Norcal Industry Goes to Pot

 SF Gate, 'Crisis mode': Failing pot farms are killing this California town’s economy

Not long ago, Garberville could have held the title of California’s busiest town without a stoplight. Thousands of tourists filled this small town’s restaurants and bars after spending the day craning their necks at the towering redwood trees of the nearby Avenue of the Giants. And hundreds of cannabis farms in the surrounding hills of Humboldt County brought millions of dollars to the local economy.

But today, the town is on life support. California’s cannabis legalization has killed many of those pot farms, leaving empty storefronts and a cratered Garberville economy in its wake. Overproduction has dropped the wholesale price of cannabis in California by as much as 95%. That’s made pot cheaper for consumers, but it’s also made it impossible for many farms to stay alive.

“The economy here has crashed,” said Laura Lasseter, the director of operations for the Southern Humboldt Business and Visitors Bureau. “... The economy in Southern Humboldt is in crisis mode, and 90% of that crisis mode is because of the cannabis industry.”

Garberville is the most obvious sign of an economic collapse that is reverberating across the surrounding “Emerald Triangle,” a three-county region that includes Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties. For decades, this area was the cannabis-growing capital of the entire country, but now the pot farms are going out of business and bringing down the local economy with them.

So just how did California legalizing pot destroy the industry?

But the same things that made Southern Humboldt County one of the country’s best places to grow pot before legalization are now working against it. After voters legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, the region’s dense forests and long winding dirt roads, which were good for evading law enforcement, became costly expenses when it came to running a legal business.

An annoyance, for sure, but unless the price of gasoline was absolutely heinous, no more. 

 She said the biggest problem for the region’s farmers has been the state government’s allowance of massive pot farms. Originally, California voters approved a legalization plan that limited cannabis farms to only 1 acre for the first five years of legalization. But in 2017, the state created a loophole for companies to infinitely “stack” smaller licenses so they could expand their pot farms to more than a million square feet

The state’s expensive regulations have added even more costs to farming cannabis, which many small farmers are unable to afford. Joshua Sweet, who owns multiple Garberville buildings as well as two pot farms, blamed the cannabis industry’s crash on overregulation. He is currently being sued by the state over an irrigation pond that the state says was built illegally.

So, having pot growing being a felony  wasn't a problem, but having to abide by the same environmental regulations that farmers, ranchers, and everyone everywhere has to abide by was? It's almost enough to make one libertarian!

One of the county’s more controversial actions was placing a cultivation tax on legal farms in 2017 that charged farmers based on their square footage, not the amount of pot that they actually sold. This added tens of thousands of dollars in costs to the small farms. Eventually, the county cut the tax rate by 85% and then suspended the tax entirely last November.

I'm actually surprised they realized they were killing the golden goose.

The pot industry was just getting going when we left Eureka/Arcata back in the early 70s. It flourished for years in the area (and southern Oregon). Georgia's sister Mary, and family lived up in the epicenter near Mad River, CA, where they were teachers, and many of their students parents were pot growers. It's amazing that a few bad policies by local governments can kill off a thriving industry that even Federal law enforcement failed to quell.

It's Not the Big One, Elizabeth

But it's big enough. Georgia got a call early this morning from her sister Mary, who lives in McKinleyville, California, who said that they had a big earthquake last night, and that she was still out of power, but otherwise OK. A bit of quick googling got me to the USGS site where you can see that a magnitude 6.4 quake took place off in the ocean off Ferndale this morning at 2:34 AM PST. 6.4 is a pretty good shaker and it appears to have set off a swarm of aftershocks in the area, mostly of magnitude 3-4. The Eureka Times-Standard reports 6.4 magnitude earthquake causes injuries, damage, power outages on Northern California coast near Eureka 

A large earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 jolted the Northern California coastline near Eureka on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, a shaker that caused structural damage, power outages and some injuries.

The earthquake occurred around 2:34 a.m. on Tuesday with the epicenter reported to be just offshore of Humboldt County.

At least two people were injured, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. One person suffered a broken hip, and another was injured by items falling off a shelf, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Samantha Karges said.

Besides Eureka, the towns of Ferndale and Fortuna were also near the quake, based on the epicenter reported by the USGS. The popular Humboldt Redwoods State Park is also in the vicinity.

The quake knocked out power to 71,850 customers, according to Pacific Gas & Electric. County officials said the utility sent a memo to them saying that power may be restored by the end of Tuesday, though a PG&E statement said that a damage assessment could take days.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no tsunami warning or threat after the quake.

Residents in the region were reporting scattered gas leaks around the region, and property damage ranging from collapsed structures in rural areas to felled shelves and other home fixtures. It was unknown immediately what damage to infrastructure took place.

A Letter from Italy

I've been fairly light on WuFlu (aka Covid-19, coronavirus) coverage. It's all over the news, and if you consume news at all, you can't avoid it. While I'm a retired scientist, this is not my area of expertise, so I have little to contribute, except maybe an appreciation for exponential curves.

As you may remember, Georgia's family is Italian, and we have visited Italy twice, and once met with her family there near Lucca.

Yesterday Georgia's sister, Mary received a letter from one of the Italian relatives that I would like to share:

How are you? Are you back home?

We are still fine.

But the situation is worsening. Italy is at war. Especially in northern Italy.

To date we have exceeded 30,000 infections. The official ones. Because there are those that cannot be known. There are in fact many elderly people who die without having been diagnosed with the virus, but with symptoms. In a nursing home with about thirty people present, 11 or 12 elderly people died in three days. They have not been counted, but the rest are all positive. And other retirement homes are in the same situation.

The most affected city is Bergamo. Last year there were three deaths a day; at least 100 a day this year. For a few weeks, they made a burial every half hour, including nighttime. They also use crematory ovens, but they can no longer dispose of the coffins.

And they also say that they no longer have coffins available.

The TV shows us raw images: We have seen about fifty military trucks that take a hundred coffins away from Bergamo to take them to the crematoria of other cities.

We saw the line of many funeral wagons entering the cemetery. Only funeral cars without relatives. Yes, because relatives cannot assist their own dead and sick people. They have to stay at home in quarantine. The sick are alone in hospitals. Alone in suffering and alone in death. And what is worse is that they have a clear mind: they understand what is happening to them. They cling to the looks of nurses and doctors. And they cry together.

The first deaths were older people; now even younger and younger people die. One of 27 years old; one of 32… 50…

Mayors, sportsmen and important people died. Only politicians hold up!

We saw nurses and doctors crying. Rest, from long work shifts, on the floor in the corners of hospitals. We have seen them with bruises on their faces made by anti-counting masks, those of the type for swimming. We heard them beg us: STAY AT HOME! STAY AT HOME!

We don't have enough intensive care facilities in hospitals. They are doing it in other emergency locations. The old Campo di Marte hospital has also reopened in Lucca.

We do not have suitable clothing for doctors and nurses: 10% of them are infected, sick or dead.

Tonight an intensive care nurse who was diagnosed with the virus took her own life because, they say, she couldn't think of having to suffer in her illness as she saw her patients suffer.

They also heal and what they tell us makes us understand that this virus IS NOT A SIMPLE INFLUENCE!

The images of the cities that TV shows us are bleak. Despite this, there are always too many people around who do not give a damn about the ban on leaving home for trivial things with the risk of infecting their family members and those who cross the street because this is forced by work or urgent needs.

I know from my colleagues (the banks are open !!!) that there are people - and generally old people - who go to the bank to ask for futile things that they would absolutely not need.

We're fine. Very worried, but good.

We are self-quarantined. We do not approach them or the baby.

Xxxxx and Xxxxxx are at home. Xxxxxx's firm closed almost at the beginning of the crisis. Xxxxx is home from today. They would have the job, but they cannot ship because the borders are closed for shipping and they work a lot with foreign countries.

I leave the house only in case of real need, both for us and for Xxxxx and Xxxxxx. But I'm only going to the grocery store and to the pharmacy. And I put on the rubber gloves and the mask. I made the masks because, since the beginning of the problems in Italy, I have never been able to find them. But at least they are happy: I made them with remnants of colored cloth.

We thank God that we live in the countryside. I can't imagine how people can live in those buildings in the cities.

I recommend you: stay at home. Do not be in contact with others. It can be very dangerous. STAY AT HOME!

I hug you

Xxxxxxxxx

Hopefully, the United States' experience will not match the Italians. The Italians haven't been able to agree on anything since they killed Benito Mussolini.

Linked by the Wombat in In The Mailbox: 03.20.20 at The Other McCain. Linked at 357 Magnum in
A Letter From Italy.

The Night That the Lights Went Out in California

California Faces "Biggest Blackout Ever" As 2.5 Million PG&E Customers May Have No Power For Days

Earlier this week we joked that with PG&E now scrambling to enforce intentional blackouts every time there are powerful winds for fears the bankrupt company’s aged infrastructure could cause a new fire, “every time the wind blows California will become Venezuela.”

https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1186440507217588224
Turns out it wasn’t a joke.

On Friday, with its stock crashing to a new all time low amid speculation it may have been responsible for the latest California inferno, the Kincade Fire…

… PG&E warned it will shut off power again on Saturday to as many as 2.5 million people as violent winds batter the state, in what according to Bloomberg will be “California’s largest intentional blackout ever.”

According to a Friday statement, approximately 850,000 homes and businesses in Northern California, including much of the San Francisco Bay Area, may be impacted beginning Saturday evening. And with data models indicating the weather event could be the most powerful in California in decades, with widespread dry Northeast winds between 45-60 miles per hour (mph) and peak gusts of 60-70 mph in the higher elevations through Monday, large swaths of the region could be without power for days.

I heard from Ted yesterday that they expected to lose power again late today (in Murphys, California), and Georgia just talked to Mary in Eureka, and they're going to be shut off at 5 PM Pacific Time.

Here is a link to the planned blackout area. Note that it excludes San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and most other large cities.

Heh, Progressive Utopia Of California Becomes First State To Eliminate Electricity Entirely

Working by candelight at his desk, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law that bans electricity, propelling the state into a progressive futuristic paradise. Newsom said he got the idea while experiencing the latest round of rolling blackouts in the state. He decided to make the blackouts the law of the land.

"Other, backward states still use carbon-heavy electricity, gas for heating and cooking, and wasteful air conditioning," he said proudly as people applauded around him. "But not on my watch. California has progressed beyond these archaic concepts."

The law also bans vehicles, forcing pedestrians to use innovative new horse-driven carriages.

Next on the legislative docket? The elimination of water-wasting toilets, to be replaced by just going on the sidewalk. A pilot program in San Francisco has been very successful, according to the homeless population there.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Sean Young up as usual at The Other McCain.

Well, We're Back!

And it was an awful trip home. Leaving a tropical paradise was bad enough, but having flights delayed because of a multi-airline system failure, then squeezing in a quick interview for Global Entry in the middle, losing a boarding pass before stepping into a security line, topped off with a slight medical emergency, which caused Georgia to miss the first flight to Baltimore and come on a later flight (medical emergency all over). We managed to leave the airport some time after 1 AM, and reached home after 2 AM this morning. We're all pretty wasted now. I just picked Skye up from the kennel, and she wants a walk, and she wants it now!

I'd say we'll get back into to the swing of things, in a few days, but that's not likely to happen. Thursday we'll be heading north to attend to the planned birth of a second grand child.

We’re Here!

Baltimore to Ft. Lauderdale to Belize City to Caye Caulker. Time for an ice cream cone. 48 F in Baltimore, 84 in Key Caulker. Will start fishing in the AM.

Scanning the news, I see the Democrats continue to take the Mueller decisions gracefully.

People in the Mist

 Today's diversion was to take the walking trail up to the top of Trinidad Head (no, not that Trinidad). As you can see, it was rather foggy most of the time. Here is Mary setting the odometer on her phone. It's a 1.4 mile loop.

 A view of Trinidad Harbor and pier from the trail.

A wind bent fir tree, and the rollers on the coast to the north.

 Much of the rock is covered with dense brush, so dense in fact that in places it arches over the trail forming tunnels.

Near the summit, the fog got a little thinner, and it was almost sunny,

 Some parts of the trail are better than others.

 Near the summit is this cross. What! A cross on a public trail in California?

Another reminder on the way down.

 While there is an actual functioning lighthouse on the head (available to the public once a month), this monument used to be prominently sited on the road down to the harbor.

On it is another reminder that the sea can be a harsh mistress.

Up the Klamath and Back Again

Today's entertainment was a trip up the Klamath River in a jet boat. We drove up to where the Klamath crosses Highway 101.

Mary and Georgia await the boarding call.

The boat. 860 horse power, twin turbine jet powered, seating about 30.

A sea lion hunting salmon in the estuary.

In the estuary, near the mouth of the river, where it joins the Pacific Ocean.

Once upstream, the fog was gone, and we had a sunny ride uo

Apparently, the river has a big run of salmon going on, and there were many boats out fishing, anything from kayaks to other jet boats.

A familiar friend, a Great Blue Heron. We also saw Bald Eagles and Ospreys.

Below, one minute taste of the jet boat ride.

On the way home we hunted for elk, taking a long cut through Prairie Creek State Park where they often hang out. We didn't find any. But then, just south, a couple of bulls got out in the road and stopped traffic. We later saw two large herds, one out in a field near Orick, and another on the roadside near the lagoons.

A Trip to Agate Beach

One of Mary's grandkids, Anthony talked us into visiting Agate Beach at Patrick Point State Park, north of Trinidad California today. One of her other grandkids, Jasmine went along for the walk.

A look at the beach, which stretches up to Big Lagoon, from the top of the trail down.

 A fog bank was moving in and out all day, but we mostly had sun and blue sky, rare for the Redwood Coast

 A very strange berry

And down we go,

 The final steps down.

 Looking for bright, shiny agates in the coarse sand and gravel. There are many other interest rocks here, but since we are flying home we had to be selective.

 My first agate of the day, a small carnelian.

 Resting up for the climb back to the top. Left to right, Mary, Georgia, Anthony, and Jasmine.

Two different approaches to the initial ascent.

 A somber warning on the way up.

 Anthony's haul of 32

Our meager 5.