Mendocino County Today: Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018

• Slick Roads
• First Rains
• Plea Deals
• Pet Adoptions
• California Nutmeg
• Management Raises
• No Raise
• Foodshed Cavalcade
• Sports Talk
• Transitions
• Open Lines
• Weaponized Supervisor
• Hungry Kids
• Greed Bullies
• Little Dog
• Yesterday's Catch
• Gun Protest
• Autumn
• Jail Time
• Nationwide Test
• Stoned People
• Spiritual Mojo
• Sanctuary Fundraiser
• Alley Cats
• Totalitarian Politics
• String Quartet
• Jersey
• Donald Teetotal
• Kav Comments
• FBI LE
• Code Enforcement
• Silent Musical

THE 13‑YEAR‑OLD GIRL and her aunt killed north of Willits in an horrific head-on crash Saturday afternoon, had been headed for Dos Rios for an afternoon of cooking, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Bobbie Martin, 41, of Dos Rios, had just picked up her niece, Victoria Stewart, at the girl’s Willits home and had headed north toward Highway 162 where it meets Highway 101 north of Willits, and runs east to Dos Rios and Covelo.

At approximately 1:40 p.m., Martin's 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 unaccountably crossed into the southbound lane where it collided with a log truck and burst into flame.

Aunt and niece were declared dead at the scene.

Robert Maffia, 76, of Ukiah, the log truck driver, was uninjured but badly shaken by the accident.

Authorities speculated that the light rain falling at the time had made the road treacherously slick.

(SF Chronicle)

BOONVILLE RECEIVED AN INCH of rain last night; Yorkville an inch-and-a-quarter. And so begins the new rain year (October to October).

"Occasional showers will persist across the region through mid week, with the heaviest rainfall totals occurring in Mendocino County tonight. Otherwise, temperatures will remain mild and below normal in the interior through the week." (National Weather Service)

PLEA DEAL IN SETTLER CASE

The Jeffery Settler murder case resolved three more defendants this morning, as Governor Brown having signed the State Bill felony murder rule last night, and the jury trial for Fredrick Gaestel, Jesse Wells and Michael Kane was set to begin this morning, District Attorney David Eyster entered the courtroom with offers for the defendants and after a long consultation with their lawyers the three defendants took the offered plea deals. Mr. Kane went first and pled "Guilty" to count one, which had been reduced from first degree murder to voluntary manslaughter, for 11 years in prison, with an additional one year for admitting he personally used a hatchet to strike Jeffery Settler in the head; and, count two, robbery in concert of an inhabited dwelling, for one-third of the mid-term of six years (two years) for a total of 14 years in the state prison. Fredrick Gaestel and Jesse Wells both pled "Guilty" to count two, robbery in concert of an inhabited dwelling, for three years each in the state prison. Judgment and Sentencing for Mr. Kane will be on October 26th at 9:00 am; Gaestel and Wells on November 2nd at 9:00 am. The fourth defendant, Mr. Gary Blank will be offered a deal similar to Mr. Kane's, and his trial date will undoubtedly be moved up, since the other three have pled out. As for the three who have already pled to robbery in concert for 11 years each, we expect those defendants to file appeals in light of the new felony murder rule, and look forward to seeing them back in court soon.

P.S. Tom Hine, P.I. for Al Kubanis (Gary Blank's lawyer), was the worst-dressed personage in the courtroom -- old faded Levis and "stressed" jean-jacket, work boots and a plaid shirt, hadn't had a haircut in over a year -- everyone else, even the investigators for the other lawyers were all formally attired, all but Mr. Hine and several of those in attendance made a point of mentioning it to him in no uncertain terms!

EMPTY THE SHELTERS, OCTOBER 6.

For more information, please visit: mendoanimalshelter.com/programs-events/bissell-partnership-VnkOq

CURIOUS ABOUT NUTMEGS?

Editor,

To: Brad Wiley, re California Nutmeg;

In the 1967 version of George Sudworth’s "Forest trees of the Pacific Slope" first printed in 1908, he describes the wood of the nutmeg as being "bright lemon-yellow" and I can attest to that as I traded a fly rod to Trenton Fullerton for a 1/4 unit of the stuff back when Trenton was pulling out of Ukiah for Wyoming to spend the rest of his life trout fishing in "God’s Country."

Back in the day Trenton ran a small logging operation and one of his new hires accidentally cut down a big nutmeg, thinking it was a redwood or fir, so the story goes. Trenton had it rough cut into 1 x 6s and had it laying around for years until I got it. The wood is very soft like white pine and is indeed a light yellow. If the wood you discovered in the barn was creamy white all the way through and very hard, it may have been Bay tree boards which are like that.

The nutmeg boards when run through a planer emit a very powerful toxic smell and the sawdust should not be breathed. I have used the boards for garden and orchard gates and the toxicity prevents insect damage and rot much like redwood, perhaps even more powerfully.

Sudworth describes the various ranges the tree is found in and around California and one place he describes (written in 1908) is the Old Toll Road from 175 out of Hopland over to Highland Springs. So when I read that three decades ago I drove over to have a look and they are still there and I have been back a couple of times since. The drupes which resemble the tropical nutmeg from which the name comes, if crushed or bruised give off the most vile odor which I would describe as "caustic celery." It may be that the Native Americans were able to process them somehow for use. They have certainly been verified to have used the dangerously sharp needles for tattooing.

Sudworth, who seems to be one of those guys who got around a bit, describes many other locations in California where these trees are located and of course online brings loads of info about this curious tree.

Peter Brewer

Ukiah

ALL FOR THEM, NONE FOR US

SEIU Local 1021 which represents more than 800 employees who work for Mendocino County has called on the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors to put a hold on any increases in management salaries until the County has completed its long delayed Classification and Compensation Study.

The Board has a proposed 21% salary increase over 4 years for the County CEO on its agenda for its Tuesday, October 2 meeting.

In addition, there is a proposal for 21.5% annual increase for the Assistant Agriculture Commissioner and a 9% increase for the just hired Public Defender.

At its September 25 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved an eight-month delay of the report from Koff & Associates to study how far below market County employee wages are compared to other rural California counties. The original report was supposed to be released in June but has now been delayed to June 2019.

The County has experienced a serious problem with recruitment and retention as it has hemorrhaged experienced employees to higher paying neighboring counties. Mendocino County employee wage rates are on average 15% below other comparable jurisdictions.

The delay in the Classification and Compensation study has fueled anger among County employees already troubled by the Board’s controversial vote to raise their own salaries by 39% earlier this year.

County staff has also watched as most department heads and managers received 20% to 30% increases over the last year while the review of their wage rates has stalled.

“Approving these large increases just a week after delaying yet again the review of County employee wages sends the absolute wrong message,” said Mendocino County social worker and SEIU 1021 Chapter President Kort Pettersen. “At last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, I gave each member an abbreviated version of 'Leaders Eat Last' by Simon Sinek, which promotes a more inclusive and egalitarian leadership style. I believe it is something that Mendocino County really needs to take to heart.”

SEIU Local 1021 represents nearly 60,000 employees in local governments, non-profit agencies, health care programs and schools throughout Northern California, including more than 800 Mendocino County workers.

(SEIU Press Release)

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

(by Bryan Lowery, Long time Mendo Health and Human Services Manager)

There is much to say about the CEO'S self recommended pay raises. First I am certain she has the full intention to retire within this time period and knows how these actions will enhance her retirement package. Second a Study of Executive Office salaries (Management) should be ordered by the Board of Supervisors by an outside and independent authority. Third there should be a "no" vote until after the upcoming election for Board of Supervisors as there will be new members that have to live with the decision. The CEO would not make this self recommendation unless she knew she already had the votes from the current BOS members. I am pretty sure members of the newly voted in Board of Supervisors would vote "no." Anyone looking to get such a substantial pay increase should be performing at a level that substantially exceeds expectations… Is that the case of the CEO? What about all the issues around Mental Health, County Library, HHSA, Building and Planning, General Services Agency, or the lack of leadership regarding the Marijuana programs? Take a look at the history of the CEO's record of management changes. The CEO places blame on Department Heads but the CEO interviews and hires the Department Heads and the CEO supervises the Department Heads and provides direction to the Department Heads. There is no Leadership at all Levels, it’s Leadership at one Level. Who is responsible for the direction of the County? (The CEO). Department Heads serve at the pleasure of the CEO, a Department Head does not disagree and follows the direction of the CEO. If as a Department Head you challenge direction you find your way out the door or reassigned. The CEO puts the problems on the Department heads and makes a change every time there is public chatter or political consequences to avoid "ANYTHING" looking like the Executive office or the CEO is dysfunctional or taking any responsibility in the decision making process. It starts with the CEO but through smoke and mirrors deflects to Department heads which the CEO is more than happy to make a change and keep from taking any responsibility. There should absolutely be no raises for any management, Executive Office or the CEO. And the Board of Supervisors needs to actively listen to the employees and suspend any recommended raises for the top level management/CEO. This issue should be viewed as a potential abuse of public funds!

ALL IN BOONVILLE! October is here and the cavalcade of events to celebrate AV Foodshed's C’mon Home To Eat month are rolling out. There is something for everyone. If you can’t catch today’s local soup special at Mosswood for lunch today, Pilar will create a special soup on each of the Wednesdays in October. On Thursday the 4th is the Boonville Hotel/Table 128’s community night dinner—check their website for the menu—you’ll need a reservation. Friday the 5th claims a premier event, the First Friday Farmers’ Market in the Boonville Hotel parking lot, replete with fresh produce, crafts, the apple press, music, and food. The lights will be on and the doors open at many of the surrounding local businesses. Saturday features 20% off all plants and seed packets at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply and an evening community dinner at Lauren’s. Monday the 8th Gowan, from Fortunate Farm on the coast, will be the host on the Farm & Garden Show from 11-12 on KZYX and the monthly meeting of AV Foodshed is at the Boonville General Store from 11:30-1. The Senior Center dinner on the 9th at 6:00 will feature local vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits and welcomes all ages—the dessert is apple cobbler! And don’t forget that all throughout October the Boonville General Store has local specials; Burt at Boont Berry will be creating apple desserts with local fruit and flour; in tune with the season Paysanne will proffer hot apple cider; and for lunch at the high school the local salad bar is available.

When you make a purchase at each of the local farm stands or for one of the C’mon events during October you can fill out a raffle ticket and deposit it in the accompanying can or envelope. The prizes include dinners at the Boonville Hotel and Bewildered Pig, plus gift certificates to AV farm stands.

If you would like to peek ahead at the rest of October’s events, please go to avfoodshed.com for the calendar. Not only is it possible to procure all your food locally, but the nutrition will be intact, there will be less packaging, and your food won’t have travelled through so many machines, so many hands, and so many miles.

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COME ONE, COME ALL. AV Foodshed’s 13th annual C’mon Home To Eat in October 2018 is about to be in full swing. While the harvest is at its height, C’mon is a month-long celebration centered on eating local food at home and in town. For a preview, there will be a First Friday Farmers’ Market event (10/5/18) at the Boonville Hotel parking lot from 4-7 p.m. replete with music, local food/craft vendors, the apple press and fresh cider, food, and local businesses staying open (including wine tasting). All during October our local eateries will be highlighted, creating a myriad of community celebrations and serving especially local food. At each C’mon event there will be raffle tickets available (when you purchase an item or a meal) for a drawing at the Grange Holiday Dinner. You can also enter a raffle ticket each time you shop at a local farm stand during the month. Raffle prizes will be dinners at the Bewildered Pig and the Boonville Hotel/Table 128 plus gift certificates to local farm stands. There will be “shelf talkers” at the grocery stores—little signs that indicate locally sourced food. And there will be two opportunities to go gleaning for your own consumption or to donate to the Food Bank. If there is time left after the gleaning, the fruit, veggies, nuts, olives, etc. gleaners will preserve it too. AV Feed and Grain will be giving a 20% discount on plants and packaged seeds on Saturdays during October. Our local grain purveyor, Mendocino Grain Project will be featured all month and you will also be able to purchase MGP flour from heritage grains at Boont Berry Store. The real challenge is How Local Can You Go?

FOR THE FIRST WEEK in October C’mon Home To Eat features the KZYX Farm & Garden Show on October 1st with Ruthie; Mosswood a special local soup special on October 3rd; October 4th the Boonville Hotel/Table 128 community night (please make a reservation); on October 5th the First Friday Farmers’ Market; on October 6th Lauren’s community night, on October 8th the KZYX Farm & Garden Show with Gowan; and on the 9th the Senior Center dinner with pineapple pepper chicken (local peppers and mushrooms), local squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, and local apple cobbler for dessert. The Boonville General Store will have daily and weekly local specials all month. On Wednesdays Mosswood will have a special. Throughout October Boont Berry will feature local apple desserts, Paysanne hot apple cider, and the high school cafeteria will have its local salad bar. You can find the whole calendar and more information at http://www.avfoodshed.com

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BARBARA GOODELL AND CINDY WILDER have teamed up to produce an interesting chronology of local food production and related events:

Connecting With Local Food #36

A Foodshed: Like A Watershed

by Barbara Goodell

In the sense that a geographic area accessible to local communities can provide sustenance to its inhabitants, a foodshed is like a watershed. The Anderson Valley foodshed formed geologically millions of years ago. Ten thousand or more years ago the local people here procured their food within walking distance. To supplement acorns, roots, game, and grains near their small villages, they caught fish and gathered salt from the coast. If we fast forward to a few hundred years ago when new settlers brought flour, sugar, and coffee and began some agricultural pursuits, written history tells us versions of what followed. Then in 2004 a group of enthusiastic locals decided to figure out how to eat more locally to garner more nutrition with just-picked freshness, use less packaging, reduce their use of fossil fuels, and support the local economy. Sara McCamant recalls, “The original vision came when I read the book Eat Here by Brian Halwell. I talked with Margaret Howe about it and we decided to have a gathering to talk about creating a local foodshed movement. We met in town and a good number of people came--including Diane Paget, Linda MacElwee, and Lauren. We had papers all over the walls and started to define what it might look like. From there a couple of things spawned: Eat Local month and a couple of all-day gatherings to talk about creating a healthy local foodshed.” By sourcing local food they realized the benefits of knowing the farmer who grew the tomatoes, the rancher who raised the meat, the fisher who caught the fish, the person who gathered the eggs, pressed the oil, or picked the fruit and nuts; buying locally was also a way to build community. They began to network with county-wide organizations, the Boonville Farmers’ Market, local businesses, the annual Chestnut Gathering, the Seed/Scion Exchange and Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop, and local farmers, fishers, and ranchers to encourage more local farming, ranching, and local food availability and distribution.

What emerged from that effort was, and still is, a very vibrant community organization called AV Foodshed (AVF) with the goal of connecting people with local food—from gardens, farm stands, stores, eateries that use local ingredients, and from purveyors within a hundred-mile range. They found that some of the food bases were already covered but initiated three rounds of meetings with like-minded people around Mendocino County. Called Steps to a Local Food Economy, the group began in 2004 as a coming together of representatives of farming, ranching, restaurants, stores, farmers’ markets, local food groups, and government agencies to network on local food issues with a focus on the future of our local food economy. Linda MacElwee attended and recounts, “The STEPS meetings were amazing in that the breakout sessions produced short, medium, and long term goals in five distinct areas: infrastructure for growing, processing and storing and distributing food locally; County policy to support local farmers and local food (https://www.mendocinofood.org/food-action-plan.html); livable income for farmers and farm workers and affordable local food; a year-round supply of local food, fiber and medicine; and the real value and genuine pleasure of local food appreciation. Over the years, the specific goals and objectives continue to realized, not just through the work of the AVF, but through the work of the many partnering organizations, like North Coast Opportunities, The Gardens Project, The Mendo-Lake Food Hub, the Good Farm Fund, The Farmers Guild, the New Agrarian Collective and, of course, through the efforts of the farmers themselves, as well as the chefs and markets that buy and promote local food.” Developing out of the STEPS movement came grant monies from North Coast Opportunities to promote local food, gardens, and the school lunch programs.

AV Foodshed Group, as it was originally named, began promoting an annual month-long eat-locally campaign called C’mon Home To Eat, which spread to the coast, Willits, and Ukiah. In 2007 AVF sparked the publication of a Mendocino County Food Guide indexing all the farmers, ranchers, and other food producers in the County and how to contact them. Linda MacElwee describes, “The Local Food Guide is one of the most exciting projects that we have worked on--it is a Resource Guide that connects local eaters to local farmers who are growing local food and where people can buy it, with farms listed from all over the County. It also has food support resources and planting and harvesting guides for the County. You can find it at https://mendolocalfood.org/reference-info/gardening-guides-2/.” Deleh Pasewalk drew the artwork for it that became the AVF logo. The Food Guide was reprinted two years later and then went online in 2012. The online version has been updated continually and work is now being completed to publish an updated hard copy. It has been supported by fundraisers, grants, AV Chamber of Commerce, and North Coast Opportunities.

Many essential components of local food have been strongly supported by AVF over the years. Doug Mosel remembers, “The assessment of our local food system, facilitated by the AV Foodshed inspired what would become the Mendocino Grain Project.” Annually Doug has almost single handedly planted fields of heritage grains, harvested them, and distributed shares of wheat, rye, barley, oats, and lentils to appreciative grain share members. His outstanding Sonora wheat and rye flours are sold at the Co-op in Ukiah. He invested in a state of the art European flour mill, which renders the wheat grains into the finest imaginable flour. AVF has supported the Boonville Farmers’ Market (1992-2017) by encouraging attendance, giving demonstrations such as food preparing, preserving, solar cooking, and fermentation. Responding to interest in a year-round Farmers’ Market, AVF supporters hosted a Winter Market in 2008/9 at the Grange, later in front of Lauren’s, and finally in front of Seebass until 2017.

The Not-So-Simple Living Fair (2010 – 2017) was a project of AVF, re-envisioning and updating the historical Simple Living Fair from the late ‘70s to early ‘80s—to share rural skills and have an opportunity to celebrate rural living. Spearheaded by Sophia Bates, Rob Goodell, Linda Mac Elwee, and Doug Mosel, many, many others joined in over the years. Linda MacElwee recalls, “The Not-So-Simple Living Fair is a remarkable achievement in that it fits AVF’s mission as to hitting almost all of the marks in our mission statement, which is ‘The Anderson Valley Foodshed works toward a vibrant, healthy local food system for our community. We celebrate our local foods, farmers and gardeners. We aim to increase our capacity to grow a diverse, year-long supply of food for all who live here. We work toward these goals through education, connecting people to each other, and creating new opportunities to grow, process and enjoy locally grown food.’ It's like the old axiom, rather than gifting a person a fish, teach them how to fish.” Out of the Saturday night NSSLF giant potluck came the idea of the Bring Your Own plate, cup, and utensils (BYO); composting and recycling resulted in only two bags of trash for the entire weekend event and the promotion of people bringing a BYO set for any food event. AVF sold BYO sets and many people made their own. Eventually Bill Seekins and Roy Laird built an independent, portable dishwashing station replete with solar hot water.

AVF has joined forces in recent years with Mendocino Permaculture to help put on the annual fall Chestnut Gathering (1982-present) and local food potluck at the Zeni Ranch and the annual the Winter Abundance Winter Abundance Workshop (1983-present)—a popular seed/scion exchange and fruit tree/vine grafting workshop. AVF joined with the Grange in 2008 to bring more local food to its community Holiday Dinner and continues to provide organic, local turkey, meat, and potatoes to go with the potluck items.

Continuing with traditions that have started with AVF, C’mon Home To Eat month in October started in 2005 and is about to begin with highlighted local events all month. You can read the C’mon article each week in the AVA or go to www.avfoodshed.com for the myriad events that are planned to connect you with local food and community during October. The Goat Fest began in 2015 in conjunction with the annual Wildflower Show. The Goat Fest has included a birria contest, a celebrity goat milking contest, a goat parade, food, and more. Seeing the need for families to process apples into cider, AVF purchased an apple press. Every fall at the Farmers’ Market it appeared weekly and at AVF events churning out tasty fresh cider. It is still available by arranging a time with avfoodshed@gmail.com. AVF has been very fortunate to have several heartwarming local food fundraising dinners at the Boonville Hotel and several Shindigs with pie auctions at the Shed. A lending library of books on providing and enjoying your own food was installed at the AV Lending Library in 2014 and moved to Lauren’s in 2017. AVF had a booth at County Fair (2013-2015) with on-going rural living skills demonstrations and continues to have a table behind the Apple Tasting Booth at the Fair. In 2011, Mr. Glean and a Glean Team began harvesting and utilizing excess AV food that would otherwise not be picked and also sharing it with AV Food Bank. (There are two gleaning parties set up in October 2018 for C’mon Home To Eat.) Over the years, the AVF has sponsored third Sunday potluck events, farm tours, films, many pertinent hands-on workshops and composting, seed saving, fermentation, and gardening demonstrations. AV Community Gardens was initiated at the AV ElderHome property under sponsorship of NCO Gardens Project, AV ElderHome and AV Foodshed in 2016.

AVF gained 501c3 status in 2017 under the Cloud Forest Institute, which in addition to many other benefits, allows the acceptance of donations that are IRS compatible. An AVF Shindig during C’mon Home To Eat in 2017 raised substantial funds for the Fresh Food in the Schools project and last year’s fire relief in Redwood Valley. This year, a fundraising dinner at the Boonville Hotel’s Table 128 will benefit the Fresh Food in the School project and publishing an updated Mendocino County Food Guide. As a high school project Sophia Bates organized a fundraiser where she and her fellow students picked apples that were commercially made into apple juice. The unused profits from that venture are now in a special AVF fund that gives small loans to farmers and projects that promote local food.

AVF supports and has been active in the AV Land Trust’s efforts to protect farmland and keep wildlands and natural resources viable; the Grange monthly Pancake Breakfast; the Farm & Garden Show/Ag Ecology Hour programs; AV Food Bank; Fresh Food in the Schools; local food curriculum in the schools; the school gardens, and all the farmers and ranchers. AV High School lunch now has a daily local salad bar for the students and staff plus a recycling system for the waste.

AV Foodshed has a weekly local food e-newsletter with mailing list about 800. Each Weekly Update features upcoming activities and news about local food. If you are not already on the email list you can email avfoodshed@gmail.com to be added. Monthly AVF meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 11:30 a.m. at the Boonville General Store. If you would like to become involved and that time does not work for you, you can send an email to the above address to see about other ways to join in. Cindy Wilder commented, “I heard about AV Foodshed about a year after the local visionaries launched the movement in our Valley. I’m glad to have gotten involved because it has heightened my interest in local food and introduced me to so many other like-minded people here. What a great community we have!”

In the last few years the local food idea has really taken on a currency--local food is more than a random concept once again. You can easily find local fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, oil, meat, poultry, grain, herbs and salt. There are abundant AV resources: AV Community Farm, Apple Farm, Blue Meadow Farm, Brock Farm, Gowan’s Oak Tree, Petit Teton, Velma’s (Filigreen Farm), and Zeni Ranch. Other sources are Bramble Olive Oil, Bucket Ranch, Chatham Ranch, 4 Bar K Beef, Mendocino Food Hub, Mendocino Grain Project, Mendocino Heritage Pork, Mendocino Sea Vegetables, Natural Products of Boonville, Pomo Tierra, and Yorkville Olive Oil. Stores that carry local food are AV Market, Boont Berry Store, Lemon’s Market, and Yorkville Market. Eateries that regularly serve local food are: Anderson Valley Unified School District, Aquarelle, Bewildered Pig, the Buckhorn Pub, Bruxo Food Truck, Boont Berry Farm, Boonville General Store, Boonville Hotel/Table 128, Lauren’s, Paysanne, Pennyroyal, Stone and Embers, and the Yorkville Market. You can find seeds/plants/trees/amendments at AV Feed and Grain and seeds at Diaspora Seeds. How local can you go?

This Connecting With Local Food article is brought to you by the AV Foodshed, written by Barbara Goodell from a timeline compiled by Cindy Wilder. The next CWLF article will be focused on the Mendocino Grain Project. For the CWLF archives and more information on AVF, please go to www.avfoodshed.org.

SPORTS TALK COMES TO KZYX with Jim and Jerry Young beginning Wednesday, October 3rd, 3-4pm, and every Wednesday thereafter. Hum baby! I say fire Bochy, move the 49ers back to Frisco, bulldoze the new Warrior's complex south of Market and keep the Warriors in Oakland, combine Covelo, Laytonville and South Fork into one football team; ditto for Boonville and Point Arena. Why does the Press Democrat ignore SRJC football and barely does local sports when the great Herb Dower, back in the day, covered high school sports from Leggett to Santa Rosa for the Rose City Daily? Why do the tv sports announcers yell so much? Exaggerated masculinity? Closet cases? Does anyone really miss Gary Radnich? Which local newsman once pitched a 13-inning shutout when he was in high school? Should competitive high school boxing be revived?

TRANSITIONS. Barry Vogel, the prominent Ukiah attorney, has retired, but continues to produce his vital, mostly Mendo-specific, radio interview show on KZYX, while Gregory Sims has left The Valley for his full-time visiting scholar position at Stanford, and Jerry Karp has sold his Ukiah book store, sparing him the commute over the hill and back. Dr. Sims assures us he’ll be visiting The Valley on a regular basis; Mr. K lives here and can be heard on his KZYX music show if you don’t happen to run into him at local spas. And the absolutely all-round fixit man for the Anderson Valley schools, Mike Foucault, has retired. A certified water guy, and the water at both school campuses requiring constant attention from someone who not only knows what he’s doing but has the credentials to do it, Mike is going to be a hard guy to replace.

SPEAKING of Mendo Public Radio, there seems to be something of an encouraging thaw at the decision levels at the station’s Philo headquarters, with an unfettered open lines hour every week, which has simply been unthinkably dangerous over the long years KZYX has been its own little rural autarky.

RYAN STEARNS stopped by late Monday afternoon to flesh out an episode occurring the afternoon of Monday, September 17th involving himself and 2nd District supervisor, John McCowen. Mr. Stearns, when he walked up to our office last week, had just returned to Boonville from Ukiah on the MTA bus. He frequently makes the commute from Anderson Valley to Ukiah and, after completing his Ukiah errands, often waits out the two or three hours for the return trip to Boonville while enjoying the Russian River where a homeless population has made their home, and where McCowen spends many hours cleaning up the access areas around the Russian River. "I sympathize with McCowen in lots of ways," Stearns said, "but that day under the Perkins Street Bridge McCowen pulled a taser on me, not pepper spray like he said." Stearns explained that McCowen had been yelling at someone across the river, "a person who didn't need to be harassed," when Stearns approached the supervisor to ask, "Is everything ok?" McCowen whirled to face Stearns and pulled a taser. "We were about four feet from each other. I thought I was going to have to throw my bike at him to keep him away," Stearns remembers. "I thought for sure he was going to tase me." Stearns, in the style of many young people, is just scruffy enough to pass for a homeless person himself, but he's insistent that McCowen's claim that he pulled pepper spray on Stearns is untrue. "It was a stun gun," Stearns says. Stearns, following the confrontation, went on-line to research the difference between a taser and a pepper spray. "It was definitely a taser that McCowen had,” he insists. Thinking about it for a couple of days, Stearns called the Sheriff's Office to report the incident. "There's a big difference between a stun gun and pepper spray," Stearns maintains, "and McCowen shouldn't be down there hassling people all the time, although some people camping down there deserve to be hassled." Most people would agree that the potential harm from a stun gun, aka taser, is certainly greater than harm dispensed from a container of pepper spray. "I tried to explain to McCowen that I was not there to trash the river, and that I agreed with him that the people who do trash the river don't belong there." Stearns added that he, too, has hauled bags of trash from the river banks, but said he doesn't think a weaponized supervisor should be patrolling the Perkins Street Bridge area where people, homeless or not, have the legal right to enjoy the river.

ACCORDING to Blythe Post, via the Ukiah Daily Journal, 1,063 homeless Mendo children live such precarious lives that they need regular snacks to carry home with them after school, wherever home happens to be that day. School people determine which kids might need the extra nutrition, and bless the County Office of Education for organizing the program. I don't know how many Mendo County children get free and reduced school meals, but it's a depressingly high number, and one more sign that our society is crumbling faster than it can be repaired.

ROBERT REICH: AMERICA HAS BECOME A NATION OF BULLIES

The moneyed interests are America’s hidden bullies. They have enlarged their net worth by repressing wages (or pushing the companies they invest in to do so), and enlarged their political power through gerrymandering and suppressing votes (or pushing their political lackeys to do so). Their capacity to bully has grown as the nation’s wealth has become concentrated in fewer hands, as the economy has become more monopolized, and as American politics has become more engulfed by big money. It is time to fight back against the bullies. It is time to join together to reclaim economic and political power.

truthdig.com/articles/robert-reich-america-has-become-a-nation-of-bullies/

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “Raccoon got into our fish tank last night. Natch, I'm getting blamed for it, like I'm expected to go one on one with one of these things? Not in this dog's contract!”

CATCH OF THE DAY, October 1, 2018

FIDEL ARREGUIN, Willits. Domestic abuse, violation of domestic violence court order with prior.

ROBERTO CASTELLANOS, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

DAVID CHAVAN JR., Willits. Domestic battery.

CHARLES DAVIS JR., Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

BENHUR DECASTRO, Willits. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

LEONARDO GONZALEZ-DIAZ, Willits. Over an ounce of pot.

JORGE HERRERA-VARGAS, Bakersfield/Calpella. DUI.

WILLIAM KING, Little River. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, trespassing.

BRITTANY MAYOCOTE, Eureka/Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia.

ANDREA OLIVER, Covelo. Assault with deadly weapon with great bodily injury.

MICHAEL RASMASON, Willits. Assault weapon, large capacity magazine.

CASEY STEELE, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

OUR CHILDREN -- OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE DYING!!

On October 6 and October 7 there will be a gun and knife show at Portuguese Hall in Fort Bragg. We ask you to join us to demonstrate your support for the children and law enforcement officers who have been and are victims of gun violence.

Law Enforcement Casualties due to Guns has risen by 24% and the background check loopholes need to be closed!

Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7 meet across the street from Portuguese Hall at 8:30 am. Demonstration to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and until 3 p.m. on Sunday.

HARVEST OF REDEMPTION

A Jew in jail & beyond

by Jonah Raskin

Jail can be hell. But not many people know that jail cells can also be a place of rebirth. Yarrow Kubrin lives in San Francisco with his wife and children. A longtime marijuana grower and dealer, he knows the two extremes that exist behind bars and inside thick walls.

Kubrin will not harvest a crop this year, though he has a bumper crop of memories in his head. As a religious Jew, he knows the joy and the sadness of Sukkot, the Jewish holiday celebrated at the end of September that traditionally marked the end of the harvest time and the culmination of the cycle of the agricultural year.

“I understand why people connect to spirituality while in jail,” Kubrin says. “Spirituality is a natural reaction to depravity.”

Locked up for a year, Kubrin saw the kind of depravity he had never seen before. He also experienced a sense of spiritual uplift.

Kubrin’s life crashed all around him in 2010 when he was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell. It was the third time he was busted on pot charges. In 2010, Sonoma County police found the three big no-no’s—cash, cannabis and guns—in his house. District Attorney Jill Ravitch depicted him as a threat to public safety and a menace to his own family. Local media wrote damning articles. The stories about him continue to haunt him.

What about the guns?

According to Kubrin, the weapons that the police confiscated—many of then unfired collectables intended for sports hunting—were legally acquired, legally registered and locked away. He says he did not have the key to unlock the cabinet were they were kept.

“I come from a family in which guns were part of our heritage,” Kubrin says. “My father, David Kubrin, helped to register black voters in the Deep South in the 1960s. The KKK pursued him. He raised me with the idea that every family should have a rifle.”

Prosecutors say Kubrin had assault rifles, flak jackets and a shrine to the Sopranos.

What’s also significant in Kubrin’s case is that none of his or his father’s guns were at the site where cannabis was cultivated, though a friend who was also a deputy sheriff was living at one of his properties. That deputy had a gun, a snub nose .38.

“He was not a member of our collective or our operation,” Kubrin says. “He was a pal who needed a place to stay.”

A longtime Sonoma County marijuana activist who spoke in confidence told me, “Every American has the right to have guns. That right applies to marijuana growers.”

Kubrin echoes that sentiment. “Jewelers can have guns to protect their diamonds,” he says. “Cannabis cultivators should have the same constitutional right.”

After his arrest, Kubrin was lucky to be able to rely on his wife, Heather, his kids, his friends who showed up in court to lend their support, and his lawyer, Chris Andrian, who has defended marijuana growers and dealers for decades. Kubrin also had the backing of a rabbi named George Gittleman and the congregation at Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa.

“It was a hard time for Yarrow,” Gittleman says. “His whole life was turned upside down. Prison wasn’t on his agenda.”

Gittleman pauses for a few moments and then adds, “Most of us don’t know what it means to go to jail. You lose your time and you can lose your humanity.”

Gittleman’s comments come just after the celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at Shomrei Torah, which were followed by Sukkot. Thousands of years ago, Sukkot was the most important Jewish holiday because it was the time of the year when people found out whether they had enough food for the year ahead, or would starve.

“Sukkot is about the fragility of physical existence,” Gittleman says. “Yarrow Kubrin came to understand that fragility when he went to jail. After visiting him, I knew he’d be OK and would likely go on to counsel others. He had a great attitude.”

Jews like Kubrin, who observe Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and who worship at synagogues, don’t ordinarily find themselves in handcuffs and in court facing years behind bars.

Judge Rene Chouteau sentenced Kubrin to six months in jail and four years under supervision. Before he surrendered to the authorities, Kubrin gave up his real estate license, said goodbye to everyone he loved and entered Sonoma County’s North County Detention Facility, where he served his term. He has until October 2019 before his four years of supervision are over. He still spends time in Sonoma County, just not in jail.

“My sentence felt like a bullet coming at me in slow motion,” Kubrin says, adding, “It injured my soul, but there was a silver lining to my experience. I shawshanked my conviction.”

In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, two convicts, played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, are redeemed by their acts of human kindness. The characters in the film inspired Kubrin. But he was also disappointed by the realities of the criminal justice system

“Unfortunately, the emphasis in the probation department, here and elsewhere, is on punishment, not on rehabilitation,” Kubrin says.

Behind bars, Kubrin—who grew up and went to public schools in San Francisco—made the best of a bad situation. It helped that Rabbi Gittleman visited him regularly. It helped, too, that Kubrin signed up for classes, studied the Old Testament, wrote letters for inmates who needed a bit of his poetic license, befriended “men with terrible addictions” and steered clear of trouble.

“I was the only openly practicing Jew in the jail,” Kubrin says. “If you’re a Jew behind bars, you’re a distinct minority and you’re viewed as the enemy by many of the other prisoners who think Jews are inferior human beings.” He adds, “I saw more swastikas while in jail then while watching the History Channel for years. Most of the swastikas were tattooed on white inmates as a symbol of white pride.”

Kubrin was released on Halloween 2015. That night, he went out trick-or-treating with his son and daughter in Sebastopol. This September, he celebrated the Jewish New Year. Then it was on to Sukkot.

Six months after he was released from jail, Kubrin began to volunteer with the Sonoma County Growers Alliance. Soon afterward, he became a cannabis-industry consultant. Later, he returned to the Healdsburg real estate office where he had worked for years and where he had built up an extensive clientele. But he returned as an unlicensed associate and as a marketing manager, not as an agent.

Since his release from jail, Kubrin has also talked to his congregation about cannabis and shared his experiences behind bars.

California Assembly Bill 1793, which has passed both house of the California State Legislature, but has not been signed by Gov. Brown, would allow for some marijuana convictions to be expunged from the record. Kubrin thinks he won’t be eligible. After all, he deposited large amounts of cash from the sale of marijuana in an Exchange Bank account. In the eyes of the law, he was guilty of money laundering. He said he was trying to be transparent.

“We’re going to have to deal with the whole banking issue if we want to change the law and keep people out of jail,” Kubrin says. “We’re also going to have to address the problem of police misconduct. It’s not about one bad apple, but about a whole system that’s bad.”

On the earthly scale of saints and sinners, the old Kubrin falls somewhere between the two. In jail, among men with criminal records, he was delivered from the unthinking, risk-taking life he’d been living and became aware of his own flawed humanity. Out of denial came acceptance.

FEMA NATIONAL TEST OF EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) AND WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT (WEA) TEST

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system on October 3, 2018. This test will send messages using both the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system as well as the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The WEA portion of the test will begin at 11:18 AM, and the EAS portion follows at 11:20 AM.

Mendocino County residents should receive these notifications shortly after the test begins. Both the WEA and EAS messages will clearly state that they are tests only. No action is required for any residents. Residents with questions regarding this national test can direct their questions via email to FEMA-National-Test@fema.dhs.gov .

Cellular telephone towers will broadcast the WEA test for approximately 30 minutes beginning at 11:18 AM. During this time, WEA compatible cell phones that are switched on, within range of an active cellular tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA should be capable of receiving the test message. Some cellular phones will not receive the test message, and cellular phones should only receive the message once. The WEA test message will have a header that reads "Presidential Alert" and text that says:

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The EAS is a national public warning system that provides the President with the communications capability to address the nation during a national emergency. The test is made available to EAS participants (i.e., radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers) and is scheduled to last approximately one minute. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. The EAS message will include a reference to the WEA test:

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cellular phones nationwide. Some cellular phones will receive the message; others will not. No action is required.”

The test was originally planned for September 20, 2018 but was been postponed until October 3, 2018 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence.

Rick Ehlert, Emergency Services Coordinator

A READER WRITES: THE SNOBBERY OF CANNABIS CULTURE:

lostcoastoutpost.com/2018/oct/1/hardin-cannabis-not-wine/

The check out the very apt response of Taurus Balzhoff. This dude consistently gets a proper perspective on the whole weed scene:

BALZHOFF: “Drugs are drugs. Humboldt is located in a far corner of Northern CA. Soon, Pot will be available, everywhere. Everyone else's dope will be as good as Humboldt's. Getting high is not a transcendent experience, it is a state that is a waste of time. Stoned people are all the same, they all think they are groovy and wonderful, when they are just stoned. Dealing with potheads is tiresome, and exhausting, and, many of them move on to stronger forms of weed and concentrates, and then to Meth, Heroin and Psychedelics. Pot is a trap. Growing pot is a progression of the trap. I for one am sick of Pot Proponents stating that weed will "save mankind". Bullshit. Getting high, it gets you nowhere. Wine is a beverage. Drink enough, and you will fall down. Pot is a giant illusion, a total waste of time and energy. Smoke enough, and you too will spout total crap, like Mr. Hardin.”

CATCHING UP WITH CRAIG

Tantric Observations

Spent Sunday at Krishna Temple on Oahu, between viewings on the internet of the soap opera playing out in Washington, D.C. Interesting to go from the disturbing counter testimonies at the supreme court nominee hearings, to the relatively peaceful activities at the temple in Honolulu. Juxtaposing them is noteworthy, for a number of important reasons. Moreso than just "changing channels", it highlights the differences in basic consciousness. It begs the question: "What is one's consciousness?" And further, what is the society that one is living in, if not determined by the collective consciousness? And for the mystics among us: "What is beyond consciousness?"

Following an evening of joyful chanting and a lecture about developing a spiritual consciousness, plus a free Indian style vegetarian serving of prasadam underneath these huge banyan trees, a leisurely walk followed in a soft mist under a bright moon to the bus stop. Gently heading down the hill toward Chinatown, the lights of downtown Honolulu in the distance, my recharged spiritual consciousness ensured an evening devoid of anxiety.

This brings up the primary problem of this Kali Yuga age. Often called "the age of anxiety", the recent situation in Washington, D.C. serves to illustrate the primary problem of living on the earth plane in the dark phase of Kali Yuga. As the political soap opera continues in America's capital city, as the investigations widen, as all become vulnerable to the existential paranoia, like rats trapped in a cage, desperation and panic ensues, and the overall social environment becomes more dangerous. This is the toxic underlying fact of life in the District of Columbia, which is being reported on constantly by major corporate news companies.

Deboarding from the bus, walked into the 7-11 market to purchase some Koicha (unsweetened bold green tea), and then headed for my room at the Plumeria alternative hostel on Piikoi Street. Chanting the Mahamantram, and wearing Tulsi beads with a pendant of Jagannath (an east Indian tantric god of ancient tribal origins), the absence of anxiety is valuable beyond measure. Generally speaking, absence of anxiety is a step just before sahaja samadhi avastha, or the continuous superconscious state. And beyond that, the essentially indescribable eternal bliss divine forever.

Sitting down at the writing desk, pouring a cupful of green tea over a couple of ice cubes, and turning on the new Microsoft computer, I check out the evening news. And there, in all of its crazy glory, is the spectacle of trauma and tears reported live from capitol hill. The entire meltdown of the American experiment with freedom and democracy detailed from every possible idealogical angle. From extreme conservatism to anarchism, the federal governmental systemic meltdown taking place in Washington, D.C. is being scrutinized, analyzed, and broadcast to the world.

Tantra yoga basically consists of rituals, chanting, meditation, and spiritual activity sourced in ancient tribal society. The Indian Atharva Veda has a lot of the fundamental magical formulae catalogued. This contains an element of mystery! How one comes to it, what one does with it, the why and the wherefore is quiet and deep. This is powerful territory. In other words, take it easy.

Checking out the webpage of the D.C. Indymedia group, videographer Luke Kuhn reports that the anti-fascists are protesting the existence of grand juries. Also, the round the clock protest in front of the White House continues, with the decades long Peace Vigil in Lafayette Park being the center of it all. The regular critical mass bike ride is happening, recommending alternative energy and highlighting the fact of climate change. And the entire District of Columbia is permanently engulfed in a housing crisis, which is why there is no satisfactory housing anymore, unless you are comfortable with camping, living in your vehicle, overpaying, or staying with relatives. The yogic description of the human condition as being akin to "worms in excretia" comes to mind.

Turning off the new Microsoft computer, I sit down on the floor of my air conditioned room and relax. Fingering the black onyx beads, gently chanting OM, and allowing the mental impressions of the anxiety ridden earth plane to subside, the ego disappears and a light samadhi ensues. Will later send out an email recommending "bringing in the spiritual mojo" as being the only possible effective response to the entire dark phase of the Kali Yuga imbroglio. ~Peaceout~

Craig Louis Stehr
Honolulu, Hawaii
Email: craiglouisstehr@protonmail.com

'PS WE LOVE YOU!' RETURNS THIS SUNDAY OCTOBER 7TH!

Project Sanctuary will be holding their 8^th annual fundraising event, ‘P.S. We Love You!’, this Sunday, October 7^th, from 4:30-7:30 pm at ‘The Barn’ at Nelson Family Vineyards. This highly anticipated celebration kicks off October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and will feature a live auction emceed by Sheriff Allman and Rachel Britton, an Autumn country dinner by Black Dog Farm, and a piano concert with Spencer Brewer & Wendy DeWitt.

This once a year event will feature a rare performance by local pianist Spencer Brewer playing selections from his 17 records as well as fiery honky-tonk with boogie-woogie queen Wendy De Witt. Hold onto your seats when they both take to the piano together and tear up the golden 88’s! Not to be missed!

Project Sanctuary offers a many services for Mendocino County survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Iris Padgett, a Project Sanctuary board member and the ‘PS We Love You!’ Planning Committee Chair, speaks about the work of Project Sanctuary and how the community can become involved. "For over three decades Project Sanctuary has been providing an array of services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, all free of charge. We are not a 100% grant-funded endeavor so fundraisers like ‘PS We Love YOU!’ creates an opportunity for community members to have a hand in supporting these survivors, many of whom seek services for their small children too – these are very often entire families in crisis”

This year’s ‘PS We Love YOU!’ sponsors are Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, Nelson Family Vineyards, Community First Credit Union, MCHC Medical Center, District 2 Assembly Member Jim Wood, KWNE Radio, and Savings Bank of Mendocino County. Individual sponsors include Paul Conrado, Kathleen Brigham & James P Lohr, Mathew Alaniz and the Law offices of Sergio Fuentes.

Tickets are $65 and are available at the Mendocino Book Company and Project Sanctuary at 564 S Dora St in Ukiah. For more information contact Project Sanctuary at 462-9196.

Project Sanctuary, Inc is a private, not-for-profit organization with the mission to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault in Mendocino County through advocacy, crisis response, community collaboration, education, and shelter. Founded in 1977, Project Sanctuary assists over 2,000 clients annually and is supported by state and local funds and contributions from residents.

IMAGINARY MONSTERS & THE USES OF CHAOS

by James Kunstler

The Kavanaugh hearing underscored another eerie condition in contemporary USA life that offers clues about the combined social, economic, and political collapse that I call The Long Emergency: the destruction of all remaining categorical boundaries for understanding behavior: truth and untruth, innocent and guilty, childhood and adulthood, public and private. The destination of all this confusion is a society that can’t process any quarrel coherently, leaving everyone unsatisfied and adrift, and no actual problems resolved.

One element of the story is clear, though. The Democratic party, in the absence of real monsters to slay, has become the party devoted to sowing chaos, mainly by inventing new, imaginary monsters using the machinery of politics, the way the Catholic Church manufactured monsters of heresy during the Spanish Inquisition in its attempt to regulate “belief.”

“I believe her” is the new totalitarian rallying cry, conveniently disposing of any obligation to establish the facts of any ambiguous matter. It was stealthily inserted in our national life during the Obama years, when Title IX “guidelines” originally written to correct imbalances in college sports funding for men and women were extended to adjudicate sexual encounters on campus. The result was the setting up of officially sanctioned kangaroo courts where due process was thrown out the window — by people who have should have known better: college presidents, deans, and faculty. That experiment produced not a few spectacular injustices, such as the Duke Lacrosse team fake rape fiasco, the University of Virginia fake rape fraternity incident (provoked by a mis-reported story in Rolling Stone Magazine), and the Columbia University “Mattress Girl” saga — all cases eventuating in punishing lawsuits against the institutions that allowed them to spin out of control.

The spirit of the kangaroo court has since graduated into business and politics where it has proven especially useful for settling scores and advancing careers and agendas dishonestly. Coercion has replaced persuasion. Coercion is at the heart of totalitarian politics. Do what you’re told, or else. Believe what we say, or else. (Or else lose your reputation, your livelihood, your friends….) This plays neatly into the dynamics of human mob psychology. When the totalitarians set up for business, few individuals dare to depart from the party line. It’s the perfect medium for cultivating mendacious ideologies.

And so many Americans may be wondering these days whether the ideas and principles that have held this country together, even through a disastrous civil war, can endure through a long emergency of exogenous events so overwhelming that we dare not even debate them publicly. These are climate change, the crack-up of a debt-based money system, the winding–down of techno-industrial economy, and the ecological destruction of the only planet that human beings call home.

Of course, the lives of societies, like everything else in a living universe, unfold emergently. Which is to say that circumstances are in the driver’s seat taking us where they will whether we like it or not. What humans can do is decide how to ride these events. For the moment, America has opted for a grand circus of sexual hysteria. It’s really an easy, lazy choice because sex is full of easily manipulated tensions and ambiguities prone to melodramatic misrepresentation.

Next on tap for this beleaguered nation will be a constitutional crisis and a financial crisis. It’s difficult to predict the order of their unfolding, except to say that these will open up a maelstrom of losses which will then be hard to either adjudicate or correct, once our system of law is compromised. As this occurs, all the raging hysteria over sex will be overshadowed by real existential issues as the people lose their homes, incomes, and futures and desperately search for a way out of more chaos than they bargained for.

(Support Kunstler’s writing by visiting his Patreon Page.)

THE CASSATT STRING QUARTET IS RETURNING TO MENDOCINO TO PRESENT A PROGRAM OF FAMILIAR FAVORITES AT THE NEXT OPUS CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

Fort Bragg, Calif. – October 1, 2018 – The second performance in this year’s expanded Opus Chamber Music concert series will feature the Cassatt String Quartet. The concert program will include Joseph Haydn’s Quartet in Bb Major, Op. 76 no. 4 Sunrise; Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8; and Alexander Borodin’s Quartet #2 in D Major. The performance will take place on Sunday, October 7, 3pm at Preston Hall in Mendocino.

This all-woman ensemble, named after the American painter Mary Cassatt, was the first quartet chosen for Juilliard’s Young Artists Quartet Program. "As a string quartet made up of four women, we not only admire Mary Cassatt's work, but she was someone who was ahead of her time as a female pursuing a serious career as an artist,” explained cellist Elizabeth Anderson. “Mary Cassatt is most well-known for her paintings of mothers and children, although she never had her own children. Gratefully, all of us in the Cassatt String Quartet are moms, and we have been fortunate to simultaneously pursue our career as a professional string quartet." Since their inception, the Cassatt String Quartet has performed at New York's Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood Music Theater, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Paris, China, and more locations across the globe.

The Cassatt String Quartet made their Mendocino County debut in November 2016 at the Coast Chamber Concerts presented by the Fort Bragg Center of the Arts. “As a native Northern Californian, I was fortunate to get to know the Mendocino area as a child and love the natural beauty and the people,” said Anderson. “We were happy to meet so many enthusiastic chamber music listeners during our previous appearance and are happy to be returning to Mendocino."

All Opus Chamber Music concerts will be at Preston Hall, 44867 Main St, Mendocino. Advance single concert tickets are available for $22 online at symphonyoftheredwoods.org, at Harvest Market in Fort Bragg and Out of This World in Mendocino. Tickets at the door are $25. Attendees ages 18 and under are always free. For more information, please contact our general manager, Ellen Persa, at 707-946-0898 or symphony@mcn.org. Like Opus Chamber Music on Facebook at www.facebook.com/opuschambermusic.

AUTUMN IN NEW JERSEY

(Photo by Larry Livermore)

DEPARTMENT OF THANKS for a very large favor: Trump says Kavanaugh 'had difficulty as a young man with drink' and he was surprised 'how vocal he was' about beer. Trump says he has NEVER had alcohol and jokes: 'Can you imagine if I had?' Drunk or sober, Don, you're a global menace.

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK

[1] Please, please, please explain how any investigative body can confirm or disprove Mrs. Ford’s claims – that she was sexually assaulted at an unknown time, in an unknown place, in a room with three people present – one of whom denies it ever happened, the other who states he has no recollection of any such event – The Federal Bureau of Clairvoyance, perhaps?

[2] The Kavanaugh situation has shown what really is behind the curtain: America’s war between the sexes (all 294 of them). It has been a forgone conclusion since the 1960’s. Changing times always raise stress levels, resulting in conflict. As a bonus, trial by media advances the Sexual Revolution II to its ultimate end point, aided by the incredibly dimwitted public. The whole matter seems especially contrived. The plan is working.

[3] I'd love to see the truth come out. I can only rely on what we know. There's no date or address. The four people named (by the accuser) as having been there have denied (under penalty of felony) having any knowledge of it happening, or even being at such a gathering. I believe that Dr. Ford believes that something happened to her. If true, I don't believe it happened in the way she claims it did, and I most certainly don't believe (with the evidence that's been presented or more correctly, the lack of) that it was Kavanaugh.

[4] Dr. Ford comes from the same place of prep school privilege. Her own semi reliable memory is an example of the malleability of recollection. Her timorous demeanor is emblematic of her cosseted life, her early years a series of gentle challenges guaranteed to buttress her ascension into a highly collaborative, verbal, safe position in academia. It’s believable that the lowest point in her life was being dry humped by a couple of stumbling drunk boys in high school. It’s believable that this gentle flowering young woman’s delicate petals were rumpled so rudely. People jumped to defend her honor. She took a polygraph and passed. But I also think people will spring to defend his honor against such an insult. Because Brett is a special flower too. So special… all those lawns he mowed in high school, all the football games, the long hours studying, the Perfect Lawyer rating, all the friends he rented the bus for in high school to travel to a football game, all the parties he threw, his love for the old man and his diaries, his endless clerking for GW Bush… It would be just tragic if he wasn’t entitled to get this job. So on his honor he will refuse, hoping the rest of his life people genuflect to him as “Your Honor.” I find tears to be manipulative, in adults of either sex, in situations like these. Make him take a polygraph.

[5] Brett Kavanaugh has probably become a liability to the Republican Party to the extent that they will be looking to drop him. Even if he should survive his hearing, he would be a still-deeper shadow over the Court--already suffering from loss of esteem so needed by such institutions as courts. He would be the opposite of the added power he was expected to bring to the Right. The capacity of our leaders to be unbelievably ridiculous (observe how helpless they have been for the last ten days because they are confronted with a novel, open-ended situation that's not covered in the congressional playbook; they've acted like headless chickens)--anyway, their capacity for blinding foolishness makes prediction risky, but simple reason watches for a withdrawal of his nomination. Excuse me. I have to get in front of a rock video and dance. I won't be as fluid as my grandkids, but nobody's around, and I need it!

[6] When a group of Dems ask you the same question over and over nine times, you can be certain that it’s for rhetorical effect. Why answer a question that everyone already knows the answer to? Fact: No FBI investigation will “clear Kavanaugh” as Dems claim. There are only two ways his name might be cleared: 1) Ford admits she made the whole thing up to stop Kav’s confirmation; 2) The actual people involved in her allegation come out of hiding. The reason Dems want an FBI investigation is to delay matters and allow them to cook up more crazy Creepy Porn Lawyer charges, to keep the Kav-as-sexual-predator narrative going until everyone just gives up. If Dems were so concerned about truth, why didn’t they question Dr. Ford? They didn’t ask a single question to clarify Ford’s claims. Not one. Instead, they spent their time grandstanding, and praising Ford for her “courage” and “inspiration.” Why didn’t they ask her why she lied about her fear of flying? Her credibility was shot the moment she testified that she routinely flies all over the place.

MENDO CODE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION ACTIVITY REPORTS

Beginning October 1, 2018, the Mendocino County Code Enforcement Division will now be publishing news releases on code enforcement activities to the Code Enforcement News webpage on a regular basis.

News releases will be published regularly under the following three categories:

1. Individual significant enforcement actions as they occur
2. Statistical information for periods of time throughout the calendar year
3. Data related to Cannabis Abatement

The Code Enforcement Division of Planning and Building Services receives all Cannabis and General Code Violation complaints in the unincorporated areas of the County. Complaints can be made in person at the Planning and Building Services Department or by visiting www.mendocinocounty.org/codeenforcement. Cannabis specific complaints can also be filed by calling the Cannabis Complaint Hotline at: (844) 421-WEED(9333).

To sign up for Code Enforcement News e-notifications, please visit www.mendocinocounty.org/community/enotification.

For more information, please contact the Planning and Building Services Department at (707) 234-6650.

Carmel J. Angelo, Chief Executive Officer

A SILENT MUSICAL AND WILD GARDENS

October First Friday at Grace Hudson

On October 5, First Friday, the Grace Hudson Museum is delighted to present the Ukiah Valley premier of "The Silent Musical," a movie created by Anderson Valley artists Cob (writer and director) and Daniel McDonnell (music composer). The screening will start at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a conversation with the creators. The Museum itself will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. As always on First Fridays, the screening and admission to the Museum is free, and the film is suitable for all ages.

"The Silent Musical" was originally conceived as a stage play and produced at the Anderson Valley Solar Grange in November 2017. Soon after, Cob and McDonnell adapted their play into a film, replicating the look and feel of an old-time silent movie. The movie features an original score performed in the film by a live band, as well as performances by a talented Anderson Valley cast.

As well as the movie, visitors can also check out the Museum’s various exhibits and the Wild Gardens outdoor nature area. The Grace Hudson Museum is at 431 Main St. in Ukiah. For more information please visit www.gracehudsonmuseum.org or call 467-2836.