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MCT: Saturday, June 15, 2019

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YORKVILLE SHAKIN': Two quakes just north of Yorkville Friday morning, a 3.1 and a 2.6, at 10:43 and 10:47 am, respectively, and as reported by Marshall Newman.

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HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE that Dimmick will be open again thanks in large part to the advocacy of the AVHS Service Learning Team that greatly encouraged this positive action by the leadership of the parks department Mendocino District. Come celebrate!

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54TH ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY CHICKEN BBQ DINNER

For fun on Father's Day, come to Comptche for the 54th Annual Father’s Day Chicken BBQ Dinner on Sunday, June 16th from Noon to 4 p.m. Your whole family will enjoy delicious food, great live music , dozens of different home made pies, a bountiful raffle with many valuable prizes, an old style country store, and lots of fun activities for children in sunny Comptche. Located at the beautiful Comptche Firehouse Park on Flynn Creek Road, tickets for the event are just $20 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All funds raised will support the Comptche Volunteer Fire Department. We'll see you on Father's Day!

(Please leave your pets at home. Please! Really, we mean it.)

Comptche Firehouse Park, 8491 Flynn Creek Road, Comptche, CA95427 (Right next to the fire station)

Website: http://www.comptchefire.org

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SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING FISHERMAN AT LAKE MENDOCINO

Authorities’ search continued Friday for a Laytonville man who went missing earlier this week during a fishing trip at Lake Mendocino with his father whose body was found floating near their boat the same day of younger man’s disappearance.

Authorities have narrowed their search for Vincent Soto, 40, to the lake’s waters, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said, adding a ground search of the area turned up with no signs of Soto.

Deputies learned he was missing after another boater found the body of his father, Carlos Soto, 62, also of Laytonville, floating in the water at the south end of the lake Tuesday evening.

Relatives reported the two had planned a day of fishing on the lake, and both could swim. Their wallets, along with the younger Soto’s cellphone, were in their boat, the Sheriff’s Office said. Authorities noted no sign of foul play after recovering the body of Carlos Soto.

“At this point, we have every reason to believe he is in the water,” Van Patten said of Vincent Soto. “The family has told us that they both went on this trip together … and his personal effects were in (the boat).”

Crews on four boats, one from the Sheriff’s Office, a barge from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and two vessels from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, were continuing the search Friday, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Lt. Shannon Barney said. Each are equipped with side-scan sonars, which create 3D images of the lake’s floor.

The information is then used by the county’s Search and Rescue dive team, who will explore the murky waters to look for signs of the missing man, Van Patten said. On Thursday, a veteran diver on the team was sent to a hospital by ambulance after experiencing a medical emergency while surfacing from at 60-foot dive, his first for the day, Van Patten said. He appeared to be in good condition after his arrival to the hospital, Van Patten said.

(Nashelly Chavez, Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

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THE CITY OF WILLITS, in a press release, says brown water is not contaminated.

Okay to drink without boiling

ukiahdailyjournal.com/2019/06/12/city-says-brown-water-not-contaminated/

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THIS AMAZING WEATHER is a great excuse to get out and explore! One of our favorite 'corners' of Mendocino County is the Lost Coast up north – and we're especially in love with the Candelabra Redwoods on the Peter Douglas Trail. Love this shot from Jess Wandering capturing their epic scale!

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GUILTY PLEAS IN MENDOCINO COAST SHOOTING

A former south coast resident avoided his long-awaited jury trial that was scheduled to commence on Monday by entering guilty pleas Thursday afternoon in Mendocino County Superior Court.

Defendant Harry William Miller, age 70, formerly of Anchor Bay (now of Santa Rosa), entered a guilty plea to attempted voluntary manslaughter for the March 2018 shooting of his neighbor. He also admitted a sentencing enhancement that he personally used a firearm in the commission of the attempted killing.

H. Miller

On the spectrum of attempted homicides, the offense lies somewhere in between the attempted killing of another with malice aforethought (aka murder) and the excusable, justified, or privileged attempted taking of life that does not constitute a crime, such as some instances of self-defense.

Attempted voluntary manslaughter requires that the perpetrator harbor a specific and unlawful intent to kill another person at the time of the attempt.

Defendant Miller also plead guilty to a felony assault with a firearm on the wife of the neighbor. He also admitted the sentencing enhancement under that count that he personally used a firearm in the commission of that separate offense.

Aside from planned witness testimony, the video evidence that would have been shown to a jury was that the defendant shot his neighbor in the stomach at point-blank range over the placement of a small gravel pile on a shared roadway. He then attempted to shoot —- but missed several times — the neighbor's wife.

Based on the guilty pleas and admissions entered, defendant Miller is looking at a state prison exposure of 17 years, 10 months.

The defense gave notice that the defendant would be making an application for probation at the sentencing hearing; the prosecutor was clear that he would be arguing for a maximum state prison sentence.

Following the Court's acceptance of the defendant's guilty pleas and admissions, the defendant's case was referred to the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department for a background study and sentencing recommendation. The formal sentencing hearing is now calendared for August 2, 2019 at 9 o'clock in the morning in Department H of the Ukiah courthouse.

Any person interested in this case and/or the sentencing outcome is welcome to attend that hearing.

The prosecutor handling this case has been and will continue to be District Attorney David Eyster.

The investigating law enforcement agency that gathered the evidence necessary to conduct this prosecution was primarily the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Santa Rosa Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the District Attorney's own investigators.

Special thanks are also extended to the Stutchman Forensic Laboratory in Napa for their audio and video enhancement work on exhibits that were going to be used by the prosecutor at trial.

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MENDO VALUED AT…

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FRIENDS OF THE EEL SAY….

The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to begin the process of listing Northern California summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) under the California Endangered Species Act. The commission found a petition submitted by Friends of the Eel River to list the remaining runs of summer steelhead from Redwood Creek to the Mattole River as endangered under state law presented sufficient evidence to move forward with a one-year status review prior to a final listing determination.

“We are grateful to Department of Fish and Wildlife staff for their careful review, and to the Commissioners for taking an important step toward providing these extraordinary fish the attention they deserve and the protection they need,” said Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director Scott Greacen. Ryon Kurth, Senior Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, presented the Department’s evaluation and recommendation to the Commission that the petition be accepted.

Steelhead are the anadromous, or ocean-going, form of rainbow trout. While their more numerous relatives, winter-run steelhead, return from the Pacific ready to spawn in weeks or less, summer steelhead enter freshwater between April and June as sexually immature, bright silver fish. They oversummer in cold pools, often in deep, remote canyons, before using fall rains to leap obstacles that seem impassable to humans, higher than any other salmonid.

Recent research has shown the summer steelhead life history is controlled by a critical genetic difference in one specific part of the salmonid genome. Only viable populations of summer steelhead can maintain the gene and the life history it governs.

Remaining North Coast populations are far from viability. Many are critically imperiled by climate change. However, the increasing likelihood that Scott Dam on the upper mainstem Eel River will be removed offers a real ray of hope for summer steelhead. The longest, and southernmost, run of Northern California summer steelhead vanished a century ago when the dam was built. This spring, UC Davis researchers announced they had found the summer steelhead gene in rainbow trout in the headwaters above Scott Dam, raising hope a new population of Northern California summer steelhead could be resurrected from its own locally adapted stock.

(FOE presser)

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WOODSTOCK, 69

(via Susie de Castro)

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SUPERVISOR JOHN MCCOWEN called and left a message Friday complaining about our recent item concerning the Climate Action Committee that the Supervisor is working very hard on.

First, our offending item from yesterday:

“LOOKS LIKE SUPERVISOR JOHN McCOWEN, as we expected, has indeed been working on his colleague Supervisor Ted Williams about his pet Climate Action Committee proposal which narrowly failed in a 3-2 vote to get more than minimum funding a couple of weeks ago.

In his Supervisor’s report on Tuesday, Supervisor Williams said he had participated in a “climate ad hoc committee” with Supervisor McCowen and had concluded that the current proposed funding of $7500 “may not be adequate.” Williams wanted to “fine tune” the proposal “and bring back something acceptable,” that would cost more and, preferably, be voted on unanimously.

Supervisor McCowen added grandly: “More will be revealed,” adding that, “We will probably have some options before us on June 18.”

CEO Angelo said that the Climate Committee item was not on the June 18 agenda, but was set for July 9.

McCowen replied, “Yes, but a related item is on June 18.”

(The June 18 agenda has not yet been officially posted as of Thursday.)

Besides the obvious shady back office maneuvering that’s going on here, this kind of pushing also demonstrates that Supervisors could do a lot of advocacy for much more important things if they wanted to — but they don’t.

PS. The agenda for next week’s Board meeting was posted late Thursday and the only item we could find that McCowen might be referring to is: “6a) Supervisors’ Reports Regarding Board Special Assignments, Standing and Ad Hoc Committee Meetings, and Other Items of General Interest.”

Which should be an illegal Brown Act posting because Boards are not supposed to be able to use generalities like “other items of general interest” to keep the public from knowing SPECIFICALLY what they plan to discuss. But that’s never kept Official Mendo from blathering about topics that are way off topic before. And County Counsel, who claims to be so assiduous in instructing local government bodies about the requirements of the Brown Act, lets stuff like this go on all the time without restraint.”


Supervisor John McCowen, Friday, June 14, 2011, afternoon:

“If I ever find the time I will send you something. You are fucking losing it man. Williams and I are on two separate ad hocs related to climate action, one to bring back a resolution, one to bring back a scope of work for the climate action committee with the RCD. That's still an open item despite the budget action that was taken. So two supervisors can always talk to two supervisors. I'm talking to Williams, a guy that I am on two separate ad hocs with. There is no Brown Act violation except in your imagination. It would be refreshing if you would wise up and quit pandering to Sakowicz who started all this bullshit with his phony rumor that I have not been able to screw Erica Cooperrider and his equally false rumor that I was screwing Alicia Littletree. And then it's all about getting her a job! That's completely idiotic given that I don't hire anybody. My proposal is to have the RCD hire somebody. I'm pretty damn sure that they are not going to be looking for somebody with a degree in theater arts and any fly on the wall would know that there is actually another individual that I might advise who I think would be a great candidate whose initials are not Alicia Littletree Bales. What else can I say? If I ever find the time I will actually write something up for attribution. But your standards have really fallen when you are down there communing with Sakowicz. Come on, give me a break! You should be embarrassed and ashamed! End of rant. Again, I would love to send you something. You actually have no idea — I don't know what the others do but I know what I'm doing. There is a lot of work going on and it isn't shady and behind the scenes.”


Mark Scaramella Replies:

Normally, I would not publish or respond to telephone message complaints like this because Supervisor McCowen is free to object to anything I write about the Supes and respond in writing as he occasionally has in the past. And he may or may not do so on this one.

But in this case, Mr. McCowen either attributes things to me which I simply have not alleged or he does not realize how his statements during board meetings come across.

As can be seen from my original item (above), my Brown Act complaint, such as it was, had to do with putting a non-specific topic on the agenda — “and Other Items of General Interest” — not about his meeting with Williams, which, he’s correct, are not Brown Act violations. But if he’s using a catch-all like that, it appears he might be planning to introduce the Climate Action item without naming it on the agenda.

I have never said anything about who the Supervisor was or wasn’t screwing. I don’t care — although after watching the videos of the Supes meeting the day the item was first discussed, it does not seem unreasonable to infer that Mr. McCowen’s relationship with Ms. Bales is too cozy for either of them to have any involvement with the completely unnecessary Mendo Climate Action Committee. Nevertheless, I was glad to hear that Ms. Bales’ theater arts degree is more suited to KZYX than to Climate Action.

Supervisor McCowen’s hair-splitting about which ad hoc committee is doing what with whom is irrelevant to any complaints I have made. If Mr. McCowen spent as much time and “work” on the rather obvious dysfunction in the management of the County as he does on side issues like Mendo’s contributions to global warming — which, if it’s so important to the enviros who support the committee, the advocates should do it for free and individual proposals considered on a case by case basis — his complaint would carry more weight.

Why does the County need to spend any money on yet another advisory committee that the Board and the CEO will ignore like they do with every other advisory committee? In this case it’s buried in the Resource Conservation District’s odd arrangement with the County, not even a direct advisory body to the Board, which seems like an attempt to create artificial distance when Mr. McCowen’s hands-on work to create it implies otherwise.

In fact, we can’t recall a single recommendation made by any Mendo advisory committee that has been implemented by the Board in years of watching the meetings. (We do recall the Library Advisory Board objecting to their consolidation into the Cultural Services Agency which the Board disliked so much that they rejected it just because they stronglsy disagreed with the proposed action.)

As regards my comment about “shady” and “behind the scenes” activity — that was a reference to McCowen’s abbreviated “ad hoc” committee report last week and his grand “more will be revealed” tease which implies that things are being hidden pending some upcoming “ta-da!” moment. While legal, these ad hocs are certainly not models of transparency. Who else is in on them? Certainly not the public. It looks like McCowen is trying to work on the swing vote on the Climate Action Committee to find a way to up their budget and present it to the rest of the Board as some kind of pre-packaged fait accompli to vote on, up or down, and anyone who’s skeptical will be painted as some kind of climate change denier. Why spend money the County doesn’t have on an ill-advised collection of the usual suspects who can and should advocate any climate change improvements on their own? Why can’t they announce their own meetings and write their own minutes, for god’s sake? If they can demonstrate that they’re so great at their recommendations, let them apply for their own grant(s) AFTER they show that they can produce tangible recommendations that the Board votes to implement (and wouldn’t have otherwise).

Lastly, I have no connection with Mr. Sakowicz, I have not used him as a source for anything, and I have no intention of starting to.

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SKATEBOARD ASSAULT

On June 09, 2019 at approximately 9:53 PM, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the Mendocino Coast District Hospital Emergency Room to investigate a reported assault. Deputies arrived and contacted a 25 year old-male who was being treated by hospital staff. Deputies observed the male had a severe laceration on the back of his head which required numerous staples to close. Deputies learned the male was socializing with a group of his friends at the Gualala River, when they were approached by a male subject with a skateboard. The male subject was asked by the group to leave the area, which he did. Around one hour later, with darkness approaching, the male subject made a stealthy movement toward the group and struck the victim in the back of his head with a skateboard. The victim provided a description of the suspect to Deputies, who initiated an investigation into the assault. Deputies interviewed multiple witnesses and ultimately identified the suspect as Jona Chapman, 39, of Point Arena.

On June 10, 2019 at approximately 7:24 PM Deputies contacted Chapman at an address on Ten Mile Road in Point Arena. Deputies placed Chapman under arrest for Assault With A Deadly Weapon Resulting in Great Bodily Injury. Chapman was also found to be the defendant in two separate felony probation cases. Chapman was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held without bail.

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PEE WEE & BOB

On May 30, 2019 Mendocino County Dispatch received a call concerning a burglary which had just occurred in the 18000 block of Ray's Road in Philo. The reporting party observed two males enter a locked barn and when confronted, both suspects left the area in an identified vehicle. The reporting party later provided evidence which led to the identity of one suspect, Larry Pee Wee Commander, 44, of Ukiah, who was identified as being on Parole with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Commander

A BOLO was issued to local law enforcement. Deputies later made contact with the property owner/victim of the burglary who identified specific items stolen during the incident.

on June 6, 2019 Commander was contacted by a Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Detective Sergeant. Following the contact, Commander was arrested for a Violation of his Parole. The whereabouts of Commander's vehicle was discovered and during a parole search of his vehicle, evidence directly related to the burglary was discovered.

On June 9, 2019 Commander was subsequently arrested for Second Degree Burglary of a Non-Inhabited Structure, Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, and Possession of Stolen Property. During this investigation, Robert Douglas, 51, of Ukiah, was identified as the co-conspirator in this case.

Douglas

At this time, Douglas' whereabouts are unknown. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is asking the public's assistance in locating Douglas who is wanted for Second Degree Burglary of a Non-Inhabited Structure and Conspiracy to Commit a Crime. Anyone with information concerning the burglary or Douglas' whereabouts is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at 707-463-4086. Person's wishing to remain anonymous are asked to contact the 707-234-2100 or the We-Tip Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline at 800-782-7463.

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APB FOR TWO MORONS IN A LITTLE WHITE CAR

On June 12, 2019 at about 2:55 a.m., the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a call regarding vandalism to mail boxes, trash cans and possibly vehicles in the 500 block of Ellen Lynn Road in Redwood Valley. The suspect vehicle was identified as a smaller white sedan occupied by at least two male subjects. Deputies responded to the area in attempt to locate the suspects. While enroute, a second call was received from a reporting person in the 9000 block of Laughlin Way. The second caller reported hearing someone causing vandalism outside their residence. The caller then attempted to locate the suspect vehicle and occupants finding more damaged mail boxes and trash cans along Laughlin Way and Road N. Deputies searched the Redwood Valley area making multiple stops on vehicles matching the description provided. During the search for the suspects, mail boxes and upended trash cans were located along a significant portion of the roadways and streets in the Redwood Valley area. As of this press release, no additional suspect information has been provided. Redwood Valley residents wishing to report being a victim of these crimes are asked to contact the Sheriff's Office Non-Emergency Line at 707-463-4086. Since the reported incident, personal social media posts have been seen asking for information leading to the identity of the vehicle and suspects. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information concerning the identity of the suspects please contact us on our non-emergency number at 707-463-4086. Those persons wishing to remain anonymous can also contact us at 707-234-2100 or the WeTip Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline at 800-782-7463. Additionally, based on the number of areas affected by the vandal's it is believed a Redwood Valley community member may have captured the vehicle or suspects traveling near their residence on surveillance footage. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is asking residents to review their surveillance footage for suspicious activity. Regardless of image quality the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office would interested in obtaining copy to review in anticipation of identifying the vehicle or suspects. It is suspected the incidents may have begun as early as 1:00 am and ended around 3:00 am on 06-12-2019. Please contact us at 707-463-4086 and reference MCSO Case #2019-17149.

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CATCH OF THE DAY, JUNE 14, 2019

Anthony, Bennett, Fillion

ANDREW ANTHONY, Ukiah. DUI, no license.

SETH BENNETT, Scotia/Ukiah. DUI, evasion, probation revocation.

HAZEL FILLION, Lakeport/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, paraphernalia.

Galindo, Gonzalez, Heath

THOMAS GALINDO, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol. (Frequent flyer.)

SERJIO GONZALEZ, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation.

JACOB HEATH, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

Martinez, Parkin, Ray

JUAN MARTINEZ, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

COLE PARKIN, Ukiah. Protective order violation, probation revocation.

JASON RAY, Lucerne/Calpella. Domestic battery.

Tupper, Vaughn, Yeomans

KRISTINE TUPPER, Ukiah. Controlled substance, trespassing, disobeying court order, probation revocation. (Frequent Flyer)

MOTECUHZOMA VAUGHN, Ukiah. Community supervision violation

DANIEL YEOMANS, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocaiton. (Frequent Flyer)

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A GOOD START

by James Kunstler

Campus Wokesters with boundary problems got “woke” for real on Thursday when an Ohio jury laid an additional $33-million for punitive damages on top of $11-million in compensatory damages already awarded against Oberlin College for running a “social justice” campaign to ruin the business of a four-generation small-town bakery that followed the shoplifting arrest of three black Oberlin College students there in 2016.

The precipitating incident happened the day after the presidential election when the Oberlin College campus suffered a collective emotional breakdown over the election results. Gibson’s Bakery and Food Mart, on the Oberlin town square, also sells wine and deli products and has been a fixture in downtown Oberlin for generations. The three students first tried to buy wine with fake ID and, failing to do that, attempted to walk out with two bottles. They were followed outside by one of the Bakery family members, Allyn Gibson. A fight ensued. Police arrested the kids. The college’s attempt to steer the case out of the court system failed. The three students eventually pleaded guilty in August 2017 to theft and aggravated trespassing, and were required by their plea agreements to declare that they had behaved wrongfully and that the bakery was not a racist establishment.

In the event, Oberlin College Dean of students, Meredith Raimondo, had organized students, faculty, and staff to mount days of demonstrations outside Gibson’s Bakery, accusing it of racism and systematic profiling of black students. At times, Ms. Raimondo appeared to lead the demonstration with a bullhorn, and handed out leaflets labeling Gibson’s as “racist.” The college also dropped its business arrangement with Gibson’s, which had supplied the college with donuts and bagels for decades. Gibson’s then sued both Oberlin College, and Ms. Raimondo in particular, for libel and for attempting to ruin its business.

The Oberlin case is of a piece with the widespread dishonest, despotic, and sadistic behavior syndrome that has roiled college campuses all over the country, and infected every corner of national life, including the giant social media companies, the corporate HR departments, the entire Democratic Party, virtually all show business, and the US Military. Wokesterism employs the same tactics used by Mao Zedong’s Red Guard during China’s “cultural revolution” of the 1960s — an epic fiasco of mass coercion in which millions of innocent people were imprisoned, tortured, and executed to consolidate the ageing and ailing Mao’s power and purge all dissenters. Even the Chinese communist party got sick of it and quashed the hysteria after Mao’s death.

Oberlin’s lame defense in the penalty phase of the court case was to plead poverty despite a nearly one-billion-dollar endowment — at a school which charges $70,000-a-year to attend. The punitive damages required the jury to find actual malice in the college’s behavior. In fact, the jury’s award of $33.2-million exceeded a statutory Ohio punitive damages cap of double compensatory damages (the $11-million).

In many cases like Oberlin’s around the nation — such as the mob that attacked author Charles Murray (The Bell Curve) at Middlebury College, the mobs that drove out biology professor Bret Weinstein at Evergreen College, the mob that bullied Nicholas Christakas at Yale, the serial mobs that disrupted many speakers at UC Berkeley — the mysterious common denominator is the acquiescence of college presidents and other campus authorities to the hysteria of the moment. The truth is, they were AWOL at best and often complicit in the action. The uproar at Oberlin may have been “triggered” by the dismaying election results of 2016, but a lot of this quasi-religious hysteria has been going on since long before the much-reviled Mr. Trump came on the scene. Campus deans and presidents have a lot to answer for. Until now, they have all skated neatly from scrutiny, with the help of an amazingly incurious news media. The hefty dollar judgment against Oberlin may be a caution to other college admins across the land that there actually are consequences for their cowardly and dishonorable behavior.

Note: The New York Times did not even report the final disposition of the Oberlin libel suit the day after the jury’s punitive damage award. They don’t want to know about it, and they don’t want you to know about it. The omission tells you everything you need to know about the descent of the old liberalism into a maw of delusion and bad faith and the appalling failures of institutional leadership across the USA.

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

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"SNIPER LANE"

Located a few miles north of Riverton, WY, off Paradise Valley Road.

photo by Harvey Reading

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TIME TO REDISCOVER PRINT NEWSPAPERS

by Ralph Nader

Friends often ask me why I spend so much time reading print versions of newspapers. I respond with the usual general reasons about learning what is happening, worsening or improving, in the world. I also point out that I send people helpful clippings.

Unfortunately, my responses do not get many people to expand their print newspaper reading time. Some recent topics that caught my attention might encourage you to revisit the printed version of your newspapers:

“It’s the middle of the night. Do you know who your iPhone is talking to?” The Washington Post’s Geoffrey A. Fowler says this is not true. With his screen off, he showed 5,400 hidden app trackers guzzled his data in a single week. Shame on Apple and CEO Tim Cook. You lied.

“Take a Page From Kids Who Care” – The Washington Post’s Christina Barron starts with the now famous Greta Thunberg’s weekly protests on climate disruption before the Swedish Parliament and goes on to reference eight new books “in which kids engage, in ways big and small, to better the world.”

“Why I’m Swearing off Trump’s Nicknames,” by Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post. About time a writer did this. When will reporters stop being Trump’s bullhorn for his scornful, ugly nicknames, without printing rebuttals or nicknames coined by Trump critics – like “Draft-dodging Donald,” or “Lying Donald,” or “Corrupt Donald,” for example.

“MacKenzie Bezos Pledges to Give Half of her $36 billion Fortune to Charity,” by Washington Post’s Rachel Siegel. One very rich couple’s divorce may mean better lives and saving lives for many people if Ms. Bezos spends money to promote justice and we might need less charity. Her Foundation is coming.

“The Shadow Banks are back with another Big Bad Credit Bubble,” by The Washington Post’s incomparable Steve Pearlstein. With weak or no regulation of these speculators/lenders, there may be a replay of the 2008 financial crisis.

“Many teens sleep with their phones, survey finds—just like their parents” by The Washington Post’s Craig Timberg. This practice undermines “cognitive function and mental health while increasing obesity rates” and causing household conflicts.

Joshua A. Douglas is out with a key book, Vote for US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting. Reclaiming the electoral process is crucial for our democracy and to improve the quality of life in our country.

“Why We May all Have to Give Up Pork”—letter to the editor of The Washington Post by Patricia E. Perry. She cites documented infectious diseases and Trump’s move to sideline federal inspectors and allow even more self-inspection by the meat packers wanting to speed up the slaughter-processing assembly lines. Ugh!

“Hogan Will Not Challenge Trump, Leaving Trump’s GOP Critics with Limited Options,” by The Washington Post’s Robert Costa. Like Maryland governor Larry Hogan, other fearful, viable challengers like Senator Mitt Romney, former Ohio governor John Kasich, Arizona ex-Senator Jeff Flake, and former U.S. trade representative Carla Hills aren’t going to challenge Trump. Trump is clearing the Republican primary field with foul mouthed intimidation. No matter these Republican politicians really believe Trump is a clear and present danger to our Republic and to the future of the Republican Party. Only the laid back former governor, William Weld, has his hat in the ring.

“The NFL Has Finally Been Consumed by the Concussion Issue. Why Hasn’t the NHL?” by The New York Times’ John Branch. Consumed, that is, after years of cover-ups. The Hockey bosses literally stage fights between players kept on the team just to fight for the boisterous crowds. Head injuries have taken the lives and diminished the brain functions of scores of players over their shortened lives. This is criminal and sets a bad example for youthful amateur sports where concussions are not taken seriously enough. See our Leagueoffans.org.

“Art Festival is Welcome, But Not the Huge Crowds,” by The New York Times’ Helene Stapinski. The 13th annual free “Figment Arts Festival” on Roosevelt Island is overwhelmed by 30,000 visitors. “Huge crowds forced the tram to shut down and the bridge to close, overwhelming the subway platform.” Makes you wonder why civic conferences, open free to the public, dealing with the most precious matters of livelihood, peace, and justice beg to fill the empty seats.

“If Trump Doesn’t Warrant Impeachment, Who Does?” by The Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson. It’s useful to have Robinson list many of Trump’s impeachable offenses in one place. He still left out several serious acts such as blatantly, openly dismantling the enforcement of health and safety laws in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the law and conducting illegal wars without Congressional declarations and appropriations.

“The Cybersecurity 202: Democratic Base Fired Up by Effort to Ban Internet-Connected Voting Machines.” By Joseph Marks of The Washington Post. Why not an easy solution? While we are at it, why not adopt the Canadian system of paper ballots fully counted by 11pm on election day in that vast country with no proprietary software and corrupt procurement of voting machines.

“When will the Republican Silence on Trump End?” An op-ed by William S. Cohen, former Senator from Maine and Secretary of Defense. Hmm, when will Mr. Cohen decide to practice what he preaches and run against Trump in the Republican primaries?

“Why are so many doctors burning out? Tons of real and electronic paperwork,” by Daniel Marchalik in The Washington Post. Physicians are quitting because they have too little time to practice medicine. Not so in Canada where they have Medicare for all and almost no billing nightmares for themselves and their patients.

Newspaper publishers want readers to discover that print versions of newspapers can expose you to content that you already agree with or like online. You aren’t likely to go searching for an article saying “You can’t stop Robocalls, You Shouldn’t Have to.” The New York Times put Brian Chen’s article on this topic on a page for you. By reading the print edition of a newspaper, you might just see something that your online news alerts or search engine algorithms don’t automatically present.

(Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer and author of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!)

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JERRY BROWN TO OPEN CLIMATE CHANGE INSTITUTE at UC Berkeley

sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231494868.html

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THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET is experiencing an unprecedented spasm of melting this week, losing half of its surface cover in a matter of days…It hasn’t happened before. But almost certainly will again.

What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic…

(via Jeffrey St. Clair)

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ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Sometimes things turn. Like my stomach. It’s turning all the time these days like the wheel in the sky keeps on turning. I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow.

Have you heard the good news? The glacier that once enveloped Everest is melting precipitously. Consequently, the preserved corpses of all the dead hikers, more than you can imagine, who’ve perished climbing its treacherous slopes over the years as part of their Maslownian self-actualization ritual are now exposed to natural mechanisms that desire, and exist, to turn them back to the dust from which the hikers, and all of us for that matter, were conjured.

It’s divine justice in a sense. Climbing Everest has become an obnoxious & obscene industry and now the Maslownian self-actualizers may perhaps no longer freeze to death, but they’ll be treated to the pleasant & irresistible odor of the rotting human flesh & tissue of the hikers who did once-upon-a-time freeze to death trying to summit Everest. Cool. Or, considering the glacier is melting and other glaciers all over the planet, not “cool” but “hot.” Soon enough, the word “cool” will have no relevance or meaning since there will be no yardstick by which to measure it. A world without “cool” is no world at all. It’s a place called hell.

It reminds me of the excellent 1982 song by Modern English I Melt With You. This song brings back such memories considering it was released 37 years prior. 37 years!! Jesus, I’m getting old — and so are you. I think the planet’s sick of us at this point and it realizes what a big mistake it’s made by giving birth to a progeny that’s in the process of murdering it. Our destruction of nature is nothing short of matricide. We’re a super organism devouring the host until there’s no host left to devour.

Donald Trump is an idiot when it comes to climate change and more importantly when it comes to the destruction of our environment. The fact of the matter is, he doesn’t know shit about any of this because he doesn’t care so he denies everything, but here’s the rub; Trump is ultimately better in the long run for halting the planet-destroying machine that is modern economies. The so-called “Left” refuses to acknowledge this truthful fact. Instead, they will have us believe that “Green” & Wall Street can coexist. They can’t coexist. The only thing Wall Street can coexist with is “Greed” not “Green,” whatever “Green” really means to the so-called “Left.”

Simply put, we’ve reached the end of growth. It’s growth that’s killing the planet and therefore it’s growth that will ultimately destroy us since the planet is what nourishes us and sustains us and all life.

The Green New Deal proponents refuse to acknowledge this and since they don’t acknowledge it then their Green New Deal will be ineffective. In this case, since the survival of our species and all life on the planet depends on it, “it’s the thought that counts” doesn’t cut it. Sentiment must transform into effective action and effective action means we must radically transform how we live & interact. Proper & effective action means we must understand the root cause of our predicament and the root cause is growth.

Here’s an excellent analysis from an honest, forthright physics professor. He uses logic and science to prove that we cannot continue to grow as we have because there won’t be a planet left to support such growth. It’s imperative we contract to a steady sustainable state. When you consider the implications of this article, you soon realize how daunting of an undertaking it will be to not only halt the consumption, and thus destruction, of the planet but further, to reverse that trend and contract substantially to a point we take no more from the planet than we give back. The vested powers-that-be won’t allow it and so, we will march head-on into an imminent, world-shattering catastrophe that may extinguish most, if not all, life on the planet.

What could have been if only….

Exponential Economist Meets Finite Physicist

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FROM A HEADSTONE in England on a recent voyage there. Located at St. Mary Magdalene church, Winterbourne Monkton, Wiltshire:

To leave ye world I do not fear

I know fullwell is vain:

In Heaven more glorious objects are

Could I thar blifs obtain.

But can a sinner dare appear

Where saints and angels shine?

They spend their hours in Praife (praise) and Prayer

In Folly I spend mine.

But Christ dy'd his Sufferings Read.

His love to sinners shown:

Then banish fears and bow thy head,

And Dye without a crown.

Headstone: Eliz. Thorold of Winterbourn Mockton, June 1, 1732 @ 63 years of age

(via Randy Burke)

* * *

JEREMY CORBYN ON JOYCE'S ULYSSES: ‘Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t understand it.'

He says, like many people, at first he found the book “incomprehensible.”

But then “you stop trying to focus on the narrative and start just enjoying the vignettes.” Back then he didn’t tackle it from start to finish, and that is not the way he has read it since, instead regularly just dipping into passages. It is an approach he recommends to first time readers today: “Read a little bit at a time and think about it and then move on, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t understand it.”

theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/14/jeremy-corbyn-on-joyces-ulysses-dont-beat-yourself-up-if-you-dont-understand-it

June 16 is Bloomsday.

* * *

DOWN WITH CARB, NEWSOM & NICHOLS!

Editor,

Isn't it nice to live under a one-party state, a filthy state to say the least. This is the worst time in the United States for filth and decayed infrastructure. It's a dictatorship, just like North Korea, Iran, Syria, China etc., rotten communistic programs forced on us like CARB air resource program which shouldn't even exist; it's the biggest scam in American history. CARB will throw people out of work, lose their livelihoods by taking away their trucks, and we up here are in a remote, pollution free area. We have a dictator now and we had one before him for the last eight years. Newsom is running wild. Votes don't count. He will do what he pleases and his rotten administration will follow.

California people, and especially the conservative party, are screwed. There's nothing we can do about all this, is there? But when you piss people off enough anything can happen. The liberals lied, they cheated, they stole right under the Republican's noses who lost the election because of cheating. They showed just how corrupt they can be, that's the Democrats.

When Newsom tells his administration to jump they ask how high? Political correctness, corruption, anti-Americanism, dictatorship. CARB. Giving our money away for free to illegal aliens who get medical care when thousands of California citizens can't afford it. My wife pays $1300 a month for health insurance. Nice going Gavin Newsom, you are on the right track for being the worst political figure in US history, not just California. I am making myself sick just talking about this and these people. If you want to do something about this man and his corruption just call 1-800-getridofnewsom.

God bless Donald Trump.

Jerry Philbrick

Comptche

PS. Gavin Newsom and Mary Nichols should get married, they are the same. He's a dictator and she is a dictatoress. They do good for each other. They are both hated by most Californians. Mary Nichols is one bad person.

PPS. I hate politicians. Republicans or Democrats. They are crooked from start to end. President Trump is not a politician, he’s a businessman and American, as good an American as ever was. He's trying to get this country back on its feet and headed in the right direction and keep it away from socialism and liberalism and political correctness and trying to get America proud again. He has fixed the economy, he has fixed the military, he has fixed everything! In four more years he will make this country the way it should be.

PPPS. I wonder how it would be if one of the convicts Jerry Brown let out of jail caught up with Mary Nichols who is in charge of the CARB that put so many people out of business? I wonder how Jerry Brown would feel if a convict dismembered her body by cutting off her hands and feet so she could fully realize how frustrated and hopeless people who she has put out of business are because of some law we can't do anything about.

* * *

* * *

THE ALL-MALE, ULTRA-ELITE BOHEMIAN GROVE meets 2019

https://www.latimes.com/newsletters/la-me-ln-essential-california-20190612-story.html

Entrance to BoHo Grove, 1971

MARY MOORE NOTES: Remembering Oz Grimes

A very special yard sale happening tomorrow (Saturday) in Petaluma. Oz Grimes was a well known activist in Sonoma County who was part of the founding of the Bohemian Grove Action Network back in 1980 and he recently died. His daughters are selling off many of his memories and relics of that activism at 1629 St Anne Way in Petaluma. Come by and get a piece of Oz to remember him by and it's fitting that this announcement is with a Boho story.

* * *

KNOW YOUR OLIGARCHS (#12)

$54,000,000,000 (Sergey Brin)

11 Comments

  1. James Marmon June 15, 2019

    RE: SUPERVISOR JOHN MCCOWEN

    Your lucky you didn’t get a cancer email Mark. Maybe you should consider restraining McCowen, he’s pretty angry, could be dangerous.

    Rumors in cyberspace are that McCowen is thinking about not running again next year. Maybe he is just setting up his side job when he retires. He would make a great Climate Change Czar, a person appointed by government to advise on and coordinate policy in a particular area.

    Vote Mo and Sako 2020, and anybody but Djerde. Time for a change!

    The only way to take our county back from Angelo is to get rid of those 3 (Brown, McCowen, and Djerde).

    James Marmon MSW

    • James Marmon June 15, 2019

      I suggest you get a good strong stick just in case he comes calling on you. It worked good for that homeless guy down on the river.

  2. George Hollister June 15, 2019

    ” However, the increasing likelihood that Scott Dam on the upper mainstem Eel River will be removed offers a real ray of hope for summer steelhead.”

    The main stem of the Eel would go dry in summer if not for water that is metered out from Lake Pillsbury behind Scott Dam. Summer Run Steelhead do come into rivers in summer, and they do need water. So some further explanation is needed here to explain the ray of hope.

  3. Jim Armstrong June 15, 2019

    “However, the increasing likelihood that Scott Dam on the upper mainstem Eel River will be removed,,,”
    I copied that and scrolled down to paste it when I discovered George’s comment.
    I have not seen anything to justify this claim. FOE is an increasingly dishonest outfit.
    I just irrigated my small pasture with Eel River/Lake Pillsbury water and marveled at the usefulness of this manmade effort.
    It is hard to believe that I have had this bounty for almost half of its existence (c. 50 out of 100 years).
    It is the cornerstone of my piece of earth’s value and my peace of mind.

    • George Hollister June 15, 2019

      Basic facts:

      Scott Dam, Lake Pillsbury, and the Lake Pillsbury watershed are in Lake County. The Van Arsdale Lake, created by Cape Horn Dam, where water is diverted from the Eel to the Russian to generate electricity is in Mendocino County. Lake Mendocino was built to take advantage of this flow, and is owned by Sonoma County. Humboldt County is not anywhere near this project.

      If not for Lake Pillsbury, both the upper Russian River from Potter Valley to Healdsburg, and the main stem of the Eel would be dry in the summer. It has been so long since Scott Dam, 1922, and the Cape Horn Dam,1908, were built, that we have lost track of this.

      The only interest FOE have in this is an opportunity to get some money ( maybe I should just say, “to get money”, and leave it at that.) to improve summer fish habitat, where habitat did not exist before Scott Dam was built. This includes the stretch between Cape Horn Dam, and Scott Dam. Humboldt County has a marginal claim, or no claim that “this is our water”. They are also benefiting from the summer flows that would not be in the Eel if not for Scott Dam. Humboldt summer diverters, and potential summer diverters are benefiting, as are fish in their county. I believe winter diversion concerns in Humboldt County are non existent. I am also unaware of any Mendocino County diverters below Cape Horn Dam that are, or have been negatively effected by this diversion project.

    • George Hollister June 15, 2019

      If the Potter Valley Project FERC relicensing is successful, every water diverter, that is currently taking advantage of Lake Pillsbury water, needs to know that water will likely be monetized in the future. A local group that administers this project will not be deep pockets, like PG&E. Frivolous studies and requirements will be paid for by the water users, just like everything else.

  4. Marshall Newman June 15, 2019

    Yorkville quakes were later reduced in magnitude to with a magnitude of 2.9 and 2.3 respectively, per the US Geological Survey.

  5. Stephen Rosenthal June 15, 2019

    There is no need to spend one minute or one cent on a Climate Action Comittee. There are far more pressing needs. The contribution of Mendocino County to global climate change is equivalent to structural damage caused by one termite. Note to any smart alecks: save your comments about the King or Queen of the termite colony.

  6. John Sakowicz June 15, 2019

    OPEN LETTER TO SUPERVISOR JOHN MCCOWEN

    Who doth protest too much? Who’s losing it, John McCowen? You’re way over the top in your phone call to the Anderson Valley Advertiser about me. Your ranting and raving betray you. And besides, I’m not the issue.

    The fact remains that Mendocino County’s proposed “Climate Action Advisory Committee” is unnecessary. It’s redundant with the State of California’s own programs for controlling carbon emissions and fighting global warming.

    In January, 2017, California released an ambitious plan to cut the state’s output of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, ironically on the same day that newly-minted Trump administration signaled it would undo federal U.S. carbon regulations.

    California’s plan details how it will achieve its goal of cutting emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, which state air regulators called the most ambitious target in North America.

    The plan includes an extension of the state’s controversial carbon cap and trade program and calls for the state’s oil refineries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent. The plan’s target the most ambitious one of its kind in North America.

    For more about just some of California’s initiatives, see the following:

    1. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) requires that the California Air Resources Board (ARB) determine the statewide 1990 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission level and approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, equal to the 1990 level, to be achieved by 2020. Assembly Bill 1803, which became law in 2006, made ARB responsible to prepare, adopt, and update California’s greenhouse gas inventory.

    2. Summary of California’s Climate Change Legislation — https://www.climatechange.ca.gov/state/legislation.html

    3 California Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory Program: https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/inventory.htm

    4. California Air Resources Board – Climate Change Programs: https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm

    5. California’s Strategic Growth Council Invests Millions in Technology Research to Reduce Global Warming Emissions – http://sgc.ca.gov/news/2018/12-21.html

    6. The California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen Code) is Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code and is the first statewide “green” building code in the United States –
    https://ladbs.org/docs/default-source/publications/code-amendments/2016-calgreen_complete.pdf?sfvrsn=6

    John McCowen, your proposed Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee is the unnecessary creation of a new county bureaucracy in a county with already bloated bureaucracy, i.e. the cannabis permit office. Also, the Climate Action Advisory Committee is an unnecessary expense. It’s an unnecessary expense in a county that is fast approaching a budget deficit mode. The year 2020 will be in the red. And our county does even count its unfunded pension liability in its budget. The unfunded pension liability, which carried off-the-books by the county, is easily more than $200 million.

    My point?

    We can’t afford the Climate Action Advisory Committee…or any other unnecessary expense.

    Another thing.

    The expenditure of $96,412 to created a new job with the county’s general funds to oversee the Climate Action Advisory Committee is a slap in the face to SEIU and other line workers in the county — they are long overdue pay raises.

    Last year, the Board of Supervisors voted themselves 30 percent raises, along with other big raises for the County CEO and her deputies, all county elected officials, and all department heads — and still, the county’s rank and file wait for their puny raises.

    The County CEO has a total compensation package of almost $350,000, while the county’s home health aids make barely more than minimum wage.

    This is shocking, and it is morally and ethically wrong.

    So think of it this way, Mr. McCowen: Imagine a piggy bank…yes, a piggy bank just like the one you had as a kid. If the county has any extra money, put it in the bank. If the county has an extra $110,000 lying around to fund an unnecessary new bureaucracy, like the Climate Action Advisory Committee, then put that $110,000 in the piggy bank. And at the end of the year, give all the money you have saved to county workers in the form of a bonus for all their hard work. Better yet, give the county’s rank and file a raise that closes the gap between them and the county’s fat cats..

    Make sense?

    Now get off your high horse and do it!

    Yours truly,

    John Sakowicz, Ukiah CA

  7. George Hollister June 15, 2019

    54TH ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY CHICKEN BBQ DINNER (IN COMPTCHE)

    Lots of convenient parking. Well run. You will not go away hungry. Good people. Great event. The weather tomorrow should be perfect. Please leave your dog at home.

    • mendoblather June 15, 2019

      and better yet… George will be there!

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