But - But - But - the high priests could not POSSIBLY have been dishonest

◼ Shock, disbelief follow arrests: Biology community has trouble digesting embezzlement allegations

They SAID all the politically correct things - and conducted the church's business so faithfully, and the grant money rolled in, didn't it? They were good at that.

When does it change? When you start doing something for the right reasons (presumably), when does it shift? What was the mindset here? Is there a reasonable explanation?

Predatory litigious orgs. Prop 13. School buses. $12.9 MILLION

Leaving aside madman "yougofree.com" Schwartz's attack on Prop 13 (don't you have to have some brains to have gotten a law degree?). He blames Prop. 13 for cuts to school budgets. What a tool.

And, leaving aside the poor school kids who don't get to be bused to school (except now they do, even if it means firing 5 teachers, or losing your band program)...

Define Pro Bono.

It means Done without compensation for the public good. Laudable, no?

Except, predatory litigious orgs don't do anything without compensation, do they? Not really.

◼ Assembly approves EPIC's $5.5 million settlement; bill sent to governor's office for approval

A senate bill approving two payments totaling $5.5 million is awaiting the governor's approval to settle attorneys' costs stemming from lawsuits filed against the state by the Environmental Protection Information Center.

SB 730 appropriates $12.9 million from the State Parks and Recreation fund and the general fund to the Department of Justice to pay five settlements, including EPIC's. The bill is supported by both the DOJ and the Department of Finance.

That's money that could have been used to pay for teachers and buses.

And for what? The California Supreme Court ruled in July 2008 that the California Department of Forestry approved an inadequate 50-year timber management plan as part of the 1999 Headwaters Forest agreement.

"An inadequate 50-year timber management plan."

$5.5 million for EPIC. $12.9 million altogether.

State Sen. Doug LaMalfa, a Butte County resident whose district includes Del Norte and Trinity counties, said the bill is a way to reward plaintiffs for “frivolous lawsuits.”

”It just elicits more and more lawsuits because they know there's going to be a reward; there's no downside if they're out of line,” he said, adding that EPIC's actions to stop timber harvests “put Americans out of work.”

Not just that.

California is supposedly running out of cash in about a week - in March. Maybe you can give these new age con men an I.O.U.

But next time you go protest - REMEMBER - your worthless culls in the legislature passed SB 730 to give away $12.9 million to people who were supposedly working pro bono "for the public good."

Arrest made in embezzlement case with $1 million warrants

◼ Del Norte County District Attorney Jon Alexander said they're also searching for alleged co-conspirator Ron LeValley, a senior biologist with the Eureka-based Mad River Biologists company. He also has a $1 million arrest warrant for burglary, embezzlement and conspiracy to commit a crime. - Times-Standard

...Alexander said Mad River Biologists' employee Sean McAllister was arrested this afternoon at the biology office on Second Street in Eureka. He was wanted on the same alleged crimes as both LeValley and Raymond.

Alexander said the alleged embezzlements are related to spotted owl research by the biology company and other incidents, including charging the tribe for the cost of putting tires on a personal vehicle.
Field said the investigation into this case started in October when the Yurok Tribe came to them with information. He said the Del Norte County District Attorney's Office has had the full cooperation of the Yurok Tribe during the investigation....

◼ Del Norte DA investigating former Yurok Tribe employee suspected of embezzlement - Times-Standard

The Del Norte County District Attorney's Office plans to arrest several people for an alleged embezzlement case connected to the Yurok Tribe.

According to Yurok Tribe officials, the office is looking for multiple people. Sources close to the investigation said there is a $1 million warrant out for the arrest of a former Yurok tribal employee who is suspected of embezzling from the tribe....

The Del Norte County District Attorney's Office will be prosecuting the case. Field said the office has been aided by the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office, Yurok Tribal Police, Eureka Police Department and the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

The story is developing.

Supreme Court blocks Montana court ruling to restrict outside campaign spending

◼ When a Montana court ruled in December that the state’s longstanding restrictions on outside campaign spending should be allowed to stand, it was clear that the Supreme Court would have to address the issue. - HotAir

That Montana ruling, after all, stood in contradiction to the SCOTUS’ landmark decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which gave corporations greater freedom to spend their own money in federal elections. Today, the Supremes said the Montana ruling cannot be enforced until the highest court in the country has a chance to weigh in.

OOOOOOOps

◼ Fighters Intercept Pot-Carrying Cessna in Air Force One airspace

Steele convicted of second-degree murder; victim's sister says, 'Justice is finally served'

◼ Steele convicted of second-degree murder; victim's sister says, 'Justice is finally served'

Or - Gallegos assigned himself another slam-dunk.

On Tuesday, after deliberating for a little more than two days, the jury of seven women and five men convicted Steele of second-degree murder, finding that he acted with malice when he shot George but that the killing wasn't a premeditated act -- a distinction that would have elevated the crime to murder in the first degree.

As courtroom clerk Kristy Silva read the jury's verdict, Steele appeared to crumple upon hearing the word “guilty,” placing his head in his hands and slumping over in his chair. He wept as Silva read the rest of the verdict and asked each juror if the verdict, as read, reflected their vote.

After the verdict was read, members of George's family left the courtroom with tears in their eyes as Steele's family looked on in stunned silence. Steele was then led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

In addition to convicting Steele of second-degree murder, the jury found a number of special allegations to be true -- that Steele personally used a firearm in the murder and that he intentionally discharged it, causing great bodily injury and death to George

-- and convicted him of making criminal threats.

So he (Steele) shoots his friend in the head for saying that he knew other people his (Steele's) age who had a Mercedes. And that's second degree. OK.

Steele faces a sentence of between 73 years and eight months in prison to life in prison.

After the hearing, George's sister, Stella Cornely-George, of Eureka, said she was pleased with the verdict and credited Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos with doing a “great job” trying the case.

”Justice is finally done,” she said. “Justice is finally served.”

earthquake

◼ link

#OcuppyTreeHouse

◼ County tells Bayside family to take down beloved treehouse Structure deemed too close to stream on property - Times-Standard

So - they can set up a permanent encampment on the Courthouse lawn, pissing all over the Courthouse steps, but a kid can't build a treehouse.

Bizarro land.

◼ ‘Illegal Treehouse’ Family Speaks - LostCoast Outpost

Full circle

◼ Cannabis Grow Damage Like ‘Worst Of Timber Industry’ - Daniel Mintz for The Arcata Eye

A five-county program assessing impacts on salmonids has named unpermitted grading as a major impact and one county supervisor said the effects of illegal grading connected to marijuana grows are as bad as those seen during the dark years of the timber industry.

Supervisor Mark Lovelace, who was one of the county’s most active environmentalists before being elected, made those comments as a result of a new regional study on habitat protection policies presented at the Jan. 10 Board of Supervisors meeting.

Dr. Richard Harris, the researcher who coordinated the study, said unregulated and illegal grading – including the grading that enables marijuana grows – is a problem. And Lovelace described its scale as massive in Humboldt County.

“It’s phenomenal,” he said, referring to photographs of grow-related grading that he’s seen. “And it’s shocking – and it compares with the worst of the worst from some of the bad years of the timber industry....” Read the rest

Actually - some have said - for years - that it has always been worse than the timber industry, and has gotten even worse in recent years since pot growing has become defacto legal in this county.

Research Project

◼ Brown's budget leaves schools with 'unenviable task,' locals dissect governor's proposal, which has schools planning for the worst - Times-Standard

What was the headline last year? The year before that? And that? And that?

Who's been on the budget committee all that time?

Go back - year by year - what do you find?

Then - do a little more research. What was the end result, each year?

Aren't you tired of this same old game every year? The same tired headline? The same threats?

Do you think there's been a real effort to fix it? Or does it get papered over every year?

(Yes, I know the only ones who can do this work AT the Times-Standard. The rest of us have no access to your online archives, unless we have a grand to blow. You can do it, even if it's only a compilation.)

What were the headlines, how far back? What were the threats? Did they materialize? What about the state taking the county's money? Was it ever returned? Have they stopped or curbed that practice? Do you think taking the local money and doling it back in the form of grants is an efficient use of funds? What does Chesbro have to say?

Rana murder case may go federal; defense attorney proclaims client's innocence, blames co-defendant for 2008 slaying

◼ Rana murder case may go federal; defense attorney proclaims client's innocence, blames co-defendant for 2008 slaying - TS

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos indicated last week that the U.S. Attorney's Office is interested in taking over the cases of Ryan Christopher Carroll and Robert Lanham Lee, both of whom stand accused of murdering a 35-year-old San Francisco man. On Tuesday, Carroll's attorney Kathleen Bryson told the Times-Standard that Gallegos has broken off plea bargain negotiations in the case.

”I just got an email saying he's been advised the feds are coming in to take the case,” Bryson said. “He will not work toward a resolution because he said the feds are coming.”

...Gallegos indicated he planned on trying Carroll and Lee together once Lee was returned to California, but said Friday he was unsure what the U.S. Attorney's Office would do if it takes on the case.

Bryson -- speaking publicly about the case for the first time -- proclaimed her client's innocence and said Lee killed Rana.

”My guy didn't fight extradition (from Washington) because he's innocent,” she said. “He's eager to clear his name, and the evidence shows it was Robert Lee that did it.”

Bryson said it was Lee who shot Rana twice with a rifle, adding that he then forced her client at gunpoint to take Rana's car and set fire to it near Big Lagoon. Lee ultimately left Carroll in Washington, Bryson said, but threatened to kill him if he told anyone what happened on that dirt road in Southern Humboldt....

Investigators said they never believed Carroll acted alone and kept working the case. According to Humboldt County Sheriff's Sgt. Wayne Hanson, investigators caught a break about one year ago when Carroll's car was found in the Garberville area spray-painted black. Finding the car, Hanson said, led to new witnesses and new evidence that linked Lee to the killing.

Maybe you're just seeing his real face now.

◼ TS letter to editor

Corrupted by a corrupt system

Has the corrupt system co-opted the DA? As I recall, one of the reasons we originally elected our current DA is that he said he was going to sue the lumber company (PL) that was calling Earth Firsters! terrorists. We've been down this road before.
If in fact the DA thinks Occupy Eureka has been co-opted by some of our local professional protesters, then he should know that these people, who do not get a paycheck for their work, would not, under any circumstances, tolerate explosives, guns or other means of violence.

These are non-violent organizers; the basis of organization is non-violence. The DA should know that the DA's paranoia in his own head, noteworthy released emails, is what makes one wonder whether or not he has been corrupted by a corrupt system.

Scott E. Tenney

Weott

Paul Gallegos: “I believe the continued presence of tents outside of the courthouse presents a profound public safety risk.”

◼ County emails outrage Occupy Eureka; D.A. says tents posed safety risk - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard

Members of the movement used a California Public Records Act request to obtain emails they called “nefarious” that detailed Gallegos' suggestions to Eureka and county officials that tents be taken down from the courthouse lawn. The emails were part of the discussion that led to police action against the Occupy Eureka encampment on the Humboldt County Courthouse lawn.

In a Nov. 2 email to county officials, Gallegos wrote, “I believe the continued presence of tents outside of the courthouse presents a profound public safety risk.”

In the same email Gallegos wrote, “While I do not suspect that any of those tents contain any explosive or otherwise dangerous materials, I cannot confirm that they do or do not and I do not believe that we can allow the risk of such an occurrence to continue....”

In a Nov. 18 email to 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace, Gallegos wrote, “Having tents outside our building pose an immense public safety risk. All you need is 1 McVeigh guy,” wrote Gallegos, referring to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Gallegos said that enclosed structures like tents or trucks wouldn't last three minutes in front of a federal building, due to concern over events like the Oklahoma City bombing. He said city and county ordinances outlaw camping on public property, and that those laws don't affect protesters' right to gather and speak....

In a Nov. 18 email, Gallegos wrote, “Candidly I support the movement. Unfortunately here it has been somewhat co-opted locally by our local protesters.”

Ironic. Given that it is "our local protestors" that got him into office.

Humboldt County Deputy DA Arnold Klein retires after 40 years in law

◼ Humboldt County Deputy DA Arnold Klein retires after 40 years in law - Times Standard

After more than 40 years practicing law, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Arnold Klein has hung up his briefcase and his sport coat.

...While Klein only worked on the North Coast for five years, he developed a reputation for his quick wit, dynamic courtroom presence and for winning cases.

”In my opinion, he's the best trial attorney in Humboldt County, hands down,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, who worked alongside Klein in the DA's Office before starting a private defense practice in 2007....

◼ Question, really, is "Who's left?" w/update(s)

Five years. What's significant about five years? It's what it takes to qualify for PERS?

A Job For Mitch

◼ Judge rules for Walker campaign in case against state election officials - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A judge ruled Thursday that the state Government Accountability Board needs to take more aggressive action to vet recall signatures that are expected to be submitted in two weeks against Gov. Scott Walker and other Republican office holders.

The ruling by Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis came in a case filed Dec. 15 by Walker's campaign committee and Stephan Thompson, executive director of the state Republican Party, asking Davis to order the accountability board to seek out and eliminate duplicate and fictitious signatures and illegible addresses in recall petitions.

Davis, who refused to enter injunctions in the case, based his decision on his interpretation of state law, more than on equal protection arguments brought up by the Republicans. He also said that the board must take "reasonable" efforts to eliminate such signatures.

Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the board, said after the hearing that his organization would have to discuss the decision to see what it needed to change in procedures already in place.

In court, Kennedy testified that entering signatures into a database to look for duplicates could take eight extra weeks for his staff, and could cost $94,000 for software and outside help.

One man claimed he'd signed recall petitions 80 times, there are reports of Bugs Bunny and Hitler signatures. Many residents would like to know if their names were used...

Scan 'em and put them on online? Mitch? Are you a bi-partisan dude?