Today is Denim Day at the Capitol – it isn’t like "Casual Friday," instead, it’s a show of solidarity for victims and survivors of sexual violence. There will be a rally on the Capitol steps in Sacramento to draw attention to the problem, a tradition since a controversial Italian Supreme Court ruling in 1999 denying a woman’s rape accusation because she’d been wearing tight jeans, and supposedly would have had to help remove them, implying consent. Lorena Campos with the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault says statistics show that sexual misconduct – from unwanted forcible touching, to sexual abuse, to rape – is still extremely common.
Cut 29345 :11 "We just released a report – it’s the ‘Cost and Consequences of Sexual Violence in California’ – and in 2012 alone, there were 948,000 California residents that experienced sexual violence."
Tag: Campos’ group, along with the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, are asking legislators to support a budget request of 50-million dollars from the state general fund, for communities to do more education and public-engagement events that teach about consent and healthy relationships.
***
Second Cut: Campos says a recent study showed the state of California paid nine-billion dollars in 2012 responding to sexual violence. And she describes the intangible costs, which increase that figure to 140-billion a year.
Cut 30345 :17 "The tangible costs include medical, mental-health care, prevention, investigation, sanctioning, treatment, victim services – that totals over $9 billion. And so, when the intangible costs are included, such as lost quality of life and lost work productivity, that totals the $140 billion. "
Tag: She adds the annual event takes on extra significance this year, with the rise of the "Me Too" movement and sexual-harassment scandals. The groups are also championing Assembly Bill 2079. It combats sexual violence against the thousands of women who clean large office buildings at night by providing training for janitorial workers on sexual violence and harassment prevention.
A unanimous vote from the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on several moves to help the homeless. A consultant paid nearly $50,000 to help with a plan, Robert Marbut, gave the board his final report last month with several suggestions after he held interviews and listening sessions. There are 300 homeless in the county and apparently the county’s begun implementing some of the suggestions from the report. The report brings up there’s not a lot of substance abuse and mental health treatment services, which the county seeks to investigate. There’s also a need for more programs for children without a home. The Daily Journal reports county officials are trying to work with those who have some sort of connection to Mendocino County. There will be a community facilitator contracted to work on the more than 2 dozen recommendations in the report.
A marine biologist working on federal protections for marine ecosystems along the North Coast has been killed in a car accident. Susan Williams from Bodega Bay lead the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory and worked to protect coastal waters, advising legislators on ways to protect the coast from oil and gas development. The Press Democrat reports she was well known amongst her peers and others for her work to show ocean health was connected to the health of coastal communities and humanity. She was the only one who died in the 6 car crash in Petaluma Tuesday on Lakeville Highway. Her Prius hit head on by a Chevy Silverado pickup. She was 66 years old.
A home in Clearlake gutted by a fire that spread to other structures. The fire yesterday morning in the 14000 block of Palmer Avenue spread to another structure and three outbuildings. One was vacant, the other housed a small business. They had minimal damage. But many area fire crews were on the scene, including Lake County Fire, Northshore Fire and Cal Fire. The fire was contained in about 90 minutes. There were some evacuations closeby, but no injuries were reported. Cops on scene found a small cannabis lab. Just after the fire crews turned to smoke in the sky by Lower Lake, but found it was a legal control burn.
The ground’s broken on a new Tractor Supply Company store in Clearlake. The shop for farmers, ranchers, those with livestock and pet owners of course. They’ve got plans for a dozen or more employees who will be experts in the field. The company to support pet adoptions, area 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America chapters, county fairs, and livestock shows. The store is set to open this summer.
The Willits Farmers Market is looking for a location change. The city council is set to hear the request tonight at their meeting for exclusive use of a city public parking lot downtown next to Main Street Music. The market was at Recreation Grove Park and runs from the beginning of May to the end of October. The market manager apparently went to the city planner with the request for each Thursday from 1 to 7 PM during the summer with the lot to close Wednesday nights too. The Willits News reports several area businesses support the move saying it would bring more customers to the area and new energy to the downtown area. City staff is recommending the change.
Willits is looking to tax marijuana with a ballot measure in November. The city council will take up the matter tonight to review a draft of a commercial tax ordinance for an excise tax to be on the ballot for the Nov. 2018 general election. It’s similar to the same tax in Santa Rosa, taxing cannabis cultivation at no more than either $25 per square foot of cultivation areas, or 8 percent of annual gross receipts. It also leaves room for possibly taxing all other commercial cannabis business or industry activities, besides cultivation, at 8 percent of annual gross receipts.
A woman from Australia back in Mendocino County looking for her missing daughter. Kym Kemp reporting Jeannie Kreimer searching the Point Arena area for, Asha Kreimer who vanished in September of 2015. Jeannie telling the news site she’s a nurse living in Australia who goes home to make money, then comes right back to find her daughter. She says there was a report her daughter was seen a year ago in Garberville, sitting in front of Rays [Food Place]. She says since she’s had many tips that Asha might be in Humboldt County or on a farm in Shelter Cove. She says her daughter had some kind of mental breakdown before she disappeared and went to the hospital but after being released she didn’t hear anything more from her. She says the latest she’s heard is she may be in Eureka. Her picture is up on the Red Headed Black Belt website.
A no vote for a new housing package of bills at the capitol. The Record Bee reports a housing package that had been backed by top legislative leaders and the governor for millions of apartments and condos across the state has failed. Senate Bill 827 would have meant the state had to allow cities to put up apartment buildings within a half mile of rail and ferry stops. It was sponsored by a political action group called Yes in my Backward, or YIMBY. An analysis of the proposal by UrbanFootprint showed just the 45-mile El Camino Real corridor could have had three times the number of homes on the route from San Bruno to San Jose. The bill was opposed by neighborhood groups, city officials and affordable housing advocates.
A man in Texas gets 50 years behind bars for stealing a load of fajitas… over years. Police say Gilberto Escamilla stole $1.2 million dollars of fajitas over nine years. He admitted his guilt to theft by a public servant. The Brownsville Herald reports he worked at a juvenile center and would order the fajitas, but then deliver them to his personal customers. He was busted after missing work one day when the massive fajita delivery came and he wasn’t there. They apparently don’t serve fajitas.
