- Barn Sale
- Ranch Fire
- Mill Site
- Fisherwomen
- Nurse Warning
- Little Dog
- Gravy Trail
- Tenant Farmers
- Noyo Harbor
- Farmers Market
- Materials Wanted
- Monkey Up
- Hospital Status
- Watershed Districts
- Case Discounts
- Roadside Firebreaks
- Yesterday's Catch
- Rural Safety
- Collective Delusion
- Pillow Fort
- Timid Left
- Mendocino Theatre
- Sexologist Warning
- Net Neutrality
BARN SALE IN PHILO THIS WEEKEND!
Furniture, housewares, clothing, toys, linens, electronics and more.
Monthly Barn Sale: many new items. Lots of electronics. The Barn Sale is located at 12751 Anderson Valley Way in Boonville. We are open the first Saturday and Sunday of the month from 10 am to 3 pm. Signs and banners are visible from Hwy 128.
RANCH FIRE STATUS (US Forest Service): Two areas of the fire remain high priorities for suppression operations as firefighters work toward full containment of the Mendocino Complex. The Ranch fire is estimated at 410,182 acres and 93 percent contained. On Thursday firefighters monitored the fire and extinguished hot spots along firelines near Little Round Mountain in the north and around Fouts Springs west of Stonyford.
As suppression operations diminish, the critical work of suppression repair to firelines constructed over the past month increases. An estimated 335 miles of dozer and hand lines and 124 miles of roads make up the 460 miles of completed fireline identified as needing repair.
An additional 223 miles of completed line need to be inspected to identify repair needs. Dozers, excavators, and hand crews are being utilized to do this important work to reduce soil erosion. Felling teams are removing hazardous trees to make conditions safer for crews mopping up the burn area and to prevent burning trees from falling across the fireline.
MILL SITE ON THE AGENDA: Wednesday, September 5, 2018
On September 5, 2018 the Fort Bragg City Council/Planning Commission will discuss Land Use Plan, Mill Site Policies and Financing, LCP Amendment For further detail click here and scroll to item 1A.
BOYO NOYO!
Down In Noyo Harbor Thursday
(via MendocinoSportsPlus)
A TRAVELING NURSE’S COAST HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE
Editor,
(I was a traveling nurse assigned to Mendocino Coast District Hospital earlier this year. On Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at 8:17pm I sent this letter of resignation from the operating room at the Mendocino Coast District Hospital to the chief nursing officer at Mendocino Coast District Hospital.)
* * *
Regretfully, I compose this letter of resignation from the operating room at Mendocino Coast District Hospital. My reasons are numerous and I know you may have heard most of what I am about to state. I am a traveling operating room registered nurse and I am wrong if I don't report my concerns.
The operating room staff does not like traveler nurses. This is obvious the way we are treated, talked about, and completely disrespected. It's no wonder you have not kept but a few for very long. Those who have stayed are hounded all day by a micromanager with a big heart but who still is very overbearing and will nag you to the point of ridicule. The other is so limited and brainwashed that he blindly defends the chief operating room nurse’s violations of Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) standards
Using the same blue foam pads repeatedly on each and every patient (for padding around the hands, wrists and elbows) is disgusting and a major violation regarding sanitation in an operating room. The cost for foam pads is miniscule and should be passed on to the patients. Even if there is a MRSA patient there is nothing in writing that addresses the disposal of these blue foam pads. This is a major AORN standards violation. The standing charge RN is so adamant on some issues and ignorant on others. It makes no sense and is not within standards.
Those in scrubs should be wearing only hospital washed or contractor washed scrubs. Some MDs don't, specifically Dr. Kerman. This practice is not the standard at Mendocino Coast District Hospital. Some doctors walk in the scrubs-only zone in civilian clothes in clear violation of AORN standards. Dr. Jack Bellah violated this rule twice this week because he feels he can break the rules and no one, I mean no one, has the gall to challenge him. Dr. Kerman violates the standard on a daily basis.
Dr. Kerman violates the wearing of scrubs on a daily basis. His scrubs are not laundered in accordance with surgical standards. They have allowed so many exceptions and he has been very generous and helpful in the past, but this is still not acceptable practice. And it presents practice violations. He even has a special key to the exit door that no other employee in the operating room has. This is so that he doesn't have to walk a little bit further through the front door like all other employees do.
The fact is that Dr. Kerman is so obese he can't urinate completely in the toilet in the operating room. The result is that 30 or 40 milliliters ends up on the floor and is walked in and then spread all through the operating room office, hallways and operating room. The smell when he has urinated is obvious. This only happens when he is in the operating room. When this fact is pointed out to the staff male nurse he is in denial. He responds with "it's a locker room and they all smell like urine." I'm not buying that since it only happens when Dr. Kerman is working. Think about all the aseptic techniques that go on in an operating room when the urine dragged throughout because someone is urinating uncontrollably on the floor of the operating room's men's bathroom.
Many wear scrubs outside the operating room and think wearing an open gown is a clean protocol when they don't close the front. Some don't wear a gawn, again violation AORN standards. Dr. Bellah never does. The wearing of an open gown not secured in front is a joke, since this only covers nonsterile areas. The clean area is open and and exposed so this is a ridiculous practice and a clear violation of surgical standards.
Dr. Bellah always uses his feet to open a sterile operating room door. Think about it. Does a professional surgeon open a sterile operating room door before he is about to scrub with a kung fu kick to the outside door handle to the surgery room and fling it open? He stands in blood and bone chips for half his cases and does not change his shoe covers. Really, kicking a door latch with urine, blood and bone chips on your shoe covers is a third world scenario. And no, I don't ever plan to have a surgical procedure at this place. Not after witnessing these clear and flagrant violations of sanitary practices. There is no AORN standard that would encourage that stupidity, yet this staff turns their heads to this ridiculous and asinine practice. Another clear violation of surgical standards. It really is hard to believe this practice continues.
The books are cooked when Dr. Kermen wastes narcotics. He never shows his waste and I refused to countersign when he did not show me. In contrast to Dr. Phil Conwell, a consummate professional in the operating room is Dr. Kermen, the opposite. Phil is a great professional.
When Dr. Bellah and Dr. Kermen are counting down the days when the traveling nurses are leaving it becomes a semi-violent workplace. The demeaning words and tone from Dr. Bellah reveal an anger that creates a very uncomfortable workplace. His uncontrolled temper makes an unsafe workplace that puts all staff on edge. Dr. Kermen has a similar capacity when he has to stand up and move operating room equipment, telling us to "get this shit out of my way."
I signed a contract to be an operating room registered nurse, not a recovery room registered nurse. This is entirely against AORN practice. That is, a 20 minute orientation to the recovery room is not in my comfort zone when I'm expected to recover a patient after hours by myself. Another AORN violation is not having an on-call recovery room registered nurse, standards dictate that two registered nurses be in the recovery room, not in the emergency room, ICU or medical surgical ward. Two trained RNs with one RN with recovery room experience.
The hospital blood policy is violated when Dr. Kermen orders blood to be infused without a pump and again when liced [sic] by a pressure bag after a patient loses 1100 millliliters of blood from a total hip case. This is clearly against hospital policy yet there is no enforcement if one was to read it. The hospital has a “the blind leading the blind” policy.
We had a locums general surgeon for a few days. She was estimated to be 400 pounds. She was rumored to be let go when she fell asleep during orientation in front of a computer. Where are the hospital standards with this precedent when an estimated 500 pound head of anesthesia at Coast District Hospital falls asleep on a regular basis during surgical procedure?
What's the concern if I were to copy send a copy of this e-mail to the local papers?
Sleeping in the operating room when you are anesthetizing a surgical patient is not in accordance with AORN standards or any surgical standards. It is a wonder why the surgeons allow this practice. I think that it will take a sentinel event for this hospital to get a grip on things.
Playing games like covering, hiding, or leaving obvious medical papers and records are games that Dr. Bellah, Dr. Kermen and Dr. Sussman do. They go out of their way to trip up the traveling nurses. On that note, so do the resident staff. The doctor preference cards have many many obsolete items and when the traveling nurses pull or open a case and the items are wrong it creates dis-harmony, and whining from the sensitive and spoiled MDs. Those cards set traveling nurses up for failure on a regular basis. These surgeons are so coddled that it is an inhospitable place for traveling nurses.
I am concerned about the way traveling nurses are treated, about the unsanitary practices that occur almost daily in what is supposed to be the cleanest place in Fort Bragg. A sentinel event is about to happen and when it does I do not want to be part of it. The multiple issues I point out are just the tip of the iceberg. This hospital’s sentinel event is coming and I do not want to be part of it. Good day.
Name withheld
LITTLE DOG SAYS, “These four crows are really getting to me. Look at 'em. They sit there all day long tag-team talking about me just loud enough for me to hear. Skrag at least takes a shot then moves on. These birds never let up!”
THE RAILS TO TRAILS SCAM
Senator Mike McGuire’s landmark legislation that seeks to turn the crumbling 300 mile North Coast railroad line into the Great Redwood Trail passed the State Assembly today on a vote of 62 to 3. The bill will be voted on by the State Senate tomorrow and will then head to Governor Brown for his signature. The Trail, which would extend from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay, runs through some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth.
“There is overwhelming support for this trail system on the North Coast and we are getting closer to making it a reality,” Senator Mike McGuire said. “We’ve always known that undoing 30 years of debt and troubling decisions by NCRA wouldn’t be easy, but nothing that’s worth doing ever is. The approval by the State Assembly today is a massive step toward creating the Great Redwood Trail.”
Senator McGuire offered amendments to the bill last week that addressed his serious concerns about the complex contracts and significant debt of NCRA as well as their liability issues. These amendments cut NCRA’s authority and powers, taking away their mandate to work on freight rail and requiring them instead to focus on transferring the Right-of-Way for trails and closing the functionally bankrupt agency down. The bill is officially titled “The NCRA Closure and Transition to Trails Act.”
The State Transportation Agency, along with the Natural Resources Agency, will complete a debt study of NCRA and develop a road map to shutting them down. They will review governance plans for the Great Redwood Trail and identify what agency would be the most successful at managing the trail long term. The bill launches the all-important master planning process for the trail itself examining railbanking issues, easements, trail alignment and terrain suitability – all items needed to create the trail. Senator McGuire is thrilled to now have the Natural Resources Agency as part of the study, since they specialize in trails and park issues, and could be part of the eventual ownership of the trail.
“From the San Francisco Bay, through the incredible beauty of wine country, alongside the glistening banks of the Russian and Eel Rivers, into the stunning old growth Redwood forests, and up to and around panoramic Humboldt Bay – this is truly an incredible piece of earth. SB 1029 sets the stage to turn this 300 mile crumbling train track into a world renowned trail system that will benefit locals and visitors alike and be a boon to our local economies,” Senator Mike McGuire said.
The bill, presented on the Assembly Floor today by North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood, also gives the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit the ability and funding to negotiate for the take over of the complex, long-term freight contract that NCRA sold to Northwestern Pacific Company over a decade ago. This could give SMART a boost in completing their mandate for passenger rail in Sonoma County and a significant head start in planning their section of the trail – which runs from Willits to Marin. The Transportation Agency Secretary and the director of the Department of Finance would have to approve any takeover plan.
SB 1029, became one of the top priorities for environmental organizations around the state, making the Green California “Hot List” of critical bills this year. This list is compiled by leading environmental organization like the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited and dozens more.
The bill will now be heard on the Senate Floor before midnight Friday, and if approved sent to the Governor.
(Press release from the office of California Senator Mike McGuire)
ALL ABOARD THE GRAVY TRAIL
Call It A Train; Call It A Trail — Either Way: Bosco Wins
by Mark Scaramella
Former Northcoast Congressman Doug Bosco is at the center of an ingenious arrangement that he set up with the assistance of close Democratic Party associates back in the mid-1990s when the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) first contracted out the track maintenance and upgrades on the old Southern Pacific Railroad track and right-of-way.
A combination passenger and shipping train once ran from Southern Marin County to Eureka on a regular basis until, in the early 1980s when it became an annual money loser; the cost of track maintenance, particularly in the Eel River Canyon sank the line. The business and some old equipment became the property of the State of California when Southern Pacific filed for bankruptcy.
Bosco installed his-chief Congressional aide Mitch Stogner as director of a newly created “authority” along with a parade of Democratic Party loyalists, including former state assemblyman Dan Hauser, and his following clones like Wes Chesbro, who dutifully promoted the myth that someday a train would chug up and down the tracks between Sausalito and Eureka.
Over the years a few trustees appointed to the North Coast RailRoad Authority’s board of directors to oversee the "authority" have broken ranks, but the “authority” has persisted and its occasional mavericks were successfully isolated and ignored.
One of those who broke ranks, and a hard man to ignore, was former Novato City Councilman/lawyer Bernie Meyers. Meyers not only broke ranks, but did us all a huge public service when, on his way out the door in 2013, he delivered a detailed expose of the grand swindle known as the North Coast Railroad Authority.
lostcoastoutpost.com/2013/oct/10/read-north-coast-railroad-director-bernie-meyers-b/
But nothing changed: things limped along until last year when the California Transportation Commission told the NCRA to almost literally put up or shut up — either come up with a viable business plan or give up and offer a plan to turn the right-of-way into a trail system.
Of course, there never was a viable business plan since the track north of Willits along the Eel River has long been beyond any kind of rehabilitation. And the track south of Willits will never support a profitable operation because there are too few people and too few goods to support a railroad operation. (The “SMART” train from somewhere in Sonoma County to somewhere in Marin is a dead letter too. There will never be enough commuters to support it, and it runs on massive state government subsidies.)
State Senator Mike McGuire has drafted a bill to convert the unused rail line north of Santa Rosa to the “Great Redwood Trail.” McGuire's bill requires that the NCRA’s debts be repaid as part of the deal.
Guess who the NCRA owes money to? That’s right, Doug Bosco, among a few others.
As described by Meyers, Bosco’s scheme can be summarized as follows.
Bosco is a “partner” in the Northwest Pacific railroad company (NWP) — a private company run by a man named John Williams.
As long as the NCRA and its Democrat propagandists convinced the State that some day there might be an operating rail line on the old tracks then someone had to upgrade and maintain those tracks. NWP/Williams-Bosco.
But the NCRA had no money to pay the NWP.
Solution: NWP borrows money from a friendly bank and loans it to the NCRA which turns around and pays NWP to do track maintenance and upgrades with the money they borrowed from NWP. NCRA then applies for a grant from the state to reimburse NCRA for the money the NCRA borrowed from NWP/Bosco-Williams.
But since the NCRA is designated by the state to be a “high risk” (i.e., money-losing) operation, the loan is paid back at higher than market rates. So NWP/Bosco-Williams (and remember Bosco also is the NCRA’s contracted lawyer at a very high rate of pay) is paid for the track upgrades and maintenance at a profitable rate — plus NWP/Bosco-Williams gets their loan repaid at higher than market interest rates.
All of this is what makes NWP/Bosco-Williams a very profitable little operation even though very few trains actually run on the upgraded and maintained tracks.
(Of course, it’s more complicated than that, as Meyers points out, but that’s the essence of the arrangement.)
NWP makes money on the financial transactions and on the track work while the NCRA staff takes a rake off of the state grant to pay its well-paid executive and admin staff.
As long as the state, whose legislature is Democrat-controlled, believed the rail-someday fantasy, the arrangement worked fine for everyone involved but the taxpayers. That’s why the NCRA cult of believers — including Mendo Supervisors like (former) David Colfax and (current) John McCowen — were so adamant that someday there would be a train operating somewhere, the gravy train which profits only NWP and NCRA staff would continue.
But now that the Gravy Train is coming to an end they can’t just shut it down. They have to pay NWP/Bosco-Williams the NCRA’s outstanding debts. (That is, the money the NCRA “borrowed” from the NWP.)
Here’s the language from McGuire’s proposed legislation that calls for paying off Bosco before moving forward with the Great Redwood Trail:
Section 13978.9. (a) Upon the appropriation of moneys by the Legislature for these purposes, the Transportation Agency, in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency, shall conduct an assessment of the North Coast Railroad Authority to provide information necessary to determine the most appropriate way to dissolve the North Coast Railroad Authority and dispense with its assets and liabilities. [our emphasis] The Transportation Agency shall report to the Legislature before July 1, 2020 2020, on its findings and recommendations from the assessment. …
There’s also this nice little requirement in McGuire’s proposal — implying that if Bosco doesn’t get paid back directly for his loan, some of the debt will be transferred to the SMART train agency to make sure Bosco’s eventually paid back: “An assessment of the options for transferring the southern portion of the rail corridor to the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District and recommendations on the specific assets and liabilities that could be transferred [our emphasis], including rights or abilities to operate freight rail.”
So now all of a sudden we have a new coalition of Democratic Party insiders — along with a few genuine trail lovers who have no idea of or interest in Bosco’s involvement — coming together to make sure Bosco et al are paid back in full as the cost of the “Great Redwood Trail.”
No matter how you slice it — train or trail — Bosco & The Northcoast Democrats make out very nicely.
The timing is perfect too. Having milked the mythical train idea for decades now, Bosco, Williams, Stogner and the gang are reaching retirement age, so they can and will turn over the train-cum-trail to the next generation: McGuire, Wood and Co. We can’t wait to see how the new Democratic Party insiders position themselves to make a whole new series of profits off the newly designated “Great Redwood Trail.”
For example, contracts will have to be arranged to convert the train track bed to the trail and someone will have to “administer” the new trail. And this time they’ll have to deal with the whole line, not just the part south of Willits. (Prediction, the cost of rehabbing the trackbed into even a simple trail will be a lot more than anyone thinks. It may even be required to be ADA accessible!)
Further, how much use will a trail actually get? Probably about as much as the SMART train — fewer hikers and bikers than ride the heavily subsidized SMART train to nowhere.
So now, a whole new slew of opportunities for the Democratic Party trail functionaries are just one simple payoff to Bosco away.
A cynic might say that the much ballyhooed trail proposal is actually just a nice-sounding cover story to keep the scam running — under a new, more palatable name.
PS. A couple of comments by Eel River area ranchers from the minutes of the NCRA board meeting on May 9, 2018 give an early indication of the difficulties of converting the Eel River track section to a trail — and the potential cost of mitigating them. Think, easements, patrols, fencing, large-scale excavation, closure of tunnels, recontouring of impassable sections, etc., things that Bosco’s Northwest Pacific operation is well positioned to bid on — all so that a few hikers can enjoy “this truly incredible piece of earth” in an age when most people prefer cellphones to hiking boots.
“Wendy Watkins-Stewart – Ms. Stewart said she has seen no publicity on SB1029 (McGuire) and learned about the bill from the internet. She said that she and many of her neighbors in the Eel River Canyon are against a trail going through their properties and that this stretch of property within the canyon is a very unsafe dangerous area for the public.”
“Peggy Satterlee – Ms. Satterlee said she agrees with Ms. Watkins-Stewart and believes that putting a trail through the unstable Eel River Canyon would never work and that the obstacles are beyond repair. She said the ground is so unstable that repairs cannot safely be made. She said that NCRA has been a great help to the ranchers in the area and she wants NCRA to help people to understand and realize that this is no place for a trail.”
Previously:
FARMING FAMILY SEEKING AGRICULTURAL SPACE WITH HOUSING
Greetings,
Hope you are having a great August. We are looking for suggestions regarding house rentals with Agricultural space. We are currently looking to find a home for Autumn to get settled in a new place before winter. Photos of previous gardens and references are available.
Longtime organic gardening and farming family, looking for gardening and farming space on the Mendocino Coast. Housing on site (cabin/small house/efficient yurt) for the 2019 farm season. We have references and enjoy growing healthy food for the region and contributing to the local food supply.
farmingroots1@gmail.com
CALLING ALL FARMERS, LOCAL FOOD VENDORS, MUSICIANS & MARKET LOVERS!
As part of this year's C'mon Home to Eat Celebration, we are hoping to have a special First Friday Evening Farmers' Market in Boonville on Friday, October 5th
If you would like to participate in this event by selling your locally grown produce or certified food products, by playing music during the event, or if you would like to be a part of planning this event, please contact Rachel at: rachel@williamsae.com
Hi AV Folk,
The AV FFA/AVHS Ag Dept is designing a Special Feature Exhibit for the fair. This is one of the big exhibits in the center of the Ag building. We need to use a variety of seeds, legumes, nuts (in and out of the shell), spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and raw wool. Do you have things in your kitchen and or barn that are just hanging around? This could be something that that has gotten a bit old and lost its flavor. Could be an open bag of livestock feed that has not spoiled but you don’t need it anymore. Instead of letting the item go bad or throwing it away how about donating it to the AV FFA?
We could use everything, but the fresh fruits and vegetables, immediately. We are beginning to work on the booth now. If you have something to donate put them in a bag or a box, label with my name, Beth, and drop it off at the high school office. Office hours are, school days, from 7am to 3:30pm. Email me with questions at bswehla@avpanthers.org. Thanks so much!
COAST HOSPITAL STATUS AGAIN
From: John Ruprecht [mailto:ruprecht@mcn.org]
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 3:35 PM
To: mpaul@mcn.org
Cc: 'Bob S. Edwards'; mellis@mcdh.net; nschmid@mcdh.net; gmoon@mcdh.net
Subject: Your e-mails of 8/29/18
Dear Mrs. Paul:
I am general counsel for Mendocino Coast District Hospital (MCDH).
As Mr. Ellis told you at a prior board meeting, MCDH is a public entity and public entities are exempt from filing income tax returns. Specifically, MCDH was formed and operates as a public entity pursuant to “The Local Health Care District Law,” Health & Safety Code §32000, et seq. More specifically, Health & Safety Code §129010(q) defines a local hospital district as a political subdivision of the State of California. Local Health Care Districts, such as MCDH, are “arms of the State of California” and therefore enjoy sovereign immunity from federal income tax.
As I previously told you, the law (Health & Safety Code §32133) requires that the financial records of the Hospital District be audited by a reputable outside accounting firm annually and these audits are public information. The Hospital’s last audit was performed by Dingus-Zarecor & Associates, independent certified public accountants, dated October 2, 2017. This firm specializes in hospital audits. A copy of the audit is available on the Hospital’s website under the title “About Us” under the “Audit” tab. If you would like a hard copy of the audit, or prior years’ audits, the Hospital will provide you with them subject to a reasonable copying fee.
Your second request for a “complete list of vendors” needs to comply with the California Public Records Act. See Government Code §6250, et seq. You may obtain a government records request form from Nancy Schmid, the Hospital’s Compliance Officer, telephone number 961-4605. As your request is so “broad,” some of the records you are requesting may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to various statutory exemptions. Moreover, to the extent that certain vendor information is publicly available, this information is in electronic format and Government Code §6253.9 spells out the requirements for production of records in electronic form and that the requesting party may be required to bear the cost of producing a copy of the record, including the cost to construct the record and the cost of programming and computer services. See Government Code §6253.9 (a copy of which is attached for your convenience).
I would suggest that you narrow your request for “a complete list of all vendors” as to specific types of vendors and reasonable dates requested.
I will be out of state for three weeks but will be happy to discuss this with you upon my return if you have any further questions.
Very truly yours,
John J. Ruprecht
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 1445
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
(707) 964-2973
FAX (707) 964-9255
ruprecht@mcn.org
* * *
My immediate request is for the 501(c)(3) 2 page document from the IRS which I requested in an email to Mike Ellis earlier today. I can find no confirmation either with the Franchise Tax Board or the IRS that Mendocino Coast Healthcare District is, indeed, a tax-exempt business. The requested document would settle the matter.
Margaret Paul
* * *
On Aug 30, 2018, at 4:34 PM, Lenny <Lnoack@mcn.org> wrote:
The 2nd paragraph of Mr. Ruprecht's letter makes clear that MCDH's tax exempt status is NOT granted by being a 501c3 (hence your inability to secure that documentation), but through its designation as an "arm of the State of California" (with the rest of the definition and data also described). MCDH is NOT a 501c3.
* * *
Shortened url for IRS confirmation of MCDH tax exempt status
From: "Toni Rizzo" <toni@mcn.org>
Sorry for the long url in my previous post. Here is a shortened url for the IRS showing MCDH tax exempt status. https://tinyurl.com/yd6s99rf
Lenny is correct, MCDH is not a 501c3, as I stated in my email yesterday, but it is tax exempt.
BETSY CAWN WRITES: In Nebraska, state legislative districts are based on watersheds. They also have a unicameral government, the only one in the US. Not that it’s ideal — nothing in governance is — but that’s how I would do it if I had the magic wand, in California. The sickening destruction of the northern counties’ natural resources — plundering the mega-producing watersheds to keep constructing and paving and growing frivolous crops while murdering the ancient groundwater supplies — will never end, and Mendo/Lake’s pissing contests over pot and power are just typical examples of how brainwashed we all are.
THIS WEEK AT BLUE MEADOW FARM
Stocking Up?
Case Discounts On Early Girl & Roma Tomatoes
Heirloom, Early Girl, Roma & Cherry Tomatoes
Corno di Toro, Gypsy, Bell, Pimiento Sweet Peppers
Padrons, Poblanos, Jalapenos, Anaheim Chilis
Italian & Asian Eggplant, Zucchini & Patty Pan Squash
Kale, Cucumbers, Garlic, Basil, Purslane
Sunflowers & Zinnias
Blue Meadow Farm, 3301 Holmes Ranch Rd, Philo 707-895-2071
SPRAYING IS BETTER
Editor,
Having lived in Mendocino county for almost 50 years, I am struck by the change in wildfires from a noteworthy and uncommon event to a commonplace occurrence. Climate change, drought, pine beetles, more people — I get it.
What I don’t get is how the cessation of the Cal-Trans strip spraying of roadside vegetation due to a perceived environmental harm has continued to this day. The program of creating an 8 foot firebreak from the edge of the road to the wild lands prevented random sparks and lit cigarettes from starting many fires. The Carr fire, the River fire, the Ranch fire and many smaller ones caught in time, visible along almost any stretch of highway, all began at the edge of the road.
We have traded a possible modest runoff of whatever chemical is used and minor effects in the waterways for hundreds of thousands of acres of habitat destroyed along with all the wildlife and plant life present within. We have exchanged a firebreak at the roadsides for miles of bulldozed firebreaks all through the mountains and valleys in an attempt to hold back the flames. We have traded the purity of the roadside for the massive caustic influx to the creeks and rivers from the first rains flushing the ash from the devastated watershed and continued surges of silt to choke the gravel beds.
It is past time to review the environmental impact of stopping the roadside spraying while there is still an environment to save.
Alfred White
Ukiah
CATCH OF THE DAY, August 30, 2018
RICHARD ALLEN, Willits. Parole violation.
PAULINE BARAJAS, Gualala. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, domestic abuse, criminal threats, protective order violation, probation revocation.
HEATHER BECK, Willits. Probation revocation.
CHRISTOPHER EDWARDS, Kelseyville/Ukiah. DUI.
ERNEST GATES JR., Ukiah. DUI.
FRANCISCO GONZALEZ, Ukiah. Parole violation.
DANIEL GRIFFITH, Vandalism, probation revocation.
RHANDA JACK, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.
JEREMY JENSEN, Redwood Valley. Probation revocation.
NICOLE PENDLETON, Santa Rosa/Hopland. DUI-alcohol&drugs, controlled substance.
PHILIP PETERSON, Lakeport/Fort Bragg. Controlled substance, false personation of another, suspended license (for DUI), driving without license, conspiracy, resisting, probation revocation.
AMANDA PURCELL, Ukiah. Probation revocation.
BRANDY SCHLEPER, Ukiah. Disobeying court order.
FROM THE SACRAMENTO BEE: Rural law enforcement problems:
Calling 911 in rural California? Danger might be close, but the law can be hours away
This couple was attacked by knife-wielding killer. Did their sheriff put them in harm’s way?
ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY
All these lefty loopy types are filled with a sense of destiny that Trump is soon to depart. They are all listening to one another’s fantasies in this instance. Even if they could get Congress to vote a bill of impeachment, there ain’t no way they’d ever get 67 votes in the senate and don’t look for Trump to get a case of the vapors and resign in a Roberto Duran style “No mas” moment.
The MSM and it’s media celebrity types are all in the throes of a collective delusion. Aside from these douchebags and the Washington establishment, Trump is popular with his base, most of whom are staying quiet and biding their time. Blue wave in November? Don’t be so sure.
“You can get the pillow fort back when you bring Mommy some good news.”
TEN YEARS AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRASH, THE TIMID LEFT SHOULD BE FULL OF REGRETS
“There was a very short period when the powers that be were on the back foot. Progressive forces were not able to take advantage. Nothing substantial has changed and we are sleep-walking into another crisis.”
theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/30/financial-crash-capitalism-banking-crisis
BECKY’S NEW CAR
The Mendocino Theatre Company's production of BECKY'S NEW CAR continues this weekend with four performances!
Check our website <mendocinotheatre.org> for details, or phone 707-937-4477.
CALIFORNIA PASSES US'S STRONGEST STATE NET NEUTRALITY BILL
California's legislature just passed SB 822, which will be the US's strongest state-level net neutrality bill. Here's a quick reaction from Jiggy Athilingam, the Indivisible Project's State & Local Policy Manager:
"Today, the California legislature voted to protect internet freedom by passing SB 822, the nation's strongest state-level net neutrality bill. Dozens of states are now waiting in the wings to pass similar bills. When the federal government fails us, our states must step up and resist."
Jiggy (CCed) is available to answer questions and offer additional reactions. She has been live-tweeting the vote here.
Indivisible's previous resource: Resource - Protecting Net Neutrality in California.
Best,
Emily Phelps <emily@indivisible.org>
“THE RAILS TO TRAILS SCAM”
This is why I like the AVA. Is the long running vendetta against former Congressman Bosco honorable? Not entirely, and so he wants to get his money back. Seems like anyone would. But, yea, there is a lot of insider stuff going on with insider dealing with taxpayer money. Let’s just look at the practical parts of the very attractive trail fantasy.
Do the tracks get pulled, or not? Do the tunnels get used, or not? Do the trestles get used or not? Are the failed portions of the rail bed restored or not? Are rail road hazardous waste issues resolved or not? How is emergency service, and law enforcement provided to the remote areas of the tracks? Will there be cell service? Will there be designated campgrounds for hikers to spend the night so they don’t end up trespassing? What about bathroom facilities? All these questions potentially involve huge amounts of money. Huge amounts.
Who is going to pay? What is the projected daily usage for this trail? What do the respective county sheriffs think? And what about other emergency responsptonders? What do landowners adjacent to the trail think? Details, details.
Excellent, still unanswered questions George. Not to mention the future trials and tribulations of future adjacent landowners.
Jeez, George. You always impute the lowest of motives to us, us the very cynosure on honorable dealing. We’ve always been suspicious of Bosco and, I think, rightly so. Moreover, we are not the only people saying the entire rail set-up has been a Demo Party scam from the outset, a kind of jobs program for loyalists like Stogner and the unemployed professionals Demo pols and the unemployable among them like Dan Hauser. Before America irremediably lost its way circa ’67, and as other countries were running high speed trains from the equivalent of Frisco to Eureka, rail was pretty much abandoned in favor to traffic jams, and the old Northwest Pacific fell into a permanent state of disrepair north of Santa Rosa. And to think that as late as 1955 you could get on a train out of Fort Bragg, connect to a southbound train at Willits, and be enjoying a martini at the Top of the Mark by sundown! What in hell’s name happened? Cheap cynicism and gross corruption, that’s what happened, all of it carried by cheap hustlers like Bosco and the clowns inflicted on us since Bosco. Rails to trails sounds easy but anyone who’s ever hiked the Eel River Canyon, me included, can tell you that even a trail through there would be a billion dollar project. Sections of the old track could be converted here and there north and south of the Canyon, but the money it would take is unlikely to ever be available. Bosco and his insider pals are again scamming us.
Bruce, “the lowest motives”, have positive unintended consequences. Who else is writing about this stuff? I don’t know any media types.
If by “this stuff” you mean the NCRA and its many tentacles, then credit must be given to Hank Sims at Lost Coast Outpost who has covered the subject consistently for years.
Good to give them credit. I don’t read that paper, except on rare occasion. There certainly can’t be any of this coverage in the PD for obvious reasons. Not even an editorial. Nothing in the UDJ, or Willits News. There is so much of this crap that goes on below the radar. Hogs at the public trough making themselves look pretty so the food (money) keeps flowing. In California, it is all Democrats, too. The Republicans have little opportunity here. They need to go somewhere else.
“I don’t run the train
I just ring the bell.
And if it jumps the track
I catch all the hell.”
Anonymous?
“THE RAILS TO TRAILS SCAM”
Bicyclists should pay for using roads, trails [Hikers Too]
Bicyclists argue they have a legal right to use the roads and trails, and they do. But unlike motorists they don’t pay for them. Somehow, that just doesn’t seem right. So, how about a benefits-received tax for bicycles? Why can’t we put a tax on every bike sold and use the proceeds to develop and maintain our trails or perhaps to support the roads used by the cyclists? Given that many bikes cost well into four figures, I think most purchasers could afford a tax. It doesn’t have to be a flat tax; it could be based on value of the bike. Alternatively, it could be paid through a license fee on bikes.
Automobile users of our roads pay their way. It only seems fair bicycles should as well.
https://wcfcourier.com/news/opinion/columnists/bicyclists-should-pay-for-using-roads-trails/article_9ec111c6-6b2f-514b-bb2a-e70fff95f077.html
I find it amazing that all these old rail lines in the steep hills of northern california were installed, operated and maintained by some rugged individuals (including lots of forced labor) with very basic tools. And now, with all of our modern technology and money and supposed progress, the rails are being more or less abandoned. Blame it on whatever your favorite scapegoat is (big gub’ment, whacko liberals, corpo lawyer scum, the Deep State), but I’d much rather cruise up and down the 101 corridor on a rail than some stupid smart car. Also consider the fact that the old rail line runs through the heart of some of the Emerald Triangle! Could be some interesting business opportunities: can you say Puff and Peddle!
A hint at why this rail line can’t function: After the 1964 flood, slide material blocking roads and rails in the Eel River watershed was either bulldozed or shoveled into the Eel River. Try to do that today.
I have hiked some of it, from Willits to Ukiah, and there’s places where it’s washed out, sagging rails over gullies with a few weathered old ties hanging and swinging, and one spot where four 20-foot rails are down in a big washout, and you have to detour around it, but surprisingly, locals w/ quads and dirt bikes have built and maintained their own little side routes in these places, and a good trail exists alongside, or right down the middle by and large, and they have even cleared some brush uphill, where necessary, to make it navigatable in steep areas.
It doesn’t take a specialist from the US FS trail corps to see the obvious. The big prob is the same encountered in Anderson Valley a few years back when they wanted to make a hike-bike trail to the coast: the rich dogs who own the land won’t have it, and that’s that. And just you try to get emminent domain against the well to do!
Now, North of Willits, that’s another story. Sure, you’ll find hobo camps along the tracks, but mostly the alder and french broom and manzanita and buckbrush, and suchlike has come up between the rails, between the ties, and grown in as thick as the hair on a dog’s back, and you will not get through.
Every mile or two — if that — you have to go down to the highway and skirt around a long section totally congested. Places where it has slumped off into the Eel River are actually easier to get by than deep woods sections, which as noted are impassible by anything bigger than a coyote.
And all of this talk about law enforcement and emergency services access is just so much of the way things are going, that any form of transport other than cars and planes will be too impractical to consider, and we’re right back to the two major causes of global warming, cars and jets, and you will, absolutely will, drive or fly, sir, or you won’t go at all, so get used to it!
I love to go a-wandering along the mountain track
And as I go I love to sing, my knapsack on my back.
Valderi, valdera, valderi, valdera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Valderi, valdera, my knapsack on my back
I love to wander by the stream that dances in the sun
So joyously it calls to me “Come join my happy song”.
Valderi, valdera, valderi, valdera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Valderi, valdera, come join my happy song
I wave my hat to all I meet and they wave back to me
And blackbirds call so loud and sweet from every greenwood tree.
Valderi, valdera, valderi, valdera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Valderi, valdera, from every greenwood tree
High overhead the skylark wing, they never rest at home
But just like me they love to sing as o’er the world we roam.
Valderi, valdera, valderi, valdera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Valderi, valdera, as o’er the world we roam
O may I go a-wandering until the day I die
And may I always laugh and sing beneath God’s clear blue sky.
Valderi, valdera, valderi valdera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Valderi, valdera, beneath God’s clear blue sky.
From Willits to Ukiah? Nice trek
OH!
When I came down to the old trestle just under HWY 20, just before noon on my second day,in late September, 2008, I went by a vineyard and a fine old gent on a tractor, waved his seasoned fedora at me w/ stylish good cheer, and I wish I’d known your song then, as I went down to the creek and washed my sox, ate a hard roll, two wormy apples and a half bottle of very warm rennish — even after I cooled it for an hour in the shady creek water…
“…Valderi, valdera, as o’er the world roam…”
Sweet!
I have similar thoughts, Kirk, every time I drive past Paul Dimmick State Campground. A very modest public amenity which we let slip away. Now forever closed, apparently, and there it sits a’moldering. I feel a little twinge of civic shame every time I pass it. It’s pathetic that we can’t even keep a little thing like that in operation. The reason why? I’d say basically it comes down to decades of starving public funding. See: Grover Norquist.
rename Dimmick to Grover Norquist memorial non-functioning public park
Betsy – that’s a great idea in a relatively flat State. Wouldn’t work so well here… and So Cal would STILL out-vote NorCal interests
Betsy’s still one of those people who believe the whole world is flat, don’t give it much thought. She’s going to be real busy trying to stop all the runoff from the hillsides this winter pouring into Clear Lake, most likely blaming it all on construction and pot growers, not poor forest management.
James Marmon
I gave a nice speech at the Mental Health Treatment Act Citizen’s Oversight Committee meeting on Wednesday. I’m a little embarrassed however, towards the end I used the word de-escalate when I meant to say decompensate.
https://youtu.be/jFZZaXv3GQA
If you watch the video you will see that everyone except for the two real mental health people Jan McGourty (MBHB) and Donna Moschetti (NAMI) were extremely disappointed it his report and recommendations. It is going to be “shit canned” for sure.
There is another great picture of me in the Willits News Article. It looks like I’m sitting alone, but right after this picture was taken, Supervisor John McCowan came in and sat next to me.
Measure B Mental Health Committee discusses Kemper Consulting report
In his opinion, Kemper said, “The current Mental Health continuum of care for both adults and children is missing a variety of key services in Mendocino County, including alternatives to inpatient psychiatric care (Day Treatment, Partial Hospital, Crisis Residential Treatment); inpatient psychiatric care (Psychiatric Health Facility, psychiatric inpatient services in an acute care hospital and IMD); and, Employability Services for adults.”
http://www.willitsnews.com/general-news/20180830/measure-b-mental-health-committee-discusses-kemper-consulting-report
P.S. At the meeting, Kemper did sneak in his support for the Marbut Report. I know that they didn’t like that. They already “shit canned” that report.
Go to 18:10 of the video and watch the look on Carmel Angelo’s face when Kemper said that the County should adopt a policy where Measure B funding is used to “supplement” current funding, not “supplant” it.
“sometimes there are some clever maneuvers that occur”
-Lee Kemper
The friends of the library can tell you all about that.
Time to kick some hippie ass again! I’m sure my little brother Dan Woolley would have something to say about this if he was still alive.
TRUCKERS AND PROTESTERS CONCERNED ABOUT PLANS TO LOG RAINBOW RIDGE CLASHED NEAR SCOTIA MILL YESTERDAY
“The California Highway Patrol received reports that the blockade forced truckers to stop on the exits and this was impeding traffic. They also received reports that demonstrators were climbing onto the trucks.”
http://kymkemp.com/2018/08/31/truckers-and-protesters-concerned-about-plans-to-log-rainbow-ridge-clashed-near-scotia-mill-yesterday/
Country deejays knows that I’m an outlaw
They’d never come to see me in this dive
Where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies
Who are praying they’ll get outta here alive
The loud mouth in the corner’s gettin’ to me
Talking ’bout my earrings and my hair
I guess he ain’t read the signs that say I been to prison
Someone ought to warn him ‘fore I knock him off his chair
‘Cause my long hair just can’t cover up my red neck
I’ve won every fight, I’ve ever fought
Hey, I don’t need some turkey telling me that I ain’t country
And sayin’ I ain’t worth the damned ol’ ticket that he bought
‘Cause I can sing all them songs about Texas
And I still do all the sad ones that I know
They tell me, I look like Merle Haggard
And sound a lot like David Allen Coe
And the bar maid in the last town that we played in
Knew the words to every song I’d wrote
She said, Jimmy Rabbit turned her on to my last album
Just about the time the jukebox broke
Yeah, Johny Cash helped me get out of prison
Long before Rodriguez stole that goat
I’ve been the Rhinestone Cowboy for so long, I can’t remember
And I can do you every song, Hank Williams ever wrote
And I can sing all them songs about Texas
And I still do all the sad ones that I know
I can’t help it, I look like Merle Haggard
And I sound a lot like David Allen Coe
But the country deejays, all think I’m an outlaw
And they’d never come to see me in this dive
Where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies
Who are praying they’ll get out of here alive
The loud mouth in the corner’s gettin’ to me
Talking ’bout my earrings and my hair
https://youtu.be/X3_qUDwF-Ns
I met Merle Haggard when I was stationed at a Prison Inmate Fire Camp in Wells Nevada 1986, his bus broke down in front of the Camp on Hwy. 80. He spent the whole day with us.
Thanks for the link to the enlightening Sac Bee article on rural safety and law enforcement availability and response time. Glad to see that Mendo County is nearer the middle rather than the top of the State’s violent crime rate. Nevertheless, the next time the anti-gun proponents go off on one of their rants, I suggest they read and reread the article. Same goes for our California legislators who have nothing better to do than concoct and pass ever-more draconian and ineffective anti-gun laws, unless of course they’re plotting ways to steal more of our money.
Dear Community,
On May 30, 2018, Mendocino Coast District Hospital (MCDH) received a letter of resignation from a traveling surgery nurse, which was recently published anonymously in the press, and which makes a number of unfortunate allegations about the Hospital’s surgery department. MCDH is committed to providing high-quality, patient centered health care in a safe, caring and professional environment, and we take allegations like these very seriously. Contrary to the allegations in the letter, I want to assure you that MCDH provides safe care, and I am very proud of our strong track record of patient safety, and our employees and doctors who work hard every day to serve this community.
Our surgery department is subject to rigorous standards and inspections, and none of the entities which regulate and inspect our hospital have ever identified evidence to support these types of allegations. The fact is that MCDH has had a 0% infection rate in our surgery department over the last 5 years, as confirmed by our Infection Control Committee and patient care results.
We are inspected and accredited by The Joint Commission, the organization that accredits more than 20,000 U.S. healthcare organizations and programs, and they have found no deficiencies that resemble any of the allegations in this letter. The California Department of Public Health regularly inspects our facility and examines our processes with amazing attention to detail, and they too have not found evidence of any of these claims. In addition, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) visits and inspects our surgery department, and are actively monitoring the HVAC construction project in our surgical area. They too have not reported or raised concerns about any of the topics from this letter.
Nonetheless, once we received this letter, we immediately investigated the allegations. We did confirm that there were valid concerns raised regarding the proper use of scrubs, and we promptly implemented a plan of action to address those concerns.
MCDH policy, as well as Federal and State regulations, requires all staff to report any safety concerns immediately. It is concerning that this traveling nurse waited so long before reporting many of these allegations. Regulations require that any safety concerns need to be reported immediately at the risk of losing the ability to maintain a registered nursing license. An anonymous letter in a local paper does not follow proper Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) standards.
The concerns brought forward in the letter have become a part of both our Medical Staff Peer Review process and Medical Staff Performance Improvement process. Lynn Finley, Chief Nursing Officer at MCDH commented, “I have had several investigative meetings with the Surgery Department and our Providers to get a clear picture of what actually happened. I can tell you the few allegations that have truth have all been addressed, and processes are and have been in place to prevent things like this from ever occurring.”
Sincerely,
Bob Edwards, CEO
Mendocino Coast District Hospital
“An anonymous letter in a local paper does not follow proper Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) standards.”
It may not have been proper, but it seems to have been the most effective.