OCTOBER 2023

“If you always defend your children’s mistakes, one day you will hire a lawyer to defend their crimes.  Discipline is not child abuse.”    Morgan Freeman

Three-decade old ban on Assault Weapons overturned.

On October 19th U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled that modern semiautomatic rifles such as the AR-15 are common household items used for self-defense by millions of law-abiding citizens in the United States and that those citizens may not have their Second Amendment rights abridged by the state simply because others may misuse the same weapons in mass shootings and other deadly violence.

“Guns and ammunition in the hands of criminals, tyrants and terrorists are dangerous: guns in the hands of law-abiding responsible citizens are necessary.”  The Judge also wrote: “To give full life to the core right of self-defense, every law-abiding responsible individual citizen has a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear firearms commonly owned and kept for lawful purposes.”

The judge gave the state 10 days to seek a stay on the ruling as part of an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office immediately filed a notice of appeal and stressed the state’s ban remains in effect for now. 

Last month Judge Benitez overturned California’s ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.”  Mark Twain

Good Legislation for California Children

SB 14, which was introduced by Senator Shannon Grove, made child trafficking subject to the state’s three-strike law.  The classification means persons convicted of serious or violent crimes will automatically receive steep sentences if they re-offend.  Governor Newsom did sign this legislation. 

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” Dwight Eisenhower

Rohnert Park Update

The city of Rohnert Park has been planning to develop a downtown since purchasing the property at Rohnert Park Expressway and State Farm Drive in 2022 for $12.5 Million.  The city is now putting out a call to developers who could bring the vision for a walkable and vibrant city center with a mix of high-density housing and retail to reality.

A months long process to select a builder starts on November 1st. 

City Manager Marcela Piedra stated that the city has already received a lot of interest from developers.  The city will give preference to the developer or team whose project includes housing, unique shops and restaurants, a hotel, a community square that can host events and pocket parks and other green space. 

The city hopes to select a developer by June 2024.  The successful developer must show they have the financial means to build and operate the project, as well as have experience in mixed-use development. 

Proposals for the project should include:

• 300 to 500 Residential Units
• Commercial corridor with at least 65,000 square feet of retail space
• A community plaza
• A 120 – to 160 room upscale hotel

The city has about $9 Million available for site improvements.

Direct Action Everywhere

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) sounds like a motto for people who want to get things done.  However, Direct Action Everywhere is the title of a group that is trying to get a ban on animal farming practices.  There have been local protests and dozens of the members were arrested and charged with trespassing on farms and illegally entering production facilities.  The group has made incursions at the duck farm and Sunrise Egg Farm.  The group is gathering signatures to qualify a ballot initiative that if passed, would result in closure of most animal husbandry operations in Sonoma County.  The proposed initiative is titled “Prohibition on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” and would effectively shutter “99% of Sonoma County dairies and all county poultry operations.  Dayna Ghirardelli, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau stated that in order to survive, dairy farmers would need to “drastically change their operations to milk less cows.  That would ultimately result in dairies going out of business because a smaller model would not be sustainable.”  The ordnance would ultimately trigger similarly overwhelming pressures on local poultry farms including the two remaining egg farms in Petaluma. 

The group has already secured 15,000 signatures in advance of a March 5th deadline to qualify the measure for the November 2024 ballot.  To be on the ballot, 19,746 verified signatures of registered Sonoma County voters are required.

DxE is primarily an East Bay organization.  Why is it working so hard in Sonoma County to have voters ban milk and egg production?  Apparently, Leader Waune Hsiung believes that there are enough progressive voters in Sonoma County to make the county the first in the nation to formally outlaw animal agriculture. The long-term goal of DxE is to end all animal farming in the United States.   

“There will come a time when the rich own all the media and it will be impossible for the public to make an informed opinion.”     Albert Einstein    1949

Speaker of the House

The House of Representatives has elected the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Representative Mike Johnson is a Representative from Louisiana.   He is currently serving his 4th term in Congress.  Speaker Johnson is an attorney specializing in constitutional law who has argued cases in federal court. He worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom.  He is also a college professor and was a conservative talk show host. 

The Speaker of the House is second in line for the presidency.

Medal of Valor

Sonoma Deputies Justin Clayton and Carson Schilling were awarded the Medal of Valor by the California State Sheriff’s Association on October 14th.  The two officers helped to stop an ambush-style shooting in downtown Sonoma in October 2022. On October 15, 2022, a Sonoma resident launched a multi hour crime spree that spanned from Boyes Hot Springs to the Sonoma Plaza.  The gunman was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his crimes. 

The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor is the highest state award for valor awarded to a public safety officer.  

Three Cheers for Our Four-Legged Friend

The Cotati Police Department has a new member.  Dolly is the Department’s new police dog.  Dolly is an 8-month-old bloodhound and is currently the only bloodhound in Sonoma County Law Enforcement. 

Dolly is a natural-born tracker.  She will help the police and other agencies sniff out suspects and people who are reported missing especially individuals who have Alzheimer’s or dementia. 

Police Chief Michael Parrish ultimately decided that a bloodhound would better serve Cotati and all of Sonoma County.  One of the officers stated that Dolly is too sweet to apprehend anyone so she will just be finding people. 

The Cotati Police Department is encouraging residents especially those who are caring for at-risk-individuals who are prone to wander to purchase scent preservation kits and then report them to the dispatch center. 

The kits, which are about $20, are generally composed of a gauze pad, glass jar, an ID label, -allergenic-gloves, tamper-proof tape and instructions.  An individual wipes the gauze pad in their armpits and puts it into the jar.  The jar is then labeled with the person’s name, the date the scent was sampled and the address of where it was taken.  The scent stored in the jar can last up to 10 years.  People who have purchased the kits are encouraged to register them with Cotati police.

AN OLD ENGLISH PRAYER

Give us, Lord, a bit of sun,

A bit of work and a bit of fun.

Give us in all the struggle and sputter.

Our daily bread and a bit of butter.

Give us health and our keep to make,

And a bit to spare for other’s sake:

Give us, too, a bit of song,

And a tale and a book to help us along.

Give us Lord, a chance to be.

Our goodly best, brave, wise and free.