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Mendocino County Today: December 14, 2012

SEEMS LIKE every month there's an announcement specially aimed at the dimmer sectors of our palest demographic. This month, it's the news out of the Census Bureau that by 2043 “whites will no longer make up a majority of Americans.” The horror, the horror! You mean, are you saying, there won't even be room for us in Redding?

SOME OF US RECALL the odd case of Mendo social worker, James Marmon. When Marmon complained that records at the Willits office of Children's Protective Services were being altered and purged, Marmon's supervisor, Bryan Lowery (now acting Director of Mendocino County Health and Human Services Department while Director Stacey Cryer is out on extended leave), informed Marmon that Lowery had deleted Marmon's reports regarding a case Marmon had investigated. It seems that Lowery didn't like Marmon's conclusions. Marmon, in a letter he made public, accused Lowery that his “deletion of these documents was an attempt to cover-up an unlawful detention of two children in which he [Lowery] had misled Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies into believing that a protective custody order (warrant) had been issued by the court.”

THE UPSHOT of Marmon's brave attempt to act in the best interests of two children? He was fired and, as is the way in Mendocino County's government circles, vilified by his superiors. Marmon has already been awarded $50,000 by the County for firing him, and he's appealing his dismissal at the state level. Odd that the county would fire and reward the guy at the same time, but that's what happened.

BUT IF CPS and Mendocino County fires a guy for trying to do honest, ethical work, how do you suppose those same people that fired Marmon will handle the beating death of the Fort Bragg child they blithely handed over to a known methamphetamine user? I'll bet their shredder has gotten a lot of use lately.

LOOKING THROUGH what information we have been able to find on the Marmon case, much of it from Mr. Marmon himself, we saw the same old names all the way back to CPS atrocities of yesteryear — Becky Wilson, A.J. Barrett, Lowery. And now a dead infant. Isn't it about time for the Superior Court and the Grand Jury to take a hard look at how this department operates?

AndresTorresTHE GIANTS have re-signed Andres Torres, a one-year deal for $2 mil.

Nice to see Torres back. He was Mr. Clutch, or one of them, in 2010.

He can play any place in the outfield, great lead-off speed, a perfect back-up guy for Blanco and Pagan, and a very good hitter against left-handers.

 

Kapaernick, Allen
Kapaernick, Allen

ADD LOOK ALIKES:

Colin Kapaernick

San Francisco 49ers

quarterback

and

Sarah Ann Allen

of St. Helena.

.

Reyes
Reyes

A FELLOW CALLED ARTURO REYES has been named president at Mendocino College. A press release wafting out of Ukiah says, “Arturo Reyes is the Executive Vice-President of Academic and Student Affairs at Solano Community College. Previously, he worked as the Interim President/VP of Academic Affairs at San Jose City College and the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Cosumnes River College. He taught Spanish full-time at Cosumnes River College and Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, Calif. His education includes a BA and Teaching Credential in Spanish and a Masters in Educational Administration from CSU Sacramento. Currently, he is completing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at UC Davis.” He starts work on January 7th.

WHAT EXACTLY THE FEDS want from Mendocino County regarding Mendo's now abandoned pot licensing program remains vague, but we hear they are looking for money. Does Big Bro want the zip-tie money because Bro thinks it derives from illegal drug activity? Are they looking for crooks who might have been skimming money out of the program? It's unlikely Bro is interested in people who grew 5, 25, or 99 plants — but they could be. I mean, you've got all these lawyers sitting around in the Frisco Federal Building with nothing else to do. Apparently. If they want the infamous M. Cohen, they already have him and don't need County records to nail a guy who was in business right in plain view. Individual supervisors? Doubt it, although you've got pro-legalization (Pinches), pro-pot (Hamburg), and pro-9.31 permit system (McCowen) sitting there. (Supervisor Smith strikes us as more of a Prozac person.) The Supervisors included pot legalization in their legislative platform for the current year. But we know that the feds seem disposed to emotional decision-making based on personalities, as in “I'm gonna get that SOB” as much as law, logic, or pesky ethical concerns. Speaking here as a whining taxpayer, I can't remember the last time the US Attorney out of San Francisco nailed anything close to a dangerous person or entity. Ditto for DC, and we live in the country whose lead bankers robbed all of us.

Haag
Haag

BACK TO DOPE, and the dopes at the US Attorney's office, Ms. Melinda Haag proprietor. Mendocino County issued 18 permits the first year (2010); 91 permits the second year (2011); voluntary zip-ties going as far back (I think) as 2009 and continuing through this year's growing season. Different prices for zip-ties and permit applications in 2010 and 2011; different prices for zip-ties for applicants as opposed to 25 plant and under growers who just want the zip-ties; and permit inspection fees (retained by the inspectors) added on to the cost, with different numbers of required inspections for continuing permit holders and newbies; and different price structures for different inspectors. And although you could go back up and sort it out, I believe that all those funds were dumped into one account at the Sheriff's Office, but spread over several different budget years. How much money did the program make for official Mendo? Who knows?

6 Comments

  1. David Gurney December 14, 2012

    Can someone please explain how the “zip-tie” program was anything different than a legalized protection racket – run by our illustrious gang – the Mendo Co. Sheriff’s Dept., and its LE agency cohorts?

    • wineguy December 14, 2012

      No possible explanation except the ‘shakedown’ did bring in needed cash to keep the Sheriff’s Dept. funded to bust other less charitable growers of the devil weed, what joke! Haag is right to shut it down and confiscate the cash, she is tough as nails and our All-Man is a political fony

  2. James Marmon December 14, 2012

    This is a copy of an email I sent to the County today regarding baby “Emerald”

    To Lowery, Angelo, Losak, Applegate, and the Board of Supervisors.

    As far as I am concerned, you all assisted Tubbs in murdering this child. The paradigm shift that was put into place is the problem. How do you fix this? By putting responsibility back onto the social worker where it belongs and provide them with all the training and tools needed to their jobs. When social workers are protected from “being torn apart in court” and all decisions and recommendation are that of the Agency not individual social workers, then you have placed the children of our county in great danger. I have talked to other social workers who say they like the shift because they don’t have to make the tough decisions, those social workers should go.

    Mendocino County is the only county in the State, and as far as I know, the Nation, who has made this shift known as from the “Social Worker Recommends” to the “Agency Recommends.” Social workers therefore don’t take responsibility for the job they do. The State has provided the proper tools and guidelines, but Mendocino County chooses to ignore them.

    To end with, since the Agency made the choice to take all responsibilities in the decision making process, then I believe the Agency should take all the blame in this child’s death. Stacy Cryer and Bryan Lowery need to go. For over 4 years I attempted to warn you all about the dangers of the paradigm shift among other issues and you all turned on me in retaliation. As I told you all before, I will not go away quietly.

    James Marmon MSW

  3. chewsome December 14, 2012

    RE: BACK TO DOPE – There was also a 50% discount option for certain low income and veterans who were part of the 25 plant and under, non permit zip ties.

    RE: David Gurney says… – In order to consider a proper response to your question, please clarify if you are focusing on:

    – the existing nuisance ordinance maximum 25 plants of any size or sex, per legal land parcel program, (Note that federal law only counts mature female plants in number counts… and state program minimum is 12 immature or 6 mature, except state courts have ruled any amount reasonably needed is okay).

    – the now discontinued nuisance ordinance exemption maximum 99 plants per legal parcel, of heavy budding female plants or roughly twice that number or reasonably more plants of any other description that don’t have the budding value, based upon evaluation of all information by inspection officer,

    – or are you talking about the responsible and concerned citizens now under attack by the federal Grand Jury subpoena who made public oral and written comments and communications with the County or the Board of Supervisors for formulation, evaluation and conditioning of the terminology text of County Code 9.31 in the Brown Act public meeting process.

    Why is it that no one speaks up on the chilling effect of free speech to defend the public who made written comments to the Supervisors on 9.31, or is any legislative process collaboration that is not in compliance with federal law considered a conspiracy.

    Yet the 99 plant cartels permit holders who might winter to the south of us, because their Mendocino north face canyon mountain sides don’t have a speck of sunlight in the winter, can have fat cat attorneys demanding the supervisors to not give up their growers.

    All the while the Sheriff begrudges 25 plant holders who don’t have winter sunlight who leave, as shady characters who take their profits out of County and don’t contribute any tax money here.

    The Sheriff wants to catch them when they bring in water pipe from out of County and then travel on crumbling depaving County or private roads turning into gravel or dirt, per AB 2284 (Chesbro) IRRIGATION. which County Supervisors are set to vote to implement in Mendocino after 1/1/13.

    Any reputable water pipe store in the County, of course will posts advisory signs that say, TARP YOUR WATER PIPE LOAD, and have a handy stack of tarps to sell just for that purpose. Support your local County. Pay sales tax. Support the Mendocino Sheriff who stood tall in Sacramento behind AB 2284.

    BREAKING NEWS – US Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the US Justice Department would not be going after medical marijuana in states that have such programs, because of limited federal resources, except for cases of money laundering… (improperly filing medical cannabis business deductions in payment of federal income taxes).

  4. chewsome December 14, 2012

    oops! NOT Eric Holder.
    from national news –
    “The president said he is not ready “at this point” to support widespread legalization of marijuana but added: “It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined it’s legal… We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

  5. wineguy December 14, 2012

    Holder is a ‘toady creep’ and will do anything to keep his ‘boss’ in good standing…makes Ed Meese look better every day, really…

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