Posts published in “Letters to the Editor”

A Response to the Recent Grand Jury Report about Mendocino Animal Care Services: Having been a volunteer at the Mendocino County Animal Care Services Shelter in Ukiah for the past 8 years, I feel an obligation to correct several misstatements and add a few points, in regards to the Mendocino County Grand Jury's report on, and a Ukiah Daily Journal opinion piece about, the shelter.

Don MacQueen, 88, a long-time AVA subscriber and contributor, died in Eugene, Oregon, on June 28, 2014. He was a major part of Sonoma County's literary scene in the '80s and '90s, helping found the Russian River Writers' Guild, which sponsored a lively reading series, quarterly newsletters and occasional poetry collections, notably “A Stone's Throw,” a major anthology of local poetry, including several Mendocino County writers. Don helped edit Rich Benbrook's feisty quarterly “The Tomcat,” and “Tiny Lights,” Susan Bono's periodical of short fiction. He also helped with “Green Fuse,” which published political and environmental poetry, some of which appeared in the AVA. Don's terse, witty poems appeared in virtually every Sonoma County publication of those years.

I think it is outrageous that the AV Health Care Center has suspended the dispensary of medications. This is a serious deterioration of its services. What is this useless Board of Directors thinking?

Privatization of Mental Health Services failed. Proof lies in: two Grand Jury Reports, Mental Health Board Reports, Coast Hospital Mental Health Forum List of Ortner Problems, and countless human stories of Ortner’s failures in each of your districts. You can see from Exhibit A of the Ortner contract that they are in breach of contract. What else do you want to end this mental health nightmare for people? What?

I have received a report that the manager of Raley’s in Ukiah is hassling petitioners. Here is the report, followed by an explanation of the recent settlement with the County and changes in the Sheriff’s policies concerning free speech and petitioning.

I only met John Sakowicz once. It was sometime after Wall Street and the “investment bankers” had nearly bankrupted the country — and had put the big hurt on my people — and our meeting didn’t go well. It was at KZYX, of all places. I had some biz there and while I was waiting in their waiting room I realized that Sakowicz was next door in the studio wrapping up his radio show. I’d listened to his show before and, since I’ve always admired folks who have a way with numbers, I enjoyed hearing what Sakowicz had to say. Seemed he had Wall Street expertise and finely-tuned administrative skills (life as a spreadsheet) and no doubt the dude likes spouting off and I liked that, too. Also somebody had recently written a Letter to the Editor accusing Sakowicz (the damned carpetbagger) of padding his sparkling resume and that, on balance, increased my sympathy for him. The dude must be making some kind of waves, I figured, and I’ve always been partial to that sort of person. The complacent and the apathetic are too docile to suit my tastes.