SoHum Parlance

40to90 $million worth from 2000ac. Multiply that a few hundred times to get a fair estimate of how much income these poor local hippies are generating, 10 or 20 billion dollars yearly.
 

more like divide by 100. Nice try.
 

That's only in the summer. A whole lot more is grown indoors in the winter. I'd say that a more realistic figure would be about 250billion a year.
 

If you're talking all of Humboldt and Mendocino it's got to be more than $250 billion a year. 250 might be about right for Southern Humboldt.
 

Burnt Ranch got its name from a massacre followed by a village burning in that location, organized by gold miners in the early 1850s.

I think hippies made at least umpteen bajillion dollars a month per parcel, but I can't prove it.
 

Syd Lehman didn't blame the fireworks cancellation on fire risks. He blamed it on big government.
 

First the Native Americans now the Hippies. Then the Oakies can be put back to work, without unions, to finish raping the Earth.
 

Eric,

This is off topic, but I'm hoping you will start a new thread about it.

A friend of mine was slipped a rape date drug last Friday night at Cecil's bar. Fortunately, she had good friends around her who were able to protect her and take her home. She felt the effects of the drug for several days.

There were posters up around town warning that 28 women had been drugged, raped and robbed.(Someone took them down- I wonder who). These drugs can also cause death, particularly mixed with alcohol.(Remember the teenager in Aruba?)

I've encouraged my friend to contact the media (particularly Cristina) and she might if she can be anonymous. It's important that this info get out to all women in this area. Don't take your eyes off your drink for a second. Bartenders should warn women not to put their drinks down, and people should be alert to anyone putting anything in a drink and report it to the police. This person or persons needs to be brought to justice.
 

I believe the first forfeiture notices are being received now. Certainly the Feds are hoping to seize the LLC lands, but more ominously, it is possible they are also attempting to seize people's homes off the LLC lands. More as it becomes known.
 

Wed Jul 02, 06:33:00 PM, I feel your frustration and rage. Good luck in your quest for justice. These date rape drugs flush out of your system very quickly and are undetectable after 8-12 hours...by the time you figure out what happened it is virtually impossible to prove you were drugged.

A close friend was also drugged in this manner, and was not quite so lucky. Luckily, she had put it in her stubborn head to go home, and not accompany her "new friends" to the city. Luckily she lived just a couple blocks from where this occurred. But she arrived home she totally collapsed -fracturing a crown! Her partner thought something was weird, (she doesn't usually drink to the point of being drunk) but just put her to bed, and they didn't put 2 and 2 together until the next day when she had NO RECOLLECTION of the events the night before, and had woken up in a wild eyed, hyper-drugged-out state. She went to a hospital and the cops. Little was done on her behalf, the cop even accused her of drinking too much and just not remembering! The dental bill was over $1000.
 

Are you leavin' a little somethin' out of your mention of the Journal, Eric?
 

28 women in Garberville area? I
wonder why this hasn't been in the
local papers. You would think people would want to get the word
out other than using posters. It
seems like very important news.
 

Are you leavin' a little somethin' out of your mention of the Journal, Eric?

Well, I'm a little uncomfortable using this blog for self-promotion. I guess that's a little irrational, since a blog is by definition self-promotion.

Anyway, yes, I filled in for Hank for this week's Town Dandy. Unfortunately, I chose a topic that was really hard to cover in 1200 words. I was about 600 words over before I knew it, and before I was finished. Even the title had to be edited.

They took out my intro, which I felt was a great hook. But they actually thought it was distracting and off point. Probably was. Bob D. did a great job working with me to edit the thing down and make it presentable.

I guess I'm used to just typing until I'm ready to hit the publish button.
 

OK, for the ever curious, here's the part I had to cut from Eric's dandy substitute Dandy (mostly so it would fit on one page). - Bob

When Geography Trumps Ideology - the Rebooting of Local Politics
by Eric V. Kirk

"Ideologies have no heart of their own. They're the whores and angels of our striving selves."
- John Le Carre

Transcendence be damned. Nuances notwithstanding, most politics can be reduced to stereotypes of liberalism vs. conservatism. At no time was this more true than 1986, the year of a profoundly cynical campaign for recall of Chief Justice Rose Bird, in which the prevailing bloodlust washed over the electorate as elected conservatives railed and most liberals pandered or retreated. It was certainly evident in the North Coast State Senate campaign where the lines were drawn more boldly for the courage of one liberal. One set of signs stated in grim red lettering with stark black background: "Dick Brann Opposes Rose Bird." Another stood in a chipper green background with white wording that read: "Barry Keene supports Rose Bird." (Keene won.)
The ideological lines of the North Coast were clear and pronounced.
Ten years after that election I moved to Garberville. The names Keene and Brann had since disappeared from the political scene, but the lines remained drawn. Fresh on the heels of Redwood Summer, none of the politics surprised me...

Head over to the Journal site for the rest, and while you're there, don't miss my interview with Eric re: Reggae in the Feet First cover story. (But try to resist turning this into a virulent Reggae thread.)

p.s. for the totally uninformed (you know who you are) There's no connection whatsoever between Rose Bird and Rose the WP blogger.
 

Is Obama even a legal citizen? A naturalized citizen cannot run for president.
 

Hmmmm. Well Eric, I think the article works better without the Keene/Brann/Bird intro. I'm pretty sure that most voters on the North Coast voted to recall Bird which means that when they voted for Keene they were voting against their ideology back then, or so it could be implied. Most likely Keene simply knew that his support for Bird would not be a definitive issue.

Plus, there are probably readers too young (or maybe too old) to remember the Bird thing anyway and without an extensive explanation it might have been a distraction.

In other words you didn't need that intro. In my opinion.

The article itself is an interesting theme, but I'm sure if we looked close enough in local history we would find plenty of quirks in political alliances vs. ideology. You give the WalMart vote as an example of earlier polarization, but the results were so overwhelming that some conservatives had to have voted against the variance.

One anecdote you might have mentioned to describe the old polarization however was the float in the 1996 Garberville Rodeo Parade which had a manniquin depicting Judi Bari coming out of the hood of a car (representing the car explosion somehow) with a facsimile of Daryl Cherney being dragged behind the vehicle. Some of the crowd laughed. I don't think that would be tolerated by as many people today, so we have made some progress.
 

How about the "Happy Watermelon Day" sign on Martin Luyher King's birthday? That appeared on the Union 76 station in Garberville. Can't remember what year, but it's been awhile and times have changed.
 

Hey Bob! Thanks for posting my intro, but I don't think anybody would be that curious. I'm sure you have to cut plenty out of your own articles on a regular basis and I imagine the choices are pretty hard sometimes.

7:29 - Bob said pretty much as much when he suggested the intro as a cut. It's sounding like that might have been the right choice.

I do want to dispute the point about the Rodeo Parade incident though. I know a lot of people, even conservative types, who were offended by that float. I wish they had expressed it more publicly. The Life and Times decision to sweep the incident under the rug and not post a photo of it was part of what led a group of us to get together to start up the Independent.

I agree that the reaction to it would be a bit more forceful today.

As for my article, I'm pretty sure this week's NCJ goes online today. I'll make some links later.
 

I guess nobody cares that someone is putting drugs in women's drinks and raping them.
 

Burnt Ranch – Settled in 1853 and victim of an Indian raid in 1854, during the raid several buildings were burnt and hence the name. Eventually hostilities calmed down and a Post Office was established in 1858 to serve the community of miners. Trinity County Towns and Settlements www.trinitycam.com
 

Please tell me there are no fluff pieces planned for increasing ticket sales. Please... please... I can't stand the fluff.
 

Well, the article's up online. I'll post it shortly.
 

The link that is.
 

It isn't fluff. Feet First deserves good coverage. But can someone explain to me why people are asked to comment on the conflict when they never came to the arbitration to hear what was actually said. At least I don't think they did. I never saw Joanie or Andy there. That perpetuates the garbage misinformation that has been slung. When does it get reported about the collusion admission. Does that just get white washed forever now because it settled. Bob is still painting it as a duel never settled. I hate that shit.
 

Don't forget me. I never attended the arbitration either.
 

Nice article Eric. Don't you think outside media coverage of Humboldt and Mendocino also put pressure on code enforcement?
 

Well Erik I feel waiting for Bob D. to kick down something good about the Mateel is pointless. Since you were on the board of the Mateel and an attorney I figure you have inside information. I didn't attend the latter part either but I kept myself up to date.
 

Sorry I see it is Eric with a 'c'.
 

Nice article Eric. Don't you think outside media coverage of Humboldt and Mendocino also put pressure on code enforcement?

I don't know. I'm told that the push for enforcement of codes in rural areas where they haven't been enforced with much vigor traditionally is a nationwide thing, but I haven't heard of other incidents like these in other counties. Building code violations are usually handled by a skinny inspector with a short-sleeved collar shirt, thick lens glasses, and a clipboard, not a team with guns.
 

Sorry I see it is Eric with a 'c'.

That's alright. It was actually supposed to be spelled Erick in Danish fashion, but the doctor misspelled it on my birth certificate and my parents never bothered to fix it.
 

alright: non standard use of all right
 

One reason I don't read Bob D's fluff pieces anymore:

Written in Aug. 2007 "Not much more has happened since May, aside from an ongoing flame-a-thon on the web. Bruno tells me she doesn’t read the blogs. At this point I imagine she doesn’t have time. She’s busy with her life’s work. Like it or not, she has a festival to put on.

There’s a shrill chorus still insisting they hold the moral high-ground and that the festival was “stolen.” Some of them are my friends and a lot of them are skipping this year’s Reggae. The Mateelites scored a minor victory by getting local FM station KMUD to drop plans for it’s longstanding coffee booth fundraiser. A group calling itself Reggae Uprising is planning protests for Reggae weekend, including a flotilla on the river through the festival grounds. Their slogan -- “The Party is the Protest” -- suggests that they don’t want to miss out on the fun, either. I’ll try to catch up with them down by the riverside.

That’s right, I’ll be at Reggae. There’s some good music, if you like reggae: ... Maybe I’ll see you there. If not, please don’t hold it against me. Partying’s part of my job."
 

Eric says,"...Clif Clendenen...opposes big box development in the district,...His SoHum opponent, Estelle Fennell... actually supports big box development in Fortuna."

Eric, as you must be aware, this is an issue that is not an issue until it is defined.

What Estelle has always said is that she supports some kinds of big box stores in Fortuna. How else can anyone take a meaningful position on this issue?

I take it then that Clif is opposed to Walmart? So is Estelle, as she has clearly stated.

Many Fortuna residents, and those to the south, cannot afford to drive to Eureka to shop at Winco or Costco. Are these stores "big box"? Would Clif allow them into Fortuna if he had his way? Target?
Home Depot? Fred Meyers?

Estelle has taken a very reasonable position...support the community but don't kill it.

Clif opposes all big box development in his district? The way I see it, this is draconian and elitist. Clif had better provide a list of stores that he would allow and stores he would not or he is just blowing wind out his ass.
 

Are you saying that Reggae on the River was not stolen? It seems, on the surface, very simple, a non-profit event has become a for-profit event. what was used to support the Mateel and its community projects. is now supply money to business-persons, who may or may not choose to support local organizations.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a 'Mateelite' and strangely enough, I am also a Burnt Ranch-ian. cough, cough.
 

What Estelle has always said is that she supports some kinds of big box stores in Fortuna. How else can anyone take a meaningful position on this issue?

I take it then that Clif is opposed to Walmart? So is Estelle, as she has clearly stated.

Has she? The problem is that her statements have been very vague.

I can't speak for Clif, but I personally don't believe the Fortuna economy could metabolize any of the stores on your list without serious adverse consequences. Ultimately they wouldn't make enough money and they'd shut down leaving a virtual ghost town in their wake. It's happened before.

Maybe something like Fred Meyers. But before I supported something like that I'd want to see a reputable think tank study on the impact - what percentage of the market would the box have to corner in order to survive. I

But whether it's elitist or not, the point of my article is that until this election cycle most Sohum progressives were horrified at the prospect. But times have changed. Hence the theme of my article.
 

Spin. I hate it. It takes five to ten minutes to drive from Fortuna into the northern end of Eureka to shop at Costco and Waremart both unless you choose to go at 8:15 am or 5:15 pm. It costs $1.50 by bus.
 

what is with this label of "Elitist?" the elites are those at the top of this society.
 

Thank you Eric for pointing out the woman straddling the fence. Maybe this will make her get on one side or the other instead of playing every one as the fool.
 

Moviedad said...
"what is with this label of "Elitist?" the elites are those at the top of this society."

Elitists are people with money to spend, and who spend it on consumption, and can't figure out all the whining by people who spend 1/3 more for their food in Fortuna than Eureka, or $5 in a fuel efficient car, or $3 on a bus, 3 hours, and someone with a car to get you to and from the bus stop.

The elitists of Fortuna are the lawyers, accountants, doctors, bankers and other professionals who amount to only a small percentage of the population, the most elite of course being the evangelical Christians (there are many in this bunch), because of course they were chosen by God to go the heaven, while the rest of us will go to hell. While they're still alive they want nothing more than to tell us how to live.

No thank you Clif.
 

"Elitists are people with money to spend, and who spend it on consumption, and can't figure out all the whining by people who spend 1/3 more for their food in Fortuna than Eureka, or $5 in a fuel efficient car, or $3 on a bus, 3 hours, and someone with a car to get you to and from the bus stop."

You could try living in Redway and buying groceries from stores used to the common man with $100 bills in his pocket. A little caviar with your local wine sir?
 

So then 5:17, let us be very clear that you are supporting Estelle because she is NOT and elitist because she supports a big box in Fortuna.

We can debate the merits of the position. But do we agree that is her position?
 

And what does she mean by "some big box?" Which would she support and which wouldn't she? And why?
 

I'm curious where you got your information, Eric? Did you even talk to Jill before you penned that opinion? Did you watch the meeting? The replay of the meeting?
 

Yes IMHO Eric remember you are going to be held to a journalistic standard as a nonjournalist that Estelle deemed worthy of shredding every time she wanted her view carried on air at KMUD as the truth.

Excuse me. That was sarcasm for those who can't read the undertext.
 

Which opinion would that be Rose? That Jill is a progressive? Because I definitely think Eric is stretching on that one.
 

Eric, let's take Winco in Eureka as an example. Ever shopped there?
Great prices on food.

If Winco opened a store in Fortuna, what part of our small town atmosphere would suffer...what businesses? Safeway (Superstore) and Ray's Food Place would now have competition.

Would they go out of business? Who knows, but for sure their prices will drop. Hardly mom and pop family owned businesses.

Eric (Clif) says absolutely no big box, with maybe an exception if it is studied first.

Estelle says "some big boxes", and no to Walmart. Not sitting on the fence, but sensitive to the shopping needs of the residents, while still wanting to maintain small town atmosphere. She has not been evasive, and she has always been inclusive.

Estelle has stated that this issue has nothing, or at least very little with the workload of the job of County Supervisor, and it makes sense she would not spend too much time on it.

As far as big box being symbolic for the candidate, I see Clif's stance as a symbol of repression. I am a progressive, an environmental activist, and I live in Fortuna.

I have not spoken to Estelle since June 3, and I do not speak for her.
 

Bob doran putting his foot in his mouth, again.
 

Hi Eel River Ernie,

Here's what Ray Raphael writes in his recent Humboldt history "Two Peoples, One Place:"

According to the French miner Ernest De Massey, some Canadians camping on the Trinity in 1850 sent out a "punitive expedition" against Indians whom they supposed had stolen some mules and horses:

"Starting out heavily armed as Canadian trappers always are, they reached the outskirts of the village under suspicion, before daybreak, surrounded it, and set the huts on fire. Then, hiding in the underbrush, they shot the Indians as they ran from the flaming huts. The women and children alone were spared and managed to escape. When a count was made fourten victims were found lying on the ground. . . Exultant over their victory the executioners returned to camp and celebrated by heaavy drinking."

Ever since the region nearby (along today's highway 299) has been known as "Burnt Ranch."
 

Estelle says "some big boxes", and no to Walmart.

When has she said no to WalMart? I would appreciate it if she did.

I have not spoken to Estelle since June 3, and I do not speak for her.

Clearly.
 

Longwind - Thanks, I picked my information off of the Trinity Cam site. Growing up in Trintiy County you only heard one version which was essentially as I reported. Perhaps EKO could shed some light on how Burnt Ranch got it's name, I am sure his dad had some insight into the whole ordeal - ERE
 

"Estelle says "some big boxes", and no to Walmart. Not sitting on the fence, but sensitive to the shopping needs of the residents, while still wanting to maintain small town atmosphere. She has not been evasive, and she has always been inclusive."

She is absolutely clueless about how business really works. She spouts some platitudes she picks up from the community and watching TV. She never address the real issues because she doesn't know anything more than the provincial novice should. Business is not a cashbox sitting on the counter. Competition doesn't work that way to just lower prices. Grocery retail in particular is its own beast. It is ridiculous to say "some big-boxes" but not Walmart. Do you have any idea how ignorant this makes her look?
 

"She spouts some platitudes she picks up from the community and watching TV."

Wrong. Estelle has spent years digging for information.

And Clif had his knowledge beat into him as a child, always looks to the higher-ups, and is still trying to figure out what happened. "Provincial novice" is a perfect description for Clif.

Eric, what the hell is wrong with Winco? Protecting Safeway? Protecting Ray's Food Place? Or is your motivation to stop all competition for existing businesses in Fortuna? Winco would take away the small town feel?
 

Eel River Ernie & Longwind, whoever you may be -
The citation re: Burnt Ranch from the De Massey diary referred to in Ray's book is correct for the location in T9NR4, S19, on the Hoopa Reservation about 3 miles SW of Weitchepec. Another location about 2 miles NE of Burnt Ranch was referred to on older maps as "Bloody Camp" and another about 2 miles WNW as "French Camp". These names probably originated at about the same time as the attack and burning of the Indian village at Burnt Ranch. Bloody Camp refers to the killing of two miners by Indians at that location, which probably was the cause of the massacre at Burnt Ranch or vice versa. I would have to dig out my copy of De Massey from the barn to know for certain. There is a copy at the Humboldt Co. Historical Society and the county library, I'm sure. All of these locations were located right on the early trail from Trinidad to the Trinity River Mines via the Bald Hills through Hupa territory at the peak of the gold rush frenzy in California. It was not a bloodless incursion, and set the stage for bitter conflict for many years thereafter. See also Dennis Turner's book Place Names of Humboldt County for answers to similar questions about place names. There may have been another "Burnt Ranch" in Trinity County to which Ernie refers.
I'm glad to see some good discussion of local history in the blogosphere. The recent remarks by "Heraldo" re: the Indian Island massacre and Henry Larabee perpetuate old rumors and and unfortunately are typical of too many anonymous bloggers who don't have to substantiate what they say and are too lazy to do a little research. Let's raise the bar a little when it comes to discussing local history. It's important to get it right.
 

Thank you, Jim, for that most informative and gently prodding post.
 

Jim Baker – thanks for the information, I agree that it is important “…when it comes to discussing local history. It’s important to get it right.” But I would not want to stifle discussion, including anonymous comments and opinions that lead to “getting it right.” The best two blogs that I have found for ongoing discussions of local history are “Ernie’s Place” and “299 Opine.”

Thanks Eric for asking the question!

As always, still searching for an identity – Eel River Ernie
 

I've been told that on the river bar just a short distance downstream from Burnt Ranch was a chinese camp in the 1850's. Placer mining washed the foot of the mountain away across the river from the chinese camp, and the mountainside came down as a landslide, crossed the river, and covered the camp in many feet of earth, killing all.

Chinese coins are panned and dredged in the river downstream.

This true?
 

My thanks too to Jim and Ernie, this is more fun than politics often is. These stories seem to show that our California word for a small reservation, rancheria, was a miners' borrowing from the Californios way back when. I always wondered.

Ernie, your sources and story reminded me of a conversation I had with a retired librarian volunteering in the Humboldt Room at the library. She was only third generation, born ~1900-1910, and she told me her grandfather had participated in the Indian Island massacres. I was intrigued to learn that she had never heard of the incident as a child--it was not commonly known of in her youth--and as an adult she realized that the participants were kept secret. She wasn't sure if that was because it was shameful, or just dangerous because wacko liberal judges occasionally stood up for natives, even though they weren't citizens so had no standing in court.

Keep looking for that identity, I'm dogging your heels!
 

"It is ridiculous to say "some big-boxes" but not Walmart. Do you have any idea how ignorant this makes her look?"

Will you please explain how Estelle's statement makes her look ignorant?
 

Bob wasn't the only one who was inserting foot into mouth:
Joan sees the Reggae dispute as emblematic of breakdowns in all sorts of agreements and arrangements, things like land partnerships done on a handshake that ended up going sour years down the line.

“...It was heartbreaking to see how fast Reggae moved out of mediation and into the legal structure...”

Joan, please tell me you aren't that naive. You are aware that as soon as you sign a contract with someone, you have entered "the legal structure?" Court is the recourse after countless failed hours of mediation. Please be real. These were legal binding agreements, not handshake deals gone bad.

Apologists for bad behavior are in no short supply around Sohum.
 

Yeah, certainly the agreements were well beyond the "handshake" by the time I was on the Board. But she's commenting more on the feelings rather than the legal realities, as does I imagine the piece itself. I look forward to seeing it.
 

Enjoying this little "back and forth" on local history and wish I had more time on a regular basis to participate. Unfortunately I have to make a living by pursuing more mundane pursuits.
ER Ernie- far from wanting to stifle discussion, I would like to see a site specifically devoted to local history for the benefit of those of us who are addicted to it. One of you guys who has time on your hands should get right on that. But I don't get the connection between anonymity and discussions about history, or anything else for that matter. And comments and opinions about historical issues aren't worth anything without getting the facts right first. It's getting the cart before the horse - get the facts right first, then offer comment or opinions. Cite your sources!! You did that with your Burnt Ranch comment and since it came from a Trinity County site it was fairly clear that it probably didn't refer to the same Burnt Ranch Eric was asking about. Longwind cited Ray Rafael's book which in turn cited De Massey's first person account. Those clues enabled us all to come up with the facts. Recently, Ernie Branscomb's blog referred to an August 2006 offering by "Heraldo" regarding the Indian Island massacre, which included numerous inaccurate statements, apparently based mostly on hearsay and local myth. He then went on to give his own opinions about the incident based on those "facts". Those of us who worked with Ray Rafael and the Humboldt County Historical Society on the new book on Humboldt County History put him through the wringer for years before it was finally published, to make certain his facts were right. We have varying opinions about what those facts mean, but none of us disagreed about the importance of getting them right.
Since Ernie does not have the good sense to remain anonymous, I knew who he was and where his little office in the old meat locker behind his business was hidden. I was able to corner him and discuss the matter face to face over a beer (I was the one drinking the beer - Ernie offered it in a spirit of conciliation and lubrication). Now that's the way I like to discuss local history! I can't do that with you, ER Ernie, or the guy with the chimpanzee photo on 299 Opine. I appreciate your interest in local history and your contributions to the blogosphere, but an internet masquerade party is not nearly as much fun as two old bald guys sitting around a keg of beer in an old meat locker at the end of a hard day's labor. Longwind, I know where you hang out -- you're next!!
By the way, I don't know anything about the Chinese mining camp, but I'll bet I could make something up to enhance the story for future retellings.. Probably more than a kernel of truth to it. I'll see what I can find.
Happy July 4th! We are lucky to live in a country where we can engage in these kinds of discussions. Let's celebrate it.
Jim Baker - for better or worse
 

Joani is the most amazing and incredible dance instructor this side of the continental divide. However she is not politically very bright. Well loved by many but a long time PP supporter. Of course Bob didn't know that and I guess didn't take the time to find that out before quoting her.
 

Jim, thanks, I only wish I had the time and talent to put up a blog on local history. Please stay involved.

In regard to China Slide, you can still see evidence of where it dammed the river on Highway 299 W in Trinity County between postmiles 12 and 13. Very interesting story... EKO where are you???
 

Jim, you don't scare me as long as you're bringing the beer. I'll bring the pate polish. All Ernies welcome!
 

I'll be there! - ERE
 

Yo, Fri Jul 04, 02:52:00 PM

It's clear you are commenting on a story you have not read you, anonymous twit. I did not talk to Joani, I talked to Joan, co-director of the First Feet show that's running this weekend at the Mateel.
 

Wait who is Joan then? I've lived here for years and have never heard of this person. Shit now I will have to go back and read the article again too. Bob has ganja brain when it comes to sourcing southern humboldt.
 

Joan Becker, who co-wrote "Beyond the Paille" with Hal Bahr, and has been with Feet First since 1984. She's "lived here for years" too.

Bob did a GREAT job with the story. The only thing that bums me out is that they weren't releasing plot details when I wrote my own story the previous week... so I did ask a couple of the principal players last night why they were, ahem, cheating on me with Bob.
 

Well then I will apologize to Bob because I was thinking the same thing the other poster was after I read it the first time which was why in hell would he interview someone who passively aggressively dislikes one or the other party in this dispute. I have become a bit jaded over previous articles. Let's face it the real details are never going to come out because the press couldn't cover it and many on the inside still aren't telling the public truth. The one who writes the history always defines it. Thanks Cristina I am not familiar with your work recently but I have heard good things.
 

Apologists for bad behavior (like Bob Doran) are in no short supply and name calling is so in vogue. Real classy Bob, anonymous twit? That is so you.
 

It should be a sad time in Clown Town with the passing of Larry Harmon.
 

Awww don't worry we still have Paul Bassis.
 

Dearest Anon Sat Jul 05, 09:45:00 PM, You ignorant slut (please note tongue-in-cheek Dan Ackroyd reference),
It's ironic that you note that "name calling is so in vogue," while engaging in it.

My little outburst was for two reasons: One, an uninformed anon twit was using this forum to attack someone I did not even mention in my story, and two: my own experience with Joani Rose showed me that she has not taken sides in your little domestic dispute. When I started reporting on the Reggae clash, back before the fateful membership meeting, I went to the Mateel to talk to Taunya on a day when Joani was teaching some kids dance and trapeze moves. I talked to her a bit and she told me she was being careful not to take sides since, like many of you, she has friends on both sides. I did not quote her in that first story, but I used her photo since I saw her use of the Mateel hall as emblematic of what the community center was built for.

Months later I ran into Joani at the Summer Arts Fair; she again refused to take sides and spoke about how sad she was about how much the battle had divided the community. (Is that passive/aggressive behavior? A better example might be Anon Twit July 4, 2:52 PM who calls Joani, "the most amazing and incredible dance instructor this side of the continental divide," before bashing her.)

Re: the complaint of Anon Twit Thu Jul 03, 09:31:00 AM, who asks, "can someone explain to me why people are asked to comment on the conflict when they never came to the arbitration to hear what was actually said," then notes that she did not see Andy or Joani attending the hearings. Well, if you go back and actually read the story, you'll see that all Andy talked about was Feet First and the Mr. Whyme show. He does not mention Reggae or the conflict whatsoever. Again, Joani is not in the story at all, but Joan [Becker] does comment on the dispute, which is one of the topics of her show. She does not make any specific reference to what happened at the Reggae hearings, just on what the conflict has done to SoHum's community spirit.

I'll end by repeating what Joan [Becker] told me: “The whole thing [with Reggae] was so disappointing to me: the side-taking, the fundamentalists, the narrow-minded thinking that says your friend has to agree with you or they won’t ever be forgiven."

In case y'all did not get it, she's talking to you - the great mass of anonymous fundamentalist twits who turned the Mateel/PP divorce into an Us vs. Them fistfight.
 

OK Bob, time to go take your meds.

Nowhere in 9:45's post do I see any name calling. Are you assuming that 9:45 and 4:59 are one in the same. Ass -U- Me...

Oh, and maybe reread your story, because Joanie Rose (and Recycled Youth) ARE mentioned.

Your defense, and silent indifference to this shameless privatization of a community event, (that happened to be the Mateel's primary fundraiser) is pathetic. Please stop.

BTW, likening the supporters of the Mateel to fundamentalists makes you appear small minded and bigoted.

Definitions of fundamentalist on the Web:

* A person who thinks that a corporation's security prices are determined by its future earnings and dividend abilities. ...

* One who engages in fundamental analysis.

* A person who relies on economic and financial analysis in investment decision making

* of or relating to or tending toward fundamentalism
* a supporter of fundamentalism

* Fundamentalism is a term with differing meanings and definitions.

* One who reduces religion to strict interpretation of core or original texts; A trader who trades on the financial fundamentals of the companies involved, as opposed to a chartist or technician;

Perhaps you (and joan) are trying to call the Mateel supporter followers of fundamentalism. Hoo boy, imagine; strictly following a set of basic principles! Pretty out there for sure. Worthy of contempt.

Ok, now go plan your next outburst. They are highly entertaining.
 

Right On 1:52pm.
 

Yo self-righteous anon, Glad you're find my writing entertaining. I can't speak for Joan who used the word fundamentalist to describe y'all, but my dictionary doesn't have any thing about economic theory and I doubt that's what she meant.

fundamentalist: a form of Protestant Christianity that upholds belief in the strict and literal interpretation of the Bible, including its narratives, doctrines, prophecies, and moral laws.
• strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion or ideology, notably Islam.

My interpretation: It's someone who blindly adheres to a strict party line that says anyone who does not agree with their own personal views is a bad person or is part of some evil cabal.
Having a rational discussion with a fundamentalist is virtually impossible since they've convinced themselves that theirs is the only righteous path.

Re: your remark "time to go take your meds," isn't that what someone yelled at Anna Banana when she tried to speak her mind at that meeting at the Mateel? I found it offensive then, and it's equally offensive now.

And to the dittohead who says "right on," well, screw you too.
 

BD must have had a long weekend. Get some rest you sound testy.
 

Just my one cent worth here but I think the problem is different for Bob than the ordinary person. Bob gets to have about 15,000 people read his thoughts and opinions he chooses to print. Each person tells 5 other people. That's about 75,000 people who get Bob's self described birds eye view of the situation. Because of this responsibility and duty to the public he must be absolutely objective in his opinion or be unquestionable in his facts if the opinion is one sided. It is frustrating on the public side of things that there is no way on earth to fight that kind of press power in a rural community. We are stuck with his simplified dumbed down version of events as he has been fed them by some very simplistic people. Some well and some not so well intended.

In my opinion Bob appears to try to play white knight on a white horse here and single handedly help save this economic and partying white elephant of a festival for those like him who know better than those like us who had to live in the moment and have the real story. The real victims of his questionable stories have no value in the world Bob would like status in (the music world) and will get over it someday and therefore the ends justify the means.

Moral of the story is don't look to the press for justice. Press people are just as flawed as the rest of us. Minus one or two great ones that come along now and then.

Bob has to decide his own standards and live with what he has done.
 

Bob you chose to write that in your interview after you had talked with her please don't duck the critic.
 

"In case y'all did not get it, she's talking to you - the great mass of anonymous fundamentalist twits who turned the Mateel/PP divorce into an Us vs. Them fistfight."

your hands are hardly clean Bob and the Mateel isn't saying nearly as nasty things about your writing as the other guys talk shit about
 

A correction for the anon who writes, "Bob gets to have about 15,000 people read his thoughts..."

The Journal's circulation is 22,000.
 

I thought Bob's first article that he wrote approximately a week before the annual meeting, where cb declared her intention to never work with the Mateel again was his best.
 

Sticks and stones but the Truth remains.
 

the Truth?

You can't handle the truth...
 

Someone might recommend medication (in a loving way - ever heard of daherb?) to another who was 1. Paranoid that people were calling them names and then lashes out at the first person to come by;
and 2. Couldn't even recall the content of their own writing, claiming twice that a person was not mentioned, when they were.

It is ok to be wrong; admitting it is the first step. Please Bob, chill your bad self out.
 

Those wristbands and lami's must be harder to get this year.
 

That's a great idea, I'll do a cupla bongloads and get stoned, and that will make me mellow, just like y'all down in SoHum, permanently medicated, dead to the world, safe in my anonymous cocoon, where everything is just the way I say it is, that would be so cool. Well, except for the paranoia, and those neighbors who are out to get me, who want to take all my stuff away, but wait, I could get a dog, a mean one. He'd protect me, and he'd be my friend. And I could... what was it? I forgot, oh well, that's cool, it's all good... where'd put that lighter?
 

One more thing before I go: I'm still a bit unclear, what was it you did not like about the story about Feet First Dancers?
Was it the idea of "holding up a mirror that will show where we’ve gone off track and where we’ve lost some of those initial values.”
 

Bob pssst your ego is showing. You should stick to not having any fault or blame.
 

Those "initial values" were compromised by those you appear to support.
 

Fundamentally Bob I believe you have missed the point the posters are making. No one has the truth and neither do you.
 

One more thing before I go: I'm still a bit unclear, what was it you did not like about the story about Feet First Dancers?
Was it the idea of "holding up a mirror that will show where we’ve gone off track and where we’ve lost some of those initial values.”

Asking for specificity Bob? Good luck!
 

I thought the first post made it very clear.
 

What do you see as the first post?
 

Bob you are so timid!
 

Bob enjoys attention, even if it is negative. I believe the first post mentioned something not about Feet First but a foot sandwich! How does it taste by the way?
"holding up a mirror that will show where we’ve gone off track and where we’ve lost some of those initial values.” Tell me Bob, what you think were the "initial values" of our fair community. Do you believe co-opting another's property is one of them? Greed? Deceit? Threatening attitudes? Not to mention garden variety rudeness?

I am sorry. Even if the damn CUP runs with the land or whatever lame-ass (il)legal reasoning the PC came up with, it was ordinary bad manners that prompted the ilk of the RR "side" to co-opt the Mateel's primary fundraiser. An event that had been entrusted to Carol. Not given. Get it? TRUST The trust was breached and great harm has come to the Mateel. I don't see how anyone can ignore or defend that type of behavior. Same Show New Name is not part of our initial values. If you think it is, you have deeper problems than just your temperament.
 

I would like to read more about the date rape drug. I have a friend who felt like she was drugged recently while in Garberville.

I do agree that it would be nice to have a Town Dandy guest writer that is not involved in any local campaign.
 

Pardon me if I address all of you anons as one, but that's pretty much the way I see you.
As much as I'm enjoying the attention, I don't have time to spend all day in a back and forth on this blog. I invite you to go back through this thread and show me where I took any sort of stand one way or the other on who's right and who's wrong in the Reggae clash. I subscribe to Judge Warren's analysis, that you have "a lot of people insisting that the other people are causing all the trouble... Nobody comes out of this a hero."

The line about "holding up a mirror that will show where we’ve gone off track and where we’ve lost some of those initial values,” was a quote from Joan Becker (not to be confused with Joani Rose). So maybe you should ask her.
Better yet, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself. And try to avoid the negative path that points fingers at others and defines values by saying what they are not.
 

Note to Carol: This week's guest Dandy is Alexander Cockburn. I do not believe he is involved in any local political campaign.
 

Well, I just re-read Bob's Feet First article (I repeat: I think he did a GREAT job), and the only reference I found to Joani Rose was in passing. Apparently, more than one person here is confusing this article with older articles that are specifically about the Reggae conflict.

I saw the show on opening night (the only night I could have attended), and I really, really enjoyed it. I also really appreciated how they succeeded in addressing the deep division in this community without passing judgment on, or pointing fingers at, any individual or institution.

It really disturbs me that a conversation that should have celebrated the depth and wit of the artistic community in Southern Humboldt has, instead, turned into yet another Reggae war thread, this one excoriating a reporter based not on what his most recent work is, but on his perceived bias based on... on what?

California is burning, the Midwest in under water, and land between the Tigris and the Euphrates (to use a Biblical phrase) has been virtually destroyed through the actions of a government none of us would lay claim to as "our own." Where Reggae stands in this scheme of things is comparable to, well, where a gnat stands in the universe.

LET IT GO, for crying out loud. The time of being able to effect an outcome that would have benefited everyone is long past. Time to move on.
 

Whatever you do, don't take responsibility, or answer any questions directly. Oh, and if you don't like the definition of a word just make up your own. Comparing the Mateel to Islam is where all credibility was lost.

Another interesting quote on the web: The Mattole Salmon Group (MSG) represents the grass-roots restoration... For many years, the MSG has been a food vendor at Reggae on the River (now named Reggae Rising).

hmmmmm No confusion in the market place.

Christina "get over it" is a favorite phrase of abusers and users everywhere. When the bruises, fade has the episode become a lie? The time of " being able to effect an outcome that would have benefited everyone" is ever present. Please don't endorse this crude division in our community. All TDCBPPPB et al need to do, is honor our lease, honor past contracts, and facilitate the production of Reggae on the River at Frenchs/Dimmick ranch in any way they can. To say that the time has passed for honorable actions, just excuses criminal, and plain rude behaviors, that have damaged the unity and cooperation that was once a trademark of our fair community. Why would you discourage anyone that wanted to fight to restore that?
 

I don't know who compared the Mateel to Islam. It certainly wasn't I.

I didn't say "get over it." I said "let it go." These are two distinctly different things. I'll never "get over" a number of events that profoundly affected my life and caused deep pain. I have, however, tried to "let them go" - which isn't to say I've forgotten them, just that I've learned to live with the fact that those events are part of the fabric of my life... and that fabric can't be unwoven.

I stand by my assertion that "The time of being able to effect an outcome that would have benefited everyone is long past." Your point of view is that all PP needs to do is honor its contract with the Mateel. PP's point of view, meanwhile, is that all the Mateel needs to do is honor its contract with PP. Each party has a distinctly different point of view about what "honoring the contract" means.

I don't "endorse this crude division in our community." I don't endorse it AT ALL. What I do endorse is an attempt to move on from it, rather than staying stuck in this war mode that only deepens a chasm that's already nearly impassable. The same people who are all for pulling the troops out of Iraq because continued conflict just CAN'T somehow "make things better" are, oddly enough, willing to destroy what little "community" is left when matters closer to home are discussed. In the name of what? Everyone thinks s/he is in the right. How much of your life are you willing to give up trying to prove it?

Why are some here so quick to criticize Joan Becker as "naïve," when what she did, co-writing the latest Feet First show, is part of a long artists' tradition of trying to heal division through art? Hasn't this community ALWAYS done that? Isn't that one of the reasons her castmates, David Simpson and Jane Lapiner, are so beloved - for using their humor to both educate people, and try to bridge the divide between the environmentalists and the loggers?

"Damaged the unity and cooperation that was once a trademark of our fair community"? When was that? LONG before I arrived, I can assure you (for the record, I've only been here since October 2002). Do you have any IDEA what an "outsider" such as myself sees when looking at this community? It's not "unity and cooperation," to be certain. Ohhh, the things people tell me "off the record."

Maybe when you STOP looking at yourselves as some sort of - I don't know, blessed group of people who found all the answers and just can't figure out why it's not working for you right now? - then maybe you'll be able to see that you're fallible human beings, occasionally susceptible to greed, pettiness, vengefulness, secrecy, and animosity.

JUST.
LIKE.
EVERYONE.
ELSE.

There's reputedly a settlement in the works. If the principals in this sad affair have finally come to the realization (through whatever means) that the end result of all this (and "all this" is one big chunk of community history that no one will ever really untangle) has meant a loss for everyone - and it's time to put an end to it - why can't you?
 

I do agree that it would be nice to have a Town Dandy guest writer that is not involved in any local campaign.

Boy, I really thought the language I used in the paragraph on the Second District race was pretty innocuous. I would have preferred to avoid it altogether, but it would have been a huge gap in the narrative.

And I'm still confused as to the precise nature of the bias in the Second District race. There seem to be two schools of Estelle supporters, one of whom say I misrepresented her position, and the other which defends it.
 

"I subscribe to Judge Warren's analysis, that you have "a lot of people insisting that the other people are causing all the trouble... Nobody comes out of this a hero."

Put that in the real context it was said asshole.
 

Oh wait you can't you weren't there the whole time.
 

Yep that backstabbing Mateel Bob. You still write like your title was how it was. If you had come around on any of the days your buddies weren't presenting their case you'd know the Mateel didn't backstab anyone. You misspoke about it and never took it back. Then you wouldn't be asking us why we get pissed at you.
 

CB quit a week before the yearly meeting. BD reported it in his first article about the conflict.
 

Bob said, just like y'all down in SoHum, permanently medicated, dead to the world,

You twit, don't you know that stereotypes like that create more division.
 

First to Mon Jul 07, 06:11:00 PM, My apologies. you're right, that broad brush stereotyping was rude of me. It's awkward having a conversation with a small army of anonymous people, who I may or may not know, and I guess I was feeling a bit testy as someone else suggested. I'll admit I'm growing tired of trying to communicate with people who think they know me and know what I think when they don't.

I realize that defending myself is pointless in the face of what seems to be blind rage, but I have to ask a couple for questions of the last few anons. You accuse me of taking Judge Warren's words out of context. Were you there to see the context? I was. And unless you were a party in one of the lawsuits or are one of maybe a half dozen dedicated Mateel supporters, I'm guessing I was at the hearing more often than you were.

I was in court more often than any reporter in the county, and at a time when I had plenty of other work to do. I was there most of the first week or so, and that was the subject of the one story that seems to have you all riled up. Yes, I missed a couple of days. It could not be avoided. I made an honest effort to use notes from some Mateel supporters so I could accurately report on what happened the days I wasn't there. It didn't work out mainly because their accounts did not match up.

Take anything that happens anywhere and ask two people what they saw and heard and you'll get two different stories. Ask three people, you'll get three different stories. And so on.

That's the case with Reggae -- and then some. Do you have any idea how much time I've spent in the last year and a half listening to different versions of the Reggae story? Ask around. You'll find I've talked at length with Taunya, with Taunya's lawyer friend, with Carol, with Doug, Charity, PB, Boots, with Mateel board members and ex board members, with Mateel staffers, with PP staffers, with county staffers, with Margaret and some of the other supporters who were at the trial more than me.

They all provided pieces to a complex puzzle, but I won't pretend that I have the whole story. And I never will. Secrets were revealed at the trial, where people were under oath. But there was plenty of dissembling on both sides.

At this point, the story is pretty much played out. As I understand it (I wasn't there) the judge convinced the two sides in the lawsuit that taking the battle further was self-destructive. IMHO continuing the battle online is just as self destructive.

I don't live in your community, but I've always appreciated it as a vestige of hippie ideals. So, what are those old hippie ideals? The closest anyone came to defining them was the anon who ended a rant talking about, "the unity and cooperation that was once a trademark of our fair community."

Cooperation was the magic word Hal mentioned when he spoke of rekindling the coals of vision that keep the community alive. I'd throw another couple of word in there: Peace and love.
 

I think youre wrong. Everyone I talked to who went regularly thinks you are wrong too. Go get the transcripts and read them. Is that asking too much? If you aren't planning on writing again on the topic I guess it is no big deal the damage has already been done. Thanks for explaining.
 

What exactly am I wrong about? I invite any of you to point out one thing I wrote about the trial that was a misstatement of fact. I honestly don't even know for sure what so upsetting about that particular story -- aside from the reports of some e-mail exchanges that showed some sort of plotting by members of the Mateel board and the E.D. It's not like I made that stuff up.

As far as buying a copy of the transcript, well, if you want to pay for it, I'd read it. Although I'm not sure if that's an option at this point.

It seems possible that a condition of the mediated agreement might be to seal the transcripts. I don't really know.

Eric, care to weigh in on that question?
 

Ah Bob i gotta step in here if weren't there for the Mateel rebuttal or when they gave their side of the case I can see where the differences are coming from. The emails had nothing to do with any plot. It is called rebuttal right Erik where one side tries to prove what happened and then the other side comes back and puts it into context the right way. Then there is a third round but I don't know what that was called cleanup I guess.
 

That is stupid. Members have a right to know what tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on. Those transcripts are the closest we will ever get to the truth if there is really a settlement.
 

How much did we spend on lawyers? Was it tens of thousunds or hundreds? Where did the $$ come from? Enquiring minds want to know???
 

9:14 now at least we know what days Bob missed
 

It seems possible that a condition of the mediated agreement might be to seal the transcripts. I don't really know.

Eric, care to weigh in on that question?

Well, as it was an arbitration, the parties can agree to anything. But my understanding is that this was sort of a hybrid court/arbitration thingamajigger, so it's an open question as to whether it's a public record.

Don't ask me for a legal definition of "thingamajigger."
 

So, if it is in fact public record, where would it be stored? Some place where I can ask for it and read it?

re: 10:24 and 9:15,

I don't know that what 9:14 said shows anything about when I was at the trial. It does show that he or she wasn't.

The Mateel was the plaintiff, which meant they made their case first, although it's not that simple. They'd call a witness and examine them, then the defense, Tom's lawyer, would cross-examine. Then you had redirect, then recross. It took forever to get through a witness, particularly Taunya who was on the stand again and again, for days on end. By the end she was exhausted. I had a drink with her and Anna Banana in the bat at Red Lion's on her last day. She was so glad to be done.

A lot of time was spent establishing e-mail trails, back and forths between Carol and Tom, which showed that they were trying to figure out how to "do Reggae, but not do the Mateel," (or something like that) and emails between Taunya and the board showing that they were trying to figure out how to wrestle Reggae away from Carol, way before the Nov. meeting at the Mateel, and even before the Oct. letter. Again, as the judge said, there were no heroes in the story.

I don't know how many days they had testimony, so I don't know how much I missed, but after awhile I just stopped going. It got so redundant, I wasn't learning anything new and it just seemed like a waste of time. Of course it wasn't for the attorneys, it was billable hour after hour after hour.
 

So, if it is in fact public record, where would it be stored? Some place where I can ask for it and read it?

It's stored by the Court Reporter who will transcribe it for you for a price. I don't know how long she or he is supposed to keep the tape stuff from which the transcript comes. But anybody can order it. If someone has already ordered it, you may get a break on the cost and just pay for a copy.
 

Bob, Have to disagree a bit. The notes you borrowed for the part of the first week you missed were mine and Felix's. Not only did they not disagree with each other, they agreed with the email produced from one of the witnesses.
The emails between Taunya and the board discussed how to respond if Carol refused to honor the contract, not how to wrestle the show away from her. What part of Carol doing the show was their best option, as long as they got paid, did you miss?
Judge Warren explained quite clearly that this is the kind of lawsuit engaged in by large corporations who would have the money to call witnesses dating from the beginning of the conflict, long before Taunya, until the end. The Mateel doesn't have that kind of money. My guess is the other side doesn't either or they would have paid the hospital, school district, volunteer fire departments...
For good or ill it's over. Neither side as healthy as it could have been. Sad. But, as a journalist you have some responsibility to the truth of what happened in that room and with the notes you were given. You told me you couldn't verify mine because you couldn't read Felix's. They did, however agree. This I do know.
 

Margaret I know i have never told you this but I love you. Don't tell Eddy. I don't love you all the time but I am loving you much more of the time then I don't love you. I know that makes more sense once the wine is drained from my radiator but for now it works. Amen. Let the truth be told. And thank you for using your time and money to attend. I couldn't or I would have to.
 

...should have celebrated the depth and wit of the artistic community in Southern Humboldt..

By whose definition? I don't recall any open auditions for this celebration of the depth and wit of the artistic community in SoHum. Just another tightly knit circle of exclusion and self absorbed elitism imho.
 

Yeh! I hate clowns. Their scary and I think they might be making fun of me. They never let poor me play in their reindeer games. We shouldn't let them use our community center. Let's get those elitist snobs. They're robbing our community of something. Maybe we should sue them. Do they have any money??
 

initial community values... discussion of the ideas and debate of the ideas not the person speaking them. caring for the land. caring for each other. cooperation in building our own community with it's own codes of acceptable conduct mostly revolving around those three overused and undervalued words. peace, love, harmony. with nature. with each other, with ourselves. and to the person who inquired about an audition....feet first is an open outfit. volunteer. unfunded. all who came and wanted to participate were included. the question is not why you didn't know about an "audition" but why aren't you involved in community "magic theatre" in the first place. this production brought representatives from every theatre group in our community together to work toward a common goal. helping to heal the break in our community. that isn't cover-up, it's health. finally, the show was so NOT about reggae. reggae rift is a symptom of the real problem. losing sight of our golden values in the junk of the moment was the theme as it has been illustrated in this whole blog conversation. almost none of you saw the show, that much is obvious. pity.
 

Seeing the show and feeling the show are two very different things.
 

Bob owes the Mateel a public apology in my opinion.
 

For what??
 

Hmmm ive read it I'll take a stab. Misleading the northern end of Humboldt to think it was a fight that the Mateel had done something wrong and that is why Tom said they had to do it without the Mateel.

A really bad choice of title of backstabbing.

For getting it really wrong.

The person doesn't say do they.
 

Let me see if you can wrap your brain around this. The Mateel did many things wrong. That is what the testimony was all about. They hired a new producer before PROPERLY terminating the one they were legally bound to work with. That is bad faith. That is why Carol has a case. According to her contract certain things had to happen before she could quit or be fired. Those things did not happen. Ergo. She couldn't quit. Couldn't be fired. Whoever negotiated the contract made it pretty impossible to just get out of and hire anyone new.
Attacking Bob Doran is foolish. The MCC has not been forthcoming with truths about all of this because they know they screwed up. A great convincing job was done on the community. You would feel far less sympathetic to their plight if you simply took the facts into consideration. It is possible to take any statement and twist it out of shape. I believe you are doing just that .
You don't want to believe that the MCC isn't at fault in this reggae argument. It is easier for you to create villains and demonize the entire People Productions crew.
 

"They hired a new producer before PROPERLY terminating the one they were legally bound to work with."

She quit. They didn't have to terminate her they just accepted her resignation. That is what came out at the trial.

Wrap your brain around that.
 

They planned to get rid of the Mateel together almost six months before the termination. Tom Dimmick said so on the stand.

Another wrapping for you.
 

all who came and wanted to participate were included. the question is not why you didn't know about an "audition" but why aren't you involved in community "magic theatre" in the first place.

to where Hal. the magic theater rendezvous in the hills. involved players were omitted. why.
 

1:06 You were there? First hand info? No? I didn't think so.If you were you would have known the details you are missing. That is a wrap.
 

Its going to get worse folks before it gets better. I see the mud on the horizon. My guess is RR ticket sales aren't going as desired. So whats the next scenario: The whole idea of dragging out the trial was so no negative press could effect this years RR. We are seeing 12:37 cranks up the good old spinning wheel going. I thought it curious how only Mateel had supporters all the way through where did PP supporters go. Were they told to stay away so they wouldn't hear anything that didn't affirm the spin story? Inquiring Minds want to know. If you say it enough times some people will believe it and even work for you again. God this shit needs to stop.
 

Yep. That's the spin being given out on site.
 

1:14 sorry but i can't decrypt your comment. you'll have to be more clear about your meaning if you actually desire a response. or contact me directly if you have some issue you want to discuss with me about our show.
 

There is no settlement.
 

The ed And Board were busted for e mails in the summer before the show on how to get rid of peoples but in order for it to work the coordinators would have to go along .from ed to garth {Quote from the ed}.The e mail from cb to td was after having to deal with the under hand dealings of the ed and staff, in September after the show Fact .nice try to spin it Margret
 

Exactly.
 

Spin. Here we go. Those transcripts should never be sealed. Ever.
 

God I hope the judge is still reading this blog. If he ever had any doubts all he needs to do is read the PP spin machine back at work already.
 

The commUNITY is aware of all the spin that has been tried, hence poor ticket sales for rr.
 

Thank you Bob! Great insight on a show that was fabulous & funny. Feet First sent a beautiful message. Where blessed to have so many people still "tending the coals." I could only hope the clowns who are so negative, pick there noses RIPE(from the nosewood trees) so their not so Bitter.
 

Hemmingway said these three things about people, that once you are, you always are:
1) a fag
2) a cop
3) an asshole
Bob Doran is slipping towards one of these....
 

and you, by quoting a great author being absolutely neanderthal and ignorant, have unintentionally proved yourself to be plainly in slot number 3. let's rewrite the script for this year and beyond casting all the players as heroes and leaving all the name-calling and categorizing to 3-year olds squabbling in the sandbox who haven't learned better yet. putting people in categories and little boxes only limits everyone's ability to break out to new and better approaches to innovation and change. let's lose the righeousness and misery and find the cooperative gold. that's the new nose i'm gonna try to pick this season.
 

..let's rewrite the script for this year and beyond casting all the players as heroes and leaving all the name-calling and categorizing to 3-year olds squabbling in the sandbox who haven't learned better yet.

Sorry, but i can't decrypt your comment. You'll have to be more clear about your meaning if you actually desire a response.
 

He said, "It is time to let go and begin the healing." Even Bob makes mistakes. It doesn't mean you have to tar and feather him.
 

Does anybody realize the amount of work it will take to heal? So far the commUNITY isn't even close. I will light a candle again tonight and pray.
 

There is no settlement.
It is more than 4 weeks later.
 

It's about caring.
For each other, for the land, for ourselves.

We only have each other.

We invest in ourselves and each other and not into the
bankrupt institutions of a morally absent government.

When we declare one of our own the enemy we make
enemies of ourselves.

Our destiny is shared.

Working to make other's lives better makes our own lives better.

By recycling and reusing the valuable "junk" of the past we turn our future gold.

We value our diversity as much as we value our shared vision. 

Even when we think we've let the coals of community vision go out through neglect, misuse, ignorance, or any other reason some small hidden spark continues to glow awaiting the rekindling.

It's not about you, it's not about me, it's about us.

I will resolve the inner conflict first.

I will not make war anymore.

i will laugh and spread laughter.

I will love and spread love.

These are the things of my "nonsense mythology".

Each day we vote for what our reality will be.
What are you voting for?