Pitchers and catchers report!

It is that time of year! Mad River Softball Association is hosting a Spring Softball League that starts in April. Teams play a 14 game season, playing doubleheaders on Sunday afternoons. Earliest games are at 12:30pm. If you are interested, please contact me.

With these Presidential candidates, there is little "Hope" for unions.

And yes, that includes Obama. Remember when he promised to push for the Employee Free Choice Act? Didn't happen. But he is a much better choice than Romney who is public with his wars on unions and love of "right to work" legislation. And Santorum is just wacky, besides his not liking public sector unions.

Currently, less than 12% of the American workforce is represented by a union. Unions represent less than 7% of the private sector workers. And only about 3% of those are in sales. That is around half that was represented by unions in the 80's. Union workers make nearly $5 an hour more than non-union workers! That is over $10,000 a year folks! United we bargain divided we beg has never been so clear as now.  

In the 90's there nearly 1,000 manufacturing jobs on the Samoa Peninsula and most were union! Now there are very few union jobs and hardly any manufacturing jobs. People usually lay blame for the demise of American Manufacturing to union greed, but I see it as Corporate greed as they reported 2 Trillion dollars in profit in the 3rd quarter! And those aren't American jobs in many cases. Of every dollar of income earned in the US in the 3rd Quarter, just 44 cents went to workers wages and salaries. The smallest amount since 1947!

Just sad what is happening to our working class. When will it turn back around?

State Senator Noreen Evans endorses Stacy Lawson! Wow, that changes the game!

Didn't see that coming. I see this as a major blow to Susan Adams campaign, and a huge gain at Norman Solomon's hopes. And Stacy is going to be the money leader and that means alot in a race that stretches from the bay to the border. Whoever spends their money strategic wise the best will have a huge advantage, and whoever has the most money to just bury the candidates is also big. And remember, the front runners are all Democrats!

Cal Trans speak crazy talk in Manila.

Cal Trans hosted a community meeting about traffic issues on Highway 255 from Arcata to Eureka tonight. There was a powerpoint presentation, and lots of nicely made up posters of potential projects and phases. They wanted to have a controlled forum where people had to speak one on one to either Cal Trans staff or Police enforcement. Divide and conquer instead of answering the community as a group and to the Peninsula residents credit, they insisted to be heard as a community in a question answer forum.  There had to be at least 10 Cal Trans employees and 3 Police officers at the meeting. (Who is paying for all of this?) I said they could save alot of money just lowering the speed on all of 255 to 45 MPH and painting double yellow lines the entire way. A person in the crowd asked for a show of hands for all that agreed and many hands were raised. One of the Cal Trans dudes answered, "There are legal issues to lowering the speed since the median speed on 255 is 59 MPH." Huh? That is why we were having the meeting in the first place! People are going to fast! "We have to do traffic calming measures to lower the medium speed, so we can lower the speed limit." That is just crazy talk!

On great potential project they had on one of the posters is potential extensions on the Samoa Bridge to allow foot and bike traffic on platforms hooked to the outside of the bridge. Three different concepts that looked very doable.

So you want to be a landlord? Damn grows will kill you!

Have to do some clean up on rental today. Tenant decided to grow weed and sell meth until POP caught up. A local lawyer said that I was ironically subsidizing the grow since they were not paid up in rent either. Funny, but not for me. My house is now going to take much cleaning. 2 of the 3 bedrooms are pretty much destroyed. There is garbage all over the yard and in the basement. At least they didn't screw with the fruit trees!

650 Students in Southern Humboldt will be without home to school transportation in the near future. The cuts equals $1,800 per student a year. Can't the Southern Humboldt MJ Growers kick down what they should be paying in state and federal taxes directly to the School Districts to help with the shortfall? Greedy ass holes won't even help their own fire districts! Start a foundation to help the kids. Want to make money off the Rural land but not help the rural children? Shame on you!

It could be worse though, in the Death Valley Unified School District has to spend $3,500 per student. Don't think they grow as much dope there. Nothing grows except scrub brush.

Why did Home to School Transportation get cut? Might want to ask Chesbro, Huffman and Evans!

Assembly Bill 121, considered a “Trigger Bill”, was introduced by Huffman, Chesbro and other members of the Committee on Budget. This bill called for the elimination of $248 Million from the Home-to-School transportation fund.  It was voted on by the Assembly and Senate floor on 6/28/11. The Assembly passed this bill 51-28 with both Huffman and Chesbro as “Aye” votes. The Senate passed the bill 23-17 with Noreen Evans voting “Aye”. The bill was enacted with Governor Jerry Brown signature.

I would venture that when arguments were coming up about this bill, someone probably pointed out that only 16% of the students in California use the bus, so this affects only a small part of the population. But why did our rural legislative representatives not consider how harshly this would affect our far north counties? Or how can they justify what has happened.

Stephen Rhoads of Strategic Education Services, which represents a coalition of school transportation departments. says that what has been rumored was that the Democrats thought that cutting transportation would hurt the Republicans. In the end, it doesn’t hurt the Republicans at all, because none of them voted for AB 121. Rhoads says that the Democrats were following the direction of their leadership and may not even have known what they were approving.

Both Evans and Chesbro seem to be experiencing regret on voting for this bill. Chesbro has been getting a lot of mail and phone calls and is meeting in caucus with his peers to come up with a way to restore the funding. Evans, too, is scrambling to undo the damage.

I appreciate that our legislators are now trying to do something about the issue, but what do you think those odds are? Not very good in my book.

(Thanks to Mary Anderson of the Redwood Times for some of this information)

McKinleyville Press sensationalizing story? Robin Marks to jail? Samoasoftball needs conjugal visitation?

2nd Congressional Predictions Mendocino County.

I am not convinced that Republican Dan Roberts will have any legs in any of the Northern Counties. Less than 50% of the Republicans will vote for him, with many split votes all over the place. This is a harder County to canvas and campaign, so I am giving the advantage to Huffman, Adams and Lawson. After Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt and Mendocino, I have Solomon with 13,184, Huffman at 12,789, Adams at 12,505 and Lawson at 11,075. Very close with 2 counties to go. Watch for Roberts making a dramatic move down south!

County		Population	Voters	Dems	Reps	Other	Percent
Mendocino		86,000	48,000	11054	5645	6821	49%
	Banafsheh Akhlaghi			221	56	68	1.5%
	Normon Solomon			2245	286	1156	15.7%
	Dan Roberts			553	1976	682	13.7%
	Susan Adams			2110	890	1364	18.6%
	Jared Huffman			2310	800	1400	19.2%
	William Courtney			553	169	205	3.9%
	Andy Caffery			521	56	273	3.6%
	Stacey Lawson			1888	960	1400	18.1%
	Tiffany Renee			653	452	273	5.9%
				11054	5645	6821

On to Humboldt for the 2nd Congressional seat!

In Iowa, candidates are "Running to the Right", but in Humboldt it is more like "Running to the Left!" I really feel that Humboldt is going to be the critical county for this race. I know Jared Huffman has garnered some high name endorsements, but having the HSU Democrats won't do him much good if those kids aren't here to vote! Huffman seems to be ignoring the county, or he has some plan I have not figured out yet. Susan Adams has Richard Salzman helping out, and that is big for her campaign. (Look for some huge endorsements in the near future that will shock many in Humboldt County politics.) Richard can find votes where some do not dare to tread. Norman Solomon has his "Boots to the Ground" campaign starting to make headway. It is just going to be really close. So after Del Norte, Trinity and Humboldt County predictions, Solomon is in 1st at 9,497, Huffman is in 2nd at 8,279, Adams in 3rd at 8,141, Lawson in 4th at 6,827 and Republican Dan Roberts in 5th at 6,319.

These numbers will change drastically as we move to the Southern County of Mendocino next.

County		Pop	Voters	Dems	Reps	Other	%
Humboldt		135,000	76,000	16416	10944	9120	48%
	Banafsheh Akhlaghi			328	164	137	1.7%
	Normon Solomon			3930	757	2098	18.6%
	Dan Roberts			328	3830	1001	14.1%
	Susan Adams			3951	1094	2006	19.3%
	Jared Huffman			3283	1860	1824	19.1%
	William Courtney			657	328	274	3.5%
	Andy Caffery			1149	547	182	5.1%
	Stacey Lawson			2298	1925	1324	15.2%
	Tiffany Renee			492	439	274	3.3%
				16416	10944	9120

Samoasoftball rates candiates at PDA 2nd Congressional District Forum.

The Progressive Democrats of Eureka hosted a forum for the 2^nd District Congressional candidates yesterday and nearly 100 people showed up to hear what each of the 6 candidates that showed had to say. (No times Standard? What is with that?) Eureka City Councilperson Linda Atkins made sure things moved timely and orderly and here is my take and ratings.

Andy Caffery:  Andy sung his Earth First! introduction about “Where are we going to work when the trees are gone?” He says he has been working on the Klamath water issue for 30 years.  He feels the Climate change  is the most  important issue for the North Coast and the economy. Says the Dems and Reps have failed us. We need to close the 150 military bases around the world. He also feels we need to look to creating an Ecotopia here. Need attention on Animal Species Extinction due to climate change.  Says he will be the “worst nightmare” Republicans will have to face in the House. “Bush needed to be impeached!” Not happy with Nancy Pelosi either. Doesn’t like the fact that Urban areas such as Eureka makes decisions effecting rural areas and would like to create an “Emerald City” out of Garberville.  In his closing he blamed the Republicans on dismantling the Country and we need to uphold “Green” values.  I would give him a 3 out of 5 rating. I thought he would talk more pot.

William Courtney: Had hard time speaking up. He believes in a flat tax. Feels we should “Contribute what you can.” Feels we should have a surcharge tax of $50 per Marijuana plant and we should push exporting of same as well as legalization. Figures we have 350,000 plants in the district. Thinks Wave/Ocean energy needs to be tapped into and that we need a “Global Project” to face the potential of losing 50% of earthly species due to climate change. Supports a Clean Energy Act. As a doctor he feels we need to expand use of healthy molecules through raw juices to people. In closing he felt we had an array of problems that could be dealt with through compromise and Corporations stands as a problem. Smart guy but hard to understand. 2 out of 5 rating.

Tiffany Renee:  Stressed her community service as Councilperson of Petaluma and being the first Latina on the council. Feels Congress needs to work together. Feels we need to either raise the limit to $250,000 or eliminate altogether Social Security tax thresholds.  Thinks we need to reclassify cannabis and let city and counties regulate. As congressperson would look to consensus and evaluate when sometimes needing to “Fall on the Sword.”  Petaluma has been on the forefront of environmental issues for years and she has been involved in the processes. She “stays engaged” on issues and is running a low budget campaign. In closing she was optimistic that congress will have a large turnover. Sweet lady who is just not ready for this stage yet. 2 out of 5 rating.

Susan Adams: She has been a nurse 33 years and currently a Board of Supervisor member of Marin County.  With her leadership Marin has a Healthy financial reserve. Feels we need to get off fossil fuel dependence.  “Congress is out of touch. The majority of people filing for bankruptcy are from Medical bills!” Blames Bush and Regan tax cuts from the past. “Somethings wrong when Warren Buffet feels he should pay more tax!” See feels the need for taxing “Fair Share.” “We need to protect Social Security and Medicare  #1.” Feels that Humboldt County needs Marine Highway to transport goods in and out and feels we need better broadband. Economy will grow organically with right components.  Feels we need to sometimes not make partisan decisions but don’t give away the store either. Need to be a careful steward.  “We need Green Clean jobs!” Carbon Credits? Susan said she would hold dual residency if elected in the North and South parts of the district and has family in Carlotta.  In closing Susan claims to have “In the Trench” progressive experience and also has life experience of “Watching babies come into this life, and people leaving this life also.” She was clearly the best here. I didn’t know what to expect. But does she have any financing? That could be her problem. Financial viability is part of this equation. 4 out of 5 rating.

Stacy Lawson: Says she is the only one experienced in job creation. Has started up a few successful companies. Grew up in a mill town much like Eureka with logging and fishing the natural resources like the North Coast. Feels the gap is widening between rich and poor with stagnate wages.  Stacy says we need tax reform that mandates the rich paying 28%. As well as increasing corporate taxes and taxing transactions on Stock Trades. She also feels we need a “Jobs Plan” on the National level. Put people to work on infrastructure improvement such as Roads, Airports and Forest Restoration.  As far as compromise at the Congressional level, wants to put civility back in politics. Maybe more dinners and drinks at the bar to find common ground. Says the Klamath agreement is good for fish and water restoration and jobs with the dismantling.  She feels she has core middle class work ethics and would like to share a comprehensive job plan. With 65% of businesses classified as “Small” would like to see or force banks into investing back to the people. Stacey closed by stressing she had actually created jobs and would like to continue at the Congressional level. This is the “Job” candidate. Raw with little political background. But she might be the best financed of the candidates before this is over. So she is viable. She does have a framing and messaging issue that may be straightened out by high dollar consultants in the near future. I give her a 3.5 out of 5 rating.

Norman Solomon: Claims to be a 40 year  ”Progressive” and is doing “Feet on the Ground” campaigning. Wants Social Justice and Social Change. Jobs are a must with need for “Massive” Federal help. Need for Marine Highway and Short Sea Shipping.  Need to reform Wall Street. Will fight special interests. Will be able to resist the right because of refusing Corporate PAC monies. “We need to protect water Quality and Quantity!” Against oil drilling off our coast. He understands urban living and the need for representation from Rural areas. Used the word “Ain’t” too many times. We aren’t that bumpkin here! He closed by thanking former Eureka Mayor Peter LaValley and Eureka School Board member Susan Johnson for their endorsements and invited everyone to a get together on Jan. 11^th at the Eureka Theater with Phil Donohue hosting.  I was expecting more but he did OK. I really think he needs to step it up and separate himself from the rest. Still time. I give him a 3 out of 5 rating.      

Jared Huffman:  The “Anointed One” did not attend. He is spending time for the holidays with family. Sent Committee Co-Chair Bonnie Neely to read statement.  Bonnie did well with the written script. Did nothing for me. Huffman gave more of what we can expect from him in the future if elected. More of the same as what we have had.  1 out 5 rating.    

2nd Congressional predictions Trinity County!

On the ground organizing will be important in Trinity and it sounds like Solomon's campaign has this in order with the proper contacts. But Republican Dan Roberts will take this more conservative leaning county. Even though the numbers for each party is close, the Dems will be scrambling for votes. So after Del Norte and Trinty County predictions, Roberts leads at 1,970, Soloman is 2nd at 1,912, Huffman 3rd at 1,503 and Lawson in 4th at 1,308. Upcoming next is Humboldt!

County		Pop	Voters	Dems	Reps	Other	%
Trinity		13,800	7,700	1980	1925	235	54%
	Banafsheh Akhlaghi			40	20	5	1.6%
	Normon Solomon			650	158	55	20.8%
	Dan Roberts			75	975	20	25.7%
	Susan Adams			320	155	38	12.3%
	Jared Huffman			392	230	30	15.7%
	William Courtney			95	60	11	4.0%
	Andy Caffery			45	25	9	1.9%
	Stacey Lawson			248	255	55	13.4%
	Tiffany Renee			115	47	12	4.2%
				1980	1925	235