Medical Pot: 25 Plants
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Community The SISTER JANE FUND-RAISER sports digest Commerce File Medical expenses a worry .............Page 6 ..............Page 3 ......................................Page 1 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper ..........Page 2 Tomorrow: Clouds, then sunshine 7 58551 69301 0 WEDNESDAY Aug. 8, 2007 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 14 pages, Volume 149 Number 121 email: [email protected] DA’S DECISION: Raise rescinded, then adopted again Mendez By ZACK SAMPSEL voted Tuesday night to repeal its proved a new board compensation current salary, which brought the The Daily Journal previous personnel salary ordi- ordinance. board’s salaries to $68,640. It’s the boomerang-like pay raise nance, adopted July 1, and shortly The previous ordinance com- Under the new ordinance, pre- that went away, and came right thereafter, by a vote of 3-2, with pensated the supervisors at a rate of sented by Supervisor John Pinches, back. The Mendocino County Supervisors Jim Wattenburger and 40 percent of a Mendocino County shooting Board of Supervisors unanimously Michael Delbar dissenting, ap- Superior Court judge’s $171,600 See RAISE, Page 14 justified By BEN BROWN The Daily Journal Mendocino County District Medical pot: 25 plants Attorney Meredith Lintott announced Tuesday that the shooting death of 20- year-old Cesar Mendez at the hands of Supervisors vote four Ukiah Police Department officers was a justified act of self-defense. to uphold levels Mendez, a known gang member, was shot after he fired on police during set by Measure G a multi-agency gang and probation By BEN BROWN sweep of South Dora Street on April 2. The Daily Journal Officers returned fire on Mendez, After eight months of discussion who fled south on South Dora Street, in the Criminal Justice Committee continuing to shoot at them. and nearly three hours of public According to reports from Forensic comment from community mem- Pathologist Jason Trent, Mendez was bers, including attorneys, doctors hit three times, once in each thigh and and medical marijuana advocates, once in a foot, and died of blood-loss. the Mendocino County Board of No police officers or bystanders Supervisors voted to uphold county were injured. medical marijuana plant limits at A toxicology report found metham- the number established in 2000 by phetamine and amphetamine in Measure G. Mendez’ system at the time of his The board voted 3-2, with 1st District Supervisor Michael Delbar See MENDEZ, Page 14 and 2nd District Supervisor Jim Wattenburger voting against, to pass a resolution supporting the plant limit at 25 adult-female mari- DENOYER, PARKER HEARINGS juana plants and two pounds of processed marijuana per-patient, the same numbers approved by vot- Decisions ers in 2000 when they passed Measure G. “The law says 25,” said 5th this week District Supervisor David Colfax. MacLeod Pappidas/The Daily Journal “Twenty-five is 25.” Mendocino County Supervisor David Colfax offers a resolution to support Measure G, which on whether Before the motion passed, sets limits for medical marijuana to 25 plants and two processed pounds per patient. Wattenburger said he believed the number of plants per-patient should ‘The law says 25. Twenty-five is 25.’ raising the limit on the number of to retry cases be limited to six mature plants and plants, however. Spring Starback BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 12 immature plants as allowed by said she once grew medical mari- By BEN BROWN SUPERVISOR DAVID COLFAX juana for a friend. Tom Allman. Proposition 420. “I give you my word as sheriff The Daily Journal Delbar had his own concerns. “I know for a fact that you don’t This week, The Mendocino County need more than six plants to do you that if your vote is 25 plants, that is “Allowing excess to be created ‘Allowing excess to be created under exactly what I intend to do,” he District Attorney’s Office will under the guise of legality is for a year,” she said. announce whether or not prosecutors Deputy District Attorney said. wrong,” he said. the guise of legality is wrong.’ Earlier in the day, Allman pre- will seek to retry two high-profile Many of those who appeared to Matthew Finnegan said a six-plant cases that ended in mistrial in the last SUPERVISOR MIKE DELBAR limit would provide more than sented his medical marijuana zip- comment at the meeting argued in tie plan, which would offer 25-ser- two months. support of a 25-plant limit. enough marijuana for a patient and Mistrials were declared in the ani- Former Assistant District that raising the plant limit could ial numbered zip-ties to medical Dale Gieringer, coordinator for marijuana patients with a county- mal abuse case of James Denoyer and the California National Organiza- Attorney Keith Faulder also spoke lead to abuse. the marijuana cultivation case of broth- in support of a 25-plant limit, not- “The more a person is growing, issued identification card. tion for the Reform of Marijuana Allman said the zip-ties would ers Mark and Memo Parker. Laws, said the six-plant limit estab- ing that Measure G passed with a the more money there is to be had,” Both cases must go before a judge 60 percent majority in 2000. he said. allow sheriff’s deputies to tell at a lished by Proposition 420 was set glance if a garden was in compli- so the prosecutor can tell the court if by politicians and has no scientific Faulder also said the lack of any The board also heard from the district attorney intends to retry the countywide standard for medical District Attorney Meredith Lintott, ance. basis. The zip-ties will be free this case. “Twenty-five plants is a modest marijuana has “hurt more than it’s who said she would respect the 25- The decision of whether or not to garden for personal use,” Gieringer helped.” plant limit set by Measure G and retry a case is ultimately made by the said. Not everyone was in favor of from Mendocino County Sheriff See MARIJUANA, Page 14 district attorney, said Mendocino County District attorney Meredith Lintott “That, of course, is always a very difficult decision to make,” she said. County workers’ health coverage at risk Lintott said she would consult with the prosecuting attorneys in these two By ZACK SAMPSEL local doctors. The agreement was county since March, trying to get letter attempting to resolve the cases, as well as with the law enforce- The Daily Journal terminated by the foundation them to come to terms with us,” reimbursement issues with the ment officers who investigated them, Medical care for Mendocino Monday following the county’s said Robert Faulk, executive direc- County Health Plan in March that to see if the cases should be retried. County employees will be coming failure to respond to correspon- tor of the Foundation for Medical “clearly stated it needed a response “You look at those factors and to a halt Aug. 28 if the county fails dence that began back in March to Care. “Bottom line, the prevailing in 15 days.” Following the county’s decide whether or not to retry the to rectify problems with its agree- try to get agreed upon fee increases rates of 2001 are not the prevailing failure to respond, Faulk said the case,” she said. ment with the Foundation for for local doctors. rates of 2007.” She said prosecutors also go over Medical Care - which represents “We’ve been working with the Faulk said the foundation sent a See HEALTH, Page 14 See COURT, Page 14 Well-known Ukiah nun facing financial crisis By K.C. MEADOWS was covered by Medicare. to San Francisco upon retirement The Daily Journal Sister Jane Kelly, the founder ‘Now I am experiencing what poor people experience: the choice between in 2005. It’s no secret that many elder- of Plowshares Community medicine and food.’ “They gave me two weeks to ly citizens of the United States Dining Room and a fixture of move,” she said. “It was the most find it difficult to make ends support for the needy in the com- SISTER JANE KELLY painful decision of my life. But meet as they advance in years. munity since 1973, finds herself after 33 years, could you move Medical care is especially trou- struggling with a $6,000 credit in two weeks? I couldn’t leave blesome, even with Medicare. card bill, which is growing at an poor people experience: the the Catholic Church. But she Plowshares.” One of Ukiah’s best known annual percentage rate of 18 per- choice between medicine and was forced to resign from the She does get a monthly senior citizens is now facing that cent. Kelly explains that $5,000 food,” she said. Kelly added that Mother House of the Sisters of stipend from the Mother House, very problem and finds herself of it is for the hearing aids and as a nun she took a vow of the Presentation of the Blessed which covers her rent, utilities deeply in debt after a cataract $1,000 from her cataract opera- poverty, but now she sees that Virgin Mary in San Francisco and to some extent, food. Sister Jane operation and being fitted for tion. “the laity lived it.” after she refused to uproot her- Kelly hearing aids, neither of which “Now I am experiencing what Kelly once was supported by self from Ukiah and move back See KELLY, Page 14 2 – WEDNESDAY, AUG. 8, 2007 DAILY DIGEST Editor: Jody Martinez, 468-3517 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] ARREST -- Brent POLICE REPORTS Kinney, 41, of Ukiah, was 4 abandon sailboat off Mendocino coast The following were arrested on suspicion of dri- Brought safely by Coast Guard gency life-raft, according to Coast Guard emergency flare.