Sharapova River Oak ON THE MARKET advances at combines art Guide to local real estate Australian Open with history ...................................Inside ..........Page A-6 ............Page B-1 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper .......Page A-2 Tomorrow: Clouds mixed with sunshine 7 58551 69301 0 FRIDAY Jan. 20, 2006 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 40 pages, Volume 147 Number 286 email: [email protected] Hudson drops out of sheriff’s race By BEN BROWN withdraw from the race,” Hudson said selection last month of Capt. Kevin Broin “Kevin Broin is a good man,” Hudson The Daily Journal Thursday evening. as acting sheriff to replace former Sheriff said. “We’ve had a good working rela- Undersheriff Gary Hudson has decided He would not elaborate on his decision Tony Craver, who retired a year before his tionship and continue to have a good not to continue his campaign for sheriff. to leave the race, except to say it had noth- term was up because of a medical prob- “For personal reasons I’ve decided to ing to do with the Board of Supervisors’ lem. See HUDSON, Page A-2 Hudson UKIAH CITY COUNCIL ‘There is a tangible benefit here; it’s just too costly a benefit. – TOM RIEDENBACH These people can’t get their medicine – that’s the killer.’ Myers Apothecary Shop UVAP, city hall Chaos Fridays reigns discussed By SETH FREEDLAND The Daily Journal New Medicare The Ukiah City Council covered numerous issues at its Wednesday night meeting, including discussions drug benefit ending in votes, contentious con- frontations and a random lottery. brings a world Of arguably longest-running interest to the public, the council mulled a variety of draft options for of confusion the Ukiah Valley Area Plan, as pre- By SETH FREEDLAND sented by city staff and the Ukiah The Daily Journal Valley Smart Growth Coalition. The Hundreds of Medicare beneficia- council decided a handful of options ries in Mendocino County -- along maintained earlier stated goals by with millions of others nationwide - councilmembers, namely reviving a - have run into difficulties collecting comprehensive citizen planning their usual prescriptions under the process and detailing specific policy new drug program due to wide- for future growth areas. spread confusion. Fully aware that the Board of Medicare’s new prescription- Supervisors will discuss the UVAP drug benefit was created to provide Amy Wellnitz/The Daily Journal Jan. 24, councilmembers urged coverage to eligible beneficiaries, county government to adopt an inter- many of whom have been over- Tom Riedenbach, owner of Myers Apothecary Shop, talks with customer Ray Worster about Medicare coverage options. im moratorium on General Plan whelmed by drug costs in recent amendments -- except for minor years. About 22 million Americans changes and those amendments nec- have signed up for these subsidized Medicare’s new prescrip- tion-drug benefit program, essary to comply with the county’s private prescription plans, but con- housing element, which mandates fusion, misinformation and a lack of which went into effect Jan. communication have impaired the 1, has created problems in program’s chances for success. local pharmacies. See COUNCIL, Page A-13 Tom Riedenbach, 30-year owner of Myers Apothecary Shop, said the two weeks since the benefit was CMA leader launched Jan. 1 have been the “roughest” he’s ever seen. “It’s a mess,” he said. “There’s a addresses different format for each company, of which there are about 60, all with different prices for (drugs) and dif- challenges ferent co-pays.” Riedenbach said he provided of physicians many customers with a week’s worth of free medication until the By BEN BROWN paperwork can be straightened out. The Daily Journal “I knew it was going to be a disas- Dr. Anmol Mahal, president of the ter,” Riedenbach said. California Medical Association, Ukiah resident Helen Rowsell talks with Riedenbach spoke Thursday at the Mendocino/ See DRUG, Page A-14 about her Medicare coverage. Lake County Medical Societies’ winter quarterly meeting, dis- cussing both his hopes and his fears for the med- ical practice in Lightning strike knocked out UVMC phones California. By LAURA CLARK any kind of phone system in the hospital, other Mahal said Americans are liv- The Daily Journal ‘Every physician who had a patient in the hospital than our cell phones and radios,” he said. When lightning struck in Ukiah Wednesday “Our immediate response (Wednesday) was ing longer than afternoon, it knocked out the phone and fax sys- along with those physicians on-call were telephoned continuing the communication with physicians. ever. In the 25 tem at Ukiah Valley Medical Center, Marketing using cell phones to let them know the damage and Every physician who had a patient in the hospital years he’s been Director Jarrod McNaughton said. along with those physicians on-call were tele- practicing, Mahal Mahal Employee time clocks were also affected, he the emergency backup phone numbers.’ phoned using cell phones to let them know the said he has seen life expectancy increase eight years. said. JARROD McNAUGHTON of UVMC damage and the emergency backup phone num- The good news is medical equipment was bers. People are now regularly living into unfazed, and an emergency backup phone system “We also worked closely with city and county their early 80s. -- installed a few years ago and tested just a few system was complete within seven minutes of the emergency officials to let them know of our situ- “That’s an enormous gain,” he months ago -- “worked flawlessly,” McNaughton lightning strike. said. said, noting the switch to the emergency backup “If we did not have that we would not have had Part of those gains is the result of See UVMC, Page A-14 the healthier lifestyle many Americans are living, but also because of the technological Willits passes camping, panhandling ordinances advances in medicine. Doctors now install stents to open arteries and By CLAUDIA REED planning and subject to multiple sessions of pub- • Camping on commercial spaces established keep hearts beating and artificial The Willits News lic input, received unanimous approval by the for that purpose, such as mobile home and special joints to keep people mobile in their WILLITS – Despite three attempts by local Willits City Council Jan. 11. occupancy parks; old age. homeless people to prevent it, ordinances control- • Camping overnight in city parks with prior “All of that is great, but there is an ling camping and panhandling were added to the Camping permission of the park authority in keeping with expense,” he said. “Not everyone is Willits municipal code last week. existing regulations; and sharing equally in this access.” Mirroring similar action taken by the city of The first ordinance outlaws camping on both Ukiah in 2005, the ordinances, months in the public and private property with three exceptions: See WILLITS, Page A-13 See PHYSICIANS, Page A-2 M Y C K A-2 – FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 2006 DAILY DIGEST Editor: Jody Martinez, 468-3517 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] FUNERAL NOTICES Twin bombings in Baghdad The world briefly kill more than a dozen people [\ wines from the newly bond- BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Two near-simultaneous bombings KENNETH STANDISH OSWALD ed Standish Wine Company targeted a crowded downtown Baghdad coffee shop and a near- Kenneth Standish with his initial Pinot Noir’s Fire erupts in West Virginia by restaurant Thursday, killing more than a dozen people. The Oswald passed away in his opening to rave reviews. attacks came as a foreign assessment team reported evidence of sleep at his home alongside Ken was a keen fisher- mine; two miners missing fraud in the Dec. 15 elections, but did not endorse calls for a the Navarro River near man. Along with his buddy MELLVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — Fire broke out in an under- rerun. Philo, California. Ken was Mike Reeves they shared The bombings occurred despite government moves to 59 years old. A graduate of their uncannily successful ground coal mine in southern West Virginia late Thursday and two workers were unaccounted for, authorities said. heighten security as the election commission prepares to Santa Clara University, fishing boat “Jeanine” with announce the election results. The announcement, which could a colorful assortment of The fire was reported at the Aracoma Coal Co. in Mellville, Ken worked as a commer- come Friday, sets the stage for talks on a new national unity cial artist in the Bay Area local characters. about 60 miles southwest of Charleston. Noyo Harbor won’t be Jeff Gillenwater, a spokesman for the mine’s owner, Massey government U.S. officials hope will help calm the insurgency before moving to and enable the United States to begin withdrawing its 140,000 Mendocino County in the the same. Energy, said the blaze began on a conveyer belt inside the mine Ken is survived by his and the mine itself was not on fire. troops. early 70’s. Here he contin- The first explosion occurred at a coffee shop on bustling ued a third generation fam- sisters Margaret Oswald “It is not a raging fire. It is a belt line fire that caused smoke ily tradition in agriculture, and Beelu Robinson and in the coal mine,” Gillenwater told The Logan Banner newspa- Saadoun Street in the heart of Baghdad. Seconds later, a blast growing oat hay and brothers William, Miles per. “There are two individuals we are currently trying to find caused by a planted bomb rocked a restaurant just down the English peas on the coast and Hugo III. in the coal mine.” street. near Elk, apples and pears A memorial will be held Gillenwater said there is clean air in several sections of the Some officials said the first blast was triggered by a suicide at the Day Ranch in Philo at Lauren’s Restaurant in mine.