Mendocino County Today: Friday, Aug. 10, 2018

• Complex Update
• Eel Contained
• June Lemons
• Firenado
• Skyhawk Recovery
• Vacant Properties
• Districting FB
• Voter Rights
• FB Candidates
• Port Road
• PG&E Bill
• Phone Scam
• Little Dog
• Getting Wrucked
• Best Bros
• Apple Press
• Yesterday's Catch
• Cartel Arson
• WikiLeaks Persecution
• Apple Buybacks
• Coverup
• Poem Betrayed
• Grange Dinner
• Dixieland Dance
• Longevity Secrets
• Good Bread
• Capitalist System
• Mendocino Theatre
• Beautiful Day
• Homeless Services

THE RIVER FIRE (smaller of the two Mendocino Complex fires) didn’t grow much on Thursday and at 7 pm was estimated at about 49,000 acres with 87% containment. The much bigger Ranch Fire was up 256,000 acres with 49% containment. Evacuations remained in place but no road closures were listed. Together the two fires have destroyed 119 residences and 3826 firefighters are still working hard to maintain and increase containment.

CALFIRE, Thursday, August 9: "The River Fire continues to be monitored. Containment lines are still holding and crews are patrolling the area for any hot spots. Crews are beginning suppression repair and continue to mop up the burned areas. The Ranch Fire crews are beginning suppression repair and mop up in the southern section of the fire. The fire crews worked to hold existing dozer lines and continue to add new dozer lines as a contingency plan. In the northern section fire crews are prepping structures and looking for opportunities to go direct on the fire. In the Snow Mountain Wilderness very smoky conditions and steep topography make it challenging to attack the fire front directly. Tonight crews will continue their objectives to searching for viable opportunities to safely engage the fire. Firefighters continue to battle the River and Ranch fires. Crews worked throughout the night Wednesday to reinforce containment lines while the fire behavior remained extreme. Weather conditions will continue to challenge firefighters as hot, dry and windy conditions persist."

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CALFIRE'S MENDOCINO COMPLEX UPDATE (Friday 7am): 307,447 acres; 60% containment.

"The Ranch Fire had moderate behavior last night on the northwest side. Today fire crews will continue bringing the fire line into the Mendocino National Forest, working to suppress the fire underneath Lake Pillsbury. Contingency lines will be built ahead of the fire. The northeast side of the fire will be scouted for opportunities to bring containment lines across the Snow Mountain Wilderness. A full air attack strategy will be utilized when visibility from smoky conditions permit. The River Fire continues to have suppression repair work performed and patrolled by fire crews."

MAP: cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/pub/cdf/images/incidentfile2175_3960.pdf

EEL FIRE 100 PERCENT CONTAINED

The Eel Fire, located 10 miles east of Covelo, is 100 percent contained at 972 acres. All areas and roads are open. The fire started July 31 and the cause is under investigation. After the fire is contained, there is still work to do to improve the fireline and patrol the area to ensure embers from smoldering vegetation do not spread outside the containment line. Seventy personnel remain on the incident including two crews, three engines, one dozer and two water tenders. This is the last update on the Eel Fire. Please use caution while traveling through the area as personnel and equipment are still working on the fire.

Punky Moore, Public Affairs Officer, Forest Service

BILLIE JUNE LEMONS

June 4, 1927 — August 7, 2018

At her home, surrounded by family, Billie June Lemons passed after a brief illness on August 7, 2018.

June was born on June 4, 1927 in McLoud, Oklahoma to Joe and Maude Basinger, the second of six children. She worked part-time at a local mercantile and still managed to graduate from the McLoud High School as valedictorian in 1945. Choosing not to pursue a teaching career, she instead married her longtime sweetheart Elmer Lemons. Shortly after that they moved to California. They welcomed son Tommy in the fall of 1946 and daughter Beverly in the fall of 1949. In the early 50s they ventured north, found Anderson Valley and made it there forever home.

Well rounded in her talents, June excelled in the home arts of gardening, canning, sewing and quilting. When her children became self-sufficient she joined the working class once more. June found means of keeping busy by packing apples, working in a laundromat, and working at Jack's Valley Store. In January 1973 the Philo Market was for sale. Elmer and June jumped at the opportunity and turned the gamble into a success. In 1981 the property also came on the market and with son Tom as partner they became not only operators of the store but owner-operators of the store and landlords and tenants of the trailer park and Philo Cafe.

June retired in 1992 at which time she took her hobbies to a whole new level. She enjoyed the Mendocino County Fair very much and has a box full of ribbons from her pieced quilts, embroidery, clothing projects, the zucchini bread, dill pickles, and canned salmon. June was famous for her rum cakes which raised thousands of dollars over the years for charitable auctions. In addition to spending time with her family, June enjoyed the Senior Citizens program in Boonville and was a docent for the Anderson Valley Museum for a long while.

June enjoyed her travels, having the opportunity to see the Statue of Liberty (that wasn't in a picture) and a play on Broadway. She enjoyed vacationing with her siblings on the beaches of Texas and once took a trip to Denali National Park in Alaska where she saw bear, moose and caribou. Along with Margie Miles she shot an Elk while on a hunting trip.

Active until the end she still had a quilt in progress still attached to her sewing machine. She will be missed.

June is survived by her children William Thomas Lemons (Connie), Beverly Lemons Daniels (Steve), grandchildren Thomas Edward Lemons, Tonya Daniels Miles (Jeremy), Jonathan Matthew Lemons (Erica), Tracy Annette Daniels, Daniel Wade Lemons, and seven great-grandchildren. June is also survived by her sister Keitha McAdoo (Dean), brothers Lonny Basinger and Jimmy Basinger, and her sisters in law Pat Brown and Ann Basinger.

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Viewing: Sunday, August 12 from 11 to 1 PM, Eversole Mortuary, Ukiah

Graveside services will be held Monday, August 13 at 11:30 AM at the Evergreen Cemetery in Boonville.

A potluck will be held immediately following at the Anderson Valley Fairgrounds Apple Hall. Bring a desert or side dish if you choose.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Anderson Valley Health Center or Anderson Valley Senior Center.

FIRENADO

(Carr Fire / Photo courtesy SF Chronicle)

UPDATE ON SUPERVISOR CHRIS SKYHAWK THURSDAY

We saw the following posted Thursday morning @ 7:45 am.

Chris Skyhawk, who was running in the District 5 Mendocino Supervisors race, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Tuesday, June 26th and was flown out of Fort Bragg to a Bay Area hospital with a top-notch neuro unit. He underwent surgery to remove excess blood from his brain as he was at risk of losing his life. The surgery went well but they did not know the extent of the damage. Chris is now in a rehab facility in San Leandro, as it was not possible to get a placement closer to home: “Chris is finally able to eat real food, after six weeks of tube feeding! The speech therapists have worked with him on strengthening his swallowing and an X-ray verified that it is now safe for him to have everything except thin liquids. This will help his recovery a lot. PT and OT continue to work with having him sit and stand and gain more control over his left side. Life in an SNF is driving him crazy as it's so busy and noisy, but it's actually a good facility and they are doing everything they can to make sure he progresses. The aim is to get him into an acute rehab facility when he is strong enough. Navigating the system is a full-time job for me.

Samantha Abbott

Here’s a link where you can follow his progress: caringbridge.org/visit/updatesonchrisskyhawk

(via MendocinoSportsPlus)

FORT BRAGG’S VACANT PROPERTY SURVEY

Buried deep, deep, deep — page 77 of 127 to be precise — in the Fort Bragg City Council agenda packet for their Monday, August 13 City Council meeting is this intriguing item:

“Receive Vacant Property Report Update, Consider Community Development Committee Recommendation to Amend Chapter 6.12 [Nuisances] of the Fort Bragg Municipal Code to Include Maintenance Standards for Vacant Commercial Buildings and Provide Direction to Staff”

“At the July 24, 2017 City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Lee requested that staff develop an inventory of vacant residential and commercial properties in Fort Bragg and identify options to address vacant property issues. The purpose of this effort was to identify potential ways to increase the inventory of rentable housing units in Fort Bragg and support economic growth. The City Council directed staff to obtain input from the Community Development Committee (CDC) as part of the process.

"In January 2018, sixty-one letters were mailed to addresses obtained from a City of Fort Bragg Utility Bill Report listing inactive water meters. A summary of the findings was presented to the CDC on April 5, 2018 at which time committee members directed staff to do the following:  Telephone survey respondents and local property management companies to gather specific details and gain a clearer understanding of the factors that may motivate and/or constrain reuse of vacant property;  Contact the Police Department about trespassing authorization protocol;  Develop an informational brochure about building maintenance expectations and the building permit process; and  Provide an analysis and recommendation regarding a Commercial Vacant Property Ordinance.

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“RESIDENTIAL: Fort Bragg, along with the rest of California, is experiencing a housing shortage. This housing shortage has driven up home prices and rents, creating a crisis for those needing housing. However in the past year, the number of long-term vacant properties has declined as properties have sold and/or been rehabilitated for use. Currently, short-term vacancy rates in Fort Bragg are very low (under 3%) illustrating the difficulty for people to find housing and driving up rental rates. For addition information about the long-term vacant property survey report, please see CDC staff reports from April 5 and July 24, 2018 for details (Attachments 2 and 3). Staff has concluded, and CDC has concurred, that the long-term vacancy issue has been solved in the past year by market forces.

“COMMERCIAL: Staff interviewed business owners and managers. Of the 24 business owners and/or managers staff contacted, 22 stated that vacant storefronts negatively impact their business and expressed an interest in developing an ordinance to help regulate vacant properties.

“According to survey respondents, the cost and need for building repairs is the primary reason residential properties remain vacant. In many instances these repairs are costly and property owners may not have the funds to complete the necessary upgrades for residences to be move-in ready. Given that only one commercial property owner responded to the survey it is difficult to know if commercial properties are also vacant due to disrepair, or if they are vacant for other reasons.

“With that said, staff recommends developing two separate approaches regarding residential and commercial vacancies based on the different impacts commercial and residential vacancies have on our community. For instance, commercial vacancies in the Central Business District (the civic, cultural and commercial center of our community) are a visual blight, which may negatively impact economic performance of other retailers and detour new investment. Whereas the effects of vacant residential units result in removing much needed housing units for our residents and can negatively impact the property value and vitality of neighborhoods.

“The specifics of what should be included in such an ordinance varied, but the majority agreed on the following: Require windows on the façade to be clean; Require the building and vestibule be clear of trash and debris; and Clearly post contact information so interested persons who wish to rent, lease or buy the property can speak to a local contact. In addition, CDC also recommends: Fines for chronic vacancy (longer than a year).

According to the attached survey (on page 86 of the agenda packet)

“In January 2018, 61 survey-letters were mailed to addresses obtained from a City of Fort Bragg Utility Bill Report with inactive water meters that were inactive for more than three months. This is the easiest mechanism for the City to identify likely vacant properties. Of these 61 survey-letters, 27 responses were received from property owners, for about a 44% response rate. Only one of the responses was for commercial structures, and thus there is insufficient data to analyze commercial buildings. Consequently the survey results summarized below pertain only to residential structures.”

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TURNS OUT that half of the residential vacancies in the survey responses were because “Property in a family trust and either decisions have not been made and/or future investment.” Second was “property listed for sale.” Third was “negative experience with problem tenants, reluctant to rent,” and fourth,  “requires significant repair/upgrades to be move-in ready.”

“Recommended action: Staff recommends the Community Development Committee recommendation to City Council considering a Vacant Property Ordinance for Commercial Buildings that outlines and defines the standards for maintenance, and a separate registration process for vacant residential properties that will provide updated contact information of owners.

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DOES THE COUNTY OF MENDOCINO have a similar building vacancy problem with similar options? Would the County ever consider surveying vacant properties? There are obviously plenty of empty buildings which would be candidates for re-hab or outright use. The only other reason we can think of for buildings remaining empty is water and septic problems, common in unincorporated areas, which didn’t come up in Fort Bragg’s survey because FB boasts municipal infrastructure.

AMONG THE MANY STEPS the County could take to chip away at the housing problem, we can now add a vacant building inventory and rehab listing.

WE'VE PREVIOUSLY SUGGESTED  what the County could  do to expand housing stock: more serious attention to the County’s Housing Element of the General Plan; rent control; designation of county property where trailer parks could be developed; higher density on parcels larger than one acre; allow large parcels of flat developable land (with sewer and water access) to be subdivided into smaller parcels; reduce the permit fees on all new homes with a footprint of less than 1400 square feet to a flat fee of $500. On the coast remove all acreage from the coastal zone that is not blufftop or restricting ocean access, have the building department provide some preapproved plan sets for modest energy-efficient single-family residences, upgrade the Class K permit option as an alternative to the Uniform Building Code which seems to get more expensive to follow every year, and appoint a County Housing Czar to bring all options onto the table and push them and regularly report to the Board of Supervisors.

OF COURSE, Mendo County being a minimum effort county hostile to novel strategies for problem solving, the only proposals for easing the housing crisis have been occasional rhetoric with no follow-up. A housing survey along the lines of Fort Bragg's would be a logical first step for the county, but....

(Mark Scaramella)

FORT BRAGG’S BY-DISTRICT ELECTION PROCESS

The second public hearing to receive input from the Community on how the districting map of Fort Bragg should be drawn is scheduled for Monday, August 13th during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

The purpose of this public hearing and the one conducted on July 23rd is to provide City leaders with direction on what is important to the Community in establishing the districts.

The basic criterion is that each of the five districts should have approximately equal population or 1,455 people per district. If the City Council adopts a by-district election system, the boundaries of a district will determine who will run within that district. This impacts which City Councilmember candidates you will be able to vote for in the City. The boundaries also determine who else will be voting in your district. The interest and background of the other voters in your district will influence who is elected to City Council to represent your district.

The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) was enacted to guarantee minorities, based on race, color or language, equal protection and the right to vote under the California Constitution. Because of this, we have focused on the number and distribution of Hispanic/Latino (protected class) voters in Fort Bragg. It is important to remember the City is made up of people of all ages, backgrounds, education levels, affiliations, political parties and interest. Hispanic/Latino voters are currently less than 15% of the City’s registered voters.

Based on the American Communities Survey information, of the 2,788 households in Fort Bragg, 33% earn less than $25,000 and 20% earn more than $75,000. Only 39% of those households own their homes and 61% rent. Of the total 3,198 housing units in the City, 25% are multi-family and 75% are single-family units.

There are 4,946 residents age 25 years or older. Of those, 17% do not have a High School degree, 61% have only a High School degree, 16% have a bachelor’s degree and 7% hold a graduate degree.

There are 3,487 registered voters in Fort Bragg, representing 2,211 households. Of those voters, 1,828 are registered Democrats, 553 registered Republicans, 26 registered Libertarians, 62 registered Green, 20 registered Peace & Freedom, 6 registered Reform and 992 registered Independents.

Even if you are not in favor of by-district elections, I encourage you to participate in the process of determining the district boundaries. One of the more important criteria, besides roughly equal population, for determining district boundaries is communities of interest. Communities of interest include such factors as: neighborhoods, retail and commercial districts, voting precincts and shared similarities such as income level, educational level or family composition.

So the question is - what community of interest is most valuable to you?

(Fort Bragg City Manager Tabatha Miller)

A FIGHT OVER VOTER RIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA

District elections a la Fort Bragg at issue…

wsj.com/articles/a-fight-over-voter-rights-in-california-1533807003

FOUR FORT BRAGG CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES CONFIRMED; NOMINATION PERIOD STILL OPEN

Four candidates have filed nomination papers for Fort Bragg City Council, all of which have been certified as “Sufficient” by the County Elections Office, according to City Elections Official June Lemos. Those candidates are: Tess Albin-Smith, Forester/Musician/Bookkeeper; Rubén Alcalá, Retail Manager; Dana Jess, General Contractor/Employer; and incumbent Lindy Peters, Mayor.

“As of August 8, seven qualified persons have been issued nomination papers,” Lemos said. “Of those, four have been returned and certified as sufficient.”

Had all three incumbents filed for reelection, the nomination period would close on Friday, August 10. But because two of the three incumbents, Councilmembers Dave Turner and Michael Cimolino, have stated they do not intend to run for reelection, Fort Bragg registered voters will likely have until the 83rd day before the election to nominate candidates other than those two incumbents. The nomination period will therefore be extended to Wednesday, August 15, 2018, pursuant to the California Elections Code.

Persons interested in running for City Council should contact June Lemos, CMC, at (707) 961-1694 to make an appointment to pull nomination papers.

If the nomination period is extended as expected, nominees will have until 5:00 PM on August 15 to return their paperwork. Once the County Elections Office certifies to the sufficiency of the nomination papers, the qualifying candidates will be eligible to appear on the November ballot.

An updated Press Release will be issued at the close of the nomination period stating the names of all qualified candidates for the three available Fort Bragg City Council seats.

The election is Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

(Fort Bragg City Press Release)

POINT ARENA PORT ROAD MAINTENANCE PROJECT TO BEGIN AUGUST 14

Port Road in Point Arena will be subject to one lane traffic control beginning August 14 through August 17 from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm as part of the Port Road Maintenance Project.  The first phase of the project entails asphalt removal, dig outs, new compacted road base and relaying of asphalt in the portions of roadway and bike lane that have suffered base failures.  Cracks in the asphalt surface of the road will be filled and sealed.  The second phase of the project entails application of slurry seal sometime in September.  The project was designed by SHN Engineering in Fort Bragg with construction performed by Wylatti Resource Management in Covelo. SB1 Local Partnership Program Funds is providing $200,000 for the project with additional funds coming from the Mendocino Council of Governments.  SB 1, The Road Repair and Accountability Act, invests more than $5 billion annually directly for maintenance, repair, and safety improvements on state highways, local streets and roads, bridges, tunnels and overpasses. $200 million in funding for the Local Partnership Program helps match locally generated transportation funds.

(Point Arena City Press Release)

NO BAILOUT FOR PG&E

Editor:

I am writing regarding Sunday’s Press Democrat article about Assembly Bill 33, which would authorize PG&E to sell state-authorized bonds to finance the utility’s liability for the October fires (“Bill seeks to repay PG&E’s losses”). This would be paid by us through our utility bills.

I was particularly struck by the PG&E representative’s statement that, to paraphrase, the laws that were built for yesterday aren’t sufficient for the risks we face today. That reads to me as the laws today don’t adequately insure us against our own malfeasance.

While PG&E reasonably argues that weather conditions exacerbated the destruction caused by the fires, which is likely true, this is a specious argument tantamount to saying yes, we know we lit the match, but we didn’t know it would be so bad. In fact, Cal Fire has determined that PG&E equipment caused 16 fires (not one match but 16) in October.

AB 33 would let PG&E off the hook and, even worse, charge not just all of us but the very people who were most tragically affected. Please urge your representatives to vote no on AB 33. Let’s not be forced to pay for PG&E’s egregious mistakes.

Steve Layton

Santa Rosa

DON'T FALL FOR THIS ONE

The victim of a Social Security phone scam will be getting his money back thanks to a sheriff’s deputy’s quick actions.

On August 9, 2018, at about 2:45 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a call from a Eureka man who had just been scammed.

According to the victim, he was contacted by someone claiming to be with the Social Security Administration and was instructed to send $13,000 in cash to resolve an alleged investigation. The scammers directed the victim to wrap the cash in clothing and then overnight the package through FedEx to an address in New Jersey. The victim sent the package but then became suspicious and contacted law enforcement.

A sheriff’s deputy contacted FedEx, who located the package at their shipping facility in New Jersey. The deputy was able to stop the package from being delivered and reroute it back to the victim. Law enforcement in New Jersey are now investigating the case.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reminds the public that law enforcement and other government agencies will never call you for bail money or any other type of payment in relation to an investigation. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be with a legitimate company or government agency asking you to send money, hang up and call the company/agency back at their publicly listed line.

Report scams to your local law enforcement and to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/.

Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “I'm thinking of entering a flower arrangement at this year's Fair. I've got some nice dahlias going, and the pink ladies are coming up, but all I've got to go with them are red geraniums and Shasta daisies, two of the most pedestrian flowers going! I defy anyone to make anything like an arrangement outta the floral talent on hand.”

HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATOR THREATENS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE OUTPOST, MAD RIVER UNION OVER REPORTING ON KHSU STRIFE

by Hank Sims (Lost Coast Outpost)

Craig Wruck, Humboldt State University’s vice president for advancement, has issued a legal threat against the Lost Coast Outpost for its reporting on recent internal strife at the university’s public radio station, KHSU.

Wruck issued a similar threat to the Mad River Union last week.

Specifically, Wruck’s lawyer — Los Angeles-based  attorney Deborah Drooz — objects to reporting concerning a letter that KHSU officer manager Lorna Bryant sent to university administrators and local elected representatives, in which Bryant claimed to be “traumatized” by a meeting with Wruck.

Among other sources, the Outpost obtained a copy of Bryant’s letter from Wruck himself, who forwarded it to Outpost reporter Ryan Burns from his university email address.

In the letter, which was addressed to university president Lisa Rossbacher and cc:’ed to Rep. Jared Huffman, State Senator Mike McGuire and others, Bryant described what she considered to be “abusive and demeaning” encounter with Wruck at a KHSU staff meeting. Though Bryant, who is black, did not call Wruck’s behavior “racist,” she said that she was disturbed by the fact that such an encounter happened at her workplace, against the backdrop of “the current national climate against people of color.”

Wruck told Burns that he and Bryant did talk over each other at times, during the course of the meeting, and that he apologized to her at the end of it. He said that he did not feel that there was a racial aspect to their argument, but allowed that Bryant may have seen it differently.

“[A]s a white man I always want to be sensitive to those things,” Wruck said, as quoted in the text of the story currently at issue. “If it felt that way to her I need to understand that. It certainly wasn’t my intention, but that’s not the point.”

For her part, Bryant underscored to Burns that she was not accusing Wruck of racism, but repeated the principal assertion in her letter — that Wruck had been insensitive during the encounter. “[F]or someone who understands sensitivity training and equity and respect and proper decorum, that wasn’t reflected in his encounter with all of us,” she said.

KHSU has been in turmoil since the firing of longtime programming director Katie Whiteside in May.

The demand for retraction from attorney Deborah Drooz can be found below, or in PDF form at this link.

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Re: Our Clients, Craig and Elizabeth Wruck

Dear Mr. Sims,

We represent Craig and Elizabeth Wruck. As you know, Mr. Wruck is Humboldt State University’s Vice President for University Advancement. In that capacity, he is responsible for the university’s public radio station, KHSU.

We write to call your attention to false and defamatory statements concerning Mr. Wruck that appeared in the pages of The Lost Coast Outpost (“The Outpost”) on Tuesday, July 24th.

On that date, the Outpost published an article by Ryan Burns entitled, “Citing Race, KHSU staffer Lorna Bryant Says She Was Verbally Abused by University Vice President.” (The “Article”) The Article arises from an alleged confrontation between Mr. Wruck and KHSU office manager Lorna Bryant during a staff meeting.

In the Article, The Outpost states that Mr. Wruck subjected Ms. Bryant to “abusive behavior,” “yelled at her” and “attempt[ed] to keep [her] from speaking.” The uncivil conduct reported in the article never occurred. Mr. Wruck is a soft-spoken, experienced school administrator. He did not “yell at” or “abuse” Ms. Bryant. Staff members who were present during the parties’ exchange would describe such an account as exaggerated and misleading.

By falsely imputing aggressive, disrespectful speech to an individual whose job it is to coordinate with university employees and implement university policies, the Article damages Mr. Wruck’s professional reputation. As such, it is libel per se and actionable in its own right.

But the article does not stop there. From its misleading headline to its inaccurate quotations, the article sends the false message that Mr. Wruck acted out of racial animus. Even Ms. Bryant does not claim that.

We begin with the headline, which explicitly states that Bryant claims that she was abused because of her race. “Citing Race, KHSU Staffer Lorna Bryant Says She Was Verbally Abused.” The headline is false, and Ms. Bryant has repeatedly denied making that claim. Indeed, the Article itself contains Ms. Bryant’s admission that she “would not go so far as to say” that Mr. Wruck purportedly mistreated her because she is black. Ms. Bryant’s denial also appears in her published statements to the Mad River Union. There, Ms. Bryant stated that she “never” “implied that Craig Wruck is a racist or treating [her] differently because” [she is] “African American.” (See August 1, 2018 article entitled, “KHSU crisis deepens as visioning begins.”)

The body of the Article reinforces the falsehood that Mr. Wruck abused Ms. Bryant because of her race. It emphasizes the “tense race relations across the country,” seizes upon Ms. Bryant’s comment that a “person of color” is entitled to “some level of respect” (implying that Mr. Wruck denied her that respect), and repeats Ms. Bryant’s statement that she was mistreated as “the only African American woman on the staff at KHSU.” It goes without saying that the article also republishes Ms. Bryant’s July 23, 2018 email to university colleagues in full, making The Outpost responsible for the republication.

To falsely accuse an individual of having engaged in specific abuses on racial grounds is undeniably defamatory per se. And where, as here, the defamatory message appears in a headline, it is actionable even if the body of the article were innocuous, which here clearly it is not. See, Eastwood v. National Enquirer, Inc., 123 F.3d 1249, 1256 (9th Cir.1997); Kaelin v. Globe Communications Corp., (9th Cir. 1998) 162 F.3d 1036. The Eastwood and Kaelin cases apply with particular force in this situation given that Internet search engines identify tag phrases, steer traffic toward them and create a virtual echo chamber of falsehoods. Simply stated, the article not only invites the inference that Mr. Wruck is a racist but pleads for it.

The Article is defamatory in yet another way. It republishes — in quotation marks the phrase, “Maybe next time I won’t have to yell at Lorna,” and falsely imputes that phrase to Mr. Wruck. Mr. Wruck never spoke those words, and by imputing them to him, the Article implies that he did “yell at” Ms. Bryant which he denies. The courts have held that the false imputation of a quote that alters the way a reasonable reader perceives the plaintiff is not only defamatory but shows “actual malice.” See Masson New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 111 S. Ct. 2419 (1991). In that case, the United States Supreme Court held that a purported direct quotation that differs in meaning from what the plaintiff actually said enjoys no protection under the First Amendment.

Because of your status as a “newspaper,” as that term is used in California Civil Code section 48(a), our clients notify you of an opportunity to ameliorate the reputational harm the Article has caused. In that regard, we request that the Outpost fully and unequivocally retract the following false statements and implications:

1. That Mr. Wruck yelled at and abused Ms. Bryant.
2. That Mr. Wruck’s actions toward Ms. Bryant were motivated by racism.
3. That Mr. Wruck stated, “maybe next time I won’t have to yell at Lorna.”

To be effective, the retraction must be published within three weeks of your receipt of this letter, in “substantially as conspicuous” a manner as the defamatory Article. We urge the Outpost to publish a retraction without undue delay.

Of course, you may wish to discuss these matters with us. We encourage you to contact the undersigned during business hours at your earliest convenience.

This letter is for your eyes only. You are not authorized to republish it.

Very truly yours,

Deborah Drooz

THE GANG’S ALL HERE

Dear Editor:

My love, respect and support to my friends and brothers Benny Keator, Joey Ryden, and Trevor Jackson.

You guys are all in my heart and in my prayers. To Benny I love you, bro, you're my best friend. We’ll be out soon. Keep your head up and always keep smiling. To Joey: I love you too, bro. I hope you get this message. You've got more heart than most ten dudes. Be cool and we’ll get you that space ship. And to Trevor: I read what you wrote to the editor a few months ago. It was pretty deep. I get out in a few months and I will write to you when I do. Stay solid homeboy. I'll talk to you soon. And last but not least a big thanks to the AVA for carrying this little message of light into some pretty dark places.

Thank you and sincerely,

Ben Abla BC9199

P.O. Box 8103

San Luis Obispo, CA 93409

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kymkemp.com/2017/08/29/ringleader-of-marijuana-robbery-arrested-said-mendocino-county-sheriffs-office/

THE BOONVILLE APPLE PRESS

We are beginning to get calls about using the apple press, which is now being stored in the Foodshed shed in Boonville. The press is not available for use this weekend due to Airport Day happening on the property where it is stored. We have a group of people who are qualified to oversee the use of the press and have volunteered to make themselves available to help those who have fruit to press this year. Those who have fruit to press can email avfoodshed@gmail.com to find out when someone will be available to meet them at the shed location. Happy Pressing!

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 9, 2018

JULIO AMADOR, Ukiah. Domestic abuse.

WILLIAM BETTEGA, Covelo. Domestic abuse, protective order violation, probation revocation.

JAMES BROWN SR., Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

JENNIFER DEGROOT, Ukiah. Failure to appear. (Frequent flyer.)

MICHAEL DONAHE SR., Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol. (Frequent flyer.)

TAYLOR HEUSCHKEL, Calpella. DUI.

CASEY IRELAND, Willits. False imprisonment, parole violation, prior strike.

JACOB JONES, Ukiah. Under influence.

PATRICK MULLIGAN, Arcata/Ukiah. Under influence.

ASHTON STONE, Point Arena. Controlled substance, paraphernalia.

DANIEL TAYLOR, Covelo. Failure to appear.

JOHN VANNOTE, Ukiah. Under influence, failure to appear.

SHEERY VEALS, Clearlake/Ukiah. Probation revocation.

* * *

NOT PICTURED:

AARON BLACK, Covelo. Criminal threats, probation revocation. (Booked 8/6/2018, but no booking photo)

JAMES BLANTON, Nice. Ammo possession by prohibited person. (Booked 8/4/2018, but no booking photo.)

CHRISTOPHER GORGONIO (Booked 8/4/2018, but no charges, no booking photo.)

BLAMING THE ‘CARTELS’

Editor,

Did Mexican drug cartels start the fires?

I wonder if I am alone in suspecting that the Mexican drug cartels played a role in starting this year's deadly fires. The massive fires have widely been described as unprecedented in both size and destruction, and certainly, global warming trends have been a major contributing cause.

But...

Local and federal law enforcement authorities – including some senior Department of Homeland Security officials with whom I spoke off the record – along with some big players in the legal marijuana business, have all noticed that the areas hit hardest by the fires are the very same places that California’s marijuana industry now legally grows recreational cannabis.

Mexican drug cartels – not just psychopathic criminals but also ruthless businessmen – don't want the competition from legal growers. Burning the legal marijuana crops would definitely drive up prices...prices that have been in a freefall since legalization started last year.

And its not just this year's crops that burned. No. No. No. Infrastructure burned, too, and it will take years to rebuild infrastructure.

Think about it.

All commercial grow operations need grow sites that are prepped.

Outdoor growing facilities need drip irrigation, high fences, and semi-permeable roofing.

Indoor facilities need greenhouses, HPS or LED grow lights, drip irrigation, recycled water, collected rainwater, , humidity control., and pest control.

All commercial grow operations need clone operations. And they need harvesting and processing operations.

But the 2018 fires destroyed everything…an investment in infrastructure in the many millions of dollars. It will take  years to recoup our losses. And it will take years to reboot the industry.

So ask yourself: Who has something to gain from the fires? Only the Mexican Mafia.

Only them.

Their grow operations are doing just fine back in Mexico.

–John Sakowicz, Ukiah

ED REPLY: There's no word yet from CalFire on the causes of either the River Fire or the larger Ranch Fire. The popular suspicion is that because they started within an hour of each other and not that far apart an arsonist is responsible. I understand informally that the cause of the Ranch Fire is known and not suspicious while the River Fire remains under investigation. As for cartel grows, no evidence has ever been produced that Mexican organized crime on the scale implied by the term “cartel” exists.

THE PERSECUTION OF JULIAN ASSANGE

"There used to be spaces within the so-called mainstream for unbiased discussion, for the airing of real grievances and injustices. These spaces have closed completely. The attacks on Julian Assange illustrate what has happened to the so-called free media in the West. I have been a journalist for a very long time and I have always worked within the mainstream, but the journalism I see now is part of a rapacious establishment and one of its prime targets is Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. This is precisely because WikiLeaks is producing the kind of journalism that they ought to be doing. WikiLeaks has in fact shamed journalists, which might help to explain the deeply personal abuse he has suffered. WikiLeaks has revealed what journalists should have revealed a long time ago."

— John Pilger

informationclearinghouse.info/49988.htm

APPLE’S CEO TIM COOK: Serf labor, Overpriced iPhones, and Wasted Burning Profits

by Ralph Nader

The New York Times screamed its Headline— “In 1997, Apple was 90 Days from Going Broke. On Thursday [Aug. 2, 2018], It Became the first publicly traded American company to be valued at…$1,000,000,000,000.” The first trillion dollar company!

The boosters and commentators cheered, adding, “How High Could it Go?” In CEO’s Tim Cook’s announcement, we learned that there were $20 billion more of the shareholders money spent on wasteful stock buybacks. Stock buybacks enable fatter compensation metrics for Apple’s bosses (see Steven Clifford’s The CEO Pay Machine). Corporate managers love stock buybacks.

Earlier this year Apple executives dictatorially announced that it was going to spend $100 billion to buying back its stock, without of course, receiving the owners-shareholders’ approval. The owners might have preferred that some of that amount be used to pay them greater cash dividends. More far-sighted shareholders consider the presumably longer-view: institutional shareholders might have recommended more productive and equitable uses for that vast sum.

Some suggestions: Two billion dollars (a mere 2 percent of that $100 billion) would double the wages of its 1.3 million serf-workers driven to the wall by Apple’s Chinese-based mega-factory contractor. Another two billion would have made major improvements in the global recycling of the present deadly (to the environment and workers) handling of toxic discarded iPhones and computers. Some of that $100 billion could have gone to productive investments, R&D, shoring up Apple’s pension plan, raising wages of Apple’s employees, paying Apple’s fair share of taxes or, consumers take note, lowering the prices of their over-priced phones and components.

Apple’s media cheerleaders can only see blizzards of dollars. They don’t see the damage that this touted “successful business model” is doing to Apple stakeholders.

Exceptionally, Mark Phillips in his page one New York Times story on Apple’s report takes note of the corporate concentration in business profits and markets. “Economists,” he writes, “are starting to look into whether the rise of so-called super-star firms is contributing to the lackluster wage growth, shrinking the middle class and raising income inequality in the United States. The vast social and political influence wielded by their mega-companies has prompted lawmakers to demand more regulation to rein them in.”

Apple’s business model rests on low wage-labor in China and gouging iPhone consumers in the U.S. The federal cops on the corporate antitrust beat have been asleep for years— a somnolence well recognized by Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google.

Phillips reports “Apple and Google provide the software for 99% of all smartphones. Facebook and Google take 59 cents of every dollar spent on online advertising in the United States. Amazon exerts utter dominance over online shopping and is quickly getting bigger, fast, in areas liking streaming of music and videos.”

The CEOs of these companies behave like “Emperors,” a designation levelled at Exxon/Mobile’s CEO years ago by prominent shareholder advocate Robert Monks at the company’s annual meeting. These new CEOs exude arrogance (sometimes with false Zuckerberg-like public humility). Once they hook their customers, the network costs for customers switching to a competition become higher with time and also serve to discourage any new would-be competitor. Years ago, dominant Hertz rent-a-car had Avis as a competitor. Who are the domestic non-collusive Avis equivalents to the aforementioned Big Four today?

The big institutional shareholders like Vanguard, Fidelity and giant worker pension-funds better wake up. Tim Cook can ignore small shareholder complaints with impunity. The big institutional shareholders, with their skilled staff, can get his attention. They can take a longer, responsible view and demand that he stop burning all their shareholder money with buybacks and give shareholders more in cash dividends and other important investments that produce productive and equitable outcomes.

Concentration of market power in other fields feed the likelihood of future instability through a domino effect. The top five megabanks in the U.S. control about half of the deposits, compared to about one-fifth twenty years ago. Labor’s annual share of the nation’s wealth gains have been declining since the 1990s. Speculation on Wall Street, slowed after the great crash of 2008, is roaring ahead toward the inevitable cliffs of unbridled greed. More taxpayer bailouts?

Grave risk levels are signaling caution; yet incredibly, a Republican Congress and Trump have loosened regulation on Wall Street.

As for you the people, your next big chance to grab hold of Congress and slow down these corporate supremacists comes in November. Do a little homework and find out who is on your side. “Slogan voters” are suckers.

Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer and author of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!

"A friend's daughter-in-law was told to 'cover up' while feeding her baby, so she did!"

THE NATION MAGAZINE BETRAYS A POET — AND ITSELF

I was the magazine’s poetry editor for 35 years. Never once did we apologize for publishing a poem.

by Grace Schulman

During the 35 years that I edited poetry for The Nation magazine, we published the likes of W.S. Merwin, Pablo Neruda, May Swenson, Denise Levertov, James Merrill and Derek Walcott. They wrote on subjects as varied as lesbian passion and nuclear threats. Some poems, and some critical views, enraged our readers and drove them to drop their subscriptions.

But never did we apologize for a poem we published. We saw it as part of our job to provoke our readers — a mission we took especially seriously in serving the magazine’s absolute devotion to a free press.

We followed a path blazed by Henry James, who in 1865 wrote a damning review of Walt Whitman’s “Drum Taps,” calling the great poem “arrant prose.” Mistaken, yes, but it was James’s view at the time. And it was never retracted.

Apparently the magazine has abandoned this storied tradition.

Last month, the magazine published a poem by Anders Carlson-Wee. The poet is white. His poem, “How-To,” draws on black vernacular.

Following a vicious backlash against the poem on social media, the poetry editors, Stephanie Burt and Carmen Giménez Smith, apologized for publishing it in the first place: “We made a serious mistake by choosing to publish the poem ‘How-To.’ We are sorry for the pain we have caused to the many communities affected by this poem,” they wrote in an apology longer than the actual poem. The poet apologized, too, saying, “I am sorry for the pain I caused.”

I was deeply disturbed by this episode, which touches on a value that is precious to me and to a free society: the freedom to write and to publish views that may be offensive to some readers.

In my years at The Nation, I was inspired by the practical workings of a free press. We lived by Thomas Jefferson’s assertion that “error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.” And no one was a greater defender of press freedom and of writers’ right to be wrong than Victor Navasky, who succeeded Blair Clark as editor in chief in 1978.

One defense in the late 1980s risked losing Discovery/The Nation, an annual contest in which the poets who won the prize read their work at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan and simultaneously had it published in the magazine. The Y’s board, which sponsored the contest, suggested dropping The Nation’s participation after it published an article by Gore Vidal that some people deemed anti-Semitic.

I remember Mr. Vidal’s piece. I detested it and his views. But I’d learned by then the crucial importance of a free press to a democracy.

I asked for Mr. Navasky’s help in saving the contest. And no, he would never have rebuked the offensive article and apologized.

Instead, he wrote a letter to the board of the Y explaining The Nation’s way. He said, in effect, that when we invite a writer to contribute to the magazine, our aim is to help that person articulate his or her own view as clearly as possible. As I recall, the copy editors went to town on factual and grammatical errors, but left what Jefferson called errors of opinion.

Mr. Navasky’s defense of Mr. Vidal’s piece did not at all reflect indifference to the poetry contest. On the contrary, he cared for it, speedily sent over the magazines that contained the winners’ poems and often came to the readings. But his position on free speech was uncompromising.

How far we have come from those idealistic, courageous days. As Katha Pollitt, a columnist for The Nation, put it, the magazine’s apology for Mr. Carlson-Wee’s work was “craven” and “looks like a letter from re-education camp.” She also rightly suggested that the proper thing to do would have been to publish a page of responses. That would have been in keeping with the expectations of a free press.

The broader issue here, though, is the backward and increasingly prevalent idea that the artist is somehow morally responsible for his character’s behavior or voice. Writers have always presented characters with unwholesome views; F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Dickens and Shakespeare come immediately to mind. One wonders if editors would have the courage to publish Robert Lowell’s “Words for Hart Crane” or Ezra Pound’s “Sestina: Altaforte” today.

It would not be proper for me to comment on the aesthetic merits of Mr. Carlson-Wee’s piece. That’s the job of the magazine’s current poetry editors. But going forward, I’d recommend they follow Henry James’s example. Just as he never apologized for his negative review of Whitman, they had zero reason to regret their decision.

Grace Schulman was poetry editor at The Nation from 1971-2006. She is the author of seven books of poetry and the recipient of the Frost Medal for distinguished lifetime achievement in American poetry. Her memoir, “Strange Paradise,” comes out this month.

* * *

THE OFFENDING POEM IS CALLED "HOW-TO"

The AVA's editorial board thinks it's pretty good:

HOW-TO

If you got hiv, say aids. If you a girl,

say you’re pregnant––nobody gonna lower

themselves to listen for the kick. People

passing fast. Splay your legs, cock a knee

funny. It’s the littlest shames they’re likely

to comprehend. Don’t say homeless, they know

you is. What they don’t know is what opens

a wallet, what stops em from counting

what they drop. If you’re young say younger.

Old say older. If you’re crippled don’t

flaunt it. Let em think they’re good enough

Christians to notice. Don’t say you pray,

say you sin. It’s about who they believe

they is. You hardly even there.

SPAGHETTI DINNER WHITESBORO GRANGE SATURDAY

A traditional SPAGHETTI DINNER will be held at the Whitesboro Grange on Saturday, August 11th from 4-7 p.m. On the menu are salad, spaghetti with Bob Canclini’s famous sauce (meat or vegetarian), garlic bread, beverage and pie or cake for dessert. Adults $8, age 6-12 half price, children under 6 eat FREE. The community and public are invited for a great meal. Whitesboro Grange is located 1.5 miles east on Navarro Ridge. Watch for signs just south of the Albion Bridge.

GLORIANA MUSICAL THEATRE PRESENTS BOB AYRES' THE DIXIE DEVILS!

Adding to the fun of the great Paul Bunyan Days, the community is once again invited to support Gloriana Musical Theatre with an authentic Dixieland dance concert featuring Bob Ayres' The Dixie Devils. Please come support the appearance of real Dixieland music and dance in Fort Bragg! (And bring your dancing shoes!)

Sunday, September 2, 4 PM to 7 PM

Location: Eagles Hall, 210 N. Corry St, Fort Bragg

Beer/Wine/Soft drinks/Snacks

$15 at the door

For more info contact Walter Kimmelman at:  213-590-8134

THREE CENTENARIAN ICELANDERS SHARE THEIR SECRETS FOR LONGEVITY

grapevine.is/news/2018/08/07/three-centenarian-icelanders-share-their-secrets-for-longevity/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES BALDWIN.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Is it in MY best interest to have Jose and Maria genuflect and put their little ones in “jesus’ hands” and send them along a route of bandits and rapists and profiteers… so they can maybe get a green card and a job operating an air nozzle blasting the flesh off the skulls of cows 40 hours a week in some sweltering factory in the midwest so fat Americans can feed their dogs grain-free chow?

Instead of consigning your “brothers and sisters” to this madness, why not go live there, and put a bullet in the heart of every gang member and pedophile priest? Does pacifism have any use in a world overheating due to rapacious American consumerism? When this way of life basically guarantees the death of the planet within 80 years?

Where is the justice in providing a feedstock for this corporate Earth-killing machine? Who exactly benefits from adding more Americans to have big families, genuflect in form of Pope, and drive SUVs from shop to shop buying plastic wrapped crap?

How do you justify, to the 12 year olds of the world, advocacy for a system that is destroying every habitat, everything worth living for, all the life support systems, and the rest? Because that’s what migrant amnesty amounts to in real terms. Behind your compassion is a zeal for revenge and its understandable. But the long view is that there are better odds for turning America’s reprehensible state of affairs around if we can starve the Capitalist system of labor and industry. And as long as they can import obedient slaves, they will remain in power and we will be on course for the final destruction of all life on Earth.

BECKY'S NEW CAR CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND!

Now playing on the Mendocino Theatre Company's stage: Steven Dietz's smart comedy BECKY'S NEW CAR, directed by Virginia Reed <http://mendocinotheatre.org/reed-bio/>.  Becky Foster (Pamela W. Allen) is a middle-aged office manager who has been comfortably married to her contractor husband, Joe (Raven Deerwater), for twenty-eight years. When a wealthy widower (Steven Jordan) stumbles into her office one night, she finds herself faced with an unexpected choice, which pulls her in two directions and leads her on a surprising journey.  ‘Becky’s New Car’ plays Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, with three Sunday matinees, through September 9th.  For tickets, phone the box office at 707-937-4477, or go to mendocinotheatre.org.

Read the review by Bill Fenley in today's Mendocino Beacon!

“Nothing like tax cuts on a beautiful summer’s day.”

MENDOCINO COUNTY HOMELESS SERVICES CONTINUUM OF CARE BOARD & MEMBERSHIP MEETING - AUGUST 20 FROM 1:30 - 2:30 P.M.

The monthly Mendocino County Homeless Services Continuum of Care (CoC) public meeting will be held Monday, August 20, 2018 at Mendocino County Public Health Conference Room 1 located at 1120 S. Dora Street in Ukiah. CoC members will hear a short presentation from Wynd Novotny, Director of Manzanita Services, and vote on governance charter updates.  The Mendocino County Homeless Services Continuum of Care program is a collaboration of individuals and agencies committed to ending homelessness in our community. This group is instrumental in bringing federal Housing and Urban Development funding into the county. This funding helps provide stable housing to families and individuals who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness. This group focuses on developing solutions to homelessness that also positively impact the larger community. Community members and agency staff interested in understanding some of the issues of homelessness in Mendocino County, and on working toward ending homelessness, are welcome to attend our public meetings.  For more information, please contact Sienna Johnston, Veteran Justice Outreach Specialist, Ukiah VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic at (707) 468-7764 or email sienna.johnston@va.gov.