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The Eureka City Council last night voted unanimously to decriminalize the personal use, possession and cultivation of entheogenic plants and fungi, such as psychedelic mushrooms, for people over the age of 21. 

The vote comes two years after the City of Arcata made the same move, following the lead of a handful of other cities across the county, including Denver, where, in 2019, voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative that prevented the city from spending resources to prosecute people for use or possession of “magic” shrooms. 

Not all government bodies are jumping aboard this trippy bandwagon, though. Eleven days ago, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have decriminalized adult use and possession of small amounts of mescaline, DMT and psilocybin statewide, starting in 2025. In doing so, Newsom called for more research to develop treatment guidelines prior to decriminalization.

Psilocybin capsules.

More than two dozen public commenters spoke at last night’s meeting, with every last one of them advocating approval of the resolution. They included educators, health care professionals, students and other residents, many of whom shared deeply personal stories about the transformative power of entheogenic plants in treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and other conditions.

The discussion began with some words of caution, though. Jacob Rosen, a mental health clinician and director of the city’s Crisis Alternative Response Eureka (CARE) program, argued that the resolution, which was prepared by the activist group Decriminalize Nature Humboldt, goes too far in endorsing psychoactive plants as consistently safe and healing.

That’s an example of “hyper-claiming” or making blanket assertions based on correlation rather than causation, Rosen said. He argued that while scientific research shows promise in entheogenic plants’ ability to prove useful in mental health treatment, the science is far from settled. More research is needed to determine which compounds act on the brain to cause healing effects and to identify contra-indications. And he said therapy is typically a necessary component of the plants’ efficacy.

“For many people with existing mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, these substances can actually trigger psychotic episodes that last longer than the intoxication of the substance,” Rosen said. “So there’s a lot of concern having the city rubber-stamp that … .”

Rosen also referred to research on MDMA, commonly called ecstasy or molly, though that synthetic drug was not among the entheogens considered in the resolution, as several public speakers subsequently pointed out.

Eureka Police Commander Lenny La France, who leads the department’s Community Safety Engagement Team, said he and the chief agreed with Gov. Newsom’s decision to veto Senate Bill 58 due to concerns about “unintended consequences.”

However, City Manager Miles Slattery said he had consulted with members of the Arcata Police Department, who reported no significant issues since the city decriminalized entheogenic plants, and he said the City of Eureka only saw five cases last year involving criminal charges related to entheogens — shrooms, primarily — and all five involved more serious charges, such as domestic violence.

The enthusiasm among public commenters was resounding. Roy King, an emeritus associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford, pushed back on Rosen’s words of caution, saying that randomized, controlled studies have shown entheogenic plants’ effectiveness in treating depression and anxiety disorder.

“They work specifically on serotonin receptors,” King said. “They increase neurogenesis … and allow people to get out of their loopy thoughts and negative thinking.”

Rachael Riggs, a local educator, noted the county’s elevated rate of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, which are linked to chronic health problems and substance abuse later in life, and she said these plants can help. 

“Entheogens are anti-addictive [and are] among the safest substances being studied in the treatment of addiction and mental health problems,” Riggs said. “There are very few side effects, especially when under the guidance of a therapist or with proper education.” She argued that the positive “trickle down effect” on the community’s children could be huge.

Dr. Carrie Griffin, who specializes in family and addiction medicine, said there have been three scientific studies looking for evidence that entheogenic plant use leads to greater rates of persistent depressive disorder or substance abuse, and the answer was an unequivocal “no.”

Griffen cofounded Eureka’s Center for New Growth, which offers ketamine-assisted therapy, with Randee Litten, a registered nurse who worked for years in the emergency room at St. Joseph Hospital. Litten said that she kind of lost her mind during the COVID pandemic and has seen a dramatic rise in psychosis locally. 

But working at the Center for New Growth has been life-altering, she said.

“What we genuinely need as human beings in this chaotic world is a helping hand, and psychedelics — from a nurse perspective, from a humanistic perspective, from my own perspective — psychedelics lend a hand that can hold you and guide you into a good direction, as long as you have the foundation built,” Litten said. “I know that’s the concern, but I can tell you that we’ve been doing it for a year and a half, and I can’t even tell you how many community members we have helped. And it’s the reason that I’m still here, because I love this community and I have never in my entire career felt like I am doing so much good for this community until we discovered how well psychedelics can help human beings. … I finally feel alive again, like we’re doing something good for our community.”

When the matter came back to the council for deliberation, Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach said she’d spent a lot of time researching the issue and reading the hundreds of letters that were submitted in support of the resolution, and while she had some concerns with specific wording — especially endorsements of the plants’ ability to spur personal and spiritual growth — she concluded that it’s not the proper role of government to arrest and prosecute people over a plant.

Fellow Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez noted that the council had already approved a letter supporting the intent of Senate Bill 58, and he said the resolution would help to de-stigmatize the use of entheogenic plants for healing purposes.

“This isn’t a call to ‘turn on, tune in and drop out,’” Fernandez said, quoting 1960s countercultural icon Timothy Leary. “Instead it would be to allow for folks who do take these substances for healing to reach out to medical and mental health professionals — or law enforcement, if things go towards a more negative experience — without any fear of reprisal.”

Councilmember Kati Moulton said she shared some of Contreras-DeLoach’s concerns about certain phrases in the resolution that endorse the efficacy of entheogenic plants but supported it nonetheless.

With further input from Councilmember Leslie Castellano, the council agreed to remove a phrase endorsing such plants’ ‘capacity to “catalyze profound experiences of personal and spiritual growth.”

Councilmember Scott Bauer said he believes the potential for negative experiences is real, noting that he’s had friends who are “gone” from bad LSD trips. He also expressed concerns for use by kids, whose brains aren’t fully developed. But ultimately, he said, “I support something that’s been used for thousands of years to bring about personal growth.” 

Though she didn’t have a vote, Mayor Kim Bergel said that many local residents are suffering, and these plants represent “another tool for people to use to get the support that they need.”

The vote to approve the resolution — minus that one phrase — was unanimous, and according to Slattery its instructions went into effect immediately upon passage. You can read the full resolution via the link below.

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DOCUMENT: City of Eureka Resolution re: Entheogenic Plants and Fungi

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During Tuesday’s meeting, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a somewhat controversial request from staff to redraft the Humboldt Region Climate Action Plan (CAP) to ensure the environmental document complies with state requirements. 

Rincon Associates, the consulting firm hired to complete the environmental review of the document, has encountered numerous issues with the draft CAP in recent months and has found the plan to be “overly ambitious” with goals that “cannot be achieved” in the next seven years.

The CAP must set realistic goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, in accordance with California’s ambitious climate action policy, and outline how the county and its partner jurisdictions will achieve those goals, otherwise, the document will not “qualify” with the state.

Rincon drew up a proposal with several proposed modifications that would qualify the document. The proposed changes would, in part, update the county’s GHG inventory and target analysis. “Rincon will work with the jurisdictions to identify targets that are practical, defensible, and consistent with current state legislation, including SB 32 and the newly signed AB 1279,” the proposal states. “Rincon will produce both per capita and mass emission-based targets for the review.” 

The proposal also seeks to revise the county’s GHG reduction measure and actions for “successful implementation.”

Some environmental advocacy groups feel the proposed changes would weaken the document have called on the county to do more to ensure accountability. 

At the end of last month, a coalition of environmental advocacy groups issued a press release accusing city and county planners of employing a harmful and dishonest “accounting trick” in the process of developing the regional CAP. The coalition argued that proposed changes to the draft document would sidestep meaningful action to reduce GHG emissions by taking credit for reduction targets it has already met.

Speaking during Tuesday’s meeting, Planning and Building Director John Ford acknowledged that there has been “some opposition” to staff’s approach, but said, “It is vitally important to adopt an adequate [CAP] that is qualified and can be defended.”

Ford | Screenshot

“We’re not undertaking this approach to achieve something that is unnecessary but rather to put all the jurisdictions in the county in a place to have a plan that allows us to effectively adapt to climate change,” Ford said. “Looking ahead, the CAP alone is not sufficient. … I just would point out that the county is currently looking at developing a Climate Resiliency Officer [position] as a step to accomplish this important implementation.”

The proposed changes will take four to six months to complete, according to Rincon’s proposal. The problem is, the grant funding the county has obtained to pay for the draft CAP is only available til March of 2024, Ford said.

To accommodate the tight timeframe, Ford requested that the board allow staff to utilize grant funding through the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCOAG) for the revision of the CAP, rather than preparation of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) as previously intended.

“Revisions to the draft [and] all the work contained within the Rincon proposal would need to be accomplished by that date,” he said. “Coming right on the heels of that, we would begin preparation of the [EIR]. The preparation of the document should be complete by September of 2024. Public review would occur in October of 2024. The final EIR would be complete by the end of the year, with public hearings on the CAP beginning in January 2025.”

Ford added that staff would try to expedite the process when appropriate.

Speaking during public comment, Luis Neuner, an advocate with the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), emphasized the importance of having an environmental document “with some degree of teeth in it” to ensure we meet our GHG reduction goals.

“It would be irresponsible for us not to just pass something soon,” he said. “Implementation will be hard. It will be harder than getting this thing approved, and that means that we can’t wait much longer. A hard date by which we can get things rolling needs to be a serious part of the conversation if we are real about meeting our 2030 goals.”

Caroline Griffith, executive director of the North Coast Environmental Center agreed, emphasizing the importance of having “actionable items … that will actually reduce our emissions.”

“We know that there’s a deadline for this reworking but we also have to go to the EIR process,” Griffith said. “It would be great to have an adoption deadline. Also … as technology changes, as methodology changes, as funding sources change, it will be really important to have staff who are actually working solely on this to make sure that we can implement it and that there is coordination happening between municipalities and that there are funding sources for all of this.”

Arcata resident John Schafer said the problem with the county’s draft CAP is not that it’s too ambitious, but rather that it does not include “specifics for carrying out any of the necessary policies.”

“We shouldn’t be shy about demanding more ambitious climate policies,” he said. “It’s not just sea level rise or our grandchildren that we should do this for, but because it’ll lead to a healthier economy. We need a sensible business plan if we’re going to prosper in Humboldt County. … The existing plan is indeed inadequate because it doesn’t have suitable policies. It needs to be stronger.”

Going back to the board for discussion, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson expressed his support for staff’s recommendation to modify the CAP, adding that the proposed plan “is only one piece” of the local effort to combat climate change.

“I also want to remind ourselves that … Humboldt County was the vanguard of the development of solar power,” Wilson said. “In the 1980s, the second largest consumer of solar panels in the United States – next to the U.S. military – was Southern Humboldt and Northern Mendocino counties. … I think, in general, we actually have a populace that may help us in moving forward [on our climate goals]. That doesn’t mean that we don’t put things in writing … but I think we’re gonna see some opportunities around that.”

Wilson made a motion to approve staff’s recommendation, which was seconded by Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo.

Before voting on the matter, Arroyo suggested the board create a climate action ad hoc committee. County Counsel Scott Miles said the action should be brought forth at a future date rather than being wrapped into the motion. 

The board passed the motion in a 5-0 vote.

Earthquake Recovery Efforts in Rio Dell

It’s been ten months since a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit Humboldt County. In that time, communities throughout the Eel River Valley, namely Rio Dell, have struggled to obtain disaster relief funding needed to get low-income residents back into their homes, largely due to the tedious application process.

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell requested a status update on earthquake recovery efforts from Habitat for Humanity, the entity leading disaster recovery assistance, to get a better idea of when funding would be dispersed. 

“There hasn’t been any money that’s gone out to constituents for repairs and we’re coming up on a year … [since] the earthquake happened,” Bushnell said. “[I]t’s very frustrating for people that aren’t in their homes and are struggling through the process. … I know the application process is difficult, but the message I’m getting from constituents is ‘I’m done. I can’t do this anymore. I’m gonna do this myself.’ They feel left behind.”

Back in January, the Board of Supervisors authorized staff to create a locally funded Earthquake Recovery & Assistance Program with $1 million from the county’s allocation from the federal Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF). The board awarded $250,000 of those funds to Habitat for Humanity to provide support and disaster recovery assistance to the county and its partners. 

Camille Benner, administrative officer for Habitat for Humanity Yuba/Sutter, acknowledged that the application process is “very, very difficult” but said her team is doing its best to guide people through the process.

Benner | Screenshot

“We don’t make those rules and regulations,” she said, noting that the applications are subject to rules outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “We’re following the same process even with your funding because it protects us, it protects you and it protects the homeowners. … [The] initial disaster response is handling those initial needs, getting food, getting people placed into hotels if they’ve lost shelter, supplies, etc. Long-term recovery is, on average, two to five years, sometimes significantly longer.”

Because the earthquake was not declared a federal disaster, there are “significant limitations” on what disaster case managers can provide, Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp added. 

“Most of the other funding streams are really designed for other purposes, [such as] anti-poverty program funding,” Knopp said. “We have a lot of different programs that we need to make sure that all the T’s are crossed, all the I’s are dotted before individual applicants move forward in the process. I understand the frustration. It’s extremely frustrating to go through these long processes to access resources … .”

Bushnell said she was trying to be understanding of the process but reiterated that “no money has gone out the door and no repairs have been made.’

“I have constituents calling me upset and they’re crying,” she said. “That’s hard for me. And I’m not trying to be critical of you folks … [but] I haven’t gotten any updates.”

John Nicoletti, deputy director of Habitat for Humanity Yuba/Sutter, noted that Habitat for Humanity changed its approach in an attempt to expedite the application process. Originally, their team was working with low-income renters affected by the disaster. They pivoted to work directly with property owners.

“We’re asking that they honor the agreement for affordable housing … to ensure that if public funds are being expended, they are meant to benefit the tenant in the end,” Nicoletti said. “Where it begins to concern someone like me is when we’re moving from a $16,000 repair or a $40,000 repair and all of a sudden … the estimates that we have from contractors exceed the value of the house. … Should we spend $200,000 on a house, basically replacing it, or can we take that $200,000 and move it into five different properties?”

Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Steve Madrone and Wilson both spoke in favor of using the funds to house as many people as possible “rather than to large projects that might eat up a whole lot of money,” Madrone said.

Following public comment and a bit of additional discussion from the board, Arroyo made a motion to accept and file the report. Bohn seconded the action. The motion passed in a 3-0 vote, with Bushnell and Wilson absent due to a previously scheduled meeting with state Sen. Mike McGuire.

Relief for Fuel Costs

The board also considered a request, brought forth by Bushnell, to send a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking financial relief from inflated fuel costs which, according to county staff, average about $6.49 per gallon locally.

Bushnell | Screenshot

“I get a lot of calls from constituents about the price of gas in Humboldt County compared to other counties in California,” Bushnell explained. “Additionally, I have gotten some calls from some distributors that pick up in Oakland and bring [fuel] into Humboldt County and I was struggling to figure out how to address [the issue] or how or who to address that with.  … So, I’m just wanting to have the discussion and see where possibly we could go with this.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to combat gas price gouging in California by increasing oversight. The first-in-the-nation law, enacted in June, established the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, a division within the California Energy Commission to monitor the industry. The new law requires oil companies to submit daily reports on the market and imports, as well as monthly reports on refiners’ profit margins.

Wilson acknowledged that the law’s intent was focused on price gouging that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic rather than stabilization of current fuel prices but suggested that it could address Bushnell’s constituents’ concerns.

“I think for me, the focus really is about the exploitation of our population, of our working folks and everybody else who’s not, as I would say, on the upper echelons of society,” Wilson said. “We need more equalization and stabilization of pricing and across the board. This is just this one finite element.”

After a bit of discussion among board members, Bushnell said she’d be fine with holding off on the letter for the time being. “I’m happy to not send the letter,” she said. “However, I do want to address my constituents, and it is a big concern.”

Bushnell made a motion to table the discussion, which was seconded by Wilson. The motion passed 5-0.

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Other notable bits from the meeting:

• The board also reviewed revised implementation guidelines for Measure V, an action approved by Humboldt County voters in 2016 to regulate rent increases in mobile home parks in unincorporated areas of the county. The proposed implementation guidelines sought to clarify the original guidelines how the ordinance would be enforced and answer questions that have arisen in the last six years. During Tuesday’s discussion, supporters of Measure V said county staff had not given them proper notice of the discussion and urged the board to oppose staff’s recommendation. Staff maintained that the county had properly noticed the public and stood behind the proposed guidelines. After quite a bit of discussion and a confusing motion, the board decided not to change adopt the guidelines and directed staff to come back with a progress report in one year.
• The board also received a presentation on the audit for Fiscal Year 2020-21. Rich Gonzalez, a representative of CliftoLarsonAllen LLP, detailed the findings of the audit. All told, “the county is moving in the right direction,” Gonzalez said. The board unanimously agreed to receive and file the report.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Oct. 18, 2023, at about 1:41 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in Garberville conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation in the 1300 block of Redwood Drive.

Deputies contacted the driver and single-occupant of the vehicle, 34-year-old Jason Jerome Armstrong of San Rafael, CA. During their investigation, deputies learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Rohnert Park, CA, with Armstrong as the primary suspect.

Armstrong was taken into custody without incident and was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of vehicle theft (VC 10851(a)), possession of a stolen vehicle (PC 496d(a)), driving with a suspended license (VC 14601.1(a)) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)(2)).  

At the Correctional Facility later that morning, Armstrong reportedly physically assaulted another inmate unprovoked. He was booked on additional charges of assault (PC 240) and battery (PC 242).

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Arcata Police Department press release:

Richard Lawrence McCovey II

On 10/16/2023 at approximately 9:21 PM, the Arcata Police Department received a report that a person had been shot in the area of 27th Street and Alliance Rd.

Officers responded to the area and located an 18 year old Arcata man with a gunshot wound to the leg. The man reported he had been sitting in a vehicle along 27th Street, when a man approached the car on foot and fired multiple rounds into the vehicle, before fleeing.

Further investigation revealed the suspected shooter was know to the victim.

On 10/17/2023, officers from the Fortuna Police Department located and arrested the suspected shooter, Richard Lawrence McCovey II, 20 of Fortuna, at a business on Fortuna Blvd.

McCovey was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on suspected violations of 664/187 PC, Attempted Murder and 246 PC, Shooting at an Inhabited Dwelling/Vehicle.

Anyone with additional information related to this investigation is encouraged to call the lead detective Sgt. Luke Scown.

For years, Republicans have railed against “ballot harvesting” as an underhanded tactic by Democrats to win elections.

But for the 2024 election, the California GOP is going big on collecting ballots from voters and dropping them off at election offices or polling places, which is legal in California, with some conditions.

In part, it’s a reflection of political reality: With a few exceptions, the Republican Party has been struggling. On top of Democratic majorities in the Legislature since 1996, no Republican has been elected statewide office since 2006. And since the COVID-19 pandemic, California has sent mail ballots to every registered voter, making it easier for people to cast their ballots earlier and not just at polling places on Election Day.

“These are the rules that we have been given. And we have to play by those rules,” said Jessica Millan Patterson, chairperson of the California Republican Party. “It doesn’t make any sense to only be Election Day voters. That is like only playing three quarters of a football game.”

Patterson said she has recognized the importance of early voting since 2018, when she ran for party chairperson — a “very dark time” when the GOP lost half of its congressional delegation. And she’s still saying it even though mail voting has been central to former President Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“We would win California in a general election if they didn’t have a rigged voting system, where they send out 22 million ballots,” Trump told the party convention last month within the first few minutes of his speech — contrary to some messaging from his own campaign. “Nobody knows where they’re going, who they’re going to, who signs them, who delivers them, and who the hell counts ‘em? Nobody knows.”

Fact-check: State law requires county election officials to let you to track your ballot from when it’s submitted to when it’s counted and to collect data on rejected ballots.

In the 2022 general election, only 1.2% – or 120,609 ballots – of the 9.8 million returned vote-by-mail ballots were rejected.

Reasons for rejection:

• 57,764 weren’t received in time
• 47,984 had non-matching signatures
• 11,905 were missing signatures
• 823 were from voters who had already voted
• 660 had no ID provided (for first-time voters)
• 649 had ballot missing from envelope
• 644 had a missing or incorrect address on envelope169 had multiple ballots returned in one envelope
• 11 were for other reasons

Source: Secretary of State’s office

Later at the convention, though, delegates attended a session on ballot harvesting, which session leaders said could capture the votes of “lazy Republicans” in key areas. But they said it probably isn’t worth the effort in heavily Democratic neighborhoods.

While mail-in voting is widely thought of as benefiting Democrats, studies find it doesn’t favor one party over the other.

“We did not find that there was a party advantage like increasing turnout. It didn’t increase turnout more for Democrats versus Republicans,” said Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC’s Price School of Public Policy.

California is one of 31 states that allows a person voting by mail to designate someone else to return their ballot, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Prior to 2017, only family or household members could return ballots, but the Legislature changed that in part because there was no way to enforce that law, according to Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation.

Now, anyone can return the ballot as long as that person isn’t compensated based on the number of ballots returned (it’s legal to be paid a flat rate). The person must sign the envelope and return the ballot in person or by mail within three days of receiving it, or before polls close on Election Day.  

What’s not legal?

Forcing anyone you’re collecting a ballot from to vote a certain way. Employers are also barred from requiring or asking employees to bring in their ballots.

Unofficial dropboxes are also prohibited. In 2020, California sent a cease-and-desist letter to the state Republican Party, as well as local chapters in Fresno, Orange County and Los Angeles, for misleading practices, such as placing ballot drop boxes that were falsely labeled as “official.” The state threatened legal action, but stood down after the California GOP agreed to modify how it collected ballots.

Asked if it would deploy dropboxes in 2024, the party only responded that it plans to “employ a robust ballot harvesting program that ensures that voters have more options to cast their ballot in the primary and general elections.”

Alexander sees the GOP effort to amp up third-party ballot returns as positive. But she does believe the laws governing the process could be more clear, and that election officials should educate voters more about their rights — such as rejecting someone’s offer to collect a ballot.

She also notes that state law requires that the ballot collector fill out their name, relationship to the voter and signature on each ballot envelope. But even if that information is not filled out, that’s not necessarily grounds for rejecting the ballot. The information and signature are more like a contract between the voter and the collector.

“That’s why I would always urge people to only turn their ballot over to somebody who they trust, and to make sure that person takes some time to fill out that information in their presence so they know that person is being accountable to them,” Alexander said.

The potential payoff

For the 2024 election, the state GOP plan is focused on grassroots efforts — recruiting volunteers to go door-to-door to build relationships with voters and later collect ballots.

That trust-building might be key to convincing people that their ballots will be counted. The party will also continue to recruit election observers — something anyone is entitled to do — and is assigning an election integrity chairperson and a lawyer in each county.

“We will continue to do the work that we’re doing to make sure that individuals are voting by every legal means necessary,” Patterson said.

But for all the Republican Party’s plans, they aren’t likely to have much impact on statewide elections. There are about 27 million people who are eligible to vote in California, and of the 22 million who are registered 47% are Democrats, 24% are Republicans, and 23% have no party preference.

In California’s 2022 general election, data analyzed by the Center for Inclusive Democracy shows a higher percentage of registered Republican voters turned out than Democrats — 61% compared to 53% — but Newsom still won by nearly 20 percentage points.

But in some swing congressional and legislative races, Republicans narrowly won in Democratic-majority districts last November. For instance, U.S. Rep. John Duarte, a Modesto Republican, beat Democrat Adam Gray by 564 votes in one of the closest congressional races in the country in a district where President Biden beat Trump by 14.5 percentage points. And Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover ousted Democrat Ken Cooley by 1,383 votes in a Sacramento-area district.

Last November, of the more than 11.1 million votes cast in California, about 9.8 million were returned by mail or dropbox.

Patterson said that due to limited resources, she has to make decisions on where to spend money — which means a continued focus on races where ballot harvesting can make an impact, such as those swing district congressional seats.

“Watching what we’ve done and the impact that we’ve already had — and the role that ballot harvesting and early voting has played in that — has absolutely already made a difference.”

Cynthia Thacker, one of the organizers of the GOP’s Take Back North Orange County movement, started collecting ballots from friends before the party started encouraging it. Ballot harvesting is one of the keys to their effort.

Thacker says she understands voters’ reluctance to hand their ballots to someone else, but sees it as more secure than mailing them in. “It’s our way of at least making sure — instead of mailing it — that we can try and get your ballot counted.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Gov. Gavin Newsom last week passed on a chance to limit the use of the so-called “forever chemicals” in legions of plastic products when he vetoed a bill that would have banned them in synthetic lawns.

His veto of an environmental bill that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature underscores California’s convoluted guidance on the plastic turf that some homeowners, schools and businesses use in place of grass in a state accustomed to drought.

Less than a decade ago then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law prohibiting cities and counties from banning synthetic grass. At the time, the state was in the middle of a crippling drought and fake lawns were thought to be helpful in saving water.

But this year Democrats in the Legislature went in a different direction, proposing bills that would discourage synthetic turf. They’re worried about health risks created by the chemicals present in these lawns, including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS chemicals. Some chemicals in the crumb rubber base of synthetic turf, such as bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, can leach out during extreme heat. These chemicals have been linked to various chronic diseases including cancers, diabetes and neurological impairments.

Dianne Woelke, a retired nurse in San Diego, is among the Californians who’ve grown concerned about their neighbors’ synthetic lawns. She joined a group called Safe Healthy Playing Fields to advocate against their use.

“It’s staggering the depth of minutia involved in this product. It’s just a lot of plastic with a lot of chemicals leaching from it,” Woelke said.

One of the bills Newsom signed, for instance, undoes the Brown-era law and allows cities and counties to again ban artificial turf. Some California cities have already begun moving to prohibit fake lawns, including Millbrae in San Mateo County and San Marino in Los Angeles County.

“Emerging research is making it clear that artificial turf poses an environmental threat due to its lack of recyclability and presence of toxins such as lead and PFAS,” said state Sen. Ben Allen, the Redondo Beach Democrat who authored the bill. With the new law “local governments will again be able to regulate artificial turf in a way to both protect our environment in the face of drought and climate change but also by preventing further contribution to our recycling challenges and toxic runoff,” he said.

Manufacturers of synthetic turf say they are working to address concerns about the materials they use, although for the most part they have been unable to entirely remove PFAS. Some have switched to sand and other safer products in an attempt to replace rubber crumb.

“Our members are already working with existing customers, states, and local governments to demonstrate the continued safety of our products and are committed to ensuring their products contain no intentionally added PFAS,” Melanie Taylor, president of the Synthetic Turf Council, wrote in a statement to CalMatters.

Newsom in vetoing the PFAS chemicals bill wrote that he “strongly” supports the intent of the legislation, but he was concerned that the state was not positioned to ensure its effectiveness.

The bill “does not identify or require any regulatory agency to determine compliance with, or enforce, the proposed statute,” he wrote in his veto message.

He also wrote that he’s directing his administration to consult with lawmakers on “alternative approaches to regulating the use of these harmful chemicals in consumer products,” suggesting the issue could return in the next legislative year.

Chemical risks from fake lawns

Synthetic turf is a man-made, non-living replacement of turfgrass that requires no water or maintenance. The grass blades are made of fibers such as nylon or plastic while the base is typically a crumb rubber made from used tires, plastic pellets or sand.

Synthetic grass usually contains PFAS chemicals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS chemicals are a known carcinogen which can interfere with hormones, reproduction, immunity and cause developmental delays in children.

Adam Smith, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, said although research is still being done to understand fully what the health implications of the chemical are, current research suggests that “PFAS is absolutely bad for human health.”

“Certainly, in terms of the drought, (synthetic turf) seems great, but there’s all of these downsides,” Smith said.

According to experts, these chemicals can enter the human body through contact with skin, by breathing the particles in or through water sources, especially groundwater sources, that can get contaminated during leaching.

Microplastics from the grass blades and crumb rubber can also leach into groundwater and freshwater bodies.

“These molecules are actually entering the food chains in the ocean, and they’re in our system, they’re in our blood, they’re in our muscles,” said Sylvia Earle, a marine life advocate and former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“We’ve changed the nature of nature through actions that we’ve taken. Now they are coming back to haunt us.”

At what temperatures is it a risk?

Research by the National Toxicology Program shows that high heat can cause chemicals to leach out of the crumb rubber base of synthetic turf, which is made of recycled tires. These leached chemicals are known to cause cell death in humans.

Synthetic turf, like other artificial surfaces including asphalt and pavement, heats up by several degrees more than living lawns.

According to Kelly Turner, associate director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation’s Heat Equity Initiative, the material can trap heat and radiate it back slowly, staying warm for longer periods of time.

“It is one of the hottest surface materials,” she said. “It is hotter than asphalt.”

Janet Hartin, horticulture expert at UC Extension in Los Angeles County, measured various types of surfaces in Palm Springs, where air temperatures around 100˚F are common during the summer.

On days around 100˚F or more, she reported temperatures of synthetic turf and other artificial substances around 175˚F.

Alternative approaches

Hartin said the best alternative to any artificial surfaces are living plants.

“We want to increase the population of our habitat pollinators, and plant climate-resilient plants that provide shade, buffer sun exposure, provide windbreaks, help reduce stormwater runoff and reduce soil and water erosion. And you can’t do that with synthetic grass,” she said.

There are several drought-friendly approaches to landscaping, including warm-season grasses such as Bermuda grass and Buffalo grass, or doing away with grass altogether and planting trees or drought-resilient varieties of plants that are endemic to California.

Hartin said that even though plants require water and maintenance, their cooling benefits and ecosystem benefits go far beyond the water savings one could get through synthetic turf.

“You have choices,” she said. “What we plant today is going to maximize society and urban ecosystem benefits by the time that you’re in your later years.”

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Eugene George Lewis entered into this world on November 14, 1955 in Hoopa and began his journey to the other side on October 15, 2023 due to complications related to cancer.

He is survived by his daughter Lovella Jean Lewis, her children Tek-tah, William, and Myah; his Daughter-In-Law, Falene Blake Lewis and son Pegoy Victor Lewis; his Mother, Donna Matilton, his siblings Monica Matilton (Yogi) and Family, Jon Matilton, Tina Rae Jury (Gary Sr.) and Family, Page Matilton (Irma) and Family, and Holly Fawn Spencer Matilton Jones (Jason) and Family. Eugene had ten Uncles and three Aunts on his father’s side and six Uncles and five Aunts on his mother’s side. His heart was full of love from his entire family and he loved spending time with them.

George was preceded in death by his father, Manuel Lewis Jr.; grandparents, James Peters and Daraxa Peters; great-grandparents, Charles and Rose Stevens; his sister, Ronda Lynn Marshall; his stepfathers Ronnie Marshall and Ray L. Matilton; his son Harmon E. Lewis and numerous loved ones.

George was welcomed by many. He was approachable and willing to help. He practiced his traditional ways and was eager to share his ability and knowledge. He was thankful to be blessed by his “Dance Family.” He was a recognized voice in ceremony, gifted, and his prayers were quite powerful! In March of 2022, when the Yurok Condor Restoration Program brought the California Condor back to our homelands, Eugene sang the Condor Song for the Prey-go-neesh and welcomed them home. He was a student and teacher of many languages and life skills.

Friends and family are invited to join his family for a Visitation/Wake at the Matilton Family Home on Telescope Road, Wednesday, October 18, 2023 after 7:00 pm. Graveside services will be held on October 19, 2023 at Johnsons Cemetery at 12:00 pm. Reception to follow at the Libby Haripop Nix Community Center in Weitchpec, Ca.

Pallbearers are Pegoy Lewis, Tek-Tah and William Sylvia, Jason Jones, Gary Jury Jr., Keoki Burbank, Ryan Matilton, Bryan Matilton, Matthew Douglas, Billy Buck Peters, Damien Scott, Vernon Muggins Peters, Amos Pole, Speygee Bussell, Robert Jones, Ish-kayshTripp, Chey-lel and Ka-gosh O’Neil.

Honorary pallbearers Christopher Peters, William “Billy” Peters, Walter McKinnon III, Jon Matilton, Gary Jury Sr., Page Matilton, Stephen Burbank, Patrick Wilson, Fred Lewis, Dave Severns, Alan Ng, Charles Burdick, Joe James,

His beautiful people, Cindy Sylvia, Dania Rose Colegrove, Gianna Orozco, Keiko Yamamoto Yokazowa and Gracie Lewis.

His family would like to thank the community for their generous support in his fight.

Eugene was a fighter to the end!

His caregivers at Kimaw Medical Center St. Joseph’s Hospital, Pacific Hematology and Oncology in San Francisco, Mad River Community Hospital, Cal-Ore Life Flight and Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Truly amazing care.

By no means can we list George’s entire family and friends.

He loved you all and now he travels with your love and memories.

Chue

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