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Posts published in February 2015

Valley People (Feb 18, 2015)

NICE TURNOUT at the Buckhorn for Steve Sparks who, I swear, seems to be the reincarnation of Homer Mannix, Anderson Valley's Mr. Everything from 1950 to 1980. Sparks hasn't yet run for public office, but I agree with the letter writer that he mos def is our de facto mayor. The guy is everywhere making this place more enjoyable wherever he puts down, from the weekly Trivial Pursuit contests at Lauren's to the Senior Center. All he needs now is a gavel and presto! we have our first mayor since Homer.

Not a Dime

Not-for-profit Mendocino County Public Broadcasting has a bookkeeper, so General Manager and self-styled Chief Executive Officer John Coate doesn't have to do the books. It has a program director, so John doesn't have to direct programs. It has an operations manager to manage operations, and an engineer who can be called to come and engineer, and a "business support coordinator" to, I guess, coordinate business. And still John Coate is being paid a salary of, I piece together from various stories, $60,000 a year, the equivalent of 1,200 (twelve hundred!) yearly $50 memberships, to do what, exactly?

Bird’s Eye View (Feb 18, 2015)

With Valentine’s Day leading into President’s Day there was a steady stream of business at the Valley’s eateries and wineries this past weekend. And a good thing too. February, March, and April are traditionally the slowest times of year in the hospitality business and every little extra boost is significant. We have some excellent local restaurants and of course some world class wines so let’s all try to do our best to support them at this time, not to mention our other small businesses. And of course, it is stating the obvious to say that it’s not like we wouldn’t get to enjoy some wonderful food and drink while doing so.

Resiliency Starts Here

The 32nd Annual Winter Abundance Workshop, known by regulars as the Seed and Scion Exchange, was held this year at the Mendocino County fairgrounds in Boonville on the last day of January. The weather was…

Off the Record (Feb 18, 2015)

A CALLER wants it brought up: "It's rude and arrogant of our supervisors to look at their cell phones while people are addressing them." Agreed. Checking the video of the most recent meeting of the County's leadership, we see the four male members of the board electronically distracted, Woodhouse and Gjerde not so much, McCowen and Hamburg a lot.

Privacy Protection for the Wine Gentry: Brutocao, Take 2

Last week the retrial of Mr. Chris Mulcahy got under way with some pretrial motions which set the tone for how the case will proceed. What it boiled down to was a question of privacy.…

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