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MCT: Saturday, August 15, 2020

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SOME OF THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURES of the summer are expected for interior northwest California today, and it will remain hot into the middle of next week. While coastal areas will not be as hot, it will be unusually warm again today, accompanied by sunny skies. Isolated thunderstorms are expected over the Trinty mountains this afternoon, with more storm activity expected late tonight and Sunday.


EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM PDT THIS EVENING...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with afternoon temperatures between 100 and 110 degrees...and low temperatures in the mid 60s to low 70s.

* WHERE...Much of Lake County and interior Mendocino County.

* WHEN...Until 7 PM PDT Saturday.

* IMPACTS...High heat will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Saturday will be the second day of an extended heatwave that may last for much of the next week. Some minor cooling may take place Sunday, but residents can expect prolonged above average temperatures for several days.

(National Weather Service)


CLIMATE SCIENTIST DANIEL SWAIN, author of the authoritative Weather West blog, posted Friday that he had underestimated the statewide heat wave earlier in the week.

The “intense and prolonged” streak“ now appears likely for a large portion of California over the next seven to 10 days,” he said, citing impacts on health, wildfire potential and demand for electricity — some of them ”amplified by the ongoing pandemic.“

“I suspect this event will probably end up being one of the most significant widespread California extreme heat events in the past decade, if not longer,” Swain said.


YESTERDAY'S HIGHS: Boonville 104°, Yorkville 105°

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SIXTEEN MORE CASES IN MENDO

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FLEX ALERT DEFINED: Flex Alerts are voluntary calls for consumers to conserve electricity. A Flex Alert is typically issued in the summer when extremely hot weather pushes up energy demand as it reaches available capacity. This usually happens in the evening hours when solar generation is going offline and consumers are returning home and switching on air conditioners, lights, and appliances.

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STATE @ STEPHENSON, UKIAH, 1871

VIEW FROM UKIAH COURTHOUSE WEST, 1886

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HOTTEST IN YEARS

The Bay Area heat wave is here and temperatures are forecast to hit the triple digits in some inland areas on Friday. The excessive heat could be here through the weekend and well into next week.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning in inland areas on Friday at 11 AM, which will extend through next Wednesday at 7 PM. There are also heat advisories around other parts of the Bay with record or near record temperatures possible.

One climate scientist, Daniel Swain of Weather West foresees a heat wave that could persist even longer, lasting from 7-10 days, and have wide-ranging impacts from a "human health, wildfire, and electricity demand perspectives."

"I suspect this event will probably end up being one of the most significant widespread California extreme heat events in the past decade, if not longer," Swain writes. Part of his concern grows from high overnight temperatures and prolonged humidity thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Elida. He also sees the presence of the pandemic as amplifying the impacts of the heat wave.

On Friday, temperatures are forecast to hit as high as 108 in Clayton and 101 in Livermore. In the South Bay, the mercury could hit 96 in Fremont and 100 in San Jose. On the San Mateo coast, temps are forecast to reach 85 in Pescadero and 78 in Montara.

San Francisco will feel the swelter as well with temps forecast to hit 82 in the afternoon. In Marin, Mill Valley may hit 95 and further north in Santa Rosa, it could be also be 95. In Napa, 100 is in the forecast.

Cooling centers are being set up around to Bay Area to offer relief to overheating residents. Check the National Weather Service for forecast updates.

(Courtesy, SFGate.com)

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UKIAH GRAMMAR SCHOOL, EARLY, 1900s

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COOLING TIPS FOR GOING OUTDOORS IN HOT WEATHER

Don’t Exert Yourself In The Midday Sun

If you want to do anything that raises your heart rate do not do it while the sun is at full strength, between 11-4. You can very quickly suffer from heatstroke in hot temperatures regardless of your age or physical fitness.

Open Loft Hatch

Heat rises so open your loft hatch and let it rise up there. This works best if your ceilings are insulated and trap hot air.

Close Curtain / Blinds When They Are Facing The Sun

When sun is pouring in through the windows just close the curtains or put down the blinds to reduce the indoor temp.

Keep Hydrated And Carry Water With You

This is almost too obvious to mention but it’s important and very easy to become dehydrated in hot weather that your body is not used to.

Wear Natural Fibres

Natural fibres like cotton will allow air to circulate and effectively wick away moisture. Avoid any synthetic clothes even if it is a synthetic blend.

Eat Cooling Foods

Like salads full of vegetable and fruit that are seasonably available in the summer. Avoid winter vegetables like carrots and parsnips.

Spray Home And Bedding With Water

With a fine mister spray your home and bedding with water before bed. As this evaporates on your bedding it will leave the fabric feeling cooler. Also spraying your home will help keep the air from becoming dry and cool the room. Add a few drops of essential oil for a bit of fragrance.

Put Water Bowls On Windowsills

As the air blows from outside over the water you will get a cool draft.

Wet Your Hair And Face

With a spray bottle regularly as this will reduce your temperature when the water evaporates.

Have A Cold Bath / Foot Bath

Bathe in cold water or just dip your feet in a bucket of cold water to cool your core temperature quickly. Add a bit of ice if you like.

Use a Do Rag

Pro Contractor Tip: Convert a wet t-shirt into a cooling do-rag by rolling the top down a couple of folds to form a band across the forehead, then tie the sleeves in the back so that the damp shirt goes over the head and covers the neck.

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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, UKIAH, 1909

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"A JOG DOWN MEMORY LANE" is former Mendo distance runner Jim Gibbons’ fast paced, fascinating personal history of running in 56 stand-alone stories that will hold the interest of current runners, former runners and even non-runners alike. Checking out on Amazon.com under the title. Please download onto Kindle Tablet, Phone or Ereader. It is anticipated that this will be available in print sometime this fall.

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BESIDES THE USUAL COVID REPORT and health order updates, the Supervisors have several significant but easily overlooked non-routine matters on next Tuesday’s agenda:

• Extension of eviction moratorium to September 30, 2020 (or later if extended by Governor).

• Finalize the purchase of the former Nursing home on Whitmore lane for $2.2 million.

• Hear a presentation on the long-awaited Homelessness Strategic Plan with its promised inclusing of the recommendations of the famous Marbut report from two and a half years ago now.

• Hear a presentation on planned public safety power shut-offs by PG&E.

Approve spending $3.7 million to build the Crisis Residential Treatment facility next door to the Schraeders’ offices on Orchard Avenue. That’s $3 mil for the building plus $700k more for “soft costs and contingencies” including $321k for “construction manager.” (On top of an additional $750k for design and planning.)

Consent Calendar:

Increase outside lawyer costs by $50k for legal costs associated with former Ag Commissioner Harinder Grewal’s lawsuit concerning his claim of unlawful termination against the County.

Finalize payment to a previoiusly undiscussed Ukiah consultant who audited the jail’s healthcare contractor to the tune of $255k over the last three years. (We have not seen the report, and it has not been posted on any county website that we are aware of.)

Closed session:

Consider purchase of three (3) Ukiah motels: Two Motel 6s and the Best Western two doors down from the Schraeders on Orchard Avenue.


Mark Scaramella Comments:

The proposed motel purchases are hidden deep in the agenda under “closed session/property negotiations” with no identification other than their street address which, when we looked them up, turned out to be the three Ukiah Motels. There’s no explanation why they’re being considered, what they’ll be used for, why they’re for sale, or what funds will be used if they are purchased.

That makes five new buildings which will likely be added to the County’s fixed asset list soon, with only one of them having an identified funding source. And that one with the funding source — the Crisis Residental facility on Orchard Ave — is a hugely overpriced, gold-plated project that probably wouldn’t be necessary if part of the Whitmore Lane Nursing Home was used for crisis residential patients. The only reason it’s being pursued is that Mendo accepted a $500k grant for the bare ground from the state a few years ago for non-Measure B mental health services and they didn’t want to give the grant back. As a result, they’re paying well over $4 million for a brand-new glorifed motel suite, instead of buying and remodeling an existing four-bedroom house for under a million. This gold plated building just happens to be next door to the Schraeders’ $20 million mental health services hub so no extravagence is too much. However, that’s $3 million or more of Measure B money that could have been spent on more practical existing facilities and/or service upgrades.

Perhaps more information on the CEO’s property shopping spree will be made available at the Supes meeting, although the motel purchases are being discussed in closed session so that will probably remain undisclosed. For all the County’s talk about “transparency,” it’s actually harder to find useful information or figure out what the County is doing than it ever was.

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UKIAH POST OFFICE, NO. OAK, 1937

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ED NOTES

THE COMPANY KITCHEN in Philo is offering majorly good food for the next four Fridays, 11:30 to 2pm. You can sit in the patio out back or call in order. Despite the covid-induced hardships, our Anderson Valley restaurants struggle on, and AV, from Yorkville to Navarro, it's impossible to go without fine prepared meals.

THE NAVARRO GENERAL STORE’s popular barbecue is back all day from Wednesdays through Sundays with its famous menu, outdoor seating and dining, deli, and much more. More details to come. For info call 895-9445.

BACK in the day, the day when newspapers reigned, in extraordinarily hot weather like now, an inevitable feature was a front page photo of someone, typically a housewife, frying an egg on a sidewalk. "Mrs. John Smith prepares little Bobby's breakfast," and there would be the two of them, mom posed with a spatula, little Bobby grinning in anticipation of his picture in the paper.

OUR THERMOMETER, a lying piece of primitive technology if there ever was one, said it was 112 in the shade in Boonville on Friday, but once it gets over a hundred, well, all we can do is hope that PG&E doesn't do a rolling blackout on us. I was trying to remember when we became so dependent on AC. People of my vintage grew up without it, and lots of us still prefer life without no matter how hot it gets.

AND INDEED LARGE PARTS of Sonoma and Marin Counties with tens of thousands of households were blacked out by PG&E Friday evening. PG&E said high power usage during the covid/heatwave was too much for them in that area. As far as we know Boonville hasn’t been hit with an intentional blackout yet.

GETS KINDA LONELY in the ava bunker these days, what with the covid-isolation our long days spent bringing you THE TRUTH. Used to be broken up by drop-in kibbitzers, but any more we can go an entire day without a visitor. We used to joke that the office was kind of like a variety show, with a procession of, ah, unique personalities popping in, doing their act, popping out just in time for another act, most often a monologue centered on whatever was troubling the presenter.

YESTERDAY I mentioned that I'd never seen Con Creek just north of Boonville's elementary school do dry, so I wasn't surprised when Steve Wood noted yesterday that "Anderson Creek in Boonville is dry. In the 20 years I’ve lived along it the only other time it dried up was in August of 2008."

COUNTY PLANNING, insofar as it exists, assumes a big bounce back to econ "normalcy," an elastic concept even in "normal" times, but it seems far more prudent in this time of rolling catastrophes to think worst case which, it seems, the heads-up governments of Fort Bragg and Willits are doing.

FORMER SHERIFF ALLMAN told us that there were about a dozen registered arsonists the Sheriff's Department kept an eye on, men (all men) with arson priors. 

THE GENERAL STRIKE in Belarus reminds US how broken and divided this country is. There, the whole country walks out to rid themselves of a tyrant, and so effective is the walkout and ensuing mass demonstrations that the tyrant apologizes for his secret police's brutality against demonstrators!

TRUMP'S attempts to stoke a false birtherism narrative over the eligibility of Kamala Harris to run for vice president will undoubtedly resonate with the yobbos, but only those sectors of the yobbos who think the Democratic Party's leadership is a gang of Satanist-inspired cho-mos. The yobs susceptible to birther bullshit number in the millions, however, and include Trump, so here it comes. 

HILLARY CLINTON said on Thursday if she's called to serve in the potential Biden administration that she's "ready to help" fix the United States. "I'm ready to help in any way I can because I think this will be a moment where every American - I don't care what party you are, I don't care what age, race, gender, I don't care - every American should want to fix our country. So if you're asked to serve, you should certainly consider that." No, Hil, that's ok. You've done enough. You've helped (yourself) plenty. Best to just continue your slow fade.

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RAILROAD DEPOT, EAST PERKINS, UKIAH, 1940s

(Now torn down to make room for a totally unnecessary new nine-judge courthouse apart from all their support offices and downtown Ukiah.)

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FROM KATHY WYLIE

Grand Jury Report notes seven County Emergency Communications failures in 2019

With summer wildfire season in full swing and more preemptive power shutoffs looming this fall, a report by the Mendocino County Grand Jury urges county officials to ensure its Emergency Communications System will perform as needed.

“The system is experiencing an ever-increasing failure rate causing loss of communication between emergency responders,” states the report from the 2019-2020 Mendocino County Civil Grand Jury titled “The Emergency Communication System in Mendocino County: Protecting Life, Health, Safety and Welfare.”

The Grand Jury reports that “seven failures occurred in 2019, two of which were over four hours in duration, (and that) outages within the system are increasing yearly. During a failure, an affected area can be completely without communications for local fire departments, Cal Fire, law enforcement, and ambulance service and … every emergency the county faces puts first responders at even greater than expected risk.”

The Grand Jury notes that 24 local agencies and county departments depend on the county’s Emergency Communication System, including the Anderson Valley Fire Department, Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol, the Fort Bragg Police Department, the Mendocino County Major Crimes Task Force, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Redwood Coast Fire, South Coast Fire, South Coast life Support, the Ukiah Police Department and the Willits Police Department.

The Grand Jury also reports that during the Oct. 22, 2019, meeting of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, ClientFirst, a technology consulting firm, “emphasized that the county’s existing ECS has reached end of life, (and the firm) recommended a five-year, three-phase replacement schedule for the ECS which has an estimated cost of $11.3 million. Of the total amount, $1.6 million for Phase 1 was approved by the Board of Supervisors on April 20, 2020.”

The Grand Jury also points to its two previous reports on the county’s Emergency Communications System, the first in 2007 that described it as “complex and in imminent danger of permanent failure. Failure will result in it being unable to meet the existing demands, including dispatching of 911 calls, creating an emergency of its own.”

In the findings of that report 13 years ago, the Grand Jury stated that “each communication vault contains both the repeaters and the microwave equipment (and) most of the vaults are old and have significant structural problems resulting in leaks. The Grand Jury recommends that defective or deteriorating communication vaults be repaired or replaced.”

However, this year’s Grand Jury reports finding “no record of the communication vaults being repaired or replaced or maintained.”

The Grand Jury report goes on to state that “in the 13 years since it detailed the poor condition of remote sites, it could not establish that the Board of Supervisors had allocated funding to repair the buildings (vaults) and infrastructure which house current Emergency Communications equipment, and will also house $8.2 million in proposed new equipment.”

The three phases of proposed replacement, the Grand Jury notes, “would create a reliable and redundant radio communication network. Phase 1 replaces microwave repeaters to improve communication resiliency and stability. Phase 2 includes replacing microwave radios and ethernet routers to increase the speed of communication. Phase 3 includes completion of redundancies in the sixteen site County system to reduce the likelihood of communications failures.”

The Grand Jury notes that ClientFirst “also listed relocation and replacement of the 20-year-old sheriff’s dispatch console, a central part of the Emergency Communications System, as a critical need. (However), funding for the sheriff’s dispatch console, as well as for Phase 2 and 3, has not been addressed.

“The Board of Supervisors must actively engage with the (Mendocino County) Executive Office and commit to completing this project, ensuring the life, health, safety, and welfare of Mendocino County residents,” the Grand Jury states. “Not making necessary upgrades to the remote sites prior to installing an approximate $8.2 million in new equipment is equivalent to buying all new furniture for a house with a leaking roof.”

The Grand Jury notes that a response from the Board of Supervisors is required within 90 days of the June 3 report, and a response from the county Executive Office is requested within 90 days, which would be the first week of September.

Courtesy, the Ukiah Daily Journal, August 12, 2020


ms notes: The Supervisors Agenda for next Tuesday has proposed responses to two of the Grand Jury’s recent reports: relatively routine responses on the Teeter Plan, and on School Safety. But no proposed response on the Emergency Communications System problems outlined above. Perhaps the Board will address the response to this report on Tuesday. 

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NORTH STATE, UKIAH

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UKIAH STREETSCAPE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE - AUGUST 15-21

This week, the new water service (tie-ins) will be connected to the buildings between Church and Henry Streets. During this time, there will be intermittent disruptions to water service in the project area. Individual businesses and residents will receive advance direct notice of any disruptions to service. Water tie-ins are expected to be complete by the beginning of the week of August 24th. 

Once this work is complete, the utility construction crews will move to the south end of the project and the second phase of construction will begin on the east side of State Street between Perkins and Henry Streets. This phase will include sidewalks, irrigation, curb and gutter, and more. Landscaping and paving will occur at the very end of the project (next year); more details about this second phase will follow. 

Pedestrian access to businesses will be maintained at all times. Please note that, while we make our best effort to forecast construction impacts, this is inherently messy work that is subject to change based on conditions in “the field.” 

Important note: There is another utility project—not related to the Streetscape Project—that is occurring near Alex Thomas Plaza. This project is expected to be complete this week. Also, a water main burst on Main Street on Thursday, August 13th, which resulted in some customers being without water. This was also unrelated to the Streetscape Project...but unfortunately resulted in unexpected impacts to businesses in the streetscape project area. 

Where will the work occur? 

Water lateral tie-ins and testing will occur on State Street between Church and Henry Streets. 

What are the construction days/hours? 

Next week’s construction days/hours are scheduled for 6:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, and 5:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. 

Will there be night work? 

No. There is no night work scheduled this week. 

Will there be dust and noise? 

Yes.There will be ongoing dust and noise due to truck and equipment activity in the construction area. 

Will there be any disruptions to parking access or streets?

Yes: 

Southbound through traffic will be maintained on State Street all week. 

Northbound traffic will be detoured to Main Street between Perkins and Norton. 

There may be intermittent closures on East Smith 

Standley Street will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday for water tie-ins 

Parking will continue to be impacted on State Street between Church and Henry Streets. 

More information can be found online on the City’s website at www.ukiahstreetscape.com, or follow our Facebook page for updates and photos at www.facebook.com/UkiahStreetscape/. 

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns. Otherwise, try to stay cool these next few days!

Thanks,

Shannon Riley, Deputy City Manager

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CATCH OF THE DAY, August 14, 2020

Beardslee, Coan, Connolly

MARK BEARDSLEE, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

ALEXANDER COAN, Mendocino. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun.

JESSE CONNOLLY, Ukiah. Stolen vehicle.

Gardner, Garnica, Heppe

DWIGHT GARDNER JR., Ukiah. Stun gun possession by person addicted to narcotics, saps or similar weapons, contempt of court, offenses while on bail.

OSVALDO GARNICA, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, false personation of another, probation revocation.

PATRICK HEPPE, Fort Bragg. DUI, community supervision violation.

Ray, Taylor, Wojcik

CASEY RAY, Willits. Marijuana for sale, probation revocation.

MATTHEW TAYLOR, Willits. Petty theft, resisting.

DEWEY WOJCIK, Carpenteria/Leggett. DUI, probation revocation.

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SPECIAL POINT ARENA CITY COUNCIL MEETING August 18, 2020

Primary purpose:

A) Appointment or Election of City Council Candidates

(https://cityofpointarena.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c164a8c82a2a5af8db4de85b1&id=f9f20e7ccd&e=d0e3cdc057)

Recommended Action:

1) Receive report

2) Decide whether to appoint or hold an election

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A FRIEND OF MINE from the past who I rarely hear from any more was lamenting his work schedule one summer back in the 1970s. He was putting in fifty and sixty hours a week. Tired all the time even when he managed to score a dexamyl or two to propel him through a night of partying, he asked a rhetorical question one evening as he faded in and out of sleep on the couch in our apartment. Do I work to live or live to work? If I recall, he answered that question by quitting one of his jobs. He chose the former; time to live and put work in its place. Everyone who has to go back to work to pay their rent, buy food, and other such things that should be considered essential are now asking themselves a different and even more existential question. Do I risk my life to work or do I risk losing everything to keep myself safe from the risks working presents in a world where certain wealthy people’s bank accounts matter more than working people’s lives? 

— Ron Jacobs

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UKIAH FLOODS, 1958

STATE @ NORTON, 1965 FLOODS, UKIAH

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AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POPULARITY, [Truman Capote] was drinking one evening with friends in a crowded Key West bar. Nearby sat a couple, both inebriated. The woman recognized Capote, suddenly walked over to his table, and gushingly asked him to autograph a paper napkin. The woman's husband, angry at his wife's display of interest in another man, staggered over to Capote's table and assumed an intimidating position directly in front of the diminutive writer. He then proceeded to unzip his trousers and, in Capote's own words, "hauled out his equipment." As he did this, he bellowed in a drunken slur, "Since you're autographing things, why don't you autograph THIS?" It was a tense moment, and a hush fell over the room. The silence was a blessing for it allowed all those within earshot to hear Capote's soft, high-pitched voice deliver the perfect emasculating reply: "I don't know if I can autograph it, but perhaps I can initial it." 

—Dr Marty Grothe, 2005; from "Viva la repartee"

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NOYO HARBOR

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OKAY, BIDEN AND HARRIS--SHALL WE UNPACK IT?

Biden’s 77, four years and two months younger’n me, still wet behind the ears. He’s in good shape, looks to be healthy. He was a champion jock in his day, scoring a lot of great scores in football. I wish he had that chance to take Trump out to the woodshed he talked about. Biden would be the first to reappear, Trump whimpering in the dust and shavings. I’d love it!

In a more-important way, I expect precisely that, an electoral altercation, with Biden cleaning Trump’s clock.

But I’m not yet certain he’ll have my vote. (Ellie still twits me for getting GW Bush elected by voting for Nader. We both know I’m not really guilty. I knew up front that California’s vote would not be decisive in that contest.) But I cannot stand to vote for the “better of two evils” for the presidency of the United States. I never expected Nader to win, but the numbers he got—or that any losing candidate gets—are markers of the degree of opposition the winner can expect and the amount of support there will be for each side, next time around. Without 9/11, Bush would have completely lost his base of support.

But this is now. Do I want the candidate who doesn’t meet all my specs or the fat, stinking turd we’ve been stuck with for the last three and a half years? Do I want to look at the also-runs to see if there’s someone so noble they deserve my vote? No, I doubt it. This one’s too important. America is no longer the Shining City on the Hill. China has overtaken us. China’s system of governance, shaped, re-shaped and polished for six thousand years, is better than capitalist democracy (I’d argue that “capitalist democracy” is a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron). I’d also argue that late-stage capitalism is the black beast, the bête noire of America and the world, an organizing economic principle that is no longer relevant except for the wealthy, since its main purpose is preservation of that wealth in private hands.

I should define myself rather than expect you to read several years of my posts to scope me out. I’m of the “radical Left” or “Revolutionary Left,” or, if that sounds too crazy, say I’m a unionist, a Franklin-Roosevelt Democrat, a workingman’s Dem or whatever—you get the point. I follow Noam Chomsky, but I can’t say I totally get anarcho-syndicalism, which he once said would best describe his favored model for governance. It’s government by workers, among many other qualities, and seeks to enshrine cooperation in place of competition. This is all too complicated and hazy to jump into here. As well as to protect wealth, government is created to control the beast in us. Capitalism inflames and goads that beast. Capitalism makes war--and class war—necessary and inevitable, while exhausting resources and fouling the surroundings. I’m ag’in it.

So in a time as potentially grave and assuredly pivotal as this, I didn’t like either Biden or Harris in charge. We need people with human vision, “humanist” vision, and not just political smarts. I thought all the wannabes that lined up for the Democratic candidacy were better than Biden and Harris. The two presumptive nominees are people of deep experience but limited vision. We need somebody like the person Bobby Kennedy claimed to be, a person with a sense of destiny for America, for the human species and the planet. Biden and Harris are political animals, not visionaries.

You can say they’re what we need, right now, but I can’t go along with the sentiment that expelling Trump trumps all other considerations. Things Trump doesn’t begin to comprehend are at work. People everywhere are angry and desperate. Almost everything is, to some extent or other, broken or breaking. I fiddled with a science-fiction plot long ago, the shortest SF tale ever: Visitors from outer space land on a junk-heap earth, humans gone but our mess still lying around. They sift through the rubble a bit, these advanced beings, and send a one-liner back to the mother ship: “Evidently the natural experiment with an enlarged cerebral cortex was a failure.”

There’s this peculiar, tentative sense of jubilation around, right now. If things go according to plan, it will be Biden and Harris come January and for the next four years, then Harris for the next eight. Biden has wanted the presidency since he was a boy. Third try was the charm. He won’t push his luck and try for a second term. He’ll anoint Harris, another political animal of similar stripe. So who are they, these people we’ll have front and center for a likely twelve years, and what will they do?

I was first aware of Joe before I much cared. He’s a native of Scranton, PA, but the Bidens moved to Delaware when Joe was young. Despite his success on the football field and his popularity, he had a cruel stutter, starting when he was four. He fought it hard and long and mostly bested it, but the remnants of it are on display when he appears to have forgotten a word or searches for another, eyes downcast, hands fluttering, fidgeting. It looks like his mind might be slipping. Near as I can determine, it isn’t.

What I remember about Joe Biden was 1) he was going bald and had plugs of hair moved from the abundant back of his head to the sparse front. They looked silly, reminiscent of plugs of new grass on a sparse lawn, but Biden was accustomed to being kidded, even ridiculed, because of his stutter. He was admired for his athletic prowess and success and liked for his warm and cheerful personality, but youth is youth. He had to tolerate ribbing from a big, jostling family and friends, achievements notwithstanding. Those did not include academic distinction, btw. He has got in trouble, in private and public life, for cribbing. With nothing like the truly splendid capacity for falsehood as the incumbent, he has been tagged for lying occasionally.

To be continued...

(Mitch Clogg)

* * *

EVERYONE DEPENDS ON THE USPS. Seniors for their Social Security, veterans for their prescriptions, small businesses trying to keep their doors open. They can't be collateral damage for an administration more concerned with suppressing the vote than suppressing a virus.

— Barack Obama

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LINCOLN WAS POSTMASTER of New Salem, Illinois, depicted here delivering the mail “on the post road” in 1833.

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ASSESSOR CLERK RECORDER’S OFFICE REOPENING ON AUGUST 18

Post Date: 08/14/2020 4:16 PM

On August 9, 2020, the Mendocino County Assessor-Clerk Recorder’s Office closed due to COVID-19 exposure. Two employees in the Assessor Office tested positive for COVID-19. All close contacts of the two positive cases were placed in quarantine. On Monday, August 10, 2020, the office was deep cleaned. Public Health worked closely with the Office to monitor the situation. 

The Mendocino County Assessor-Clerk Recorder’s offices will be reopening on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Safety protocols continue to be in place to protect the health and safety of the public and staff. Staff are following all Public Health Orders including social distancing and wearing facial coverings and the public counter is cleaned and sanitized between appointments. The public is required to wear a facial covering that fully covers the nose, chin and mouth. Hand sanitizer will be available for individuals entering the office and only 3 people are allowed in the office at one time. The public should call ahead and make an appointment for services. The Office will be contacting individuals with canceled appointments to reschedule as soon as possible. 

The Assessor-Clerk Recorder is working closely with local title companies to coordinate recording of documents in the most efficient manner possible. 

If you have any further questions, or need to make an appointment please call the office at 707-234-6822 or email acr@mendocinocounty.org. 

Katrina Bartolomie, Assessor, County Clerk, Recorder

* * *

A STROLL AROUND THE KAUPAKALUA NEIGHBORHOOD

by Jake Rohrer

The shoe-boxes we carried on our laps on the flight to Maui contained our parakeets, a little anxious and aflutter about their surroundings and the strange goings-on. But there was Barney, an English budgerigar slightly larger than the others gathered around him, serving as the group leader and a calming presence. We were all on our way to a new life on Maui, a 40-foot Matson container containing the stuff of our existence was somewhere on the ocean below us and would catch up with us in a few days, delivered to our door in Ha`iku. In the meantime, we would acclimate to our new home with what we carried.

The neighborhood in which we now find ourselves is very unlike any of the neighborhoods I've lived in during my first half-century of life. I doubt another half-century of moving around would turn up anything like it. We'd been here two or three weeks and I was still apprehensive about my new life, severed from my moorings and viewing my new surroundings with a suspicious eye. This time it wasn't a visit. Right away, just days after our arrival, I came face-to-face with the realities of the Hawaiian insurance industry and the innumerable rules and fees imposed upon residents by an overzealous and archaic state legislature.

Three days on board and I was having second thoughts. Insurance companies and legislatures can do that to people. Then came some words of advice from my brother, Robbin: I was to “chill.” “Relax, bro. You just drove up. Take some time, get into the neighborhood. Don't sweat the small stuff.” He was right, of course. Robbin is my younger brother and points out the obvious while embarrassing me for my lack of vision and patience. But it's okay. He and I have lived a lifetime of rescuing one another when the need arises. 

The neighborhood itself, within the township of Ha`iku, is called Kaupakalua, one of several named districts within Ha`iku. All such districts, along with neighboring townships, are within what is informally known as “Upcountry.” Kaupakalua is also the name of the roadway off of which we live. Ha`iku doesn't even boast a sidewalk, let alone a traffic signal, yet encompasses an area large enough to hold, say, all of Manhattan. The last time someone was spotted wearing a necktie in Ha`iku, Calvin Coolidge was in office (modern missionaries excepted). The locals always seem to pronounce Ha`iku with two syllables, like a sneeze (hai-koo!), rather than the three syllables Hawaiian grammar intends. Backwards, it's a familiar three-syllable township in Northern California, Ukiah, whose only other resemblance to Ha`iku is the ability of some residents to cultivate high quality illicit hemp. Like all of East Maui, Ha`iku is dominated by the massive silhouette of Haleakala, much in the same manner that the 780-pound Israel Kamakawiwo`ole once dominated a performance stage: a powerful presence, still and quiet, awesome and mysterious, impossible to ignore.

The neighborhood landscape is wonderfully varied. Gently rolling pastureland of brilliant greens carry up the mountainside, divided here and there by stands of eucalyptus. Herds of cattle dot the panorama. A stream cuts through a gulch before spilling 20 feet down a rock wall into a secluded pool ringed with ferns. Its course follows an ancient man-made rock wall that predates the haoles; here, taro was grown. On all sides you see banyan, mango, bamboo, palms, heliconia, wild orchids, and the invasive-but- stunningly-beautiful African tulip tree. Guava, citrus, papaya and bananas abound, in local backyards and in the wild. Ha`iku apple-bananas are regarded among the finest found anywhere. There are of course numerous insects as well, from exotic to other-worldly, along with the lizards, spiders, toads, and birds whose job is to keep them in check. Almost strange that this Garden of Eden has no snakes. 

Two-lane country roads wind through the countryside, east to Ke`anae and Hana, west to Makawao and Pukalani, north to Pa`ia and the ocean, and south, up the slopes of Haleakala, to Olinda, Kula, `Ulupalakua and, eventually, the 10,000-foot summit. It is said that the Haleakala Highway, from sea level to summit, is the shortest such route to a 10,000-foot elevation found anywhere on the planet. Hairpin turns, roadside poultry, and pasture fenced with wire stretched between kiawe posts repeat themselves in all directions. Now and then you'll see new growth, actual limbs, sprouting from the top of a fence post and be reminded how much things here like to grow. Heading west from our home (named “Ululoa” in years to come), we pass a property fenced in front with bomb casings left over from WWII; 500-pound blockbusters standing upright on airflow tail fins, like blunt-nosed rockets ready for take-off. Just farther on a neighbor has placed life-size, plastic livestock at his front fence and gate. Life-like cattle and horses peer out at passersby, but day after day remain quite stationary. One day a memorial blanket appeared draped on the big handsome-but-plastic steed: “Rest in Love, Big Sam.” The plastic horse is still there, representing, I suppose, the real Big Sam. It didn't take much to imagine the love his owner had for him, and I began to wonder if he was named for Scarlet O'Hara's former slave and protector in scenes from Gone with the Wind.

Pickup trucks are the vehicle of choice in Ha`iku. More often than not, the family dog(s) is in the back, looking out with a silly grin, face to the wind, jowls flapping, an eager and vigilant happy passenger. Pay attention! Cars sometimes appear from hidden driveways as if from nowhere. Beware the inattentive driver! I've come to suspect that Ha`iku's only effective traffic sign is the hand-painted, psychology-reversed “Drive Faster!” admonition on the West Kuiaha downgrade. Don't take it as an angry or obscene gesture if someone holds up an oddly waving 3-fingered fist at you, thumb and little finger extended outward, forming perhaps the symbol of some secret society. It's just, “Shaka, brah! Howzit?” 

The neighborhood commercial center is “Hanzawa's Variety Store.” Everything is in one room not much bigger than a garage. If they don't have it, you probably don't need it. The Levi's are on a shelf next to the anchovy paste. Fine wines and liquor are available from behind the counter. Arugula you say? Homegrown in the produce section. I've known people who judge the habitability of a neighborhood based on the availability of arugula. Hanzawa dogs and grey poupon? But of course. A bulletin board provides local classifieds. If you hang out long enough, you'll likely meet every soul residing in the Kaupakalua district of Ha`iku. Should you actually encounter a tourist, an unlikely occurrence, he or she is probably lost.

Hanzawa's was established as a business in 1928. In 50 year-old gossip it is alleged that Hanzawa was caught on the roof of his variety store with a flashlight, attempting, it is supposed, to signal his former countrymen during a WWII blackout (“This is Ha`iku—Drop Bombs here!”) Personally, I find it just as likely that old Hanzawa simply stepped outside to pee and fell victim to a member of a vigilante committee assigned the task of keeping an eye on the local Japanese, post-Pearl Harbor. I wear my Hanzawa's T-shirt with pride.

During WWII, Ha`iku was once home-base for some 20,000 marines bivouacked at the 1,600-acre Camp Maui, just a stone's throw from our `Ohana property. One relic of this occupation lies hidden in overgrown jungle within the `Ohana: a tunnel with an eight-foot bore carries a quarter-mile through the hillside to what was Camp Maui. It has been proposed that the purpose of this tunnel was to ferry explosives, underground, from a storage bunker to artillery placements in the event of Japanese attack. In later years the tunnel ended in a pineapple field, suggesting to some that maybe its purpose was irrigation of some sort. Some 20 years before our move to Maui, while visiting, I went on a raiding party with my brothers, through the tunnel into the pineapple field, swiping armloads of pineapple—mischievous misdemeanors on which the statute of limitations has now tolled. 

I have neglected to mention that it sometimes rains in Ha`iku, “...slightly more than somewhat,” say some. Green doesn't come without its price. The rewards, however, are worth it. We are soon producing fine fruits and veggies, more than we can consume.

Here lawn happens. On its own. You need only to mow. If you don't mow, jungle happens. Rust happens; black iron lives a short life in Ha`iku. Dry rot and termites happen; care and vigilance are required. Garden and hardware enterprises flourish, some attracted to Ha`iku by the needs of back yard pot growers.

The sun comes out and there it is again: Haleakala, looming on the horizon, taking up the whole sky, embodying a mystical life-force all its own, seeming to resonate with the heartbeat of Gaia. It takes my breath away, only to again be replaced with the sweetest, cleanest air found anywhere on the planet. Here life happens and thrives, far from tall buildings and the faceless legal entities that occupy them. Here it is okay to dress free and loose, to embrace the bosom of the Earth Mother, to respect her, to reach out and reap her bounty.

The shiver in my spine comes from a gentle breeze that caresses my backside as I walk a moonlit gravel road through the Ohana, our 13-acre all-family neighborhood. It whispers to me hauntingly, “ … chill,” and I notice that I have. Funny how we say “chill” when we mean otherwise. It feels like a warm and relaxing thaw to me.

* * *

* * *

CHAOS THEORY

by James Kunstler

For the moment, it seems, the Democratic Party’s actual anointed candidate for president is Senator Harris (CA), due to the obvious disability of her running mate. But such a boldfaced shuck-and-jive has never been tried before in a national election. Do you suppose the DNC honchos really believe they’re putting one over on the voters?

It remains to be seen whether this hustle will withstand the moilings and toilings of next week’s national convention — itself shaping up to be a massively peculiar event conducted by texts, emails, phone calls, Zoom meet-ups, smoke signals, and perhaps rioting here and there to emphasize the party’s dedication to the violent overthrow of cultural norms.

The real action may spool out this pre-convention weekend as all concerned grok the awful prospect of Joe Biden fumbling and stammering through an acceptance speech, confounded by the voice in his earpiece vying with the text rolling on the teleprompter. Poor Joe will come off for what he really is in this eerie twilight of his long career: a thousand hair-plugs in search of a brain. Such a pitiful display would reveal the cynicism (or reckless stupidity) of the party’s game so far this year. It will invite epic disarray in the ranks. Will they allow it to happen?

Surely, they’re sweating it. Then what? Does Hillary Clinton seize this last slim chance at glory and offer herself up to the desperate, despairing, virtual crowd in Democratic Zoomtopia? (Quick, somebody hide the vodka bottles! And get Bill out of the room, fer Chrissake!) But think of the dream ticket that would make: Hill and Kam, two mighty womyn! One a person of several colors! (the other of several personalities). And in this 100th anniversary year of the 19th Amendment! Step aside all you hairy, groping, disgustingly-privileged males and make way for the triumph of feminism! Or… poof… is that just a fantasy? I’m telling you, anything might happen.

Does Ms. Harris — who had a close friendship with Mr. Biden’s deceased son, Beau, when both served as state’s attorneys general — sit down and have The Talk with Uncle Joe, shoving him ever so gently into that good night, then taking over the top spot for real, and choosing her own vice-president nominee? (Who, of course, would have to be Mayor Pete to complete a ticket of rainbows and unicorns.)

Does Bernie try to elbow his way back in behind a flying wedge of clamoring Bernie Bros? Nah. He’s proven in the last two national campaigns that he’s a bottom, not a top, and will bend over in whatever direction the powers-that-be want to shove him.

There’s nobody else, really, no credible dark horse, the party might turn to in its hour of self-induced existential terror. It will be a monumentally drawn-out hour if they go ahead with this Biden / Harris ticket. It’s hard to imagine old Joe out on the hustings, humiliating himself every time he ventures a few utterances before a sparse assembly of socially-distanced party ringers and foot-soldiers, not to mention the gruesome spectacle of debates with the Golden Golem of Greatness.

All this purely political maneuvering takes place, you understand, at a lofty remove from what is happening on-the-ground in the USA — namely, a dreadful, sickening slide for tens of millions into the abyss of bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession, hunger, homelessness, and violence. The Democrats will try to pin the Covid-19 disruptions on Mr. Trump. Rachel Maddow & Company will beat that story to death, and The New York Times is trying strenuously each day to magnify the Covid-19 threat and militate for shutting more things down longer. I’m not so sure the voters will buy that, either.

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

* * *

* * *

WHERE IS BARRON TRUMP?

Editor,

Demented Donald Trump idiotically insists local school boards should illegally force your vulnerable children back into crowded classrooms unsafely as the Trump-caused COVID-19 catastrophe only continues to get worse, while on permanent vacation Trump golfs endlessly at the taxpayers’ expense. 

Delusional Donald continues to claim the coronavirus will simply “...disappear, one day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear...” as some sort of sick, psychotic rationalization for his Russian-controlled regime’s intentional inaction during this deadly pandemic. Vladimir Putin and his pathetic puppet Trump aren’t fooling anyone other than Jim Jones Trump’s Orange Kool-Aid drinkers and their greedy, hypocritical charlatan pastors in their private jets. 

Over 170,000 Americans are dead due to the Republican Party’s ongoing criminal negligence and purposefully incompetent cruelty. On November 3rd, the American people will finally render their political and constitutional judgment against Orange Julius Caesar in a landslide defeat for the GOP of historic proportions. Adios, Trump! 

And if the GOP’s dimwitted, draft-dodging version of Julius Caesar (who is more like a comb over Caligula) follows through on his tyrannical, terroristic threats to sabotage and/or cancel this November’s presidential election, the American republic’s defenders will respond appropriately in the remaining days of traitor Trump’s pathological presidency. (Perhaps the Orange Emperor has never read William Shakespeare’s play about this subject?) 

Speaking of Shakespeare, where in the world is the Tangerine Tyrant’s 14-year-old son Barron Trump - a sad, tragic, unloved Shakespearean character if there ever was one. Considering the virtual blackout of almost all news coverage of President Trumptanic’s troubled relationship with his youngest son Barron, isn’t it time for the craven corporate media to highlight the highly relevant fact that Barron will NOT be returning to school in person this year like your children, but Barron Trump will instead stay safe at home and attend class online? 

Sincerely,

Jake Pickering

Arcata

* * *

* * *

LET THEM EAT MICE & SNOW CROCUS

To the Editor:

Enough is enough! Hang on all you old flag-waving white lives matter too patriots. We will have our day. It may not be in court but it is coming. As Al said, "Something's moving!" That would be Albert Einstein for you uninformed retarded beauties.

Violence can be met with violence if that is what they want. In the old days they would have been dispatched with little fanfare and no wasted court time. You may say, Well we cannot do that. I say it will not solve the ongoing problems but it sure in hell would reduce the count and occurrences. Endless babble and talking has not worked and is not working. Bring on Plan B.

Some people may say, Oh my, not nice. I say take another of those pills and go to bed.

I'm like thousands of other fair-minded Americans black and white. We have had it up to here with the lopsided black injustice we all know is being forced down our throats day in and day out!

For god sakes let go. Enough is enough! I think even Randolph Hearst would have changed the needle. We get it, okay?

And for all you flaming lefties who just cannot or will not let go, get out! Leave my flawed country behind. You and your utopian ideals should relocate to an area like the Falkland Islands. Don't go to Russia. The gulags there are overflowing with utopian, freedom-minded activists such as yourselves. Good news: If you luck out your diet will be rats and mice with a small portion of snow crocus. Take a warm coat and gloves.

God bless America, the Donald, Jerry Philbrick

Getting Older & Angrier.

Boonville

* * *

* * *

SAKO’S POT GROWING TIPS

To the Editor:

At 3pm, I looked at the thermometer. 106 today, August 14, in the Ukiah Valley. Hotter than 106 on Cow Mountain. In the sun, maybe 109-110.

My kind of cannabis farming weather!

Hot and dry!

Cannabis in its natural condition grows in dry areas, but we normally speak about landrace varieties, that is to say, pure genetics which have adapted to a hot climate over generations and that naturally resist heat and drought.

However, not all cannabis strains are adapted to these really hot conditions, and sometimes they perform better if grown indoors or in less sunny latitudes.

Thus, a correct choice, if you live in hot, dry areas, like the one I live in, is crucial for a successful harvest.

These are the main traits that should be taken into account for a hot climate:

* Indica strains usually have large, broad leaves, a trait which leads to higher evaporation of the moisture contained in the plant through the leaves than Sativa marijuana plants. Not good!

* Indica varieties generally produce dense and compact buds, which are more sensitive to heat and could develop molds, if relative humidity rises. Not good!

The following list contains suitable genetics for dry climates:

* Feminized Seeds: African Free from Eva Seeds; Karamelo from Kannabia; Destroyer from Cannabiogen; Early Maroc or Maroc from Philosopher Seeds; and Caprichose Thai from Elite Seeds.

* Regular seeds: Mango Zamal or Krystalica from Mandala; Pakistan Chitral Kush or Sandstorm from Cannabiogen,Spice; and Kalichakra, Congo or Old Timer Haze from Ace Seeds.

Here are some tips for growing cannabis in hot climates:

* It's really important for folks to start early when the weather is going to be hot and harsh in late-summer. Therefore, start in late-April or early May. The shorter the growing season for you, the less amount of time you have to be affected by extreme heat.

* Add polymers to the growing medium in order to improve its water retention capacity, also put some straw or any type of mulching on the surface of the soil to limit water evaporation.

* To protect the root system, grow directly in the ground or in large, white plant pots (you can also wrap the pots with some isolating material to control the temperature of the root system). Smart Pots, thanks to their improved aeration of the substrate, will prevent root problems.

* In “guerrilla” crops you can put the plants in a partially shaded area. Bloom won't be as abundant as if they were placed in full sun, but the need of water and nutrients are highly decreased! You can also put a layer of plastic with some holes in it on the grow spot and cover it with a layer of 5cm of soil to reduce evaporation.

* Use shading mesh to protect the flowers and limit the exposure to sun, which helps to control temperatures.

* A soil rich in micro elements and microbial life enhances the defenses of plants and their resistance to stress. Use Green House Feeding Enhancer, Bactohemp or Bio Supermix to protect the roots from stress and pathogens.

* Products like Vitalink Chill help the plants to withstand hot temperatures.

Farming is HARD work. But with cannabis, there are headaches on top of headaches. 

Besides the weather and water issues, there are the complexities, vagaries, and expenses of getting a cannabis cultivation permit. 

No permit? Then law enforcement is the problem. DEA. CAMP. COMET. 

Here in Mendocino County, Wall Street-funded FlowKana is another problem. They have a lock on grading, pricing, packaging, and distribution -- the entire supply chain. 

FlowKana's business plan is to make sharecropper farmers out of all of us, just like in the antebellum South. 

Remember the old tenant farmer system in the Deep South, right after the Civil War? Remember slaves were technically emancipated, but they had no capital, no land, no nothing? So they weren't really free? Remember the white masters gave the former slaves 40 acres and a mule, then set the price for cotton? Remember that tenant farming system kept the former slaves dirt poor and indentured for another 100 years? 

Well, that's FlowKana's business model here in Mendocino County. History repeats itself. 

Another thing. FlowKana wants us to grow their GMO cannabis. Google "Pebble Labs". Google "Trait Biosciences". 

Wall Street hedge fund multibillionaire, Jason Adler -- a real creep -- owns an interest in all three companies.

John Sakowicz

Ukiah

* * *

FOUND OBJECT

17 Comments

  1. Bernie Norvell August 15, 2020

    The funding for the three hotels In Ukiah is from Operation Homekey. Counties and cities across the state will identify which buildings they intend to purchase and apply to the state for $550 million in grant funding dedicated to this purpose. Once acquired, the local governments will plan for the long-term social services and subsidy needs of the Homekey buildings, with access to $50 million in dedicated Homekey support and an additional $300 million in general local homelessness support which can be used for Homekey, among other priorities.

  2. Lazarus August 15, 2020

    FOUND OBJECT

    Hey Joe, did you hear the Giants gave up 4 in the 9th, and 1 in the 10th?
    Hey Joe…Hey Joe…
    You know Joe, you don’t have to do this.

    Stay Swell,
    Laz

    • Lazarus August 15, 2020

      Oops, sorry Joe…that was 5 in the 9th. I tuned in late, my bad.
      Hey Joe, did you hear me Joe?

      Stay Swell,
      Laz

  3. Jim Mastin August 15, 2020

    The Ukiah Railroad Depot still stands with no plans for its demolition.

  4. Bruce McEwen August 15, 2020

    FOUND OBJECT:

    “Shush! Better to remain silent and let ’em think you’re a doddering old fool, rather than say something and remove all doubt.”

  5. Brian Wood August 15, 2020

    I mentioned yesterday that Anderson Creek near my house is dry, which is unusual. There is an old orchard well located right about where the 500 year flood line is behind our house. The well itself is about 120′ deep. I’ve been measuring the water level often since 2015 and this morning it is 23′ 2″ below the rim, two feet lower that I’ve ever recorded before. The highest level I’ve recorded was in January, 2019, when it was 7′ down.

  6. James Marmon August 15, 2020

    RE: RE: SAKO’S WALL STREET MALFIOSO, JASON ADLER, AND NANCY PELOSI

    So Nervous Nancy is refusing to work with Trump regarding another Stimulus Package for Americans unless the Wall Street cannabis investors and her fellow Napa Valley vintners (Eric Sklar) are bailed out.

    Nancy Pelosi defends cannabis provision in Democrats’ coronavirus aid package

    “The HEROES Act notes that the cannabis provision would allow “access to financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers” while limiting the amount of cash handled at those businesses.

    Cannabis industry leaders have said their businesses are being hit by the pandemic. Though they are deemed “essential” businesses and allowed to continue operating during lockdowns in many places, they are ineligible for Small Business Administration programs designed to help small businesses, according to the National Cannabis Industry Association.

    “It’s critically important that essential cannabis workers are not exposed to unnecessary health risks due to outdated federal banking regulations,” executive director Aaron Smith said in a statement commending the inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act.”

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/31/coronavirus-pelosi-defends-cannabis-banking-provision-covid-19-bill/5555644002/

    • James Marmon August 15, 2020

      RE: SETTING TED STRAIGHT

      Ted, the problem isn’t with the Program, it’s with the Schraeders. You guys are digging yourself into a hole that you will never get out of. To continue building that empire is going to backfire on you and the new BoS “big time” after January. Isn’t the Cannabis fiasco being laid in your laps enough? The Schraeder projects are not built for contraction, they will continue to grow and so will your woes. Maybe that’s the plan, turn Ukiah into a Mental Health Hospital, what else does it have going for itself?

      James Marmon MSW
      Personal Growth Consultant

      ‘don’t just go through it, grow through it’

  7. Will Lee August 15, 2020

    MSP Nailed it.
    Don’t like the rules? Then try to change them! These tactics are straight from the National Republican playbook but on a local level. Move the election date. This subversion of local democracy starts with cut and paste emails originated by the 2016 Fort Bragg City Council failed candidate Scott Menzies. Dude. You lost! Move on. So his political group doesn’t think the only 2 (incumbent) candidates for City Council appointments deserve the required 4 year appointment, so they attempt to change the elections code and allow the candidates to have only a 2 year appointment only to allow them to identify a candidate of their choice. They had 48 months to put forward a viable candidate. Can’t find one? Run again then. But the people of Fort Bragg see through these feeble attempts to discredit the duly elected Council members. We have hard work to do on behalf of the good people of Fort Bragg and these attempts to change the rules are a waste of time and energy.
    MSP:
    FORT BRAGG DISSIDENTS WANT TO DICTATE CITY ELECTORAL POLICY
    You gotta hand it to the small group of activists in Fort Bragg for persistently trying to change city government according to THEIR whims.
    MSP received a copy of an email from a viewer that has been circulating. It’s from Scott Menzies – a failed city council candidate that SWEARS (to this day) he would be a city councilor if there was ranked-choice voting.
    Here’s the email:
    “Regarding the appointments of Mr. Lee and Mr. Norvell:
    1. The Council should move forward with the appointments, but only for a maximum of TWO YEARS, not the full term.
    2. At the latest, the election should be wrapped into the next City Council election in 2022, electing all five Council seats together.
    It is certainly reasonable to want to save the $10,000 to hold the unopposed election. It is also reasonable that, being unopposed, voters be allowed to focus their energy on other races this November.
    However, it must be understood that the absence of challengers during a world-wide pandemic and the throes of a national racial justice reckoning cannot, and must not, be taken as an affirmation of Mr. Lee and Mr. Norvell’s work as Council members or as a mandate of the people.
    It is merely a testament to the fatigue, fear, and distraction by the people of Fort Bragg, especially BIPOC ( (Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color), who have the work of ongoing racial justice efforts weighing extra heavily right now.
    The people of Fort Bragg still have a right to an election, even if it is delayed. Two years is enough time for our world to stabilize to its new normal, and places the next election with the three other Council seats.
    Thank you, Scott Menzies
    Scott Menzies, M.A. (Environment & Community) Instructor/Proprietor
    Perfect Circle T’ai Chi Martial Arts
    P.O. Box 1243 / 330 N. Franklin St, Fort Bragg.”
    A similar letter was circulated by Linda Jupiter.
    THE REALITY
    The “absence of challengers” IS an affirmation of the fine job done by Mayor Will Lee and Vice Mayor Bernie Norvell. You’ll note Mr. Menzies says his cult, we mean followers, have experienced “fatigue, fear, and distraction” – but what of those who had to GOVERN THE CITY, not just stand in the street, while experiencing those very same conditions?
    The BIPOC – (that has a Facebook page with 384 members, but not many from the City of Fort Bragg) was formed in the wake of the horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
    From what we’ve seen – the BIPOC talks a big game – they’re so “busy” one member, who claimed she was “the main lead for the MendoCoast BIPOC …working around the clock working as an activist and organizing protests in Fort Bragg” didn’t even make the selection for the city ad hoc committee.
    She did, however, collect $2,143 of the $5,000 she asked from gullible people in a Gofundme page to hire an administrative assistant to “provide administrative support so I have the capacity to continue to focus my time on developing our ad hoc committee.”
    The truth is – had the BIPOC run a candidate – even though they are “busy” organizing ever-shrinking “protests” in the streets, the candidate would have been VERY disappointed in the results – much, much worse than Scott Menzies loss in 2016 when he came in third in a five-person race (971 votes -21.4 %).
    Looking back on that election – Will Lee topped the ballot with 1,623 votes (35.77%) with Bernie Norvell close behind at 1,527 votes (33.66%).
    This is just another attempt at an “end-around” of city code on the part of a few disgruntled “waanabe’s.” And, as with previous attempts, it will go nowhere.
    MSP will be attending tonight’s City Council “special meeting” – and we’re going to recommend Mayor Lee & Vice Mayor Norvell have their terms extended for TEN years.
    From Hilary White (Menzies’ 2016 Campaign Manager:
    To the members of the Fort Bragg City Council,
    I am writing in support of the Council moving forward with the appointments of Councilmembers Lee and Norvell, but only for an interim term of, at most, two years, not four. Appointments, while cost effective and logical under the circumstances, eliminate two choices for the voters of this community: the possibility of a write-in candidate and most importantly, the ability to make our voices heard by casting or withholding our votes for the candidates.
    If the Council does move ahead with the appointments, as I agree is warranted at this time, I would like to see the term extended until 2022, so that all five Council seats are elected at the same time, with the ultimate goal of reforming our electoral system to a more representational one.
    The past two elections have been very competitive with many candidates running and I imagine that this election would have been too, if not for the coronavirus and the resultant economic crisis. Our community deserves to have robust electoral dialogue, and full representation of the community. In order to have this, we must be very careful not to fall into a cycle of full-term appointments.

    I appreciate all of you for continuing to serve our community during this incredibly difficult time.

    Thank you for your consideration,
    Hilary White
    Resident, City of Fort Bragg

    And Linda Jupiter:
    Greetings, all,
    I want to thank you for the great work you’re doing for our town. So glad you, Will and Bernie, are willing to keep working and thinking well for our town.

    I understand that since no one else submitted papers to run for City Council (other than Will and Bernie), the Council is holding a special meeting tomorrow to appoint them to their seats rather than hold a $10,000 election for unopposed candidates. I think that’s a smart idea.

    Since we’re in the midst of a pandemic and people are fighting just to pay the rent and stay safe, it’s not surprising that no one has stepped up. However, the absence of challengers during this pandemic cannot be taken as a mandate of the people. It may be merely a testament to the overwhelm felt by almost all of the people of Fort Bragg.

    With that in mind, and because I and others have been actively seeking out BIPOC candidates to run for City Council, I ask that these appointments be for two years, rather than four.

    Combining all five seats provides an opportunity to organize toward the implementation of Proportional Representation to elect those five seats, all at once. If all five seats are up at the same time, we can again save thousands of dollars for additional elections.

    Hoping to attend tomorrow’s meeting.

    Respectfully,
    Linda Jupiter
    Fort Bragg

    Wait! There’s more!

    Hello Fort Bragg City Council,

    I do not live in the City limits, I am not a Fort Bragg voter, but I do live up Pudding Creek Road and feel like I live in Fort Bragg, it is my town. I do support you making the decision to skip an election this year, it makes a lot of sense. I also think it makes a lot of sense to hold one in 2 years and elect the whole council together at that time since you will already be having an election so it won’t cost any more money.

    I think things are too chaotic right now for people to start many things, including political campaigns. Please give folks a chance to run, and voters to vote, in 2 years instead of 4 when things are hopefully stabilized. As I understand things, you are not required to appoint for full 4 year terms, and I think it will show a good faith effort to support democracy if you have 2 year appointments.

    Thanks,
    Andy Wellspring

    • mr. wendal August 16, 2020

      Yes, their tactics are Trumpian. Mr. “I respectfully demand” Menzies did not even bother to check to see if what he was demanding was legal before making the demand. It wasn’t and he wasted the time of the Fort Bragg City Council yet again. His followers, many of them the same people who donated to Ms. Wooten’s gofundme campaign, didn’t bother to do any homework or think for themselves before blindly following the egomaniacal Mr. Menzies or before donating to a cause that used despicable tactics by any measure in an attempt to ruin life of a talented, honest public servant who is doing an excellent job as City Manager of Fort Bragg during a very difficult time. This group is losing credibility and that may be why they can’t find any candidates to join them.

  8. michael turner August 15, 2020

    Kunstler seems a lot more foggy than Joe Biden.

  9. Craig Stehr August 15, 2020

    Biding my time in Honolulu going to the spiritual places…eating well…wish to leave here ASAP since there is no practical/economic immediate future due to the stupidity of the politicians…stay in touch everybody! Craig Louis Stehr P.O. Box 235670, Honolulu, HI 96823-3511, craiglouisstehr@gmail.com, Paypal.me/craiglouisstehr

  10. Bruce McEwen August 15, 2020

    UNPACKING BIDEN v. TRUMP:

    Like you, Mitch, I’ve been reading the lesser-evil editorials and they are increasingly hard to refute, if not compelling. The privacy of the polling-booth no longer applies, in the current social context (if it ever did after the video cams were installed), so you can stuff tour nose with cigar butts and choke down a stiff shot in the privacy of your own home before checking one of the boxes marked, as I see it: The Stark Raving Maniac or The Doddering Old Fool.

  11. John August 15, 2020

    I’d vote for Andy if he’d run.

  12. Lee Edmundson August 15, 2020

    I recall debating Alexander Cockburn at the Town Hall in Fort Bragg about the forthcoming 2000 Presidential Election wherein he maintained there would be no difference between a Bush or Gore Presidency.
    I argued otherwise.
    Bush won the Electoral College (by the hair of his Cheney- chin- chin) and we enjoyed “Bin Laden Determined to Strike Within U.S.”, which was ignored (not read); 911, Afghanistan, Iraq.. eventual economic collapse..
    Question Begging: Do you really think Gore would have responded in the same way? I doubt it.
    2020: Same deal. Except we’ve seen for the past 3 years the havoc Trump et alia have rendered across the nation. The world.
    Biden is a flawed but decent person. Trump is a deeply flawed and basically indecent person. And has been an utterly lousy President. A grave and imminent danger to us all.
    Close your pure eyes, hold your pure breath, and cast your vote for Biden/Harris 2020.
    Rest assured, you won’t get another chance. We don’t get another chance. Ever.

    Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. And for gawd’s sake, brush your teeth.

    Wake up, this ain’t the 60s. Never been anything like this.

    Vote Early.

    Stay Well.

    Lee Edmundson
    Mendocino

    • Mark Scaramella August 16, 2020

      OK, Lee. But do you think voting for Biden/Harris in California in 2020 will make any difference? The race will be in other states and it’s not looking pretty.

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