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Breezy
by Joel Hack
Posted Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006 -------- Long time no breezes. The Washington gasbags have nothing on me. No gas here.
Send your pet pictures soon, please.
By the time you read this Connie Bennett’s Bassett hound will have babies. Not much to say about another batch of Bassett babies except the 12 of them. Connie took the dog to the vet for a prenatal checkup. They did an X-ray. It was difficult to count all the spines on the film. Connie is thrilled for her new brood. She is looking forward to cleaning up after the little buggers.
The crab season crazies are over. With the opening of the season, the boats all go through a frenzy of activity. Collecting their crab pots, repairing the pots, painting buoys, replacing buoy lines, loading the pots on deck, and safely making it out of the Harbor. With a large fleet of Northern boats, cherry-picking this year’s crop of crabs, the local fleet is almost done with crabs. There doesn’t seem to be very much action at the buyer’s docks three weeks into the season. The catch started out good but quickly slowed down. As Chuck Wise said, “There’s a lot of pressure on them.” The few local boats that fish the northern season pulled their pots and loaded them on trucks and trailers. They headed north in search of crabs.
The Fisherman’s Marketing Association held their annual fun potluck. They awarded the Golden Hook to Lee Furtado for his 40+ pound salmon. The Golden Hook winning fish of the past few years have been 40 to 45 pounds. A few pictures from the event are posted in the Photo Gallery.
Becky McAlister of the Bodega Bay Church called to announce they will fill and distribute the annual Christmas baskets Sunday Dec. 17. Every year with lots of help from folks and businesses in town, they gather a turkeys and enough food for a family and load up baskets – in this case boxes and bags.
The 40 or so baskets include kid’s toy gifts marked for age appropriate. Donations from the Fishermen’s Chapel and the annual Candle Fund help jumpstart the project.
Donations are welcome.
The California Coastal Commission will decide the fate of Lawson's Landing at Dillon Beach on December 14, 2006. If a "cease & desist" is ordered, many who live there may be left homeless. The meeting will be held at Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, 5 Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco, CA. The meeting begins on Tuesday, Dec. 12 and runs thru Friday, Dec. 15. The Lawson’s Landing item is scheduled for Thursday and follows several other agenda items. Here is the agenda listing for the meeting:
Item 8. Commission Cease and Desist Order No. CCC-06-CD-15 (Lawson’s Landing – Marin County) Public hearing and Commission action on proposed Cease and Desist Order to direct the owners of properties that are collectively referred to as Lawson’s Landing in Marin County to 1) refrain from performing further un-permitted development activities on the properties, and 2) complete Coastal Development Permit applications seeking authorization to either remove or retain the un-permitted development in order to address un-permitted development, including un-permitted grading, un-permitted fill of wetlands, and the un-permitted placement of trailers, a campground, mobile homes, roads, restrooms, water lines and water tanks, sewage lines and leach fields, a sewage disposal station, sheds, garages, parking lots, a boat house, a snack bar, a shop, a boat mooring facility, boat yard, boats, a laundry facility, and a pier.
The process of getting permits for the previously “permits not needed” campground has been long and arduous. Marin County has been working on the permits since 1989. Suddenly the Coastal Commission stepped in. That interest stemmed from action by the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin and the Sierra Club. The Coastal Commission appears to be impatient with the permit process of Marin County. The Commission’s interest is to preserve the disappearing sand dunes and the biology of the unique spot.
About 30-35 folks live at the Landing more or less permanently. The Landing can handle up to 1000 vehicles. This past Thanksgiving the facility was at near capacity. The Landing has been in business since the 1920s. After George Dillon built the Dillon Beach Resort in the 1880s the Landing was the only place to launch boats. About 1909 a 200-foot pier, built of eucalyptus was built. That pier was maintained and is still in use today.
The Landing is a very popular as a spot for campers from the inland valleys. They have a rich history of the folks who visit as well as the wildlife of the area. The cows that wander throughout the campgrounds during the summer are part of the attraction. The cows were there before the Landing. They have more info at their website: www.lawsonslanding.com/action-item.htm
Thanksgiving day was quiet except for the structure fire reported on Bay Flat Road. The Bodega Bay ambulance had left town to transport a patient to the hospital. So the sole firefighter on duty drove the engine. Two Rock Fire Chief Lori Anello was preparing dinner with her family at her dad’s home when the alarm was raised. Lori and a friend ran up the hill to the fire.
The fire was contained to the kitchen oven. When Todd Rollings arrived with the fire engine, the fire was out. The two volunteer firefighters were already starting to open windows to let smoke out.
The house had only smoke damage, but the turkey was a total loss.
Posted Monday, Nov. 13, 2006 -------- This column appeared in the Halloweenies Special (Print) edition.
"Life is a sandwich. Relish it." --Warren Zevon
Halloweenies is relish. And this print edition is mustard.
Breezy continues to hear, “I miss the Navigator.” There are quite a few folks out there who miss the print edition. Breezy misses the print edition but doesn’t miss paying the printer.
Pass the mustard.
Peter Laufer, the local and international author and raconteur, told a story about that famous quote from JFK, “I am a Berliner.” In the speech JFK used a German article of speech that translated his statement into “I am a jelly doughnut.” A Berliner is the local name of a jelly doughnut. JFK’s improper use of the article changed the meaning. And now we know why the audience of West Berliners cheered so mightily.
Not mustard but a jelly doughnut.
Several weeks ago, the Bodega Bay School PTA and volunteers organized a house tour in Bodega Harbour. Some 20 homes were on the tour. Tourist’s comments reflected the quality of the homes. And the effort raised a bunch of bucks for After-School programs.
Word from folks working for State Parks is they spend a lot of time cleaning up graffiti. Paint and magic marker stuff appears in the rest rooms regularly.
We all know that marijuana is widely used. The demand creates a supply. But West Marin has gone over the top. Noticeably Park Rangers – Feds – uprooted some 23,000 plants in remote areas of the Parks. Then the Marin Sheriff oversaw a sweep that eradicated 20,000 plants on private property or public watershed lands. There have also been several less spectacular busts of 3000 or so plants.
Then the news came about whole houses being turned into pot greenhouses.
The operations that can produce that many plants are resourceful and extensive. After losing all those plants in Marin the growers will be looking for other areas for growing.
There was a bust right here in Bodega Bay. There were only 300 plants but puzzling according to Resident Deputy Charlie Bone. The grow spot was at the lower end of Quinlan Creek. Yes the same Quinlan Creek that is threatened by the quarry. (An alliterative quarry would be the only thing possible on Quinlan Creek – a zoo would clash.) The grow spot was near Highway One but had no worn paths to it. The grower installed a water system using Quinlan Creek water and carefully tended the plants. The sheriff’s deputies got the plants but not the grower.
Bicycle riders, oncoming cars and your car always meet at a narrow spot in the road.
Of all the curious things that the CalTrans remodel of Highway One created. The most curious is the warning sign for northbound traffic that a sharp right turn is coming up and then the road curves left.
Another event in Bodega Harbour was decidedly more activist than the house tour. An invited group of a dozen spent a recent Sunday watching the documentary “Iraq For Sale.” The group then spent several hours calling voters in Ohio supporting Democratic candidates.
It was three young girls that saved the day for their families and the two homes in Valley Ford. Saturday morning the 10 and 11-year old girls were walking to the Valley Ford Store. They spotted flames coming out of the carport area that joined two houses. One of the girls lived in the house on the right. Two girls ran to the houses and yelled. Mariah Udell yelled at her mother Amanda. Her friend Jessica Bowman did the same at Mariah’s Grandmother’s house next door also threatened by flames. A third girl went to get her dad at another residence nearby. 9-1-1 was called. The Online Navigator reported there were only two girls. In the photo gallery online Mariah added a comment about the third girl.
Blockhead Breezy accidentally erased the comment. Credit should be given to the three girls who did the right thing in the face of a quickly spreading fire.
Good events sometimes give rise to other fortuitous events. Three fire departments were holding a training session at the Valley Ford firehouse at the time the girls raised the alarm. All three fire engines were quickly reloaded and sped off to the fire. Damage to the homes was limited.
In the week before the fire, Bodega Bay School kids went through a training on how to handle dangerous and emergency situations. Trainers practiced different situations with the children. Dialing 9-1-1 was one of the skills practiced.
Our resident Deputy Charlie Bone was one of the trainers. He walked the kids through a useful explanation of drugs and alcohol and guns. The kids are exposed to such dangers daily.
Charlie is relish.
Tomales High School Varsity Football team is awesome. No opponent has scored any points in their last six games. Needless to say they are 8 and 0 for this season.
A longtime project has yielded results for the Bodega Bay Grange. For many years farmers and ranchers have dominated the State Grange. They have pursued a lobbying and legal effort that supports water policy shaped by ranchers and farmers. The State Grange has funded in part lawsuits that are widely recognized as anti-salmon and pro-irrigation. In particular the Klamath River lawsuits resulted in a water policy that led to the huge fish kills in 2002 and 2003. Those fish kills decimated the Klamath salmon runs. That led to the severely shortened fishing season.
There is no shortage of bad things happening to the Klamath. Irrigation water policy is one part of the problem. Dams and pollution are others.
Soooo, over a year ago local Grange members started to react. The Grange has lost many fishermen members over the past few years in part due to the one-sided water policy. Local Grangers drafted a resolution to be presented at the State Grange Convention that would force the State Grange to consider fairness as part of their legislative and policy efforts.
At the 2005 State Grange Convention a floor fight ensued about whether such a fairness policy would kill Grange policy pursuits. Klamath River farmers did not want to give up their control of Grange policy just because of some damn fish. The resolution to ensure fairness to fishermen Grangers did not pass. But a compromise was reached. A fairness committee would draft a new resolution and bring it to the 2006 State Convention. In October Dave Lewis and Lisa Valentine traveled to Bakersfield as Bodega Bay Grange’s delegates.
A floor fight over the fairness resolution was vigorous. Several attempts were made by a contingent of Klamath River farmers to dilute and kill the measure. The State Grange Convention delegates voted to endorse the resolution.
Hopefully, the measure will force the Grange to reconsider supporting lawsuits that handcuff federal water regulators. Water policy will not change overnight. Small steps are being taken to change the direction of fish-insensitive water policies.
Lisa Valentine sees the fairness resolution as the beginning of a new era at the Grange. As Dave Lewis kept repeating at the floor debate on the resolution, “Its about fairness.” You can’t keep extracting resources without consequences.
There is now an armed security guard at Spud Point Marina. Possibly this is the first instance of an armed security guard in Bodega Bay. The armed guard is to protect a “safe workplace.” No one will speak to the Navigator with any details disguising their language with vague generalities. Several months ago a berth holder at the marina was part of a violent incident. The armed guard is the County’s response to that problem.
The Online Navigator is a success. There are more readers of the website than there were readers of the print edition. If you don’t have a computer and can’t get to the website, this is the reason to get connected. Once upon a time only some folks had electricity. Once upon a time only some folks had telephones. Once upon a time only some folks had television. Once upon a time only some folks had computers and online access.
Upcoming is the annual pet issue. Readers are required to send their pet photos.
Breezy
Posted 11 am, Friday Oct 13, 2006 -------- You would think that with the number of flies that I have killed they would be an endangered species. The recent rain brought out the hungriest and aggressive of their lot.
Breezy recently met a fellow with a unique claim to fame: he ate nothing but canned tuna five days a week for six months. This unusual feat was detailed in a local magazine. The magazine’s article was posted on the web. Now years later whenever anyone Googles his name the article comes up in the search results. We laughed at how if trying he couldn’t come up with scheme to produce that kind of popularity. The article and his name have been posted and reposted around the web. Carl had hoped to make his mark on the world by his hard work diligence and talent.
Word comes through the grapevine that several tips generated by the Santos Killers Reward money are being investigated. Sheriff’s detectives are mum about details and remain optimistic about solving the crime.
Connie and her crew at Porto Bodega continue to increase the cash reward. Their recent bake sale upped the ante to $5800 plus the Sonoma County Alliance reward of $10,000.
Bake sales are difficult to attend -- such a selection of great stuff and only so much money to spend. The inches-to-the-waist factor further stifles excessive buying.
The extended family of Silvia House at Porto Bodega was rocked by her death. The viewing and prayers held in Santa Rosa was crowded with many sad friends.
While a child my parents attended many funeral services – maybe too many. My parents grew up during the Great Depression. The experience taught them to be frugal – almost to a fault. Weren’t you told to finish everything on your plate – there are starving children somewhere? Another old chestnut was, “Waste not, want not.”
But another of those cliché-like phrases struck during that train of thought. “Leave something for the next guy.”
A mentor exercised his oracle-like sonorous tones solely to impress the importance of the state of mind necessary for a youngster to conduct a successful business. A boss of Breezy’s long ago repeated and repeated. For some folks there wasn’t any mentor. And that little bit of wisdom isn’t passed on.
There was a break-in at Breezy’s office a few nights ago. A box of crackers and a chocolate bar (semi-sweet) were taken. The raccoon also managed to get dirty footprints on the papers scattered about and the keyboard. Burglary was reported to Deputy Charlie Bone who advised.
A few of the Sheriff’s calls have been humorous lately. In Bolinas a resident reported a neighbor setting up a barbeque and a still at the end of the street. She had no description of the possible offender except that he was playing a violin – very badly.
Deputy Bone offered a piece about the young guy camping at Westside Park. Several friends were drinking heavily and exhibiting it. When County Park Ranger Rich Crumley investigated the young man produced a driver’s license showing his age to be over 21. But Crumley smelled something fishy and asked Bone to check it out.
Our Deputy Bone went to the campsite. The young man hesitated and tried to say he didn’t know where his driver’s license was. Finally he produced it. Bone was impressed with the quality of the fake ID. But on the backside in small type was a notation that this wasn’t a real ID and was for novelty purposes only. Yep, that meant the young guy was too young to drink. He got a free ride all the way to the lockup in Santa Rosa.
My new acquaintance Carl had a reasonable if far-fetched explanation for eating so much tuna fish with so much repetition. Carl was a student at a state college in Florida. He worked to support himself. An uncle of Carl’s died. Carl’s uncle wasn’t the hoped-for rich. But Carl did inherit the contents of a storage locker and had to move the goods out to avoid rent.
The why was never clear but the contents included a pallet of tuna fish in cans. The boxes were water-damaged but otherwise edible. Carl ate them -- all 1020 cans. And Carl is now the immortal tuna fish dude.
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