— We’ve all had a lot of fun with redistricting around here (& here & here & here & here & here & here & here & here). Well, tonight your Lost Coast Outpost will invade “Thursday Night Talk” to have lots more fun! Marcy Burstiner and I will blather with all y’all on this month’s round of state and local mapmaking, and all the juicy political intrigue that goes with it, starting at 7 p.m. on Humboldt State University’s KHSU – 90.5 & 91.5 FM, streaming online at khsu.org. Call in!

— Like most of the state legislative delegation, Assm. Wes Chesbro is none too chuffed at Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto of the budget passed by the legislature last night. (Yes, I linked to the T-S on a state story; Matt Drange, their man in Sacramento, is tearing it up lately, in case you hadn’t noticed.)

To recap, last night legislative Democrats were able to pass a new budget on a simple majority vote, given the passage of last year’s Prop. 25. They couldn’t raise any taxes in this thing, because that would have required the old, pre-25 two-thirds majority.

But Gov. Brown vetoed that budget proposal today on the grounds that it sucked:

Brown veto

Right after the veto went down, Chesbro fired back:

“The Democrats in the Legislature did their job. I am disappointed and shocked the governor vetoed this budget. The Republicans have refused to extend revenues. This veto creates a real risk there will be further devastating cuts to education and local public safety and the governor will join the Republicans in bearing the responsibility for this tragedy. The budget the Democrats passed yesterday was a collaborative effort with the governor; representatives from his office were involved every step of the way. The Legislature finds itself once again locked in a dangerous game of chicken that voters had hoped to avoid when they passed the majority vote budget proposition last year.”

What the Chezz didn’t mention: Now his own paycheck is up in the air.

— North Coast tribes are going to be conducting a mass act of civil disobedience Saturday, and they’re trying to get the word out to tribal members to join them. The plan is to gather at beaches belonging to state parks and national marine reserves, there to gather up food and materials like their ancestors did – in some cases, breaking the law.

Yurok Tribe press release follows:

Tribes express coastal gathering rights in ancestral territory

Tribal members will meet at several locations on Saturday to practice traditional harvest

Armed with only tribal identification cards, Native Americans from Tolowa Country to the Wiyot Nation will be assembling on culturally critical beaches Saturday to harvest marine resources.

“We don’t perceive traditional tribal gathering of ocean resources to be some kind of delinquent activity, but the state and feds do,” said Yurok Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer, Bob McConnell. “We harvest from the ocean for our ceremonies and physical health. It is time to decriminalize our culture.”

“The Tribe’s rights are nonnegotiable,” added Yurok Chairman Thomas O’Rourke Sr. “As long as we are here, we will continue to gather in culturally appropriate way that is beneficial to all species.”

State parks and national marine reserves and parks do disproportionate and unjustifiable harm to California’s indigenous people who need access to marine resources in order to perpetuate complex spiritual practices and life ways.

“Our methods of take enhance these resources rather than harm them. We offer as evidence the abundance of coastal resources prior to European contact,” McConnell said. “Prayer is an integral part of the process as no life can be taken without acknowledgement of that life. We thank the creator and the plant/animal for that life each and every time we gather a resource.”

Decades have passed and public perceptions about Native Americans have changed since most of the rules that govern California’s coast were signed into law.

“These government bodies have made criminals out of people for embracing their culture. We want the people of California to know that and join us in the process of reversing it,” McConnell concluded.

Tribal members are encouraged to gather at their favorite spot. There will be tribal members at Patrick’s Point State Park at 5:30 a.m., Clam Beach at 7:30 a.m. and Wilson Creek Beach near Klamath at 8:30 a.m..