ANDERSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 2021
Awards Night was Wednesday evening at the high school gym. Graduation, the following night, also in the high school gym.
- Alarcon, Alec
- Delgado, Heidi
- Douglass-Thomas, Sam
- Espinoza, Candy
- Espinoza, Kaitlin
- Ferreyra, Norymar
- Flores, Ximena
- Gonzalez, Cristobal
- Kehl, Lucas
- Kephart, Gabriella
- Malfavon, Yareli
- Mata, Brianda
- Matvieieva, Valeriia
- McEwen, Shekina
- Mendoza, Derek
- Ocampo, Erik
- Padilla Murillo, Juan
- Parra, David
- Pereda Zavala, Mariermily
- Perez Hernandez, Clara
- Perez-Marin, Irlen
- Peters, Shasta
- Ruiz Martinez, Cecilia
- Sanchez, Bianca
- Talavera, Pedro
- Theiss, Kylie
- Tovar, Alexandre
THE ANDERSON VALLEY POETRY CLUB has produced a unique collection of their work, unique in that it is pseudonymous, and odder yet, the anonymous writers give us an afterword containing their pseudonymous biographies. I suspect Steve Derwinski is the editor of this hugely amusing little book since he dropped it off at the ava office. I hope copies appear in convenient public places around The Valley so we can all enjoy this only in Mendo document.
IN THE COUNTY (and the country) where history starts all over again every day, it is sad to see an institution like Boonville's Lauren's Restaurant end its days in its present location, but reassuring that Lauren's will live on just down the street as Lauren's at the Buckhorn, a deserving tribute to the modest woman who made her restaurant into the vital community center it has been for a quarter century.
LEW CHICHESTER with the smartest analysis you’ll read of the County’s proposed pot ordinance:
I’ve read through the proposed cannabis ordinance enough times now to have a few reasonable comments. The intent of the ordinance, the scope, the restrictions, the description of administrative processes, and, for the most part, the allowable size of cannabis cultivation areas for the various types of grows and land use types seem to correspond with what I perceive to be the intent of the general public. Expansion of size of grows beyond what is presently allowed is on AG land and Rangeland. Both of these land use types are allowed up to ONE ACRE of cultivation with a major use permit.
Rangeland which can have a permitted grow must have demonstrated previous actual farming with tilling, ploughing, harrowing, etc. within the last ten years. No hayfields or grazing land would be considered as appropriate conversion to cannabis. This provision is for the grape growers who want to get into the cannabis business. Maybe that’s OK.
AG land with a one acre allowable grow, with a major use permit, might also be OK.
NOT OK is footnote *6 in Appendix A “Parcels in the AG or RL zoning district that have a minimum parcel size of ten (10) acres or larger may cultivate up to 10 percent of the parcel area with the issuance of a Major Use Permit.” This is the Ted Williams sponsored controversial item which has almost universal rejection by the public and the item which should be subject to a referendum ballot. I think the referendum should be limited to this one line, not the entire ordinance.
Yes, there are some land use zones which are being allowed some expansion in the new ordinance. The majority of the varieties of grows and land use types are staying at the existing limits.
What I like about the proposed ordinance are the restrictions which include a requirement for ON SITE WATER SOURCE, NO GENERATORS, NO GAS POWERED WATER PUMPS, NO VISIBLE ILLUMINATED GROWS, SECURITY LIGHTING ON MOTION SENSORS AND POINTED DOWNWARD, NO CUTTING DOWN OF TREES TO CLEAR A PATCH. I am not a cannabis farmer. My concerns have been with the lack of enforceable limitations on grows, legal, permitted or completely outlaw.
This new ordinance has flaws, limitations and doesn’t begin to address various mechanisms which will likely be utilized to get around the acreage limits on AG and RL. There are other shortcomings, but I presently see all this as a process.
The county does not have much credibility right now, has done a terrible job of dealing with Phase 1 applicants, and a worse job in dealing with all the outlaw grows. I don’t know if the mess is from simple incompetence or a carefully orchestrated intent to sabotage the whole thing over the last four years. It doesn’t matter right now what was the reason this got so fouled up. I think we have to move forward. A referendum on the 10%, start using this proposed ordinance, stay involved, and get this cannabis thing moving along. It takes up way too much of the oxygen and there are a lot of other pressing issues. YES, we could have an initiative petition to require a cumulative impact EIR for all the proposed/possible cannabis cultivation, and that might be a good idea. I am open to any counter arguments as to why the entire ordinance should be rejected.
ELLEN DRELL and Kate Marianchild, among others, are gearing up to put the pot ordinance, as it’s proposed, to a county-wide vote. Ms. M convened a meeting at the Yorkville Market on Monday afternoon to plan signature-gathering.
I AGREE with Mr. Chichester that the ordinance is ok so long as the Supes withdraw the misguided stipulation that parcels in ag or rangeland zoning of ten acres or larger can cultivate up to 10 percent of their parcel area via a major use permit. Ten percent of large parcels means huge grows, which mean corporate grows which, even with a major use permit would festoon Mendo’s already grape-battered landscape with thirsty, chemically dependent pot plants.
AV VILLAGE MEMBER seeks live-in helper - please spread the word: Kristina, an AV Village Member, is looking for a live-in helper in exchange for free rent at her place in Yorkville. The helper would have their own private 2 + bedrooms and bath in exchange for helping Kristina with meal prep and house cleaning. The time commitment would between 10 and 20 hours a week to be determined between both parties. The helper would have time to have their own job. Kristina suffers from depression and anxiety and having live-in help would be a great support for her - it's a win - win! And she has pets too. If you are interested or know someone who may be perfect for this contact Kristina: (415) 342-1540
FARMWORKERS in Napa Valley are worried about smoke exposure as the region braces for another wildfire season. The smoke may present health dangers, writes Sarah Klearman in the Napa Valley Register, and simultaneously presents financial concerns for workers who may lose wages. (Esther Mobley, SF Chron)
BOONVILLE'S fave ball player out for a few days. “In compliance with MLB’s existing COVID-19 protocols, Andrew Vaughn has been placed on the injured list,” GM Rick Hahn said. “Andrew is currently asymptomatic.” The White Sox put rookie Andrew Vaughn on the injured list Thursday in compliance with MLB COVID protocols.
INTERESTING STAT. According to the Marin County Grand Jury, there are 100,000 guns among Marin's roughly 250,000 serene citizens, one of which belongs to me, but I keep my other gats up here in mellow Mendo, feeling foolish at both venues because of the obvious: Someone bent on harm inevitably has the drop on you, the vic. Nevertheless, there are situations where a gun is the only deterrent handy.
A KAYAKER reports on the Navarro: "The water is warm (sandbar blockade at the mouth is up) and the level is high (near the coast). But you can already see the beginnings of the great algae bloom. It's going to be a very bad year for algae (and last year was horrible)."
NOBEL LAUREATE, and a former resident of Navarro, and the inventor of the PCR test he channeled one night while driving on reliably inspirational Highway 128, the late Kary Mullis, shortly before he died suddenly, unleashed on Dr. Fauci, calling him a fraud and a charlatan pursuing an “agenda.” Mullis said that before covid and would undoubtedly be apoplectic at Fauci today. Mullis was a long-time ava subscriber and, on a personal level, a jolly man, but his retro political opinions, alas, were unaffected by the sweet reason found weekly in these pages.
TOMMY WAYNE'S COL on graduation, reminds me of the hours I've endured in the hot box Boonville gym, hostage to seemingly endless home movies of the grads as toddlers and, one particularly horrific year, every ennui-inducing word of the ceremonies translated from English to Spanish, exhausting both audiences. Our former superintendent, since elevated to county superintendent, Michelle Hutchins, finally had the good sense to move the graduation event outside, and subsequent to her, high school principal, Jim Snyder, sensibly separated the awards part of the ceremony to the day prior to the grads getting their diplomas.
ONCE IN A RARE WHILE, a graduating high school kid goes rogue, as Paxton Smith did in Texas this week for her valedictory speech: “I was going to talk about TV and media and content, because it's something that's very important to me. However, under light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in the state. Recently, the heartbeat bill was passed in Texas. Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest…"
EVERY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT THE BREWERY: Hello valley friends! Logan Family Produce will be vending at the Boonville farmers market this afternoon! We will have a big selection of fresh produce to offer. Our bundles are generous and fresh harvested this morning. We will have several root crops like radish, carrot, and beets. Greens are all washed and ready to eat! We will have head lettuce, bagged salad mixes, arugula, chard, kale, and Asian greens. Lincoln Peas are in and they are sweet and delicious in salads! We are a small family farm located in Comptche. All our food is grown organically and with great care! Come see us at the brewery in Boonville from 4-6. We look forward to seeing you there!
MAY 30, 1991 — "Roederer Estate, the French champagne maker, has opened a tasting room at its magnificent winery on Highway 128 in Anderson Valley." (Fort Bragg Advocate)
A READER ASKS, “I travel from Fort Bragg to Cloverdale and on to Santa Rosa on Hwy 128 quite often. Every time I pass through Yorkville I wonder why it’s there. What is its history? Farming, lumber? Was it a larger town at one time? Why is there a Yorkville?” (We’re working up an answer but for now we think the excellent Yorkville Market, by itself, more than justifies Yorkville’s existence.)
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