Our loss, Their Gain.

Worth Dikeman accepts position in El Dorado County

What a loss for Humboldt County.

This is funny - The Gallegos Corporation?

Zoominfo - People, Companies, Relationships
http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=310152397

Richard Salzman This is Me
Campaign Manager

The Gallegos Corporation

Employment History
Founder
Alliance for Ethical Business

Web References View all 52 references for Richard Salzman
1. Humboldt D.A. fights to keep job / Lumber firm funds recall campaign after being sued
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/28/bag3e5am9b1.dtl
Published on: 2/28/2004 Last Visited: 2/28/2004

An artist's agent by trade, Gallegos' campaign manager, Richard Salzman, encourages the supporter to leave a donation.

This automatically-generated summary was created using 52 references found on the Internet. How did ZoomInfo compile this information?

Happy Thanksgiving

And Thank YOU - for reading, for your input, and for your moral support. It means alot.

Things you don't know...

Two stories today about Dave Parris retiring from EPD.
Senior Detective Dave Parris to retire this month
Eureka's top detective set for retirement

Dave Parris gave much more than 21 years to the City of Eureka and the people of Humboldt County.

He was one of the "movers and shakers" who brought innovative new programs to Humboldt County. Programs like SART, the Sexual Assault Response Team, and CAST, the Child Abuse Services Team.

Before SART was proposed and developed, rape victims - women, children, and sometimes men - who were raped were brought in to the Emergency Room, left sitting in the hallway with all the other ER patrons, waiting to be seen. Having just suffered unimaginable trauma, the rape victims were then put into an exam room, interviewed by different people, answering the same questions over and over again, examined by doctors who had no special training to deal with sexual assault victims, no particular knowledge of the type of forensic evidence needed, in the Emergency Room with no privacy, no counselor, no nothing.

Three people saw the need for a better way, Sister Ann of St. Joseph's hospital, Rob Wade from the D.A.'s Office and Dave Parris from EPD.

Together they got together and developed protocol for handling these victims, with compassion, and with full support services designed to help minimize the trauma and ensure proper gathering of forensic evidence... people from all departments on call, (law enforcement, the D.A.'s Office, rape crisis) a special room set aside in a private area, rape crisis counselors there to help guide the victim through the process, and help ease the pain and trauma, officers and doctors with special training in interviewing and evidence gathering.

Designed to help the victims through a very difficult time, the room was equipped with a bag of clothes - sweatpants, shoes, t-shirts, etc because the victims often had to leave their clothes as evidence. Small details, but important. Just one example.

Dave Parris did that.

Then, a couple of years later, the question of how best to handle child abuse victims came up. The McMartin Preschool case had shown what improper interviewing techniques could do to kids, to families and to the community.

Three people, Rob Wade, Dave Parris and Karen Lofts-Jarboe recognized the need for a multi-disciplinary team with special training in interviewing techniques and evidence gathering. Terry Farmer and John Frank agreed, and CAST, the Child Abuse Services Team, was born.

Before CAST was developed, children would be interviewed by a series of people, all asking different kinds of questions, with different criteria, police officers, the D.A.'s Office, then CWS, doctors, nurses, etc. Evidence was often lost, or not acquired at all.

With the development of the CAST program, the whole process became victim-centered, again with specially trained people from all departments on call, including mental health counselors for kids and their parents.

It was a new era in law enforcement, one geared towards victims rights, and on easing the pain of going through the terrifying judicial system.

It is a special kind of person that sees a need and helps bring about the solution.

***

It also takes real courage to stand up for what you believe in. It takes a special kind of courage to stand up to Paul Gallegos' destructive political machine.

When Dave Parris signed on as Worth Dikeman's campaign manager, he knew what he was up against. And he chose to do it anyway.

And of course, the Salzman machine went into action, demonizing Parris, denigrating Dikeman for being to close to law enforcement, weaving hate and suspicion into the equation, making the public believe that there was something wrong with a D.A. having the respect of the law enforcement community of which he is the head. That's what you've been taught to believe.

The truth is - Dave Parris' record is proof of the good things that can happen when the D.A.'s Office and law enforcement work together, with respect and compassion. The importance of that working relationship that has been so denigrated couldn't be more clear.

So, when you see Dave Parris, tell him "Thanks!"

What he has done for this community is HUGE.

These are the kinds of things the people of this community used to care about, protecting women and children, making the process more compassionate, and more efficient.

What happened?

WHAT'S THIS? Another lawsuit being planned?

Another case of filing a lawsuit that serves your campaign handlers and backers?

Was that Jeffrey "you gofree.com" Schwartz down at the old Flea Market site on the Bay with an unidentified woman and lawsuit happy Baykeeper, Pete Nichols?

Maybe its a Schwartz look-alike.

Surely we are not going to see a repeat of the DAs office taking over an EPIC lawsuit. Surely, the DAs office isn't planning to take over Baykeepers' lawsuit.

Maybe Schwartz is planning to apply for a job with Baykeepers. I'm sure they can use another lawyer.

Those cameras sure come in handy.

Gallegos telegraphed his intentions

Paul Gallegos had nine months between when he was elected District Attorney and when he actually took office. Plenty of time for his handlers to whisper in his ear - convincing him that he could only trust them, reinforcing the notion that no one there would like him, that he would have to fire a few to send a message, show them who was boss - and plenty of time to set him up to fulfill their agenda.

No one saw it coming, but Gallegos began to telegraph his intentions well before he took office. This was the precursor to his bringing Ken Miller in to draft the PL lawsuit. But they pretend that this never happened.

This article tells part of the story:

District Attorney-elect reaches out to enviros
By Daniel Mintz
McKinleyville Press
Nov. 13, 2002

Taking an unusual, proactive step toward inclusion, District Attorney-Elect Paul Gallegos has pleasantly surprised environmentalists by sending them letters that ask for their input and portray "maintenance of a quality environment" as a priority enforcement matter.

Gallegos takes office in January, and following a campaign last spring that focused on a more progressive approach to county law enforcement policies, he's been heralded by activists as the usher of a new direction.

Increasing the medical marijuana plant limits and downplaying the intensity of marijuana enforcement overall was part of Gallegos' campaign platform, and he's since reaffirmed his desire for those changes. But an Oct. 30 letter sent to a variety of Humboldt-based activists and environmental groups makes a pledge to environmental oversight that's assertive and probably unprecedented.

Taking steps
The letter begins by quoting a section of the California Constitution that defines the role of local officials as giving "priority to the provision of adequate public safety resources." Gallegos then quotes the state Environmental Quality Act, which calls environmental preservation "a matter of statewide concern" for health and safety of residents and further states that regulation of corporations and other entities be done "so that major consideration is given to preventing environmental damage. "I interpret this as a finding by the California Legislature that the maintenance of a quality environment for the people of this state now and in the future is a matter of public safety," Gallegos wrote. Reflecting the content of the legislation, Gallegos added that "the district attorney... has the obligation to work toward the maintenance of a quality environment... take steps to make actions necessary to prevent critical environmental capacity thresholds from being reached, take steps to contribute to preservation and enhancement of the environment and enforce regulations intended to prevent environmental damage while providing a decent home and satisfying living environment."

Gallegos wants environmental groups to participate in the enforcement process by "advising me of matters relevant to these concerns and educating me about the consequences of inaction." He informed the various groups that he's available for "individual and/or group discussions at any time."

Welcome correspondence
Local environmentalists and the groups they belong to will take Gallegos up on the offer, and view it as a stream of fresh air.

"It's absolutely excellent," said Tim McKay, executive director of the Northcoast Environmental Center, of the letter, "I've never gotten one like it, and one of the key issues that's concerned environmentalists is that we have laws on the books that are primarily unenforced."

McKay said he and his co-workers at NEC shared a "very positive" reaction to the letter. "We just said, 'Wow, this is long overdue,' " McKay related, "And I'm sure this will put Humboldt County in headlines nationally, because it's coming at a time when the environment has been degraded by the powers that be - the Bush administration."

McKay delivered mixed reviews of the County D.A. Office's performance on environmental enforcement. He pointed out that the county has a "very capable" environmental prosecutor, Paul Hagen, whose services are paid for through the California District Attorney's Association.

"I hope Gallegos retains him," McKay continued. "And the letter seems to indicate (Hagen) would be unrestrained in seeking prosecutions for violations of state law."

But some environmental damage has slipped under the enforcement radar here, McKay continued. He cited a developer's effort last year to engineer a cranberry bog at the lower reaches of Little River, a waterway at the northern end of Clam Beach.

"I hope that kind of egregious violation will not go unenforced again," said McKay, adding that "a number" of environmental law violations have escaped timely enforcement "primarily because of (outgoing D.A.) Terry farmer failing to give the green light."

Jan Lundberg heads the Sustainable Energy Institute and said Gallegos' correspondence is "very welcome" and nods to a new direction for environmental awareness.

"(Gallegos) is representing everyone with that letter because we are all citizens of this environment," Lundberg continued, "And we will be expanding the scope of environmental consciousness with his help and evolving the consciousness of the community."

Other groups that got Gallegos' letter include Northcoast earth First!, the Environmental Protection Information center (EPIC), Californians for Alternatives to Toxics and the Humboldt Watershed Council.

In Black and White
In an interview, Gallegos said he sent the letter to make it clear that crimes against the environment will be assertively enforced under his helmsmanship of the D.A.' s Office.

"I want to let people know that as D.A. for the next four years, I see environmental violations as a public safety issue," Gallegos continued. "Public safety is a dear concept to me and I need their assistance and will respond to what they tell me. I put that in black and white, so four years from now, if they say I'm not doing it, they have it in black and white."

He expects to make "significant policy decisions" on environmental enforcement and felt that local activists need to know that their participation in important, as they haven't been included to the degree Gallegos is seeking.

"They've been working hard and they don't know that the D.A.'s Office needs their help." he said. "The letter's overdue - I'm committed to learning, to reaching out to these groups that are actively involved, so I can do what's right."

Gallegos was asked what kind of policy changes he'd like to see on environmental prosecution. "At a minimum, the change I's like to bring is to have those who received my letter to realize they are part of the equation, and that I understand the role they play is important tot he community...we promise to be busy, and people should know that we're serious."

Gallegos has been engaged in many meetings, including those with law enforcement agencies. He's also met several times with Robert Manne, the president of Pacific Lumber Company, which has been portrayed by activists as a trouncer of environmental regulations.

But the meetings with Manne were geared to easing the safety problems stemming from forest protests, not the environmental effects of logging. And Gallegos said lots of people view him as a radical presence and are worried about what he might do.

"One of (PL's) - and everyone's - big concerns is that Paul's going to come in and be a super-liberal and not represent them," he said. "But my job is to do what's right, I'm not taking one side over the other. But I sent the letter to the environmental groups because they are the ones who wouldn't know that the D.A. might like to hear from the."

Forest protestors can expect a continuation on enforcement of trespassing laws, but Gallegos said his priority is "keeping people from getting killed or beaten up in the forest - when kids go up in the forest to protest logging, they are putting themselves in harm's way, but that doesn't mean we turn away if they're injured and say, 'Well, they asked for it.' "

Jonestown massacre

photo source
Today is the anniversary of the Jonestown massacre
November 18, 1978

Bear River members seek chairperson's recall

Bear River members seek chairperson's recall

I have to congratulate the Bear River Tribe members on this effort to clean up their act, getting rid of Leonard Bowman. "...the tribal chairperson had allegedly violated the Rancheria's own Code of Personal and Business Conduct conflict of interest/political contributions section that says tribal funds or property cannot be used for contributions to political candidates. A $10,000 contribution to the district attorney's campaign violated that policy, Bowie noted."

I hope Michael Acosta surprises me and does well by you. "...According to Bowie, the Rancheria's attorney has been investigating disappearance of funds from a fund set up to sponsor a stock car that races at Redwood Acres. The results of the attorney's investigation, she said, hasn't been shared with Rancheria members.

”They've been stalling and stalling,” Bowie said..."

This cleansing will go a long way to restoring trust and good will from the community.

Related stories:
ER - Bear River members seek chairperson's recall
ER - Gallegos sidesteps questions about possible conflict of interest in Bowman charges

ER - Questions without answers hinder our newsgathering
ER - Bowman story not accurate
ER - Contribution made because Gallegos was the better of the two
ER - Questions remain in DA's handling of Bowman charges
ER - Bear River official discusses financial contributions from tribe
ER - Tribe's contribution to DA's campaign was made by the Tribal Council, not Bowman
ER - Gallegos is 'public servant,' not Legal Spiegel
Ethical quagmire created by Gallegos' acceptance of casino's contribution
ER - It's telling that Gallegos witch hunt didn't start until firing of Dikeman
ER - Writer appreciates editor's note that identifies writers
ER - Residents deserve answers to questions asked of DA's Office
ER - Bitter? You bet!
TS - Donations not improper, says Bear River Band
TS - DA's office: State OK'd handling of plea deal
NCJ - Best enemies

Jonestown at the Minor?

The movie Tom, Kathleen and Les Kinsolving were talking about (see post below) is scheduled to come to Arcata, according to the producer's website.
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
Opens November 17th
Minor Theater

Salzman and the vote counting

From the oh-so-ethical "Alliance for Ethical Business"/well not local solutions anymore/Redwood Progressive AKA Richard Salzman/CREG/vested interest in HOW MANY candidates? comes this message:

In a message dated 11/16/2006 3:31:30 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, aebmail@cox.net writes:

VoterConfidenceCommittee info@voterconfidencecommittee.org wrote:
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 01:00:52 -0800
Subject: [VCC News] Help Wanted - Hand Count The Ballots!

With three local races still undecided more than a week after the election, we each have a significant opportunity to take action for fairness, transparency and accuracy of the impending results. Humboldt County is currently conducting a 10% manual audit - hand counting ballots to double check the accuracy of the discredited secret vote counting machines made by Diebold. All community members are encouraged to participate. To sign up, please call 707-445-7678.

The more people who count ballots...
the sooner we'll know the results;
the more the process belongs to the public;
the greater the reason to believe the outcome.

Democracy is not a spectator sport - Democracy is something we do!

The Voter Confidence Committee
www.voterconfidencecommittee.org
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing
list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list:
Redwood Progressive

Gallegos v. Martinez-Hernandez (2004)

For many of you who read this blog this may be old news. Remember that part of the purpose of this blog is to include the old stuff. For those who knew what happened, it was a clear example of the way Gallegos approached his job, and how he handled difficult media attention.

It is also a clear example of a pattern which continues to this day, especially the immediate response and then the spin-doctored response which characterizes all of Gallegos' debacles.

The Martinez-Hernandez case received widespread news coverage during the Recall. But only part of the story was told. (see RELATED STORIES below)

This was no ordinary case. Veteran prosecutors called it one of the biggest miscarriages of justice they had ever seen.

Not a traditional "molest" - this was a father forcibly raping his daughter every day for nine years, sometimes while the girl's young brother watched. This conduct started when she was five years old.

The case was brought in for charging on Christmas Eve. Wes Keat, the overworked Chief Charging Deputy (a position that receives no compensation other than a title) received the case.

Pedro Martinez-Hernandez was in custody, and because he was in custody, the case had to be charged immediately. Unfortunately, there were no other lawyers in the office to help because neither the DA (Paul Gallegos) or the Assistant DA (Tim Stoen) were around or cared enough to make sure the office was adequately staffed.

Charging molest cases is a very complex task even for an experienced deputy. It is usually turned over to someone who specializes in it.

Upon reading the preliminary report from the Sheriff's Department, Keat charged one continuous count of continuing molest covering the entire 9 year period. This was enough to HOLD Martinez-Hernandez in jail, knowing the additional charges needed would be added when the prosecutor looked at the case file.

Keat added a note that there were a lot of stackable charges which would put Martinez-Hernandez away for hundreds of years. "It's probably going to turn out that there are a lot of stackable 288b's [sex offense counts] that can get him into the century club" -- or 100 years in prison. NCJ

Mid January, Gallegos picks up the files, and because he is too inexperienced to realize there is a problem, and apparently fails to read the full report, he lets the guy plead to one count.

Martinez-Hernandez's lawyer can't believe their good fortune, and seizes the deal.

When a few people spoke out, the Times Standard reported that "The Sheriff's Department said investigating deputies found reason to believe Martinez-Hernandez had sexual intercourse with the child 1,900 times over a six or seven year period. Deputies also determined there were about 1,000 counts of crimes like fondling and oral copulation. The child was about 5 when the abuse began about seven years ago.

"Gallegos has said the continuous act charge was made to avoid the necessity of proving each count and to spare the child from testifying."

The Sheriff's Department provided to the Times Standard fifteen other cases with far less serious conduct. In each the guy got well in excess of a life term (like 29 consecutive 15-years-to-life terms). Paul's response was that the guy pleaded to everything that he was charged with so it wasn't plea bargaining and that the U.S. Attorney was going to charge him for being an illegal immigrant who was once deported and that this guy would never get out of jail. In short, Paul admits no error in charging or judgment.

The U.S. Attorney reportedly said that they hadn't received the case and did not know anything about it. A clear lie by Paul, and, an attempt to cover it up failed when Paul sent one of his DDAs down to try to get the U.S. Attorney on board, but was denied.

Then, when the Times Standard called the DAs office, they were told Paul was out of town.

Did the Assistant District Attorney answer questions on the case? No.

He turned it over to Salzman, who acted as the defacto spokesperson for the office. He says that it was handled correctly but, he hinted that if it wasn't charged properly that Wes Keat was at fault.

"Salzman maintained that while Gallegos appeared in court, the actual charging was done by senior prosecutor Wes Keat, using a law passed by the Legislature that allows for instances of long-term abuse to be consolidated into a single, continuous act." TS

And thus began the decline in child abuse prosecutions in the Humboldt County District Attorney's office.

RELATED STORIES:
TS - Plea bargain made with molester - Jan 24, 2004
TS - Gallegos responds to molester's plea - Jan 27, 2004
TS - Albin Sheets accuses Gallegos of incompetence - Jan, 2004
NCJ - MOLESTATION CASE TAKES CENTER STAGE:
...a copy of this article is also at watchpaul-articles
TS - Investigating deputy speaks out on molest case - Feb 13, 2004

Do not forget

Interesting points in James Faulk's Bully Pulpit today, chastising those who question Bonnie Neely's sister working in the Election's Dept.

You know, I agree with you James. But I gotta ask you - WHY the scruples now?

Where were you when folk-hero Gallegos claimed that the fact that a judge was dating a niece of Bonnie Neely's meant that he should be disqualified from the Palco case?

Remember that? Remember those nasty little maneuvers?

Paul Gallegos is on vacation again...Gone surfin'

So Gallegos mailed off his Palco Appeal, and left for vacation. Word is he's gone til after Thanksgiving. Where is it this time? Hawaii or Mexico?

He's lost half his staff and he takes off for yet another long vacation. How many does this make since the election?

Who is driving the bus?

A matter of priorities

Stay with me now - don't let the numbers put you to sleep. And read 'em all the way through.

In 1997, CAST, the Child Abuse Services Team, opened its doors.

In 1997
There were 137 CAST Child Interviews
There were 56 cases of alleged child abuse RECEIVED by the DAs office
There were 37 child abuse cases FILED by the DAs office

In 1998
There were 142 CAST Interviews
There were 52 cases received by the DAs office
There were 37 cases FILED by the DAs office

In 1999
There were 194 CAST Interviews
There were 81 cases received by the DAs office
There were 49 cases FILED by the DAs office

In 2000
There were 194 CAST Interviews
There were 66 cases received by the DAs office
There were 48 cases FILED by the DAs office

In 2001
There were 196 CAST Interviews
There were 65 cases received by the DAs office
There were 46 cases FILED by the DAs office

In 2002
There were 215 CAST Interviews
There were 66 cases received by the DAs office
There were 47 cases FILED by the DAs office

In January of 2003, Paul Gallegos took office

In 2003
There were 205 CAST Interviews
There were 67 cases received by the DAs office
There were 40 cases FILED by the DAs office

In June of 2004 Paul Gallegos fired our top child abuse prosecutor, Allison Jackson.

In 2004
There were 146 CAST Interviews
There were 50 cases received by the DAs office
There were 23 cases FILED by the DAs office

In 2005
There were 155 CAST Interviews
There were 35 cases received by the DAs office
There were 17 cases FILED by the DAs office

In the first four months of 2006
There were 40 CAST Interviews (on track for 120 interviews)
There were 4 cases received by the DAs office (on track for 12 cases received)
There was 1 case FILED by the DAs office.

ONE.

ONE child abuse case filed. January to April of this year.

It's now November.

While Paul Gallegos has been busy working on the Palco appeal, what has been happening to the children in Humboldt County?

RELATED STORIES:
ER - Former deputy DA speaks out
ER - Candidates spar over child abuse team
ER - DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
ER - CAST established with child victims in mind
ER - CAST needs support Gallegos is not providing

UPDATE:
◼ A decrease in child abuse cases?
I'll say. You decide

Gallegos v. Palco - Here we go again w/update

Wonder why all the bad guys have been getting plea bargained? The DA has been too busy.

County appeals Palco fraud suit
John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
11/11/2006 04:32:49 AM PST

Palco APPEAL Timeline: (After the judge threw his case out)
Date.............Description/Notes
11/18/2005 Exempt filing fee.
11/18/2005 Notice of appeal lodged/received. People of the State of California filed 7-26-05
11/18/2005 Notified parties of local rules and procedures.
11/18/2005 Received: Designation of Record (CRC, rule 5) filed 9-29-05
12/12/2005 Default letter sent; no case information statement filed.
12/29/2005 Civil case information statement filed. Judgment/order needed & ** is here **
12/29/2005 Letter to counsel - 15 days to file case information statement. judgment/order needed
01/31/2006 Filed document entitled: Judgment/order needed to attach to DKT filed 12/29/05.
07/11/2006 Record on appeal filed. c-7 r-2
08/04/2006 Requested - extension of time.
08/04/2006 Granted - extension of time.
09/06/2006 Telephone conversation with: Belinda from the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office stating that an eot for the aob is on its way.
09/11/2006 Requested - extension of time.
09/13/2006 Granted - extension of time.

For more information:
The People v. Pacific Lumber Co. et al. Division 3 Case Number A112028
Case summary

Sign up for email notification of any progress in this case:
E-mail Notification 1st Appellate District

UPDATE
Case Number Case Activity Date Registered
A112028 Brief Filed 11/12/2006
A112028 Record on Appeal Filed 11/12/2006
A112028 Remittitur Issued 11/12/2006
A112028 Disposition 11/12/2006
A112028 Calendar Notice 11/12/2006
11/13/06 the following transaction has occurred in:
The People v. Pacific Lumber Co. et al.
Case: A112028 1st District, Division 3
2006-11-13 Event Description: Appellant's opening brief.
Notes: 40.1