Ramble On
Rambling on (“Cleanup Crew,” Feb. 13). Lost my attention so many times I needed a cup of Bad Ass to get through this one.
Forestville
Dear Ms. Ravitch
An open letter to District Attorney
Jill Ravitch:
Myself and many others have been trying to contact you for some time with no response. I have recently been made aware of criminal animal cruelty taking place in multiple farms across this county. The video footage and photographs I have seen from these farms are truly disturbing, including baby chicks who are so sick and injured they cannot stand to reach food and water, hens who are trapped in wire cages for their entire lives, and birds who are cannibalizing each other due to stress and confinement. In addition to being morally appalling, these conditions violate the basic animal-welfare provisions set out in California Penal Code 597.
It is my understanding that the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office takes issues of animal abuse very seriously. For this reason, I am very surprised and concerned that your office has decided to pursue charges against the whistleblowers who have uncovered this abuse and who attempted to help these animals, instead of the farms engaged in this criminal activity. From speaking to the individuals who are now facing felony charges in this case, I learned that they contacted you, the Sheriff’s Office and Animal Control multiple times asking you to investigate the situation prior to the actions that led to their arrests. Unfortunately, nothing was done to help these animals.
This is not what I have come to expect from elected officials in Sonoma County. I am interested in hearing your perspective on this case and how we can make Sonoma County a place where animals are treated with respect. Would you be willing to sit down with me and several other concerned individuals to have a conversation about these issues?
Sonoma County has a long history of protecting the abused and disenfranchised. We can do better than this.
Santa Rosa
Your Utility
Dollars at Work
The trouble call had come in; it was for a gas odor.
I was with “B” on a job with PG&E in the hills above Novato. We had arrived early, did our set up (flags, cones) and waited. The on-the-job time was set for 8am. Sometime later (9am-ish) PG&E rolls onto the site with a large utility vehicle and a trailer carrying a backhoe. The PG&E guy gets out and gives our set up the once-over. “OK,” he says. He confers with his two associates, reviews the work order and then goes and gets coffee.
PG&E drills the first hole for the gas sniffer: F––k! More discussion among the work crew. The second, third, fourth and fifth holes are drilled and with the same result; the expletive gets louder and more harsh. Finally, a resident in the corner house comes out. She approaches me and asks if she should call someone, because she thinks there will be a medical emergency soon. I tell her to go ahead.
This is the PG&E I know.
Santa Rosa
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