watchpaul: Fernbridge Cafe

Showing posts with label Fernbridge Cafe. Show all posts

Monday, April 11, 2011

From: "Mullen, Lynette"
Date: April 11, 2011 9:24:57 AM PDT
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 11, 2011
Contacts
Christa McKimmy, Prosecuting Deputy District Attorney, (707) 445-7411
Lynette Mullen, Community Outreach Coordinator, (707) 268-2577

Fernbridge Café Operator Faces Charges

The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office filed charges today against Steve Sterbeck, operator of the Fernbridge Market and Café. Sterbeck faces three counts of Operating a Food Facility Without a Valid Permit.

The County of Humboldt Division of Environmental Health requires a food facility permit at any facility where food is stored, prepared, packaged, served or otherwise provided, regardless of whether or not there is a charge for that food. Sterbeck was served a “Notice of Suspension of Food Facility Permit” by the Division of Environmental Health on March 18, 2011 after water tests confirmed high levels of coliform and E coli bacteria in the Café’s water. E coli indicates fecal contamination and can cause severe illness and in rare cases, death, in humans. After receiving the notice, Sterbeck was advised by county officials to immediately close the restaurant.

On March 31, 2011, the Café was still open and serving food to the public in direct violation of the suspension notice and Sterbeck was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Sterbeck was later released by the jail and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 19. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to eighteen months in jail, a fine of up to $3,000 or both.

“It is important to recognize that an arrest and criminal charges are not, in and of themselves, evidence of guilt,” noted Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos. “All people are entitled to a presumption of innocence. However, the District Attorney’s Office and the County’s Division of Environmental Health have an obligation to protect the citizens of this community and any visitors who patronize our local businesses. If an individual or business entity appears to be engaging in behavior that endangers people, we have to act to stop that behavior.”

Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy specializes in environmental and consumer protection and is prosecuting this case.

***

Arrested the guy, and they weren't sure what they were going to file? Deciding after the fact? May be common practice for cops, who are not the charging entity, they make the arrest and then the DA files charges, this is all very curious as it is the DA doing the arresting, performing both functions on a very low-level (alleged) crime.

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Documents show history of problems at Fernbridge Cafe; investigation continues, DA weighing charges

◼ Documents show history of problems at Fernbridge Cafe; investigation continues, DA weighing charges

As the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office continues to mull filing charges against the operator of the Fernbridge Café, environmental health division documents outline a long history of problems at the restaurant.

Deputy District Attorney Krista McKimmy said Thursday that her office is continuing to investigate the case, but that she expects to make a decision on charging operator Steve Sterbeck by Monday....

At a glance:
What happened: Fernbridge Café operator Steve Sterbeck was arrested on suspicion of operating a food facility without a valid permit on March 31, about two weeks after water tests from the cafe returned positive results for E. coli bacteria. Sterbeck allegedly continued to operate the cafe for days after being ordered to close by the Humboldt County Division of Environmental Health.

What now: The business will remain closed until Sterbeck installs a state-approved water filtration system to treat the spring water used at the cafe. Sterbeck told a local radio station he and his family are contemplating moving to Tennessee, leaving an uncertain future for the cafe, which was built in 1920 and is a popular morning gathering place for local dairymen.
What next: The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office is continuing to investigate, but said it will likely make a decision on whether to criminally charge Sterbeck by Monday....

PRESUMABLY - that decision should have been made PRIOR to arresting the man. The charges should be on the arrest warrant. Is there an arrest warrant?

◼ Clarification needed Times-Standard Letter to the editor
The “problem” at Fernbridge Cafe has absolutely nothing to do with “sanitation or food safety,” as the DA's Office needs to publicly clarify...

Friday, April 08, 2011

What next: The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office is continuing to investigate, but said it will likely make a decision on whether to criminally charge Sterbeck by Monday.

◼ Documents show history of problems at Fernbridge Cafe; investigation continues, DA weighing charges

Saturday, April 02, 2011

But were they wearing their Carhartt vests?

◼ Fernbridge Cafe owner arrested over food safety concerns

Investigators with the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office arrested the operator of Fernbridge Cafe on Thursday after a months-long investigation into the food and water safety quality at the cafe.

Steve Sterbeck was taken into custody after a series of attempts by the county to address water quality issues, according to a press release from the District Attorney's Office. A March 18 test of the restaurant's water showed high levels of E. coli bacteria, which can cause severe illness and in some cases death, the DA's office said.

The Humboldt County Division of Environmental Health served a “Notice of Suspension of Food Facility Permit” later that day, and Sterbeck was advised to close the restaurant. When the cafe was still open and serving food on Thursday, Sterbeck was arrested.

While the investigation into the incident remains ongoing, Sterbeck has since been released, according to the DA's office. No charges have been filed. Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy is evaluating the case for any further action, the release said.

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Paul Gallegos

The Humboldt County Grand Jury found that "Weak leadership and poor managerial practices" have undermined the office... Implicit in all evidence gathered by the Grand Jury - including interviews with the D.A. (Paul Gallegos) - is the unfortunate truth that the D.A. (Paul Gallegos) exhibits a limited understanding of how things are done in the department" Gallegos "lacks the global perspective needed to keep the department operating efficiently," and quotes an unnamed staff member as saying, "The D.A. (Paul Gallegos) does not fully understand the functionality of many of the things we do here" - Years later, in his own words: "I’m not an administrator, they didn’t elect me to be an administrator, they elected me to make sure this office runs..."

Douglas & Zanotti

CASE TOSSED The district attorney misrepresented the law and failed to provide evidence of former Eureka Police Chief David Douglas' and Lt. Tony Zanotti's innocence during a criminal grand jury inquiry into the 2006 shooting death of Cheri Lyn Moore, defense attorneys argued in court documents filed Thursday... ”Our judicial system stands as a real and necessary check on the grand jury indictment process,” one of the documents states. “This court has the authority and the means by which to halt this prosecution, which is justified neither by the undisputed facts, nor by the law.”

Gallegos has taken what was "arguably the state's best small DA's office, with a cutting edge CAST program that "trained the trainers"... into a bunch of time serving bureaucratic wannabee brown nosers, lightly sprinkled with a couple of earnest learners who are sure to split as soon as possible.

One weeps for Max Cardoza who won Angellel, and for Maggie Fleming who won so many impossible victories. Mired in Humboldt for personal reasons, they have to suffer the ignominy of working for Paul, with Yougo, yes, yougo who has freed more people as a prosecutor than he did as a defense attorney. As has Paul. Anonymous comment

Gallegos has answers for everything. I’ve never met anyone whose answers came so quickly, with such polish - except about his law school(s). He likely sounded the same way when promising to get prosecutors off their anachronistic “at will” status and onto civil service status. It never happened. Indeed, he told them, “Disloyalty will not be tolerated” – a real morale builder.

He sounds great. What progressive doesn’t want to believe in him? But it’s a myth. He’s an intellectual lightweight and self-aggrandizer who tries to please everybody with glib answers. Jim Fahey for The Arcata Eye

The Humboldt County DA's office is one of the most exciting prosecutorial
offices in California.

Its District Attorney, Paul Gallegos, is willing to charge anyone who commits
wrongdoing--no matter how wealthy, sacrosanct, or ruthless. He believes in total equality before the law. He also plans to be innovative in promoting programs of prevention and treatment. He wants to make it the best prosecutorial office of its size in the nation.... Gallegos' Help Wanted ad

Gallegos' OWN Quotes

★ ...District Attorney Paul Gallegos said he believes the statute of limitations clock, even on misdemeanors, doesn't start running until law enforcement knows or reasonably should have known of the offense. In this case, Gallegos said, that means the statute of limitations would not run out at least until Feb. 8, 2009, or one year after Gundersen's arrest and the discovery of the photographs in question...

★ "...some people actually molest out of different feelings, some times out of feelings of love....” DA Gallegos explaining why Child Abuse prosecutions were down

★ “I never said that the information was not available under the Freedom of Information Act. Quite the contrary, I informed you that our use of force policy is not a public record.” Paul Gallegos to the Times Standard 5/25/07

★ ...“One is that I do everything to make people happy which means I don’t stand for anything except for just something,” he said. “The other is I stand for something and I try to be a leader and take some people, a group of people, a community someplace and I say guess what folks, this is who I am. I stand for your beliefs. We share these beliefs or we don’t. You get the option to judge that. This is who I am and I am committed to leading us this place, wherever it is...." Eureka Reporter Gallegos defends record, looks ahead 7/3/2005

★ Note the difference between what he SAID, and what he DOES..."...So what are these issues? Top on Gallegos' list is the proliferation of "garbage cases," small-time crimes and overcharged cases that he said are clogging up the court system.

Garbage cases, said Gallegos, come in two forms: Cases that would lose if actually brought to trial and cases that are overcharged for the crimes committed. The idea behind filing both kinds of garbage, he said, is to get the defendant to plead guilty, netting a conviction without having to go into court.

Again, the IRONY is astounding! Look at what he SAYS, and then think about what he DOES! "Probably 95 percent of the cases that are filed plead guilty. In fact, there are a lot of cases that are filed on the assumption they will plead guilty, because of the time and expense involved in defending them. But these cases shouldn't even be filed in the first place, because if they were challenged, they would lose," Gallegos said. Better yet: If they weren't filed at all, it would save the county time and money...." North Coast Journal 2/21/02 Too bad he didn't take his own advice.

★ “Tim’s a stud,” he said. “He really is; anyone would be stoked to have him.” Gallegos on his second in command right hand man Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen. (Former second in command right hand man to Jim Jones/People's Temple.)

NOTE:

"Helping Crush Progressivism" - ie: exposing the predatory litigious orgs and those who seek power for power's sake.... The original purpose of watchpaul is to post important documents relating to Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and his handlers who seek to gain power through the acquisition of political offices. This includes, but is not limited to, the manipulations of "Humboldt Watershed Council," "EPIC," "Baykeeper," and other activist groups - the unregulated orgs. It also includes the master manipulators, such as Richard Salzman and Ken Miller.

Links to key stories and documents are also included in the sidebar, so that you do not have to try to scroll back through what has become a lengthy series of posts. I encourage you to use the Search and Labels features as well.

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