What Gets Heard By Marc Polonsky

The New Cacophony

The Supreme Court handed down a ruling recently that may destroy our democracy.

The tricky thing about free speech is that if everyone is talking at once, only the loudest voice gets heard. If you have a room with, say, eight to ten people, and they're trying to discuss a subject or resolve some issue, and one individual has a megaphone and yells into it nonstop, drowning out everyone else, is this an exercise of free speech?

The John Roberts Supreme Court seems to think so, and they just gave big corporations an overwhelming megaphone, reversing over 100 years of federal (and state-level) campaign finance law that had been upheld repeatedly by previous Courts.

The effects of this ruling will manifest over time, very possibly this year. For example, it may help to defeat long-time Democratic senators Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer, both of whom stand for reelection.

In the meantime, most of us have other things to pay attention to.

The Cry of Pain

I feel hurt by the Supreme Court ruling. I want to cry out, like those idiot Tea Party protesters: "I want my country back!"

Meanwhile, my friend David in Atlanta has responded to a different cry, the cry of pain from Haiti. Just giving money to the Red Cross felt too easy, so he put out a call for donations of real goods--shoes, clothes, canned foods, medical supplies, tools, toiletries, gloves--and he promised to somehow get it all to Haiti. At first he invited the general public to bring donations to his own front porch, but the area in front of his house was quickly inundated. He eventually needed to partner with City Storage in Atlanta, and secure the help of "some of Bill Clinton's people" to arrange for the transport of goods. (For more information, see donationsforhaiti.org)

Another friend said she heard on the radio about orphanages in Haiti and it was "killing her"; she is in the process of arranging to go there, to help care for the children.

The images and reports from Haiti are being heard, and people are responding, some with money, others with direct action. The response has been raw, visceral, and authentic.

(The stories keep coming. Today I heard from yet another friend that a seafood buffet restaurant in Daly City, CA donated all its revenue for a day--including tips--to Haitian relief efforts. This restaurant, which seats over 500, saw waiting lines out the door all day long.)


Other Distress Calls

I recently read the book The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith, which disputes the idea that being a vegetarian can help save the planet. Ms. Keith points out that, apart from anything else (and there is much else), human agricultural practices have been inexorably depleting our topsoil for centuries, and this process has greatly accelerated with the introduction of petrochemical fertilizer mere decades ago, rapidly squeezing out every last ounce of productivity from our remaining fertile ground.

Keith offers no hope. If you read her book and believe her research--which is amply footnoted and quite impressive--then you must agree that the number of humans alive has already exceeded the Earth's carrying capacity multiple times over; "green technology" is a fairy tale that cannot save us; and we're headed for a massive crash very soon.

Currently, perhaps as a tonic to Keith, I'm reading Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Friedman recognizes the same crises that Keith does, yet holds out hope of possibility for a sustainable future. (I haven't reached the hopeful section of the book yet, so I don't precisely know what price Friedman envisions we must collectively pay, but I trust he won't prescribe easy answers.)

The cry of our planet--the decimation of species, the slaughtering of forests, the draining of aquifers, the depletion of life-sustaining resources everywhere--is, I think, for most of us, a constant background noise. We hear it, but we're so used to it that we don't respond.


Selective Listening

We are intelligent enough to imagine the pain that we don't see, pain that is not right in front of our eyes, such as the suffering of the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince. We are even sensitive enough (most of us) to feel compassion for nonhuman life; few of us would lack sympathy, for example, for an injured dog keening in pain.

Yet most Americans habitually consume the carcasses of animals that have been tortured, subjected to misery beyond imagining in the commercial concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) where they were raised to become food for humans.

Similarly, very few of us pay attention to the cries of pain from the wilderness, the displaced and immiserated creatures, the clear cutting of trees, the disappearing plant and animal species.

If we were to let all this into the field of our awareness, how exactly might we respond?


No Business As Usual

A group of political activists in the San Francisco Bay Area have, over the years, staged protests entitled "No Business As Usual," to bring dramatic attention to wars and other ongoing atrocities. Occasionally, NBAU protesters have succeeded in, for example, holding up traffic for hours on the Golden Gate Bridge.

The net effect of their efforts has been to infuriate and alienate a lot of people.

"This can't go on!" is their message.

"Get a life!" is the general response.


Listening to Fear

I think many people hear more than they realize. I doubt there has ever been a time in history when more people have been haunted by vague fears, free-floating anxiety, stemming from who-knows-where.

Perhaps unwisely, I deliberately seek out the voices of fear, because I want to know the truth, and the truth of the human condition is very scary right now. (Maybe it always was.)


Listening to Faith

An old pal once put it like this: "I believe absolutely that the spiritual realm has things under control, even if I don't understand what the spiritual realm actually is."
To paraphrase: my friend believes that as awful as things appear, and despite all the terrible things that are happening and have already happened and have yet to happen, existence is not random, there is a benign undercurrent pervading the universe, and in the words of T.S. Eliot, "All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

What more could anyone possibly wish to believe?


The Long, Long View

I attended a presentation recently, put on by a group called the Pachamama Alliance, which focused on the planet's ecological crises and diminishing resources, and traced the situation we're in to historical patterns of greed, exploitation, and mushrooming population.

However, they also examined what is known about the origins of life, the miracle that we are here at all, the vast cosmological forces that had to conspire to bring human beings into existence. Taking the longest view possible, they put our current dilemma into an epochal perspective, from which it is possible to feel not only great awe but also boundless hope, even optimism.

The Pachamama Alliance does not prescribe a specific program for action. They don't claim to know what any individual should do. Their only directive is "Don't go back to sleep." Apart from that, they offer suggestions about educating ourselves, getting involved in policy discourse and community organizations, and engaging others in "this conversation." (For more information, see awakeningthedreamer.org.)


What Are You Hearing Now?

The facilitators at the Pachamama event suggested that we look inside and listen to our own deepest wisdom to tell us what we, as individuals, need to do now, how we need to "plug in."

Who could dispute such advice?

Then again, who can follow it? Presuming you can discern a "voice" inside yourself, how can you tell if it's the voice of wisdom, as opposed to, say, the voice of vain hope, or self-deception, or your parents' judgment, or deeply imbedded institutional logic?

Still, whatever truth there is to be found inside us cannot be drowned out by advertising or propaganda, regardless of how pervasive the noise is, or how broad the Court's ruling.

Our collective response to the Haitian earthquake seems to indicate that, at the very least, there yet lives an honorable American spirit, capable of responding to the plain truth of others' suffering.

Namaste. Peace. God bless America.


Marc Polonsky
Let's Get to the Heart of Your Message!
Writing and Editing Services
http://www.marcwordsmith.com

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Abuse Laws in Trial - the Aaron Vargas Case

Abuse Laws on Trial
By Vesta Copestakes

Abuse of every kind…physical, mental, emotional is wrong. That’s an easy judgment to make…a simple right vs. wrong. Most people think of abuse in physical terms – he beats her, etc. That’s the kind that gets in the news. But it’s often more subtle than that – hidden behind curtains of shame so we don’t even recognize the symptoms, often until it’s too late.

On April 19,(originally scheduled for March 22nd) Aaron Vargas goes to trial for killing his abuser. He took an antique weapon and shot the man who abused him since he was 11, then waited until he died. Aaron wasn’t the only person Darrell McNeill abused over the years. One victim committed suicide, others have come forward to tell their tale. In a small community, it’s easy to see why people kept their shame to themselves. But not all did, and that’s where the case crosses a line into a matter of law and justice.

Right now three Sonoma County officials are asking us to vote for them using domestic violence as their calling card. It’s a good one because much needs to be done to change the way our system works. In the Aaaron Vargas case numerous people went to the police over the years to ask for help. Each time nothing changed. The abuser was a Boy Scout leader, a Big Brother, a well-respected leader in the community. Maybe if he had been the town drunk law enforcement would have listened…maybe not.

The police will tell you that they get calls every day asking for help when a husband beats his wife, when a child comes to school with cuts and bruises, when the neighbor’s fight gets out of hand. Law enforcement will tell you that they can only take action when there has been an incident that results in injury they can document. Child Protective Services will open a case, interview the parents, etc. but they can only intervene when the child suffers enough to warrant removing him/her from the home. For many, that’s too late.

In California we have laws that will take an abuser away even if the abused doesn’t press charges. It’s a good law. Victims have a lot of fear around pressing charges. Fear of retaliation. Fear of losing the good times when he’s fun. Fear of losing their child’s father – the man who provides when he’s not under the influence. Fear of being judged by others. Fear.

So what can we do to change the laws so that reporting suspected abuse stops the perpetrator before the victim suffers permanent damage – or takes the law into his/her own hands?

Government budget cuts are rampant so there are less and less law enforcement personnel to tackle these “little” cases where no one gets robbed or killed. We prioritize the big crime and let the quiet crimes take care of themselves…because we’re broke…because there’s so much crime…because we don’t really know what to do about it.

With the Aaron Vargas trial we have chance to get law enforcement’s attention because his case is so unusual and his family, friends, neighbors, community…even the wife of his victim are asking us to examine what makes a kind person kill. What went wrong that law enforcement didn’t stop this abuser before he was killed.

In the Aaron Vargas case we have a chance to raise our voices along with his supporters and bring attention to how law enforcement does, and does not, respond to abuse. We also have a chance to ask questions of the people running for office in this coming election. Abuse is a subject that needs more attention – let’s talk about it out in the open where our voices can be heard – and maybe – we can do something about it.

www.saveaaronvargas.com for information on the Aaron Vargas trial. THE TRIAL DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED. The new trial date is April 19th. The trial will take place at the Ukiah Courthouse in courtroom B. Mindy, Aaron's sister, is asking people to show up outside the courthouse and to be present in the courtroom. Letters supporting Aaron can be addressed to the judge prior to sentencing. If you'd like to write a letter, you can address it to Judge Ronald Brown and email it to SaveAaron@yahoo.com or mail it to:

Tom Hudson
P.O. Box 776
Albion, CA 95410

Letters to Aaron can be addressed to:

Aaron Vargas, Inmate# 71742
Mendocino County Jail
951 Low Gap Road
Ukiah, CA 95482



Pay attention to the politicians running for office from now until the election. Previous posts on this story can be found here on GazExtra!

Below is a letter written by Aaron's aunt - the family side of the story many people will recognize as reflecting their own lives and experiences:

On February 8, 2009, I received a phone call telling me my nephew, Aaron Vargas, had been arrested for killing Darrell McNeill. Of course my first response was disbelief followed by shock and more disbelief. Not possible, not Aaron. Aaron is kind, gentle, and caring. Then of course came the “why”? If what I’m being told is true, then why? What could possibly make this kind, gentle, caring person kill?

It is now February 10, 2010 and that is one of the questions I’ve been thinking about for 367 days. As the story has unfolded the answers to some questions have been immensely devastating. I learned that Darrell was a pedophile. Pedophile is the wrong word, let me rephrase, Darrell raped children. Darrell pretended to be a good father to Aaron’s friend, Michael. Darrell pretended to be a nice neighbor. Darrell pretended to be an upstanding citizen, a “Big Brother,” a Boy Scout leader. Darrell pretended to care for children in order to prey upon them. Darrell, who cared so much for his “little brother,” was the cause of that “little brother’s” eventual suicide. Darrell began molesting – no, molesting is the wrong word - Darrell began raping Aaron when Aaron was eleven years old. Eleven. Take a moment to remember yourself at eleven. What were you like? What did you think? How did you feel? At eleven did you have much life experience? Aaron was eleven, Darrell was in his forties. Aaron was not Darrell’s first victim, nor was he his last.

Darrell was good at what he did.

After Aaron’s arrest many boys came forward in support of Aaron, telling of the abuse they’d endured by Darrell. In some instances it was the first time they’d ‘told’. In others it was not, they had told before, some had reported it to the police. These boys, I call them boys but they are now men in their thirties and forties, were brave enough to disclose and nothing was done. No investigation - Darrell wasn’t even approached let alone questioned. Nothing.

The days and weeks following Aaron’s arrest were days and weeks of our family continually asking ourselves, “how did we not know?” How was it possible that we had failed Aaron so miserably? The continual conversations with each of us saying, “I should have known”. Why didn’t we? Why didn’t we see it? Why didn’t we know? Seeing the pain and sadness in Aaron’s parents, in my parents, and knowing the heartbreak and despair we all felt at not doing our job, not protecting our loved one. These haunting questions led me to research child abuse and the things I learned broke my heart yet again. I learned that the abuser is most likely to be a trusted family friend or a family member. I learned one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. That 70% of child abusers have between one and nine victims. That 20% have 10 to 40 victims. That an average serial abuser can have as many as 400 victims. That over 30% of victims never disclose the experience to ANYONE, and of those who do disclose, 75% do it accidentally. Is there comfort in knowing that our family is not alone in not knowing? No. None at all.

Learning these things and realizing the “stranger danger” that I taught my children would be of little use in most situations led to my panicked phone call to my son, who is away at Graduate school. Asking him point blank, “have you ever been sexually abused?” A sigh of relief when he responded that he hadn’t, the surprise when he asked me the same question. Thinking yes, he is right, according to the statistics it needs to be a conversation that everyone has no matter parent or child. Then remembering that 30% never disclose leads me to ask again and again to ensure that his response was truthful.

Later it hit me, what if he had said yes? What if my daughter had said yes? What if the answer had been yes, and a friend or family member that I loved and trusted was named, what would I do? In that moment I knew. In that moment I realized that I could kill. Me, a person who has never intentionally killed anything, not even bugs. Me, the person who catches and releases any insects I find in my home. Me, the law-abiding, rational person I thought myself to be, realized that I could kill.
I don’t know exactly what happened the night of February 8, 2009. From what I do know Aaron didn’t go to Darrell’s with the intent of killing him. But if he had I now understand. I understand it is possible for a good person to kill.

In these last 367 days some questions have been answered, but many others have arisen. Why didn’t the police investigate? How is it possible that we as a society allow one in four girls and one in six boys to be sexually abused? How could the Deputy DA on Aaron’s case even utter the words describing the abuse testimony as “self-serving” and “irrelevant”? Why are there so many abusers in our society? How does a person become so messed up that they can rape children? Why does our justice system not work? Why is the DA so intent on sending Aaron to prison for 50-years-to-life, knowing Darrell’s family is supporting him? How do we stop all forms of child abuse? How do we protect every child?

During these 367 days Aaron’s sister, Mindy, has been tirelessly working on his behalf. She started a website called SaveAaron.com, which provides information on Aaron’s case and on recognizing and preventing child abuse. She’s contacted numerous media organizations trying to get the word out, and she has organized several fundraisers. She’s told me of the many, many people who’ve contacted her and shared their own stories of abuse and who write to Aaron. Tirelessly she is working to bring her brother home, to raise awareness, to protect every child. She is working hard to end the silence of child abuse, and I wonder, why aren’t we all?
Rhonda Wilson
Fort Bragg

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David Swanson on Progressives and Politics

David Swanson: Don't Expect an Election to Change Everything
16 February 2010 by Jason Leopold truthout

When Barack Obama was swept into the White House last year on a mandate of hope and change, many progressives believed his arrival meant they could finally roll down their sleeves and wash their hands. But David Swanson was not one of them. Although he voted for Obama, Swanson, author of the recently published book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union," predominantly about the Bush years, told Truthout that "people have gone through this foolish cycle of expecting an election to change everything and then being disappointed and discouraged that it didn't."

What the popular progressive activist had to say about Obama's first year in office may be a difficult truth for many to swallow. Progressives have become increasingly frustrated with the White House during the past year over the direction of health care reform, the economy and the
fact that Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan against the advice of his ambassador to the country and has embraced many controversial Bush-era policies, such as indefinite detentions, the extension of the Patriot Act and the use of signing statements to ignore laws passed by Congress. Some progressives feel that the president they helped elect has all but abandoned
them.

I asked Swanson whether he thought Obama made empty promises and used progressives simply to win an election. "I think to a much greater extent progressives used themselves," Swanson said in a wide-ranging interview during a recent stop on his book tour. "The thinking was he's speaking to his funders and the corporate media and secretly he's a populist. But if
you're going to be a populist you're going to be a populist upfront. You're not going to be better than your promises unless you're forced to be. And we're accepting the idea that we should replace a bad dictator with a good dictator and a president should be able to come in and change everything, never mind that the next president could come in and unchange it. So, [the
president] is the wrong place to look for a savior. We should be looking to ourselves, to serious organizing at the local level in every district, and pressuring the representatives closest to us, those in the House to impose our will on the president."

Swanson's analysis wasn't entirely critical. He praised a number of the administration's actions, including the choice of Sonia Sotomayor as Supreme Court justice, and much needed improvements to the Department of Labor. But the painful reality, as Swanson pointed out during our lengthy discussion, is that on issues of "war and peace, and distribution of wealth and abuses of power and human rights [there are] no changes." "We have more troops in the field than ever with Bush and Cheney, bigger military budget than ever, bigger war budget than ever, bases in more countries than ever, [and] expanded use of unmanned drones Swanson said. "On the big issues we care about it's a disaster. And you can't say 'I'm for this domestic program I
don't care about wars' because that's where all the money goes." Swanson's comments should serve as a wake-up call to progressives that much work remains to be done. Picking up "Daybreak" would be a good starting point.

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Aaron Vargas - Truth and Justice?

Truth and Justice?
By Mindy Galliani

On February 5th there was a hearing in the Aaron Vargas murder trial out of Mendocino County. Aaron is accused of killing the man who he claims sexually and psychologically abused him for many years. The purpose of the hearing was to address the motion that ADA Beth Norman filed last month which asked Judge Ron Brown to order Aaron to undergo a psychiatric examination by their expert, Dr. Emily Keram. The motion was prompted by Assembly Bill 1516, which went into effect on the first of this year. The bill requires the court to order (when the prosecution requests it) the defendant to submit to an examination by a prosecution-retained mental health expert whenever the defendant places his or her mental state in issue. Could this new bill be the reason that the prosecution asked for that fishy continuance last Fall, causing the trial to be postponed until after the new year and the new bill took effect?


Defense attorney, Tom Hudson, objected to the motion and argued on the grounds that it violates Aaron’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Dr. Keram took the stand to testify as to why she believes it is important that she examine Aaron. While making an effort to not even so much as glance in the direction of the sexual abuse victim accused of murder, she argued that she couldn’t thoroughly rebut the psychiatric expert’s testimony for the defense if she hasn’t examined Aaron herself. Being that she hasn’t yet examined Aaron, she sounds very confident that she is going to form an opinion that will contradict the opinion of the defense’s expert – that opinion being that Aaron has PTSD caused by the years of sexual and psychological abuse that was inflicted upon him by Darrell McNeill. ADA Beth Norman stated that she has retained Dr. Keram to rebut the defense’s psychiatric expert, and Dr. Keram reiterated the point more than once, so why would she even need to examine Aaron if her opinion has already been formed? Because that is how our dysfunctional justice system works.

Mr. Hudson wanted to find out exactly what psychological tests his client would be given by Dr. Keram. He named the long list of tests that the defense’s expert has given Aaron. These tests, and maybe more, will be given to Aaron a second time by a second expert that the defense has retained. Dr. Keram continued to argue for her need to give Aaron these tests, to which Mr. Hudson replied, “why, is three better than two?” Dr. Keram stammered, then she came up with the argument that the reports from two defense retained experts won't be sufficient because she would either need to examine Aaron herself or have a colleague who she knows will "call it like he sees it" examine Aaron. Is it that the defense's experts aren't calling it like they see it or that they just aren't calling it like she's being paid to see it? It became increasingly obvious that she is nothing more than a mouthpiece for the prosecutions arguments and she will give whatever opinion that she is paid to give.


Listening to the prosecution’s hired mouthpiece dance around the defense’s questions, for what felt like an eternity, gave me a headache and caused the bailiff to nod off. In all fairness, it may have been ADA Beth Norman’s child-like temper tantrums, in response to the Judge’s reluctance to trample over Aaron’s Fifth Amendment rights, which gave me the headache. In between tantrums she appeared to be texting on her blackberry, and I wondered who was on the other end of those texts – maybe DA Meredith Lintott was texting from her Ivory Tower, or maybe it was her cold-hearted colleague, and former prosecutor on the Vargas case, DDA Jill ‘abuse is irrelevant’ Ravitch.

The Judge finally put a stop to the song and dance when he came up with a way to get around the pesky Fifth Amendment issue – let Dr. Keram and her “call it like he’s sees it” colleague examine Aaron after he waves his Fifth Amendment rights during the trial (which begins March 22nd) in order to testify. So the prosecution will get their psychiatric examination. Dr. Keram will put Aaron through at least an entire day of tests and questions, all to arrive at the already-formed opinion that she has been paid to give. So much for truth and justice.

You can go to SaveAaron.com to read more about Aaron’s story.

...and a previous posting on the gazette for background and linked articles:
http://www.sonomacountygazette.com/blog/2010/01/aaron-vargas-murder-trial-examines.html

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Got Love? The POWER of LOVE!

Below is a collection of essays, poems, fond memories...all the elements of love. I'll be adding material that didn't fit into the print edition and - if you have something you want to add - please send it along to me at vesta@sonic.net. We have a lot of LOVE to spread around...'cause it FEELS GOOD! Several of our monthly columnists took the LOVE theme and added their unique perspectives - check it out!

Is it Love?
The Rule of 2 ½ Years

By Vesta Copestakes
If there’s a Universal Question all lovers want to know at the start of a romantic relationship it’s … is this “Real Love”? Bottom line…you don’t know yet. The old phrase, “Only time will tell,” is so very true, and that’s what the Rule of 2 ½ Years is all about….time.

In the Beginning…
Just falling in love puts everyone on their best behavior. You feel so good that bad moods slip away, there’s joy in your heart and sunshine at your back. This is not the “real” you and it’s also not your lover’s true self either. Each of you are in a state of enhanced you – the person you could ideally be if life didn’t have a million responsibilities.

This idealized you is why we love to be in love. It feels good, yes, but it also shows us our very best selves. If we could only stay this way through our everyday lives with all those ups and downs. But we don’t.

Which is one of the reasons why extending this enhanced state as long as possible is a really good thing. Just the joy of anticipation makes you feel excited about life. The flutter of compliments and appreciation boosts your self-esteem. “You’re so beautiful…I love being with you…let’s do (…) together, we both enjoy (…) so much, etc. etc.” Finding common ground is a total delight. We’ve found someone with whom we can share life. Wow!

Don’t get too real too fast. See what you can do to hold on to this feeling. It’s good for both of you. But don’t make any major decisions in this state – like living together – getting married – or getting pregnant. The relationship isn’t “real” yet.

Getting to Know You…
This one actually takes time. Once life starts returning to a state of “normal,” like going to work, paying bills, doing the laundry, returning to spending time with the other people in your lives, etc., you pull away from the enmeshed bond – but with the addition of this wonderful person. It’s almost like the fog clearing, letting in both sunshine and rain. This is when that cute little habit of his/hers can either stay cute or become annoying.

The time frame can be anywhere from two weeks to six months depending upon the kind of person you are. Some people literally fall head over heals, believe this is THE one – soul mate, the whole bit. Others take their time walking slowly into a relationship with great caution. No matter which kind of person you are, it still takes time to really get to know someone.

Why 2 ½ Years?
Because this is how long it takes for life to throw enough ups and downs, conflicts and conflict resolutions, etc. into the relationship so that you learn how you are together when you are at odds, when life throws you to the ground, when you are hurt and angry.

Does your mate support you with kindness or walk away and let you handle things yourself? Does your mate lash out in anger and hurt you with actions and words or do you agree to disagree. I could go on – but you get the idea. Time tells you how the two of you handle conflict and how you come out the other side.

If you come out feeling better than when you went in – your home. If you come out diminished in any way –bow out gently and with respect because you’re not home yet. And that’s the bottom line. Mutual respect lives hand in heart with mutual love. You’ll recognize it by the peace in your heart.

Experienced at This?
You’re mature - have been in love before and fallen to the ground in heartbreak. Do not despair! Love IS around the corner if you are open to the concept.

Whether you are new at love or have been in the soap opera of serial monogamy, there’s one basic rule that applies...be happy by yourself FIRST and you will be a better partner. Expecting someone to fill the holes in your heart is asking too much of anyone. You’ll suck the life out of them and won’t recognize the dear person once they are used up.

The phrase I used when I was determined to spend the rest of my life alone so I wouldn’t have to go through THAT again - was - the only reason I will be in a relationship is if it’s an enhancement of my already happy life. Well whataya know - here I am - eight years later with my partner who makes me feel comfortable, loved, accepted for who I am, bumps and all, and puts a laugh in my heart. I’m home.

I wish you all the same delight!
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Blood Love

By Nina Tepedino
It was 1982. It was my summer break from graduate school. It was my summer visit with my beautiful boy child. I was the visiting parent and he was seven years old. When it was our time to be together, we would often take a trip in my camper truck and travel off to our favorite nature spots...just the two of us. We were sharing and giving love to each other to make up for the long separations. Our bond would usually come alive quickly.

We would travel, sleep in a tent, cook outside, hike on the beach, meet some of my friends. We would be in this timeless capsule for as long as it lasted.

Spending time with his mother.....his real birth mother, I know put serious demands on his psyche and it wasn’t always easy for him to keep centered and comfortable in his little boy head. Both of us, abandoned from another life together, would let the joy really flow during our short ecstatic reunions.

On one of these occasions, we had hiked all day and stayed up quite late. We were packing up to leave early the next morning. from somewhere in the Sierras. Before I started up the truck, he hopped in, put on his seat belt and despite the early hour, cheerfully braced himself for a new day.

I turned to him and said, “You must be so very tired from the big day we had yesterday.”
He replied, “Oh, no, I feel ok. I am never too tired for loving!”

I was genuinely startled by his poetic expression. We exchanged a radiant look between each other. That happened almost twenty years ago.

Later, in that same year, my son was present at my graduation into the ministry. I was the last graduate to speak my ten minute homily. As I reached the closing, I looked down at my son from the pulpit. I broke away from my prepared text and told the gathered audience in the San Francisco Unitarian sanctuary, the story I have just told you. For a benediction and final blessing, I added, “I hope none of you will ever be too tired for loving.” My young son’s prophetic words were shared for all to carry away in their hearts.
---------------------------------------------------------------

What is Love?

Love is what remains after
It’s been used for the umpteenth time
Like an old rag, rinsed out, squeezed,
And still gets it clean

Love is the hard work
The long haul
Long after the spit and polish
No longer retains it’s shine

Love is present regardless
Of recognition or thank you
Love is a lifetime
No ego, no strings, no conditions

Love is so easy when all is good
When the shit hits the fan
Love is what stays the night
Like a lighthouse guides you to a safe port

Love is only superficially
About physical attraction, about frivolity and joy
>Love is what sticks, it is the glue
That can mend the broken shards of this world!
--- Barry Latham-Ponneck

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We Miss You...LOVE

James I. Stevenson known as “The Wind Chime Man” for over 22 years on River Road passed on to the big jam session on Jan 6th in Hospice Care at Friends House in Santa Rosa.

James had many repeat customers and more and more customers would say, “ I came here as a child and now I want you to meet my children.” He always had a big smile for every one and often helped those in need with cash and gas. He kept a 5 gallon can of gas for those out of gas and would only accept refilling the can as payment.

Sometimes he would give credit to someone who was a wee bit short of getting just what they wanted and he was almost always repaid.

He loved waiting on people and setting up his elaborate display. People would tell him, “ I know winter is over when I see your beautiful colorful display.”
James moved to Santa Rosa in 1968 to be with his lady, Suzanne E. Roach, whom he met during Expo 67 in Montreal Canada.

Last summer he was unable to set up and sell as they were repairing the mountain across the street.

James had customers from all walks of life, judges, lawyers, working stiffs, tourists from around the world, and even returning important Bohemians.

Little known by most, James was an important jazz musician in Detroit, Las Vegas and ten years in New York City. He played string bass with many famous musicians and singers including Johnny Mathis, Chick Corea, Zoot Sims, Chico Hamilton, Archie Shepp, Tom Wayburn, and many more. He then learned the piano and had his own group “The Jazz Circle.”

James [Jimmy] Stevenson was recently included in book “The Jazz Loft Project” with a full page photo of him wildly playing the piano at his loft at 821 Sixth Avenue. The Lofts were “a scene” where internationally famous photographer W. Eugene Smith also had a loft and photographed and recorded the musicians that jammed there including Thelonious Monk, Roland Kirk, and Miles Davis.

James is mentioned over 20 times and was the youngest of the jazz players to be there regularly.
James is survived by his children, Beth Stevenson Bucanhan, James Christopher Stevenson, Sherry Roach, Jerry Roach. Zip Stevenson, Scott Stevenson, and Star Stevenson. He also has 11 brother and sisters and their spouses.

Any one wishing to make a memorial donation is requested to make it to smiletrain.org or the charity of their choice.

Suzanne Roach
ladywithart@gmail.com
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My Home, My Heart,
Are One and the Same.

By Susan Clark
I grew up on a 33 acre property shared with my parents, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, 5 cousins, and one grandma. There were 3 houses, a 100 year-old barn, a large chicken house, and plenty of elbow room in between. The property contained lots of hills and dales, thick forests, open meadows, sacred groves, mysterious ravines, a babbling brook, picturesque orchards, and a natural spring. The place was intersected with well-traveled footpaths, and gravel car and tractor trails. We had 3 kinds of apple trees, 3 kinds of cherry trees, peach tree, walnut tree, plum tree, almond tree, fig tree, and wild grapes. Over the course of the years we had dogs, cats, turtles, fish, pigs, horses, cows, and 10,000 chickens!

Spending ones childhood in such a place was the manifestation of the word ‘idyllic.’ My siblings and cousins and I had not a care in the world. To look back on it has always seemed like a lovely dream out of a fairy tale. Summer days were packed with adventure from dusk to dawn. Racing up and down the dirt roads on bicycles, building forts from apple boxes, swinging across the creek on the rope swing, forging trails through the woods, exploring the spooky attic in the barn, sitting high in a tree eating fruit until you were sick, collecting rocks, collecting eggs, riding horses, exploring the creek bed, climbing the water tower, flying kites, initiating clubs, pushing each other in the feed cart down the corridors of the chicken house, building tree forts, playing baseball, having rotten apple fights, staging contests, (such as: how many seedling cherries can you fit in your mouth at one time, and it didn’t count unless you spit out the seed. I think I still hold the record with 72!) sleeping in the woods and telling scary stories, sleeping in the tree house and telling scary stories, candling eggs, picking flowers, making tunnels and mazes in the tall weeds on our hands and knees, having water fights, climbing up inside the feed silo when it was empty, playing jump rope, hopscotch, and tetherball, wearing out the seat of our pants sliding down and off the edge of the roof of the outbuildings, riding the steer, (yes, we did.) It was never ending fun.

My love affair with this property never stopped, but it did slow down considerably in the 30 years after I grew up and moved away. In the years hence, another home was built here, and five years ago I was afforded the opportunity to occupy that home. I had always felt unduly blessed to have spent my childhood here, never had I imagined I would be so fortunate as to return! That is more than any one person deserves!

My family still owns all of the acreage, and my love has been renewed and enriched. My mother and my aunt are still here, an occasional cousin is here, and my brother is here. My daughter and my two sweet little grandchildren occupy grandma’s house, and now I get to share it all with my husband.

The property has rearranged itself of course. It is neglected and overgrown, but hauntingly beautiful. Thick vines hang from the trees, and there are hardly any open spaces left. It is almost like living in the rainforest! The cement walkways are all that remain of the chicken house, and strolling down them, thick with trees on either side is an otherworldly experience. The old barn still stands, now 130, and no longer safe upstairs. Nature is plentiful in all of its forms, animal, vegetable, and mineral. You could blindfold me and plant me anywhere, and when I opened my eyes, I would know exactly where I was. Rock collecting and tumbling, bird watching, photography, and hikes with the kids are now my pastimes. I can still barely contain my desire to be outside, exploring, always exploring. And now and then, I still find myself up in a tree, looking at my paradise from a new angle, and never forgetting to thank God for my good fortune.
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Goat LOVE...Chiva the LOVE Goddess
Chiva was loved by many - a testament to the joys of connection.

AN ODE TO CHIVA
It was easy to boast
About Chiva, our Goat
She was often seen
On Hwy 116
We loved her a lot
Her memory on the Hadley Estate will never be forgot
Standing on her surfboard, she never knew
How many smiles she grew
We miss you so much
Along with all the other hearts you touched
Goodbye, our sweet Chiva
1/09/2010

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READ “For the LOVE of Chocolate” the tale of David Gambill's marriage of two loves - in PEOPLE in the News category.
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Read article »

LETTERS on Sonoma County Issues

Gazette readers tell us what is on their minds and how they hope their opinions will influence our decisions and actions. Thank you readers! Please send LETTERS to vesta@sonic.net and VESTA Publishing, 6490 Front St #300, Forestville, CA 95426

Hi Vesta,
This is Amie, from the former Natural Connections store in Occidental. I’m loving the GAZETTE more and more, and would like to suggest a new regular feature (of course I have my own motives, as you’ll see below). You know how newspapers show photos of homeless dogs and cats needing adoption? Well, I’m thinking it would be great if you could run a similar feature for local people looking for local part-time work.

I’m 65, and my lovely part-time job at Natural Connections disappeared when Lorraine retired and closed the store at the end of last March. Since then, I’ve been looking for a similar part-time job in a similar retail setting, with no luck. I’ve spread the word, advertised on WaccoBB and other online jobsites, taken my resume into every store on Main St. in Sebastopol and Forestville (several have said “We’d hire you in a minute if we were hiring,” but then somebody’s best friend or relative gets the next job), but no luck.

I don’t need a big career; I don’t want to stock shelves at J.C. Penney for minimum wage; I just need a nice little part-time paying job selling things or helping people out in one of the many ways my past experience has taught me.

I would love to give Gazette readers a chance to hire local, experienced and job-worthy people like me.

Thanks again for all you do.
Amie Hill
aahill@sonic.net if you'd like to offer Amy a job!
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Bohemian Grove Logging
As many now know, the plan to log valuable stands of timber at the Bohemian Grove property in Monte Rio, California was signed off for approval by CALFIRE on December 29, 2009. This development, characterized by Judge Bill Newsom as a “thinly disquised plan...” to log “one of the last two great stands of old-growth” has disappointed more than a few, both Russian River residents and many of the environmentally conscious community.

So what’s next? With such approvals, there’s a thirty day window to file appeal via legal means. Who better to tell the story than John Hooper, organic farmer and past member of the Bohemian Club. John knows the Bohemian Club property and its trees far better than many, and as an owner of forestry stands himself, he has a strong sense of how forests can best be managed.
A wealth of information, including professional testimonials, forestry reports, and forestry management statistics relevant to the Bohemian Grove NTMP is available for review at
www.savebohemiangrove.org
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Editor:
Shoppers from all over Sonoma County are extolling the benefit of having a Wal*Mart SuperCenter selling groceries in Rohnert Park. The benefit is simple: low prices. The trade-offs are much more complex -- and far outweigh the benefits. Low price comes at a high cost.
There are many reasons to be concerned with the presence of a Wal*Mart in our community, especially an even larger one than exists now. Wal*Mart is a mega-corporation that is fully capable of destroying a local economy, that pays its employees poverty-level wages, that actually encourages its employees to apply for food stamps and other taxpayer-supported programs for the poor, that puts pressure on its third-world suppliers, that is viciously anti-union, etc. I think we must educate our community about it. Sure they have low prices, and lower-income shoppers probably like having a Wal*Mart nearby. But we must consider how Wal*Mart achieves its low prices, and the potentially disastrous consequences of a SuperCenter in our community.

In Cotati/Rohnert Park, a Wal*Mart SuperCenter will undoubtedly mean driving some local markets out of business (e.g., Pacific Market, Oliver’s Market), and bringing the attendant blight to the shopping centers which they anchor. Across the nation, on the average two grocery stores fold in a community for every Wal*Mart SuperCenter that goes in. Shopping centers that these grocery stores anchored tend to enter decline, and urban blight increases. The SuperCenter, of course, does create jobs, although they are predominantly “junk jobs”. The net effect on the community is a decided negative. There is no net gain in jobs, and the quality of available jobs decreases. Wal*Mart workers are among the “working poor”, who receive subsidies from taxpayers because they don’t get paid a living wage. There is no enhancement of tax revenues to the local jurisdiction since groceries are not subject to sales tax in California. Finally there is the issue of Third World sweatshops where goods sold in Wal*Marts are manufactured. There is an ethical issue about supporting the exploitation of low-wage workers in other countries.
Rick Luttmann, Rohnert Park
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Letter to the editor
The humanitarian tragedy in Haiti is perhaps one of the worst disasters in human recorded history that even a fully developed rich nation such as the United States would have trouble dealing with. Haiti as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere is in a much greater tragic situation. A lack of first rate hospitals, trained medical professionals and even no military have made the earthquake disaster even worse. The situation in Haiti should be a lesson for all nations of how important disaster readiness and preparedness is to their national security.

Los Angeles California is said by scientists to have a 99% chance of a major earthquake involving the San Andreas Fault in Southern California in future years. In a matter of a few years Los Angeles could be seeing a “Haiti” type of natural disaster. Lessons learned should be studied by our nations disaster experts and changes should be made to prepare the United States for such events otherwise such disasters will be similiar to Bosnia, Haiti and 9/11 style of mass disasters.
Kevin Beck
Henderson, Nevada
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Geyser Soup,
The recent news that Santa Rosa no longer will dump any waste water into the Russian River was greeted with a major sigh of relief! Zero river discharge at last!! It will all get sucked up by the geysers, boiled and turned into “free” electricity. Couldn’t get any “greener” than that!

Well except for the chlorine. Why not skip that awful, chemical and dump the waste water untreated into the blessed bowel of mother earth? The electricity will not “taste” any different! One caveat: suppose there ever were some kind of major eruption? Would our whole county then get “fertilized” in a boiling shower of you know what?
Earl T. Hemming
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Dear Vesta,
In the “Dear Readers” column of the January 7th issue, you say the following: “But like many businesses, you either grow or die. Stagnation leads to death no matter what the living entity.” This is a widely held belief that bears closer examination. If every business has to continually expand in order to be successful, then eventually all the expanding businesses will entirely fill the available markets, and there will be no further room for expansion. What then? Clearly this is a self-limiting strategy.

Other than expanding into new markets, businesses grow by swallowing other businesses. Again if we follow this out to its conclusion, we will end up with one single business supplying everything to everyone. In some major industries we are very close to that right now. Of course, these extremes will never be reached, but it must be clear that the idea of constant growth as a long -term plan is unsustainable.

Neither is it true that living organisms grow constantly or die. Stagnation , or as I would rather call it, a steady state, does not hasten death, and neither does unconstrained growth delay death, in any living organism. In fact the only organism I can think of that does pursue this policy is a cancer cell, which will eventually kill its host.

Even if it were in fact true for living beings, a business is not a living being except in a very general metaphorical sense. In this context there is one very salient difference; living beings have a built-in aging process which leads inevitably to death. Businesses do not. A business can survive as long as it shows a sufficient surplus after its expenses, whether it is expanding or not. The parallel case is not true of a living organism. No matter how healthy a life it lives, or how well it is fed, it will eventually age and die.

It seems to me that a small business could be very successful if it provided a useful service for its customers and paid its staff and owners an income that enabled them to live comfortably, year after year at the same level. It is true that they may have to adopt new technology, but this does not necessarily imply overall growth. What puts pressure on small businesses is the presence in the market of large companies with deep pockets which are determined to expand at all costs. But their expansion is not driven by the needs of the business, it is the result of greed on the part of their owners.

Please note that I am not saying that growth is never a good business strategy; it may be necessary for other reasons, but it is not a necessity for the survival of the business.
This is but one of a whole plethora of common sayings that slide easily off the tongue and are used to guide our actions, that are simply not true, or are true only in a very limited way. They serve the interests, or justify the actions, of those who have power in the current way society is structured, and wish to maintain and consolidate that power. Those of us who feel that the distribution of wealth and power in our society has reached a very dangerous imbalance, would do well to examine the way in which our everyday language works to support the system and constrain our ability to conceive of other ways of doing things.
Patrick Brinton
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Hi Vesta
I just wanted to commend you on a BEAUTIFUL issue. We love soup at our house and that picture and the colors were so pretty and the article rocked. We are saving the article and going to investigate some of these soups too. Good work girlfriend
regards
Joanie
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Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Cotati
The city of Cotati maybe soon permitting a medical marijuana dispensary on Redwood Dr. Given a choice of business philosophies and ethics, what would be best for Cotati?

One of the two potential dispensaries is Starbuds Group which manages marijuana dispensaries while establishing an educational scholarship trust with 100% of its profits. They pay living wages to all levels of employees, pay local, State and Federal taxes, and document vendor income with 1099’s. They offer 100%* transparent records of all business transactions to the public and authorities. Products are tested for pollutants, THC content, CBR content, mold contamination, and harvest quality. Public safety is managed by camera placement in multiple areas and security personnel. They serve only verified medical cannabis patients who follow State and local laws. The Award-winning owner is Mark Gustely and currently is a California State Contractor, license #932953 and prior #810762, in good standing, and is complying with all local and State regulation, laws and the Attorney General Jerry Browns recommendations.

So wouldn’t any city prefer a business that pays its taxes, builds in safety, pays living wages and returns the profits to the community? We’re asking that the City of Cotati to fully research their options when choosing the ONE business who will be licensed to operate a medical marijuana dispensary within city limits.

*Patients names encrypted to protect privacy.
Mark Gustely, owner, Starbuds Group,
www.starbuds.net
mark@starbuds.net
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Hello Vesta,
Below is a letter to all readers of the Sonoma Co. Gazette which deals with a timely issue facing Sonoma Co. (and the State of California) now.

I would very much appreciate if this could make it into the coming edition of the paper so that more people can be alerted to this situation. It has received hardly any media attention that I am aware of and most people do not even know that a wireless device will soon be installed on their homes whether they like it, or agree with it, or not. There are major public health concerns to this as well as financial and ‘security’ ones (wireless devices are easily interfered with by other types of signals for one thing). Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Christina Sophia, Graton

Dear Readers,
Do you know about “Smart” meters & are they really smart?

Or is this clever marketing of the new wireless meter that PG&E wants to put on every house & business just to convince us to accept this change without any question and without any public hearings? I’m all for appropriate technology which enhances the lives of the majority. But the wireless meters will not provide this enhancement and in fact may endanger our health, safety & bottom line. For one thing, these are/will be vulnerable to hacking, not to mention the fact that wireless devices can be easily interfered with by a variety of other frequencies.

There is already a class action lawsuit filed against PG&E concerning the meter’s accuracy, & public complaints about this (people say their energy bill greatly increased while their usage did not change). This is occurring in places like Bakersfield where they already have the meters installed. Sonoma County is slated for installation next month though very few people know anything about it. Did you see anything on your bill about this coming change? I didn’t. Those of us who are aware of it are not only concerned about the possible financial effects from likely inaccuracy of these wireless meters but the far reaching public health ramifications which may manifest over time with exposure to additional electromagnetic-radio frequencies 24/7.

And the negative effects are not only on humans. There is plenty of documentation for this as I explain below.

I must say that those of us who are concerned and taking action toward a moratorium on the new meters till safety is satisfactorily demonstrated, are also interested in promoting wiser energy usage, but this does not appear to be the wise way and will simply bring upon us more big brother type control. The meters, in combination with newer appliances will allow PG&E in the future (or “the powers that be” -whoever they may be) to SHUT OFF YOUR POWER or appliances when THEY DEEM NECESSARY without your knowledge or consent!

We are going in the wrong direction here by INCREASING our wireless exposure while in Europe they’re busy getting rid of it! Why? Here’s a few of the health related facts: Wireless “smart” meters will emit millions of new electromagnetic RF signals every day. Exposure to electro smog is documented to have major biological effects on living tissue, including wildlife such as birds & bees. Exponential increase in the use of wireless technologies poses serious health concerns as the Bio initiative Report www.bioinitiative.org) - recognized by the European Parliament - demonstrates many negative health effects including cancers. The Utility Reform Network in S.F. & State Senator Florez are calling for a moratorium on these meters again, slated for installation in Sonoma County in February.

Lampposts, buildings, & telephone poles will host the wireless repeater infrastructure to serve the new wireless meters, which will be installed in or on every home & business. These will add yet another layer of radio frequencies (RF) to our homes and environment and will emit RF signals throughout the day and night. In light of the lack of FCC safety standards for chronic long term exposure to RF and in light of the call for the precautionary principle for wireless technology from global scientists, environmental agencies, advocacy groups and doctors, we call upon concerned citizens to take swift and massive action in order to bring the following requests to the County Supervisors and City of Sebastopol early next month in the form of a petition.

Please educate yourself on this issue which concerns all of us and help us support
a moratorium delaying the installation of the meters in Sonoma county by signing the petition at: www.emfsafetynetwork.org

In the petition we are asking for:
1) a thorough investigation of the PG&E wireless meter proposal and potential health risks of them through public hearings.

2) PG&E to be required to submit a characterization study of the smart meter system planned for Sonoma county & Sebastopol.

3) The Smart Meter health and safety study PG&E commissioned to be made available to the public.

4) Customers to be able to “opt out” of the program and finally,

5) to place a 6 to 9 month moratorium on all new wireless installations to allow time for a thorough scientific review.

Thank you very much for your support!
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Proposed Winery In Sebastopol
The Best Family Investment Group LLC would like to become my new neighbor. They want to move in across the narrow country lane from my home of the past 20 years and build a winery complex that would include a building that is nearly a football field long, 1/2 football field wide, and 4 1/2 stories tall. Further ingratiating themselves to me they intend to host parties with up to 150 guests, 17 times a year and serve 100 guests daily in a separate 5,000 square foot wine tasting room. If that’s not enough to have me quivering in anticipation of their arrival, they are even going to truck in enough grapes to crank out 26,500 cases of wine AND they’ll have operations going 24/7 for several months of the year. What more can I possible hope for? I can’t wait till they’re in so we can have each other over for tea, borrow a cup of sugar, you know, just do the kinds of things that good neighbors do for each other. I hope my tears of joy don’t get the welcome cake soggy when my new neighbors rip out the apple orchard that has been growing here in the scenic corridor since 1925. Good riddance to those pesky old apple trees. Welcome to my new neighbors, the kind that most people only get to dream about.

Just think of it, a wine bottling plant right next door operating all night along. How lucky can one get?

What must I do to become the recipient of all this good fortune?

I must hope and pray that on March 2nd the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will vote to amend the General Plan twice, rezone 2 parcels and throw in some special policy voodoo so my special neighbors can build a winery complex on an undersized lot outside my bedroom window. Oh, I almost forgot, I also need the Board of Supervisors to accept the MND instead of requiring an Environmental Impact Report. I certainly wouldn’t want to delay move-in day just to do a silly study to see if this project could in some remote way have a potentially significant impact on the environment and surrounding area. If this precedent is set any resident of Sonoma County can look forward to the day when they too can have a neighbor like this.

Seriously folks, this project does not belong here. This project does not fit here. This project is not wanted here. Creating an island of Diverse Agriculture land-use with no buffer to the surrounding residential properties would create an area of conflicting land use which is the exact opposite of the goal of our General Plan and zoning laws.

Can you say: Square Peg, Round Hole!

Contact your Board of Supervisors. Tell them to VOTE NO. Attend the Public Hearing on March 2, 2010 @ 2:10 p.m. 575 Administration Drive Santa Rosa.

Eileen & Thomas Morabito
Sebastopol
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Dear Vesta
A word of praise and thanks is in order to Dr. Gonzales and the staff of Palm Drive Hospital.
On Saturday January 9, after an overzealous start to my New Year’s exercise regime, I went to
the Emergency Department with chest pains. I showed the receptionist my Medicare card, and she walked me back to see the nurse. In a very short time, I had an EKG, a portable chest x-ray, and lab work and then began to wait for the results to be read by Dr. Gonzales. I remember only a nurse named Mark, but all the other workers and technicians were attentive, friendly, and professional. One by one each test came through as normal and I went home after two hours with instructions for a diagnosis of chest strain.

We are lucky in West County to have such an excellent hospital to serve our community.
Cecile Lusby
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Target Center Sues Petaluma
Regarding The Brown Act violation that never happened and other allegations by Target Corporation:

I guess these big guys don’t care a shred for a thing called the Petaluma General Plan, the document we worked on together defining the directions and land uses we intend for our largely independently-minded and pro-SMART Code town. No mention of that in their letter to Mayor Torliatt - or any discussion from them that I’ve heard. And yet it is our painstakingly prepared plan for land use for our city. 7 years of planning went into creating a General Plan that suits our whole town.

That Petaluma has vision was acknowledged by Green Belt Alliance a few years ago when they voted us to be the most environmentally sound city in the Bay Area after introduction of our Petaluma Central Specific Plan. We had a plan then and we didn’t just lose it all because a major corporation is having a tantrum.

After years of personally submitting comments to our newest General Plan, speaking at council and being active in Petaluma Independent Business Alliance and the Petaluma Community Coalition to help create better land use policy, I am not surprised but nevertheless appalled that Target could #1 tell our town how it should use the shopping center - we should, according the them, behave exactly like other “guests” in other towns. A big assumption that people here wouldn’t want to bicycle or bus it to the center. But worse, they are out and out accusing our council members of a violation of the Brown Act by holding a meeting of 4 council members.
This meeting never took place according to Vice Mayor Glass - and I’ve had reason to believe his word for years now.

Several friends have argued that Regency was polite and put up money so we should do whatever they want. I still hold development is a privilege, not a right - and we shouldn’t just cave into Target’s demand that we skim over our process and policy so they get the development they want. This is the center of our city we are talking about and we deserve the time and care needed to get to a good project that has at least a chance of serving the needs of the “guests” who would use it. And then there is that other question, the one gnawing at me: since neither Target nor Regency gave us more than scanty economic data, we don’t have even a foggy idea of which existing Petaluma businesses, downtown or otherwise, will go out of existence due to this project. We don’t know the true costs of this project and Regency and Target are making no attempt to help us get there that isn’t legislated.

Not a friendly way to behave, developers. I know you feel we try your patience, but you try our whole plan for our future - our General Plan that stipulates large new developments shall provide a net positive for the city. We just don’t know if this project will do that. December retail data for the nation shows a loss of over 6% from last year! That means a lot of retail stores - including chains - are closing their doors. People are changing their buying habits all over including buying online - and many huge chains are disappearing forever. Will we end in a few years with a ghost mall? Not likely - but it could happen. That and blight where stores now owned and operated by our neighbors. Where’s the happy ending? I’d really like to know.
Connie Madden
Petaluma
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Those Who Serve, Deserve
I am a WW@ Navy veteran. I was discharged in 1946 from a naval hospital after returning from the Pacific. Since then, I have been receiving outstanding medical care from Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco for many years. I am an avid supporter of the VA and the thousands of veterans who have used their services.

The health care reform debate has polarized our country into at least two opposing factions, those who support the right of all Americans to receive basic health care, and those who are fearful of government run medical care. As someone who has received the benefit of government run health care, I can tell you there is no comparison about the quality of service I have received with the VA compared to private hospitalization. At the VA I receive all my medications for free, or a small Co-pay. I have had quadruple bypass surgery, and numerous operations at no cost to me and my family. I use the local VA clinic on a regular basis, and my vital signs are monitored daily at home using the latest in medical technology. Right now, we are deadlocked about what to do as a nation.

I have a possible solution to part of the problem of providing some of our citizens some form of health care. There are at least 47 million Americans with no health insurance. And many more millions that have inadequate insurance to cover the most basic of health care, many of whom are veterans. I propose that the VA open its doors to all veterans and their families to receive health care from the VA. We have thousands of citizens that have served their country since WW2, i.e… Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, etc. Why not let them buy into a Veteran Health Care Program? With funding from Congress, expand the facilities and services provided by the VA. Veterans could buy into a medical plan directly from the VA. This would provide revenue for expanding VA services. The cost would be affordable and many would be able to take advantage of it if they choose. From my own experience, at a local hospital, waiting for transfer to a VA hospital, I was billed for medications that I never received. When I reported it to medicare, the hospital changed the bill right away.

This country always talks about how much we appreciate the service and sacrifice of our military men and women. Well, lets do more than give them a parade once or twice a year. We can expand the GI Bill to allow our veterans access to the VA. Let’s honor their service with something meaningful like health care for them and their families.

Opponents of much needed health care reform in this country would find it difficult to argue that our veterans do not deserve this type of government run program. I am sure that many who have served, would greatly appreciate the option of have an inexpensive way to receive quality health care from the VA
Miguel Acuna
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Senior Momentum Feedback
Although I don’t consider myself so ancient, I am generally the oldest person present, wherever I go. I have ample opportunity to be exposed to the abuses described by Zoe Tummillo in her column “Abuse a la Carte”. I have not experienced problems such as she describes. Rude treatment has been around for a long time, and is not necessarily related to the age of the recipient. It is rare that I am mistreated, and when it happens, I will respond appropriately.

In Guerneville, where I shop as much as possible, I have only praise for the merchants, in particular, Dada’s True Value Hardware, Safeway, Lark, and The Mercantile. Nobody talks down to me, patronizes me, or otherwise mistreats me. Safeway personnel are always helpful and pleasant, with one exception, that the Safeway Pharmacist, quite a few years ago, was so shockingly rude to me that I have not since then used the Safeway Pharmacy.

I am pleased with Lark and The Mercantile, where I find good and pleasant help when I need it. The young people at Dada’s Hardware are very pleasant, helpful, smiling, enjoying what they are doing. I enjoy shopping there. My remarks equally apply to Costco, Best Buy, CitiBank, and about anywhere I go. Occasional rudeness may occur, it is generic, not based on my age, fueled generally by the aggressive ignorance of the perpetrator
Richard Wayland
Guerneville
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Dear Vesta,
Let me just say a public thanks to the great management and staff of Sprint in Sebastopol. For several years now, they have filled the printing and stationery needs of the Interchurch Pantry of Sebastopl at no cost to us. So this is a little shout out to our community to support a local business that walks the walk.
Sincerely,
Cecile Lusby, secretary

Read article »

Aaron Vargas Murder Trial Examines Abuse

To Kill a Predator

The case of Aaron Vargas goes to trial March 22nd in Ukiah. A hearing was held February 5th (see story posted Feb 8 in PERSPECTIVES category). In many ways it's an open and shut murder case if you only pay attention to the murder aspect of this story. But the story is about abuse. The long-term consequences of abuse are what led to this murder - everyone agrees - and now the jury will decide how to charge the murderer who killed his abuser.

It's not the first time a victim has killed his/her abuser. In some cases compassion rules and in others the murderer gets put in prison just like any other killer because it's still murder no matter what the motivation. What we examine is what caused this person to act - after all the years of abuse - and ultimately - what can do we as a society - and as family members - to protect people from abuse.

Below are stories written by Frieda Moon on this case. And below that is some information on what is called the Stockholm Syndrome - many times referred to in stories of why victims of abuse don't leave or lash out against their abusers.

The most challenging aspect of abuse is knowing how to recognize abuse, and knowing when to act to intervene in a way that will not escalate the abuse. The laws of our nation do not protect against assumed abuse - only proven.

And please visit this web site - http://www.saveaaron.com/ - not just for the Save Aaron campaign - but because it also is a good resource for information on abuse. Education - no matter how painful - is essential to changing society. - Vesta

To Kill a Predator

by Freda Moon on Apr 22nd, 2009
The Anderson Valley Advertiser

There’s not much dispute about what happened on Fort Bragg’s Farrer Lane the night of February 8—the night Aaron Vargas killed Darrell McNeill with a cap and ball .44 caliber black powder revolver.

In this case, almost nobody bothers with the obligatory “alleged” when describing how Vargas knocked on the door of McNeill’s Coachmen Somerset fifth-wheel trailer around 7pm that Sunday; how Vargas told McNeill’s wife, Elizabeth, “I’m not going to hurt you;” how Vargas and McNeill briefly argued; and how Liz heard Vargas say, “You’re not going to hurt anyone else again” just before shooting her husband once in the chest. Vargas then waited 15 minutes to half an hour for Darrell McNeill to die while Liz McNeill waited to call the police.

That most of the facts are agreed upon doesn’t make the murder case against Aaron Vargas as clear-cut as one might think. Vargas shot an unarmed man—a local businessman, former Boy Scouts leader and Big Brother—and waited for him to die before disassembling his gun and leaving it behind. Despite this, nearly all—if not every last one—of the 30 or so people who attended Vargas’s preliminary hearing at the Ukiah superior courthouse last Friday were there to support Aaron Vargas and his defense. The 9am court date and hour and a half drive from Fort Bragg made the showing all the more striking. If courtroom B is any indication, in this case it’s the killer—not the dead man—who has the community’s support.

This support has grown as details of Darrell McNeill’s past seep through the coastal gossip mill. It’s a past, according to the Vargas family and their supporters, that includes the long-term sexual abuse of Aaron Vargas, members of the McNeill family and a number of other local boys and young men, including one former “Little Brother” who committed suicide in 2006. Vargas’s defense attorney, Tom Hudson, says he has the testimony of two people who say they reported the abuse to the Fort Bragg police, but it was never investigated.

The Vargas family, meanwhile, has launched a website, www.saveaaron.com, to raise funds for Vargas’s defense and to petition community support. Mike McNeill, Darrell McNeill’s son, is among those who signed. “Aaron and I are very close friends,” he wrote. “We’ve known each other since childhood. I know how Aaron felt and I believe he sacrificed himself to save others. I stand behind Aaron 100%.”

But there are two people whose support Vargas doesn’t have: Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott and the prosecutor on the case, Jill Ravitch. The DA’s office is charging Vargas with first-degree murder, false imprisonment and threatening, all of which carry special weight—and additional sentences—when committed with a gun. All told, Vargas, who’s 31, is facing 50 years to life in prison. If the DA’s office has its way, he would be in his eighties before he’s eligible for parole. Vargas has plead not guilty. The next court date in the case is May 1 in Ukiah.

On April 17, Ravitch called Vargas’s fiancé, Selena Barnett, to the stand for a series of questions about phone calls between her and Vargas the night that McNeill was killed, focusing on one that Vargas answered while still at the McNeill home on Farrer Lane.

Barnett—who has been with Vargas for five years, sharing a house in Fort Bragg and a seven-month-old daughter—said Vargas had been upset that day. He’d spent the day with friends, including Mike McNeill, and had been drinking. When he left the couple’s home that night, Vargas told Barnett he was going for a walk. Instead, he drove off in Barnett’s Toyota pickup. Worried, Barnett dialed Vargas’s cell phone until he finally answered. “He told me that he’d just shot Darrell, and he was sorry, and he was going to prison,” Barnett said.

During Hudson’s cross examination, Barnett described how Darrell McNeill “stalked” Vargas in the weeks leading up to the shooting—a characterization the prosecution objected to, but that Barnett was not alone in making. Barnett said McNeill started “coming around” beginning last August, about the time that Vargas and Barnett’s baby was born. McNeill made offers “quite a few times” to baby-sit for the couple’s daughter, Barnett said—offers that were only extended to her, never to Vargas directly. Barnett said McNeill called and made unannounced visits to the couple’s home more and more frequently in the weeks leading up to February 8, and that she once threatened to call the police if he wouldn’t leave. “Sometimes,” Barnett said, “[McNeill] would call all day long, over and over and over.”

During Friday’s preliminary hearing, Ravitch dismissed testimony about the molestation as “self- serving” and objected to it as irrelevant. But for McNeill’s victims and their families, the abuse is anything but insignificant.

“I personally feel that the boy [Aaron Vargas] did the community a favor,” said Richard Masingale, whose younger brother, James Specie, killed himself in 2006, four days after confiding that he had been sexually abused by Darrell McNeill from the ages of nine to 14-years-old, while in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

“I attribute the loss of my brother’s life to that,” said Masingale. “Until he was nine he was a good kid. But after [the abuse], he took another path. He didn’t trust nobody in life…My little brother became addicted to cocaine, methamphetamines. He didn’t do well with the pressures of everyday life after that.” (Neither Big Brothers Big Sisters or the Boy Scouts were able to confirm McNeill’s involvement in their organizations. Neither maintains records that go back to the 1980s. But Dr. Guy Grenny, who has been involved with the Fort Bragg Boy Scout troop for decades, confirms that McNeill was involved sometime before 1986 and members of the McNeill family have said that Darrell McNeill was Species’ Big Brother.)

McNeill, meanwhile, found other boys to abuse.

His former stepson, John Clemons, said that McNeill sexually abused him from when he was 11 until Clemons “got big enough to where I told him if he ever touched me again, I was going to beat the hell out of him.” Clemons’s mother, Jenny, divorced McNeill when Clemons was about 14. Then, Clemons said, “when my brother got big enough, he started using my brother to get to my brother’s friends. Me, I just stopped bringing my friends around.”

Clemons was among those who attended Friday morning’s court date in support of Aaron Vargas. Of his former stepfather, he said, “It doesn’t bother me a bit that this happened to him, personally. But I don’t like that Aaron’s in jail. The system messed up. The Fort Bragg Police, the D.A., whoever. None of this would have happened if Darrell would have been locked up.”

“I have children, I have a son,” Clemons said. “If he ever would have touched my son, I would’ve killed [McNeill] myself.”

Jenny Kotila, McNeill’s second wife and Clemons’s mother, said it wasn’t until several years after she and McNeill divorced, in the early 1980s, that she found out—through Clemons’s then-wife—that Clemons had been molested. She reported the abuse to the Fort Bragg Police, but she said she was told the statute of limitations for sexual abuse were up—that she would need additional, more recent victims in order to get an arrest.

Kotila said she then went to McNeill’s house, rummaged through his things and found sexually explicit photographs of him with another local boy. But, according to Kotila, the FBPD told her the photographs weren’t enough to warrant an investigation unless they were coupled with testimony—and she wasn’t able to convince the boy to speak to the police. “I was doing everything I think I could do,” she said, “to make the police do something about it.” (The Fort Bragg Police, citing privacy laws surrounding child sexual abuse, say they cannot comment on whether such a complaint was ever filed.)

Kotila, Clemons and Masingale are not alone in feeling that the system—and the community—failed.

“I know that many people could have prevented this over 100 years ago,” reads one comment on the Save Aaron petition that was signed, simply, “Darrell McNeill’s Daughter.”

“How many of you knew, and did nothing,” the comment continues. “I will never believe that for so many years this was happening and it now all falls on Aaron. I am a survivor of my grandfather’s sexual assault, the same man that molested Darrell. His father loved him in a very sick way, he loved all his children in a very sick way. You learn right from wrong from your parents, with what I know Darrell didn’t have a chance. Aaron does, don’t let him go to prison.”

Even Liz McNeill, Darrell McNeill’s wife at the time of his death, is supporting Vargas’s defense. “I’ve known the kid [Vargas] for years,” she said. “I love the kid. I do not agree with what he did, by any means, but I don’t want to see him go to prison for many, many years. I’d like see him get help and counseling for what happened to him.”

Liz and Darrell McNeill were married for 25 years. For 19 of those, the couple ran their furnishing shop, Fort Bragg’s American Home Store, while Darrell also worked as a Century 21 realtor. Liz McNeill was reluctant to discuss her husband or the details of the case, but she said she doesn’t doubt that McNeill sexually abused Aaron Vargas. “For the boy to go to that extreme,” she said. “I don’t question it.”

For Part TWO - please visit this link
http://theava.com/archives/2113

then the interview with Aaron's sister at
http://theava.com/archives/3504

For information on Stockholm Syndrome - please visit these sites:

Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser (Part 1)
By Dr Joseph M Carver, PhD

If you’re in a controlling and abusive relationship, you may recognize several of the characteristics described in this article by Consulting Clinical Psychologist Dr Joseph M. Carver, PhD. Part 1 describes the formation of bonds between victim and abuser, while Part 2 continues with observations about cognitive dissonance and offers suggestions for friends and family of victims.

http://counsellingresource.com/quizzes/stockholm/index.html

Stockholm Syndrome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In psychology, the Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. [1][2] While uncommon, the FBI’s Hostage Barricade Database System shows that roughly 27% of victims show evidence of Stockholm syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

Read article »

REVIEW: Monte Rio Wastewater Task Force meeting Jan 11

Review of Monte Rio Wastewater Task Group Meeting, January 11, 2010
Personal perspective by Lloyd Guccione, Guerneville

Follow-up letters below

The Monte Rio Wastewater Task Group (MRWWTG) met at the Monte Rio Community Center on Monday evening; January 11th. The Task Group is a group of citizens, property owners (both resident and outside of the area), contractors, and investment – speculator property owners. Its members include Ken Wikle, Dan Fein, Preston Smith, Leo Torr IV, Rene de Monchy, Gary Getchell, Chuck Berger, Doreen Atkinson, Jim Quigley, Steve Mack Richard “Rick” Holmer, Susie Baxman, and Fifth District Supervisor Efren Carrillo. This was the group’s fourth meeting and was important in that it brought together in a panel discussion the lead spokesmen for all the significant agencies that have relevance to the Task Group’s self-defined mission. Panelists included spokespersons from North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, Sonoma County Water Agency, Environmental Health and Safety, and Permit and Resources Management Department. Also in attendance was Kathleen Kane (Executive Director Community Development Commission) and twenty-five or so members of the public during the course of the meeting.

Background: The Task Group

The current Task Group was appointed by Kathleen Kane and followed upon two main events. The first was Mr. Mike Reilly’s ‘Amending Resolution’[1] which stripped the Oversight Committee of its ability to have subcommittees (among other impacts) and assigned to the CDC Executive Director the authority to both establish “Task Groups”, make the appointments to the groups, and oversee meetings. The second event was the collapse of the CSWS (Citizens for Sensible Wastewater Solutions), an ad-hoc group, when the Monte Rio Parks and Recreation District Board disbanded them as a subcommittee of that Board. The short-lived CSWS held only a few “formal” meetings and at least two of those had to on the picnic tables outside the Community Center because they could not pay for the facility, and because they were locked out (did not have keys).

The demise of the CSWS was due primarily to some glaring organizational and procedural problems, lack of a legitimate funding source to underwrite their efforts, and a legitimacy conferred by county government (e.g. CDC/Redevelopment). All of these shortcomings and difficulties have now apparently been overcome or addressed. The members of the ad-hoc CSWS (now almost all members of the MRWWTG) have learned from their past procedural and organizational errors and miss-steps. Dan Fein deserves much credit in helping the group in this respect as well as in guiding the group toward obtaining the legitimacy the Task Group now has. The funding (underwriting) was addressed by Mr. Reilly’s ‘Amending Resolution’ and the authority it ceded from the RRROC to the Executive Director of the CDC.[2] And the bureaucratic/institutional legitimacy was obtained through the appointment power of CDC and the sitting on the Task Force of Efren Carrillo; Fifth District Supervisor. Also deserving credit for this group’s rebirth and its massively reinvigorated possibilities are Ken Wikle (RRROC Chairman, Monte Rio Volunteer Firefighter), Victoria Wikle (Sweetwater Springs Water District Board Member). Steve Mack (Sweetwater General Manager) and Jim Quigley (Sweetwater Board Member and Windsor Water employee) have also added to the “weight” credibility of the group; Mr. Mack for his wastewater experience and the two of them together as important components in Sweetwater policy, operations, and/or governance. [Sweetwater Springs Water District is one of several “potential” lead agencies or administrative districts (entities) that may be essential to certain “solution” approaches being broached and discussed.]

Prior to the formation of the CSWS the key players in the CSWS (and now the MRWWTG) had largely been advocates/boosters of the Sheridan Ranch regionalized sewer approach and advocates/boosters of a rebuilding and development of the core (downtown) area of Monte Rio. The group also included individuals with interests and concerns surrounding building on undeveloped (vacant) parcels, renovation, remodeling, and expansion of current structures (residential and commercial). The members of the group, irregardless of their individual motivations and expectations, are all committed, intelligent, and community-minded (albeit each has his or her own important view of what ‘community-minded’ includes or excludes). In general they are all to be thanked for their work, their persistence, and their willingness to learn and accommodate.

On the current MRWWTG there are some notable questioning and constructive divergent perspectives; Doreen Atkinson and Gary Getchell.

The Meeting of Monday January 11, 2020

Dan Fein outlined the intent of the meeting, introduced the panelists, and explained the format for the meeting. Rene de Monchy provided some of the important background issues (AB 885, septic particulars, slopes, and explained a large map he and Preston Smith had created). Dan Fein, Rene de Monchy, and Preston Smith sat at the table in conjunction with the panelists and gave the appearance of being an executive group of the task force (at least for this meeting). The presentations by the three were well delivered, coherent, and avoided unnecessary repetitions. The attention of the public and the other Task Group members was retained and the question-comment/answer-commentary segment also went quite well. This is notable in that the concerns and discussion covered a rather large territory.

Some of the larger points/concerns addressed were; water body impairment and Section 303 (d) designation, AB 885 and its current legislative further working out including a conceptionalized ‘three-tier’ approach modification, Guerneville Treatment Plant status and capacity or lack of capacity issues, UC Davis and other monitoring undertakings, revised PRMD policies, and cost implications of certain approaches. All of these, however, were dealt with only in rather general and perhaps cursory detail. Some of this was due to time limitations, but also due to the outline provided to the panelists in anticipation of the meeting. Several of the panelists cited that they were not prepared to provide requested detail or greater specificity since the outline material they were provided did not provide the advance notice or expectation. This was particularly applicable to the NCWQCB’s spokesman.

The lack of more current detail and specificity can be understood by taking into account the “intent” of the meeting as a general informational outline. In other words the meeting was not structured to allow in-depth review of aspects, questions, or concerns. A further meeting is anticipated for Spring were there may be opportunity to reach for greater substance instead of a review. At least two members of the Monte Rio community; familiar with past efforts and meetings felt the meeting lacked sufficient ‘new’ data or perspectives to sustain their interest. They left the meeting early; slightly disappointed, if not disenchanted. Other members of the public seemed to appreciate the re-opening of the perennial issue and getting a review with some important (although general) updates.

The issue of water body impairment and the Section 303 (d) designation for the Russian River (e.g. Healdsburg at the bridge and that stretch between Fife and Dutch Bill creeks) was addressed. In connection with it Gary Getchell asked about the impact of the low flow regime and its attendant low flow-rates on data results for coliform bacteria and the other criteria of impairment including temperature and turbidity. Mr. Getchell made the point, through his question, that one action to address an issue (low flow to accommodate fishery issues) can and has had a subsequent deleterious effect upon the river. In example, lower river flows have resulted (allowed) in higher temperatures in the summer and the concentration of biologicals and other components that would have been sufficiently diluted (possibly) with what had been ‘normal’ flows before the regime was instituted. It is a clear example of how addressing one problem can lead to a set of new ones that are more intractable, expensive in solution, and politically and socially sensitive that expected. None of the panelists were able to give a sufficient answer either to Mr. Getchell’s question or to the equally important issue it implied.

When the question was raised about how a body or segment receives the 303 (d) designation: ‘How long does a single indicator (temperature, turbidity, coliform count) need to persist to trigger the designation?’ there was no clear responsive reply. There was also no enlightening response to questions regarding such impact specifics as motoring locations, flow-rates corollaries, eddies, water depth, daily or seasonal variations, and time specific events (such as children in a shallow ‘kiddie beach’). Another point that was not clearly or adequately addressed is how the 303 (d) designation can be rescinded. In other words (putting both aspects together) it was not made clear how long a monitoring result must be in effect before 303 (d) is triggered, or how long it must be absent for it to be rescinded. The best the panelists could offer is that it is easier to make the designation that it is to remove it. Perhaps they meant that it is hard to prove a negative and therefore rescinding a designation is exceedingly problematic. Even more simply; they didn’t know.

One of the troubling implications of the lack of a clear response is that a monitoring result, perhaps a single event, could trigger a designation that could take years to address and study and bushels of money and time. Not an encouraging or confidence building scenario. The current regimen has the propensity to initiate miss-leading positives and to act like a blinking light – now on, now off; the regulatory agencies will gladly acknowledge the “on” but have not quite figured out to how to address the “off”. After all, an “off” might well imply a diminishing of their (at any particular moment) purview; something bureaucracies eschew.

The concerns and review of AB 885, the legislature’s bill addressing septic systems state-wide, held little new concrete information. The review of the concerns, as raised by the overflow crowd at the Wells Fargo (Luther Burbank) meeting last February (2009), was good for that (a review) but did not carry things forward. The caveat to that is that the public was informed that it appears the legislature is moving toward a “three-tier” approach to implementation instead of the “one size fits all” approach. However, the changes will not offer any appreciable relief to Monte Rio over the initial AB 885 implications. This is due to Monte Rio’s location on the river, its slopes, and its predominate small (insufficient) lot sizes. While there was some soft comment that something may come out of the legislative/lobbying process this year it was implied that any active implementation of a worked out AB 885 was still many years off.

One limiting factor to the implementation of any worked out AB 885 is funding, and in connection with that the current state of the State’s finances is quite relevant. In addition to the costs to state and local government to implement any plan there is also the potentially prohibitive costs to property owners, the intrusiveness of the inspection requirements, and the inability of government (federal, state, or local) to underwrite or mitigate the costs. AB 885 looks like a well-intended idea; a good theory! But it also is seemingly absolutely impractical to implement. This impracticality; for cost and political reasons (the rural public does not appear to be ready, or willing, to accept it) does not seem to be going away soon.

Although analogies are always imperfect by their very nature they can be helpful. In a fashion AB 885 is like the regulations and changes that occurred in automobiles in pursuit of cleaning up the air. Everyone is for clean air; everyone is for clean water. The problems start when you try to figure out how to get from A to B. With cars we went the route of imposing exhaust emission limits on new cars and greater efficiencies. This lead to a host of innovations and results. The route, however, was not to require everyone to buy a new car and junk their old one. The theory in the car ‘model’ was that given time the newer models would replace the older ones by a kind of natural process.

With AB 885 the implication is otherwise. Still following the car analogy; an AB 885 type of law would have required everyone to have their car inspected yearly, pay $125-130 yearly (to start), and if it failed make the necessary repairs. Start thinking in multiples of 10’s of thousands of dollars. So far in essence not much different. But AB 885 would apply no matter how old your car was. It would be like taking your Model A, or your Bel-Air into inspection and told you didn’t pass and now you need to bring your classic up to current standards; even though yours is running just fine and dandy. Yes-siree-bob… you gotta’ add a catalytic converter, an O2 sensor, an air bag (make that two), a five mile per hour bumper, and you just read down the list yourself. The point is AB 885 is currently impractical and is being used as a “boogey-man” by way too many. And in addition to the annual inspections god help you if you wanted to restore or update your old jalopy or classic (house). If you want to replace more than one rusted fender and one bent bumper you’d get a real wake-up call in the pocket book and in the process (permit) line.

I know that the analogy is weak, but somehow it still gets me in the right kind of mood. Like… I like my old car; I take care of it:… I like my old house, I take care of it. I don’t ask anyone to take my crap away; I take care of it myself. Its my old heap… its my crap (so to speak) and I prefer to keep it that way. Now mind your own business and go and find some other ‘problem’ to fix somewhere else. Don’t need the likes of you round these here parts. We do care for our river, our neighbors, our septics, and our pocketbooks… thank you very much.

Conclusion:
The dialog and discussion on MRWTG and the attendant issues has taken off in the past few days and hopefully will reach a point of increased public exposure and responsiveness. It is clear that the Task Group members need to now individually put down in written form; actual pen to paper, what their individual perceptions of the issues and problems. These written presentations should (must) be in the context of the mission statement and the parameters of the Task Group. That means not all their individual problems or concerns, but those relevant to the (their) task at hand. Without these individual written perspectives no effective (firm) understanding will be forthcoming that is not subject to the critique (disparagement) of personal, personal business, bureaucratic, and growth self-service. Truly, the group needs to come to grips with what is self-evident to so many others; the group is refusing to distinguish itself from its previous incarnation; the CSWS, with its more obvious intentions and needs and its equally obvious shortcomings.

There is no need for the individual members of the group to eschew such a task; writing down their views of the issues and problems. Once done let these be made available and (I believe; if done with candor) the result will provide a must needed understanding of the various terrains each brings to the table. Once done this will allow (accommodate) discussion on a level playing field (show your cards!) instead of this money consuming effort being turned into a political game-play.

-----------------------
[1] The formal (legal) title of the resolution is: Revised Procedures for the Composition, Election and Continuing Role of the Citizens’ Oversight Committee for the Russian River Redevelopment Project.

[2] Note: It must be stated that the rationale given for the elimination of the RRROC’s subcommittees was that CDC could not support their activities due to staffing and budgetary restraints. Following the passing of the ‘Amending Resolution’ these constraints somehow evaporated and staffing, staff time, and discretionary budgetary funds became available. [The RRROC previously had declined to form a specific subcommittee to address the Monte Rio Wastewater (Sewer) matter finding that no project existed or was being put forward. Also its Infrastructure Subcommittee declined to focus on the issue and was additionally specifically barred from developing liaisons with relevant governmental (county and state) departments, agencies, and/or individuals.

ADDENDUM:

Mr. Richard Holmer has written to Mr. Todd Thompson of the State Water Resources Control Board a well conceived letter on AB 885. Assembly Bill 885 which concerns septic systems is relevant to those of us hooked up to the Grenville Treatment Plant in that the Plant is being
considered (viewed) as an option (again) by the proponents of a Monte Rio Wastewater Solutions program. Such a prospect could have significant impacts on sewer cost (future assessment increases) as well as other considerations.

I encourage you to share this with your other neighbors.

Please keep yourself informed on the activities and participants in the Monte Rio Wastewater Solutions Task Force of the Community Development Commission/Russian River Redevelopment Project. Get informed about local issues. Participate and have confidence in your own abilities to have an important and relevant impact. Voting is not enough; participation is local issues and goverance is vital.

Text of Mr. Holmer's letter is below:

January 15, 2010

Mr. Todd Thompson, P.E.
Division of Water Quality
State Water Resources Control Board
1001 I Street
P.O. Box 2231
Sacramento, CA 95812

Dear Todd:

Subject: Comments on “Proposed Regulations and Waiver for Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (Septic Systems) and the Associated Draft Impact Report (EIR)” currently being developed pursuant to AB885

As you know, I was involved with the Sonoma County septic system program for 32 years (until my retirement from public service) and I was in charge of the program from 1995 to 2004. I attended the initial hearings on AB885 as a representative of the County of Sonoma. At that
time, I raised the issue of existing dwellings that would not be able to comply with the proposed regulations due to substandard lot size or other issues. I was assured that this would be dealt with during the process of developing the regulations. My review of the current draft
finds that the language about existing dwellings on septic systems is ambiguous and appears potentially confiscatory. I have detailed my comments on this subject below as well as my comments on other aspects of the regulations.

At this time, I feel that the regulations have significant fatal flaws and should not be adopted due to the unintended consequences which may result. I also feel that the EIR is not adequate particularly in the economic analysis.

My comments follow:

EXISTING DWELLINGS ON SEPTIC SYSTEMS

History: Many areas in California that are served by septic systems were developed primarily for recreational purposes; often when local land use regulations were limited or nonexistent. I will use Sonoma County as an example but this applies to other counties as well.

In Sonoma County there are thousands of lots that were subdivided prior to any septic system regulations or land use planning. Some of these subdivisions date back to the early 1900's. Many of these lots are extremely substandard in size for a septic system based on current
standards. At the time that they were subdivided, the lots were intended for seasonal use and often had only a cesspool or pit privy for sewage disposal. Over the course of time, the residences have become converted to full time occupancy and are often the best source of
affordable housing for low income families.

When conventional septic system standards are applied to these situations, it is simply impossible to meet standards for sizing of absorption fields, setbacks to water ways, depth of soil requirements and many other issues. In response, Sonoma County has developed an
extensive program of alternative wastewater systems that includes the provision for waiver to septic system standards where in can be demonstrated that the system being proposed as a replacement system provides a clear and positive improvement over the existing system and
represents the best available technology for the specific site constraints.

Without this type of approach, the septic systems could not be repaired or replaced and the house would not be able to be occupied. It should be noted that all on-site sewage disposal systems have a finite lifetime and will become subject to repair or replacement at some point. In
order to prevent the widespread condemnation of older housing, the proposed septic system regulations must provide for flexibility in application of the standards to existing houses.

Proposed regulations: The sections of the proposed regulations that mention repair or replacement of septic systems are ambiguous and subject to interpretation. There is no provision for waivers or exemptions to the regulations.

In Section 30000 (definitions), “New OWTS” is defined as “an OWTS permitted after the effective date of this chapter”. Does this mean that the issuance of a permit to repair a system, issued after the effective date of the regulations, triggers meeting the requirements for a new system?

“Existing OWTS” is defined as “an OWTS that was either permitted by the applicable local agency or legally installed before the effective date of this chapter”. This appears to imply that the replacement of a system has to meet all of the requirements.

Section 30001 (b) states that this chapter applies to all new OWTS and only to existing OWTS where specifically indicated. This section speaks only to the OWTS and not to the dwelling. There is no recognition of the need to differentiate between existing houses served by septic systems versus new construction of houses.

In section 30002, there appears to be an attempt to differentiate between new and replaced OWTS. Section 30002 (b) refers to “new and replaced OWTS” having to be designed to maximize treatment of wastewater. Section 30002 (c) states that “new OWTS” “shall be
designed, operated and maintained in accordance with the requirements of this chapter”. Does this mean that replacement OWTS do not have to meet the design requirements? If this is the intent, then it should be clearly stated as such and the standards for a replacement OWTS should
be clarified. This is especially confusing given the requirements under the definitions section described above.

EIR: If the regulations are not flexible in their application to existing dwellings, then there are huge economic impacts that have not been addressed in the economic analysis. This analysis should quantify the number of existing dwellings that would be unable to meet the new standards and would be subject to condemnation. This is a critical aspect of the new regulations that has been completely overlooked. This impact, in my opinion, is potentially the most significant impact of the proposed regulations unless there are changes made to allow existing
houses on septic systems to repair or replace their systems even if they cannot meet the proscriptive standards contained in the regulations.

WELL WATER SAMPLING

Section 30002 (t) requires routine testing of the drinking water well on the property where the OWTS is situated. The specified testing includes a variety of mineral tests for constituents that are not of public health significance. Specifically the required testing includes calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, sulfate, chloride, total alkalinity, carbonate, bicarbonate, MBAS and pH. Although these tests may be of interest to a property owner in determining whether or not they need a water softener or other mineral removal devices, they are not indicative of any kind of threat to the property owner’s health. It is excessive to require these kinds of tests and is an unnecessary expense. Routine testing for coliform organisms and nitrate could be justified.

GROUNDWATER LEVEL MONITORING

Section 30012 sets requirements for monitoring groundwater levels prior to installation of a new OWTS. These requirements stipulate continuous monitoring of groundwater for a period of five months during the winter months. This will be very expensive and is much more restrictive than
what is typically currently required in California. It could also lead to inaccuracies from heavy storms or due to damage to the testing equipment when it is subjected to conditions in the field for five months. Most jurisdictions now require one test during the wettest part of the year. For the purposes of installing a household septic system, this has proven to be adequate. There is inadequate substantiation of problems with the existing testing methods to justify this onerous
requirement.

LEACHFIELD DESIGN

Section 30014 (b) requires that “dispersal systems” (leachfields) be designed using only the square footage of bottom area of the trench for infiltration. This is an extremely poor design requirement. It has been repeatedly shown that the bottom area of a leachfield will clog
very quickly during operation due to formation of biofilm and physical clogging with suspended particles in the wastewater. Most jurisdictions in California have required that systems be designed based upon sidewall area of the leach trench because this is the effective absorption area during most of the life of the leachfield. The use of bottom area for sizing will result in wider trenches with less sidewall per linear foot of trench. This will hasten premature failure of the leachfield system when the bottom of the trench becomes clogged. There is no scientific
evidence to support use of bottom area for leachfield sizing.

IMPAIRED WATER BODIES

Section 30040 stipulates that no new system shall be constructed within 600 feet of the “edge of the river bank” of an impaired river. This is extremely vague. Many rivers do not have clearly defined banks. They are often characterized by a series of flood plateaus that can extend great distances from the typical course of water flow. This section would be subject to interpretation that would result in discrepancies between jurisdictions. There are ways to define this
more accurately such as: edge of summer water flow, edge of 10 year flood plane, or edge of floodway.

It is also unclear whether the impaired water body is meant to be simply the area described in the 303(d) listing or also including the tributaries to the listed water body. The maps shown as an attachment to the regulations show all of the tributary streams to the listed water
bodies. For example, a stretch of the lower Russian River from Fife Creek to Dutch Bill Creek is listed as an impaired water body, a relatively small portion of the lower river. Map 20 of the attachment, however, shows every tributary to that stretch of the river as an impaired water body. This is a huge expansion of the 303 (d) listing. If the intent is to include these tributaries, then the regulations become extremely burdensome to property owners.

EIR: The EIR significantly understates the costs to homeowners adjacent to 303 (d) listed water bodies particularly in relation to the attached maps which expand the boundaries of the impaired water bodies. There is no attempt to provide a statewide tally of costs to property owners. There are only estimated costs for a few areas in the state. This does not provide adequate information for the decision makers to make an informed decision on the true economic impacts of adopting these regulations.

SETBACKS

Oddly enough, the regulations do not include any requirements for the distance that an OWTS must be located from water wells, rivers, streams, lakes, etc. This is a fundamental provision of any regulation relating to OWTS. The executive summary makes a vague reference to these
setbacks being contained within “existing regulations”. Which existing regulations? The California Plumbing Code, Regional Water Quality Control Board Basin Plans, and individual County Codes all set standards for setback requirements. Often these are contradictory. Having individual jurisdictions adopt their own setback requirements would be in conflict with the goal of having uniform statewide OWTS standards. The proposed regulations should either contain setback standards or should adopt them by reference to another code.

Richard L. Holmer
Registered Environmental Health Specialist #3145

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Dear Mr. Guccione,

The draft regulations circulated on Nov. 7, 2008 were retracted on Nov.
6, 2009.

The State Water Resources Control Board staff is fully reconsidering ways to fulfill the requirements set forth in Water Code Section 12291 (as added by AB 885 in 2000). We do not currently have a schedule for this process.

Thank You,

Todd Thompson, P.E.
Program Manager
DoD/Site Cleanup Program
Division of Water Quality
State Water Resources Control Board
1001 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
tthompson@waterboards.ca.gov
916 341 5518

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