All’s well in water world
Three cheers, free drinks and a Standing O to City staff for great planning and solid work that has paid off and kept Ukiah faucets flowing during the drought.
Years ago Ukiah sank new wells and completed an innovative water reclamation project, and we are all happier and less thirsty because of it. Hats off and a bow in the general direction of all those responsible.
Result? We have so much water we can plant rice paddies and install second swimming pools in our back yards. I just put in swampy wetlands for alligators and migrating ducks, and when friends visit from Deerwood I have enough water to sell them 6-oz cups to brush their teeth.
IN OTHER NEWS: The City sends periodic Streetscape Project newsletters to downtown businesses. From the July 9 edition:
We often hear, “There’s not enough parking downtown” Or “Ukiah needs a parking garage.” Neither of these is actually true. There are already over 1,000 public parking spaces downtown and we can almost guarantee there is always a space available within a block of your destination.
Sometimes, that may require walking around the corner or crossing a street. Many people were afraid to cross the six lanes of State Street before, which left many of the spaces on that street unused-problem solved!
Yesssss, how quickly we forget those six traffic lanes across State Street, even if two of them were sidewalks. The 1000 alleged parking spaces surely includes hundreds in lots (north of the library, south of the old Post Office) the city rents to downtown workers by the year. The lots are patrolled, the unwary are ticketed.
If we’re trying to beautify Ukiah (a project that would take decades and billions) first let’s peel the green sick-looking panels off the building across from the Courthouse. The rectangular mistakes were probably applied in the 1950s and regretted ever since.
Underneath is classic yellow brick, as is Mac Nab’s Menswear sharing the same building. We’re accustomed to the panels, but take another look; they gotta go.
COUNTY NOTES: Our Cannabis Equity Program is another well-thought out plan designed to reward the least deserving among us.
Money is destined for criminals who once worked in outlaw marijuana operations. Seriously. Anyone within a five-mile radius of a CAMP raid is eligible, as are those with family members arrested or convicted of pot sales, possession, use or cultivation.
Ever busted for a nonviolent marijuana offense? Become homeless in a way that can somehow be blamed on pot laws? Been a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence while growing, using, selling, transporting weed? You’re in luck.
Prize money tops out at $50,000 for the persecuted. Funding is courtesy of taxpaying citizens ineligible for payouts themselves because they were working as roofers, writers, mechanics, clerks, teachers, grape growers and loggers. And paying taxes.
COMING SOON: We’re happy the Ukiah Theater is back. The movie biz is a tough one in the 21st century with competition from TV, cable TV, DVDS, Netflix, streaming, Hulu and whatnot. So why does the city of Ukiah feel it’s its job to host great big (free) Movie Madness events?
Why do we pay city workers to run free movies when we have a private business trying to survive by showing movies to Ukiah citizens?
Why does the city put together an elaborate, costly skating rink downtown every winter while Skate City, on the south edge of town, goes out of business?
Why does the city run Safari Summer programs for kids that dry up all the neighborhood daycare centers for little tots, and discourages older kids from getting out and entertaining themselves exploring, skateboarding, riding bikes, playing ball, hiking to the ‘U’ or dozens of other things that don’t include standing in a circle kicking a ball back and forth.
How much time and effort goes to “free” concerts at the park? Local venues once hosted local bands, plus better known acts like Elvin Bishop, Y&T, Big Brother & Holding Co., Chambers Bros., Dusty Springfield, Shirelles, and Barry Melton Band at Carl Purdy Hall, Ukiah High or downtown nightspots. None host live music anymore. Concerts are now provided by the city.
For Halloween 2020 city workers built an elaborate haunted house. A pathetic heap of broken musical parts is displayed at the Homeless Highway. Pumpkinfest honors gourds that aren’t grown in Ukiah. All receive(d) public funding.
Local officials who patiently explain to stupid citizens that the money is from various funding streams and budget strings, some via state grants, others from the feds, are missing the point. In our world all the money comes out of our wallets. We aren’t able to protect ourselves from shell games politicians play with tax dollars but local reps can and should.
For now, free stuff has captured the imagination of those who think government’s job is to entertain the masses. So that’s where funding goes.
But when it’s time to pave streets or hire cops our leaders say we’re broke. No money. Gotta raise taxes.