Mendocino County Today: Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018

• Complex Updates
• Fire History
• Bobfest
• Minimum Wagers
• Bosco Bailout
• PV Diversion
• Little Dog
• Ed Notes
• Pets
• Homes Lost
• Rebuilding Hurdles
• Housing Issue
• Yesterday's Catch
• Wine Moratorium
• Some Perspective
• Dead Elephant
• Old Game
• Glyphosate Case
• Homeless Encampments
• No Party
• Young Anglers
• Library Events

RIVER FIRE STATS: still at 49,000 acres, up to 92% containment.

RANCH FIRE STATS: Up to 280,000 acres, but still containment increased from 53% to 58% on Saturday.

Calfire Saturday: "The northwest corner of the huge Ranch Fire remained very active Saturday substantially increasing the acreage burned. The northeast corner of the fire remained active as well, and both northern corners are proving to be very challenging. The hot weather and wind continue to drive the fire north in both directions. The heavy smoke from active fire and terrain limit the ability to find access points for direct attack on the fire front. The northern fire front will continue to be a priority for fire suppression resources. Air attack will continue to fly as visibility and weather permits. The River Fire had no movement today. Suppression repair along with patrol will continue on the River Fire. Firefighters continue to battle the River and Ranch fires. Crews worked throughout the night to reinforce containment lines while the fire behavior remained extreme. Weather conditions will continue to challenge firefighters as hot, dry and windy conditions persist."

* * *

CALFIRE'S MENDOCINO COMPLEX UPDATE (Sunday 7am): 328,226 acres; 67% containment.

cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/admin8327985/cdf/images/incidentfile2175_3980.pdf

* * *

INSIDE THE MENDOCINO COMPLEX FIRE EVACUATION ZONE

nytimes.com/2018/08/10/us/california-fires-mendocino-complex.html

JENNIFER POOLE of the Willits Weekly writes:

A “Fire History” map of the Mendocino Complex area that was put out August 10, posted by the U.S. Forest Service:

facebook.com/MendocinoNF/photos/pcb.2058102157536166/2058100464203002/

If you click on the map, it’ll open in detail. Looks like the “City of Ukiah” had a big fire in 1961, if I’d ever known that, I’ve forgotten it. Up here people talk about a big flood in Willits in 1964.

BOBFEST!

An amazing array of talent at Saturday night's Bobfest.

(Photos by Dick Whetstone)

https://www.facebook.com/BobFestMendo/

Bobfest, The Music of Bob Dylan – Crown Hall, Mendocino, Saturday, August 11, 2018. Dance, Listen and Groove as 15 stellar musicians perform their arrangements of the songs of Bob Dylan. The concert includes everything from solo acoustic to full band versions of Dylan’s music.

Featuring Steven Bates – Bill Bottrell – Martha Bouquin – Lawrence Bullock – Phil Dunn – Jon Faurot – Sheila Fetzer – Richard Fienbop – Jamie Gilliam – Marcus McCallen – Nahara – Sally Wells – The Bobettes & Special Guests.

(BARELY) MAKIN’ IT IN MENDO

by Marilyn Davin

The airwaves these days are thick with concerned talk about the world we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. Occasionally statistics are even thrown in – usually compiled by old folks like we are, the beneficiaries of our country’s most affluent generation. But statistics aside, how are our hard-working young people getting by these days, out in the world where lives must be actually lived?

With some time to kill between interviews on a recent sweltering afternoon in downtown Ukiah, I chatted with one of them: 19-year-old Kierra Baker.

She was cheerfully hard at work at Jax Boutique, on the corner of Perkins across from the entrance to the courthouse. A Ukiah resident since she was three years old, Kierra could be a poster child for vibrant youth: smart, energetic, confident and beautiful. And she says she loves Ukiah and is happy, though what she has to do to live independently sounds more like my grandparents’ young lives than my own generation’s.

Kierra has three jobs. One pays California’s mandated $11.00-an-hour minimum wage but the other two, mostly local restaurants with fewer than 25 employees, pay less. When you add up all those part-time hours Kierra works 70 hours a week, not counting the additional 10 hours a week she works at a local vineyard in exchange for part of her rent on a cottage on the property. “I have Sundays off,” she said. Those local jobs have something important in common: no health insurance, no vacation or sick time, no pension, no profit sharing, no other benefits. She walks between her jobs in downtown Ukiah. A car is out of the question. “Car payments are ridiculous!” she said. When it’s too far to walk, she rides her bicycle.

As she turned, smiling, to greet a customer, Kierra said that she’s healthy, happy, and harbors no bitterness toward the earlier generations that re-shaped the economy to feather their own nests while leaving young people’s nests so barren. And some readers of her story will undoubtedly conclude that her life exemplifies the gritty American spirit, that hard work and struggle are good things that build character. I get it; almost all of us started out with less. And we had dreams of doing better one day, our paths paved with high-quality affordable education and lots of good-paying jobs (even without college) – all with benefits. Kierra says she has dreams, too; she plans to somehow find the time to earn a 4-year degree in fire science. But in the world’s richest country, in the country’s richest state and with college’s lifelong debt looming, should it really be this hard for a smart, hardworking, motivated and promising young person to get ahead?

BEHIND THE TRAIL BILL: THE BOSCO BAILOUT

Jake Bayless of Sonoma County-based news website Empire Report writes:

The Great Redwood Trail.

NCRA needs to go bankrupt first.

Why? Because behind this big new genius push to have a huge (and VERY awesome) trail there's a hidden engine that they don't want you to scrutinize: The Doug Bosco machine.

That's right. The political push to get NCRA "rescued" is so that Doug Bosco will be enriched by the State of California (you) because of his interests in Northwest Pacific Railroad (the contractor that operates and maintains the track).

This whole thing exists to make sure Doug's bad business decision (investing in NWPRR) doesn't go bankrupt. Hence: the petition that is circulating right now (below) is asking the Governor to rescue NCRA before it goes bankrupt so that it can pay off Doug Bosco fully.

Let's play connect the dots:

Doug Bosco was a congressman (some say a slimy one).

Jason Liles was Doug's DC staffer.

Jason Liles met Mike McGuire on Healdsburg City Council.

Mike McGuire ran for Sonoma County Supervisor.

Jason Liles was Mike McGuire's campaign manager.

Jason Liles became Mike McGuire's Planning Commissioner (for Sonoma County).

Mike McGuire ran and won CA State Senate race.

Guess who was Mike's campaign manager? Yep, Jason Liles.

Jason Liles was Mike McGuire's Chief of Staff in CA Senate.

Jason Liles left his Chief of Staff position in 2018.

Jason Liles is now lead consultant to the "Great Redwood Trail."

All the while, Jason Liles has carried Doug Bosco's political water - attempting to get friendlies elected. Remember "Who Is Stacey Lawson?"

So much dirty business happening behind the scenes.

Super clever, Doug & Jason. “California’s state government is already on the hook for the NCRA’s liabilities one way or another." Meaning: “Let’s do this now so I get paid full price for my boondoggle, rather than whatever the bankruptcy court negotiates.”

Super clever - Folks: that's what this is about. Paying Doug Bosco.

The Petition:

Dear Governor Brown,

The Great Redwood Trail Act is a wonderful idea and long overdue. Please approve the funding needed to get started turning the unused rail line into a real asset for our communities.

For decades, the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) has failed either to restore freight rail service to the North Coast or to protect the Eel River and its fisheries from the impacts of its rail line.

SB 1029 will dissolve the NCRA and prioritize non-motorized trail development along the rail right of way between Sonoma County and the Humboldt Bay. California’s state government is already on the hook for the NCRA’s liabilities one way or another. This bill would turn an environmental and fiscal liability into a public asset.

The Great Redwood Trail will connect the North Coast’s diverse landscapes and rural communities with healthy opportunities to explore the great outdoors by bike, foot and horseback, and will bring much needed tourism revenue to the North Coast region.

We urge you to find the financing necessary to resolve the NCRA’s liabilities in order to clear the decks for the Trail!

**Your Signature**

* * *

Back in 2011 Will Parrish wrote:

…Governor Gray Davis selected as his policy director a man named Tal Finney, who was an aide to Bosco during the latter's Congressional rein in the 1990s. Davis also appointed Bosco's former legislative director, Jason Liles, to one of five seats on the all-important North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB). The NCRWQCB is one of the most consequential state agencies regarding implementation of conservation policies – no small matter to the region's dominant extractive interests, viz. timber and wine. … Liles links up with another project Bosco is involved with, this one also involving the felling a vast number of trees: “Preservation Ranch,” the proposed clear-cut of roughly 1,700 acres of redwood forest in the Gualala River watershed to plant monocrop grapes. This past January, Sonoma County Supervisor Mike McGuire appointed Liles to a vacant seat on the Sonoma County Planning Commission. Liles acknowledged in press statements that one of his main priorities is to craft a regulatory ruling on the Preservation Ranch proposal – no doubt, a favorable one.

SUPES REAFFIRM BROWN, MCCOWEN FOR POTTER VALLEY PROJECT TALKS

by Mike A’Dair (Willits Weekly)

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to have supervisors Carre Brown and John McCowen represent the county in negotiations for the purchase of the Potter Valley Project.

The board voted unanimously to dissolve the ad hoc committee created last month and directed Brown and McCowen to discuss the purchase of the 9.2-megawatt power plant and water delivery cornucopia from project owner Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Brown and McCowen were the ad hoc committee members.

A few minutes later, acting as the Mendocino County Water Agency Board of Directors, Supervisors again voted unanimously to appoint Brown and McCowen as the negotiating team for the water agency.

Brown had already been appointed as part of the negotiating team for the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission. The other member of the IWPC negotiating team is Potter Valley rancher and water activist Janet Pauli.

Since the county water agency is a member of the IWPC, the appointment of Brown and McCowen as water agency representatives means supervisors are officially empowering the IWPC to represent the county at the bargaining table. Any deal struck by the IWPC with PG&E must be approved by the governing boards of IWPC member agencies, which includes the County of Mendocino, the City of Ukiah, the Redwood Valley County Water Agency, the Potter Valley Irrigation District and the Russian River Flood Control District.

Pauli told supervisors that she had already sent off a letter to PG&E expressing the serious interest of the IWPC in purchasing the Potter Valley Project and asking the company to begin talks. With that letter, Pauli said, the IWPC will be asked to “sign a non-disclosure agreement, after which they will give us access to what they are calling a virtual data room, where they are going to have confidential information available to any party who has an interest in purchasing the project, and who can prove that interest.”

Pauli said part of that information will be PG&E’s bottom line. “Until we know what their costs really are and what they sell their power for, and what the difference between those two numbers is, we don’t really know exactly how we are going to be able to move forward.

“We are at the beginning of a process that is going to result in our being able to control and protect our regional water source,” she said.

Pauli shared a statement from former Second District Supervisor and Ukiah businessman John Mayfield, who has long been an observer of county politics. The statement by Mayfield, which was related by Pauli, was: “This is the most important and critical issue Mendocino County has faced in the 62 years I have been involved in county politics.”

Brown told supervisors that discussions with PG&E would take place in closed session and all updates to the board would likewise take place in closed session.

When asked for a ballpark figure of what kind of money would be on the table, Pauli replied, “At this point, we don’t know.”

* * *

ED NOTE: This report on the Potter Valley Diversion by Mike A'dair of the Willits Weekly deserves max attention, as John Mayfield emphasizes in the body of the story. The Potter Valley Diversion, that thin reed by which the water fates of at least a million down-streamers depends, must somehow be fairly worked out in the sale of the apparatus by PG&E. Long-term, however, the entire water arrangement should be re-negotiated with Sonoma County, which our supervisors have never shown any interest in doing.

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “I'm getting tired of crows. There's too many of them, and they're disrespectful as hell, too, always talking about me in crow talk. There's only one Skrag, fortunately, but there seems to be a zillion of these gd crows!”

ED NOTES

COULDN'T HELP but be intrigued by the following post on the MCN Chat Line. I'm pretty sure I know Blue's back story, and if I have it right, and I think I do, it's an Only-In-Mendo classic:

FROM MCN:

"Anton Tewilt is visiting the area.

I can give him your name and number when I see him tomorrow if you went to school with him or otherwise know him,

He is looking for a Northbeach beat poet woman goes by Blue who is rumored to have moved to the coast about 10 years ago. She is about 72, she shot and killed her boyfriend many years ago in the Bay Area, she supposedly recited poetry at the Headlands Coffee Shop some years back. Wild and notorious, she is nonetheless hard to find. She is a friend of the family and Anton has been tasked with finding out anything he can about where she is now, even if it leads to a gravesite. If found alive there is an invitation to visit and possibly help traveling if necessary; Judy really wants to find her. Yes he is looking up ruth weiss even as I write this."

THE LATE MAX CRAWFORD, a well-known novelist and author of the 60's cult classic, "The Bad Communist," was an acquaintance of a woman named Marlene. She was divorced from a Stanford professor. Max knew her through his connections to very bad people who'd convinced themselves they were revolutionaries, murdering a few strayed "comrades" and placing pipe bombs in the bathrooms of enemies of the people. Marlene was a member of one of these groups who, apparently, didn't recognize that she was dangerously nuts. One day in Palo Alto she shot and killed a young woman who was her upstairs neighbor, leaving that woman's child without a mother. Marlene said she thought the woman was an FBI agent. Marlene was confined as criminally insane at Napa. While there she led a much publicized revolt against drugging the inmates and in favor of healthy food rather than the carb-loaded institutional fare inmates were fed. While at Napa, Marlene met Leonard Cirino, subsequently a poet based in Albion and a member of Mendocino County's Mental Health Board. Leonard was at Napa for beheading his daughter with a machete, hence his bona fides for advising Mendo on mental health policy. Upon Marlene's release circa 1990 she, also a poet, moved to Fort Bragg where she legally changed her name, perhaps to 'Blue.' Crawford was startled one day to spot her in Mendocino and told me and another close friend of this story.

THAT CLOSE FRIEND RECALLS, "The thing is, Max’s Marlene would have been closer to his age. She would be in her mid to late seventies by now… if she’s still alive. I met her several times; once accompanied by some Black Panthers somewhere in SF with Max. I think one of the guys was her boyfriend. I first heard of her via Max’s wife Sue in Palo Alto. One day Marlene went nuts in a Cafe and would not leave. The police were about to extract her when Max showed up. He didn’t have his pork pie hat on. It made her even more crazy, but when he put his hat on she immediately became normal and left with Max and Sue. She was also a cab driver in SF. One night she ran out of gas on 101 driving a fare to Palo Alto. Or so she said. She abandoned her cab on 101 and climbed over a wall in Menlo Park, which unbeknownst to her had an alarm system — advanced in those days. She showed up at Max’s house on Addison street claiming that the cops were after her. I was there. Maybe, I thought at the time. Maybe not. A person who would know more about this woman is Andrew Moss, an old English Rad and friend of Max’s. I think he still lives in SF. The old guy who has been writing about marijuana for your paper for forever was or is friends with Moss. He also may have known Marlene. Sorry, his name escapes me. The thing is, Bruce, Cirino’s arrival in happy land may predate that of Marlene’s. Then again, I’m old and imagination and memory are mixed as one."

* * *

FROM THE BOOK JACKET of ‘The Bad Communist’:

"1972. Nixon running for reelection, Watergate still a third-rate burglary, Vietnam raging, the dissident Left moving toward violence. In San Francisco, a Maoist organization makes plans to break a murderer out of prison. A splinter group descends into the nether world of conspiracy and perhaps assassination. A radical professor fights for his job at Stanford University. And King Tyler, a left-wing lawyer, finds himself at a crossroads in his life, an intersection of crises involving his wife, his father, and his politics. From these materials, Max Crawford has made a rich and important novel, a book that is at once riveting in its suspense and absolutely authentic in its evocation of the recent American past--the novel of his generation. King Tyler, though more and more estranged from the Revolutionary Army, has agreed to let the escaped prisoner use his cabin in the hills around Palo Alto. When a guard is killed during the escape, however, King finds that his role in events can no longer be that of a sympathetic bystander. He finds himself drawn into an entangling thicket of duty and fear; his marital problems and his sister-in-law's involvement in the escape; the deteriorating psychological state of the prisoner whom he is harboring; the persistent rumors that one of the radicals is an FBI informer; the increasingly ugly feuding among radical factions; and King's own complex relationship with his father, himself a communist in the 1930s. The Bad Communist ranges widely over the political and geographical landscape of California in the early 1970s; and it traverses, too, the extraordinary span of man's relationship to his fellows and his ideas. For King Tyler is caught between conflicting nations of duty to the law and to his friends, between his obligations to himself and to his politics--and between the forces of history and his own privacy. In The Bad Communist, Max Crawford, whose first two novels brought him wide recognition as one of the most exciting new writers in America, has written his best book--a complex and absorbing novel, a thriller that is also authentic in history."

* * *

PERIODIC BURSTS of gun fire today in central Boonville, beginning with what sounded like a 8-rounds from a .22 handgun at 10:30 this morning and continuing throughout the day. Yep, called it in. The duty officer said Boonville's resident deputy, the sorely taxed Craig Walker, would have a word with the wild ones. Above Boonville, the daylight sky was enlivened by a number of spiffy small planes visiting Mendocino County's most happening community for an open house celebration at our local airstrip whose history began with a 50's-era mill owner named Buster Hollifield landing his plane in the hay field on the west side of the high school where, a few years later, appeared the first paved strip and an aeronautics course at Boonville High School begun by then-superintendent, Bob Mathias. That course provided the first step in many successful careers in flight and related fields for a generation of Anderson Valley young people.

* * *

ROBERT KRAFT, a Boonville Old Timer temporarily exiled to Bandon, Oregon, sends along this photo of the Greyhound, c. 1982, that plied the Frisco-Fort Bragg route for many years in a time it was possible to get efficiently back and forth to the Bay Area.

The convenience that ended when the, ah, titans of Non-Profit Mendo started up the Mendocino Transit Authority. A trip by MTA from Boonville to San Francisco today will take you about 15 hours if not a full two days.

* * *

A SCRAGGLY KID holding a sign that read, "Hungry As Fuck" was stationed at the entrance to the Healdsburg Safeway about noon Friday. I immediately deputized myself as an Appropriate Policeman to ask him, "What the fuck?" He said, "Not that it's any of your fuckin' business, gramps, but unless you wanna help me out, how about movin' the fuck along." I laid a fiver on him. He laughed and said, "Hey, fuck you, too."

UKIAH SHELTER PETS OF THE WEEK

Calling all Siamese lovers! Come meet Mercury, a 4 month old male, stunning seal point. Mercury is a mellow, friendly kitten who lives with his siblings, all of whom are available for adoption. This litter was born to a feral mother, taken in by a family and are now friendly, socialized kittens. Can't adopt? Our cats and kittens love visitors while they wait for their new homes.

Handsome as can be, Joey is a joyful dog. He loves belly rubs and enjoys playing with toys. Joey is pretty easy to leash up, and he is a big proponent of affection and cuddles (as you can see from his photo.) Joey is a mixed breed male, a year old and a svelte 42 pounds.

The Ukiah Animal Shelter is located at 298 Plant Road in Ukiah, and adoption hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm and Wednesday from 10 am to 6:30 pm. To see photos and bios of the shelter's adoptable animals, please visit us online at: www.mendoanimalshelter.com or visit the shelter. Join us the second Saturday of every month for our "Empty the Shelter" pack walk and help us get every dog out for socialization and exercise! For more information about adoptions please call 707-467-6453.

TOLL OF HOMES LOST IN MENDOCINO COMPLEX FIRES GROWS

Containment increased in the 325,226-acre blaze overnight, Cal Fire said. A red-flag warning remains in effect through today.

pressdemocrat.com/news/8626058-181/toll-of-homes-lost-in

YOU WOULD THINK THAT SOMEBODY in authority somewhere in some local county or state agency or body would at least suggest that the people whose HOUSES BURNED DOWN in any of the recent fires should get expedited, no-hassle, no-fees handling with personal assistance from a dedicated group of building/planning staff to rebuild. Most of these people have already been penny-pinched and squeezed by their insurance companies and some also suffered “over-excavation” by the feds’ giant by-the-ton debris clean up contractors. Instead we see titles like Saturday’s PD article entitled “As activity increases, Coffey Park residents face delays to rebuild.” The opening line of the story reads: “The delays fire survivors face in the increasingly crowded maze that must be traversed before they can rebuild — including home design, permitting and construction scheduling — has left a growing number of them frustrated.”

That’s just for the lucky people who have the wherewithal to rebuild. And you wonder why there’s a “housing crisis” on the North Coast?

COMMENTING ON THE AVA’S WEBSITE in response to our recent post about vacant buildings and housing in Mendo, Kathy Wylie wrote:

I am working with a small group of locals – countywide – on the housing issue. Some of it boils down to educating the public about ADUs – alternative dwelling units – which ARE allowed. Zoning is another problem with housing. Ukiah has the opportunity to remake its downtown and has so far shown little initiative in a re-zoned model that allows mixed use buildings with commercial shops on the bottom and multi-story living units on top. Add to that the loose regulation of AirB&B and VBRO-style short term rentals in this county, which take housing stock for teachers and firefighters off the market – and we have a full blown crisis. I could go in and on… Stay tuned as this issue will not just go away in its own.

* * *

BACK IN MARCH WE WROTE:

WITH ALL THE TIME and attention County officials are giving to marijuana one might think that marijuana is the County’s biggest problem. But as Sheriff Allman likes to say, "This is not the County of Marijuana, this is the County of Mendocino."

Probably the biggest problem Mendo has right now is housing. Not only because there is a shortage, and what there is costs too much, but a large part of County tax revenues are dependent on the housing stock and the assessed value of that stock and on people’s ability to pay those taxes.

Clearly, there is no single solution to the housing problem. It has to be approached by nibbling away in every possible area from lots of angles. To do this, Mendo does not need a "pot czar," we need a Housing Czar.

In the wake of the tragic Redwood Valley Complex fires last October, the County appointed Tammy Moss Chandler to coordinate and oversee all of the various efforts of the fire disaster recovery program. And it’s paid off. Progress has been made. She was impressively focused and pulled things together nicely.

A similar effort needs to be made for housing. "The market" is clearly incapable of producing anything resembling affordable housing.

For example, last Tuesday Doug Guillon, of Guillon Inc. whose company proposes to build around 200 housing units at the Lovers Lane property north of Ukiah, described the cost of his “non-subsidized market rate entry-level housing in Ukiah.” (Repeat “entry level.”)

“We just completed building 200 homes in Chico. I would like to describe what it costs to build 200 entry-level homes there and compare that to the same costs in Ukiah. The cost components that make up the cost of a home in a community are local application fees, which are similar between Chico and Ukiah with the exception that in Chico these are about $1700. I put in $500 more here reserved for lawsuits. We had to provide for that. You have to put money in your budget to protect yourself against lawsuits. Unfortunately. Not only do lawsuits add to the cost of a home but they increase the time it takes to bring them online. Which again increases your cost, such as holding costs and interest rates. Land development and the direct cost of building a house in Chico is $241,000; in Ukiah its $285,000. That's the pure cost of developing the home. It is projected to be higher in Ukiah because you have a lack of subcontractors and a lack of active developers and a lack of laborers in the market, and with the fires that situation has only gotten worse. We have impact fees of $17,000 in Chico and about $20,000 in Mendocino County. Then there are indirect costs, financing costs, and so on, plus developer profit. Sales and escrow fees and taxes are another $29,000 in Chico and $35,000 in Ukiah. So we can build a home in Ukiah for $345,000 if our projections are accurate. If you extrapolate that over time and look at a mortgage payment plan, the housing price starts at $345,000. At a 5% down payment of $17,000, the mortgage would be $325,000. With principal and interest and taxes and insurance it ends up to a mortgage of $2052 a month. The median income for a family of four is $71,000. 30% of that is about $25,000. So that's what it costs to build a house and buy it in Ukiah.”

Mr. Guillon’s estimate of “median income for a family of four” is much higher than anything we’ve seen for Mendocino County. Even so, we have no doubt he can sell his 200 Lovers Lane homes when they’re built.

But that high-end market housing won’t solve many housing problems in Mendocino County.

There are plenty of ideas out there which a Housing Czar could oversee and promote if the program was given high priority by the Board of Supervisors.

For example Coast Contractor Ishvi Aum offered a few very practical specific ideas in a letter to the AVA last month:

“Allow higher density on parcels larger than one acre. The current restriction of two dwelling units per parcel regardless of size severely limits the available land for development.

Do not attempt to tax new structures and improvements as they are built. Land is assessed when it is purchased. Allow the purchaser to pay the same tax rate as long as they own the property. When they sell, any improvements will be added into the value of the property and the tax rate will go up for the next owner. This will make it less costly to own houses thereby lowering rents. It will also make people more inclined to pull building permits and lessen the workload for county staff at the assessor's office.

Allow large parcels of flat developable land to be subdivided into smaller parcels.

Reduce the permit fees on all new homes with a footprint of less than 1400 squre feet to a flat fee of $500.

On the Mendocino Coast, remove all acreage from the coastal zone that is not bluff top or restricting ocean access. This would not only save the citizens money it would reduce the workload on county staff and save tax dollars.

Have the building department provide some pre-approved plan sets for modest energy-efficient single-family residences. This could save the cost of design and engineering for many people. Maintain the Class K permit option as an alternative to the Uniform Building Code which seems to get more expensive to follow every year.”

* * *

As Mr. Aum noted, “These changes cannot be implemented by department heads or staff without clear direction from the Supervisors. The elected officials in this county must take responsibility for the housing crisis by creating policies that make it easier for their constituents to house themselves.”

* * *

We asked Supervisor Dan Gjerde about the possibility of the Supes appointing a Housing Czar.

Gjerde replied:

I agree, this would be a good project for Steve Dunnicliff. Steve is already working on some parts of this project, but housing is only part of his job as a Deputy CEO. I like the idea of elevating housing as a more prominent part of Steve's job. I do know he already is part of a staff-level recovery team that includes Tammy Moss Chandler, plus staff from planning and building, and likely other departments. The board is interested in pre-approved house plans. After hearing from residents and contractors speak during the Class K discussions, though, I am now thinking it could be even more helpful for members of the public if the County could hire an engineer to provide the County and the public with engineered specifications that would comply with the current California Building Code, but allow for greater freedom to design a home. For example, today's California Building Code requires a four foot sheer wall at the corners and for every 25 feet of a building. When designing a small home, a four foot sheer wall can severely restrict the size and placement of windows and doors. Through an engineer, the County could provide property owners with a design that specifies affordable metal bracing to provide the same sheer strength on a smaller sheer wall, and the engineer's stamp would satisfy the California Building Code. Experienced home builders and contractors could advise the County on design elements, like the sheer wall example, that would be most commonly helpful for homebuilders on a budget.”

We also asked Gjerde about giving more attention to modest trailer parks as suggested by former Supervisor John Pinches.

“On trailer parks,” Gjerde replied, “it would be helpful to hear from owners of existing trailer parks why they are not proposing to build new trailer parks. Are the parcels with the proper zoning too small, and they need to work with larger parcels to build a financially viable trailer park? Or something else deterring their building new trailer parks. Why have none of the housing non-profits built a trailer park?”

In conclusion, Gjerde agreed: “I would like to see more focus on housing.”

* * *

AND IN JUNE, WE WROTE:

IF THE SUPERVISORS were serious about establishing low-cost housing, examples of which exist in ingenious amplitude as close as a finger tap on Google, might also tap into the hard-earned expertise of Mr. Bruce Ledford, whose Circle Trailer Park in the center of Ukiah manages to unobtrusively house a vividly various population of people who would otherwise be homeless. This guy, assisted by his incongruously (in the context) lovely daughter, could give lessons that an army of housing consultants couldn’t possibly. The modest Ledford has done it, continues to do it, and manages to do it without anybody noticing. We nominate him as Mendocino County's Housing Czar.

* * *

BUT OF COURSE, there hasn’t been any “focus on housing,” much less “more” of it. In fact, the Supervisors haven’t discussed it since their misguided attempt at reining in AirBnB rentals several months ago.

But we still wish Ms. Wylie and her group the best of luck.

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 11, 2018

WILLIAM BOYCE, Ukiah. Burglary, forgery, getting credit with someone else’s ID, receiving stolen property, probation revocation.

MANUEL CENA-CRUZ, Fort Bragg. DUI.

KYLE GILLESPIE, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

ALYSIA GRIFFIN, Willits. Unauthorized entry into building.

JEREMIAH HEILIG, Willits. Under influence, trespassing.

STEPHANIE MILBERGER, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

CLINTON SALLEE, Fort Bragg. Controlled substance, probation revocation (for gun possession).

ANTHONY SPEARS, Ukiah. Controlled substance, failure to appear, probation revocation.

ROBERT VALADEZ, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

ENOUGH ALREADY

Editor:

Sonoma County residents increasingly recognize that a moratorium on wine industry permits is needed until long-promised tourism regulations are in place and enforced.

Tennis Wick, the head of Permit Sonoma, says that “what we have to deal with now is taxing us at maximum capacity.” This is exactly why now is the time to put new wine industry use-permit projects on hold until the event ordinance is developed. A moratorium would free resources so that the much-needed ordinance could be developed while still allowing permits for residential areas impacted by the fires to proceed.

Supervisor James Gore laments that county residents continue to believe wine events are out of control. He claims that “they are afraid their activism is losing ground to wildfire recovery.” His suggestion that housing recovery from the fire can deflect sensible regulation of spiraling wine events is a stance that goes against public opinion.

The wine industry opposes a moratorium and wants business as usual. This means lax regulations and no overall assessment of industry impacts on increasing tourist traffic. This is the same stance of the business elites who are guiding the Trump administration to gut regulations when they get in the way of corporate profits.

Chris Stover

Sebastopol

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Predicting the future is a notoriously foolish endeavor. Yes, the country is messed up – like every society with a central government. We’ve consistently made bad decisions, but guess what? We are still around. Comparing us to the fall of the Roman Empire? Really? What happened 1700 years ago is still relevant to our current hi-tech civilization? I guess the Romans were stupid not to embrace bitcoin and use the internet effectively. Yeah, history rhymes, blah, blah, blah.

We really are living in unprecedented times and strongly stating we are going down is ludicrously simplistic. Maybe we are doomed – certainly we have until now intractable problems – but that’s only one out of a zillion future scenarios. Why be bitter? Me, I’m enjoying life and living day-to-day, grateful to have made it this far. My biggest complaint is being nagged by the ridiculous anti-Semitic, anti-black, idiotic posters here who are so filled with sick hatred that they clog up this comment section. Get a grip, everyone!

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NEEDS TO BE CRUSHED

The Republican Party can’t win using ordinary methods. On the process side, they can win only by inflating the white vote via gerrymandering, cracked-and-packed districts, and ruthless black voter suppression. On the policy side, they can win only with heavy dollops of strident and outright bigotry against Mexicans, Muslims, blacks, Hispanics, Chinese, and anyone else who comes along. Even Canadians will do in a pinch.

Today, the Republican Party exists for one and only one purpose: to pass tax cuts for the rich and regulatory rollbacks for corporations. They accomplish this using one and only method: unapologetically racist and bigoted appeals to win the votes of the heartland riff-raff they otherwise treat as mere money machines for their endless mail-order cons.

Like it or not, this is the modern Republican Party. It no longer serves any legitimate purpose. It needs to be crushed and the earth salted behind it, while a new conservative party rises to take its place.

This new party should be conservative; brash; ruthless when it needs to be; as simpleminded as any major party usually is; and absolutely dedicated to making Democrats look like idiots. There should be no holds barred except for one: no appeals to racism. None. Not loud ones, not subtle ones. Whatever else it is, it should be a conservative party genuinely open to any person of any color…

Rob Anderson (District5Diary)

Background: History of the board game Monopoly

ONE MAN'S SUFFERING has exposed Monsanto's secrets to the world

The jury’s verdict found not only that Monsanto’s Roundup and related glyphosate-based brands presented a substantial danger to people using them, but that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Monsanto’s officials acted with “malice or oppression” in failing to adequately warn of the risks.

theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/11/one-mans-suffering-exposed-monsantos-secrets-to-the-world

DEFINING THE HOMELESS

This guide addresses homeless encampments, also known as transient camps. It begins by describing the problem and reviewing factors that contribute to it. It then identifies a series of questions to help you analyze your local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

popcenter.org/problems/homeless_encampments/

INDEPENDENT, DAMN IT

Editor,

Today I received a letter and a survey from the Democratic National Committee, even though I have not been a registered Democrat in 20 years. I write on the survey (which I did not complete) that I haven’t been a Democrat in 20 years and asked them to remove my name from their database.

It strikes me as quite presumptuous that the DNC would send me a survey and identify me as a Democrat, also incompetent since they could look up my party registration through the Marin County Registrar’s office.

About a year before the 2000 election I changed my party registration in Marin County from Democrat to No Party Preference (or whatever moniker it had back then), and it took three times for the Registrar to comply.

The first time I filled out a voter registration form on which I checked the box for No Party Preference and soon afterward I received a card from the Registrar still listing me a Democrat. So then I called the Registrar’s office to make my request and again received a card listing me as a Democrat. So the third time I wrote a letter to the Registrar’s office saying something like, “I hope I do not have to involved my lawyer (I didn’t have one) to have No Party Preference.”

Finally, I got a card with the correct designation of No Party Preference and a phone call from the Registrar herself apologizing for the errors.

I have always wondered if the Registrar’s office of Democrat-dominated Marin County was deliberately trying to discourage me from leaving the Democratic Party to switch to Independent.

Keith Bramstedt

San Anselmo

MARIN ROD & GUN CLUB, JUNIOR DIVISION

All the kids were given fishing poles! And these guys even caught two fish.

MENDOCINO COUNTY LIBRARY, UKIAH BRANCH IS ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE MENDO FIRE STORYBOOK PROJECT

Have you been waiting to share your experience with the Mendocino Lake Complex fire, but weren't sure how you would tell it? Maybe you can't put it into words, because you express yourself through art. Or you can speak to others about it, but would have trouble putting it down in writing. If you feel ready to share, the Ukiah Library is ready to listen.

The Mendocino County Library, Ukiah Branch and Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library are accepting submissions for the Mendo Fire Storybook project. Please help us in telling the story of our communities - the sorrows, love, and resiliency. Our little corner of the world deserves to be remembered.

We are looking for:

Written and visual works, including essays, prose, & narratives, poetry, 2-dimensional art and photographs. Topics may include (but are by no means limited to) what life was like before, what the fire experience was like for you, how life has been in the aftermath, what you have learned, or what others should know.

If you are willing to verbally tell your story, we have writers interested in meeting with you to compose your story together. Please contact the Ukiah Library at (707) 463-4490 to schedule an interview.

We realize that asking you to bare your soul and then placing restrictions on it might be difficult. If possible, though, please limit word count to 2500 words or less (about 5 8.5”x11” pages, single-spaced)

Images should be in .JPG or .GIF format, and 300dpi at 100% resolution is best. We would be honored to assist you with scanning images if needed.

Submissions are due no later than September 29th, 2018.

Editors will then assemble submissions and undergo a selection process, and finally publish a compilation of the written and visual works into a book. The book will be available for sale, people whose submissions were selected will receive a copy at no cost, and proceeds will go to the Disaster Fund for Mendocino County.

Please email submissions to MendoFireStorybook@gmail.com. For questions or comments or to receive a submission form, email MendoFireStorybook@gmail.com, call (707) 234-2865, or visit the Mendocino County Library, Ukiah Branch.

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FREE MONTHLY WRITING WORKSHOPS for Teens & Adults (June – October 2018)

THE ART and CRAFT of WRITING for YOUNG READERS

The Ukiah Public Library and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators are delighted to offer a series of presentations on the art and craft of writing for young readers by Mendocino County authors. The series features Rena Rockford, David Weitzman, Natasha Yim, and Jody Gehrman. Each presentation in the series will be held on the last Thursday of the month from July through October from 5:30-7:30 in the Ukiah Public Library.

Thursday, June 28 Rena Rockford: HOW TO CREATE IDEAS OUT OF THIN AIR

Thursday July 26 David Weitzman: STORYBOARDING & OTHER VISUAL WAYS TO PLOT YOUR STORY

Thursday, August 30 Natasha Yim: REINVENTING FOLK AND FAIRY TALES: WRITING INSPIRATION FROM STORIES YOU ALREADY KNOW

Thursday, September 27 Jody Gehrman: TEN TIPS TO MAKE YOUR DIALOGUE SING

Thursday, October 25 WRITING FOR YOUNG READERS: A PANEL DISCUSSION

Rena Rockford, David Weitzman, Natasha Yim and Jody Gehrman.

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STORYBOARDING & OTHER VISUAL WAYS TO PLOT YOUR STORY

With David Weitzman

Thursday, July 26, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

The Ukiah Public Library

Using visual strategies and approaches from his experience as an author/illustrator, award-winning author David Weitzman will help writers explore plotting and story structure from a visual perspective. David will lead beginning to advanced writers on a visual journey from capturing first thoughts, creating quick rough drafts, storyboarding, and utilizing page turns to elicit surprise, discovery and adventure.

About David

David’s twenty books of historical narrative and fiction (Pharoah’s Boat, Rama and Sita, Old Ironsides, Jenny: The Airplane that Taught America to Fly) have received several awards including a Bronze Medal at the International Book Design Exhibition, Leipzig, Germany, a PEN Book Award for Children’s Nonfiction, an Association of Children’s Librarians Distinguished Book Award, and the Children’s Africana Book Award. Books can be seen at www.weitzmanbooks.com

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REINVENTING FOLK AND FAIRY TALES:

WRITING INSPIRATION FROM STORIES YOU KNOW

with

Natasha Yim

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

The Ukiah Public Library

Through guided exercises and prompts, picture book author, Natasha Yim, will help workshop participants explore the rich world of fairy tales, folk tales and legends for story ideas, and ways to re-write them into different yet familiar tales. This works for middle grade and young adult novels as well. Using her re-envisioned fairy/folk tales, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas and The Rock Maiden, Natasha will share her revision process, the story “twists” that made it and those that didn’t (and why), and elements to consider to give your story a unique angle. We will also explore other titles in the genre.

About Natasha

Natasha Yim is a children’s author, playwright, and freelance writer and editor. She has published three fiction and two nonfiction picture books. Her book Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (Charlesbridge Publishing, Jan. 2014) was a Junior Library Guild and Scholastic Book Club selection and was nominated for the 2017 Illinois Monarch Readers’ Choice Award. Her latest book, The Rock Maiden, was released by Wisdom Tales Press in March, 2017, and was a finalist for the 2017 Foreword Reviews Best Book of the Year award. Her recently completed picture book project for Disney Publishing Worldwide, Mulan’s Lunar New Year, will be released in October 2018.

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TEN TIPS TO MAKE YOUR DIALOGUE SING

Jody Gehrman:

Thursday, September 27, 2018 5:30-7:30

Ukiah Public Library

Many writers struggle with dialogue, from the technical rules that govern its execution to the bigger questions of authenticity and voice. Join playwright, screenwriter and novelist Jody Gehrman as she shares her love of dialogue and her top ten tips for making yours come alive.

About Jody

Jody Gehrman has authored eleven published novels and numerous plays for stage and screen. Her first suspense novel, Watch Me, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2018. Jody’s plays have been produced or had staged readings in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. Her newest full-length, Tribal Life in America, won the Ebell Playwrights Prize. She is a professor of Communications at Mendocino College.

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IDEA SETS: HOW TO CREATE IDEAS OUT OF THIN AIR

Rena Rockford

Rena Rockford presented the basic components of stories and the structure of stories in three acts. She also talked about idea sets, and how to use them to determine good story ideas from not so good story ideas.

About Rena

Like most mad scientists, Rena Rocford has made an art form of living as a muggle. Today the bills, tomorrow the world. She writes science fiction and fantasy for all ages from her secret base in wine country. When she isn’t planning for world domination, Rena creates nerdy art and enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She unleashed her first book Acne, Asthma, And Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon on the world. The companion novel, Prom, Magic, and Other Man-Made Disasters has been released on the world with more to follow.

If you are interested in the program or want to find out more, please contact Melissa at the Ukiah Library: 467-6434 or carrm@mendocinocounty.org