Oh for gawds sake! The Southern Humboldt clan is a bunch of pot growing outlaws with absolutely no respect for the law. They think they can build illegal structures, grow an illegal substance for hundreds of thousands of dollars. These people have over-fertalized and plowed the land causing siltation of creeks and streams far worse than logging operations, and caused the blue green aglae that is now killing dogs in the South Fork of the Eel River. And these morons have the arrorgance to make the claims they have against County authorities? The people obviously were raised by parents who either came from the Spock generation or were raised in the Spock generation (don't discipline because it hurts their self-esteem). They never got spanked as a child so why wonder why they behave the way they do now when they are supposedly adults?

Well, that's quite the generalization, now isn't it? There were a lot of people there yesterday who aren't pot growers, just like there were a lot of people at the HumCPR meeting two weeks ago that aren't pot growers (in fact, most of those people were from Northern Humboldt and decidedly of a different persuasion).

This isn't just about pot, much as you might like to believe that everyone there yesterday represented the feral-pot-child population of SoHum. There's a lot more to this community than that, and your generalization is really, really offensive. How would you feel if I categorized everyone up in your part of the county as a bunch of white-trash, meth-dealing jackasses who deserve to be shot by the EPD?

Didn't think so.

Wow, defensive eh. Maybe if what I said wasn't so accurate you wouldn't have to have been so defensive. The fact of the matter is that if Southern Humboldt residents would adhere to the laws that everyone else in this county is required to abide by, then there really wouldn't be a problem now would there. The owner-builder option has been available for over twenty years, I believe. The matter has just as much to do with supposed law-abiding citizens not abiding by the law as much as it has to do with non-law abiding citizens (i.e., pot growers) not abiding by the law.

Just by your very reactionary response I can tell you most likely are one of those trust fund babies who was raised in a Dr. Spock household probably in Westchester County, NY or Bergen County, NJ, and immigrated to Southern Humboldt.

I think arguments in the first and third posts would be stronger without browbeating the deceased Dr. Spock.

That said, my impression of the meeting is that Southern Humboldt IS the home of a lawless population that resents law enforcement of any kind.

Pretty much everybody around Garberville has been corrupted by Marijuana and the Money it provides. At least all my friends down there have been sucked into that vortex.

The disrespect for Law spills over into every aspect of life, and ruins generation after generation.

What happened to the discussion of freedom and liberty?

Why do we give our goverment so much power over us?

The planning department, led by Girard (who was conspicuously absent) is waging war on property owners of all colors. I would far prefer to let the pot growers raise their crops free of harassment than have KGB style code enforcement.
I have never touched an illegal drug in my life, and never plan to - but I would rather the government keep to other activities than persecute these farmers. If it were not illegal, then the violence and corruption that is built around marijuana commerce would not affect our community as it does.
Does Marlboro have rifle booby traps protecting it's crops? Didn't think so.

that last post is one of the most ignorant thoughts expressed yet. building codes are intended to protect life AND property values. perhaps you ought to see the environmental damage done by the pot growers in Southern Humboldt. your naivete is only exceeded by your niavete.

despite the idiotic commentary on this eureka reporter thread, this meeting was a useful first step. i doubt the idiots doing the generalizing about those who attended this meeting were there to see for themselves. they are just making stupid, stereotypical assumptions.

the next important step will be at the supervisor’s meeting on tuesday at 9:00 am. desadier and the county counsel will probably have to attend this one, rather than leaving conner and gallegos holding the bag as they did last night.

at the meeting in garberville, the woman who had the gun pointed at her at the code raid at yee-haw spoke truth to power in a way that left little doubt that she was indeed telling the truth and that the power had better listen up and listen up good. many other people also gave detailed eyewitness accounts of the many abuses being perpetrated by the code raiders.

for the most part gallegos, philp, and conner made lots of excuses - everything that went wrong was someone else’s fault, or due to the confusing structure of the c.e.u., or was just a fluke. but this sure added up to a whole lot of “flukes” and “misunderstandings” just in the last few months alone.

as expected, philp and conner both denied that there was any intent to use the code enforcement unit as a pretext for warrantless pot searches, although there was no way for them to deny the fact that, intent or not, that’s how it works out in practice.

they simply explaned it away as, essentially, “well, when we’re there anyway, the ‘open field’ doctrine applies and then we can look where we want.” which is exactly our point - the code enforcement unit used as a legal trojan horse to get around the constitutional requirements for probable cause to get a criminal search warrant. to say that you don’t “intend” that outcome rings pretty hollow when you continue doing it over and over.

thank heaven for local democracy, where your elected officials stilll have to sit and look you in the eye when you talk to them, even if they do waffle and tapdance rather than give a straight answer to most questions.

gallegos repeatedly stated that the code cops carried guns under the auspices of his office, but that he had no authority to supervise or discipline them. many people pointed out the fallacy of being responsible for arming people he has no control over. gallegos responded that he has been “uncomfortable” with this arragement for “some time” (he’s been in office for 5 years now, and that arrangement has continued throughout). he says he has been “in discussions” with the county counsel about it “for some time” and that it is “taking longer than he would have liked.”

the general sentiment of the crowd seemed to back an immediate moratorium on the power of the code cops to carry guns, at least until there are clear lines of responsibility and someone can be held responsible for their actions, unlike the pathetic display of bureaucratic buck-passing we witnessed tonight. also popular with the crowd were the ideas of an immediate amnesty, grandfathering existing structures, and creating a new, more realistic and appropriate rural building code.

rodoni played the populist role, and mostly just sat back and watched the fireworks, occasionally interjecting that it was the other supervisors’ faults and reminding us that it takes three votes to move anything on the board of supes, such as an amnesty, a new rural code, or grandfathering. left unsaid was what, if anything, he was doing to win over those other votes. but then, in what might have been the most astonishing comments of the night, he seemed to suggest that the 2nd and 5th districts were being “targeted” for these code raids to exact retribution against their supervisors. it was a somewhat veiled and suggestive remark, but that’s what he seemed to be driving at - at least that’s how it seemed to be interpreted by the folks i asked about it afterward.

the mood of the crowd was certainly somewhat angry and frustrated, and there was some shouting at times, but no threats were made or anything like that, and the panelists emerged unscathed, if somewhat chastised. and thankfully there were quite a few moments of levity to help break the tension and keep things fairly civil, if not exactly friendly.

too bad desadier and the county counsel blew it off. maybe they had somewhere else they really, urgently needed to be, but i doubt it. at least from the point of view of the public, their absence comes off as pure cowardice.

at least conner, philp and gallegos were willing to listen, to take the heat, and, at least to some (small) extent, provide some answers. hopefully on tuesday, desadier and the county counsel will be on hand to take their share of the heat, and to try to explain themselves to the public who pays their wages. otherwise they should be replaced, poste-haste.

When government is the only growth industry, and it passes thousands of new "laws" each and every year, and it arms itself to the teeth against the very people it is supposed to serve, this is the result. Heavy-handed, overbearing intrusion into our lives. It's only just begun.

I'm far from being a trust-fund baby. I've never been to New York or New Jersey. I've worked hard all my life, including at a number of blue-collar jobs. I don't grow pot.

The environmental damage wrought by diesel dope is horrific and should be stopped. But the simple fact is, if that's what the county's after, then the county needs to be honest about it - and perhaps it should convene a task force to do so, comprised of all the agencies with both law and environmental interests (Sheriff's Office, Fish & Game, Water Quality, etc.). To go after illegal marijuana behind the charade of "Code Enforcement" is pure crap. Are they doing the same in Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell, or any of the other places where, week after week, there's an indoor bust? NO. Why not?

Several speakers at the event questioned that, rightfully so. Equal persecution AND equal protection under the law. If you're going after dope, go after all of it. Not just some people's.

And what happened at Yee Haw was completely out of control. Rounding up women and children at gunpoint - for what? And they weren't growing! It's against the rules there! What was the excuse in THAT case?

Oh, and one more thing: my mother would have slapped Dr. Spock, then gone after his ass with either a ruler or a wooden spoon.

so tell me why home builders and developers who submit their plans to the planning and building departments, pay their fees, comply to building codes and set-backs, properly apply for and install sewage sytems and water systems should then face the possiblity that people who did not go through the proper development process be granted amnesty? what a joke. why should people who have broken the law be given preferental treatment? I don't believe I have ever heard more whining from a bunch of adults than I heard on KMUD yesterday afternoon.

oh yes, and to refute the charge I was making rash generalizations above, I listend to the whole gauntlet of speakers yesterday. whiners every single one of them. right wing republican developers adhere to the building planning process so why can't liberal anarchists do the same in Southern Humboldt? and that was meant as a rhetorical question.

I don't think home builders who submitted to all those things should have to watch other people who didn't do so get a blanket amnesty. That wasn't my argument.

As for "whiners, every single one of them," I don't think a woman who had a gun pointed at her while she was breastfeeding an infant and had a 4-year-old standing next to her was "whining." Sure, there were some absurd complaints. But there were also legitimate concerns. Can YOU tell me why code violations within city limits - of which I'm certain there are plenty - are seemingly NOT being as vociferously persecuted as the ones in the hills right now?

I'll repeat what I just posted over on SoHum Parlance:

"The thing is, a lot of these people have made sure their foundations are sound. But like Del McCain said, some regulations that make perfect sense in the confines of a town make no sense on a 40-, or 80-, or 160-acre piece of land. Should a greenhouse on a rural property really be torn down because it's, say, 15 square feet bigger than the code allows? Should we go measure Mr. Gallegos's backyard greenhouse, to make sure HE'S up to code? At some point, it becomes obscene.

Yes, the county should go after diesel dope and the horrific environmental degradation it causes. But do it honestly, for crying out loud. Don't hide behind the pretext of building enforcement. And don't point guns in children's faces."

As I understand it this issue is about unannounced highly armed searches of residences and properties to search for code violations.
The code enforcement people should setup appointments or send notices that they will be inspecting properties.
As a county taxpayer I don't want my tax dollars going to defend lawsuits or pay judgements that may arise from local agencies using gestapo-like police tactics. I also don't want my tax dollars to pay damages to the family of someone slain by the police forces that march unwarranted onto their private property unannounced.
That type of governement is too big for my tastes. There's a right way to do things and a wrong way.

the 4th amendment protects you from UNWARRANTED searches and seizures.....well it did until the federal government decided to ignore the constitution

Oh for christ sakes - when Gallegos made the play for the assault weapons, he and his investigators said that they were taking over code enforcement and needed the weapons for asset forfieture.

Rule of Law. If you own property in any area, you have to abide by the laws regulating construction. Why is it so hard for people to understand RULES in Humboldt? Get your 215, and follow the rules. The whole MEDICAL MARIJUANA system is being abused, and if we don't regulate ourselves then the anti 215 crowd just strengthens their arguement. Ulitmately, the indivuduals who will really suffer and have a LEGITIMATE need for medical marijuana will be the ones who pay the price of the abusive pot growers who only care about exporting the product and making $$$$. If we all follow the rules, and understand what being compassionate entails, everyone will prosper. Humboldt is full of crybabies, who kick and scream like children when they don't get what they want. Where are all the enlightened thinkers that Humboldt is supposed to be known for? Nothing but greed here, and it shows. Actually, it's very sad.

The step towards FREEDOM is simple:

1) WE put a measure on the ballot making Property Tax VOLUNTARY- this will marginalize our local "government"

2) We force out of "office" any of the "elected" who stand against PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS.

3) We make ALL taxation in Humboldt County a crime, and anyone trying to collect taxes will be arrested by Citizens or otherwise.

Overnight our property values will soar, private schools will open providing a better product than the failing government schools.

we will all sleep better at night knowing we would be no longer having our hard earned money stolen from us by overweight beaurocrats who need real jobs.

Government only takes taxes and turns them into theft and violence-

CUT DOWN THEIR MONEY TREE!

I just wish we could cut down the "monkey tree."

12:38 needs to get of the "meds."

6:51 AM needs to think about his advice. Often those meds are the very thing that makes a (mentally-ill) person's life manageable.

Considering Girard's county planning commission just heard a letter read in front of it at its last meeting that said the production party overseeing Reggae Rising and before that Reggae on the River had been violating the laws and regulations regarding their permit for a number of years and yet the planning commission didn't even blink a eye and gave the party everything they wanted anyhow why would County Counsel ever expect that Southern Humboldt and others will respect code enforcement? They didn't even impose a mitigation! I would imagine they should have realized the possibility that 18,000 plus people were placed at risk every year by someone not taking the rules and regulations seriously. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Who is going to listen to them now?

First of all---this outrageous behaviour displayed by the CEU that is now being investigated by our board of supes IS NOT ONLY HAPPENING IN SOUTHERN HUMBOLDT----it is occuring throughout the county---so dont be fooled into thinking it is just the pot growers who are speaking up---

Code enforcement is a civil matter---why are there criminal officers displaying there brute force at the scenes?

Why are the CEU's afraid to give notice of intended inspection of code violations? They say they are concerned that the offenders may "clean up" there suspected violations----but isn't this exactly what compliance is? This is EXACTLY what we want them to do isn't it? CLEAN UP THERE ACT-and become compliant?....

There obviously is enough concern by our own supes about the alleged behaviour of the CEU or they wouldn't have SUSPENDED there activities IMMEDIATELY----wake up---our civil liberties are being threatened----whether you are a pot grower or not---you should be concerned---VERY CONCERNED-----

All things considered, I would feel more fearful running into a dope grower in the hills than running into a cop anywhere.

Unless it was one of those angry cops who write messages at AboveTheLaw.com.

Check the public record, they went to inspect the property for code violations, but instead found two large grow operations, 87 lbs of dried Marijuana, and assault weapons.

Do you think that the person who lost his Marijuana that day would not have thought about killing the one or two code enforcement officers? Get real, these people need to have the back up and enforcement powers to ensure that they are safe.

I have heard the argument that others walk around the woods without weapons, or backup. I worked for a local Engineering firm and we always carried a weapon with us. I lost count of the number of times someone attempted to intimate or threaten us while we were attempting to survey property in the rural area.

More people have gone missing or been killed in SoHum over drugs than in the rest of the county. Check it out. If the people that were so all fired up over a code enforcement officer coming to their residence with a legal warrant, were to get real and help law enforcement locate the missing people in SoHum, it would go a long way convincing me that they really care about the violence in their community.

The violence in the community is from your own, quite blaming others. It was SoHum kids that killed the homeless man as he attempted to sleep in a warm place. As a citizen of Humboldt, I am more afraid of the Sohum Citizens and their children than the local sheriff’s Department.

It is true, there are problems with getting permits and other items from the county, but attacking code enforcement without knowing the facts is shameful.

yep, scary things going on there. call it medicinal if you choose, but drugs and guns don't fall under "peace" in my book.

These people who oppose the enforcement of laws. I call them "Nattering Nabobs of Negativism," and I don't care who said it first!