Like Anon, I too pray. For the end of religion.
And now you know how the rest of us feel. I am a little sorry to say that many of us have had similar experiences. In Eureka, there was an accident on F Street. My friend had asked me if I saw the accident, which she had just heard about and she knew that I was traveling down that road to come to her home. I said that I had seen it. That in fact, I had just passed it when I pulled over to take her call. I was on Hodgson & F so I got out of my car and walked toward the accident, camera in hand. I was going to get a picture to post on "Real News of the Northcoast" A facebook group which had grown up around Channel 3 News' lack of real reporting. As I walked toward the accident, still at least 100 yards from even being able to see anything because there were so many emergency vehicle, police officers stared at me. Knowing what I do about police officers and their hesitancy to have their pictures taken I made a point of pointing my camera at the accident and not at them. That didn't seem assuage them. Now, I felt intimidated and stopped. They did nothing, but I got a clear feeling that had I continued, there was going to be trouble. You had the good fortune of a training and a husband that you could call for backup and I am thankful that at least this happened to someone that has the established credibility to actually stand up. The rest of us do not and the courts are complicit in this as they trust the police over the public 99(% of the time. Good on you for standing up! It is through this type of malevolent act that we see the police for who they can be. Perhaps, given time, something can be done to weed out the bad ones and improve the situation for everyone.
I'm sure that some local business or non-profit organization needs someone who is not burdened by ethics to help them experience the kind of success that Betsy has had on the north coast. From her destruction of evidence and fact on the channel 3 facebook page, her inability to deal fairly with criticism and of course, her involvement in the story so much that she became the story. Yes Betsy, you really shone in this one.
Re: “Update: Oyster Fest Mess”
It seems that Arcata Main Street hasn't thought this through. If the event was to be a major fundraiser for their cause, then they should have started with smaller fees years ago. People are disgruntled because the economy is in the tank and Humboldt is no different. Even the pot growers are feeling the pinch from lower revenues so you can't even rely on them to boost the markets. Oyster Fest isn't the be all end all festival in Humboldt. It's a nice time, but a nice time can be had a lot less expensively by not attending. Oysters never drew me there anyway. Mostly, I went because my neighbors went and my family went. You see, that is the reason that most of us go to any of these events -- to see our neighbors and family in a nice casual environment with plenty of things to divert attention and make excuses to go look at when you are a little tired of the conversation/gossip. Now, I will just wait til a car show or fair or carnival to see them. It's no sweat off my brow. Arcata Main Street: charge all that you want to and can. More power to you, but when you see a significant drop in attendance and the restaurants see a significant drop in revenues, don't come crying to us about how we don't support local businesses.