EIR for a major expansion in Ukiah to do in what ever’s left of the old economy and add more sprawl to the suicide-inspiring landscape of the south side.
Also, a new courthouse in the works. One thing I really like about the existing courthouse is that the courtrooms have natural light – unlike its Humboldt County counterpart. I hope the new one does as well. Many courthouses were built around the philosophy that you don’t want jurors staring out the window in their boredom during trial. But they can just as easily stare at the wall, or one of the attorneys’ tacky ties.
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 1, 2011 at 8:32 pm
30 years watching
Big box battle in Mendo is still not as popular a topic as bathrooms in Garberville. Several people are chastising the Garberville merchants for not offering up restrooms to the public. I gave some thought to this topic, as someone who has lived in sohum for 30 years. Most of the businesses in Garberville are in spaces rented from long-time land owners, and most of these buildings were built decades ago. Lots of them were originally residences. The bathrooms in these old buildings have old plumbing, old toilets, etc. Some of them may even be using septic tanks, instead of being tied into the Garberville septic system. (don’t know this for a fact.) In any case, these old buildings, with their old plumbing, and old bathrooms, are not really robust enough to be public restrooms. Perhaps the newer business rentals located south of the grocery store in Garberville, plus the gas stations (most of which have been rebuilt / remodeled in more recent years) have been equipped with “modern” toilets, that can handle high-use. I’m sure the business park built up in The Meadows also has the high-tech toilets, and more modern sewer hookups. There are many reasons to excuse old-school Garberville business tenants for being unable to just open their restrooms up to the masses, but the fact that many of these old restrooms are structurally unable to withstand such traffic is good enough for me. Also, some of the land owners who rent to the business owners prohibit allowing the restroom to be public. Other business complexes, owned by one landlord, might have one “shared” bathroom for all of the businesses in the building. With all of this in mind, I find it crazy that some of the anonymous posters on the other thread keep trying to blame the business owners in Garberville, most of which do not *own* their buildings, and most of who aren’t open 24/7, which is the ideal schedule for a public bathroom. Even the gas stations in Garberville are not open 24/7, but most of them have a robust, recently built bathroom. If you walk in respectfully, and just go use it, I doubt you would be turned away. If you feel nervous, perhaps you could politely ask the clerk if you could use the restroom. If you aren’t rude, chances are they will say yes. So, what’s the problem?
November 2, 2011 at 7:32 am
Anonymous
Agreed with you on the old plumbing not being able to handle a high volume of use. I think the perception is that local businesspeople are opposing the installation of of porta-potties, because they don’t want to make it easy for the homeless and transients to stick around.
I don’t know if that’s true or how widespread the sentiment is.
Bottom line is, it is a public health issue.
November 2, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Ann
We’re business owners in Garberville, though we rent our old, fairly funky building. We totally support a public bathroom or porta pottys and would donate towards establishing such.
November 2, 2011 at 7:25 pm
ED Denson
Speak for yourself on that tacky tie business. My ties are world renowned for their sartorial brilliance. People often come up to me in the court house and say “Where did you get that tie?”
November 2, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Anne on a Mouse
If you walk in respectfully, and just go use it, I doubt you would be turned away. If you feel nervous, perhaps you could politely ask the clerk if you could use the restroom. If you aren’t rude, chances are they will say yes.
Good luck with those chances if you have dirty clothes, a back pack, a guitar, and a dog.