Archive for eureka city council

Lance Madsen’s Dying Declaration Spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E For Eureka Klown Kowncil

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on June 14, 2014 by highboldtage

shortlink http://wp.me/p38Pt0-Am

Not just incompetent, but criminal?

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_25954289/dying-councilmans-inquiry-raises-questions-at-eureka-city?source=most_viewed

via Times Standard:

Madsen states in the affidavit that he repeatedly questioned Day-Wilson about where she got the memo until she named Councilwoman Melinda Ciarabellini.

Madsen writes in the affidavit that he later met with Ciarabellini, and that the councilwoman told him that she didn’t know how the memo had been distributed among city staff. Madsen states Ciarabellini said she had given a copy to Day-Wilson over concern that the memo might spark litigation by those named in the document.

When contacted by the Times-Standard, Ciarabellini declined to comment.

Madsen’s affidavit also recounts his conversation with then-Community Development Director Rob Wall about the email, which is also referred to as a “hit list.” Madsen’s affidavit states that Wall told the councilman that Day-Wilson provided both him and Personnel Director Gary Bird a copy of the memo at a meeting, and that Wall was later approached by Day-Wilson and asked to say he read the document after seeing a copy on her desk while waiting for her. Wall refused to comply, the affidavit said.

 

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/Blogthing/archives/2014/06/12/a-councilmans-dying-declaration

The declaration and an accompanying six-page investigative report, both of which Madsen apparently made a top priority during the last months of his battle with lung disease, were delivered by certified mail to the city on June 5 by Daniel Cooper, Madsen’s probate attorney. Together, the documents shed new light on an apparently toxic environment in city hall and a rift on the city council. And they raise serious questions about Day-Wilson’s honesty, ethics and job performance.

“Mr. Madsen requested that I provide this information to the city council after his death so that its present members would follow through on the investigation his declining health prevented him from completing,” reads a cover letter to the city from Cooper. “Mr. Madsen’s request also directed that I allow his family ‘private time’ to grieve and adjust to his passing before this affidavit was delivered to the city council.”
Madsen, who resigned his post with the council in December due to his prolonged battle with lung disease, was in hospice care when he signed the affidavit on March 6. He died April 5.

It’s Time for Eureka to Pay Reparations to Indigenous Peoples

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2014 by highboldtage

It’s Time for Eureka to Pay Reparations to Indigenous Peoples

shortlink here:  http://wp.me/p38Pt0-ta

mnemonic here http://urlet.com/oilers.choices

The Eureka City Council has just shamed itself with a retraction of a mild apology to the Wiyot People for the Indian Island Massacre.

We will deal with these racist cowards at the ballot box in November.

In the meantime, it is time for the people of Eureka to bring forth an initiative to pay the Wiyot People reparations for the crimes that have been committed against them and in partial recompense for lands that have been stolen from them.

I propose as a starting point for talks the sum of one million dollars per year to be paid directly to the local Native Peoples.

Let’s get together soon and draft a simple initiative to do this and gather our signatures.  It is the right thing to do.

I know Linda Atkins personally and she is no racist so I assume she was buffaloed by some Hobson’s choice presented on short notice.  But she can speak to that.

contact me at Humboldt.organizer@gmail.com

have a peaceful day,

Bill

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/race/california-city-writes-apology-letter-1860-massacre-wiyot-tribe-deletes-apology-part

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_25373818/eureka-city-council-offers-support-not-apology-wiyot

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2014/mar/18/eureka-redrafts-apology-letter-wiyot-tribe-deletin/

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2014/mar/17/read-eurekas-letter-apology-1860-wiyot-massacre/

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/genocide-and-extortion/Content?oid=2130748

https://tuluwatexaminer.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/the-city-council-of-eureka-dishonors-its-citizens-and-itself/

Huge Surprise, Eureka City Council Accused of Brown Act Violations

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on November 9, 2013 by highboldtage

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p38Pt0-k8

mnmemonic link here: http://urlet.com/given.differs

via Times-Standard:

The Eureka City Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday to address allegations that a majority of council members and the mayor violated California public meeting law by holding serial meetings — or a series of discussions outside of the public purview. The alleged discussions were about the appointment and repeal of Alex Stillman’s seat on the North Coast Railroad Authority by the Mayor City Selection Committee.

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_24489379/eureka-address-allegations-open-meeting-law-violations-mayor

POLL: Should the Eureka City Council Sunset the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on November 5, 2013 by highboldtage

POLL: Should the Eureka City Council Sunset the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban?

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p38Pt0-jH
mnmemonic link here: http://urlet.com/routine.dynamism

A Sensible Proposal – Run Off Elections for Eureka City Council in June & November

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2013 by highboldtage

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p38Pt0-ad

mnemonic here: http://urlet.com/recent.physical

from Bill Holmes humboldt.organizer@gmail.com

A Sensible Proposal – Run Off Elections for Eureka City Council in June & November

I think we should consider changing the city council election system before the next election cycle.

We should implement a primary election for City Council in Eureka in June with a run off in November between the top two vote getters.

This is the way democracies operate in the modern world.

I know that this is not quite the ranked choice voting that the Greens support, but it is simple and it works even if its not so elegant a solution. With a top two run off (two round system) there will be no more spoilers in the Eureka Council elections, and I would think that both Democrats and Greens and independents would favor that.

I ask if possible for Linda Atkins to bring this simple proposal forward for the council to act upon now. If they fail to act I would be interested in anyone willing to circulate an initiative to implement this simple but much needed change to bring basic democracy to the Lost Coast. This could be a big tent effort for any lovers of small “d” democracy.

I think as an initiative it will be a very easy sell to the voters. It will be no problem getting signatures for it to qualify, given a crew of a dozen volunteers or so.

And just think, no more spoilers.

have a peaceful day,

Bill

— A People’s Initiative for a $12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers http://fairwages.org info@fairwages.org

George Clark & Linda Atkins 2008 Campaign Statement on the Need to Raise the Minimum Wage in Eureka

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 9, 2013 by highboldtage

FRANK JAGER: Job killer

October 6, 2008 Heraldo  Leave a comment Go to comments

From the Clark/Atkins campaign:

GEORGE CLARK AND LINDA ATKINS REBUT JÄGER AND ENDERT ON RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

“Yesterday’s Eureka Reporter article: “Two Candidates Suggest Raising Minimum Wage,” discussed George Clark and Linda Atkins proposal to raise Eureka’s minimum wage from $8 to $9 per hour.

Concerned about the fact that Eureka’s workers’ median income level is only 51% of the statewide average, Clark and Atkins feel that raising the minimum wage is a necessary first step, as part of a comprehensive effort to get Eureka’s economy back on track.

The article also featured the reaction of Linda and George’s opponents in their race for Eureka City Council: Polly Endert and Frank Jäger respectively. “It’s totally the wrong approach,” according to Polly Endert and Frank Jäger added, “It’s a great idea, but it’s a job killer.”  The evidence shows minimum wage initiatives are neither “totally wrong” nor “job killers.” They are, however, often resisted by entrenched moneyed interests whose influence in this campaign once again threatens the future of Eureka’s working families. When it comes to raising the minimum wage, Linda Atkins and George Clark feel the facts should speak for themselves.

Over the past 12 years around 140 States and Municipalities have enacted living wage measures and 29 states and the District of Columbia all operate with minimum wages above the Federal standard. There is now a rich body of evidence in this area, none of which supports Jäger or Endert’s claims. In 1995 and in a subsequent study in 2000, David Card and Alan Krueger, “consistently found that changes in the minimum wage have not tended to raise unemployment by any discernible amount (and indeed have tended to be associated with slight increases in low-wage employment.”

In 1998 a survey of professional economists at forty leading research universities in the field of labor and public economics published by Victor Fuchs of Stanford and Alan Krueger and James Poterba of MIT conclude that, “the general professional view is, again, that there were no strong negative employment effects, if any, from raising the minimum wage by relatively modest amounts.”

Three more recent studies examining the impact of living wage laws in San Francisco and Los Angeles done in 2005 all agree: “None of these studies finds evidence of significant reductions associated with the implementation of living wages laws.”

A particularly interesting study was done from 2001 to 2005 comparing employment growth between 11 states that operated with minimum wage levels higher than the Federal standard and 33 others that did not. The states operating with the higher minimum wage experienced overall job growth of 0.57 %, while those that maintained the lower Federal minimum wage had a 0.52% growth rate. In other words employment growth was actually slightly faster in those states which paid minimum wages greater than the Federal level.

Given the enormous amount of evidence that contradicts Frank and Polly’s “sky is falling” reaction to the idea of raising the minimum wage for Eureka’s working families, are we to conclude that they simply don’t get it or is this what having “no agenda” means to them?

George Clark and Linda Atkins believe in building our economy from the ground up.  Raising wages in Eureka, which are so far below the state average, is the right and fair thing to do for Eureka’s working families. When the spending power of working families goes up, so does morale, which leads to productivity boosts, lowers job turnover, all in an ongoing “virtuous cycle,” and everyone benefits.  Furthermore, increased spending by Eureka’s workers creates more demand for products, helping businesses while creating more jobs in the process.” —

Defending the Community
$12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers

Is It Legal to Appoint “A Firm” as the City Attorney for Eureka?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on July 2, 2011 by highboldtage

With some surprise we were told in the recent news stories that “City Attorney Andrew Stunich” was issuing opinions on things like the termination of police chiefs.  When did Stunich get appointed? 

A Eureka attorney named Bragg was appointed interim City Attorney a bit over a year ago, http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/intirem-eureka-city-attorney-named/ but the Humboldt Herald does not mention his “firm” being appointed also.  Stunich is a partner in Braggs firm.  It is strange though that the Times Standards report says:

“Jun 23, 2010 – Local attorney Bill Bragg and his firm will be serving as the interim city attorney for the city of Eureka come mid-July”  www.times-standard.com/ci_15356678

So what is up?  Can you legally appoint a fictious person – a “firm” – to the position of City Attorney?

Eureka City Councilmember Linda Atkins on the Radio This AM

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2011 by highboldtage

via Lost Coast Outpost:

Linda Atkins will be interviewed at 9 AM on KSLG by John Matthews with the topic being last friday’s termination of Garr Nielsen by City Manager Dave Tyson.  Over the air at fm 94.1 or streaming audio on the station website http://www.kslg.com/ just click on the “listen live” button on the blue bar near the top of the page.

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/

Note: I supported Linda Atkins in her 2008 campaign, although she is a Democrat and I am not.  She has done a good job in a difficult situation.

Should Eureka Councilmembers Marian Brady, Mike Newman and Lance Madsen be Recalled?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , on June 28, 2011 by highboldtage

Vote at polldaddy:

http://poll.fm/338fj

vote at polldaddy:

http://poll.fm/338fx

vote at polldaddy:

http://poll.fm/338g5

As long as you are here you might as well take our Eureka corruption poll too:

https://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/poll-what-is-the-chance-that-eureka-city-government-has-some-corruption/

Blogging the Eureka City Council Elections 2010

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2010 by highboldtage

Marks May Resign from HCDCC:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/marks-may-resign-from-hcdcc-to-campaign-for-republicans/

Fundraiser for Larry Glass:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/fundraiser-for-larry-glass-re-election-campaign/

Eureka Candidates Money:

http://www.thereporta.com/?p=2242

No on N:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/no-on-n/

The Reporta on the 2010 Humboldt elections:

http://www.thereporta.com/?p=2205#comment-356

No on N Artwork:

http://carolandgregs.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/no-on-n-art/

Marshall Spalding Announces for Mayor:

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_15639362?source=rss

Frank Jager Running for Mayor:

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_15565810?source=rss

Brother James Announces for Mayor:

http://brotherjamesformayor.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/hello-world/

Jager To Run for Mayor:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/jager-to-run-for-eureka-mayor/

Brady Bonkers over Balloon Track:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/brady-bonkers-over-balloon-track/

Who is Running in Eureka:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/whos-running-in-eureka/

Marian Brady to challenge Glass in 1st:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/glass-challenger-announces-candidacy/

Eureka Council candidates begin to line up:

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_15465175

Lance Madsen Explores Fifth Ward Bid:

http://www.thereporta.com/?p=1922

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/blogthing/2010/07/01/madsen-eyes-fifth-ward/

This will be a continuously updated page on this blog, from now until the elections.

Eureka Ward Map:  A half dozen years since updated, but the lines are the same:

http://www.eurekawebs.com/cityhall/council/wards.htm

Wards 3 and 5 are termed out, so they will be open races, while Larry Glass will presumably run again in ward 1.