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Posts published by “Jim Shields”

It’s Raining Cats & Dogs

What a way to put an exclamation mark on the year’s end! I’m talking about the winter deluge, of course, that left 5.15 inches in its stormy wake following Monday and Tuesday’s almost non-stop rain…

County Budget Balancing Not Quite Done

At their most recent meetings (December 6th and 13th), the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has been attempting to belatedly deliver a balanced budget for the new fiscal year that began on July 1. As…

County Budget Hole Estimated At $6.1 Million

One by one the chickens are coming home to roost in the county seat’s henhouse. Despite assurances from former County Executive Officer Carmel Angelo last March upon her retirement that county finances were in good,…

Windfall Profits Tax On Oil Companies Appears Delayed Until January

According to a CalMatters report, the much ballyhooed proposed tax on California oil company windfall profits is not expected to be seriously considered until January of the new year. Initially Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to…

State’s Finances Fall: ‘Worst Since Great Recession’

The California’s Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) just released a report on the outlook for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The 20-page report shivers one’s timbers concluding that “revenue estimates represent the weakest performance the state has…

Well Ordinance Still Stuck; Big Oil Fleecing Still Un-Stuck

Commercial Water Well Ordinance Update Last week I told you about a draft ordinance that would regulate private sector groundwater wells whose owners sell, or plan to sell water commercially, as well as individuals or…

Commercial Well Ordinance Stuck In County Counsel’s Office

I want to share with you a letter I sent to Supervisors John Haschak and Glenn McGourty regarding a draft ordinance that would regulate private sector groundwater wells whose owners sell, or plan to sell…

Pot Program Still A Mess, Only Bigger

What a difference a year makes. Last year, reacting to a bone-headed attempt by the County (with the exception of Supervisor John Haschak) to expand marijuana production by an across-the-board 10 percent, growers broke all…

Windfall Profit Tax Update

In last week’s column on oil companies gouging Californians on gas prices, I wrote that I supported Consumer Watchdog’s demand for Gov. Gav Newsom to call for a special legislation session to get the new…

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