Mendocino County Today: Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018

• Election Thoughts
• Nude Voting
• Humco Results
• Stickers
• Crappy Turnout
• Yard Sign
• Haschak Acceptance
• Ambulance Meeting
• Lemkolil
• Westport Services
• Steamrolled
• Quiz Night
• Leadership Mendo
• Fred Keplinger
• Little Dog
• Julio Wanted
• Yesterday's Catch
• Amusing
• Anti-establishment
• Civic Engagement
• Fantasyland
• Unplugging
• House Recommendations
• Church Benefit
• Max Occupancy
• Breaking Wave
• LA Olympics
• Native Grants
• 1968
• High-water Mark
• Hard Work
• NBCC Corps
• 2018 Dems
• Declare War
• Speaker Pelosi
• Saracina Sold
• Hold Fast

RANDOM THOUGHTS on the election, and in no particular order: In all the campaigning, I didn't hear much in the way of specific proposals about how to deal with specific problems which, I suppose, spares the candidate a deluge of criticism. Keeping it all vague like "I'll bring us all together again" seems to soothe the apparently cringing masses. But if the state or national candidate says, "I will tax the rich to get the halt and the lame off the streets," that person is certain to attract millions from the rich to whomever his or her opponent is. I can't think of a big ticket issue like what to do about the homeless that isn't, or should be, the responsibility of the federal government. Prop C in San Francisco passed by a wide margin. It will shovel millions into the existing Homeless Industrial Project (branches in Ukiah and Fort Bragg) to fund strategies that aren't working.

* * *

MUST POINT OUT that the close local race results could change when the vote is finally fully counted. The following figures represent less than 30% of the ballots counted so far.

WE HAD a dead Nevada pimp elected to that state's assembly, and two indicted crooks, both Republicans, Hunter of California, and Collins of New York, re-elected. (Only in America.)

THE ONLY result that surprised us was Prop 10, the rent control initiative. We weren't surprised it lost — hell, Americans have been voting against their true interests since the founding aristos drew up the rules — but we were surprised it lost by such a huge margin.

EARLY MENDO ELECTION RESULTS show John Haschak leading John Pinches in the Third District by almost ten percentage points. Lindy Peters, Jessica Morsell-Haye and Tess Albin-Smith are leading in the Fort Bragg City Council race, incumbents Mo Mulheren and Jim Brown plus newcomer Orozco leading in the Ukiah City Council race, and Jessica Grinberg, Amy McColley and incumbent John Redding leading in the Coast Hospital Board long-term trustee seats (Karen Arnold will get the one short-term seat).

FOR Mendocino College Trustee Area 4, Hopland/Boonville, Robert Jason Pinoli has a lead over William "Bill" Daniel with 1,974 votes to Daniel at 1,107 votes.

A RARE UPSET may be in the making for the County School Board. Challenger Tarney Sheldon leads incumbent Mary Misseldine in Area 2, which is mostly Ukiah. Sheldon had 911 votes (57.84 percent), and Misseldine had 649 (41.21 percent).

JUAN OROZCO seems to be headed for the third contested seat on the Ukiah City Council as incumbents Mulheren and Brown are easily returned. Orozco, apart from being the first Hispanic to win a Ukiah elected office, a town with a large, unrepresented immigrant population will, unless he loses his way, give voice to the town's blue collar population. (Pardon me for lapsing into the oppressively incorrect lib lab mantra of first this, first that in the context of a political-social system in free fall collapse no matter which person from whatever gender or ethnicity occupies which office and who uses which bathroom. Excuse me again while I just kinda go off on Ukiah city government, second only to the County Supervisors in no bang for many bucks.) Look at Ukiah this way: According to the Marbut Report on homelessness, paid for and stoutly ignored ever since by the Supervisors, about 80 drug and alcohol-committed crazy homeless persons are at large in the County seat at any one time, a percentage of them transient thanatoids. The Supes paid Marbut handsomely for suggesting identification of the locally produced homeless to provide tangible help for them in getting off the streets, while gifting the traveling dopers and drunks a meal or two and shelter for a night or two in bad weather, then booting them up 101 for Garberville and points north. Ukiah pays through the nose for a 300 grand-a-year city manager and a bunch of office pinkies to assist him in doing… And the County pays some $28 million a year to Mr. and Mrs. Schrader for mental health services. So why are a relative handful of homeless still homeless in Ukiah? Why is Ukiah paying all this money for local government, and why is the County paying a fantastic annual sum to the Schraders to no visible improvement?

FORT BRAGG CITY COUNCIL (3 seats):

Lindy Peters - 545 votes - 20.47%
Jessica Morsell-Haye - 489 - 18.36%
Tess Albin-Smith - 452 - 16.97%
Dana Jess - 358 - 13.44%
Ruben Alcala - 335 - 12.58%
Mary Rose Kaczorowski - 335 - 12.58%
Bobby My Heart's in the Highlands Burns - 141 - 5.29%

IN THE 3RD DISTRICT John Haschak has a comfortable lead over John Pinches, with 55.1 percent of the vote to 44.5 percent for Pinches.

COAST HOSPITAL BOARD (3 seats):

Jessica Grinberg - 2528 votes - 25.25%
Amy Beth McColley - 2282 - 22.80%
John Redding - 1796 - 17.94%
Kevin B. Miller - 1732 - 17.30%
Jade Tippett - 1613 - 16.11%

* * *

DUMBEST headline from (of course) the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: "Trump Critic Gavin Newsom Elected Ca Governor." That's it, that's Newsom. The big time Democrats, not daring to actually stand for something —70 years ago they represented every day working people — they whale on the whale, as if it's bold and brave to whack Trump. Now, for the next two years, we'll have to listen to a deluge of witless rhetoric from the House Democrats whining about him when it’s their fault he was elected in the first place. Bet on the Golden Golem. He's got the Senate, and he's got veto power. The Demos will sound like the issue-less crybabies they are, then they'll nominate Biden, and the GG will be with us for another four years. Or total catastrophe, whichever comes first.

* * *

HERE IN MENDO, we weren't surprised that Pinches lost to Haschak but, like we were surprised by the margin of loss with the Prop 10 measure, we were mildly surprised by Haschak's margin of victory. Urban Mendolib (Willits) and outback Mendolib (deep Covelo) turned out big for Haschak, and Haschak — give it to him — made himself ubiquitous, going door-to-door and standing on street corners waving at passersby. Pinches usually gets the deep Covelo, deep Spyrock, vote. We were hoping for Pinches because we think his fully functioning bullshit detector always made him a strong voice for commonsense on a board composed of people lacking it. Haschak is a stranger in the strange land of Mendo politics, a rookie. He got interested when he became a candidate. But he strikes us as a conscientious, sincere kinda dude so… Haschak, with the smart and capable Ted Williams representing the 5th (unrepresented the entire Hamburg tenure), may rouse Gjerde from his supervisorial slumber, embolden McCowen, and Mendo just may have a functioning Board of Supervisors for the first time since the Scaramella-Mayfield-Banker board of '70.

THE FORT BRAGG ELECTION results are encouraging, especially the likely election of the reform slate to oversee Coast Hospital. Now that FB has a trustworthy city manager apparently secure enough in her own abilities not to try to pack the council with manipulable ciphers, the rancorous mistrust of prior years may be a thing of the past. FB's failure to pass a sales tax increase was something of a surprise, but citizens everywhere are hit by regressive taxes like these every which way and in Fort Bragg they just said, "Make do."

WE WERE pleased to see Mendo voters preferred DeLeon to Feinstein, another indication that there is an ongoing insurgency among Democrats to at last move the party in the direction of relevance.

MENDOCINO COUNTY SHOULD NOTE how Humboldt County counts their votes and presents the results. Obviously, they have the vote by mail numbers counted and ready to post before election day, then they have the votes on election day counted quickly leaving only the “mail ballot precinct” to count many of which can be counted quickly since that’s all that’s left. (They also don’t use that awful meaningless term Mendo throws around as if it means anything: “Times counted.”)

humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/69700/final-election-night-report

YET MORE EXAMPLES OF ‘EVERY VOTE COUNTS’

NEW ROUND VALLEY GYM NEEDED 55%, GOT 54.39%

Despite what the poll workers in Mendocino told us yesterday - the voter turnout for the midterm elections in Mendocino was crappy - there was only a 32.93% overall turnout - 15,819 voters voted out of 48,032 registered.

In the last midterm election, Mendocino County had a 52.70% turnout (25,017 out of 47,470 registered).

Although the results are FAR from being official (they have 30 days to do so), the preliminary results show some VERY close votes.

For example, up in Covelo there was Measure K - a $4.5 million bond measure that would, among other things:

Construct a new gymnasium for school and community use

Make health, safety and handicapped accessibility improvements

Construct classrooms to support physical education curriculum

Make health and safety improvements, including Federal and State-mandated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility upgrades and as mandated by the Division of the State Architect (DSA) including site access, parking, restrooms, relocation of some existing electrical devices, drinking fountains, etc.

Install, repair, upgrade, or replace safety and security systems for students and staff.

The measure needed 55% voter approval - it received 54.39% approval so it failed - for now.

Of the 171 votes cast in Covelo, 93 people voted yes (54.39%) while 78 voted no (45.61%).

OTHER CLOSE RACES

While perusing the results, we took a look at the Laytonville School District race - Erin Gamble edged Regina Campbell by FOUR votes (268 - 264).

Four votes also separated the top two vote-getters in Round Valley school board race - Peter Bauer 128 votes - Cynthia O’Farrall 124.

In the Willits school board race they elected three members - the fourth place candidate lost by 39 votes!

(Via MendocinoSportsPlus)

POST-ELECTION HIGH

I turned on my TV at about nine-thirty Tuesday night. I wanted to see what the paid liars were saying about the fiasco of an election, and which of the “choices” offered them our ill-informed voters had chosen to “lead” them. Normally, the only time I turn the device (CRT, mind you) on is to watch the occasional DVD movie that I have purchased from Mr. Bezos. I canceled the satellite outfit back in 2011, when the “platter” people lied to me about the monthly cost. I don’t miss it at all.

Now, television reception here in the land of third-rate range and libertaryans is hit-and-miss. Last night, the weather conditions must have been ideal. When I made the TV do a scan, it turned out that ABC, NBC, Faux, and PBS, plus one or two independents were broadcasting loud and clear. NBC hardly ever comes in, CBS never; and PBS would be loud and clear even if I held up a length of bailing wire (still used by hay farmers at times) for an antenna.

That said, after hearing about the pitiful showing made by the pitiful bunch that calls themselves democrats, I turned the thing off and prepared for bed. I had already verified (on the computer; yes we have them in flyover country, too!) that the municipal election in the small metropolis of 650 souls that I call home had an outcome pleasing to me. The mayoralty and council positions were won by the very candidates I had voted for a few weeks ago. Thus I slept well, and deeply, not awakening until around 10 Wednesday morning, save for a couple of trips to the bathroom, normal for one my age.

Clad in my most masculine underwear, I proceeded to the living room and sat down, noting that the day was mostly overcast and the temperature was near freezing. About then the telephone (land line) rang. It was a return call from the California Department of Public Health returning my call concerning my request for a certified birth certificate from the land of my birth. The fellow was helpful and entertaining as we chatted about the situation.

You see, my driver license is up for renewal in January. Now the instructions in the letter sent me by the equivalent of your DMV stated that I would have to appear in person to renew since I had renewed by mail four years ago, and that I would need to bring my old license for ID. Fine. It had always been that way. There were a couple of attachments, one a list of locations where the renewal could be made, and another with a list of IDs needed when APPLYING for a license. Nevertheless, I began to wonder.

I checked and learned that in fact the same IDs were required for renewals as well, which resulted in me having need for a “state-certified” birth certificate. A passport would have sufficed, but I have never, ever applied for one, since I have never, ever left the beloved country of my birth, save for a couple of short excursions into Mexico as a teenager, in the days when the border cops simply asked your city of birth, that is to say before the current state of national paranoia set it in. I was also told that my old official birth certificate copy, issued to my mother in 1983 (33 years following my birth), embossed with the great seal of the County of Alameda, and signed and dated by the Alameda County Clerk, would not suffice, odd since the state gets its information from the counties! But such is paranoia.

Having completed my telephone conversation – with a most polite and helpful CA Public Health Department employee, I then walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. On my return to the living room, I noticed a fellow removing the only political sign (for a mayoralty candidate) that I had planted in my front yard. Lowering my visual rating from R to PG by clever placement of the front door, I hollered out at the guy to leave the sign alone and that I would come out as soon as I had donned more suitable attire.

Retiring back to the bedroom, I pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt, as well as slippers. I forgot to pull up the zipper of the pants in my haste. Happily, I also failed to tuck in the shirt, so the first omission was not obvious. Then, I blasted outside, full of fire that would put the Comptche crowd to shame. Fortunately the thought of arming myself did not come to mind, probably because I felt no real threat to life or property, the latter being of more concern here in the land where we supposedly have no classes.

By the time I got outside, the sign was in the back of the pickup and apparently the duo was ready to drive off. I stormed up to the vehicle and demanded they return the sign, which I planned, perhaps, to use in the next election if the candidate ran again and I was satisfied with his first performance. Then, I recognized the driver, at whom I directed the rest of my tirade, reminding him that they were trespassing and that the proper procedure in such an instance was to knock on the door and ask permission. I also added that as a lifelong resident of Wyoming he should know better than to pull such a stunt. For once, he had little to say. The sign was returned, and I haven’t felt so satisfied and pleased in a coon’s age. My next-door neighbor, in his mid 70s, who was outside too, also had a good laugh with me over the whole episode.

(Harvey Reading)

WE DID IT!

Editor,

I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the volunteers, donors, and supporters who powered this campaign to victory.  From the outset, it has been my aim to bring together the full diversity of the people of the 3rd District to create a cohesive vision of a better future for our community.

That process doesn't end now.

It is my aim to continue the work of bringing our people together and to represent you with leadership that is thoughtful, energetic, and principled.  I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve you as 3rd District Supervisor.

Let's keep Building Stronger Communities Together!

John Haschak <supejh2018@gmail.com>

THE ANDERSON VALLEY AMBULANCE SERVICE will hold its annual meeting on November 19, 2018 at 7 PM at 13325 Estate Drive in Boonville. The Anderson Valley Ambulance Service Board of Directors welcomes anyone interested in attending. (Nancy Charles, Secretary)

EYES ONLY, ANDERSON VALLEY

Joan Burroughs writes:

The whole area from Ornbaun Road to the Fair grounds was once home to Indians who camped in the areas for thousands of years. Frank Luff (from Yokayo Indian tribe) said the area where the Canaris family put in a “pond” is near the Indian burial grounds, or under it as the case might be.

My grandmother, Blossom told me many times about visiting the Pomo Indian children in the late 1890s across the creek from Missouri house.  Arrow heads and shells are still occasionally found; the area in Boonville was called Lemkolil (tree burned creek place). The Indians camped there all summer and went over a trail to the coast that became a large part of today’s Mountain View Road.

Is David Severn busy these days?  I know he is involved in helping Indians preserve their sites.  Might some attention to the sacred Indian areas in the project plan save us all from this massive intrusion and also honor the Indians who were here before any of us savages arrived?

A READER SENDS US a rather frightening letter from the Westport Water District  to its customers. I'd guess that Westport is roughly the size of Boonville but, unlike Boonville, has an existing centralized water and sewage system. Customers of the Westport Water District went from $185 a month for water and sewage disposal to $196 a month, as of July 1st. If you're a Westport commercial business you now pay $308 a month. The reader notes: "This is per month. Sure hope you can do your systems for less or have deep pockets."

TONIGHT: ONLY NOVEMBER QUIZ

Yes, folks, the General Knowledge and Trivia Quiz is back this evening (Thursday) at Lauren's Restaurant in Boonville. It's on the 2nd and 4th Thursday with no charge to enter and prizes galore! Hope to see many of you tomorrow evening (November 8th) at 7pm when the brain push-ups begin! Cheers, Steve Sparks, Quiz Master, Personal Brain Trainer. PS. This is the last Quiz of the month as the 4th Thursday (Nov 22nd) is Thanksgiving.

LEADERSHIP, MENDO STYLE

YEARS AGO, when my late brother worked for the county in the social services/MediCal-Food Stamps eligibility area, he was frequently pressured to participate in that department's "reflecting team" organized, apparently, by then Health and Human Services Director Carmel Angelo. My brother knew he’d suffer some passive-aggressive negativity for it, but he refused to participate in what he viewed as a pointless exercise designed to 1) make employees think they had something to say about how their workplace was managed and 2) a false feeling stratagem giving management a way to tell the employees how much they cared about them. Never mind that my brother never saw any top managers visit his department, was never asked a question about the many problems management was creating, and he never saw a Supervisor wander through.

The “reflecting teams” never went anywhere; the exercise was an insulting waste of time. Bro had plenty of real work to do, serving as an eligibility supervisor, policy analyst, training officer, and County hearing officer for the several cases a month that were appealed to the state oversight administrative judge.

Here we are at least a decade later and the reflecting teams have morphed into a gaggle of what Ms. Angelo now calls “leadership teams" — Meaningless meetings and "trainings" which have very little to do with County business.

Kyra Studer, who seemed to have been roped into making the leadership presentation for the Sheriff's office last Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting. (Unsurprisingly no overworked street cop would be caught dead in this context) began:

"I'm here to talk about the leadership reading group. We have done [sic] a lot of books. I only brought the current one that we are doing which is the Culture Code. We meet monthly in one of the conference rooms. Some people have bring lunch, some people just eat lunch at their desk. It's usually an hour that we meet and we discuss the chapters that we have been assigned. Sometimes we don't get our homework done. But it's okay, everyone's alright with that. We are still able to talk about the book and things that we have read. The top five benefits of the leadership reading group are, We are able to form cross department relationships and bond with them. We interact with other county employees which are in similar situations or we are able to talk about things which worked for us in our department or different topics from the book. We can talk about how we feel that we can make a difference in our departments because sometimes that's hard to find -- just where you can make a difference. We are able to take an active role in leadership at all levels. We learn different management styles and ideas and we are able to work together and discuss how we can use those or implement them in our own departments and we enjoy it. It’s not always the same group all the time. Some people don’t come either they are busy with their work, but they come back when the next book comes. Thank you."

Supervisor Georgeanne Croskey asked: “Do you choose books that are available to the library or that people can get on their Kindle or one of the free libraries borrowing units?”

Studer replied, “I think that's an option. But usually the book is provided to them.”

Next up was a youngish attorney from the County Counsel’s office named Michael Makdisi:

“I'm a deputy county counsel. I will be talking about the high-performance organization training that I attended in September. I will give you some of my thoughts about what it was like and my takeaways and how it applies to me in my job here at the county. In general, it was put on by the MCLT [Mendo County Leadership Team] members and they did a really good job. That was a good training. I thought they presented well and it was engaging. I didn't know exactly what I was going to get when I got there but I was pleasantly, I shouldn't say surprised, I thought it was going to be good, but it was better than I expected. The main things that we kind of covered understandably would be leadership, improving communication, how to become more effective and more efficient. They had a focus on team-based approach which makes sense because a lot of us there are participating in the seven teams that you saw earlier. But again it was leadership and high performance and with our policy of leadership at all levels we didn't just stop at a team approach, it was really leadership at all levels. And so before I get into that though, I think the unintentional benefit was improving quality of life at work. Engaging -- what we're trying to do, leadership at all levels, if you really get engaged like that I think it also ends up being better quality for me personally if I think about those things that apply to my work I think I'm less stressed and more efficient and I just feel better overall. For some of those reasons I think this training would be good to take for more people, not just the ones that are on the teams, but really for the leadership at all levels that makes sense for everybody to go and learn a little bit about this. Some of the things that we talked about were -- and this was brought up in David Marquet [book author] -- was giving control to allow leadership and that requires clarity of purpose and technical competence. And I felt like that really popped out at me how to understand what was going on. This isn't about management, it's about leadership and high performance training helps you understand the purpose of the organization which is the clarity of purpose and it also helped me and hopefully others understand what we bring which would be our competence. There's a lot more to it than that but that's kind of the framework which became more clear to me among other things that popped out at me. Another one we focused on a lot was the disk assessment [?] which you are probably familiar with. We spent a significant amount of time on that. It's an assessment that helps you understand a little bit about your personality and your communication style. What I found especially that was interesting was that what was involved in the training is that it's not just about yourself it's about communications which necessarily involves others and their communication style and from going through this training it brings that in so I think that is a  worthwhile thing because I think that if I understand other people I know my audience and I can speak to them and when they are talking to me if I understand their communication style what on one day my seem odd to me or put me off or might seem kind of weird, if I understand where they're coming from it’s much easier to just say okay that's why that was there, that was them, just keep moving on, which keeps me less stressed and keeps me doing my work which makes me happier rather than going, just what was that all about? So that was one thing I think I think I also gained from the training.”

Emma Salcedo, an analyst with the Mendocino County Human Resources Department, presented some employee survey results which were part of the leadership team’s “work.”

“We had 613 responses to our employee survey. About 50% of our employees  took the survey. In our survey we asked them a very important question. That question is what do you believe could improve employee engagement in the county?…”

(Let me guess — raises?)

Let’s stop here to note that the “survey” was multiple choice. The “leadership team” didn’t ask any open ended questions, they asked employees to pick from pre-digested and vague options which are easily ignored or which require no real response.

Salcedo continued: “We anticipated that the top response would be pay and compensation and it was, coming in at 61.7%.”

(I guessed it!)

That’s about the percentage of line workers who have not yet received a pay raise to bring them back up to pre-2010 levels.

Salcedo: “Although we know that this topic is something that the employee engagement team cannot impact we thought it was important to capture that fact. Beyond that, the top three areas that employees feel would improve employee engagement are, 35% said training and development, 33.7% said supportive management, 32% said recognition and appreciation. We followed up with the individual departments that had 10 or more responses to the survey and provided them with very specific survey results. You might be wondering what's next for us…”

I wasn’t.

Ms. Salcedo then turned the microphone over to another team member who began a parade of more uncomfortable team members offering bland versions of what the first two had said (or didn’t say).

I dunno. Can your tax dollar possibly be more extravagantly wasted?

(Mark Scaramella)

FRED KEPLINGER

Ukiah Police Department would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Keplinger Family, due to the loss of former Chief Fred Keplinger.

Fred Keplinger served in Vietnam with the Marines as a Fleet Marine Force Medical Corpsman. Following his service in the military, he attended College of the Redwoods in Humboldt County and received his associate’s degree. He then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and Business, and Administration of Justice. Keplinger was recruited out of college to join the Eureka Police Department in 1973. During his nine years with that department, he served as a patrolman, sergeant, field training officer & an undercover officer before becoming an administrative assistant to the chief of police. He also attended the FBI academy in 1988.

He came to the Ukiah Police Department with a vast deal of law enforcement experience, ensuring that he would be a great addition to the local police force. Keplinger came across the patrol lieutenant position for the Ukiah Police Department in a newspaper advertisement and decided to apply for the position. At this time, Eureka PD was cutting positions, and he was fearful of losing his job. He was offered the UPD lieutenant position, and moved to Ukiah in 1982. As a lieutenant, Keplinger oversaw the operations of the patrol division & detective unit. Keplinger enjoyed his job as a patrol lieutenant; he enjoyed being out on patrol and working with officers, and would have been happy to remain in this position for his entire career. However, in 1985, he decided to throw his hat in the ring with other applicants from all over the state to become Ukiah PD’s next police chief. He was chosen to replace retiring Chief Dave Johnson, and served as chief for five years. He then became the first director of public safety, overseeing both police and fire departments, for the last eight years of his law enforcement career.

Throughout his time with the Ukiah Police Department, Chief Keplinger played an important role in the development of many new programs. He played an active role in Project Sanctuary, Mendocino County Youth Project, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy Scouts, St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School Board, Community Allied for Youth, and Ukiah Rotary. He was also a professor at Santa Rosa Junior College and Mendocino College in their Administration of Justice programs.

His dedication to police work and his leadership abilities were highly praised. In 1990, he received the Outstanding Law Enforcement Professional of America Award for outstanding merit, excellence, and leadership, and was also named “Manager of the Year” by the City of Ukiah in 1991. He was also chosen to be one of three law enforcement leaders in the state to advise then Attorney General Dan Lungren in law enforcement matters.

Keplinger retired as Chief in 1998, and remained in Ukiah with his family until his passing.

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “Don't like the election results? Move to Roosia, and see how you like life with Vlad.”

OFFICER! OFFICER! I THINK HE'S THE GUY WITH THE TATTOO ON HIS CHEEK!

Warrant Wednesday!

Julio Rafael Najera Aka Julio Rafael Najeraleon

Is Wanted For:

• Attempted/Robbery
• Assault W/Firearm Person
• Use Of Firearm
• Strike Prior
• Strike Prior
• Prison Prior
• Prison Prior

Bail - Felony No Bail

Age: 26 years old

Height: 5' 7"

Weight: 160 lbs

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Last Seen in: Ukiah, CA

If you recognize this individual or have information which could lead to his arrest, please contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at (707) 463-4086.

CATCH OF THE DAY, November 7, 2018

MARCO CALLEJA-GONZALEZ, Fort Bragg. Domestic battery.

CHRISTOPHER FILBERT, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

GASPAR GOMEZ, Little River. Probation revocation.

CHARLES HENSLEY, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol. (Frequent flyer.)

ANDREW HOPPER, Willits. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

WILLIAM HOUSLEY, Boonville. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation.

MARQUES MACIEL, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

RAYMOND PADILLA, San Jose/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

MIGUEL SANCHEZ, Talmage. DUI.

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

ANYBODY, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to talk about himself.

— Baudelaire

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

Democrats shouldn’t try moving to the “center.” The center no longer exists because most Americans are no longer on the traditional “right” or “left.” The vast majority of Americans are now anti-establishment, and understandably so. The practical choice is either Trump’s authoritarian populism backed by the moneyed interests, or a new democratic populism backed by the rest of us. The direction couldn’t be clearer. It should be the Democrat’s hour.

— Robert Reich

RALPH PREVIEWS THE ELECTION

Don’t be flattered, fooled or flummoxed

by Ralph Nader

Let’s face it. Most politicians use the mass media to obfuscate. Voters who don’t do their homework, who don’t study records of the politicians, and who can’t separate the words from the deeds will easily fall into traps laid by wily politicians.

In 2002, Connecticut Governor John Rowland was running for re-election against his Democratic opponent, William Curry. Again and again, the outspent Curry informed the media and the voters about the corruption inside and around the governor’s office. At the time, the governor’s close associates and ex-associates were under investigation by the U.S. attorney. But to the public, Rowland was all smiles, flooding the television stations with self-serving, manipulative images and slogans. He won handily in November. Within weeks, the U.S. attorney’s investigation intensified as they probed the charges Curry had raised about Rowland. Rowland’s approval rating dropped to record lows, and impeachment initiatives and demands for his resignation grew. He was prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned. Unfortunately, enough voters were flattered, fooled, and flummoxed to cost Bill Curry the race.

In 2004 Tom Frank, a Kansas author, wrote: “The poorest county in America isn’t in Appalachia or the Deep South. It is on the Great Plains, a region of struggling ranchers and dying farm towns, and in the election of 2000, George W. Bush carried it by a majority of greater than 75 percent.” Inattentive voters are vulnerable to voting against their own interests. They are vulnerable to voting for politicians who support big business and ignore their interests as farmers, workers, consumers, patients, and small taxpayers. Big Business will not spur change in a political system that gives the fatcats every advantage. Change must come from the voters, and here’s how:

President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress are masters at flattering voters and lying about their positions on issues ranging from health care to the minimum wage. Before you vote, rid yourself of all preconceived, hereditary, ideological, and political straitjackets. Use two general yardsticks for candidates for elective office: Are they playing fair and are they doing right?

Stay open-minded. Avoid jumping to conclusions about candidates based solely on their stance on your one or two top issues. Pay attention to where these politicians are on the many other issues that profoundly affect you and your family. If you judge them broadly rather than narrowly, you will increase your influence by increasing your demands and expectation levels for public officials. There are numerous evaluations of their votes, easily available on the Internet.

Know where you stand. A handy way to contrast your views with those of the incumbents and challengers is to make your own checklist of twenty issues, explain where you stand and then compare your positions, the candidates’ votes and declarations. Seeing how their positions or their actual record matches up to your own positions makes it harder for politicians to play you. Compare candidates with their votes or declarations.

Ask the tough questions. These are many issues that politicians like to avoid. They include questions about whether candidates are willing to debate their opponents and how often, why they avoid talking about and doing something about corporate power and its expanding controls over people’s lives, or how they plan specifically to shift power from these global corporate supremacists to the people. After all, the Constitution starts with “We the People” not “We the Corporations.” The words “corporations” and “company” are never mentioned in our Constitution!!

Ask candidates to speak of Solutions to the major problems confronting our country. Politicians often avoid defining solutions that upset their commercial campaign contributors. Ask about a range of issues, such as energy efficiency, livable wages, lower drug prices, massive government contractor fraud, corporate crimes against consumers, workers and investors, reducing sprawl, safer food, and clean elections.

Ask members of Congress to explain why they keep giving themselves salary increases and generous benefits, and yet turn cold at doing the same for the people’s frozen minimum wage, health insurance, or pension protections.

All in all, it takes a little work and some time to become a super-voter, impervious to manipulation by politicians who intend to flatter, fool,and flummox. But this education can also be fun, and the pursuit of justice can offer great benefits to your pursuit of happiness.

Such civic engagement will help Americans today become better ancestors for tomorrow’s descendants.

WHY TRUMP IS PRESIDENT

Why we have the golden golem of greatness—

“Over the course of the nineteenth century, when masses of Americans began believing in miracle cures and a civilization of lunar batmen and George Washington’s 161-year-old nanny; when panics over Masons and Catholics erupted and revived; when millions suddenly subscribed to urgent end-of-the-world prophecies and believed God or Satan had taken control of their bodies and minds; when new churches were splitting off helter-skelter from almost-new ones, modern American Christianity and the modern American news media, advertising, entertainment, politics, and pharmaceutical industries all got their starts. Each was predicated on freewheeling blends of the fanciful and the real. Selling ourselves dreamy fabrications on a national scale became routine, part of the American way. What had been founded, in other words, was a synergistic and unstoppable fantasy-industrial complex.”

Kurt Andersen. Excerpt From ‘Fantasyland’

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

The best thing any of us can do – to the degree it’s possible in our individual circumstances at least – is to simply unplug and stop listening to any of it. The media feeds the meme that all of the solutions to our current problems lie at the top of the hierarchical pyramid, when in fact, none of them do. People – especially out here in flyover land away from the big cities – get along pretty well for the most part on all counts, it’s only the craziness that emanates from the MSM and the big cities that make everything seem so dysfunctional. DC, the MICC, Wall St, the MSM, and all the rest of the coastal craziness all need to die of terminal inattention, and the best way – indeed, the only way – to make that happen is to simply unplug en masse and ignore them as best we can. Which, fortunately for the rest of us, will probably happen anyway, whether we like it or not, as they have already long since decided to ignore and make us irrelevant as well a soon as they’ve milked us for everything we have of value. The eventual political split will then hopefully be mutual.

THE FIRST FIVE THINGS THE DEMOCRATS SHOULD DO WITH THEIR HOUSE MAJORITY

washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-first-five-things-the-democrats-should-do-with-their-house-majority/2018/11/06/54e99b3a-e1fc-11e8-ab2c-b31dcd53ca6b_story.html

GWYNETH MORELAND AND MORGAN DANIEL TODAY (Thursday) in Elk

Please join us for this magical musical event. Tomorrow night Thursday November 8th at the Greenwood Community Church. Doors open at 5:30pm for a strolling supper featuring the Inns of Elk and wines from Handley Cellars and Husch Vineyards. Music begins at 7pm. Tickets $35 please call to reserve, there are a only a limited amount left! 877-3214 All proceeds benefit The Greenwood Community Church restoration fund.

LOOKING BACK

Editor:

Yes, I am now an old curmudgeon — a title bestowed upon one who’s lived long enough to witness social issues come around for a rerun. Not in a circle but a spiral.

When I was a teenager in the 1960s, those who smoked dope to get high and stoned were those who had too much idle time and too much disposable income. With some exceptions, it’s probably 98 percent still true.

Once the sales tax was just above 3 percent. Like an economic cancer, the well-intentioned created simple quarter-cent increases to fund social issues that have evolved into embedded entitlement programs. Where are we at now? Almost 9 percent.

People claim to care about the environment, but we continue to measure progress by how much our environment can be covered by asphalt and concrete, adding highway traffic metering lights and forever increasing population density.

I still wait for a politician whose campaign isn’t financed by public unions and big developers; someone who has the backbone, in the interest of public safety and local preservation, to put up signs at our county lines indicating “max occupancy,” much like you see at restaurants and theaters. We’ve reached it.

A.C. Eichstaedt

Santa Rosa

ms notes: As one curmudgeon to another, I agree that using sales taxes to fund (often dubious) government services is the worst possible way to do it. But as long as the state government makes it impossible for local governments to raise revenue any other way (lately mostly for roads, and emergency services which people will support), sales taxes will continue to be proposed and passed. County governments have no control over the huge chunk of their revenue made up of property tax, and they get nothing from the state’s income tax.

LA OLYMPICS: DRAPED IN DISGRACE

Great podcast this week. Please listen. Please share.

This week we speak to Anne Orchier, an activist with NOlympics LA about the upcoming summer Olympics in the city and the pervasive problems the city of Los Angeles is facing.

Also we’ve got ‘Choice Words’ about the importance of militant solidarity in the face of fascism after the week that was. We also have an unprecedented 4 ‘Just Stand Up’ Awards to the University of Maryland community, some college basketball legends and others as well as a Kaepernick Watch. All that and more on the program!

https://bit.ly/2z68nmf

(Dave Zirin)

12/18 DEADLINE FOR NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE IMMERSION GRANTS

Good afternoon, I've seen your recent coverage on Native American communities so I'm forwarding the press release for the second cycle of Native Language Immersion Initiative Grants. Kalliopeia Foundation supports Native language programs to help preserve, protect and revitalize this essential component of Native well-being, culture, and connection with the Earth. Planning ahead for media coverage, 2019 is the United Nations’ Year of Indigenous Languages. Happy to connect you with our Program Officer for more information. Webinars for applicants are 11/7-11/8. See below and please share with your networks. Thank you, Destin

* * *

Deadline is December 18, 2018 Application Period Open for Native American Language-Immersion Program Grants

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) is accepting applications for the second funding cycle of its Native Language Immersion Initiative (NLII). First Nations will award about 12 grants of up to $90,000 each to build the capacity of and directly support Native language-immersion programs.

This RFP is for the second year of this three-year initiative. The first-year RFP was launched early in 2018, and a similar third-year RFP will be conducted later for year 2020 funding. Under NLII, First Nations is seeking to build a dialogue and community of practice, through the grantee cohorts, around Native language immersion programs, and momentum for supporting Native language programs. The effort is made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Lannan Foundation, Kalliopeia Foundation and the NoVo Foundation. The initiative includes American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian language programs.

The full RFP can be found here:

https://firstnations.org/grantmaking/2019NLII.

It contains information on eligibility, the application process, grant requirements, selection criteria, allowable activities and more.  The application deadline is December 18, 2018.  Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based tribal government programs, tribal 7871 entities, Native-controlled nonprofit organizations, and Native-controlled community organizations with a fiscal sponsor. There will be two Q-A webinars in November for applicants to learn more about the RFP process and eligibility.

Participation in these webinars is not mandatory, but applicants are strongly urged to register for and attend one or both of them.  Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 1 p.m. Mountain Time (1 hour) Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/

Thursday, November 8, 2018, 11 a.m. Mountain Time (1 hour) Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/

There are currently about 150 Native languages spoken in the U.S., many of them spoken only by a small number of elders. Without intervention, many of these languages are expected to become extinct within the next 50 to 100 years, which means a significant loss of cultural heritage. These grants can support activities such as curriculum development, language and culture summer and after-school camps, professional development, mentorships, internships, leadership succession planning, and the strengthening of technological and informational systems. Language retention and revitalization programs have been recognized as providing key benefits to Native American communities by boosting educational achievement and student retention rates. They also support community identity, Native systems of kinship, and management of community, cultural and natural resources. Through this initiative, First Nations seeks to stem the loss of Indigenous languages and cultures by supporting new generations of Native American language speakers, and establishing infrastructure and models for Native language-immersion programs that may be replicated in other communities. To learn more about the history and current grantees of this initiative, go here.

PROGRAM  CONTACT: Marsha Whiting, First Nations Associate Director of Programs, at mwhiting@firstnations.org or (303) 774-7836 x215

"SAN FRANCISCO IN THE MIDDLE SIXTIES was a very special time and place to be a part of. It seems reasonable that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash — that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Our energy would simply prevail. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

—Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

NORTH BAY CONSTRUCTION CORPS Mendocino County Chapter starts its second year - applications available now

North Bay Construction Corps expanding to five Counties in 2018-19:

Applications now available for area high school seniors in Mendocino County

Sonoma County, California. –   The North Bay Construction Corps (NBCC), a construction exploration and training program for local high school seniors in their last semester of high school, is now accepting applications for the 2019 Corps.  Launched successfully last year as the Mendocino County Construction Corps, this second year the program joins the regional NBCC as the Mendocino County Chapter.

The Mendocino County Chapter of the NBCC is supported by the North Coast Builders Exchange, the Career Technical Foundation Sonoma County, the Ukiah Unified School District, the Mendocino County Office of Education, Mendocino College, the Greater Ukiah Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation of Mendocino County and local businesses.  The program is designed to address the growing need for new construction workers.

Construction Corps members meet once a week for two hours and one Saturday a month for five hours over a 16-week period from late January through mid-May.  Basic construction skills are taught by local contractors and other construction professionals and safety is emphasized at every meeting. Students earn industry-recognized certifications such as CPR/First Aid, Forklift & Boom Lift Certification, Personal Protective Equipment, Ladder Safety, and more.

Successful Corps members are invited to attend a two-week Boot Camp in June where students work full-time on a real construction project. Graduates who complete the NBCC program are prepared to work in an entry-level position where they can be trained further by the company that hires them.

Successful students earn two college credits for Work Experience from their local community college that are transferable to a California State University. They also receive a $750 stipend for their Boot Camp work and a letter of recommendation.  An interview event is held on the last day of Boot Camp and construction industry participants have the opportunity to highlight the benefits of working for their organization to these potential employees.

In its third year, NBCC is expanding. The program’s goal this year is to graduate 125 students or more in a five-county region including Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Napa and Marin. Students or building industry professionals interested in getting involved in the Construction Corps should visit the NBCC website for more information and a student application:  www.constructioncorps.org .

"SCHUMER, PELOSI, AND THE PARTY'S OTHER SENIOR FIGURES haven't articulated what it means to be a Democrat in 2018, and there's no indication they ever will...What might it mean if voters were able to hear from Democratic leaders who weren't hostile to ambitious ideas and who didn't respond to crises with embarrassing wordplay and platitudinous statements about bipartisanship? God willing, someday we'll find out."

— Ben Mathis-Lilley

“What do you mean I can’t declare war on the House of Representatives? I’m the President of the United States!”

DID YOU HAPPEN TO CATCH Trump’s sarcastic tweet about being happy that Nancy Pelosi will be the next Speaker of the House? He even said he might give her a few Republican votes to make sure she gets the post (as if they’re his to give, which they are). Pelosi’s daughter was on Bay Area TV Wednesday morning pleased and proud that her mother would be the next Speaker of the House. But Pelosi is the reddest of red-meat to Trump’s base who hate, hate with a passion, Pelosi. Pelosi, who embodies everything Republicans hate about liberals — rich, elite, arrogant, San Francisco, etc. — as Speaker of the House is exactly what Trump and “his” Republicans want and Pelosi and the Dems are so stupid that they’re giving her to them. (Mark Scaramella)

JOHN FETZER SELLS MENDOCINO’S SARACINA VINEYARDS TO THE TAUB FAMILY’S HERITANCE VINTNERS

The Napa Valley brand Heritance, owned by the family behind Palm Bay International, gains a winery home for its growing California lineup.

The Taub family, owners of Palm Bay International, one of the nation’s leading wine importers, is expanding its presence in California. The family’s Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon brand Heritance has purchased Saracina Vineyards in Mendocino from John Fetzer and his wife, Patty Rock. The deal, which closed in early October, includes a winery, 250 acres of land with 100 acres planted to vines, along with the Saracina brand and its second label Atrea. The sale price was not disclosed.

The deal gives the Taub family an established winery and a foothold in Mendocino. They plan to move production of their Heritance, Au Contraire and Angry Bunch brands to Saracina’s winemaking facility. Winemaker Alex MacGregor will continue to make the Saracina and Atrea wines.

Marc Taub, CEO of Taub Family Companies, which includes Palm Bay International and Taub Family Selections, had been looking for a home for his growing roster of California brands. “Marc was familiar with the Saracina ranch and loves the property,” Bethany Burke, senior vice president of corporate communications at Taub Family Companies, told Wine Spectator.

Fetzer and Rock will no longer be involved in the winery, but they have retained part of the Saracina property, including a residence. The eldest of 11 siblings, Fetzer launched Saracina in 2001—nearly a decade after his family sold Fetzer Vineyards to spirits company Brown-Forman (Fetzer and its affiliated brands are now owned by Chile’s Concha y Toro). The couple built a tasting room and wine cave on the 600-acre former Sundial Ranch near the town of Hopland, and tapped MacGregor and consultant David Ramey to make the wines.

Saracina makes wine from a variety of grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc from its sustainably farmed estate vineyards and purchased grapes. The winery produces around 7,500 cases of wine annually.

Once one of the foremost dynasties in California wine, the Fetzer family has been divesting its wine holdings in recent years. In 2017, the family sold its 80-acre ranch in Redwood Valley, the site of the original Fetzer winery, to cannabis distributor Flow Kana. The Saracina sale leaves third-generation vintners Jake and Ben Fetzer as the only family members with their own wine label, Masut, in the Eagle Peak appellation of Mendocino.

Marc Taub’s father, David, who passed away in 2012, launched Palm Bay in 1977, importing Italian wine. The family now imports and produces nearly 90 wine and spirits brands from 17 countries around the world, with a focus on Italy. In 2014, Marc turned to California, launching Pinot Noir brand Au Contraire in Sonoma. They later added Heritance, which was founded by wine-industry veterans Bernard Portet and Don Chase.

The Taub family doesn’t plan to make any change to the Saracina wines but they will add new projects down the road. “We definitely want to take advantage of what [Fetzer and Rock] have been doing here,” said Burke. “Marc is looking at this as a long-term opportunity to lay down roots for his family.”

(WineSpectator)

HOLD FAST

Hold Fast To The Constant

Attain complete (absolute) emptiness

Hold fast to stillness (to the center, "zhong")

The ten thousand things stir about,

And I see thereby their return (sitting still we await their return)

All things flourish,

But each one returns to its root.

This return to its root is called stillness,

And is the fulfilling of its destiny.

To fulfill one's destiny is called the constant.

To know the constant is called insight ("ming", to be enlightened).

To act in ignorance of the constant will lead

to recklessness (errant behavior) and disaster.

He knows the constant is all-embracing (open minded).

Being all-embracing, he is impartial.

Being impartial, he is kingly (universal).

Being kingly, he is like Heaven.

Being like Heaven, he is in accord with the Dao.

Being in accord with Dao, he is everlasting ("jiu"),

And is free from danger throughout his lifetime.

Dao De Jing, Chapter 16

Craig Stehr" <craiglouisstehr@gmail.com>