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COVER
STORY | CALENDAR
May 2, 2002
Farmer
backs attorneys' bid to protect jobs
by KEITH EASTHOUSE
OUTGOING DISTRICT ATTORNEY TERRY FARMER supports a controversial
bid by the County Attorney's Association to gain greater job
security for district attorney prosecutors, a senior member of
Farmer's staff said Tuesday.
Deputy District Attorney Worth
Dikeman said Farmer has dropped his longstanding opposition to
changing county attorneys from at-will employees to civil service
employees. Dikeman said Farmer has backed off in deference to
District Attorney-elect Paul Gallegos, who made a campaign promise
on behalf of stronger job protections.
"It is my understanding
that (Farmer's) opposition no longer exists. And as Paul has
assured us that he supports (a change to) civil service status,
it seemed the time was ripe.
"It's kind of like stars
colliding, if you will," Dikeman added.
But it is precisely the timing
of the bid for a new employment contract for county attorneys
that is disturbing to some. One attorney who requested anonymity
said that if the effort is successful, it will prevent Gallegos
from making whatever staff changes he deems are necessary when
he assumes office in January. Gallegos upset Farmer, a 20-year
incumbent, in the bitterly fought March primary election.
"One of the reasons he
got elected was to make changes. And to deprive him of that after
he's been elected is the worst kind of politics," the attorney
said. Another source characterized the job security bid as an
attempt by Farmer "to control the office from the grave."
Farmer, who has served as district
attorney for the past 20 years, did not return telephone calls
made to his office and to his Eureka home on Tuesday.
Gallegos, who only learned of
the bid for a new contract when he received a mass e-mail last
week, has accused the association of trying to go behind his
back. He has also affirmed his support for job security for the
team of prosecutors that he will be in charge of next year.
In an interview with the Journal
this week, he said he was "offended" and "disappointed"
that the association did not wait until after he took office.
Since it didn't, he said the effort amounts to "an attempt
to subvert the will of the people."
"Evidently, they don't
want there to be any house cleaning. They want to make sure that
things stay the same." Noting that he has met with district
attorney prosecutors and assured them he's not out for revenge,
Gallegos said: "I have been working to calm their fears.
I thought things were fine. But now I have to ask myself if that's
the case. The message I've been sent here is that things aren't
as good as I thought they were."
Gallegos said that relations
have been decidedly chilly with Farmer ever since the election.
"He won't talk to me," Gallegos said.
The association, which includes
both prosecutors and public defenders, plans to vote on a new
contract by May 10. The issue is likely to come before the Board
of Supervisors in early summer.
In addition to driving a wedge
between Gallegos and his future staff of attorneys, the job security
bid has split the attorneys who work for the county. Prosecutors
supported Farmer during the campaign and openly criticized Gallegos
as unqualified. It is this group that is apparently concerned
that Gallegos will fire them.
Public defenders, who will also
vote on the contract, say their courtroom counterparts shouldn't
worry about getting fired if they're doing their jobs.
Peter Martin, County Attorney's
Association representative, said a new contract would still give
the district attorney the power to dismiss prosecutors for just
cause, such as insubordination. "All this prevents are arbitrary
firings that are politically motivated," Martin said.
Others, however, say giving
county attorneys civil servant status would simply turn them
into bureaucrats who would be all-but-impossible to fire.
"It's a bad idea. You're
going to get deadwood in there that you can't get rid of,"
one attorney said.
"It's a few individuals
putting their (job security) interests ahead of the best interests
of the county," the attorney added.
Playing
umpire with three strikes
When California's "three
strikes, you're out" law was passed seven years ago, it
was predicted by critics that California's court system would
be swamped with jury trials and its prison system would be stuffed
with petty criminals doing mandatory life sentences.
"That hasn't happened in
Humboldt County," said Jim Steinberg, the county's chief
public defender.
The law stipulates that if a
defendant in a felony criminal trial has two prior offenses,
he or she is automatically eligible for a 25 years-to-life sentence.
Steinberg was among the county's most vocals opponents of the
law when it was passed. But he said that it hasn't caused the
catastrophes he himself predicted because of the even-handed
approach with which three strikes has been applied here.
"My impression is that
in many other counties, three strikes has been used with greater
frequency than here," he said. "That's purely because
of the policies of the DA," he said.
Steinberg said his chief legal
adversary, District Attorney Terry Farmer, had only used the
three strikes law on around 20 occasions, and had pursued the
25-to-life sentence to a successful conviction less than five
times.
"You know, Terry and I
have for many years had opposing obligations at the professional
level," Steinberg said. "But when I compare his office
with cases I see from around the state, I think his office has
acted more responsibly." That responsibility includes being
willing to settle when the third felony is minor.
The three-strikes law has still
been a huge blunder for California's criminal justice system,
Steinberg said. In the best-case scenario, as here in Humboldt
County, it makes pleading your innocence a high-stakes game:
If you turn down settlement offers and then lose, you will automatically
be headed to prison for a long time.
"I imagine a number have
decided to plead guilty because of the threat of a three-strikes
sentence," Steinberg said.
In the hands of some prosecutors,
the law can be outright draconian. In November, a federal appeals
court overturned the third-strike sentence of Leandro Andrade.
Andrade's third strike? Shoplifting $154 of videotapes from a
San Bernadino store.
"Some DAs have acted irresponsibly,"
Steinberg said. "It's impact has been far less dramatic
here."
The three strikes intiative
was the subject of a Journal cover story in 1994, "Bye,
Bye, Ricky." Ricky Spahn was thought to be a poster boy
for the new law: A repeat offender with a history of residential
burglary, he was being set up for a three-strikes sentence after
a nonviolent residential burglary.
But Spahn pleaded not guilty
by reason of insanity -- and won. He was never sentenced under
the three-strikes law, or any law, and is now in a state mental
hospital.
Kids staying in school
The dropout rate for public
high school students in Humboldt County fell to just over 2 percent
during the school year that ended last June. That's the lowest
rate in a decade.
Humboldt County Superintendent
of Schools Louis Bucher pointed to two reasons for the improvement:
greater focus in the curriculum on career preparation, and new
educational alternatives for students having trouble in the traditional
high school environment.
"We offer students who
may get lost a chance to filter their way back in," explained
Brian Stephens, assistant superintendent of the Northern Humboldt
Union High School District. Those chances include independent
study programs and community day schools, which prepare ninth-
and tenth-grade students for entry into mainstream high schools.
"The real reason for the
decline," Stephens said, "is that we've had excellent
parent and community support. This couldn't have happened without
their support."
Local author
honored
Author Freeman House of Petrolia
was honored earlier this month with the American Academy of Arts
and Letters Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award of $10,000.
House will be presented with
the award at a May 15 ceremony in New York "the self-described
center of the world," as House put it.
House, a former salmon fisherman
and executive director of the Mattole Restoration Council, won
the award for his first book, Totem Salmon: Life Lessons From
Another Species. The book was published in 1999 and is now
being taught in universities across the nation.
"As a commercial fisherman
I noticed that the salmon population was crashing," explained
House. "I fell in love with the drama of the salmon, and,
as a fisherman, writing this book was a way to give something
back."
Too good
to be true?
There may not be many trains
on the Northwestern Pacific rail line in the next few months,
but the North Coast Railroad Authority is looking for someone
to serve as an operator.
The operator does the actual
work of running a railroad on tracks owned by the authority.
The authority terminated its relationship with former operator
John Darling last year, claiming Darling had defaulted on his
track-maintenance responsibilities.
Authority official Leo Sears
emphasized the need for an operable railroad on the North Coast,
stating that it was necessary for a viable economy.
"The timber and fishing
industries are in decline, and tourism will never be a good economic
base. It's fickle with low-paying jobs," said Sears. "We
need to develop our deep water port and get the railroad going.
Companies are always looking to expand, always looking here,
but they leave when they see there's no railroad or harbor."
Ted Niemeyer, a developer from
Illinois, has expressed an interest in buying parts of the North
Coast corridor outright. Sears, however, remains unconvinced.
"If he (Niemeyer) is what
he puts himself out to be, I would do handstands. I'm not against
it, I just have to be skeptical," Sears commented.
Humboldt
Bank closes branch
In another bit of bad news for
the local economy, the Loleta branch of Humboldt Bank is expected
to close July 26.
Bank President Paul Ziegler
said the branch was "not economically viable. "The
standard for a bank to be profitable is in the $15-20 million
range of deposits, and the Loleta branch has around $7 million,"
Ziegler said.
Ziegler said the bank would
work with the community of Loleta on finding an appropriate use
for its building, which is on the National Historic Registry.
"Our customer base has
been fantastic and we will do everything we can to have a presence
in the community. This is a very emotional issue for our employees
and the community," said Ziegler. Customers' accounts will
be transferred to the bank's Fortuna branch, and all Loleta employees
have been offered positions elsewhere within the company, he
said.
Guy Sovereign, general manager
of the Loleta City District, said the building could be used
as a community event center, with art shows and historic displays
of community memorabilia.
If the district can acquire
the bank's building, Sovereign sees the closure as "not
a bad factor at all," and hopes to install an ATM, a luxury
the present Loleta Bank doesn't have.
Walk a sacred
path
Opened to the public last month,
The Christ Episcopal labyrinth in Eureka can be visited on the
third Sunday of each month.
The labyrinth, used for walking
meditations, has the same design as the labyrinth at France's
famous Chartres Cathedral (not to mention San Francisco's Grace
Cathedral).
Call Judy McGinty at 268-1388
for more information.
Head Start
fall enrollment
"We don't believe children
learn without their parents," stated Christy Snyder of Northcoast
Children's Services.
Offering free developmental
programs with medical, dental, nutritional and social services
for families, Head Start and Early Head Start are recruiting
families for September enrollment. "We're inclusive of the
whole family, providing parents with education and assistance
with medical and dental services," Snyder said.
Head Start offers preschool
for 3- and 4 year-olds, while Early Head Start provides support
for pregnant women and infants up to age 3.
Call 822-7206 for more information.
Taxpayer
league meeting
Members of the North Coast Leadership
Roundtable have been invited to the Humboldt Taxpayers League's
annual general membership meeting, scheduled for the Eureka Inn
on May 8. The gathering, which includes dinner, will feature
guest speaker Jonathan Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association. Jarvis was the driving force behind Proposition
13, the controversial 1978 initiative that dramatically cut California's
property taxes.
The cost for the dinner is $30
a plate. Reservations are required and can be made by calling
442-8299, or emailing lhenderson@shn-engr.com.
Good news
for Bill
The effort to renovate and expand
the Sequoia Park Zoo has received a boost: the zoo will be the
beneficiary of the money raised from this year's Humboldt Cup
Yacht Race.
That's good news for zoo animals
like Bill, the oldest living chimpanzee in America. It's also
good news for the prairie dogs, who will trade in their current
habitat for a larger and more natural ecosystem under the renovation.
A redesigned entrance, expanded petting zoo and new community
center are also planned.
Racers in the Humboldt Cup are
helping by asking community members to sponsor a yacht. Any money
collected will go directly to the Sequoia Zoological Society.
The race course runs two laps
around Humboldt Bay, beginning and ending at the Wharfinger building.
The Humboldt Cup starts May
10, at 6 p.m.
Get on the
bus
A Mother's Day Gathering to
Celebrate Life will convene at the Nevada Test Site over the
holiday weekend.
Sponsored by The Redwood Peace
and Justice Center and the Volunteers for Peace, a biodiesel-powered
Peace Bus Caravan will be leaving May 9 for the site from the
Arcata Peace and Justice Center at 1040 H St., and will be making
a pick-up stop at the Redway Post Office.
The test site saw more than
1,000 above-ground and underground nuclear explosions from the
1950s to the early 1990s. In addition to highlighting that history,
the gathering will also call attention to another Nevada locale
-- Yucca Mountain, which has been proposed as a dumping ground
for high-level nuclear waste.
Led by spiritual leader Corbin
Harvey, the gathering is hosted by the Western Shoshone in order
to create a spiritually based community of nonviolent resistance.
Contact Andy Lundberg at the
Redwood Peace and Justice Center for more information at 822-7455.
Not the
`Big One'
Many North Coast residents noticed
a quick jolt last Sunday at 5:43 in the evening. The earthquake
measured 4.4 in magnitude, with the epicenter located 11 miles
northwest of Ferndale. No damages were reported.
Pac Bell
pipeline held up
Were it not for the California
Transportation and Highway Department, a planned Pacific Bell
fiber-optic cable linking Humboldt County with the Bay Area would
be just months away from being built, according to a spokesperson
with the telecommunications company.
Caltrans owns the best corridor
of land in southern Humboldt along which to locate the fiber-optic
cable: Highway 101. Pac Bell has formed similar agreements with
Caltrans to use rights-of-way before, but this time the agency
is asking for monetary compensation -- a first.
"We've met nearly all the
environmental requirements and moved forward on the other parts
of the job that do not involve Caltrans," said Pac Bell
spokesperson Heather Alexander. She said the company would only
need about two months to install the cable once Caltrans gave
its OK.
"We've always paid the
cost to return the area to its original state, but we've never
been asked to pay fees before -- and we believe we shouldn't
have to," she said.
Pac Bell hasn't been asked to
pay in the past because it has never used a freeway right-of-way
before, said Caltrans spokesman Royal McCarthy. He said Caltrans
has traditionally kept utilities out because of the inconvenience
maintenance would cause to drivers.
Fiber-optic cables do not present
much of a maintenance problem because they rarely need repair,
McCarthy acknowledged. But he said installation of the cable
along the SoHum freeway requires compensation under state law.
NEC
Art Auction
The Northcoast Environmental
Center, a pioneer organization for environmental activism, will
be hosting its annual auction and dinner extravaganza on Saturday,
May 4, at the Arcata Community Center.
The event features a gourmet
meal by Abruzzi's and diners will have the chance to bid on dozens
of items, from rare books and exotic getaways to antiques, massages,
raft trips, wine and more. In addition, nearly one hundred local
artists and craftspersons have contributed to the NEC's cause
by donating their works outright for the auction.
NEC Executive Director Tim McKay
promises that the bidding should be "spirited and lots of
fun. There's a great variety to choose from."
A rather special event this
year, McKay is hoping for a large turnout in order to help the
NEC rebuild and regroup after its headquarters suffered a devastating
fire last July. The fire wiped out nearly thirty years worth
of files and archives from the NEC's environmental library.
"The artists and all those
who have donated to the auction have been unbelievably generous,"
stated McKay, "It's truly a reflection of how important
this place is, and an affirmation of our place in the community."
McKay also noted how the community
has been extremely responsive to the needs of the NEC, and many
have donated documents as "equally unique" as those
lost in the fire.
Among the art and handcrafted
goods to be auctioned are paintings, fabric art, sculpture, pottery
and jewelry.
Included in the lot is a nine-foot-high
wood sculpture by Connie Butler, made from a chunk of Monterey
cypress found on Moonstone Beach. Other contributing artists
include John Wesa, Bill Van Fleet, Lisa Marie Waters, David LaPlantz,
Ann Anderson and Leslie Price.
For a sneak peek at the art
available, visit the Plaza Grill in Arcata or the temporary home
of the NEC, located at 575 H St. in Arcata.
Tickets to the event are $40
and can be purchased at Strictly for the Birds in Eureka or at
The Works in Arcata or Eureka and at the Center itself. Reservations
are required.
For more information call 822-6918,
or go to www.necandeconews.to.
Klamath
redux
In the spring of 2001, environmentalists
and fishermen sued the federal Bureau of Reclamation, claiming
the agency needed to allow more water to flow down the Klamath
River to support threatened salmon species. They won, and the
bureau agreed to stop diverting as much Klamath water to farmers
in southern Oregon and northern California.
This year, they're having to
do it again.
The same coalition of environmental
groups and fishermen's associations has filed essentially the
same lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation. The plaintiffs
allege -- again -- that the Bureau's plan for allocating water
in the Klamath system ignores the agency's responsibilities under
the Endangered Species Act.
"I don't think the biological
needs of the fish have changed, and I don't think the requirements
of the law have changed," said Todd True, staff attorney
with Earthjustice, the environmental law group arguing the case.
The lawsuit alleges that the
reclamation bureau did not give the National Marine Fisheries
Service adequate time to determine whether the water diversion
will pose an unacceptable threat to threatened salmon and suckerfish.
The bureau's decision-making
process has become political rather than scientific, reflecting
the anti-environmental stance of the Bush administration, said
Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation
of Fisherman's Associations.
"It's hardball politics
-- nothing to do with science," he said.
More water
for the Trinity
Federal District Court Judge
Oliver Wanger has directed that more water be allowed to stay
within the Trinity River. Nonetheless, the bulk of the river's
flow will still be diverted toward the Central Valley.
Wanger's ruling will retain
another 100,000 acre-feet of water, but that is still 200,000
acre-feet less than former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's
2000 restoration plan calls for. That plan was based on almost
20 years of environmental studies and investigations.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration
is seeking to gut Babbitt's plan. The plan is vehemently opposed
by hydropower and agricultural interests, who are challenging
it in court.
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