Inside UDJ by Editor K.C. Meadows

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, both Jimmy Rickel and apparently Mike Delbar are planning to circulate petitions for ballot measures essentially rolling back Measure G in this county.
I’m a little worried that if we get two competing petitions going around and then two competing measures on the ballot, neither will win and we’ll be right back where we started, which is out-of-control marijuana growing by people who have no fear of being arrested or prosecuted.
Measure G, by the way, is the county ordinance that basically makes it OK for anyone - not just medical marijuana patients - to grow 25 or fewer pot plants without getting hassled by local law enforcement. This measure is in large part why the county supervisors say they have no choice but to make 25 plants the standard for so-called medical marijuana caregivers growing pot in this county and why pot growing has reached epic proportions in the county. I am all for repealing it but I’d like to see one coherent measure we can all get behind. And by “we” and mean myself and the many, many people who are letting me know that they also are outraged by and fed up with the marijuana industry in our county.

Posted by K.C. at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's an email I got today from the local Audubon Society folks:

Al B. Tross Is Back Despite Injured Leg
Guessing About Whether He Survived Winter is Over

He’s simply known on California’s Mendocino Coast as Al B. Tross -- “Al” for short. And he’s back at Point Arena Cove for the 14th straight year.
Mendocino Coast Birder Bob Keiffer sent this email alert Monday evening and other local birders confirmed Al’s arrival Tuesday morning. Said Keiffer:
“The bird apparently flew in yesterday evening (apparently near dusk) and was confirmed this morning as it was still there resting. I will check my records and update this message tomorrow about historical arrival and departure dates....but I believe that this will be the 14th (documented) consecutive winter period that the albatross has used Pt. Arena Cove as it's resting refuge.  The condition of the injured leg (from last season) is not known at this time.”
A Laysan Albatross, Al usually arrives in late November or early December near the pier at Point Arena Cove and stays for several months.
 “We were all concerned about his leg, but he seemed to be eating well last year (he loves French Fries offered by locals) and our hope is he didn’t get an infection or have other problems,” says birder Warren Wade.
 What makes Al unusual is that he is the only albatross anyone has seen on the West Coast.  These large seabirds breed on islands in the mid-Pacific, especially islands in the Hawaiian chain. Intrepid birdwatchers who venture out in large fast boats occasionally see them in the ocean waters of the North Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska. But seeing Al in Point Arena is a huge event for mainland U.S. birders lucky enough to spot him on Mendocino County’s south coast.
 The Laysan Albatross is a little more than two feet in length with a wingspan of over six feet. It has black wings and tail, a white head and body, pink legs and webbed feet. There is a soft gray and black patch around and under its eyes. It has a large gray to yellow-orange bill with a black hooked tip. Males and females look alike.
Al was first discovered on Nov 30, 1994 by a visiting birder. He left the sheltered waters of Point Arena Cove on March 18 of the next year. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he returned in the fall of 1996. County birders have recorded the bird’s arrival and departure dates since that memorable first encounter. Al typically arrives around Thanksgiving and leaves by the end of March. This will be his, or her, 13th consecutive winter vacation in Mendocino County.
 Al usually arrives at the Point Arena Cove around noon, presumably after a seafood brunch. He is often seen or photographed quite easily from the public pier. When storm winds blow from the south, he seeks refuge in more protected locations out of the public view.
 Birding Contact:
David Jensen
Mendocino Coast Audubon Society
djensen@mcn.org
Phone: 707- 964-8163
 

Posted by K.C. at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My first entry on the Kucinich visit had the wrong date. It is Dec. 20 and the entry has been corrected. Thanks to those who noticed.

Posted by K.C. at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got a call this a morning from a represenative at Patty Berg's office who was outraged at the TWK column Sunday about Patty. He wondered how a daily newspaper could run such an innaccurate, mean column. He was upset at the pokes at her physical attributes, implying that the column was specifically misogynistic and that I should not have allowed TWK to call Patty's look mannish. I got the impression he was trying to accuse TWK and thereby me of some kind of human rights violation, but wasn't clear what kind. I basically told him that TWK is what it is, a column some hate, some love and which is usually offensive to someone, in this case Patty Berg, but as a politician she should certainly be able to shrug off such things and if she wanted, was welcome to respond to it. He said never in a million years would she do that. He was disappointed, he said, that I didn't at least correct some of the factual errors, like that Pattty is "the highest and most exalted of our elected officials." I said I don't correct this column any more than I do factual errors in letters and other columns. He wasn't happy that I would not condemn the column and promise to take TWK out to the wood shed.
About an hour later I got a call from another of Berg's people telling me that, whoops, Patty's schedule just isn't going to allow her to meet with me as scheduled this Thursday in Ukiah at 11:30 a.m. Well thank goodness, that's one thing off my list for Thursday. As for Berg's folks, you're way too senstitive and since you called to ask me if Patty could some and see me - as politicians like to do from time to time to make sure I know what wonderful things they have done for the district - it's no problem to me if she wants to bow out.

Posted by K.C. at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich are coming to Mendocino County on a whistle-stop Peace On Earth Train tour of coastal California, and plan to meet and greet people in Ukiah Thursday, Dec. 20. There will be a dinner at the Ukiah Brewery in the early evening followed by a Town Hall at Mendocino Community College at seven. The Kuciniches will be at a fundraiser breakfast the next morning at the Bluebird Cafe in Ukiah across from the airport at an event limited to 100 attendees, before they're off to Sonoma County and on to San Francisco for the main kickoff event of the Peace On Earth Train they will be taking to Southern California on the 22nd. For more information go to www.netrootz.com.

Posted by K.C. at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Marijuana growing and the burgeoning backlash against the marijuana industry that is taking over Mendocino County are going to be under discussion again both at the county and city levels in the coming couple of weeks.
On Dec. 5 the Ukiah City Council plans to make growing pot outdoors a criminal offense. Already the council has by ordinance required that all pot be grown indoors or inside locked garden sheds and limited growing to 12 plants per parcel.
The problem is that since this ordinance isn't much more than a zoning code, it's being widely ignored by the pot growers and city zoning enforcers don't want to deal with the vicious dogs and handy weapons the growers harbor at their city addresses and who can blame them? So making it a criminal offense gives the Ukiah Police something to hang onto legally in order to go in and take illegal outdoor plants. You may recall that the city acted on its ordinance when former DA Norm Vroman was in office. Vroman made it clear he wouldn't be prosecuting any of the city's proposed pot restrictions. Now, however, the city feels it may have a better chance.
(How I'm not sure, when DA Meredith Lintott's own employee is found with 39 pounds of pot and she gets administrative leave rather than a trip to the booking room ....)
Meanwhile, the county supervisors on Dec. 11 are supposed to discuss a new ordinance on pot from Jim Wattenburger and Mike Delbar, the board's Criminal Justice subcommittee. The ordinance is a 27-page regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries in the county. It would limit the number to three, one on the coast, one up north and one in the Ukiah Valley. It would limit them to commercial and industrial zones only and bar them within 500 feet of a church, school, school bus stop, senior center and other such traditionally protected spots. It would also prohibit any pot smoking or alcohol in our outside the dispensary and require background checks of all dispensary employees and prohibit felons from working at them. There will be also a discussion of banning dispensaries altogether in this county. Currently there are two and a third is hoping to open under the auspices of this new ordinance.

Finally, I understand that there are two ballot measures moving forward to reverse Measure G in this county - that's the measure passed by voters several years ago to protect mom and pop growers in the county from being prosecuted by local sheriff's and police by allowing anyone to grow up to 25 pot plants in their back yard. However, it is also the measure by which the marijuana industry has gained hold here and from which supervisors David Colfax, Kendall Smith and John Pinches are hanging their argument that 25 plants per patient is the right amount for medical marijuana and 25 pounds of dried pot would be OK to transport - that part at least they withdrew when they realized how ludicrous it was. Anyway, Measure G really started the whole out-of-control pot industry here since we announced basically that we weren't going to prosecute pot growing any more. And with both Sheriff Tony Craver, and DA Norm Vroman is charge to make it stick, the pot industry grew and grew until now it has overwhelmed neighborhoods, and made our county and especially the inland county a dangerous place to live.
Anyway I hear that both Supervisor Mike Delbar and local resident Jimmy Rickel have ballot measures in the works (I've seen Rickel's). The problem is that they are both likely to want to press for their own and it would be a bad thing if two ballot measures ended up on the ballot since it would likely divide the vote and none would be successful. I am hoping that Delbar and Rickels can get together to agree on one version. Delbar no doubt wants to be the champion on this as he faces a tough run for reelection against Carre Brown and perhaps Rickels has political motives as well (although the recent elections should have given him all the message he needs on his political future). Either way if such a ballot measure is to succeed it needs a united voice.

Posted by K.C. at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's a new report out from the National Endowment for the Arts which concludes that young people who don't read regularly, get lower grades overall, even in math and science. The study, drawn from a variety of sources of information from the Labor Department to the Census Bureau, indicates that young people whose parents don't read and who live in homes with no or few books, are likely to do worse in school even if those parents are college educated. In other words, the kids whose parents had only a high school education but whose homes were filled with books, got better reading and other scores than those in higher earning homes where books were not present.
The question of course is how to get kids interested in reading.
I am a life long reader and I can't imagine a home without books. I read voraciously and I am always astounded when I go to someone's home - say my own sister's - where books are simply not present. Sure, there's a big reading orgy when a new Harry Potter arrives, and that's fine, but what about the rest of the year?
I have been trying with some success to encourage what looks like a burgeoning reading habit in my 12-year-old niece. I introduced her to Little House of the Prairie series when she was 8 and the the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events books a year later. What I found discouraging, however, was that her public elementary school in Fresno forced its students only to read what was on its approved reading list. Each student had to earn a certain number of "reading points" every year. But those points could only be earned by reading books the school had on its approved list - the list was also categorized by age group so even if my niece wanted to and was ready for more advanced reading, it would not count. So when I would take my niece to the book store and suggest a book to her that I was sure she'd love, she'd look at it and sigh, and tell me it wasn't on the list. In her mind it wasn't worth reading a book that didn't count against her quota at school. I couldn't argue with that but it occurred to me that while the school thought it was encouraging reading, it was really discouraging students with an urge to read and it was limiting the scope of their reading.
Of course, all the electronic materials in kids' hands these days are taking up time a child might otherwise use for reading a good book.
Are books for young people any good these days? That's a question I don't know a lot about since I don't read most of them - except Harry Potter which I love. To be honest, when I read reviews of young people's literature and a new book is about a young person whose life is a misery of drug culture, or street violence or some other 21st century family sorrow, I have to say I avoid it along with the popular/unpopular girl travails set in suburban America.
On the other hand I did check for a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank for my niece this year on a well-known book club web site and they don't stock it.
So here are two questions to the readers out there:
1. What are your ideas for instilling a love of reading in our children?
2. Share your suggestions for good books for young people.

Posted by K.C. at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A reader called to say that someone in Redwood Valley had been disagnosed with tuberculosis and thought that was newsworthy. I thought so too since it's one of those diseases you think is hardly ever seen these days. Turns out that's not strictly true. I called the county health department and got the the following information from public information officer Jacqueline Cummins:
"Tuberculosis is a common disease around the world. The levels in the United States have dropped however, it has not been eradicated. California has the highest numbers of TB in the country much in part because it is a point of entry for immigration. TB is a mandated reportable disease to Public Health so anytime a doctor suspects TB the doctor must report the suspicion. If a person tests positive to have active TB then the antibiotic therapy treatment last 6 to 12 months and is monitored for 12 months after the treatment is over to make sure the disease is no longer present. Public Health Branch commonly treats one or two active cases a year in Mendocino County. Public Health Branch is unable to talk about any specific cases due to client confidentiality. There is a lot of information about TB. The Mayo Clinic has a good description of TB at www.mayoclinic.com/print/tuberculosis/"
Further she supplied these figures:
In 2006 Public Health Branch treated 4 cases of active TB.
For 2007 3 persons have been diagnosed for active tuberculosis and are receiving treatment.
1995 – 2002 total of 13 active cases of TB for an average of 2 per year
2003 6 active cases
2004 0 active cases
2005 2 active cases
This information is available online at the County of Mendocino Public Health Branch website. It is located in the Community Health Status Report, www.co.mendocino.ca.us/ph/chsr.htm

Posted by K.C. at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The word at Schat's this morning was the John McCowen kickoff party for 2nd District supervisor was heavily attended and a good time was had by all. Even another candidate in the race, Estelle Clifton, was there I heard, mostly because she had some time before a meeting of her own campaign later in the evening. McCowen estimates the count at 150 people. "The event was a great success, with dozens of people signing endorsements, making donations and offering to help in the campaign," McCowen said.
McCowen was introduced by Ukiah Mayor Mari Rodin, and gave a short speech focused on the need for regional planning and opposition to large development projects which he said "threaten to change the character of the Ukiah Valley and destroy the sense of community and quality of life which we currently enjoy."
McCowen also discusses what we at the Daily Journal have also been urging: a tax sharing agremeent between the county and the city.
The election for Supervisor will be held June 3, 2008. If there's no "50 percent plus one" winner, there will be a runoff in November.
I understand that City Planning Commissioner Jim Mulheren is also planning to run regardless of Jim Wattenburger's plans. The betting at Schat's this morning was that Wattenburger won't run, but we'll see. Mulheren will face a much closer look at whether he actually lives in the 2nd district (the city of Ukiah) in a supes' race. He's gotten away with living outside the city as a planning commissioner by saying he lives above his Ukiah cabinet shop and calling his home outside the city "my wife's house." The City Council has turned a blind eye to it and no one seems to want to be the one to decide what "residence' really means in this city.

Posted by K.C. at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The local Smart Growth Coalition has decided to sponsor a contest for local residents to come up with good ideas for an industrial use for the Masonite site to convince supervisors that there is a good reason not to rezone the property to commercial and let a big mall go in there. They're also saying they'll be doing their own nationwide search to find an industry willing to come to town.
Coalition spokeswoman and city planning commissioenr Judy Pruden sent out a press release today issuing the challenge and listing a bunch of prizes from local retailers to go to the best ideas. Pruden mentions ideas that have already been raised, including "calls from timber industry leaders for preservation of the site for a timber byproducts business like the former Masonite Co. that will take advantage of the regrowth of the county's forestlands ... numerous suggestions that the site could become a center for alternative energy development, or an incubator for
small scale local industry."
I haven't heard those calls from timber leaders but if they came forward publicly in a big way that might make a difference to supervisors. I still suggest reviving the idea of a meat processing plant for the county which would help preserve our ranching industry here and allow us to market locally grown meats and meat by-products. And yes, I've read the piles of material I've been sent from people who think either A) that killing animals is wrong for any reason or B) are convinced that there's no way a meat processing facility can be done environmentally or humanely or without destroying the pristine nature of this valley. I'm still for a meat processing plant.
If we are looking to maintain heavy industry zoning let's not forget that we have to also be willing to accept heavy industry uses. I hope that when an industry finally does come forward we don't hear complaints that it will, for instance, ruin someone's "viewshed."
Entries must be submitted by January 15, 2008 to the Ukiah Valley Smart Growth Coalition, P.O. Box 597, Ukiah, CA 95482. Questions about the contest can be emailed to smartgrowthuk@yahoo.com.
Here's the list of prizes from local retailers who are against new retail at the site.
Shoefly @ Sox: $75 gift certificate
Mulligan Books: $50 gift certificate
Ukiah Brewing Co: gala dinner for two and two Ukiah Brewing Co. T-shirts
Germain-Robin: bottle of Barrel Select XO brandy
Janet Rosen: 20"x30" acrylic painting, "Valley, April," can be viewed at www.zanshinart.com/FineArt/ValleyApril.jpg
McFadden Farm: 2 cases assorted organic wines
Dragon's Lair: $50 gift certificate
Boutique 120: $50 gift certificate
Mendocino Book Company: $50 gift certificate
Tierra Art Garden Wine: $35 gift certificate
Three Sisters: $30 gift certificate
Schat's Bakery: 1 load of bread every week for a year
Freedom Skate Shop: $50 gift certificate
Dripworks: $50 Row Crop Irrigation Kit
Yokayo Biodiesel: 50 gallons of biodiesel

Posted by K.C. at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For those of you out there interested in the debate over how much medical marijuana is enough and how it should be supplied, there's a interview by Russ Emal passed along to me by King Collins of greenmac.com with Dr. Milan Hopkins, an Upper Lake physician with 35 years of practice in general medicine. He prescribes medical pot and provides a monthly free clinic. The interview by Emal discusses the 25 plants or 2 pounds rule and many other aspects of medical marijuana. You can check it out at http://www.greenmac.com/SmartMouth/.

Well known local Republican Margie Handley of Willits has been named State Chair of the California Campaign for Rudy Giuliani. She shares that role with Tod Burnett, who will represent the Sacramento/LA areas.

Meanwhile, county Democrats held a straw poll on Election Day and here's the press release they issued:
"New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson led the pack of Democratic presidential
nominees at the Straw Poll Party held the night of Election Day at the
Harbor Lite Lodge in Fort Bragg. Hosted by the Mendocino Coast Democratic
Club, the event featured an informative candidate presentation by community
supporters of the various candidates.
"Rachel Binah, a Democratic National Committeewoman and strong Richardson
supporter, introduced the New Mexico governor to the crowd and was delighted
to find him the top vote getter. 'He has the most experience ,' she said.
'And he's got all the credentials I'm
looking for in our next president, so I'm delighted with this small but
important result.'
"Richardson received twenty-seven percent of the votes cast. Senator
Barack Obama came in second with twenty percent, followed by Congressman
Dennis Kucinich (18%), Senator Hilary Clinton (16%), former Senator John
Edwards (9%), Senator Joseph Biden, Senator Chris Dodd and Senator Mike
Gravel (each 2%) and one percent undecided.
"A video compiled by Richard Karch of Mendocino showed vignettes of campaign
ads, debates, and other clips on each of the candidates. In addition to
Binah, six other community members made short impassioned presentations on
their favorite candidates.
"Obama was represented by Susan Nutter, Mendocino Coast co-chair of Obama for
President. Pat Karch, Chair of the Health Care Committee of the Mendocino
Coast Democratic Club, spoke for Kucinich. Val Muchowski, Mendocino County
Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus touted Clinton's record and
accomplishments. Kenny Jowers, President of Democrats United for Progress on
the south Mendocino Coast spoke in his native South Carolina drawl for
Edwards. Grail Dawson, Chair of the Iraq Committee of the Mendocino Coast
Democrats, spoke on behalf of Gravel, whom he said, 'was for all the issues I'm for!'
Rick Childs of Mendocino spoke for Biden and Miles Everett, Mendocino Coast
Democratic Club Executive Committee member, supported the
candidacy of Dodd.
"This straw poll joins three others sponsored by the County Democratic
Central Committee. The previous unscientific straw polls were taken at the
Democratic Labor Day Picnic in
Ukiah as well as at booths at the Redwood Empire Fair in Ukiah and the
Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show in Boonville. The top vote getter from
those polls was Senator Hillary Clinton, who received 33% of the votes. She
was followed by Obama (27%), Edwards (19%), Kucinich (11%), Richardson
(6%) and Biden (.5%). Former vice president Al Gore received
three votes total.
"Mendocino Democratic Club Chairman Jeff Tyrrell summed up the straw polls this
way, 'it goes to show how local Democrats are still all over the board when
it comes to making that final decision on who the nominee will be.'
"For more information about getting involved in the 2008 presidential
elections contact Mendocino Coast Club Chair Tyrrell at 937-3142 or
Mendocino County Democratic Central Committee Chair Jim Mastin at 468-8809.

Posted by K.C. at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Citizens Against Government Waste last week issued its preliminary analysis of H.R. 3222, the Fiscal 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Act.
According to its press release:
"CAGW found 2,074 projects worth $6.6 billion in this year’s defense bill,
compared to 2,618 projects worth $10.8 billion that were identified in
CAGW’s 2007 Congressional Pig Book. This represents a decrease of 21
percent in the number of earmarks and a 38 percent decrease in the dollar
amount. The 2006 Congressional Pig Book identified 2,822 projects worth
$14.9 billion, while the 2005 Congressional Pig Book found 2,606 with at a
cost of $12.7 billion.
Here are some of what CAGW believes are the more egregious pork projects added to the defense bill (Note North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson makes the list)
• $25,000,000 for the Hawaii Federal Health Care Network, added by Sen.
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).
• $23,000,000 for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), added by
Rep. John “Jack” Murtha (D-Pa.). This is the project over which Rep. Murtha
threatened a colleague for challenging in the spring. Since 1992, more than
$509 million has been used to fund NDIC, which is administered by the
Department of Justice (DOJ.). Ironically, DOJ does not want the NDIC and
has asked Congress to shut the agency down because the department believes
the operations are duplicative.
• *$20,000,000 for historically black colleges and universities, added by
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).
• $5,000,000 for Project SOAR, added by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.), Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), and Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
• *$5,000,000 for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Paralympic
Military Program, added by Reps. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Patrick Kennedy
(D-R.I.).
• $4,800,000 for the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area
added by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.). The Gateway National Recreation
Area’s website describes the Jamaica Bay Unit as “a wealth of
history, nature and recreation, from New York City's first major airport
and coastal fortifications to a wildlife refuge and pristine beaches.”
• *$3,000,000 for “The First Tee,” added by House Majority Whip James
Clyburn (D-S.C.) The program’s mission, according to its website, is “To
impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and
educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing
values through the game of golf.” First Tee won CAGW’s “The Taxpayers Get
Teed Off” Oinker Award in 2004 for receiving $3 million in two separate
appropriations bills.
• $2,400,000 for the Lewis Center for Education Research, added by its
namesake, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis
(R-Calif.). The center is described on its website as “a unique educational
facility designed to improve educational effectiveness and scientific
literacy among American schoolchildren.”
• $2,400,000 for the Vertical Lift Center of Excellence-Institute of
Maintenance, Science and Technology, added by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.).
• $2,000,000 for brown tree snakes, added by Sen. Inouye, which has been
a staple in the Congressional Pig Book since 1996.
• $1,600,000 for the New York Structural Biology Center, added by Rep.
Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), and Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.). The center’s mission, according to its website, is to
“increase our understanding of the role that proteins play in disease
pathways and enhance the ability of scientists to carry out advanced
biomedical research in a number of areas including the new fields of
structural genomics, and proteomics.”
• $1,600,000 for the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program (PRISP),
added by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) himself.
• $1,600,000 for the Allen Telescope Array, added by Rep. Anna Eshoo
(D-Calif.). This project first appeared in the 2005 Congressional Pig Book
and has received a total of $5.6 million. It is part of SETI (Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which describes the telescope as “dedicated
to astronomical and simultaneous search for extra-terrestrial intelligence
observations.”
• $1,600,000 for the development of enabling chemical technologies for
power from green sources, added by Rep. John Olver (D-Mass.).
• $1,200,000 for the National Bureau for Asian Research, “a nonprofit,
nonpartisan research institution dedicated to informing and strengthening
policy in the Asia-Pacific,” according to its website, added by Rep. Norm
Dicks (D-Wash.).
• $1,000,000 for transforming waste plastics into alterative fuels, added
by Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio).
• $800,000 for extended shelf life produce for remotely deployed forces,
added by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). This sounds suspiciously like a
2007 Congressional Pig Book project: $1,650,000 added by Senate appropriator
Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to improve the shelf life of vegetables.
• *$500,000 for the Maine Institute for Human Genetics, described on its
website as “blending inventive research with emerging concepts in clinical
care in rural communities,” added by Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine).
* airdropped in conference

Posted by K.C. at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As many of our readers know, I host a public affairs program on KZYX public radio every second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. This past week I had no guest lined up and so I just opened the phones to the listeners to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about and we got on a lengthy discussion of mail-in voting. Most of the callers who participated said they hated mail-in voting and wanted their polls reopened. I have ranted on this subject often (I want a poll to go to ) and did so again on the air Thursday. Here's a follow-up email I got from one listener:
"Heard you on KZYX&Z tonight but couldn't get through. I prefer to vote on election day. When I was first required to use a mail in ballot, I was moving and the parts got separated, I didn't vote. The second time, I walked my ballot to the old firehouse in Laytonville and the poll worker put it (under the pile of pollworker jackets) on a table. Chilled, speechless, and disheartened, I left wondering that would become of my 'sacred' ballot. Having to put my address and signature on the outside of the envelope seems pretty risky given all the identity theft going on these days as well. I would love a receipt from the registrar saying my vote was received and counted. Glad you are batting the ballot subject around and hope you get Marsha on the air before she leaves."
I promised a previous listener that I would try to get Marsha on the air for my next show in December, and I will.

Posted by K.C. at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 100 or so workers at the Head Start run by North Coast Opportunities in Mendocino and Lake counties thought they were just a day away from their first union contract when Head Start program director Corinne Lindgren pulled the plug. Two other administrators more friendly to the union idea have left the agency leaving Lindgren in charge according to a union press release issued this week. The union negotiators say that Lindgren is the problem at the agency and the reason most of the workers want a union in the first place. Now the union has filed unfair labor complaints against Lindgren but are worried that her tactic is simply to draw out the process until the union has to start at the beginning again. I understand that money is not the primary issue here. It's more about working conditions and job security. A Head Start teacher here apparently has at most about 12 hours of early childhood education from someplace like Mendocino College and they are often mothers of former Head Start children. Union reps say they are dictated to by NCO folks who, according to one union rep I talked with, change the rules on them constantly and make it difficult for them to have consistency in the classroom. This union rep said in one example that an NCO person with control of federal dollars for classroom supplies sent a teacher a box full of Chinese dishware and chopsticks for use as a "cultural" lesson. Four-year-olds with chopsticks? En garde!

I asked blog readers t let me know what they'd like to see the city of Ukiah do with a new redevelopment bond. One reader wrote:
"I'm so glad you asked this question. I believe we need to spend some money on the neighborhoods just on the outskirts of downtown, where the infrastructures are deteriorating and in desperate need of improvement.
The Wagenseller neighborhood (Clara Ave and Ford St.) has become one of Ukiah's main vehicle thoroughfares for travel to downtown, the hospital, freeway, Pear Tree Center, etc. The neighborhood also continues to be a
draw for maximum "infill" development. While the vehicle traffic has increased substantially, the infrastructure has continued to fall apart. The neighborhood has long stretches with no sidewalks so that the many
pedestrians (who do not own or choose not to use cars) are forced to walk in the streets, alongside MTA buses, trucks and cars. There is insufficient drainage so that in the rainy weather, small lakes appear
where there should be sidewalks and the sitting water causes the paved streets to further deteriorate and forces pedestrians to walk even closer to the vehicle traffic. I've noticed this situation in other
neighborhoods with high volumes of vehicle and pedestrian traffic, like Leslie Street.
Perhaps if the streets were safer to walk, residents would be more willing to get out of their cars and walk to work or shopping. If more of us walked the neighborhoods, the air would be cleaner and the streets thus more inviting to walk. The city reports there is no money to repair the infrastructure of these crumbling heavily trafficked neighborhoods. If new bonds are to be issued, my vote would be to spend some money to improve the infrastructure and walkability of our neighborhoods that bear the burden of heavy vehicle traffic."

Add to that, the county supervisors have decided to build its new jail complex at the Brush Street triangle right across the future Orchard Street bridge from the Wagenseller neighborhoods which has those folks understandably worried.

One other thing, I heard at Schat's this week that some folks in the county admin building are upset that a few Ukiah High School students show up early in the morning to hang around the lobby for its warmth. They also apparently come to the county admin cafe after school for snacks. I was told the cafe has actually started closing early in order to discourage the students. First of all, it's a public building and the cafe is a public cafe. One woman at Schat's Thursday, after hearing this, said she thought having high school students in a county government building was a great opportunity for county employees to show them what goes on there, and at least befriend them as a way of letting them know that they are welcome citizens of this county. But no. They treat the building and the cafe as their personal fiefdom where no outsiders are welcome. Sad.

Posted by K.C. at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A candidate to run against Jim Wattenburger in the 2nd supes district next year has appeared. Her name is Estelle Palley Clifton and she was unearthed by the Second District Voters Union which was formed specifically to find such a candidate. Clifton is a young woman with impressive credentials and thoughtful and reasonable views from the one talk I had with her a couple of weeks ago. She is a Mendocino County native, with a BA in forestry from Humboldt State and another from the New School of California in cultural ecology and sustainable communities. She is also a volunteer firefighter and a former Round Valley board of education member. In an official "draft leaked press release" from the voters' union, Palley says she's ready to announce her candidacy at the county board meeting next Tuesday. The union includes local activist Richard Johnson who handed out the releases about Clifton at today's gathering at Schat's. The release notes that Wattenburger won his seat with only 5 votes and has no mandate from Ukiah voters to move forward with the mall at the old Masonite site. Wattenburger repeatedly says he has not made up his mind about the massive development but no one seems to believe him.

Posted by K.C. at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The power outage in the city last week reminds me that there was a time when undergrounding electric lines was a fond wish of local citizens. I seem to remember that it was very high on the list of things the citizens wanted out of the city's first redevelopment effort. Instead we got a conference center and Thomas Plaza. The plaza has still not been the gathering place the city envisioned on a daily basis. Frank's Franks has brought a few people to the park for lunch in the summer time and city events which bring people downtown anyway make use of the plaza, but it is not what I would call a hived of activity as it was advertised. Perhaps when there's shade .... And the conference center never fulfilled it's purpose either. I would be willing to be that the center still has not paid its mortgage without general fund help. The millions spent on those two facilities, nice, though they are, I think could have been better spent doing what the citizens' groups wanted - beautifying the State Street and Perkins Street corridors, something that could have included undergrounding lines. That would not only make the city prettier, it would, I presume eliminate the outages we get every year when a squirrel fries itself on the lines, or when storms bring live lines down into the street. Undergrounding lines now is an extraordinarily expensive proposition.
There's some talk of the city issuing more redevelopment bonds, since the 1990s bonds I believe are, or are largely paid off. That money could go to any number of things for the downtown. I'd be interested in hearing from people what they would like to see money spent on downtown if the city issued some new bonds and had several million in hand for projects. Ideas?

Posted by K.C. at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am on the road on the East Coast this week and trying to keep up with things. I meant to say something about this before I left, and that's the use of the phrase "Love Canal," when talking about the demolition of the old Masonite factory.
To compare the Masonite site to Love Canal is just ludicrous. First of all, the Love Canal site was an intentional chemical waste dump. Of course, in the 1950s the nation had no environmental laws, and we were much much less educated about the effects of dumping hazardous wastes. In 1978, when the Love Canal toxic waste became evident, here's what one witness, Eckhart Beck, wrote at the time:
"Corroding waste-disposal drums could be seen breaking up through the grounds of backyards. Trees and gardens were turning black and dying. One entire swimming pool had been popped up from its foundation, afloat now on a small sea of chemicals. Puddles of noxious substances were pointed out to me by the residents. Some of these puddles were in their yards, some were in their basements, others yet were on the school grounds. Everywhere the air had a faint, choking smell. Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces."
OK? Enough. THAT's Love Canal. To call the Masonite site our own "Love Canal" is not only stupid, it makes a mockery of what was indeed a serious toxic site and one that residents there would hardly compare to a former factory site in Ukiah.
I am not opposed to making sure that the Masonite demolition is done safely and with no environmental accidents. However, there is no evidence anywhere that environmental safeguards are not in place or that toxics are present. The state toxics watchdogs are perfectly aware of the Masonite demolition. Sure, let's have a public meeting if need be, but let's stop the childish hyperbole.

Posted by K.C. at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)