175
NOTES: Fire personnel are still active in the area. Please drive with caution. Roadway restrictions: Vehicles greater than 39 feet.

BETSY CAWN WRITES FROM THE FRONT

Situation in Clearlake Oaks, at the Moose Lodge:

Very difficult to get a quiet moment and juice to run the laptop, both of which are happily available at this hour. Lodge members and a small army of volunteers have kept the place open 24 hours a day, service B/L/D to several hundred evacuees; many who had arrived late (from Kelseyville and Big Valley area) also returned home as soon as the mandatory notice was lifted.

TV reporters from Bay Area and Sac visited and truckloads of supplies started arriving two days ago. Amazing number of people with four-legged family members in tow – constant barking and milling about keep the night hours uneasy. Of course, the Lodge is just uphill from the intersection of Hwys. 20 and 29; you can almost tell when morning is due by the resurgence of traffic, preceding the crowing of cocks at the ranch house just next door.

A dozen or more indoor cot-dwellers (mostly older folks) have a small section of the main hall; the bulk of the residents strewn among the unfinished landscape downslope from the main facility, with an out-of-county volunteer relief outfit providing a shower trailer and onsite almost-EMT assistance, which was greatly needed the day before yesterday. Ambulance traffic and Northshore Fire Protection District medics coming in to serve mostly older persons needing further attention at the local ER (Adventist Hospital in Clearlake).

Report of Tuesday evening that Lower Lake’s High School shelter (run by the Red Cross) is above capacity with 400+ evacuees. Several shifts of location have kept people hopping: Clearlake’s senior center opened for one day and then shut down (no idea why); momentary shelter at the Coyote Valley Elementary School came and went; Middletown’s Twin Pine Casino is the largest official site (using their event center, as they did during the 2015 Valley Fire).

Late in the day on Wednesday, some new uproar on Bartlett Mountain resulted in a late evening barrage of air attack flights, raising fears and blood pressures as resurgent plumes of fresh smoke and particulate matter smothered the barely visible foothills to the north.

Mountains of trash, but thus far unsolicited “donations” of miscellaneous clothing items unceremoniously dumped in the back of the building, actually useful to some – but thus far the donation catastrophy of 2015 has been averted.

Just beyond the near horizon to the southeast, the City of Clearlake trundles along, and ambulatory forays by well-heeled to procure comforts and fuel for high-end RV air conditioning assure us that for some, this is a minor delay in what some consider normal life.

Mandatory evacuation of Lakeport included the senior center there, which just a month ago had begun serving the needs of Northshore community (Blue Lakes, Bachelor Valley, Witter Springs, Upper Lake, Nice, and Lucerne) homebound older adults with what is fondly called “meals on wheels.” No service on Monday or Tuesday, but Lucerne’s senior center reopened on Tuesday with whatever was left in the walk in freezer – refreshed yesterday by a truckload from the Redwood Empire Food bank (“emergency food”) and their volunteers are on deck to help their local community members. Lucerne’s outreach volunteers checked in with us here, and reported having contacted all of their known “MOW” participants or their caregivers to determine their wellbeing, with no individual catastrophes having arisen.

KPFZ mustered the permission to “repopulate” the station (located right in downtown Lakeport) with a skeleton crew, and have thus been some solace to the general population with no other source of local “info” – Northshore’s District 3 Supervisor was on the air last night to reassure everyone with typical assuagements and vague statements. Haven’t been able to listen but incoming emails serve to keep me apprised of that support.

Eyes bleary (forgot to pack some Visine) but all of us enduring the roar, the dim, and the din. Grateful for the humble shelter and awed by the backbreaking work of the volunteers and nonstop spontaneous contributors. Happy to see another sunrise, and the AVA Today! Love and peace,

Betsy

RED FLAG WARNING ISSUED FOR LAKE COUNTY

The National Weather Service issued this warning Thursday afternoon:

Red Flag Warning in effect from 11 am Friday to 11 pm PDT Saturday for very dry and locally gusty ridgetop winds for fire weather zones 264 and 279 including the Mendocino Complex...

* WIND...Local west to southwest ridgetop wind gusts to 30 mph Saturday.

* HUMIDITY...Afternoon minimum humidities of 15 to 20 percent are expected with overnight humidity recoveries as low as 30 to 40 percent.

* HIGHEST THREAT...Near the Mendocino Complex burn area.

* IMPACTS...Dangerous and rapid irregular spreading of a large wildfire.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

FIRE STATUS UPDATES

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CONTAINMENT INCREASES ON EEL FIRE

WILLOWS, Calif. - On Thursday, firefighters made progress containing the Eel Fire 10 miles east of Covelo on the Covelo ranger district of the Mendocino National Forest. Containment increased from five to 25 percent and the estimated size is reported at 1,000 acres. The fire started Tuesday, July 31 and the cause is being investigated. There are 143 resources assigned to the incident including two crews, 20 engines, one dozer and five water tenders. No additional critical resources are needed according to Incident Commander Dale Shippelhoute. Potential north winds in the forecast could push the fire towards Forest Highway 7 (FH7) and structures along the road. FH7 is open but travelers need to be aware that conditions could change quickly. Mandatory evacuation orders have been implemented for the M1 Road from Eel River station to Indian Dick Station. Forty residences are threatened by fire spread, three have been destroyed. Please watch Inciweb, Facebook and Twitter for new information as it becomes available.

Punky Moore, Public Affairs Officer, Forest Service, Mendocino National Forest

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MENDOCINO COMPLEX: Now almost 130,000 acres burned. Causes still undetermined. Latest evacuations, including Upper Lake, at the Mendocino County Sheriff's Facebook page. Huge flames marched over ridges, igniting dry brush instantly. Containment was listed at 39% at last check. The relentless Ranch Fire moved closer to the community of Upper Lake Thursday afternoon. More communities in Western Lake County are now under new mandatory evacuation orders and more could follow. An estimated 14,000 people have been evacuated. More than 3200 firefighters are at work with lots of crews, engines, bulldozers and air units.

Evacuation centers have been set up at:

• Mendocino College: Dance Room at 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah
• Lower Lake High School: 9430 Lake Street, Lower Lake
• Twin Pines Casino: 22223 CA-29, Middletown
• Clearlake Senior Center: 3245 Bowers Avenue, Clearlake

Evacuation centers for animals have been set up at:

• Redwood Riders Arena, 8300 East Road, Redwood Valley (accepting horses)
• Animal Care, 298 Plant Road, Ukiah (accepting small animals)

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CALFIRE'S MENDOCINO COMPLEX UPDATE (Friday 7am): 153,738 acres burned; 30% containment; 107 structures damaged or destroyed.

"Both fires continue to remain active throughout the night. The Ranch Fire made significant and rapid expansion to the east towards the Pawnee Fire scar. Today firefighters will continue to prep and defend structures along with constant primary and secondary control lines. Access and weather make many areas of the fire difficult to directly fight fire. Aircraft support will be utilized when weather and smoke visibility conditions permit."

MENDOCINO COMPLEX COMMUNITY MEETING

AS SEVERAL NEW WILDFIRES ERUPTED in California on Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown warned of a bleak and fiery future for the state as a result of climate change. “People are doing everything they can, but nature is very powerful and we’re not on the side of nature,” Brown told reporters. “We’re fighting nature with the amount of material we’re putting in the environment, and that material traps heat. And the heat fosters fires,” he said, adding that fire authorities are in “uncharted territory.” Brown’s comments came as more than 13,000 firefighters battled 16 fires raging across the state. One blaze alone, the so-called Carr Fire, had destroyed more than 1,000 homes near Redding as of Wednesday and sent nearly 40,000 people fleeing for their lives. The blaze, now the sixth-most destructive in the state’s history, has also killed six people since it broke out last week. Several new wildfires erupted even as Brown met with fire officials to discuss the situation, prompting evacuations in El Dorado County. Meanwhile the San Francisco Chronicle reports that, from Tuesday through Saturday last week, requests for more than 900 fire engines around California went unfilled, leaving emergency responders with far less help than they needed. (L.A. Times)

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “I don't want hear any of you mention ‘The Dog Days of Summer’ again. It's very unfair to characterize my entire species as a weather bummer. It wasn't us who heated up the globe, was it, huh? We're still your best friend but you people don't make it easy!”

GIVEN THE PREVALENCE, and even the celebration, of scumbaggery in our increasingly dysfunctional society, and the pure number of free range scumbags loose in Mendocino County at any one time, Michael Trapper stands out. He's classified as a "high risk" sex offender who came to Fort Bragg from Illinois where he soon came to public attention for beating his 60+ year old girlfriend at her home on Highway 20, north of FB. Trapper regularly pops up in the Catch of the Day for this and that, and the Fort Bragg Police have him on their priority watch list. He's the kind of dedicated predator who will inevitably hurt or kill someone, probably a female someone. Trapper is young, too, so he's got another twenty to thirty years of predation ahead of him. What should be done? Permanent incarceration, now.

• High Risk Sex Offender Update
• Sex Offender Michael Steven Trapper
• Michael Steven Trapper Registered Sex Offender
• Trapper was not in compliance even when he was in Illinois and we can't find him registered in California: Non-Compliant Sex Offender
• And his victim in Illinois was 5 years old: Illinois Sex Offender Information

THINKING ABOUT RUNNING FOR MCDH BOARD OF DIRECTORS' SEAT?

Friday, August 10, Is The Deadline To File.

If you are considering this, contact Katrina Bartolomie at 234-6819 to get the ball rolling. The MCDH Board of Directors is having a candidate forum on Wednesday, August 8, at 6pm, to provide candidates with information about the hospital. Regular meetings of the MCDH Board of Directors are held at 6 pm on the last Thursday of the month. If you would like an email notification and meeting agenda packet, contact Gail Moon at 961-1234, ext. 610, to make the request.

Margaret Paul <mpaul@mcn.org>

BOONVILLE ROCKS! An AV Family’s Search & Find Activity.

For those who may not be on Facebook, we wanted to be sure to include you as well as you may have noticed a collection of hand painted stones hiding around the AV Community Park in Boonville over the last few weeks.

Boonville Rocks! is a new activity introduced for all families in the community to share in the fun.

Search and find painted rocks throughout the park and then choose a new hiding place for them or even add more painted rocks of your own. You may also take a close up picture of the rock in its new spot and post it on the Facebook group page “Boonville Rocks!” to give a hint to the next seekers. If you need help being added to the group, please feel free to email me.

For now, all the rocks are hidden at our local AV Community Park in Boonville near the airport and AV Health Center.

Happy Hunting!

Take Care,

Elizabeth M. Jensen

AV FARMS & PRODUCTS!

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Farm Stands:

• Blue Meadow Farm - at the base of Holmes Ranch Road - 895-2071
• Brock Farms - on Goodacre off the base of Peachland - 895-3407
• Velma's (Filigreen Farm) - on AV Way - 895-2111
• Gowan's Oak Tree - on Hwy 128 between Philo and Navarro - 895-3353
• Pennyroyal Creamery - on Hwy 128 in Boonville - 895-2410
• Petit Teton - on Hwy 128 between Boonville and Yorkville - 684-4146
• The Apple Farm - on Philo/Greenwood Road just before the bridge - 895-2333

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AV Products:

• 4 Bar K Ranch (beef) - dkooyers@gmail.com, 895-2325
• Anderson Valley Community Farm CSA (variety of products) - andersonvalleycommunityfarm@gmail.com, (831) 332-5131
• Bramble Family Farm (olive oil) - sales@bramblefamilyfarms.net, 272-8487
• Bucket Ranch (variety of products) - 845-3851
• McEwen Family Farm (variety of products) - bebingmcewen@gmail.com - 472-9009
• Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company (seaweed) - kombuko@seaweed.net, 895-2996
• Natural Products of Boonville (mushrooms & more) - keepertrout@gmail.com, 684-0182
• Petit Teton (canned goods, pork, beef, squab & veggies) - farmer@petitteton.com, 684-4146
• Pomo Tierra Orchard (apple products) - bernie@mcn.org
• The Forest People - Radically Sustainable Mushroom Cultivation - 489-5034
• Yorkville Olive Ranch (olive oil) - rhysolive@yahoo.com, 894-0530

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This Week at Velma's Farm Stand

• Blazing Star Peaches
• Maiden's Blush Apples
• Red Gravenstein Apples
• Blueberries
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Early Girl Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Kohlrabi
• Cucumbers and Lemon Cucumbers
• Melons
• Green Beans
• Cabbage
• Olive Oil

Velma's Farm Stand at Filigreen Farm
Certified Organic - Certified Biodynamic
11750 Anderson Valley Way,
Boonville, CA 95415
Open Friday-Monday from 10am till 4pm

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AT THE BUCKHORN

It’s another First Friday at the Buckhorn! Ryan and friends will be playing in the garden at 7pm on August 3rd. Come enjoy the music with dinner, or just enjoy our delicious Buckhorn Summer Cocktails and mellow out.

ED NOTES

FRONTIERS OF INSULT. I enjoyed this exchange on the LCO's comment line re a booking photo of a man arrested in Redding for looting:

(1) Aside from being the kind of scum who steals from hardworking families when they're already down on their luck, this guy has a threehead and looks like a dipshit.

(2) What's a threehead?

(3) The forehead hairline is only three fingerbreadths from his eyebrows.

(4) Like a forehead but smaller.

(5) He's also a plick. A plick is like a prick only smaller.

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“FOLKS.” I missed the exact transition, but I was happy just to be a “people,” then suddenly we were all “folks.” "To all you folks disturbed by…" Etc. The great shift may have happened during ABC's Evening News with David Muir, the visual version of NPR's weekend psychopath, Scott Simon, master of the dropped octave, audibly faked emotion. I watch Muir most nights because he's so transparently false, faking a range of emotion he obviously doesn't feel. He could crack any time. All the ABC presenters fake excitement as lately, they throw their arms hither-thither to demonstrate excitement they don't feel against a backdrop of fire film from several days prior. Contrast Muir with the CBS news reader, Glor. Glor just presents the day's catastrophes, and when he reads something more shocking than the routine horror, he reacts like a human being. But it's all show biz, of course. Has nothing to do with informing people, er folks, helping us understand what is presented as context-free events.

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ANOTHER THING WRONG with this country is Brandon Belt, the Giants sort-of first baseman and alleged power hitter. Belt's injured again. He pulled a muscle running the bases. A professional athlete who pulls a muscle simply running is a professional athlete in poor physical condition. You'd think a guy paid millions to stand around at first base and watch called third strikes would at least be able to run the bases without hurting himself.

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I ENJOYED talking with Richard Hargreaves the other day. Old timers will remember him from Georgia-Pacific where he was a union rep. Hargreaves now lives in Redding, ground zero for NorCal's worst fire ever. He's pretty much immobile from a range of geriatric maladies. The "old union bum," as Hargreaves describes himself, mentioned he went to high school in the Bay Area with Jim Updegraff, another ava old timer. Shall the circle be unbroken!

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TRUMP today called the media "the enemy of the people." Assuming he's talking about Muir, Wolf Blitzer, Fox et al, Orange Man is correct, but he picks and chooses. MSM is awful, no question, but Fox, Trump's fave, is the worst by any reasonably fair standard.

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OBJECTIVELY, it seems from here that although a lot of County workers failed to appear for emergency duty when the Big Fires broke out last week, CEO Angelo, Heidi Dunham and other department heads got the emergency office and shelter going with positively military dispatch. If the whole gang had showed up they'd have been running into each other.

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QUESTION: Many years ago, a friend of mine told me he was stopped near the site of a major fire in Southern California and forced onto the fire line. He said he worked for three days but eventually got paid. I'm talking '62-63, thereabouts. I've always wondered if impressment was a common practice in those days or my friend was putting me on.

THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY WESTPORT VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT BARBECUE

The Westport Volunteer Fire Department is sponsoring its Annual Fundraising Barbecue in celebration of its 40th Anniversary on Saturday, August 18, 2018 from noon to 9 p.m. on the Westport Headlands. Enjoy an afternoon and evening of fun, great food and live music while helping support the Westport Volunteer Fire Department. Admission is free.

Live music will be provided by Lost Johnson Productions and Highway One Sound, featuring several great local performers including the Steven Bates Band, Sue Sisk, Mixxology, Lucky Otis, and the Thorn Petals. There will be an after-sunset dance party and lightshow featuring Highway One.

Our famous barbecue features barrel roasted tri-tip, chicken and a vegetarian option. Meal tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for kids under 10. Beer, wine and dessert can also be purchased.

There will be plenty of fun activities for the whole family (sorry, no dogs). Many craft merchants will have their wares for sale. A beautiful quilt and several other great raffle prizes can be won. Helicopters from Reach/CalStar, CalFire and CHP will be arriving and departing if weather and availability cooperate.

The Westport Volunteer Fire Department provides year-round initial 911 emergency response service for medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, traumatic injuries and fires on the Northern Mendocino Coast. Our response area covers roughly 108 square miles, from mile post 72 to the Usal Road turnoff on Highway 1.

REMEMBERING THE GREGORY EVANS MURDER

Editor,

Thanks for the piece on my brother’s murder. You must have some great contacts to get that level of detail about the case. That was a tragic call I received in the middle of the night from Dad. My parents never got over it. Just a few facts. The murder took place in April 1984, not in 1987. And because of the tenacity of two Mendo sheriffs, Flores was caught by Mexican authorities in 1994 (10 years later) and thrown into prison. The US didn’t have an extradition treaty with Mexico at the time and relations between the two countries were strained over the execution of a USDA employee in Mexico right around Flores’ escape. I can’t remember the names of the two sheriffs, but one ran against Tony Craver for his first term. Those sheriffs were ultimate professionals and very sensitive to our family during our time of grief. I know the other one moved to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. Nevertheless, I really resent the fact the president is exploiting the pain of families who have suffered similar tragedies. Shame on President Trump. He doesn’t give a shit about anybody but himself and is turning the U.S. democracy into his very own Banana Republic Kleptocracy. See link to video below. Finally, please read what I posted on my blog a few weeks back (Enough Of This Racist Nonsense!) Thanks for getting it into your piece, “Yanez said later that Evans "was a very good person." That will mean a lot to his daughters, who were two and five when he was murdered, and grew up to be beautiful young women and mothers. https://macromon.wordpress.com/2018/06/24/enough-of-this-racist-nonsense/

PS. By the way, you used to cover us when I was on the MUSD school board in the early 2000s. I resigned after the community voted down the first school bond for $8 million, and warned the voters they would have to pay much more if they chose forbearance. They ended up spending $20 million. The bond election was never about building a new school but about settling old scores. It was an ugly political situation back then. Ken Rice would hammer us. I learned more about politics in that small community than I did as a professional economic and political analyst. I also learned the lesson than many need to learn today, “do you want to be pure or win?

Thanks.

Cheers, Gary Evans

THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS has posted a draft response to the Grand Jury report on Juvenile Hall. Back in May, the GJ denounced the County’s plan to outsource the Hall to Sonoma County. When the Supes later overruled CEO Carmel Angelo and decided to artificially cover the Hall’s budget gap with imaginary salary savings from an arbitrary 10% position vacancy rate and unrealistic minimization of Sheriff’s overtime, that gave the Supes the easy answer to the GJ by saying they were keeping the Hall open. Many of the GJ’s other findings were dismissed by the Board’s GJ-response committee (probably headed up by Supervisor John McCowen, but they never use names), with “appears to be more a statement of opinion than a finding of fact.” A statement which, as we've seen, is demonstrably untrue and another cheap shot at the GJ’s conscientious work.

So yet another Grand Jury report will be shelved without any real action taken.

However, the Board of Supervisors scrupulously avoided responding to the most significant part of the GJ’s Juvenile Hall report because the GJ forgot to call it “a finding.”

But clearly the Hall would never have been up for outsourcing had it been managed properly, had it not been burdened with ridiculous overhead costs such as paying for the administrative leave while the the Chief Probation officer's work-time sexual adventures were endlessly looked into (if not looked at) by expensive outside attorneys, and had the Board and the CEO listened to the County's school superintendents on how to better handle juvenile offenders.

The Grand Jury observed:

“In late 2017, unbudgeted raises were granted to elected officials and some department heads. Increases in salaries also increases the cost of benefits and retirement payment obligations. Elected officials and department heads are entitled to the county paying matching funds up to 4% of their salary into a deferred retirement account. The maximum amount must be budgeted. This benefit is in addition to regular county retirement contributions.

“The grand jury has not found any budgetary analysis of this impact. County administration stated that the beneficiaries of these raises were asked if their budgets could sustain the increased costs, and they answered in the affirmative. It was known at the time of the raises that the county was facing significant costs due to the October fires and the cannabis revenue shortfalls. There was no public discussion on whether or not these salary increases were sustainable.

(And that was before this July and August’s new fires…)

“At the March 27, 2018, Board of Supervisors meeting, the administration presented the second quarter budget report and stated that the current cost of operating the county juvenile hall was ‘unsustainable.’ In the development of the 2018-19 fiscal year budget, the administration has proposed capping the allowable net county cost to $1.1 million for the operation of the Mendocino County juvenile justice program. This is inadequate to keep juvenile hall open. If there is no juvenile hall in the county, then the youthful offenders would most likely be housed in another county’s juvenile hall.”

THERE IS STILL NO “budgetary analysis” of the impact of all those big pay increases gifted to top County officials, including the Supervisors themselves. Those undeserved raises alone would have covered much of the Juvenile Hall budget gap. But the Supes’ proposed Grand Jury report sidesteps and ignores this giant elephant in the room.

SPEAKING OF SHERIFF’S OVERTIME (which we know is escalating as the 2018 Inferno drags on and is likely to expand further as fire season gets worse), readers may recall that CEO Angelo and her deputy Janelle Rau promised the Board in early June that they would closely track overtime in the Sheriff’s Department because they knew it was ridiculous to budget just $300k for it.

On June 8, Ms. Rau told the Board:

“I have been working with the Sheriff's office on their budget. They did go through some budget balancing strategies [translation: they made some ridiculous assumptions]. And, working with their budget officer Kyra [the Sheriff’s budget analyst] and the Sheriff himself, they did do some reductions to meet net County cost. [Arbitrary cuts.] With that is an understanding that the executive office is going to be working with them hand in hand and in turn with the board, meaning that we will be coming to you -- and there are descriptions in the information to you -- monthly, not quarterly. We will be coming to you with adjustments as they are necessary. We have made that arrangement with the Sheriff to say, You let us know when there is an issue so we will have discovered that between all of us here if there is one. Overtime was one of them. We knew it was out there. It is a strategy that we will watch. And that we will look at their vacancy factors as well to see in their total 1000 series [general fund] where they will be. It's a different approach this year. But we have been working on it effectively. Kyra and I started working on it this last year in July to make sure we could come here and feel good about what we are giving you and actually give you the confidence that we will be informing you as we go along as well.”

IT’S NOW AUGUST and — as we rather obviously predicted — there’s been no overtime reporting. (Staff provides no regular reporting on anything, really.) And the Board agenda for the August 7 Board meeting next week makes no mention of overtime whatsoever, although, again obviously, there’s lots of it going on with the fire emergency/disaster.

WHEN WILL MENDO’S out of control spending (they’ve blown through well over $1 million on the failed pot permit program alone, not to mention the huge salary giveaways to themselves and their colleagues) catch up with them? And will CEO Angelo, who frequently uses her alleged budget balancing skills as a tool to keep the Supervisors off her back, be held responsible when it all blows up?

(Mark Scaramella)

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 2, 2018

ALEXIS AGUIRRE, Lakeport/Clearlake. Domestic abuse.

JOHN ALAMEDA, Lakeport. Entering a closed disaster area.

ANTHONY APODACA, Oakland/Ukiah. Probation revocation.

LEVI BANKS, Lakeport. Entering a closed disaster area.

BRADLEY BASTIAN, DUI, entering a closed disaster area, evasion.

JORDAN BOWYER, Nice/Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area, controlled substance, false ID, taking vehicle without owner’s consent, receiving stolen property.

MYISHA BRAZIEL-CARADINE, Ukiah. Disobeying a court order.

JAMES BROWN SR., Redwood Valley. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, indecent exposure, probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

JESSE DAVIDSON, Covelo. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, battery.

BRITTANY DAVIS, Ukiah. Mandatory supervision sentencing.

STEVEN ELLIOTT, Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area, possession of burglary tools.

TACOMA ELLIOTT, Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area.

GLARYCE GIBBONS, Covelo. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, criminal threats.

JEDIDIAH GOSSETT, El Granada/Ukiah.Probation revocation.

TRAVIS JONES, Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area, burglary tools, no license, probation revocation.

WILLIAM LYONS, Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area, controlled substance, probation revocation.

GARY MAYHOOD, Nice. Entering closed disaster area, controlled substance, transportation of controlled substance, paraphernalia.

JAMES MILES, Probation revocation.

DENA MORRIS, Redwood Valley. Probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

SHAWN MORRISON, Montara/Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area, disorderly conduct-alcohol.

CHARLES NIELSEN II, Guerneville/Lakeport. Entering a closed disaster area.

JACOB PARMELY, Ukiah. Parole violation.

WILLIAM PIMENTEL, Nice. Entering closed disaster area, burglary tools.

ERIC QUADRIO, Nice. Entering closed disaster area, burglary during an emergency, evasion, resisting, receiving stolen property, unlawful display of registration, failure to appear, probation revocation.

CLIFFORD SHORES, Kelseyville. Entering closed disaster area, no license, resisting.

GERALD SILVA, Entering closed disaster area, burglary, disorderly conduct-loitering.

DAVID SPARKS, Nice. Entering closed disaster area.

BRIAN TAFFI, Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area.

RAYMOND TRIPPO, Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area.

BRIAN TURNER, Santa Clara/Lakeport. Entering closed disaster area, burglary tools, controlled substance, paraphernalia, probation revocation.

MARKAUS VINING, Clearlake. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

CEDRICK WILLIAMS-JACK, Lakeport. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

THEY SAY there are three things that will not remain long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. The truth is the Northern Hemisphere is roasting. England set a new high temperature, eclipsing 350 years’ worth of records, on “Furnace Friday” and the once-green countryside of the island nation is now brown. Montreal set a new record, too, with 80 people dying in a heat-wave of 98 degrees. Meanwhile, Sodankyla, Finland — 59 miles north of the Arctic Circle — hit 90 degrees. Japan’s new record was 109 degrees, 80 people have died in massive wildfires in Greece, and Oman set the highest “low” temperature (the lowest temperature over a 24-hour period) ever recorded on the planet at 109 degrees. — George Ochenski

I COMPLAINED that the rhododendrons were late showing up this year. In consideration of the rhododendrons' feelings I now withdraw that complaint. They more than made up for their slow arrival. Thanks, rhodies!

Also, I'd like to make a plea for Morgan Freeman, swept up (or getting swept up) in the sexual-harassment net, which is a wide net. He made suggestive talk with a lady reporter, who told on him this spring.

Freeman's 81. (Full disclosure: I'm hot on his trail.) He told his interviewer that he imagined her "without a stitch." She said afterward that expression was obscure to her. She said she wasn't offended until she reviewed the meeting and learned that without a stitch meant "naked." Then she was annoyed and wrote about it. Then eight other ladies said he annoyed them, too.

Do you remember the Satanism kerfuffle in the 80s? It started--or re-started--with a book published in Canada that told a lurid story of people summoning up the Devil and a young woman's nightmare involvement with them. I thought the story "fanciful" at best and it was. "The Devil" is a fanciful notion. After the book and the fallout from it had finished their considerable mischief, which included the ruin and imprisonment of falsely accused people, the whole Satanism construct slowly unraveled.

But before it did, one day a couple of ladies found me walking alone on the beach. They said, "We hear you're an investigative reporter." I should have said they had the wrong Mitch Clogg, but I was brand-new here and distracted by the then-absence in my life of any nice ladies like them. I could imagine them without a stitch, but I didn't say that, thank God.

Anyway--long story short--I got dragged into the Satanism thing and seriously spooked by it. "Be careful," they said. "They won't hesitate to kill you." I wasted a fair amount of precious time and energy satisfying myself that it was all nuts, and I heard some amazing crackpot stories along the way. There's a lingering involuntary reaction in me when I pass certain places "known" to be the abodes of particularly treacherous warlocks, etc. (My face is red.)

The accusations against Morgan Freeman remind me of that period. Freeman acted like a jackass a couple of times, but he and I can both remember when "suggestive" was not considered an assault. It was a manly perk, acceptable behavior in any red-blooded, heterosexual man. (She should be flattered!) People in bygone days would be more likely to comment on his virility at this age. Nobody has said he touched, patted, drugged, tied up, promised stardom or threatened anybody. If he did, I'll withdraw my little bleat of defense for him, just as I withdraw my complaints about the rhododendrons.

All that's changed and should be. Feminism über alles! We're way past time for things to even out--at the pay-window and everyplace else--but men will always be men, and it will take some time before we all get it.

In the meantime, I'd like to see the witch-hunt limited to our Devil-In-Chief, who is a right shithead and deserves to be burned at the stake. If anything might make me believe in Satanism, it's him, not Morgan Freeman.

–Mitch Clogg

ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy

by Siva Vaidhyanathan – review

What’s needed, in other words, is political will, informed by a clear analysis of the social harm that this corporation is fostering. For this we need good, informed critiques such as this book. Given Facebook’s dominance, it will be a long haul, but then, as the Chinese say, the longest journey begins with a single step. Professor Vaidhyanathan has just taken it.

theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/25/anti-social-media-how-facebook-disconnects-us-undermines-democracy-siva-vaidhyanathan-review

NATURE SKETCHBOOK WORKSHOP

Sunday, August 12 from 10:00AM to 3:00PM

Instructor: Pam Luer, artist and instructor for nearly 20 years, licensed product artist at Target, Crate & Barrel, and more.

What better way to learn to draw the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens' surroundings than under the guidance of a professional artist who specializes in natural-based designs? Begin class with a nature walk alongside a horticultural staff member of the Gardens who will help sharpen your observational skills as you explore the flora and fauna of the Gardens. At the same time, with Pam's expert guidance, participants will learn to observe and draw in new ways while expanding their understanding of the natural world. You will learn how to closely observe nature which will not only help you grow as an artist but expand your experiences in nature as well. This all-day workshop is for anyone who wants to add an element of art while “on the go” — in your backyard, park, or on your next vacation. All you need is a love of nature, an inquisitive eye, and a few carefully selected drawing tools. Put skills to use right away and enjoy the rewards of documenting the everyday beauty that is all around.

Either bring your own supplies (see list at https://www.gardenbythesea.org/calendar/nature-sketchbook/) or purchase supplies from Racine’s Office & Art Supplies for a 10% discount. No experience necessary, class size limited to 12 participants.

Schedule Details:

Sunday, August 12 for 10:00 AM to 3:00PM (10:00AM - 12:00PM intro and 1st assignment;

12:00 - 12:45 lunch break, bring your own or dine at Rhody's Cafe;

12:45 - 3:00 2nd assignment and wrap-up)

$60 MCBG member (https://www.gardenbythesea.org/about-the-gardens/membership/) $90 non-member, includes Gardens admission for the day.

Payment is due upon sign-up. Please note, all workshop fees are non-refundable unless the workshop has been canceled or rescheduled by the Gardens. Sign up by phoning 707-964-4352 ext. 16 or stop by The Garden Store at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.

RIGHT-WING ADOPTS SOCIALIST REALISM

 

 

Thanks to Daily Kos for the above.

The above is reminiscent of the "art" produced by Communist regimes:

 

 

 

 

(Rob Anderson, District5Diary)

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

Up to now, single-payer and universal health coverage proposals in the U.S. have foundered on one shoal or another: They’re ungodly expensive; they replace plans that people like; they’re too sudden; they’re not sudden enough; they’re politically impossible, etc., etc., etc.

But now take a look at “Medicare Extra for All.” It’s a universal coverage proposal released last week by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank associated with the Democratic Party.

latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-medicare-extra-20180227-story.html

FUNKACILLIN & GRAMPAS CHILI!

Friday, August 3rd-10 pm, Ukiah Brewing Company

grampaschili.net/event/2331847/471485802/grampa-s-chili-w-funkacillin

“Tonight at eleven: That giant asteroid that’s about to obliterate the planet — how will it affect the midterm elections?”

IDENTITY POLITICS WEAKENS THE LEFT

Since the latter part of the 20th century, a liberally-inspired tendency has taken root amongst the Left (in the West at least) that encourages departure from a single identity based on class in favour of multiple identities based upon one’s gender, sexuality, race or any other dividing factor. Each subgroup, increasingly alienated from all others, focuses on the shared identity and unique experiences of its members and prioritises its own empowerment. Anyone outside this subgroup is demoted to the rank of ally, at best...‘An injury to one is an injury to all’ has been replaced with something like ‘An injury to me is all that matters’. No socialist country, whether in practice or in name only, promoted identity politics...It is much easier to ‘struggle’ against an equally or slightly less oppressed group than to take the time and effort to unite with them against the common enemy - capitalism...Identity politics is typically a modern middle-class led phenomenon that helps those in charge keep the masses divided and distracted. In the West you are free to choose any gender or sexuality, transition between these at whim, or perhaps create your own, but you are not allowed to question the foundations of capitalism or liberalism. Identity politics is the new opiate of the masses and prevents organized resistance against the system.

rt.com/op-ed/434924-left-policy-identity-divided/

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

If the Fed has got uncounted trillions to feed into the monster-maw of the greatest, most all-encompassing criminal society the world has ever seen, and maybe ever WILL see, then surely to jesus they can scratch up a few bucks for the average joe. They can, can’t they? We can dream can’t we?

See, the guys that run things, ever oblivious, never even giving the slightest thought that the peon like us have eyes and can see and can think uncomplicated thoughts like why the fuck do they get to engorge themselves and guys like us don’t even get to wet our beaks?

To the extent that they give acknowledgement, they would tell us that we are thinking unworthy thoughts, that these complaints have no validity, that we are fomenting class warfare.

If you want a Venezuelization of the USA, this is one way to do it.

Trillions for the rich, impoverishment for the poor, has already got it well on its way.

GET A HISTORY — BLUE NORTHER #2

One other of the extremely rare stories Gus told me of his younger days was of him returning home on horseback during a very cold bit of weather. He’d put on every shred of clothing he was packing, pointed the pony toward the barn from miles away, stuck his hands deep in his pockets, and prayed. When he rode up to the house, people inside ran out and found he could barely speak. He couldn’t remove his hands from his pockets, and could not dismount alone. They called for help from inside, lifted him bodily off the pony and brought him into the kitchen. Someone took the horse, ‘Maud,’ to the barn, unsaddled and cared for her, bedding her down. Gus thawed out with the stove going and some coffee in him, and lived to ride another day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here...nor any of my kids, nor theirs...

Rick Weddle

LEND AN EAR

The Ukiah Library will be hosting: Lend An Ear: A Workshop on How to Listen & Support Loved Ones in Sharing their Difficult Stories

Teens and adults are welcome to attend a workshop on how to listen & support loved ones in sharing their difficult stories. The workshop will be taught by Margo Frank, LCSW & Jo-Ann Rosen, LMFT & be held on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7 pm starting Aug. 7th. Please call 463-4490 to sign up so we can estimate attendance - no personal info needs to be provided.

For more information please contact Melissa at the Ukiah Library: 234-2864 or carrm@mendocinocounty.org