Mendocino County Today: May 14/15

WILLIAM OPHULS, in his bracingly pessimistic book, “Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail,” identifies the primary reasons for collapse as: “Ecological Exhaustion, Exponential Growth, Expedited Entropy, Excessive Complexity, Moral Decay and Practical Failure.” Ring any bells in your temple of the familiar?

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CITY FOLKS with computer probs? The AVA recommends Mr. Roger Lin of Smart Computer Service at 3410 Geary, telephone 415 751-1266. Mr. Lin has bailed us out on short notice on several frantic occasions. The guy knows what he's doing, and he makes house calls. Prices quite reasonable.

COUNTRY FOLKS with computer probs? We always steer people to Chuck Wilcher of Comptche. Chuck's bailed us out many times. He's been tending to family matters in the Middle West for the past year, but darned if he didn't respond long distance and instantly to our techno-crisis of just last week which, naturally, occurred on production day. This guy knows his stuff, and we've practically had to beg him to take money for services rendered. Chuck can be reached by e-mail at cwilcher@mcn.org.

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"THERE IS ONE THING that we know for sure in this strange period when bankers have tried to manage reality in the absence of truth: that advanced industrial-technological economies designed to run on $20-a-barrel oil can't run on $100-a-barrel oil, and that is why the US economy was subject to financialization in the first place — to offset declining productive activity by an attempt to get something for nothing.” -James H. Kunstler

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ACCORDING TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, the Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news. The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls.

ON MONDAY, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies. “There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know,” Pruitt said.

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FOR YOUR NO SHAME FILES. Darryl Cherney has broadcast this pathetic (and false) appeal, an appeal that leaves out the fact that he said his hagiographic movie was packing them in and not only packing them in but was up for an Academy Award. The appeal also ignores the fact that Cherney owns two valuable pieces of property in Humboldt County and he won nearly a million dollars in his successful libel suit. The guy's loaded. Anybody who sends him money is even a bigger sap than the cult-brains who believe his phony Bari narrative.

“DARRYL CHERNEY/In Memory of Judi Bari — Who Bombed Judi Bari? is broke & has $5000 of upcoming expenses--music licensing, closed captioning, etc. in prep for digital, Netflix. etc. DVD's are out and you can buy a signed one for $20 or a t-shirt or just make a nice donation through our paypal or via regular mail. And encourage libraries and schools to buy it!”

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LAKES MENDOCINO AND SONOMA are on high alert for mussels, the invasive, destructive type, which, left unsuppressed can totally gum up the water works by clustering in such numbers at crucial points in a given system that water flow is cut. The tiny beasts are steadily making their way north and have been discovered in harmful infestations in San Benito County. Specially trained dogs can sniff them out for early eradication, and it's a labrador that will be doing the sniffing this summer at Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma.

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JOHN SAKOWICZ WRITES: US Representative Jared Huffman is hosting a Town Hall on Social Security and Medicare on Thursday, May 30 from 12 noon-1 pm at the Ukiah Senior Center. Carroll Estes, chair of the Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, is going to speak along with Jared and reps from SSA and HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program), and they'll taking Q & A. You may remember that Max Richtman, president of the Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, was a guest on my show last month.

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AGNES WOOLSEY WRITES TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:  Good Morning Supervisors Hamburg,Gjerde,McCowen, Pinches and Brown;  My name is Agnes Woolsey. I come before you with representatives from Occupy Ukiah and Mendocino.Representatives,please stand. We bring a petition which involves budgeting and urge you to  include Funding for an Audit of foreclosure documents by mega-banks to investigate robo-signing in the Auditor's real property records.  Some of the 400 petition signers wanted to know what robo-signers were. We explained that when mortgages were bundled by Wall Street big banks, then sold to investors multiple times, they lost the chain of title and had to use fake signatures on foreclosure documents to make it look legal.Then they sent the foreclosure document to the County Recorder who just recorded them without investigation.  Funding an Audit would give the Recorder, Susan Ranochak, the tools to train volunteers, send Affidavits of Authenticity to foreclosing entities requiring them to send the signed affidavit back, swearing to the truthfulness of the signatures along with $75.00 per page. Attached to the letter would be CA Public Law 115 which states under penalty of perjury, if anyone knowingly uses fraudulent signatures they will be subject to jail time and fines up to $75,000. per incident. The home Owners Bill of Rights CA AB 1602/SB 1470 requires creditors to provide documentary evidence of ownership, the chain of title to real property and the right to foreclose at the time of filing of a notice of default.  We urge you to Fund an Audit of foreclosures to find those that used robo-signers to help Susan Ranochak weed out fraud from her land title records and report them to the CA Attorney General as stipulated in CA AB 1950. Another bill SB 1474/AB 1763 impanels a Grand Jury for purposes of investigating multi-jurisdictional financial crimes against the state. This should be of special relevance to the County District Attorney, David Eyester, who has received proof of robo-signed documents from Jed Davis of Potter Valley.  When Assessor Phil Ting of S.F. hired an audit of 400 foreclosure documents he found that 80 % of them had errors which made them null and void. His public service to the people of S.F. earned him an election as Assemblyman in the CA legislature.  In your capacity to serve the public good we urge you to Fund an Audit.  Thankyou for your attention. Agnes Woolsey May 14, 2013  Fund an Audit and a constituent in Supervisor Pinches District.

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THE ALBION LITTLE RIVER FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT & the Albion Little River Fire Auxiliary present our 52nd annual BBQ and fundraiser.  Come join us at the Little River fairgrounds by the airport Saturday, July 13, 12-5 pm.  We will be serving beef tri-tip, smoked chicken and vegetarian tamales.  Enjoy good food and live music throughout the afternoon.  There will be children’s activities, so bring the kids!  We’ve got lots of new firefighters — come meet us!  Spend the day with family and friends and support your Local Fire Department.  Save the date!  Mark your calendars now!  If you can't attend but still want to support us, and would like to volunteer time before and especially during the BBQ, donate baked goods or other items, please contact Debbi Wolfe at debbi.wolfe@gmail.com.  We look forward to seeing you — Scott Roat

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OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBIT, Sculpture Trail, in Cloverdale and Geyserville. — The Cloverdale Arts Alliance is joining the Geyserville Chamber of Commerce in producing a Sculpture Trail, a year-round, outdoor exhibit in both Northern Sonoma County communities, with sculptures changing every 9 months. The first Sculpture Trail begins June 8 and continues through February 6, 2014. Sculptures will grace Cloverdale Boulevard and Geyserville Avenue to be experienced, interpreted and enjoyed. An artists’ reception will be held Saturday, June 8 from 4 to 6 pm at the new home of the Cloverdale Arts, 204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale. The general public is invited to meet the artists, enjoy refreshments and explore the Cloverdale Arts Alliance new home. The Trail Selection Committee, Debra Lehane and Janet Howell, from a variety of entries, recommended the following artists; participating in the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail are Emad Boback, Joe Bologna, m.c.Carolyn, Eileen Fitz-Faulkner, Cynthia Handel, Gerald Kirk Harris, Michael Hayden & Kristina Lucas, Stan Huncilman, Kenyon Lewis, Jeff Owen, David Mudgett, Robert Michael Smith, Mark Stasz, and William Wareham. In Geyserville the exhibiting sculptors are Tyson Barbera, Riis Burwell, Peter Crompton, Virginia Harrison, Max Heiges, Thomas Ramsey, Susandra Spicer, Patricia Vardar, and Michael Welsh. The sculptures are high quality and varied. For additional information visit www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org .

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DON'T TRY TO GET THERE BY BUS! — The Mendocino Transit Authority (MTA) will hold its monthly Board of Directors meeting at 1:30 PM on May 23, 2013. The meeting will be conducted at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center, Riesling Room, 200 S. School Street, Ukiah and video-conferenced with Fort Bragg in the MTA’s Diana Stuart Division’s Conference Room at 190 East Spruce Street. Among the agenda items are the Facility Solarization and Modernization Maintenance Facility, Solar Canopy Update and Admin Building Update, Operating Budget Overview, Capital Budget Adjustment, and the Mobility Management Update. The public is welcome to attend the meeting to address items that are on the agenda, or bring other transit related items to the attention of the Board. Time limit is three minutes per speaker.

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DAD STEPS UP FOR HIS DAUGHTER, JUST IN FROM THE SHERIFF'S DEAPERTRMENT

On May 11, 2013 at 3pm a Round Valley Resident Deputy from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the victim of a physical assault at Howard Street and Perry Street in Covelo.  The adult male victim told the Deputy that he had been assaulted by Juan Manuel Ayala Gonzales, 51, of Covelo, the father of an ex-girlfriend.  The victim had been driving when he stopped his vehicle at the intersection of Howard Street and Perry Street after seeing Gonzales following behind him in another vehicle.  The victim reported that Gonzales walked up to the victim's vehicle and opened the driver's door.  Without provocation, Gonzales punched the victim multiple times causing the victim to fall to the ground.  Once the victim was on the ground, Gonzales kicked the victim in the face while wearing boots.  The victim suffered a laceration to the face, chipped teeth and bruising.  Gonzales was later arrested without incident and transported to the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $30,000.00 bail.

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BIG RIVER WALK AND PADDLE —The Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County is holding its 14th annual Big River Walk & Paddle. This annual event brings together the community to honor friends and family having been affected by cancer. We will spend the day honoring those we love through a remembrance ceremony, followed by a community walk along the Big River haul road and a paddle along the beautiful Big River estuary. The day will be both a celebration and a remembrance with prizes and entertainment. This year Catch a Canoe & Bicycles Too! donated a 2013 Cannondale Trail 7 to our greatest pledge collector! There is also 2nd place prize of dinner for 2 at the Mendo Bistro! 100% of all funds raised stay in Mendocino County to provide local services to meet local needs. Cost: $25 for adults, $10 for minors Date, time and location: June 1st, 2013 at 9:30 am at the Big River Estuary in Mendocino Contact Info: www.crcmendocino.org elimah@crcmendocino.org. 1.707.937.3833

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COSTA INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO STRIP ESA PROTECTIONS FOR DELTA FISH

by Dan Bacher

Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) has introduced legislation to exempt the Central Valley and State Water projects from Delta pumping restrictions required under the Endangered Species Act to protect Central Valley salmon and Delta smelt.

Costa claimed the “More Water and Security for Californians Act” would “significantly increase” the water supply in the Valley and growers who receive water from the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) would see greater “water security.”

According to the bill text, “Beginning on April 1 and ending on May 31, rates of pumping at the C.W. ‘Bill’ Jones Pumping Plant and Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant shall not be reduced pursuant to the biological opinion of the National Marine Fisheries Service.”

“After 2 dry years and a 20 percent water allocation, now more than ever is the time for real solutions to our broken water system,” said Costa. “The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is the long-term solution, but there are actions we can take now to bring more water and jobs to our Valley."

“This bill is about giving relief and economic security to all Californians,” he stated. “There is no time to wait. Politics cannot stand in the way of a sensible solution to the devastation our region has experienced year after year. We need to get this bill to the President.”

Costa claimed the bill will:

• Provide Congressional direction to implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA);

• Restore “operational flexibility” to California water projects; and

• Provide “reasonable protection” to threatened species.

The bill also proposes to “establish a fish hatchery program or refuge to preserve and restore the delta smelt in collaboration with the Governor of the State of California,” as well as to implement a “habitat program” to “ensure the viability of” at risk species and threatened and endangered species.

Costa’s bill is supported by San Joaquin Valley water districts, including the Westlands Water District, Friant Water Authority, and the San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority. Other backers of the bill include the Latino Water Coalition, an agribusiness “Astroturf” group, and Paramount Farms, owned by agribusiness tycoon Stewart Resnick, the largest orchard fruit grower in the world.

“The enactment of this legislation will provide much needed certainty for farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley,” said Tom Birmingham, Westlands Water District General Manager. “This year, Westland Water District lost 195,000 acre feet of water because of restrictions imposed under the Delta Smelt Biological Opinion."

“Had this legislation been in effect, Westlands would not have lost this water and our allocation this year would be 40 or 45 percent compared to the existing allocation of 20 percent,” he concluded.

Environmental groups, fishing organizations, Indian Tribes and fishing groups, who support the restoration of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations, strongly oppose Costa's legislation.

Restore the Delta quickly responded to Congressman Jim Costa’s call to eviscerate Endangered Species Act protections for salmon and Delta smelt.

"Congressman Jim Costa’s call to restrict the Endangered Species Act gets to the heart of the problem with current management of the Delta, as well as Governor Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “Five times more in water rights has been promised to water takers than what exists in the watershed. Rep. Costa’s solution is to simply further deprive the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of the Americas, the Delta and the San Francisco Bay, of the water it needs to protect salmon, halibut, crab, and anchovy fisheries."

"Governor Brown’s plan is to build twin tunnels to send the best water to water takers and to dress the plan up as a conservation plan. In both instances, we see that our state’s political leaders do not have the courage to deal with the fact that we in California are pushing up against hard limits on our water resources,” she stated.

Barrigan-Parrilla said more than 50% of the Delta’s fresh water has been exported for years now, leading to the crisis with Delta fisheries. “Taking more water from the system, through the existing pumps or through Brown’s pipes, will deal the final death blow to the Delta,” she said.

She also pointed out how this legislation will not only hurt fish, but will harm family farming operations on the Delta.

"It is clear from his statement that Rep. Costa, like his Central Valley Congressional Colleagues and the Brown administration, has no regard for the water quality and quantity needs to support the 500,000 acres of prime Delta farmland which is farmed by California’s oldest family farms,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “Delta farms produce a much wider array of produce to feed Californians than the corporate agribusiness growers on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley who take 2/3 of the Delta’s fresh water supply each year to grow almonds to ship to China. Depriving Delta farmers of the flows they need, through unlimited exports at the current pumps or Brown’s tunnels, will lead to the largest transfer of private wealth in the history of California as the corporate farm economy will be propped up at the expense of the Delta family farm economy."

She emphasized that there is a “better solution” for California’s water crisis. “Reduce water exports from the Delta to protect Delta and coastal fisheries and farms; fix Delta levees so that the Delta can continue to share a sustainable water yield; fix the existing pumps so that fish populations can be better protected; and, most importantly, invest public dollars in a myriad of local water projects throughout California so that we can make more water to meet our many needs,” Barrigan-Parrilla urged.

To find out more about the real story behind the peripheral tunnels being proposed to divert the majority of water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, here's the link to Restore the Delta's new video/TV/YouTube ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV_cm-UnxKA&feature=youtu.be