I ask that you please introduce a new agenda item for the next BoS meeting to pass a ceasefire resolution in Palestine. This is something that requires vocal support from small communities like ours in order to make it clear to our state and federal governments that we are serious about not supporting regimes that fail to oppose genocide. Please stand on the right side of history and help us call for justice for Palestinians.
Thank you,
Sam White, Ukiah resident
I urge you to please put on your agenda for April 9th an item to pass a ceasefire resolution in Gaza. Everyday more people, the majority being children, are being starved, bombed and maimed. You have the relative power to make a difference in a situation that appears hopeless. As
our elected officials you have the responsibility to do so. The U.S. is funding Israel with weapons and money via our tax dollars and the citizens have a moral imperative to say no more! Please be our voice and demand a ceasefire resolution. This impacts all of us and the very future of the planet. It is urgent.
Thank you,
Vicki Wellspring
Fort Bragg, CA
The USA needs to stop funding and morally supporting Israel while it attacks civilians in Gaza. The USA must instead condemn this genocide and take every action possible to end it NOW. As our local elected representatives in this democratic system I urge you Supervisors to pass a strong resolution calling for a permanent Ceasefire in Gaza. And I ask you to then bring this expression of the will of the people and meet with Jared Huffman and push on him to demand a Ceasefire resolution in the House of Representatives. Thank you.
Every day since Oct 7th I wake up to read and view new horrors happening in Gaza in my News feeds. Time is of the essence in raising public pressure to call for a ceasefire. More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, approximately 70% of them women and young children. Most of Gaza’s hospitals had been rendered non-operational by Israeli attacks. According to UN statistics 70% of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed. Families are sheltering in tents without electricity, water, heat and bathrooms leading to dire increases in communicable disease. Up to 97% of people have little food. Palestinians are being starved
If we don't take a stand against this death and destruction, we are complicit. I urge the County of Mendocino to join many other U.S. governing bodies in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages, unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, restoration of food, water, electricity, internet and medical supplies.
Some people have argued that such resolutions are not within the purview of local governing bodies and distract from domestic issues. However, the purpose of the nationwide groundswell of municipal resolutions is to generate evidence of the will of the people in regards to the horrific loss of life happening in the Gaza Strip. Such evidence leads to cumulative public pressure that moves up the chain of national representation to influence decision-making at the federal level. The passing of resolutions empowers local governments to make the voices of its constituents heard, and such resolutions have come from cities and counties large and small in states across the nation. Fort Bragg, Cotati, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco stand as some more-nearby examples.
This pressure is starting to work to change the Federal government position on a Ceasefire. Just this Monday the UN presented another Ceasefire Resolution. For the first time the US didn’t vote against it but abstained. The nonbinding resolution passed. That is progress.
I implore you to schedule a Ceasefire resolution as an agenda item for the next BOS meeting on April 9th- so that we, the citizens of this County, can make haste in joining dozens of other local governmental bodies in our country to demand a ceasefire now!
Thank you
Anna Marie Stenberg
Gualala, Mendocino County
I support adding a resolution for a permanent ceasefire to the next Mendocino County board meeting agenda.
I’ve reached out to the president, to senators, and to my representative. Their responses have ignored the role that this country has in this genocide. My objective is not to issue condemnations—it’s to save lives.
So far, the federal government has not taken the most direct action to help accomplish a ceasefire: stop sending the weapons (that our tax dollars are funding) to Israel. My desire is to come together with my fellow residents in unison to call on our local government to amplify our voice and elevate the seriousness we are taking the federal government’s inaction.
I strongly encourage the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda. Mendocino County should join Fort Bragg, and the dozen other cities and goverments that have called for cease. City of Ukiah Diversity & Equity(copied straight from website):
-"At the City of Ukiah, we understand that we have a unique responsibility to all residents as local government and public servants. We know that it is not enough to prioritize diversity. We must also prioritize equity and inclusion to create a culture where every individual and group is welcomed, respected, and provided the opportunity to participate fully." If our city is considering to move forward with emphasizing the importance of equity, they must also acknowledge the oppression and inequality not only overseas but also accuring within our own community. Turning a blind eye to this is not going to solve anything nor display supportive equitable practices. We have Palestinians in our community, watching their homelands & cultural sites being destroyed, loved ones in grave danger or murdered. A ceasefire resolution tells our Palestinian community we see your experience and we do not support the genocide of your people. A ceasefire resolution tells our entire community we do not support genocide and we do not want our tax dollars funding it. As per my last comment, our tax dollars could help so many needy families of much needed housing.
I urge you to put a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza on the next agenda. As a Jewish spiritual leader, a mother, and a Mendocino County resident, this issue is one of the most important concerns of the moment.
I am writing to advocate that the Board put a resolution urging our federal government to push for a ceasefire in Gaza on the agenda for the April 9th meeting. As the US has a long history of involvement in the region and creation of this present issue, we hold partial responsibility for the violence being endured by the Palestinian people. Therefor it is our national responsibility to push with all available resources and use our political power to advocate for the preservation of life. I do not want my tax dollars to continue to support mass displacement and genocide. This is an issue that impacts us here in our county as there are many people with ties to the region. We must use our collective voice to speak out and add to the regional, national, and international calls for peace.
Please place a resolution supporting an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza on the Board agenda, and pass it unanimously, as did the City of Fort Bragg recently.
A February Data for Progress poll showed that 67% of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, now support a permanent ceasefire. Mendocino County residents are even more caring and compassionate than the average American and support it even more.
We residents of the County are complicit in the carnage of innocents because we pay part of the taxes that provide the Israeli military with more weapons and funding than any other country on Earth: $3.8 billion a year from the US. We want our tax dollars to be spent right here in the County, housing the unhoused or addressing climate change.
More than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel in the last five months, conservatively speaking, not counting those under the rubble or unidentifiable; this is one in every 68 Gazans. This is genocide, and we are paying for it. That makes it a local issue. It is within your power to represent your constituents and call for peace.
This is County business because the United States government is representing us without our consent. Providing weapons that are likely to be used to violate human rights, and that are used for offensive purposes violate five US laws, including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Genocide Convention Implementation Act, the Arms Export Control Act, the US War Crimes Act, and the Leahy Law, as well as the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy and US National Security Memoranda 18 and 20. Sending weapons to a state committing plausible genocide also violates the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention under international law. To not be complicit we must condemn it and we must do all we can to stop it.
As the war against Gaza progresses, more and more cities, counties, and countries are taking principled stands against the slaughter. We have a special obligation to speak out against the war against Gaza since we are funding the killing. Although some American Jews object to a ceasefire, they are not the majority. In the local peace movement here in Mendocino, there are many Jewish voices for a ceasefire. Rabbi Margaret Holub, who has served the Mendocino Coast for over 30 years, is strongly in favor of a ceasefire. If Mendocino lends its voice to the growing volume of people for a ceasefire, we will be doing our part as decent human beings. Please agendize the issue of a ceasefire and support the measure.
I was dismayed to hear you pulled the discussion of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza from your agenda and encourage you to put it on the agenda for your next meeting. While this is an international issue, it affects many of us locally. The local sphere is where we have the most possibility to act. Every day the situation grows more dire, and I am horrified to watch the federal government continue to approve aid to the Israeli military to continue to carry out atrocities with our tax dollars. Please call for a ceasefire and show the Mendocino County community that you do not support war crimes and support our tax dollars going towards life, not death.
I strongly encourage the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda. Mendocino County should join Fort Bragg, and the dozen other cities and goverments that have called for cease. This is a local issue because our Mendocino community is affected by it. We have Palestinians in our community, watching their homelands & cultural sites being destroyed, loved ones in grave danger or murdered. A ceasefire resolution tells our Palestinian community we see your experience and we do not support the genocide of your people. A ceasefire resolution tells our entire community we do not support genocide and we do not want our tax dollars funding it.
I strongly encourage the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda. Mendocino County should join Fort Bragg, and the dozen other cities and goverments that have called for cease. This is a local issue because our Mendocino community is affected by it. We have Palestinians in our community, watching their homelands & cultural sites being destroyed, loved ones in grave danger or murdered. A ceasefire resolution tells our Palestinian community we see your experience and we do not support the genocide of your people. A ceasefire resolution tells our entire community we do support genocide and we do not want our tax dollars funding it.
I am writing in full support of the Ceasefire resolution presented to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors by a group of concerned County residents. This resolution calls on Mendocino County to join many other municipalities in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages, unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, restoration of food, water, electricity, internet and medical supplies and the other demands of this resolution.
I have been the rabbi of the Mendocino Coast Jewish Community for the past 35 years. But I write here as an individual from my own heart and conscience, acknowledging that the views of people in our Jewish community vary at this painful and challenging moment. I am sickened and horrified by the mass murder of Israeli Jews and others in Israel, and by the taking of hostages by Hamas, on October 7. I ache for those still in captivity and those who have lost their lives as captives over the past four months. I know that in the small country of Israel the pain of these terrible events ripples outward to touch people all over the country. And for many it restimulates trauma from historical experiences of being victims of mass murder. I understand that there needs to be some kind of response on the part of Israel and the international community to these terrible acts.
I also recognize, as the leader of a Jewish community, that fears of anti-semitism locally and in the larger world are not unfounded. I understand that this was vividly demonstrated by a hateful zoom-bomber at last week’s Supervisors’ meeting. We must all be careful to express ourselves in ways which do not endanger Jewish lives and Jewish community. At the same time we must not let the worst elements of our world intimidate us and keep us from acting justly. I am impressed that the resolution before you does not use bombastic or inflammatory language, even while calling firmly for a permanent ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid and a release of all hostages.
The violence, killing, destruction of housing, hospitals, schools and infrastructure in Gaza to date simply must be stopped. According to the United Nations, as of today, March, 25, 2024, over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. About 70 percent of those killed are said to be women and children. Communicable diseases like typhoid are currently breaking out owing to lack of basic sanitation and medical care in Gaza. Deaths from hunger are now being reported. The closed border, preventing refugees from leaving and aid from entering is the stuff of nightmares, particularly as the city of Rafah, which until recently has been a place where displaced Gazans have been directed to flee, is now experiencing an extensive bombing campaign. Calling on whole populations to flee to avoid mass bombing is dreadful — the fact that they are then hit with mass destruction in places that were supposed to be their refuge is doubly awful.
It will take the whole world to make this violence cease. I take heart from the international uprising to demand an end to this destruction, and I hope that Mendocino County will join in this call. Usually the business of our local Board of Supervisors is to take care of the business of the County. But citizens of Mendocino County are also citizens of the world, and your vote for this resolution will amplify those voices calling for an end to this terrible violence, raise them up to the State, to the US government and to the international community. What you do with this resolution matters.
Monthly CEO Report - while I understand the rationale with separating the report by specific Strategic Plan Priority Areas, it just does not work in this format. It would be a more useful report and easier to read if separated by department only, not priority area, then department. Use a symbol or something to denote priority area if that is necessary. Thank you.
The most recent CEO monthly report is of an unacceptable quality. The basis of good governance is dependent on informative, understandable, and concise information and communication. This report is none of that. It is hard enough to find and digest much of the many touch points and active fronts of the local government. We need to be better about our public relations and communications. Please do better. Thank you for your work and service.
I ask that you please introduce a new agenda item for the next BoS meeting to pass a ceasefire resolution in Palestine. This is something that requires vocal support from small communities like ours in order to make it clear to our state and federal governments that we are serious about not supporting regimes that fail to oppose genocide. Please stand on the right side of history and help us call for justice for Palestinians.
Thank you,
Sam White, Ukiah resident
I urge you to please put on your agenda for April 9th an item to pass a ceasefire resolution in Gaza. Everyday more people, the majority being children, are being starved, bombed and maimed. You have the relative power to make a difference in a situation that appears hopeless. As
our elected officials you have the responsibility to do so. The U.S. is funding Israel with weapons and money via our tax dollars and the citizens have a moral imperative to say no more! Please be our voice and demand a ceasefire resolution. This impacts all of us and the very future of the planet. It is urgent.
Thank you,
Vicki Wellspring
Fort Bragg, CA
The USA needs to stop funding and morally supporting Israel while it attacks civilians in Gaza. The USA must instead condemn this genocide and take every action possible to end it NOW. As our local elected representatives in this democratic system I urge you Supervisors to pass a strong resolution calling for a permanent Ceasefire in Gaza. And I ask you to then bring this expression of the will of the people and meet with Jared Huffman and push on him to demand a Ceasefire resolution in the House of Representatives. Thank you.
Every day since Oct 7th I wake up to read and view new horrors happening in Gaza in my News feeds. Time is of the essence in raising public pressure to call for a ceasefire. More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, approximately 70% of them women and young children. Most of Gaza’s hospitals had been rendered non-operational by Israeli attacks. According to UN statistics 70% of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed. Families are sheltering in tents without electricity, water, heat and bathrooms leading to dire increases in communicable disease. Up to 97% of people have little food. Palestinians are being starved
If we don't take a stand against this death and destruction, we are complicit. I urge the County of Mendocino to join many other U.S. governing bodies in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages, unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, restoration of food, water, electricity, internet and medical supplies.
Some people have argued that such resolutions are not within the purview of local governing bodies and distract from domestic issues. However, the purpose of the nationwide groundswell of municipal resolutions is to generate evidence of the will of the people in regards to the horrific loss of life happening in the Gaza Strip. Such evidence leads to cumulative public pressure that moves up the chain of national representation to influence decision-making at the federal level. The passing of resolutions empowers local governments to make the voices of its constituents heard, and such resolutions have come from cities and counties large and small in states across the nation. Fort Bragg, Cotati, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco stand as some more-nearby examples.
This pressure is starting to work to change the Federal government position on a Ceasefire. Just this Monday the UN presented another Ceasefire Resolution. For the first time the US didn’t vote against it but abstained. The nonbinding resolution passed. That is progress.
I implore you to schedule a Ceasefire resolution as an agenda item for the next BOS meeting on April 9th- so that we, the citizens of this County, can make haste in joining dozens of other local governmental bodies in our country to demand a ceasefire now!
Thank you
Anna Marie Stenberg
Gualala, Mendocino County
I support adding a resolution for a permanent ceasefire to the next Mendocino County board meeting agenda.
I’ve reached out to the president, to senators, and to my representative. Their responses have ignored the role that this country has in this genocide. My objective is not to issue condemnations—it’s to save lives.
So far, the federal government has not taken the most direct action to help accomplish a ceasefire: stop sending the weapons (that our tax dollars are funding) to Israel. My desire is to come together with my fellow residents in unison to call on our local government to amplify our voice and elevate the seriousness we are taking the federal government’s inaction.
Thank you,
A Ukiah Resident
I strongly encourage the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda. Mendocino County should join Fort Bragg, and the dozen other cities and goverments that have called for cease. City of Ukiah Diversity & Equity(copied straight from website):
-"At the City of Ukiah, we understand that we have a unique responsibility to all residents as local government and public servants. We know that it is not enough to prioritize diversity. We must also prioritize equity and inclusion to create a culture where every individual and group is welcomed, respected, and provided the opportunity to participate fully." If our city is considering to move forward with emphasizing the importance of equity, they must also acknowledge the oppression and inequality not only overseas but also accuring within our own community. Turning a blind eye to this is not going to solve anything nor display supportive equitable practices. We have Palestinians in our community, watching their homelands & cultural sites being destroyed, loved ones in grave danger or murdered. A ceasefire resolution tells our Palestinian community we see your experience and we do not support the genocide of your people. A ceasefire resolution tells our entire community we do not support genocide and we do not want our tax dollars funding it. As per my last comment, our tax dollars could help so many needy families of much needed housing.
I urge you to put a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza on the next agenda. As a Jewish spiritual leader, a mother, and a Mendocino County resident, this issue is one of the most important concerns of the moment.
I urge the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda.
I am writing to advocate that the Board put a resolution urging our federal government to push for a ceasefire in Gaza on the agenda for the April 9th meeting. As the US has a long history of involvement in the region and creation of this present issue, we hold partial responsibility for the violence being endured by the Palestinian people. Therefor it is our national responsibility to push with all available resources and use our political power to advocate for the preservation of life. I do not want my tax dollars to continue to support mass displacement and genocide. This is an issue that impacts us here in our county as there are many people with ties to the region. We must use our collective voice to speak out and add to the regional, national, and international calls for peace.
Dear Mendocino County Board of Supervisors:
Please place a resolution supporting an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza on the Board agenda, and pass it unanimously, as did the City of Fort Bragg recently.
A February Data for Progress poll showed that 67% of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, now support a permanent ceasefire. Mendocino County residents are even more caring and compassionate than the average American and support it even more.
We residents of the County are complicit in the carnage of innocents because we pay part of the taxes that provide the Israeli military with more weapons and funding than any other country on Earth: $3.8 billion a year from the US. We want our tax dollars to be spent right here in the County, housing the unhoused or addressing climate change.
More than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel in the last five months, conservatively speaking, not counting those under the rubble or unidentifiable; this is one in every 68 Gazans. This is genocide, and we are paying for it. That makes it a local issue. It is within your power to represent your constituents and call for peace.
This is County business because the United States government is representing us without our consent. Providing weapons that are likely to be used to violate human rights, and that are used for offensive purposes violate five US laws, including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Genocide Convention Implementation Act, the Arms Export Control Act, the US War Crimes Act, and the Leahy Law, as well as the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy and US National Security Memoranda 18 and 20. Sending weapons to a state committing plausible genocide also violates the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention under international law. To not be complicit we must condemn it and we must do all we can to stop it.
Thank you very much.
Linda Helland
Ukiah
As the war against Gaza progresses, more and more cities, counties, and countries are taking principled stands against the slaughter. We have a special obligation to speak out against the war against Gaza since we are funding the killing. Although some American Jews object to a ceasefire, they are not the majority. In the local peace movement here in Mendocino, there are many Jewish voices for a ceasefire. Rabbi Margaret Holub, who has served the Mendocino Coast for over 30 years, is strongly in favor of a ceasefire. If Mendocino lends its voice to the growing volume of people for a ceasefire, we will be doing our part as decent human beings. Please agendize the issue of a ceasefire and support the measure.
I was dismayed to hear you pulled the discussion of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza from your agenda and encourage you to put it on the agenda for your next meeting. While this is an international issue, it affects many of us locally. The local sphere is where we have the most possibility to act. Every day the situation grows more dire, and I am horrified to watch the federal government continue to approve aid to the Israeli military to continue to carry out atrocities with our tax dollars. Please call for a ceasefire and show the Mendocino County community that you do not support war crimes and support our tax dollars going towards life, not death.
I strongly encourage the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda. Mendocino County should join Fort Bragg, and the dozen other cities and goverments that have called for cease. This is a local issue because our Mendocino community is affected by it. We have Palestinians in our community, watching their homelands & cultural sites being destroyed, loved ones in grave danger or murdered. A ceasefire resolution tells our Palestinian community we see your experience and we do not support the genocide of your people. A ceasefire resolution tells our entire community we do not support genocide and we do not want our tax dollars funding it.
I strongly encourage the Board of Supervisors to put a ceasefire resolution on their next agenda. Mendocino County should join Fort Bragg, and the dozen other cities and goverments that have called for cease. This is a local issue because our Mendocino community is affected by it. We have Palestinians in our community, watching their homelands & cultural sites being destroyed, loved ones in grave danger or murdered. A ceasefire resolution tells our Palestinian community we see your experience and we do not support the genocide of your people. A ceasefire resolution tells our entire community we do support genocide and we do not want our tax dollars funding it.
Dear Members of the Board of Supervisors,
I am writing in full support of the Ceasefire resolution presented to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors by a group of concerned County residents. This resolution calls on Mendocino County to join many other municipalities in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages, unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, restoration of food, water, electricity, internet and medical supplies and the other demands of this resolution.
I have been the rabbi of the Mendocino Coast Jewish Community for the past 35 years. But I write here as an individual from my own heart and conscience, acknowledging that the views of people in our Jewish community vary at this painful and challenging moment. I am sickened and horrified by the mass murder of Israeli Jews and others in Israel, and by the taking of hostages by Hamas, on October 7. I ache for those still in captivity and those who have lost their lives as captives over the past four months. I know that in the small country of Israel the pain of these terrible events ripples outward to touch people all over the country. And for many it restimulates trauma from historical experiences of being victims of mass murder. I understand that there needs to be some kind of response on the part of Israel and the international community to these terrible acts.
I also recognize, as the leader of a Jewish community, that fears of anti-semitism locally and in the larger world are not unfounded. I understand that this was vividly demonstrated by a hateful zoom-bomber at last week’s Supervisors’ meeting. We must all be careful to express ourselves in ways which do not endanger Jewish lives and Jewish community. At the same time we must not let the worst elements of our world intimidate us and keep us from acting justly. I am impressed that the resolution before you does not use bombastic or inflammatory language, even while calling firmly for a permanent ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid and a release of all hostages.
The violence, killing, destruction of housing, hospitals, schools and infrastructure in Gaza to date simply must be stopped. According to the United Nations, as of today, March, 25, 2024, over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. About 70 percent of those killed are said to be women and children. Communicable diseases like typhoid are currently breaking out owing to lack of basic sanitation and medical care in Gaza. Deaths from hunger are now being reported. The closed border, preventing refugees from leaving and aid from entering is the stuff of nightmares, particularly as the city of Rafah, which until recently has been a place where displaced Gazans have been directed to flee, is now experiencing an extensive bombing campaign. Calling on whole populations to flee to avoid mass bombing is dreadful — the fact that they are then hit with mass destruction in places that were supposed to be their refuge is doubly awful.
It will take the whole world to make this violence cease. I take heart from the international uprising to demand an end to this destruction, and I hope that Mendocino County will join in this call. Usually the business of our local Board of Supervisors is to take care of the business of the County. But citizens of Mendocino County are also citizens of the world, and your vote for this resolution will amplify those voices calling for an end to this terrible violence, raise them up to the State, to the US government and to the international community. What you do with this resolution matters.
With respect,
Rabbi Margaret Holub
Monthly CEO Report - while I understand the rationale with separating the report by specific Strategic Plan Priority Areas, it just does not work in this format. It would be a more useful report and easier to read if separated by department only, not priority area, then department. Use a symbol or something to denote priority area if that is necessary. Thank you.
The most recent CEO monthly report is of an unacceptable quality. The basis of good governance is dependent on informative, understandable, and concise information and communication. This report is none of that. It is hard enough to find and digest much of the many touch points and active fronts of the local government. We need to be better about our public relations and communications. Please do better. Thank you for your work and service.