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3.30.2008

Fitna, the movie.


Anon.R.mous posted it.
Live Leak pulled it after being threatened. (You can see what they had to say on Anon.R's post)
YouTube pulled it, at least the first part.
Fred has posted it.
He got it from Nobody's Business.
Nobody's Business got it from Google who has not yet caved in to the pressure.
You can also find it on The Liberal Blogger: here.
All of us who care about free speech should post it as well.
Here is the embed code: (just close the space(s) between the first and last angle brackets < and e, and d and >, < and /):
< embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=3369102968312745410&hl=en" flashvars=""> < /embed >

3.29.2008

NCJ - A BUYOUT OF PL?

12/18/03 A BUYOUT OF PL? It's nothing more than talk, at this point. But environmental activists and others are looking into the feasibility -- or lack thereof -- of what might be called the ultimate solution: Buying the Pacific Lumber Co. Jan Kraepelien, formerly of KEET-TV and long involved in the never-ending local timber wars, confirmed Tuesday that he had broached the idea with the Redwood Forest Foundation, a Mendocino County non-profit that uses tax-exempt bonds to purchase industrial timberlands. (The group was involved in the unsuccessful effort to purchase commercial timberlands in the Mendocino region owned by Louisiana-Pacific; the company sold its holdings instead to the Gap.) Kathy Moxon, chief administrative officer of the Humboldt Area Foundation, and a member of RFF's board of directors, said that so far she hasn't done much more than put out some feelers to other board members to gauge their level of interest. Stay tuned.

Note: Jan Kraepelien was a board member of "Humboldt Watershed Council" according to tax filings. Years T/K

3.28.2008

TS Op-Ed - County's OK of Klamath settlement is misguided

Enviro-weirdo Felice Pace's Op-Ed. The big question is why the enviro groups who had a seat at the table, and helped craft the agreement are suddenly hell-bent on damning it. The only viable answer is that they only make money if there is controversy, dissension and strife. Solving a problem kills their income stream.

Why would Humboldt County supervisors, lead by Supervisor Jill Geist, endorse a Klamath River water deal which a growing number of top fisheries scientists and hydrologists say will not lead to recovery of salmon? Why would the Humboldt supervisors rush to endorse something when key elements of the deal are still being drafted?

Unfortunately, the answer has more to do with “bonding” than with “biology.” Supervisor Geist told fellow supervisors last month that she had “bonded” with the Upper Klamath Basin's irrigators and that she knew this Klamath water agreement -- full of expensive special interest goodies -- represents a new era of cooperation on the river. And Jimmy Smith, John Woolley,
Bonnie Neely and Roger Rodoni bought it!

In the weeks ahead, it will become clear just how out of touch the supervisors are with what good science and common sense tell us is needed to fix the Klamath River and recover Klamath salmon.

Not only does the agreement not provide enough water for fish, it locks in industrial agricultural operations in the Lost River and on Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges for 50 years. This will result in such a high rate of pollution in the Keno Reservoir (a PacifiCorp dam that those promoting dam removal want left in place) that it will continue to be without oxygen or life for five weeks a year.

The ripple impacts on salmon downstream will be disastrous even if the dams are removed.

Those promoting the water deal want us to believe that it is necessary in order to convince PacifiCorp to remove four Klamath River dams. This is not the case. In fact, tying what Hoopa Tribal Chairman Lyle Marshall has called “an Old West water deal” to dam removal makes removal of the dams less rather than more likely.

Why were the supervisors in such a rush? The Klamath water agreement insures flows for Klamath irrigators who are strongly allied with the Bush administration, and the rush is to get a bill that George Bush can sign as his term expires.

This is a 50-year sweetheart deal for this special interest group at the expense of salmon and the river. Would not a new administration do more for the Klamath River, Klamath salmon and Klamath Basin wildlife refuges?

Humboldt County gets nothing from the deal while neighboring Siskiyou County would receive $23 million. In the event of future serious disagreements and need for legal action, Humboldt County would be prevented from joining in to defend the Klamath River, its communities and salmon stocks.

A supervisor's job is to take care of home, not irrigators in southern Oregon. Guaranteeing water for a small group of wealthy “irrigators” over salmon is a terrible precedent, and not the way we should manage our rivers.

Deals crafted in back rooms, with participants sworn to secrecy, rarely spawn good public policy. The Klamath settlement is too flawed to salvage. Look for a public forum on this complex settlement soon so you can find out for yourself “the rest of the story.”

Meanwhile, Jill Geist and the other supervisors have some questions to answer: How is this water deal going to impact your constituents? Why have you abandoned what good science tells us salmon need to recover?

Humboldt citizens and this newspaper should demand answers. You can find the Humboldt County supervisors' e-mail addresses and phone numbers at: http://co.humboldt.ca.us/board/ (The Times-Standard

Felice Pace has been advocating for Pacific salmon, water reform and the restoration of the Klamath River since 1986. For 15 years he led these efforts for the Klamath Forest Alliance. Felice presently resides at Klamath Glen near the mouth of the Klamath River and writes KlamBlog, about Klamath River issues (http://klamblog.blogspot.com/).The views here are his own.
Article Launched: 03/26/2008 01:27:14 AM PD
***
This article is posted here as supplemental background material. For discussion and more information visit watchpaul.blogspot.com.

3.27.2008

NCJ - Best enemies

October 5, 2006
Best enemies
by HANK SIMS
You may think it out of character,but we praise our brethren at rival media outlets sparingly, and in only cases of genuine merit. Develop a reputation as a glad-hander, a back-slapper or a scarlet-faced guffawer, and your colleagues in the trade will rightly shun you. They will think you a dolt, and they'll probably be correct. But when a piece comes along that absolutely astounds -- think of the McKinleyville Press story, a few months back, on the sisters that gave birth simultaneously in adjacent hospital rooms -- there's nothing for it but to send along an e-mail thanking the author for making us stop and marvel, for dissolving the confines of the cruel quotidian. We are readers, first and foremost, and also autonomous citizens of a democracy.

As it happens, we had occasion to send two notes of applause across the bay last week -- one to Heather Muller of the Eureka Reporter and one to Kimberly Wear of the Times-Standard, who we hope shared it with her deskmate Chris Durant. In these cases, the awe was not inspired by the subject matter of the stories -- each of them "hard news" pieces -- but from the reporters' immense enterprise in ferreting out some obscure data and presenting it well, in service of the county. Their stories centered on political donations to District Attorney Paul Gallegos, and how they affected or didn't affect a criminal case prosecuted by his office.

On Tuesday, the Reporter published the outcome of several criminal cases, including nine felony counts, against Derek Bowman, son of Leonard and Ellie Bowman of Loleta. The younger Bowman had been charged with check fraud, burglary, domestic battery, drug possession and unlawful intercourse with a 14-year-old girl, among other things. All of the charges were either dropped, or Bowman plead guilty to them in exchange for a suspended sentence. Then he was given 180 days in prison for violation of probation. The Reporter wondered whether the seemingly lenient sentence might have anything to do with the fact that the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, which Leonard Bowman chairs, had donated $10,000 to Gallegos' last political campaign, or the fact that Ellie Bowman had protested outside the courthouse against the candidacy of Deputy DA Worth Dikeman, who had challenged Gallegos. (Earlier, Dikeman had successfully prosecuted another Bowman son for murder.) Gallegos did not respond to the paper's questions about the case, despite apparently having been given ample opportunity to do so.

The next day, the Times-Standard came out with a story in response. In it, Deputy DA Max Cardoza, who had tried the Bowman case and a 25-year veteran of the office, strongly denied that political considerations had played any role in the case's outcome. It quoted from an internal memo written by Gallegos that requested that both he and Dikeman be "screened" from the case. (Strangely, the memo was written after the case had already been settled).

The appearance of the Times-Standard story set off a great hue and cry, with letters from Gallegos' campaign manager, Alison Sterling Nichols, demanding that the Reporter retract its "factually incorrect" story. She didn't point out any actual incorrect facts, because there weren't any. There were holes in the story, but they should be lain squarely at the feat of Gallegos, who chose to respond to the paper's many questions with a non-responsive, fatuous one-liner. ("This office operates without fear or favor.") The Reporter ran the story it had, and if we lived in a real city rather than a small town, few people would have had any serious objection. But Sterling Nichols and others chose to use the occasion to demonstrate, once again, that they simply have a hard time wrapping their heads around the fact that Gallegos is part of the government. You want the media to ask hard questions of the government, right?

If this turns out to be a growing trend, this business of public officials turning up their nose at one or another of the daily papers, we're going to need both of them to report any story. If you haven't already sold your soul to one of the various political factions in town, you might want to step back a bit and take the long view. Though it looks like competition on the surface, and while their publishers no doubt wouldn't mind stealing a great big helping of advertising cash off each others' plates, the two newspapers function in cooperation, not competition. They're both getting to the bottom of things, together. Good cop, bad cop. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.



Hey, you're a confirmed paranoid, right? You're certain that The Man is messing with your head, aren't you? If you're reading this in Humboldt County, chances are you fit one or both of these descriptions. So try this out for size -- a candidate in the upcoming election has planted an operative inside the Humboldt County Elections Office. It has possibilities, doesn't it? You can work with it, can't you?

We're sure you can. So, check it: Kelly Sanders is an administrative analyst who has worked with the office for about a year, according to Elections chief Lindsey McWilliams. She's the former director of the Redwood Coast Dixieland Jazz Festival. She also happens to be the sister of Bonnie Neely, the 4th District supervisor who is currently seeking reelection.

It's not like she just answers phones, either. (Though if she did answer a phone, what would she say?) In fact, this time around she's going to be in charge of the county's super-scary new voting booths aimed at helping disabled citizens cast their ballot. What's so scary about that, you ask? Not the technology itself -- though it is freaking terrifying -- but the fact that the county's existing electronic vote-counting apparatuses can't process its votes. That means that elections staffers will have to hand-copy every vote cast at the disabled-access machines to one of the county's AccuVote ballots. This leaves the inescapable conclusion that Sanders, and possibly other of her colleagues, have the means, the will and the secret Illuminati brainwash training to throw the election!

Please, please, please take a deep breath, Lindsey McWilliams begs. In fact, the re-voting system will have checks, counter-checks and built-in redundancies that will make any vote-rigging virtually impossible. There'll be two sets of eyes on it at all times, and there'll be a paper trail of the original votes cast at the disabled-access machines (which aren't manufactured by Diebold, if that's what you're worried about).

That's leaving aside the fact that Sanders is a human being, one who probably has at least as much honor as you or me. "Rumors to the contrary, Kelly Sanders is not an android and has no moving electronic parts that I know of," the ever-quotable McWilliams confirmed. (Likely story!) And she's sensible, too -- so sensible that she declined to speak with us when we asked.

In fact, we don't expect any great outburst of elections freak-out over this one. Because why? Because the demographics are such that most of the elections critics around here are Neely voters anyway. No harm, no foul. But just imagine what you'd get if there were a Flemming or a Bass in the office.



We finally got a chance to talk with Dennis Cunningham last week. Cunningham's a San Francisco attorney who has developed a reputation as something of a superlawyer in claims cases against government agencies, usually on the behalf of activists and others. He's had a couple of Humboldt County-related cases in the past, and they were both big ones: the Pepper Spray lawsuit against two Humboldt County police agencies, which resulted in a win for the activists whose eyeballs police had swabbed with the noxious substance, and the similarly victorious Judi Bari-Darryl Cherney civil rights lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The word we had was that Cunningham was considering filing a wrongful death suit against the Eureka Police Department over the Cheri Lyn Moore incident (see "Cause of Death," Sept. 21).

Is he going to sue? The answer appears to be maybe. The six-month anniversary of the incident is next Saturday, and that's the deadline to file a wrongful death claim. Cunningham said that his partner, Gordon Kaupp, has been looking into the case, but that as far as he knew, no one in his office has been able to contact Moore's son -- the only relative with standing to file a claim. Cunningham said that he was unaware that the deadline was approaching so soon -- he thought that the shooting had happened in July. "We'll have to make our move," he said.

If a suit is filed, it will further buttress local doctor Ken Miller's second career -- third career? -- as a midwife of politically charged litigation. Miller was the one who brought the now-dormant Headwaters lawsuit to the office of District Attorney Paul Gallegos. Cunningham said that Miller had been working with Kaupp on the potential Moore lawsuit.

3.26.2008

ER - Candidate seeks balance between growth, quality of life

Terrible interview, given all the controversy and the questions that should be asked of Mark Lovelace. This is a typical puff piece interview, that you can expect to see of all the candidates. No tough questions, no examination of the issues, no challenges. A big disappointment.

Candidate seeks balance between growth, quality of life

By CERENA JOHNSON, The Eureka Reporter
Published: Mar 25 2008, 10:46 PM

Third District Supervisor candidate Mark Lovelace said he is focused on balancing a need for economic development and growth with quality of life.

Lovelace, who has lived in the area for 20 years, is president of the Humboldt Watershed Council and is involved with the Healthy Humboldt Coalition, a cooperative effort through the council geared at protecting the environment and strengthening the local economy through the Humboldt County General Plan.

Lovelace has also served with various community organizations, including Citizens for Real Economic Growth, and established a consulting business working with small manufacturers, and has worked on property issues, affordable housing, alternative transportation and land use issues.

Lovelace also notes work in 2000 on the Sunny Brae forest project, through which 175 acres were added to the city of Arcata’s community forest management plan.

Lovelace said his public and private sector involvement will help him to recognize the connection between all of the different projects facing the county.

In confronting challenges that lie ahead, Lovelace said a dialogue about the future of Humboldt County and what it should look like is necessary.

“People live here for the quality of life,” he said, including scenic beauty and a natural environment. “We need to build upon that.”

Lovelace said in focusing on economic development, it is important to look at growing businesses locally that are also able to compete outside of the community, providing good paying jobs and utilizing local talent.

“There are some amazing young people coming out of this area,” he said.

He described the third district as a “magnet” for innovative businesses.

Having worked in manufacturing and being Web based, Lovelace also stressed the area’s need for infrastructure.

“As supervisor, I would want to work with those kinds of businesses and see that they have the tools they need,” he said.

The Third District stretches from Arcata and Manila to Freshwater and Kneeland.

Lovelace is running against Arcata City Councilmember Paul Pitino and Bryan Plumley, a financial adviser.

A new face for the 3rd District

A new face for the 3rd District

Jessie Faulkner Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/12/2008 01:25:56 AM PDT

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors race is on, with three of the five seats up for election, starting with the June primary.
The top vote-getters in races with more than two candidates will vie for the seats in November unless one hopeful receives more than 50 percent of the vote.
With 3rd District Supervisor John Woolley's recent announcement that he will not be seeking another term, the field is wide open -- and it remains so. Potential representatives have until the close of business today to file.
So far, three candidates are running: Humboldt Watershed Council President Mark Lovelace, Arcata City Councilman Paul Pitino and Environmental Systems Engineer Mike Wilson.
Second District incumbent Roger Rodoni faces former KMUD news director Estelle Fennell and Clendenen's Cider Works owner Clif Clendenen while 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith faces Ferndale dairyman John Vevoda.
This is the third story in a three-part series. Today's focus is on the 3rd District.
Mark Lovelace
Mark Lovelace said he debated whether he would be more effective at the podium or at the dais before deciding to run for the 3rd District supervisor.
After moving to the area in 1989, Lovelace said his activism began with an effort to establish the Sunny Brae Forest in 2000 -- an undertaking that resulted in adding 175 acres to the Arcata Community Forest -- and meant more than 2,000 hours of volunteer time.
The Humboldt Watershed
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Council was next and has been his employer from 2003 to present. Most recently, he has focused on Healthy Humboldt -- a project of the watershed council that has brought together a coalition of agencies to advocate for the protection of working land and open space in the county's ongoing general plan update.
Citing his professional accomplishments, Lovelace points to his efforts with the Sunny Brae forest. His mother, he said, is particularly proud of his selection as the Arcata Eye's 2002 Citizen of the Year.
Lovelace suggested an alternative approach to the much-needed economic development on the North Coast.
”We're approaching economic development as if our only strategy is a 'Hail Mary' pass,” he said. “We tend to focus on the idea that we need a large employer bringing in 300 jobs.”
Instead, the area is rich in small businesses doing great things. A preferable approach is to encourage establishment of those smaller enterprises, Lovelace said.
Lovelace also stressed the importance of looking at the whole picture -- instead of compartmentalizing issues.
As to skills, other than his interest and attention to the county issues, is a calmness and clarity in how he works.
”I really don't like making any kind of decision if I don't have my knowledge base,” Lovelace said.
That knowledge base, he said, comes not only from a dedication to doing his homework to listening to many constituents.
The truth is usually not at the extremes, Lovelace said, it's likely to be in the middle. The key is to the ability to be patient and discuss issues, particularly the divisive ones.
The biggest issue facing the 3rd District and all of Humboldt County, Lovelace said, is determining what we want the area to look like.
”We've done a good job on what we don't want,” Lovelace said. “We need to be equally clear on what we do want to see.”
With the 10 fastest growing counties in the state being rural counties -- not unlike Humboldt County -- there's the possibility of being overwhelmed, he said. The solution is being proactive.
Lovelace, a resident of Sunny Brae, has been married to Valorie for 15 years. They have a 14-year-old daughter, Abbey.
Paul Pitino
Arcata City Councilman Paul Pitino, an Arcata resident since 1993 and the father of three grown sons, has held a number of careers over the years from teaching children Spanish to designing control centers for high-rise buildings.
He's also made money as a millwright, factory worker, deli worker and currently works as a landscaper. His interest in politics may have started as a small child when he helped his father, the president of the postal union, hand out fliers.
As an adult, Pitino sampled the political waters while living in Ukiah and was a member of the city of Ukiah's solar access committee. He also worked on Dan Hamburg's anti-recall committee, when opponents tried to oust the former Mendocino County supervisor. Later on, after moving to the North Coast, Pitino was one of four people spearheading opposition to a 900-unit subdivision in the Arcata Bottom. He worked on another council candidate's campaign followed by his own successful effort to join elected body in 2004.
One of the accomplishments as a council member, he said, is bringing a balance to Arcata City Council in the form of a working class, lower-income perspective.
Pitino also said he tends to be a personable, approachable person with a good rapport with others of all economic classes from the homeless to business owners.
The candidate is opposed to campaign advertisements and endorsements. He is, however, spending a fair amount of time knocking on doors and talking with district residents.
Winning is a byproduct, what's really, really important is how you run the campaign, he said.
If that effort is successful, Pitino said one of his goals is to work to make the county a kinder, friendlier place -- in part by modeling such behavior whether it's opening doors for others, saying “hi” or picking up trash.
He's also adamant about improving public bus service -- specifically offering such service on Sundays. Doing that and improving the service overall, Pitino said, would be a shot in the arm for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid and, by association, everyone. It's an area in which Pitino said he has developed some familiarity with as the city of Arcata's representative to the Humboldt Transit Authority board of directors.
The ongoing issue of homelessness remains a challenge for the 3rd District, he said. Pitino said he's been studying how Portland, Ore. and Ukiah work with their homeless populations.
”If we can make life a little less of a hassle for the economic bottom part of society, it's good for everybody,” he said.
Mike Wilson
A native of southern Humboldt County, Mike Wilson has been a resident of Arcata since 1984 with a temporary move to San Francisco a few years later to finish his bachelor's degree in engineering at San Francisco State University. Following graduation, he worked for Bay Area-based international engineering firms before moving back to the North Coast to earn his master's degree in environmental systems engineering from Humboldt State University. That led to establishment of Wilson and his wife Laura's business, Humboldt Water Resources, an engineering consulting firm based in Arcata. Among their projects was United Indian Health Service's Potawot Village. Wilson also works part-time managing marketing for Carlson Wireless.
In the political realm, he's represented the 3rd District on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District for slightly more than two years.
Wilson is currently the vice president of the Friends of the Dunes board of directors and serves on the building committee for the organization's new nature center.
”I'm very excited about that,” he said.
As the 3rd District supervisor, Wilson said he would bring a fresh perspective -- adopting a practical approach to government. Part of that approach is bringing Humboldt County into the 21st Century in terms of infrastructure and, in particular, Internet redundancy. For the short term, he said, the preference is a microwave link while working to establish a second fiber optic link.
Wilson said he also wants to focus on connecting the area's existing skilled workforce to available employment. Humboldt State University is working in that direction, he said, and the county should support that effort.
As a parent of two young daughters, 1 and 7, Wilson said he is intimately aware of the importance of services to support families whether it's childcare or health insurance. The Board of Supervisors, he said, is responsible for making sure county programs and workers have the tools needed to deliver services.
Improving public transportation, focusing on affordable housing and getting the county general plan update done are all priorities, Wilson said. He also said it's important for the county to look into wind and wave energy opportunities as well as expanding solar programs.
Wilson said he was prompted to run for the 3rd District seat, in part, because of a positive experience as a representative on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District. He said he's looking forward to putting his public service skill set and his professional skills to work for the district. He also noted his abilities as a problem-solver, and an understanding of small business concerns.
”With some fresh ideas and perspectives, there's a lot that can be moved forward,” he said.
Wilson said advocates for the establishing a regional trail system -- a benefit not only for current North Coast residents, but a powerful lure for those considering moving to the area.
”I believe the 3rd District can be the backbone of that system,” he said, with trails to Eureka, Blue Lake and out to the beach.
”It's going to take strong county support to make that happen,” Wilson said.
But, he said that won't be the limit of his efforts: Daycare needs, affordable housing, the general plan, the impacts of development in Arcata's sphere of influence will all get his attention if he's elected.
At a glance: The 3rd District: The 3rd District includes Arcata and Manila but also stretches inland to the Kneeland area and south -- roughly to a line running east from Fortuna.
Jessie Faulkner can be reached at 441-0517 or jfaulkner@times-standard.com.

HHC to Planning

Page 1
The Healthy Humboldt Coalition
P.O. Box 1301,
Eureka CA 95502
707.822.1166
www.healthyhumboldt.org
mail@healthyhumboldt.org

May 10, 2007

Planning Commission
Community Development Department
3015 H Street
Eureka, CA 95503

Re:Chapter Group 4 PoliciesEconomic Development

Dear Commissioners and Staff,

We are writing to provide comments and specific recommendations regarding the recently releaseddraft policies for the Economic Development Element for the General Plan Update. While we aregenerally supportive of the direction established by the staff’s document, we do have some specificconcerns which we believe must be addressed to ensure the document’s consistency with otherelements and with the General Plan’s Guiding Principles, and to ensure the adequacy of theforthcoming EIR.The document lists draft policies for Alternative B, with occasional alternate policies for AlternativesA and C. There are a number of policies which are listed for Alternatives B and C which areexcluded for Alternative A. We understand that the purpose of this is to assure that eachalternative brings with it its own suite of policies. However, most of the omissions for Alternative Aappear to be arbitrary, and are inconsistent with the Guiding Principles for that alternative.The Staff’s document reads:“Plan Alternative A includes many of the components of Alternative B, but as anenvironmentally superior alternative, some wording and policy choices are presented thatare less robust toward economic development initiatives, particularly those that might behigh impact or growth inducing, such as road, rail, and airport expansions. Alternative Adoes not accommodate big box in the unincorporated area.”Staff’s presumption that a ‘robust’ economic development policy is somehow at odds with an‘environmentally superior’ General Plan is misleading and completely unsupported by any facts ordata. More to the point, this assertion is completely contradictory to the narrative in the staff’s owndocument.The policy document identifies nine base industry clusters, none of which are in any way at oddswith the focused-growth approach of Alternative A. In truth many, if not all, of these industrieswould likely benefit from the increased protections for resource lands, scenic beauty and quality oflife presented in Alternative A, making it quite likely the best and most robust alternative foreconomic development. Our comments in this letter are primarily an attempt to remedy thatinconsistency, so as to ensure that the policies ascribed to each alternative are consistent with thatalternative’s goals.There are numerous policy choices which are omitted from A for no apparent reason. Some ofthese omissions create the false impression that something in the nature of Alternative A wouldsomehow be at odds with the desire to create a strong and stable economy. We have providedour own recommendations below and in the attached table.
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org The version of policy ED-G1 which is listed for Alternatives B and C reads:ED-G1. Stable Economy. To enhance and maintain a diverse, stable, and growing localeconomy with an emphasis on base and emerging industries, innovation,entrepreneurship, and global competition.The version listed for Alternative A reads:ED-G1. Stable Economy. To maintain a diverse, stable local economy with an emphasison strengthening existing local industries.Again, this gives the false and unsupported impression that Alternative A would not fostereconomic growth, and would not support emerging industries, innovation, entrepreneurship orglobal competition. The reasoning for this is not given. We ask that staff reference the recent“Targets of Opportunity” report, which clearly shows the high premium placed on open space,environment, and quality of life by those business which are thriving locally. An accurate goal forAlternative A should include all of the goals listed in ED-G1, plus the reference to “strengtheningexisting local industries.”It is equally inconsistent to include Alternative C in policy goal ED-G1. As a ‘free-market’ approachto our future, the County should not be making any judgements about what kind of economicgrowth it will be supporting, and should allow the County’s economic fortunes to rise or fall uponthe whims of the market. There should be no presumption that a less-controlled market will be agood thing for us in Humboldt County.Goal ED-G4 is also improperly omitted from Alternative A, and equally improperly listed forAlternative C. If government is to ‘get out of the way’ of industry, then it should be making nopresumption as to the type of workers that will be needed by industry in the future, nor should ithave any obligation to provide for those industries.ED-G5 falsely assumes that clarity and specificity regarding land use is somehow at odds withtimely and efficient processing of permits. If anything, such clarity should make permittingsmoother. On the other hand, the lack of specificity in Alternative C should be assumed to be arecipe for permitting gridlock when it comes to implementation. G5 should apply to A, and not C.Alternative A should also be assumed to have the most efficient and best planned infrastructure fortransportation and wastewater, where C will be unplanned and inefficient. Thus, G6 should alsoapply to A and not C.We have provided these corrections in the attached table, shown in markup.Sincerely,Mark LovelaceHealthy Humboldt Coalition
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org Table 11-1. Plan Alternatives Comparison Chart PlanAlternativeGoalsStaff Remarks Vote:R,D,M B CED-G1. Stable Economy. To enhance and maintaina diverse, stable, and growing local economy with anemphasis on base and emerging industries, innovation,entrepreneurship, and global competition.See alternativewording belowAED-G1. Stable Economy. To enhance and maintain a diverse, stable, and growing local economy with anemphasis on base and emerging industries, innovation,entrepreneurship, global competition maintain adiverse, stable local economy with an emphasis on and strengthening existing local industries.Plan A alternativewording CED-G1. Que Sera Sera. Whatever happens happens,and we will live with it. A B CED-G2. Broadband Internet. To establish a reliablebroadband internet infrastructure that distributes achoice of economically accessible broadband servicesinto our most rural communities, and is not vulnerableto disruption. Integrate broadband service capabilityinto new buildings and developments. Providebroadband access in remote or rural communities.A BED-G3. Quality of Life. To attract and retain youngtalent by developing vibrant town centers thatincorporate a mix of employment, housing, and retailuses as well as access to child care, transportation, andcultural and natural amenities. A B C ED-G4. Skilled and Ready Workforce. To foster alocal workforce that is prepared to succeed in theindustries growing in Humboldt County, which valuesearly education, vocational training, and lifelonglearning. A B C ED-G5. Streamlining. To implement permitting andlicensing processes that are more responsive to theneeds and timelines of the marketplace, particularly formicroenterprises and home-based businesses. A B C ED-G6. Transportation Networks. To havetransportation facilities that allow freight mobility alongthe interstate highway system and provide connectivitybetween residential neighborhoods and employmentcenters.
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org Table 11-1. Plan Alternatives Comparison Chart A BED-G7. Public Water and Wastewater. To haveand maintain adequate public water and wastewaterfacilities to accommodate workforce housing andprovide opportunities for businesses to grow.A BED-G.8 Natural Resource Assets. To protectproductive agricultural, mineral resource, timber, andcoastal dependent lands.A BED-G9. Brownfields. To clean up and reusebrownfield sites.A BED-G10.Cooperation and Collaboration. To buildand maintain partnerships with cities, neighboringcounties, and the private sector that build and enhancecommon assets and resolve common obstacles.A BED-G11. Economic Development AssistancePrograms. To administer and support financial andtechnical assistance programs that support workers,businesses, and service providers.A BED- G12. Informed Public. To educate Countyresidents of economic trends, emerging markets,innovations and opportunities for entrepreneurshipthat benefit the region’s economic prosperity. C ED-G12. Public kept in the Dark. The public shallhave neither a role nor a voice in our economy. PlanAlternativeDevelopment PoliciesStaff Remarks Vote:R,D,M A BED-P1. Prime Employment Land Protection.Identify and protect prime employment lands fromconversion and encroachment of conflicting uses.B CED-P2. Airport Expansion. Support expansion ofthe airport to include service to major airport hubs andexpanded flight schedules.A BED-P3. Broadband Internet. Promote the provisionof broadband infrastructure in all communities.A BED-P4. Workforce Housing. Promote thedevelopment of workforce housing and mixed-usehousing around multi-modal transportation options.A BED-P5. Child Care. Promote the provision of childcare facilities within business, commercial andindustrial centers and housing developments.
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org Table 11-1. Plan Alternatives Comparison Chart A BED-P6. Revitalization. Promote the revitalization ofunderutilized lands in communities in transition due tothe decline of resource-based industries.A BED-P7. Brownfields. Consider land use designationsfor brownfields to encourage cleanup and reuse.A BED-P8. Commercial and Industrial SitesDatabase. Maintain a commercial and industrial sitesdatabase and continue to improve accessibility toonline information on commercial and industrialproperty.AED-P9. Commercial Retail. Large format “big box”commercial uses shall not be located in theunincorporated area to avoid sprawl.Plan A alternativewordingBED-P9. Commercial Retail. Include standards fordiscretionary review of large format “big box”commercial uses to reduce their land use impact.Plan B alternativewordingCED-P9. Commercial Retail. Include standards fordiscretionary review of large format “big box”commercial uses.Plan C alternativewordingBED-P10. Industrial Parks. Where appropriate,promote development of well planned and designedindustrial parks catering to existing local, as well asoutside opportunities. Encourage masterenvironmental assessments for industrial parks in orderto streamline the subsequent development process.From FrameworkPlan AED-P10. Industrial Parks. Where appropriate,promote development of well planned and designedmultiple-use centers which include industrial,commercial, and residential development within acohesive, walkable area. PlanAlternativeInvestment PoliciesStaff Remarks Vote:R,D,M A BED-P11. Financial Resources. Acquire anddistribute financial resources for workforce training,economic research, infrastructure, and businessdevelopment.B CED-P12. Freight Mobility. Pursue financial andtechnical solutions to provide reliable interstate truckaccess on both U.S. 101 and State Highway 299.
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org Table 11-1. Plan Alternatives Comparison Chart B CED-P13. Broadband Internet. Support thedevelopment and management of a redundant fiberoptic line that connects to the fiber backbone runningalong the U.S. 5 corridor. Support the expansion anddelivery of broadband Internet in the rural or remotecommunities in the county through all appropriatetechnologies.See alternativewording belowAED-P13. Broadband Internet. Support the expansionand delivery of broadband Internet in the rural orremote communities in the county through allappropriate technologies.Plan A alternativewordingA BED-P14. Workforce Housing. Encourage productionof housing at a price commensurate with income levels,and a transportation system to provide efficientconnectivity between housing and places ofemployment to maintain satisfactory commute traveltimes and distances.A BED-P15. Public Infrastructure. Pursue anddistribute funding and technical assistance to upgradeand enhance the water and wastewater facilities ofcommunities.A BED-P16. Brownfields. Pursue and distribute fundingand technical assistance to assess, clean up, and reusebrownfields.PlanAlternativePartnership PoliciesStaff Remarks Vote:R,D,M A BED-P17. Job Growth. Collaborate with economicdevelopment entities in the region to promote jobgrowth, technical innovations, and entrepreneurship inbase and emerging industries.A BED-P18. Workforce. Work with the education andprivate sectors to promote education, vocationaltraining, professional development, and lifelonglearning.A BED-P19. Cities and Counties. Collaborate withcities and neighboring counties to identify andimplement regional economic initiatives that benefitbase and emerging industries.A BED-P20. Child Care. Foster private/publicpartnerships with child care service and informationproviders.
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org Table 11-1. Plan Alternatives Comparison Chart PlanAlternativeImplementation MeasuresStaff Remarks Vote:R,D,M A BED-IM1. Ordinances. Update ordinances related toeconomic development for consistency with the uses ofbase and emerging industries.A BED-IM2. Commercial and Industrial SitesDatabase Mapping. Update the Commercial andIndustrial Sites Database on a two-year cycle andprovide online maps of vacant industrial andcommercial properties using the County’s GeographicInformation System.A BED-IM3. Broadband Deployment. Revisesubdivision regulations to provide infrastructure forbroadband internet.A BED-IM4. Programs. Support technical and financialassistance programs, including delivering capital,technical expertise, and training to businesses startingup and expanding.B CED-IM5. Streamlining. Provide regular review andimprovement of ordinances and permit processes toincrease efficiency and reduce permit processing timesfor strategic targets such as, but not limited to,microenterprises, home based-businesses, andworkforce housing.A BED-IM6. Child Care. Investigate and supportfinancing tools that leverage public and private fundingto increase the establishment, rehabilitation, expansion,and viability of child care facilities.A BED-IM7. Informed Public. Conduct and publiceconomic research relating to emerging markets,innovations, and opportunities in which the region mayhave competitive advantages.PlanAlternativeExisting Framework PlanStaff Remarks Vote:R,D,M D 1. Promote economic development by coordination ofefforts with both local economic developmentorganizations and members of the private sector.Replaced by P16,P17. P18 and P19
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The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition The Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt CoalitionThe Healthy Humboldt Coalition P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org Table 11-1. Plan Alternatives Comparison Chart D 2. Encourage a diverse range of commercial andindustrial development consistent with communitygoals and the level of services provided in each of thecities and communities.Replaced by G1, P1and P9D 3. Continue to provide for, through General Planamendments and zoning revisions as needed, anadequate supply of commercial and industrial land tomaximize opportunities for development.Replaced by P1, P7,P9, IM1, and IM2D 4. Prevent the loss of designated industrial lands toother uses requiring permanent facilities.Replaced by P1D 5. Ensure that industrial or commercial developmentwhich requires provision for public water, sewagedisposal, roads and other needed utilities and services isplaced in a suitable urbanized area.Replaced by P14D 6. Allow Resource Dependent Industrial uses outsideof urban areas when such uses are:• dependent upon close proximity to resourceproduction lands, and• not dependent on urban services.D 7. Where appropriate, promote development of wellplanned and designed industrial parks catering toexisting local, as well as outside opportunities.Encourage master environmental assessments forindustrial parks in order to streamline the subsequentdevelopment process.Included as P10D 8. Locate commercial development in appropriatecommunity centers that will assist and supplementexisting commercial activity.Replaced by P9D 9. Discourage strip commercial development, whereappropriate.D 10. Encourage the economic opportunities forproduction facilities that efficiently utilize all productsand by-products of forestry, fishery, or agriculturaluses.D 11. Maximize local energy opportunities from therenewable resources found in the County.D 12. Encourage innovative methods for pollutionreduction and waste product disposal and utilization.

The Healthy Humboldt Coalition

To link to or bookmark this page, use the following url: http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:kISPSGZnK5oJ:co.humboldt.ca.us/planning/gp/PrelimHearingDraft/GeneralComments/1-22-07HealthyHumboldt.pdf+Mark+Lovelace,+Healthy+Humboldt&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us&client=safari

Page 1
The Healthy Humboldt Coalition
P.O. Box 1301,
Eureka CA 95502
707.822.1166
www.healthyhumboldt.org
mail@healthyhumboldt.org
January 22, 2007

All County Supervisors
825 5th Street
Eureka, CA 95502
Re: Request for 60-day review period for General Plan Update documents

Dear Supervisors and Staff,I am writing to request that your Community Development staff provide a 60-day public review period forthe draft chapters of the General Plan, EIR, and ordinances, rather than the 30-day period currently beingprovided.

We believe that this extended review period will provide greater opportunity for public input, willimprove the quality of that input, and will ultimately result in greater public understanding of, andconfidence in, the final General Plan.The December 5 th , 2005 General Plan Update: Status Report and Proposed Work Plan states:The Department will publish hearing drafts of the Plan, EIR and ordinances at least thirtydays prior to Planning Commission and Board review. Updated versions, revised throughpublic hearings, will be published at least ten days prior to Planning Commission andBoard review, unless your Board or the Planning Commission modifies the public reviewtime period.From the December 5 th , 2005 Schedule for the General Plan Update it appears that the revised drafts willtypically be made available at the same time that the initial draft documents for the next group are beingreleased. Similarly, there will likely be some overlap between the hearings on the initial draft documentsfor a given group and the hearings on the revised drafts for the prior group. Both staff and the public willthus have to juggle initial and revised draft documents for two different groups within an overlapping 30-day window. This is simply not enough time for the public’s input to be meaningful, and will likely lead toincreased confusion and decreased confidence in both the process and the product.These grouped chapters for the General Plan are likely to be lengthy and complex, and will requiresignificant time for public review. For organizations such as Healthy Humboldt, we will need time toreview and discuss these documents before we can provide informed and meaningful input in the way ofsuggestions or recommendations. Additionally, time will be needed for us to gather input from oursupporters and from the broader community. We believe that a 60-day review period for the initial draftdocuments will improve the public’s understanding of these documents, provide greater opportunity formeaningful input, and increase the public’s confidence in the resulting General Plan.We are aware that initial hearings on the first two Chapter Groups are already being scheduled, and thatthis 60-day review period simply could not be accommodated for these groups without creating asignificant delay. Due to this, we believe that it would be prudent and reasonable to accept the 30-dayreview period for these first two groups and move towards the 60-day review period beginning with Group3 or, if that cannot be accommodated, Group 4.We thank you for considering these comments.

Sincerely,Mark LovelaceHealthy Humboldt Coalition
It is interesting to read this now - knowing now that Mark Lovelace was being paid to be Healthy Humboldt, though he only lists his usual title, the "president" of "Humboldt Watershed Council." Now he has stated that "Healthy Humboldt" is a "project of "Humboldt Watershed Council." And that the $125,000 grant that paid his salary to attend meetings, and lobby extensively for changes to the General Plan Update came from the Resources Defense Fun Foundation. The grant, however was paid to Humboldt Watershed Council, a 501(c)(3), forbidden to actively seek to change public policy. So in funneling the money into "Healthy Humboldt" you could say he was effectively cheating the tax system.

The Healthy Humboldt Coalition
P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166
www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Op Ed By Mark Lovelace
Our Future is at Stake
The County General Plan Update is an opportunity for us to define our vision for Humboldt County’s
future. Do we want to preserve our unique local character and quality of life, or do we want to grow into
something else? This is not merely a discussion about where new homes will go, but of how much
population growth we want to invite. It is a reciprocal process, where the amount of growth we plan for
will largely dictate the amount of growth we receive. If we carve out room for 63,000 more people, they
will come. In a fast growing state, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the stakes for Humboldt County
couldn’t be higher.

The County has produced 4 'sketch plans', outlining different concepts for future growth. These include a continuance of the County's existing 1984 Framework General Plan, an ‘Expanded Growth’ plan which converts more of our resource lands and natural areas to subdivisions, a 'Focused Growth' plan, which protects these open space lands by promoting higher development potential within our existing communities, and a 'Mixed Growth' plan. This last plan offers some improvements over the existing plan, but it would ultimately allow the largest overall increase in population growth.

Recently, a proposal was introduced by a group calling itself HELP (Humboldt Economic and Land Plan), which is backed by real estate and development interests. At the core of the HELP proposal is a fourfold increase in the rate of population growth. The County has projected a growth rate of .5 percent (half of one percent) per year for the next 20 years. HELP wants the County to plan on growth of 2% per year, fully four times as much. Compounded, this calculates out to a population increase of almost 50% in just 20 years, from 130,000 to 193,173. That's over 63,000 more people.

The HELP plan would mean as many as 32,000 new homes added to our landscape (versus the County’s current projection of 5,900). The County also projects that only 5,095 of those new homes could be accommodated in our existing cities and sewered areas, leaving nearly 27,000 new homes that would have to be built in rural areas. Using the County’s average of 5 acres per dwelling unit in rural areas, the HELP plan would consume 135,000 acres of working open space and resource lands.
Healthy Humboldt has a different vision for our future. Healthy Humboldt is a coalition of individuals, business owners, and community and environmental organizations. Our vision centers around preserving Humboldt’s unique quality of life, protecting our environment, and strengthening our local economy. Our coalition seeks to maintain Humboldt’s rural, ‘small town’ character, with separate and distinct communities. We seek to preserve the wild and working open spaces which provide both an important part of our economic base and the scenic backdrop for our communities. We envision creating a truly
sustainable relationship between our natural environment and our economy.

Healthy Humboldt is working for a County General Plan that will focus new growth into our existing communities, preserve open space, reduce County infrastructure costs, provide certainty and predictability for builders, and maintain our small-town character. This community-centered approach will enhance our neighborhoods, strengthen our local economy, and protect the County’s bays, rivers, streams, and natural landscapes.

The Healthy Humboldt Coalition
P.O. Box 1301, Eureka CA 95502 707.822.1166
www.healthyhumboldt.org mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Healthy Humboldt’s Guiding Principles are:
Maintain separate and distinct ‘small town’ communities with a variety of cultural and recreational
amenities, surrounded by wild and working open spaces.
Restore a sustainable relationship with our natural environment to provide for clean water, fish
and wildlife, scenic beauty, and natural resources.
Promote housing, education and health care to meet community needs throughout the County.
Reduce County infrastructure costs by channeling new growth to existing cities and communities
currently served by water and sewer.
Support locally-based businesses and industries.
Ensure a locally sustainable energy future.
Provide clear and concise County land-use policies for the public.
There is a fundamental difference between planning and reacting. Healthy Humboldt’s careful planning
approach is to look at the road ahead and ask ourselves “What’s our destination, and how do we get
there?” The reactionary approach looks at the road ahead and simply asks “How many lanes do we
need?”

We can build a future of our own design, but it will take the help and support of Humboldt County’s
residents. If you share our vision, please join us in working toward a healthy Humboldt County.
Mark Lovelace is the President of the Humboldt Watershed Council. For more information, please check
the Healthy Humboldt website at www.healthyhumboldt.org.

One-on-one with Mark Lovelace

One-on-one with Mark Lovelace
by Glenn Franco Simmons

The Eureka Reporter

(Editor’s note: In last week’s Eureka Reporter, there was a story about
The Pacific Lumber Co. that featured an interview with PALCO President
and Chief Executive Officer Robert Manne. This week’s story features an
interview with Mark Lovelace of the Humboldt Watershed Council.)

The Humboldt Watershed Council said it would like to support The Pacific
Lumber Co., but it finds itself unable to do that.

“We would love to see PL be a company that we could support and get
behind,” said watershed council President Mark Lovelace, “because timber
is an important part of our economy up here. Unfortunately, there are
some long-standing issues with Pacific Lumber Co. that make that an
uphill battle.”

Part of the problem, Lovelace said, is flooding in the Freshwater and
Elk River watersheds.

“The watershed council and residents of Elk River and Freshwater have
been dealing for years with the impacts (of logging),” he said. “There
have been the damages caused by flooding that these residents have been
suffering from. There are people in these watersheds who have boats who
only use them for getting around when it floods.”

Lovelace said it takes about 1.24 inches in a 24-hour period to flood
some areas of these watersheds — and, it causes significant problems for
some residents.

“It causes damage to people’s homes, their foundations, vehicles, septic
systems and wells,” he said. “When a septic tank is flooded and you have
a well on your property, then you have just got septic contamination in
your well. People have been told by the (county) Health Department that
any time it floods, they need to put on waders, rubber gloves and masks
and scrub their whole house out because they have septic contamination
in it.

“And there are people in these watersheds who have taken to keeping a
Sharpie around so that every time it floods, on their door jam they keep
track of the height of the flood.”

Lovelace said there is one house that is more than 100 years old that
has recordings of floods in it.

“It has markings from the whole 100-year history,” he said. “Almost all
the marks have been from the last 15 years, so it (flooding) is a real
serious problem.”

Lovelace said the cause of the flooding is overlogging.

“The watershed council and residents of Elk River and Freshwater have
been dealing for years with the impacts: the flooding and damages caused
by the flooding,” he said. “They first started noticing problems with
the river and Freshwater Creek in the early 1990s and formed a group
called the Friends of Freshwater.

“It wasn’t until 1996 that things really got to be too bad. At that
point, residents in both of these watersheds started forming, in
conjunction with some other people, what became the Humboldt Watershed
Council, in 1997.”

The organization started going to various agencies involved in the
timber harvest approval process.

“They started going to the Board of Forestry, with an emergency petition
that went no where,” Lovelace said. “They went to CDF, likewise, which
didn’t do anything about it (flooding). They really had a huge learning
curve about what these agencies will or won’t do. And they started going
to the regional water board.”

The water board began looking at watersheds in total and said there were
problems from cumulative logging that caused increased sedimentation
but it wasn’t only in Freshwater and Elk River watersheds, Lovelace
said.

“It was Freshwater, Elk River, and Bear, Stitz and Jordan creeks,” he
said. “They called them the five watersheds. Along with being impacted,
what these five watersheds have in common is that they are all owned in
the majority or completely by The Pacific Lumber Co.

“Flooding used to happen, on average, maybe twice a decade. It is now
happening as often as four or five times a year. Over all these years,
they have yet to get any relief from this flooding. The agencies have
studied the issue, they have looked at it for many years. The water
board has an appointed board that presides over the staff, and the board
has been convinced by PL and others that their (water board) staff was
out of line. Their staff was saying the problem was that there was too
much timber harvesting, and the board didn’t believe them for a long
time.

“It took years and years of research,” Lovelace said. “The board had
lots of independent studies done. They commissioned independent
scientific review panel reports and they tried to facilitate mediation
between the residents and PL, which failed because PL said they would
not allow any discussion of the rate-of-harvest issue. The rate of
harvest was just off-limits.”

The flooding, Lovelace said, can be traced back to when PALCO was first
acquired by MAXXAM.

“MAXXAM was an investment company,” he said. “They had no background in
timber. They knew nothing about timber harvesting, so one of the first
things they did after acquiring PL was to hire a consultant called
Pacific Meridian Resources to study what they had acquired and how they
should run the business.”

Lovelace said PALCO then became a company that would start liquidating
its timber resource with heavy logging and high employment. He claimed
PALCO knew that down the line, its rate of harvest would lead to less
logging and less employment, meaning mills would have to shutdown and
employees be laid off.

“After the 1985 takeover by MAXXAM, PL’s rate of harvest increased
dramatically,” according to a handout Lovelace gave The Eureka Reporter.
“By 1999, it had skyrocketed to 10 times PL’s historic average, and
three times PL’s previous highest rate ever.

“CDF later reduced that rate somewhat to the current 500- and 600-acre
caps in Freshwater and Elk River, respectively, but those rates are
still four times the historic average and 50 percent greater than PL’s
highest-ever pre-MAXXAM rate.”

The watershed council said the current timber harvest rate is high and
comes “on top of the devastation already caused by the even-higher rates
of the 1990s.”

“Effectively, CDF responded to the designation of these watersheds as
impaired by granting PL a rate of harvest that was higher than they had
ever been subjected to in the 135 years before MAXXAM took over,”
according to the handout. “This rate of harvest was driven by a plan to
maintain not pay off the debt that had been incurred through
MAXXAM’s leveraged buyout of the company.

“Since 1986, a steady ‘upstreaming’ of $100 million per year to MAXXAM
kept PL bordering on the brink of bankruptcy. The only significant
payment towards principal occurred when MAXXAM sold off PL’s cutting and
welding division and gutted the employee retirement plan, netting some
$431 million. Even then, the majority of this profit went straight to
MAXXAM.”

In 1993, the council said, MAXXAM refinanced its debt, taking hundreds
of millions of dollars out of the company while returning the debt to
its 1985 level.

“In 1998, MAXXAM refinanced again,” the handout stated. “This time they
mortgaged all of the company’s timberlands, leaving PL in as much debt
as ever, but minus its greatest asset.

“The significance of this arrangement is two-fold: First MAXXAM used its
increased rate of cut as a way to show a track record of growth before
making a public offering. At the same time, MAXXAM lobbied CDF that they
need a high rate of harvest to meet their outstanding financial
obligations.”

The council said PALCO is structured so that its profits flow to MAXXAM
“while (it) remains on the edge of bankruptcy.”

Lovelace said the net result is that MAXXAM has intentionally
manipulated PL into a precarious financial situation so as to guarantee
a steady income stream and to ensure that state regulatory agencies
won’t curtail PALCO’s rate of harvest, for fear of economic hardship.

“You’ve got a resource that is renewable but it only renews at a certain
rate,” he said. “Trees only grow so fast. If you log in excess of that,
you can’t sustain it. The more you log upfront, the more of a decline
you are going to have further down the line.”

Lovelace said PL is cutting too much by selectively logging an area and
then going in 15 years later and harvesting the rest of the lumber.

“When you are talking about trees that should have a lifecycle of around
600 years, the idea that a 15-year difference in age qualifies for
uneven-aged harvest (is incorrect),” Lovelace said.

He said the net effect of such logging “means there is little
harvestable timber” that PALCO is logging.

And it’s the cumulative impact of logging on multiple timber harvest
plans in single watersheds that has Lovelace and others concerned. He
said CDF looks at each harvest plan as an isolated plan, rather than
contributing to a cumulative effect in a watershed.

“They (CDF) keep approving each timber harvest plan based on one timber
harvest plan; meanwhile, their stack of plans to approve keeps growing
and they are not looking cumulatively at all of these timber harvest
plans having an impact. They claim to, but they simply don’t have a
mechanism to do that. CDF does not even have a desire to look at
cumulative impact.

“CDF is supposed to regulate the impact of timber harvesting and they
have to protect the public interest, but at the same time they are
supposed to be advocates for and facilitate timber harvest plans. You
can’t really do both, so they typically, consistently, opt for
facilitating and advocating for timber harvesting.”

Visit us at http://www.ourhumboldt.org

This message came to you from the Alliance for Ethical Business. This list is intended to serve exclusively as an information and organizing tool for building a strong volunteer base to promote corporate and civic responsibility.

3.23.2008

TS - An evolution of law:

An evolution of law: Spousal rape recently prosecutable
An evolution of law: Spousal rape recently prosecutable

If Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen's wife had made the same rape allegations 30 years ago that she made last month -- or in some other states -- Gundersen wouldn't have been charged with a crime.

Spousal rape laws, or even the concept of raping a spouse, are pretty new developments. In fact, until the late 1970s, spouses were typically excluded from sexual assault laws.

Until 1993, North Carolina's rape law stated that “a person may not be prosecuted under this article if the victim is the person's legal spouse at the time of the commission of the alleged rape or sexual offense, unless the parties are living separate and apart.”

Currently, spousal rape is a crime in all 50 states but the degrees vary greatly.

In California, the penal code currently considers rape and spousal rape separate offenses and, while they come with similar sentences, there are some nuanced differences that illustrate how they are still considered to be very different crimes.

While some argue keeping the statutes separate is important, others feel the separate offenses compromise victim privacy and diminish the seriousness of spousal rape.

According to Michelle J. Anderson's 2003 book “Marital Immunity, Intimate Relationships, and Improper Inferences: A New Law on Sexual Offenses by Intimates,” the formation of American rape laws took root in English common law. The property theory, Anderson wrote, played a huge role, as women were considered to be the property of men.

”The rape of an unmarried woman transgressed against her father and the rape of a married woman transgressed against her husband,” Anderson wrote. “The rape of a married woman by her husband himself was not a transgression at all because a man was allowed to treat his chattel as he deemed appropriate.

”Because the rape of a married woman was a violation of her husband's property,” Anderson continued, “prosecuting a husband for raping his wife made no more sense than indicting him for stealing his own property.”

State laws began to change in the late 1970s when reformers challenged the spousal rape exemptions in courtrooms and legislatures, but in some cases, change was slow in coming.

As of 2003, it still wasn't a crime in 20 states for a husband to have non-consensual sex with his wife while she was mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, according to Anderson's book.

California adopted a spousal rape law in 1979, but it only included rape by force, while the existing rape statute included a variety of manners of rape, including rape by coercion, rape by threat and rape when the victim is incapable of consent.

Nancy Lemon, a lecturer at University of California Berkeley School of Law and domestic violence expert witness, said she had a hand in changing those aspects of California's spousal rape laws in the early 1990s.

The push, Lemon said, was to make the spousal rape statute a mirror image of the its non-spousal counterpart.

”The main goal was just to make it equal,” Lemon said, adding that she and others faced some opposition in changing the law.

“I think No. 1 was the assumption that when people marry, they consent to sex -- that wives consent to sex at any time, and don't really have the right to say no.”

Over the course of several years, Lemon and her colleagues were largely successful in making the statutes similar, but they couldn't get enough support to make them identical.

Currently, offenses in the two statutes are pretty much identical, and carry the same sentences. There is one notable difference, however.

While anyone convicted of violating any section of the non-spousal rape statute is required to register with the state as a sex offender, only those convicted of raping their spouse by force or fear are required to register.

That means if Gundersen is convicted of all 12 counts of spousal rape with the use of an intoxication and anesthetic substance that he faces, he will not have to register as a sex offender.

However, if convicted of the single count of transporting or kidnapping a second victim for the purpose of committing rape, Gundersen would have to add his name to the registry.

Gundersen has pleaded not guilty to all of the 19 charges he faces, and is being held on $1.25 million bail awaiting his April 11 preliminary hearing.

The statute of limitations is also different for spousal rape and other rape charges in California. Under state law, spouses have one year to report rape allegations while non-spouses have between three and 10 years to report.

The differences between spousal rape and other rape laws in California are far less than in other states. For instance, Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia all have lesser penalties for spousal rape than for other rapes, no matter the force used or the injury inflicted.

Speaking in general about California law, North Coast Rape Crisis Team Executive Community Outreach Coordinator Paula Arrowsmith-Jones said the largest problem isn't in the letter of the law.

”The real problem is not the statute itself, but in the application of the law and the perception of the public,” Arrowsmith-Jones said. “Though it may or not be the intent, the affect it has is to minimize it. It gets treated as though it's different from rape.”

Arrowsmith-Jones also said the public perception often is that spousal rape is somehow less of a crime.

”It's confusing to people because the way rape is presented to us in movies and stuff is rapists jumping out of bushes, and that's really the least common way to be raped,” Arrowsmith-Jones said. “The attitude in our society is such that the closer the (perpetrator and defendant) are, the harder it is for our community to understand that it was a violent act and not just sex.”

Lemon said many believe the psychological impacts of spousal rape can be just as severe as of rape committed by a stranger, if not more.

”Many people argue that it is more traumatic because it is a betrayal of a more fundamentally trusting relationship,” she said.

Many say the spousal rape designation can also make some victims less likely to come forward, as they wouldn't have the same expectation of privacy as a non-spousal victim.

Others feel there are some positives to keeping the statutes separate. Lemon said it assures that meaningful statistics can be kept distinguishing the prevalence of spousal rape from other types of rape, and some say it highlights the fact that violence and sexual assault can just as easily happen in the home as in a dark alley.

Even if the statutes are kept separate, Arrowsmith-Jones said they need to be equal, and the differences in the statute of limitations and sex offender registry just serve to treat spousal rape as less of a crime.

”Why, as a community, would we say that one is more serious or more dangerous?,” Arrowsmith-Jones asked.

Thadeus Greenson can be reached at 441-0509 or tgreenson@times-standard.com
Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 03/23/2008 01:30:11 AM PDT

3.18.2008

MckP - Coverup at MCSD?

Coverup at MCSD?
By Jack Durham - Press Editor

The former business manager and treasurer of the McKinleyville Community Services District says he was forced to retire after Manager Tom Marking thwarted his efforts to have a proper investigation into financial irregularities and the possible embezzlement of taxpayer dollars.

The situation spurred Jim Harding – who has served as the MCSD’s chief financial officer for 11 years before retiring on Tuesday, March 4 – to file a complaint last week with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office and the Grand Jury.

Suspected embezzlement

Harding said he discovered “financial irregularities” in the general ledger several months ago. In an interview last week, Harding said that Manager Marking was definitely not a suspect and that the amount missing was “a thousand dollars or less,” at least that he knew of. Harding would not disclose the name of the suspected employee.

“I reported my suspicions to my supervisor, General Manager Tom Marking, and requested an impartial investigation by the County Auditor or Board of Directors in closed session,” stated Harding in a written statement to the McKinleyville Press. “He (Marking) agreed only to conduct his own, solo investigation, and he refused to tell me how or whether he dealt with the embezzlement I suspected.”

It’s worth noting that Harding is not merely a business manager working at the behest of Manager Marking. He was also an officer of the board who had been unanimously selected as MCSD treasurer by the board every year during his 11-year stint with the district. If he were to ignore what he suspected was the embezzlement of district funds, he could be fingered as being part of a cover-up.

Harding said that “he (Marking) ordered me to drop the matter. I told him that I had a fiduciary responsibility to the district and would not accept his burying the issue. I demanded to take the matter to the board in closed session and told him that if I weren’t allowed to address the board, I would need to report the situation to the County Auditor.”

Counter-charges

Harding says that when he returned to work the next day, Feb. 28, he was physically barred from his office by Marking, who confiscated his keys and placed him on disciplinary suspension.

“The following day, he had delivered to me another letter that said I was under investigation for making physical threats to someone unnamed,” Harding stated. “He threatened involvement of law enforcement authorities and, in a subsequent letter, exercise of legal remedies if I had contact with ‘any and all district employees.’ ”

Harding flatly denied that he made threats towards anyone and called the allegations “patently false.”

“It was clear to me that Marking was about to fire me in an attempt to make the whole thing go away. As an employee I had no access to the board and no way to pursue my suspicions,” Harding stated.

Oddly enough, board members would not have been allowed to discuss the issue with Harding unless they were willing to violate a policy they created in January. After meeting with Marking in closed session on Jan. 8, the board announced that “contact with district staff will be through the general manager.”

“So I could speak freely about the disharmony and apparent malfeasance at the district, and to protect the benefits I’ve earned over the past 11 years at the MCSD, I felt forced to submit my retirement,” Harding stated.

“As a retiree, I feel free to make my appeal to the MCSD board, county investigative agencies and the community. Regarding the suspected malfeasance and attempted cover-up, I’ve contacted Board President John Corbett requesting a hearing before the board in closed session,” Harding wrote. Last week Harding submitted complaints to the District Attorney and the Grand Jury.

Auditor to investigate

When contacted by the McKinleyville Press, Marking declined to comment and said that Board President John Corbett is designated as the district spokesperson for this issue.

In a phone interview Friday, March 14, Corbett said he was limited in what he could say because personnel matters are involved.

The board, he said, discussed the issue of the financial irregularities during a closed session at a special meeting held Tuesday, March 4. The board decided to refer the matter to its auditor “for review,” Corbett said.

That meeting was held five hours after Harding officially retired from the MCSD. The meeting was agendized as a performance evaluation and contract negotiation with its general manager, according to the draft minutes included in this week’s board meeting packet.

As for the allegation that Harding threatened an employee, Corbett said the matter is being investigated by the MCSD’s attorney.

‘I loved the job’

Harding was hired by former MCSD Manager Bruce Buel in mid-1997. At the time, the MCSD’s books were a total mess. “The accounting system had imploded,” Harding said.

The MCSD board was regularly briefed at its meetings about the accounting problems, which made some residents suspicious about whether there were some financial shenanigans going on with their tax dollars. But all the data was there and eventually the books were put back in order. “Everything got reconciled,” Harding recalled.

Over the years, Harding said, there’s been a steady improvement in the district’s financial system.

But the atmosphere at the district’s office seemed to change in the last year or two. “It certainly seems different to me, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Despite tensions at the office, particularly in recent weeks, Harding said “I loved the job.” Harding seemed visibly upset by the turn of events and made it clear that he didn’t want to retire but was forced to do so.

“I feel the turmoil everyone has seen on the board level is even worse on the staff level. It’s sad to see how the district has changed these past few years under Tom Marking,” Harding stated.

“As reported in this paper, there have been other instances of his poor relationships and heavy-handed tactics towards those who disagree with him,” Harding stated. “It’s very disappointing that the board seems unwilling or unable to rein in his animosity.”

Marking in Burney

The situation with Harding isn’t the first time Marking has had a conflict with an employee. According to a Nov. 13, 2002, article in The InterMountain News, Marking was the manager of the Burney Water District from 1991 until 1998, when he was unanimously dismissed by the board. Burney is located in Shasta County.

An employee quit his job with the district in 1997 “due to stress, reportedly due to working with Marking,” the article stated.

The employee “filed a claim against the water district and in October 1997 was awarded more than $25,000 in Workers Compensation and Unemployment Insurance benefits.”

Marking’s contract

The MCSD Board of Directors is scheduled to consider a new employment contract with Marking at its meeting on Wednesday, March 19, at Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Road, McKinleyville.

The meeting begins with a closed session at 6 p.m. for a “contract negotiation with the general manager.” At 7 p.m. the board will convene in open session. Near the end of the agenda, the board is scheduled to consider the new employment contract.

The board was presented in Feburary with two contracts. Under one contract, Marking may get a $5,431 annual raise along with a $57,000 bonus in the event that he quits his job or is terminated, with or without cause. In addition, Marking would get paid and receive full benefits for three months after he’s terminated.

Both the raise and the bonus – equal to 6 months of his proposed annual salary of $114,040 – are included in an employment contract drawn up by Marking himself and submitted to the Board of Directors for consideration. The 14-month contract would run from May 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009. Marking also submitted a short-term contract, under which he would be paid $9,700 a month until the district finds a replacement manager. Under this agreement, Marking would also receive a bonus equal to six months of his base salary, for a total of $58,200.

New treasurer

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board will consider appointing a treasurer to fill the position vacated by Harding. Marking is recommending that the board appoint Assistant Business Manager Diane Sloane to serve in the position until a new business manager is hired.

3.14.2008

ER - DA mistake violates victims’ rights

DA mistake violates victims’ rights
By JOHN C. OSBORN , The Eureka Reporter
Published: Mar 13 2008, 11:47 PM · Updated: Mar 14 2008, 12:21 AM

In a mistake that the District Attorney admits to, the names of both alleged sexual assault victims in the case against David Gundersen found their way into the public record. This happened despite both women’s request that the information remain confidential.

In cases like the one against Gundersen, confidential personal information is required by law to not be made public. One of the reasons for this is that revealing personal information could have harmful effects to victims of sexual violence.

Gundersen, chief of the Blue Lake Police Department, awaits trial on suspicion of 19 charges, including 12 counts of spousal rape with an intoxicant and one count of kidnapping to commit another crime.

Confidentiality laws are in place to protect victims of sexual assault, so they can feel comfortable coming forward to testify,

Yet several documents, found in Gundersen’s case file, reveal the identity of the victims.

One document was a request by one of the alleged victims to have her name kept confidential, although the form not only has her name but also her address and contact information.

“That should not be there,” District Attorney Paul Gallegos said of the document. “That’s an error on my part.”

Another court record — the statement for probable cause, which led to an arrest warrant issued against Gundersen — had repeated uses of the same alleged victim’s name.

Gallegos said he was unsure how the name had gotten placed into the document as it had been given to a judge by his office.

No law enforcement agency is allowed to make public the name of any victim of a sex crime who chooses to keep it confidential, according to Section 293 of the penal code. The confidential names of victims are only supposed to be made available to the appropriate
people, mainly law enforcement officials.

Victims’ addresses are also not intended for public viewing when sex crimes are involved, according to the same penal code.

The second alleged victim, who, according to other court documents, is known as one of the confidential victims, had her name on a confidential report from the Eureka Police Department.

“If you have identifiable information in there, it’s not supposed to be in the record,” said Executive Director of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault Suzanne Brown-McBride regarding confidentiality.

Despite the error, Gallegos said he doesn’t believe it will affect the case against Gundersen. That case’s preliminary hearing was moved forward two weeks to April 11.

With the names of the victims clearly identified in court records, one could look at other reports where they are called “Confidential Victims” to get full details into the crimes that allegedly happened to them.

“It’s fairly easy to sort through who that is,” Brown-McBride said.

Protections for sexual assault victims don’t go away after trial, she said. These protections are also in place for victims when the sex offender is released from prison.

Publicly revealing the details, and personal information, of someone who was sexually assaulted can have grave consequences, said North Coast Rape Crisis Team Community Outreach Coordinator Paula Arrowsmith-Jones, who spoke in general and not about the
Gundersen case.

“It could be a discouragement for those people coming forward,” she said. “It can’t help but affect the decisions that they make.”

It’s rare for cases involving sexual assault to receive widespread publicity, but when it does, hundreds of survivors watch to see how its handled, Arrowsmith-Jones said.

A survivor can be victimized twice when their identity is revealed and scrutinized publicly, said Executive Director of the Emma Center Marybeth Bian.

“Once it’s out,” she said, “it’s a snowball effect.”

Although California provides protection to survivors of sexual assault, Arrowsmith-Jones said it doesn’t do enough to give the person privacy if they don’t want their identity known. Examples of this are cases of spousal rape — a different charge from rape in California —
that identify the person harmed in the charge.

Gallegos, who said he was surprised that this information was in the case file, said the first step was to notify both victims of what happened. Then he would “act accordingly,” which includes having the documents with the victims’ names sealed by the court.

He said he reviewed the case file and that it was clearly an oversight on his part.

His office works hard to not reveal the names of those who want confidentiality, but couldn’t guarantee that mistakes wouldn’t happen, Gallegos said. “By and large we are successful.”

Maintaining the privacy of survivors is critical to the healing process, Arrowsmith-Jones said. Allowing for public scrutiny does the opposite.

“These protections are very important,” she said. “The best all of us can do is respect that.”


updated Related coverage, with links

TS - Gundersen hearing pushed to April

Gundersen hearing pushed to April

Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen's preliminary hearing has been postponed -- again.

Gundersen was arrested Feb. 8 and has since pleaded not guilty to 19 counts, including allegations of spousal rape, kidnapping a second victim for the purpose of committing forcible rape, possessing a submachine gun and a pistol with a silencer, and violating a court order. He's being held in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on $1.25 million bail.

Russell Clanton, Gundersen's attorney, said the defense requested a continuance at a Wednesday hearing because the District Attorney's Office had yet to provide it with all the case's discovery -- a court term for the exchange of information between the attorneys involved in a case.

”We want to be prepared, so when we do have this preliminary hearing all the issues can be explored comprehensively, and we can't do that without the discovery,” Clanton said.

District Attorney Paul Gallegos said Thursday he believes his office has turned over all the discovery related to Gundersen's charges to Clanton, but added that the investigation is ongoing.

”What is outstanding is an ongoing investigation,” Gallegos said. “Other than that, he has what we have.”

The preliminary hearing was initially set for Feb. 27, but was rescheduled to March 3 after Gallegos filed more charges in the case that morning. Appearing on the March 3 date, Clanton asked the court for another continuance ue to a lack of discovery provided by the prosecution.

Gallegos assured the court March 3 he would provide all discovery as quickly as possible.

Thursday, Clanton said some discovery had come in, but he believed more had yet to arrive. Court minutes from Wednesday's hearing state that the District Attorney's Office said it would be able to provide all discovery by Monday or Tuesday.

”I'm going to take Gallegos at his word,” Clanton said Thursday, adding that the discovery is necessary to prepare to defend his client at the preliminary hearing.

”We're looking forward to addressing all the factors of this case,” Clanton continued, “but it would be imprudent to go into the preliminary hearing without all the discovery.”

Gallegos said Thursday that Clanton has all the necessary discovery.

”The stuff Gundersen is charged with, (Clanton) has all the discovery to substantiate that,” he said.

Thadeus Greenson The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 03/14/2008 01:24:22 AM PDT

updated Related coverage, with links

3.10.2008

Expert: Rape victims can be forced to take witness stand

It was Valentine's Day, and Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen stood before the court, clad in a red jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him, accused of a dozen counts of spousal rape.

The alleged victim in the case, Gundersen's wife, also appeared in court that day, reportedly prepared to make a statement in support of her husband's release on his own recognizance.

According to documents in Gundersen's case file, his wife talked to District Attorney's Office investigators twice on Feb. 8, stating that Gundersen had repeatedly raped her while she was incapacitated by sleeping pills over the last year. Later that same day, she told investigators the sex was consensual.

District Attorney Paul Gallegos has since referred to the alleged victim as a hostile witness and, at a later hearing, asked the judge to order her to appear at Gundersen's preliminary hearing.

Similar situations play out in courtrooms across the state, and the country, raising questions about a rape victim's rights, whether a prosecutor should be able to compel them to testify and why their stories are liable to change.

Speaking in general terms and not about the Gundersen case, North Coast Rape Crisis Team Community outreach coordinator Paula Arrowsmith-Jones said a myriad of factors can cause a rape victim to recant his or her allegations.

”It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the facts of the case or the reality of something having happened,” Arrowsmith-Jones said. “It's about whether they feel it is their best interest to be involved in the case.”

And that, Arrowsmith-Jones said, can become very complicated. She said familiar pressures, threats from the perpetrator, financial dependency, child-custody issues and even a fear that society will re-victimize them can all play a role.

”Any survivor of any gender knows that when they come forward, some people will blame them,” Arrowsmith-Jones said, adding victims can be criticized for their lifestyle, manner of dress or even for their choice of spouse. “We would hope that the public would understand that there are a lot of valid reasons that we can never understand as to why a survivor might step back from that process.”
Love can also play a big roll, said Nancy Lemon, a lecturer at University of California Berkeley School of Law and a domestic violence expert witness.
”Typically batterers can be wonderful, loving, sweet people, sometimes, and victims are often hoping they will return back to the person they have been,” Lemon said. “There's always the hope that he will change.”

Over at The EMMA Center, Executive Director Marybeth Bian agreed.

”A lot of times (the victims) love the person, and they just want them to not abuse them anymore,” she said.

Because our system of law attempts to balance the rights of the victim with the rights of society as a whole, a prosecutor can choose to proceed with a case against the victim's wishes, and Lemon said sexual assault victims can be ordered to testify.

The California Civil Procedure Code states that a victim of sexual assault can be ordered to testify, and found in contempt if he or she fails to do so. The only protection afforded sexual assault victims is they can not be sent to jail if found in contempt.

The maximum sentence under the code is for a judge to order the victim to attend up to 72 hours of a domestic violence program for victims and order them to perform up to 72 hours of community service.

Getting victims to take the stand for the prosecution can be such an obstacle that it is the subject of an entire section of a California District Attorney's Association publication titled “Investigation and Prosecution of Domestic Violence.”

The publication points out that victims can feel a lot of guilt in helping the prosecution's case against a loved one, and suggests that prosecutors do everything possible to make the victim feel that the decision whether to prosecute is the district attorney's. The publication even suggests that prosecutors order the victim to appear, as Gallegos did with Gundersen's wife.

”Once the ultimate authority, the court, directs the witness to answer questions, most victims comply,” the publication states. “Many victims feel considerable relief at being able to tell the defendant that the decision to testify is out of their hands, as they have been ordered to do so by the court.”

With April -- Domestic Violence Awareness Month -- around the corner and two high profile sexual assault cases in the media, Arrowsmith-Jones said it is a good time to raise awareness about domestic violence and create a societal environment that is more encouraging of victims coming forward.

”The kinds of violence that are in the paper right now are happening in our community all the time, and it's only every once in a while that it comes to public attention,” she said. “But, these types of issues are going on all the time.”

Back at the EMMA Center, Bian said she's seen many cases die because the victim has a change of heart or the prosecution can't build a strong enough case even with the victim's cooperation. More disturbingly, she said, she's seen some victims simply suffer in silence.

”I know people come in here who don't even report because they're ashamed,” she said. “There's still that stigma in society, that it's the victim's fault.”
***
Thadeus Greenson
Article Launched: 03/10/2008 01:30:14 AM PDT
The North Coast Rape Crisis Team has a 24-hour, confidential, crisis hotline at 445-2881. Collect calls are welcome.

3.08.2008

TS - Feds eye firearms in Gundersen case

TS Feds eye firearms in Gundersen casee (w/ video)

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is involved in an investigation into Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen and the stash of high-powered submachine guns found at the department during a February search.

District Attorney Paul Gallegos said the agency has been informed and has a hand in the investigation.

”Whenever you have firearms involved in a case, there is going to be some ATF involvement,” Gallegos said.

The ATF will be considering whether there are federal firearms violations regarding the possession, sale or transport of the three types of submachine guns allegedly found in Blue Lake, or the submachine gun, the pistol fixed with a silencer or other weapons reportedly found in Gundersen's home.

Both state and federal law are fairly clear about possessing a submachine gun or a pistol with a silencer: It's illegal in California, and illegal in the United States without a special permit from the ATF. Under California law, the penalty for possession of a machine gun is an unspecified prison term, up to a $10,000 fine, or both. For possession of a silencer it's the same.

But state law allows a law enforcement agency to buy machine guns, and for officers to have them and silencers -- as long as they use them in an official capacity and within the scope of their duties. In fact, there is no limit on the number of submachine guns an agency can have, said California Department of Justice spokesman Abraham Arredondo.

The Use of Firearms section of the Blue Lake Police Department Manual does not make any reference to submachine guns or silencers.

Any machine gun may be imported by a licensed importer -- H&K is a German manufacturer -- for sale to a law enforcement agency, wrote ATF Senior Special Agent Nina Delgadillo in an e-mail. There is no federal limit on the number or type of machine guns a police agency can possess, Delgadillo also wrote.

No records of 10 H&K UMP 9mm submachine guns found in the search of the Blue Lake department were filed with the state, while other guns there were state-registered, according to the District Attorney's Office. Whether a police department is strictly required to register a submachine gun when it comes into the department's possession is unclear.

Melva Paris, records supervisor for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, said when the sheriff's department purchases firearms, they are immediately registered into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, or CLETS.

”We purchase them, and then when we get them they have to go into the CLETS system as an 'institutional weapon,'” Paris said. “(The Department of Justice) has to know who those weapons belong to.”

That's all done with good reason, according to James Broder, a former FBI agent and U.S. State Department employee who now works as an expert witness.

”Obviously, it's done so they can identify them and trace them if they are involved in a crime in the future,” Broder said, adding that agencies want to be able to track officers' lost or stolen weapons, or prevent their use by rogue officers. “The whole key is identification, that's why we do this stuff -- so you can identify the firearm in the event it is used for an illegal purpose.”

So far, Gallegos has charged Gundersen with two gun crimes. They are related to the H&K MP5 submachine gun reportedly found in a safe in his garage and the pistol with a silencer. Gallegos alleges Gundersen was in unlawful possession of both under violations of penal codes related to individuals.

Gundersen has also been charged with 12 counts of spousal rape, one count of kidnapping with the use of a firearm with the intent to rape -- in connection to another alleged victim -- threatening a witness and other crimes.

He has pleaded not guilty to all 19 counts and is currently being held in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on $1.25 million bail.

John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com and Thadeus Greenson can be reached at 441-0509 or tgreenson@times-standard.com