◼ The Headwaters Fund -- a story of desertion and betrayal - Tim Martin/Here's a Thought/Times-Standard
The bankruptcy of PALCO and the sale of Headwaters cost (Bert Silva of Rio Dell) and many other timber workers their jobs. As part of the settlement and purchase agreement the state and federal governments awarded Humboldt County $18 million as compensation. In March of 2007 then-Rep. Virginia Strom-Martin and then-Gov. Gray Davis posed for a photo on the steps of the Humboldt County Courthouse, holding a giant check for $12 million. On the memo line it read: “For jobs and job retraining for displaced workers.”
That check offered ex-PALCO workers and their families a glimmer of hope, at least for a short time. Then it became a nightmare.
At the recommendation of Supervisors Bonnie Neely and John Woolley, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors adopted a Headwaters Fund Charter to outline its purpose and structure and to justify the emptiness of their impending actions. The money would be used to “support the growth of industry clusters; to increase the number of sustainable jobs that pay at or above the median income; and to enhance the quality of life for residents of Humboldt County through projects that promote healthy communities and protect and enhance the natural environment.”
In other words it was going into a private slush fund. This seemed to be a good all-purpose way for local representatives and moneyed nobility to tell PALCO workers and gyppo loggers, “We're taking your money. Deal with it or don't.”
...Headwaters funds have since been spent on an upgrade at Buckhorn Summit on State Route 299, an expansion of air service from the Arcata-Eureka Airport to Los Angeles, and loans to various local businesses. $750,000 went to a Forestry Products Initiative aimed at convincing California residents to choose redwood over wood-plastic composite lumber when building decks. What about job retraining for displaced PALCO employees? Why, that money was being used to “offset job losses.”
...Humboldt County Economic Development Coordinator Jacqueline Debets also told Silva that Headwaters money had never been reserved for jobs and job retraining. Evidently, there were more important places for it, like the Orick rodeo grounds restroom facility ($50,000), Internet access for the Hoopa Valley Tribe ($35,000), and septic improvement for Willow Creek ($35,000)....
Its amazing to hear a "Christian" like Rose defend elitist plutocrats endlessly and criticize everyone else. Its Sunday, so I had to point out what a hypocrate you are. You should be attending Jewish temple, not a Christian church. You preach out of the old testament only(Jewish bible), you make false idols out of rich and powerful people, you look down on anyone who talks like Jesus. The Bible is very clear in its warnings about people like you.
ReplyDeleteLike Hurwitz told us at PALCO HE WHO HAS THE GOLD RULES
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about the tens of thousands paid to study the proposal by Rio Dell (then city manager Nancy Flemming) for a local food cooperative distribution center to be located at the toxic Brownfield clean site of the former Eel River Sawmill. Planwest and the city took the money to study the ridiculous proposal that surprisingly went no where.
ReplyDeleteThe Headwaters Deal was illegally brokered and is still vulnerable to overturning. Bear River through its Heartlands Project representatives made clear intent to the Dept. of Interior that the tribe had a documented great interest in reacquiring its ancestral lands held under Maxxam's ownership. By law, Bear River was a principle in the negotiations but Bear River was ignored all through them. This was against the law that required the government to include Bear River as a principle in the Headwaters Deal.
ReplyDeleteIt was a shame Palco workers were not told of Bear River's plans. I tried on my own with flyers personally handed out to Palco workers to join Bear River's plan for a joint partnership buyout of Palco where Bear River tribe would end up with a third of the forest land and contract its highly sustainable timber harvesting to Palco workers who would own two thirds of the land in a new Palco ESOP. This was highly feasible to do because we had deep pockets behind us then to buy out Palco plus our lottery system to pay back any huge loans.
Our Heartlands Project has legs again and perhaps former Palco workers should contact us as we are in talks with Estelle now as our new Heartlands Lifeline Inter-Tribal Lottery project starts off working with Bear River and Oglala Lakota as the first tribes in the system. I'm in the phone book.
No one gives a shit Stephen
ReplyDeleteNo one gives a shit Stephen
ReplyDeleteIf you think about it, (what has the board of stupavisors) has done for the people of this county?
ReplyDeleteGee, no one, who would want your shit anyway. Keep it to yourself. After all, it is the No. 1 food choice of mean little trolls like you. That's my advice.
ReplyDelete