A win

◼ Arcata man gets maximum sentence in child sex abuse case

A Humboldt County judge sentenced an Arcata man on Wednesday for the continual sexual abuse of a minor, dissuading the minor from testifying against him and committing a felony while out on bond.

W. Bruce Watson sentenced Wayne Thomas Bukowski, 37, of Arcata, to 20 years, eight months in prison -- the maximum sentence allowed by law. Bukowski is also required to register as a sex offender for life.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel.

Another revolving door superstar

◼ Driver arrested following Broadway roll-over - TS

Vandenplas was booked at the Humboldt County jail on the following charges: possession of a controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance, driving while under the influence (drugs/medications), felony enhancement for multiple DUIs, possession of medications without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, false information to a peace officer, no insurance at a collision scene and parole violation.

Out in 3 - 2 - 1....

So – if they declare a moratorium

Then it is time to furlough or close the Building/Planning Department.

◼ Rezoning decision awaits Supes today; after marathon meeting, board continues discussion - Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard

After a marathon session Tuesday high on acrimony and disagreement but short on decisions, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will continue meeting today to determine the fate of a massive effort to rezone properties throughout the county for multifamily housing developments.

In a meeting that featured multiple twists, as well as some changing facts, the board took public comment from more than two dozen people -- with much of it sharply critical of county staff and the rezoning plan. It ultimately directed staff to do some more homework -- and come up with some answers -- before the meeting at 11 a.m. today.

The plan -- which is being driven forward on a tight timeline -- seeks to rezone 55 parcels throughout the county to allow for the development of more than 1,000 multifamily units, a little more than half of which would be designated for low-income families.

The project is being fast-tracked under the terms of a settlement reached last month between the county and the advocacy group Housing for All in the court case brought against the county in 2007 by Humboldt Sunshine, which alleged the county's housing element was out of compliance with state law. Under the terms of the settlement, the board has to approve the plan by Saturday, and the state has to OK it by Aug. 15.

If the county fails to meet the deadline, a Humboldt County Superior Court judge could issue a moratorium on the issuance of building and development permits within the county....

What do YOU buy at WalMart (KMart, Target?)

What do you buy at Costco? Is it the same? What do you buy in Old Town? Do you shop there for basic necessities? You don't have to sign your name...

New life for Salzman's mobs?

There's no election in play, the Garr Nielsen thing is fizzling, Richardson Grove has only revealed how idiotic they can be, but maybe there's hope - rumors of WalMart, the evil boogeyman, coming to town? Will the intrepid "progressives" be able to gin up the rage? Stay tuned.

◼ Mystery retailer prepares to move into Gottschalks building; company to finance $4.6 million in facility improvements - TS
◼ Architect in Mystery Bayshore Mall Project is Wal-Mart’s Go-To Dude - Hank/LoCo

Looks like they're trying: ◼ Heraldo starts it off: Wal-Mart to dig its ugly claws into Eureka

Championing for causes -- and people you represent -- can be done in a civil manner

◼ Championing for causes -- and people you represent -- can be done in a civil manner - John Chiv's My Word in the Times-Standard

It's time for a few to stop the conservative versus progressive game. Most of us, regardless of our beliefs, want the best for this community. Think how much we could accomplish if we worked together and moved our city forward.

Once again, there is an attempt to rip the community apart by fomenting anger towards the EPD. John calls it out.

And you have to ask why, when a few days before his firing, the Times Standard ran a piece touting Garr Nielsen's being a finalist in applying for two positions in other areas, when it was clear he was leaving, there is all this angst about his firing.

Where is it really coming from?

7.0 quake off Honshu, Japan – no Tsunami Warning

◼ 7.0 quake off Honshu, Japan – no Tsunami Warning - Watts Up With That

DISTRICT ATTORNEY PAUL GALLEGOS AND CAL EMA... 2 DIFFERENT STORIES UPDATED

◼ DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND CAL EMA... 2 DIFFERENT STORIES - VIDEO/NEWSCAST - KIEM

KIEM says: "It’s a story we first broke last week… the District Attorney’s office is being investigated for allegedly not filing some paperwork concerining hundreds of thousands dollars in grant monies.

We've heard both sides of the story… but they’re not matching up. District Attorney Paul Gallegos claims these grants are not on hold, but the state says they are. its complicated so instead of trying to explain it ourselves… here’s the arguments straight from the sources." Submitted by Betsy Lambert on Thu, 07/07/2011 - 17:44

KIEM REPORT (transcribed from the link)

KIEM/Kelly Mays says: "It’s a story we first broke last week… the District Attorney’s office is being investigated for allegedly not filing some paperwork concerining hundreds of thousands dollars in grant monies.

We've heard both sides of the story… but they’re not matching up. District Attorney Paul Gallegos claims these grants are not on hold, but the state says they are. Its complicated so instead of trying to explain it ourselves… here’s the arguments straight from the sources:

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos (on camera): We're not in danger of losing any grants. No grants have been stopped."

Brad Alexander, Cal EMA (Emergency Management Agency) Office of Public Information: (told) multiple times that they are.

Ch. 3: (reporter asks Alexander) "The three grants that are in question?"

CalEMA: (responds) "There's actually like six or seven, and you should have individual names and titles for each of those."

Ch. 3: Those grants in question totaling over $847,000, some of that has already been settled between the two parties but it's the difference, some $334,000 that's been put on hold by the state.

Ch. 3: "Are the grants on hold? Are they stayed? Or are they fine?"

CalEMA: Currently everything is on pause except for the funds that have already been distributed."

Ch. 3: This grant money is dedicated to programs like victims of crime, violence against women, anti-drug abuse, victim witnesses, and unserviced populations for local Native American tribes.

The CalEMA says the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office asked about the grants in November, saying they weren't aware of some of the funds. This sparked the investigation into the District Attorney Office.

Paul Gallegos: "There's a per-sonn-el issue that we asked for an investigation to be done... ummmmm... part of that investigation, that investigator contacted CalEMA to ask for specific questions related to the personnel matter..."

Ch. 3: (asks) "If it's just a personnel issue, what happens?"

CalEMA: (answers) "Then they simply replace the person that we were handling with."

Ch.3: Gallegos says he took the initiative when he first learned about this situation.

Paul Gallegos: "It's an investigation into a PERSONNEL matter by our office or at the request of our office to bring in a 3rd party investigation."

CalEMA: "My understanding is that the office of risk management at the County level hired a private investigator."

Ch.3: The fact of the matter is, right now, according to CalEMA, over $334,000 is NOT available to Humboldt County, and at this point, we don't know if it will ever be.

CalEMA: "So, there was not a regular line of communication that typically exists between CalEMA and the grantee. They weren't returning phone calls and they weren't returning emails, that's why staff had to go up there in November/December last year to get one on one face to face with the staff at the District Attorney's office."

Paul Gallegos: "Truth is our grants are fine. If you talk to CalEMA, you'll find out they're fine..."

Back to reporters, Kelly Mays: Ch. 3: So, it's obviously a big complicated mess at this point and we are in contact with both offices. But we continue to hear different things, we'll keep looking for the truth.

Betsy Lambert: Yes, this is something that all of our newsroom has been looking into - just trying to get the truth, down to the bottom of this matter.
___

◼ Update: Submitted by Kelly May on Fri, 07/08/2011 - 12:02 in News Stories - KIEM

Cal EMA has admitted to a miscommunication within their organization that lead to reporting misinformation to both News Channel 3 and the Humboldt County District Attorney's office regarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant monies. Brad Alexander, spokesperson for Cal EMA, admits that a miscommunication did exist between the grants branch at Cal EMA and the Office of Public Information, causing inaccurate information to be released regarding the investigation into Humboldt County District Attorney's office. District Attorney Paul Gallegos told News Channel 3 in a meeting this morning that local funders had put a hold on grant funds available to the D.A.'s office. At the request of the District Attorney's office and to reassure local funders that the grant funds are available, Cal EMA says they will issue and official statement aknowledging the miscommunication and misinformation that was reported.

So - there's more to the story yet.

Someone in the executive branch must have requested the funding for Gunrunner

◼ Project Gunrunner Got Stimulus Money - John Hayward

Poster “Domandred” at Free Republic dug through the text of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as the “Obama stimulus,” and discovered that an earmark of ten million dollars for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was rolled into the bill.

Part of that earmark came from House Resolution 495, the Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009. This bill explicitly included $15,000 in funding for Project Gunrunner.

That funding did indeed make it into the Obama stimulus act:

For an additional amount for ‘State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance’, $40,000,000, for competitive grants to provide assistance and equipment to local law enforcement along the Southern border and in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from the Southern border, of which $10,000,000 shall be transferred to ‘Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses’ for the ATF Project Gunrunner.

We need to know who pushed this Gunrunner funding into the Obama stimulus, and then the President must be made to formally admit – under oath if necessary – either he knew about Project Gunrunner all along… or he had absolutely no idea what was contained in the trillion-dollar stimulus package he boasted of passing without a single Republican vote.

◼ Too bad to check: Project Gunrunner was funded by … the stimulus - HotAir

I really did think it was too bad to check, despite posts about it at PJM, Weasel Zippers, and Free Republic. But I checked. You’ll find complete PDF and text versions of the final stimulus bill right here. Scroll down to page 16 (of 407!) in the PDF version and behold:

For an additional amount for ‘‘State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance’’, $40,000,000, for competitive grants to provide assistance and equipment to local law enforcement along the Southern border and in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from the Southern border, of which $10,000,000 shall be transferred to ‘‘Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses’’ for the ATF Project Gunrunner.

And to think, you guys say the stimulus didn’t produce anything. It produced guns for Mexican drug cartels, didn’t it? Says Ben Domenech, in a stroke of perfect black humor: “Shovel ready.”

See what happens when Congress doesn’t read the bills?

◼ earmark for funding of gunrunner in the stimulus?

So the big question is - WHO put it in there? And then, of course, WHY?

Richardson Grove activists threaten disruptions for potential project contractors; letters warn of 'a PR nightmare' for bidders

◼ Richardson Grove activists threaten disruptions for potential project contractors; letters warn of 'a PR nightmare' for bidders - TS

Richardson Grove Action Now member Kim Starr said companies should be aware of the risks associated with the project.

”Any involvement by your company will bring you public notoriety -- a PR nightmare,” the letter states. “We wish to warn you that no matter what Caltrans claims the project will cost, it will cost you MORE -- because the public does not want it.”

One letter recipient, who wished to remain anonymous fearing retaliation, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently contacted the company regarding the letter, investigating the group for possible eco-terrorism. The businessman, who said the letter was sent out to at least four other contractors, said the anticipation of disruption will mean a higher bid price for Caltrans to cover extra security or equipment damage -- essentially more cost for the state.

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off New Zealand's Kermadec Islands, triggering a tsunami in the region

◼ The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.9, triggered a tsunami warning for New Zealand, the Kermadec Islands and Tonga, the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Center said. - Reuters

Happy Fourth!

◼ Image Source - CLICK HERE to enjoy the show!

Medical marijuana group holds fundraiser for Gallegos in Sacramento; Raises legal, ethical questions surrounding campaign finance for Humboldt DA

◼ Medical marijuana group holds fundraiser for Gallegos in Sacramento; Raises legal, ethical questions surrounding campaign finance for Humboldt DA
The focus Wednesday was clear, with suggested donations for Gallegos ranging from $250 to $2,500. The money will go to pay off the more than $40,000 in campaign debt Gallegos racked up last year -- the bulk of which is owed to his wife. Guests included representatives of the Humboldt Growers Association, members of the California Board of Equalization, medical marijuana dispensary owners and former Sacramento City Councilman Robbie Waters. The event was closed to reporters.

Del Real, who spoke to the Times-Standard about the fundraiser last week, said that he could not allow a Times-Standard journalist to attend the party because he would then have to let other members of the media, who also expressed interest in coming, to attend the event.

While Del Real later declined to provide the list of attendees and the total amount raised for Gallegos at the fundraiser, he said he would be happy to talk about the event afterward. Numerous phone messages left on Del Real's cell phone through the end of the week were not returned.

Gallegos said before the fundraiser that he had no problem with members of the media attending, adding that he supported the notion of openness for an industry that lives largely in the shadows.

”I'm an elected official, but at the same time, these people are not,” Gallegos said, adding that while he could not speak for Del Real, he thought the league stood to benefit from more exposure. “These are legitimate people that are trying to change the law -- why would they not want it to be out there?”
____
Matt Drange produced this story for the Times-Standard and California Watch, part of the Center for Investigative Reporting. He can be reached at mdrange@californiawatch.org.

Every single person in that room will be public information, every single person will have contributed more than the $99 threshold for anonymity. Every single related expense and the resultant income will have to be disclosed.

The fact remains that Gallegos couldn't get elected by telling the truth about who he is - he pretended to be 'law and order' - called himself a professor - and did NOT tell people the truth about his relationship with the growers.

At least now the mask is off.

Criminal censorship

◼ Hoopa Tribe shuts down Two Rivers Tribune over controversial articles; tribal newspaper staff rallying supporters for council meeting
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council chairman shut down the tribe's newspaper through a memo sent Friday afternoon, citing financial issues and disagreement over controversial articles.

Controversial. But excellent.

What is a newspaper for if not to tell the story, cover the issue? Controversial it may be, but the decision to publish Hunsucker's account of the killing was and is the right thing to do.

◼ The Arcata Eye: As we celebrate the Fourth of July weekend, a fine Humboldt County newspaper is dying.
◼ Chairman Shuts Down Newspaper Day Before New Council Sworn In - Two Rivers Tribune

Council approves Nielsen firing

◼ Council approves Nielsen firing - TS

The Eureka City Council voted 4-1 today, with Councilwoman Linda Atkins dissenting, to approve the firing of former Police Chief Garr Nielsen....

At the conclusion of the closed session, interim city attorney Andy Stunich also reported that the council voted unanimously to affirm the appointment of EPD Capt. Murl Harpham as interim police chief.

◼ EKA City Council Affirms Nielsen Firing - LCO
(you'll get a "Buzzfeed Buzzbox (Invisible Tracker)/About: blank" from that link, looks like)

So, $250 to $2,500 dinner tickets are all fully reportable

It will be interesting to see the campaign filings on Paul Gallegos' Sacramento soiree. How much did he rake in? And from whom?