Candidate events:

Maggie Fleming:
CHICKEN POLENTA DINNER/FUNDRAISER
WHEN: Saturday, April 12th at 5:pm
WHERE: Leavey Hall 1710 Janes Road, Arcata
Chicken Polenta Dinner with salad, dessert, non-alcoholic drinks and wine. Silent Auction, Wine Pull. $25 per person, kids under 12 free
RSVP: Please call Shar 707.839.2396

Allan Dollison:
MEET DA CANDIDATE ALLAN DOLLISON
WHEN: April 16th at 5:pm - 7:pm
WHERE: Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Rd, McKinleyville
This event will be a great opportunity to Meet with Allan, find out more about him, listen to his priorities, and talk with him about your concerns for how the DA’s office should be run.
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(Note: Mostly pulling these from events posted on Facebook, if I've missed your event, let me know)

Supervisors:

CANDIDATES FORUM IN McKinleyville
WHEN: Friday, April 11, 6:pm - 9:pm
WHERE: Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Rd, McKinleyville
Hosted by The McKinleyville Chamber Of Commerce

CANDIDATES FORUM IN ORICK
WHEN: Monday, April 14 at 6:pm
WHERE: Orick Community Hall, 100 Swan Rd. Orick
Ryan Sundberg and Sharon Latour discuss the issues of the 5th District
Hosted by The Orick Chamber Of Commerce
For more information, call Donna Hufford at 488-2885
Light refreshments will be provided

RYAN SUNDBERG FUNDRAISER DINNER AND AUCTION
WHEN: Sunday, May 4th, 6:00pm
WHERE: Cher-Ae Heights Casino, Trinidad
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Will be updating...

Rotarians meet DA candidate Allan Dollison

◼ The upcoming election of a new Humboldt County district attorney is not about which candidate is the best deputy district attorney but about how to correct the problems in the DA’s office now, DA candidate Allan Dollison told the Garberville Rotary Club at their luncheon meeting last Tuesday, April 1. - Virginia Graziani, Redwood Times

The Rotarians have invited all four of the candidates to take a turn addressing the club and answering the members’ questions. Besides Dollison, who served in the DA’s office from 2005 to 2013, the candidates are current county prosecutors Elan Firpo and Maggie Fleming, and Arnie Klein, who retired in 2012 after many years prosecuting cases for the county. Read more...

Fred's picks: (UPDATED)

◼ The June Ballot, Part 1 (State)
◼ The June Ballot, Part 2 (Local)

The most complete list of candidates so far.

It's also a good reminder to all candidates - get your Smart Voter info up there! You should have a letter with your password.

Bodhi Tree Trial Begins: Defense and prosecution to finish jury selection

◼ The trial for double murder suspect Bodhi Tree began Monday morning as both the prosecution and defense ironed out the details of how the trial will proceed. - News Channel 3 video at the link.

Jury selection has begun and is expected to be finished in the upcoming weeks. Opening statements for the trial are expected to start in mid April.

◼ Jury selection in Bodhi Tree case to start tomorrow, expected to take at least two weeks - John Chiv/Words Worth

Then the jury selection process for jurors and alternates will begin. There really is not much to report on until the jury is selected and opening statements are given. I will be there in court each day just to observe the process and report if anything develops....

There was some discussion today about certain motions being discussed confidentially and what individual jurors will be questioned privately. For certain motions which were discussed today, the courtroom was closed so that the evidentiary issues being discussed would not be reported and affect the potential jury pool.

"They all do it."

Right?

FANTASTIC!!! Yay Chris!

◼ Kerrigan (or "R. Trent" Salzman on his behalf) answered the question at LoCo.

When referring to my 2004 city council race, I mistakenly mentioned that Rex Bohn spent upwards of $150,000 to defeat me. I apologize for the error. In fact, only $85,000 was reported through his actual campaign committee. The remaining $65,000 that I referred to was from the Eureka Coalition for Jobs, an unknown special interest attack group. Unfortunately, we will never know the exact amount of money spent because, in violation of the law, they did not disclose who paid for the attack ads or how much was spent.

The language in my fundraising letter should have stated “Remember when Rex Bohn and his allies spent upwards of $150,000 to defeat me on the City Council and failed?” Thank you for the opportunity to set the record straight.

NOW - let's get down to brass tacks, Chris. Let's have Richard Salzman show that you mean what you say. Lead by example, ok... let's see the financial disclosures of your apparent campaign manager Richard Salzman's various 'special interest attack groups,' Start with the so-called "Alliance For Ethical Business."

Liberaljon seems to think it is still active. Is it? Where did the money come from, Chris/Richard? How was it spent? Who, if anyone, gave the woman the grand to pay for a hit piece on Roger Rodoniback in the day? Chris - since we're going to relive history - I am SO glad you brought this up.

Are you planning similar hit pieces in this election?

PS: We'll get to all Salzman's other groups, too, right, Chris?

You do condemn this, right, Chris, is that the takeaway from your response?

FLASHBACKS:
◼ "Balls to the wall! The original meetings for the recall were held at Bonnie's house. She was the driving force from day one. Bring her down now."
◼ The AEB's agenda

"5. Organize ourselves politically to accrue power, groom folks to run for offices. Database, outreach, etc.

6. Get rid of Tom Herman on the planning commission thanks to Rodoni, he has been central to all of PL's fraudulent activities and is therefore vulnerable to public outcry. This is a powerful position."

Yes. Let's finally have this discussion.
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There's more, of course.

But you can SURE see the same old battle is still being fought, can't you Chris?

Plea deals in Ferrer case tossed

Plea deals in Ferrer case tossed - Links to coverage by John Chiv, Mad River Union, Lost Coast Outpost, Times-Standard, KIEM Ch 3 News, and more. Updated as they're filed.

◼ Plea bargains rejected in Ferrer case - John Chiv/Words Worth UPDATED

◼ The Judge explains her reasoning. Gallegos late to the hearing. - John Chiv/Words Worth UPDATED

Once Judge Hinrichs was done explaining the rules and the plea bargaining, she opened her remarks with, "This case is a tragedy." She said the Court had read and reviewed all documents presented and these were from all the attorneys and Probation and the victim's family.

She then said her tentative decision was to set the pleas aside. She explained why and read post 1 (link above) for those details.

◼ MAD RIVER UNION

◼ Judge Tosses Plea Deals in Anderson-Jordet Stabbing Case - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost UPDATED

...Judge Hinrichs said that it was not in the public interest to accept the plea agreements and signaled that she would disqualify herself from hearing the case in the future.

◼ Times-Standard

A Humboldt County Superior Court judge set aside the pleas of three people charged in connection with the fatally stabbing of an Arcata chef in November at their sentencing hearing today.

Judge Joyce D. Hinrichs also set May preliminary hearing dates in the cases to determine whether they will face trial.

...His family asked the judge to set aside the plea, saying manslaughter didn’t represent the scope of the crime.

Arcata residents Nicholas Benjamin Stoiber, 28, and Sophie Buttercup Rocheleau, 24, also had their no contest pleas set aside. There were accused of beating Anderson-Jordet during the altercation.
Rocheleau had plead to a misdemeanor battery charge while Stoiber plead to a charge of assault likely to produce bodily harm.

News Channel 3 - Judge did not accept plea deals in the Ferrer case Juan Ferrer is the man who plead guilty to fatally stabbing 50 year old Douglas Anderson-Jordet in the heart in downtown Arcata.

Ferrer will appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on May 28th.

We have reporter in the courtroom. We'll have more details as they become available.
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◼ Plea deals tossed in Arcata fatal stabbing case; Judge: Decision made to keep 'public's confidence in the justice system' - Will Houston/The Times-Standard

A Humboldt County superior court judge on Thursday rejected the plea deals of three Arcata residents charged in the Nov. 25 fatal stabbing of chef Douglas Anderson-Jordet, saying she did “not believe justice would be served.”

Judge Joyce Hinrichs said she would be acting as both the “judge and the jury” by moving forward with their sentencings.

”It would undermine the public's confidence in the justice system,” Hinrichs said. “To not set aside the pleas erodes the public's confidence.”

...District Attorney Paul Gallegos argued that Hinrichs' statement of acting as both the judge and the jury should not apply to this case.

”What the court has is the inherent power to accept or reject the plea deal,” Gallegos said.

Hinrichs said her ruling might have been different if she had been able to review all the documents. She noted that Gallegos' office brought her three inches of new documents to review right before the sentencing hearing.

...Though he supported the plea deal, Gallegos said he was “happy accepting the court's ruling.”

”I think the court's ruling results in a just resolution,” he said.

◼ Judge Tosses Plea Deals In Arcata Stabbing Case - Jack Durham/Mad River Union (UPDATED at 8:27 a.m. April 4 with edits, additional information and photos.)

Hinrichs said she would take the blame for giving tentative approval to the plea deals last month. She said at the time, she hadn’t heard objections to the deals from the victim’s family. It wasn’t until after tentative approval of the plea deals last month that the family became publicly vocal about what they perceive as light sentences for the suspects.

“I didn’t ask enough questions,” said Hinrichs, who added that she should have paid closer attention to the state’s Victims Bill of Rights. “Hindsight is 20/20.” Hinrichs said that she doesn’t believe that “justice would be served” by allowing the plea deals to stand....

At today’s hearing, Hinrichs explained how she arrived at her decision, citing the various briefs and letters she had read. She then explained the reasons for her decision, which she said would be tentative until she had a chance to hear from the DA and the defense attorneys at the hearing. This left the door open for the attorneys to convince her to change her decision, but she was unpersuaded.

Gallegos, representing the People, had the first opportunity to respond, but he wasn’t present in the room. There was a short delay before Gallegos arrived. When he finally did, one of his assistants briefly whispered in his ear, presumably telling him what he had missed.

Gallegos, having missed the judge’s explanation of her decision, seemed somewhat confused by her rationale, which he hadn’t heard in its entirety. He said he would respect whatever decision to court made and said he thought that, in the end, justice would prevail.

“The true evidence will come out sooner or later,” Gallegos said.

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◼ Prior posts on this case: Sophie Buttercup Rocheleau, Nicholas Benjamin Stoiber and Juan Joseph Ferrer, the three suspects in the Anderson-Jordet killing, who had accepted the plea deals that have now been tossed. HERE

What's next? Re-filing. A Preliminary Hearing. A trial or another set of plea deals.

Preliminary hearing set for May 28 at 8:30 a.m.

Heads up, from Chiv: Ferrer sentencing may not happen until 4 p.m.

◼ Ferrer sentencing may not happen until 4 p.m., information you would not know except for this post - John Chiv/Words Worth

It is listed as 2 p.m. on the court calendar for today. But when I checked on the time today, heard it may happen at 4 p.m. That is interesting since it is not a special set.

Come a bit early if you want a seat. I suggest people interested come at 2 p.m. and then you will know for sure.

◼ Ferrer hearing to start at 4 - John Chiv/Words Worth

...hallway packed.

◼ Allan Dollison declines Arnie Klein's request to attend Ferrer sentencing; will public have access to enough seats, read why - John Chiv/Words Worth

◼ Showdown Over Arcata Stabbing Suspect’s Plea Deal This Afternoon - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost

The Outpost’s Ryan Burns will be in the courtroom this afternoon at the politically charged sentencing hearing for Juan Ferrer, the man who has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in stabbing death of Douglas Anderson-Jordet in December.

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◼ Community Encouraged to Come to Ferrer Sentencing Hearing - Arnie Klein

Today at the Humboldt County Courthouse at about 2 p.m. (may be moved to 4:00) Judge Joyce Hinrichs will be the presiding magistrate for the sentencing hearing of Juan Ferrer. The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office has stated it will present a plea bargain to Ferrer of involuntary manslaughter for the November murder of Abruzzi chef Douglas Anderson-Jordet, which the judge does not have to accept.

Mr. Klein invites and urges every member of the community to attend who cares about public safety, justice and fairness. If you live here, work here, own a business, raise children, are going to school, retired and living on a fixed income, any of the above or none of the above, if you care at all about the future of public safety in Humboldt County, please attend the court hearing. Or if you cannot, follow the results of the hearing on any of the various social media outlets.
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◼ It's a big day in court today: Bodhi Tree jury selection procedure starts today; Borgner update - John Chiv/Words Worth

Fred's crown in jeopardy?

We all say Fred is the King of Humboldt Bloggers, but FRED says, "Hooray! The King of Humboldt Bloggers is back!" in welcoming Cap'n Buhne back to the fold... ◼ #Buhneisback with a new column at The Journal. It remains to be seen if the rip-roaring pillow fight will ensue in the comments section. But make it your must-read for the day, learn about "Veterans" bills. Dog Bless America

◼ Is the King of Humboldt Bloggers Back? - Fred's Humboldt Blog

Due to a minor illness, Arnie Klein is taking a 48-hour sabbatical.

◼ Arnie Klein for Humboldt County District Attorney 2014 He regrets missing the League of Women Voters candidate forum and tonight’s scheduled KMUD interview with Bonnie Blackberry. Mr. Klein needs to make sure he is well for Thursday, because his priority is assisting the family of Mr. Anderson-Jordet. For this reason, he is putting the campaign on the back burner until Friday morning. Mr. Klein will be at the Humboldt County Courthouse on Thursday at 2 p.m. to ask the judge to set aside the plea.

Earlier: The facts of this case do not support the plea bargain of involuntary manslaughter that the DA's Office arranged. The victim's family has asked me to represent them on Thursday with an impact statement. I encourage you to come to the hearing. ◼ Community Encouraged to Come to Ferrer Sentencing Hearing

For concerned citizens who want to attend the hearing, the sentencing is scheduled for April 3 on the 2 p.m. calendar at the Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 5th St, Eureka, in Judge Joyce Hinrichs’s courtroom.

Double murder suspect allegedly gave confession to police, but allegedly also has no recollection of what he did

◼ A source close to the alleged suspect Vincent Sanchez said that Sanchez allegedly gave a confession to the police with details of the crime scene only the murderer would know but... - John Chiv/Words Worth

Tom Sebourn: 3 Out Of 4 Candidates At Trinidad Forum

◼ The League of Women Voters threw a nice forum tonight in Trinidad. - Tom Sebourn Blog (cross-posted with permission, THANKS, Tom)

3 of the 4 candidates vying for the open seat being vacated by District Attorney Paul Gallegos made the trek to Trinidad Town Hall and were pleasantly greeted by beverages, Hors d' oeuvures and a nice crowd. Candidate Arnie Klein couldn't make it due to the flu. I hope he gets well soon.

The crowd was encouraged to to write questions on a card and those were used in the forum. I asked if any of them believed that being homeless should be illegal or a crime and why. Allan Dollison, Elan Firpo and Maggie Fleming all said that not only did they not believe that homelessness should not be a crime, all three argued that homeless people were often and disproportionally victims of crime.

I'm going to be producing a forum with, hopefully all 4 candidates for DA for KGOE AM 1480. We will be recording it on April 10th and I would like to invite anyone that lives in Humboldt County to submit questions for us to ask the candidates. You can just leave your questions in the comments section of this (Tom's) blog and I still allow anonymous posts so feel free to ask away.

We have a great bunch of candidates this time around so this race is anything but certain for any of the them. Lucky for us, there are going to be many chances for people to see, read about or hear from the candidates before the June runoff. I assume a runoff but if one candidate get more that 50% of the vote, from what I understand, they could wrap it up early. That just doesn't seem likely with this great bunch of candidates and I'm expecting it to go all the way to November. If I have that part wrong about the way this election will work, straighten me out in the comment section. (at Tom's blog, or here in the comments.)

Tom Sebourn

DA Candidates In Trinidad Tonight

◼ DA Candidates In Trinidad Tuesday Night - Tom Sebourn

TRINIDAD- The League of Woman Voters of Humboldt County will be holding a District Attorney Candidate Forum on Tuesday.

This is the community's chance to learn more about the intentions and goals of candidates Arnie Klein, Élan Firpo, Maggie Fleming, and Allan Dollison.

WHERE: Trinidad Town Hall, 409 Trinity Street
WHEN: April 1st From 6 To 7 P.M.

Wow. Hank. You should have made him pay for that space.

Just wow.

Do ALL of the other candidates get to write a hit piece/column, too? In the interests of equal time and all?

Do they have to have it written by a campaign surrogate? What are the rules?

Dollison Town Hall in Garberville Apr 7

District Attorney Candidate, Allan L. Dollison will be holding a Meet the Candidate event on Monday, April 7, 2014 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm at the Garberville Veteran’s Hall located at 483 Conger Street in Garberville.

Allan served in the District Attorney’s office for almost 6 ½ years where he prosecuted serious and violent felony cases, like People v. Brian Fiore, a home invasion marijuana robbery that ended in murder and attempted murder convictions. The victims had 14 pounds of Marijuana stolen from them at gun point, by Mr. Fiore and his Co-Conspirator.

Allan continues to serve in the Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel, and faithfully served his country in Afghanistan and Iraq, helping to rebuild damaged infrastructure, and reforming the justice system in Iraq. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge.

If elected, Allan will fight for additional resources, obtain grants that focus on violent crime, and bring organizational skill and management to a DA’s office that sorely needs it.

This event will be a great opportunity to Meet with Allan, find out more about him, listen to his priorities, and talk with him about your concerns for how the DA’s office should be run.
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