California’s deepening drought is creating another big problem for authorities: water theft. Water thieves, many of them illegal marijuana growers, are tapping into fire hydrants and drilling unauthorized water wells, according to officials, threatening the water supply for residents.
In a recent sting in Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County, federal, state and local law enforcement officers disrupted hundreds of allegedly illegal marijuana cultivations in the area.
They arrested 131 people and seized 65 vehicles, including two water trucks. Authorities recovered $28,000; 33,480 pounds of marijuana; and dozens of firearms. Nineteen people were charged with water theft.
“Most Californians would be shocked and disappointed at the amount of water these unlicensed, illegal grows are using, especially as California suffers from a drought,” Curt Fallin, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s associate special agent in charge, said in a news release as officials unveiled the operation on July 7. “By our calculation, the illegal grows in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties require an astounding 5.4 million gallons of water a day, every day,” Fallin said.
The alleged water thefts come as much of the western half of the United States is in the midst of a severe drought. The extreme dry spell is especially bad in California and the Southwest, but it also stretches into the Pacific Northwest, much of the Intermountain West and even the Northern Plains.
A study published in the journal Nature last year said that uncertain supply and growing demand mean more of the global water supply is being stolen every year, as climate change drives longer and more severe droughts around the world.
Water theft is a long-running issue in California, according to officials, but the severity of the current drought and the increasing number of illegal cannabis operations are exacerbating the problem.
In 2020, Narcotics Bureau detectives identified 150 illegal outdoor marijuana growing operations in the Antelope Valley. This year, investigators conducted reconnaissance flights and identified more than 500. “What began as water theft became the infiltration of organized crime groups who are trafficking & smuggling people, threatening residents, polluting & trespassing,” Kathryn Barger, the Los Angeles County supervisor, tweeted after the sting.
Last week, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team served 23 search warrants to investigate illegal cannabis cultivation in four watersheds in the county, about 270 miles north of San Francisco.
Scientific studies showed these watersheds were losing water flow at an “alarming rate” because of illegal commercial cannabis cultivation, the sheriff’s office said in a statement Friday.
The law enforcement team destroyed more than 35,000 cannabis plants and documented about 100 environmental violations. They also found juvenile fish in dammed pools in the watersheds where water was being pumped with large gasoline-powered pumps. No one was arrested, but the cases were forwarded to the district attorney’s office for review.
The watersheds are home to protected species, such as coho and Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, that were already grappling with unprecedented drought conditions.
“Illegal cultivation activities during a drought year put an exuberant amount of pressure on already strained fish and wildlife resources,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release, adding that last week’s operation “will help to conserve salmon and steelhead habitat critical for species survival.”
Shall I go to heaven or a-fishing? - H. D. Thoreau Veni. Vidi. Cepi. - with apologies to Gaius Julius Caesar
What's confusing? It's called bungee jumping, not harness jumping. I wasn't there, but it seems pretty hard to not understand that you need to be hooked to the thing.
Chrome warns this may be a phishing site. Well, Duh,... Stupid jerks can't even spell fishing right.
*DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — At least four ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast warnings Tuesday that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances as authorities reported “an incident” was underway in the area.
It wasn't immediately clear what was happening off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.
The vessels — oil tankers called Queen Ematha, the Golden Brilliant, Jag Pooja and Abyss — announced around the same time via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were “not under command," according to MarineTraffic.com. That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.*
"Well, it's alright. .............even if you're old and gray." "Well, it's alright. ............you still got something to say."
*DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — At least four ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast warnings Tuesday that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances as authorities reported “an incident” was underway in the area.
It wasn't immediately clear what was happening off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.
The vessels — oil tankers called Queen Ematha, the Golden Brilliant, Jag Pooja and Abyss — announced around the same time via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were “not under command," according to MarineTraffic.com. That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.*
it now appears that at least one of them was hijack by Iranian proxies
"Well, it's alright. .............even if you're old and gray." "Well, it's alright. ............you still got something to say."
By KATHY McCORMACK August 4, 2021 []('') This undated photo provided by Jodie Gedeon shows David Lidstone, 81, who for nearly three decades has lived in the woods of Canterbury, N.H. along the Merrimack River in a shack, growing his own food and cutting his firewood. He’s now jailed after not complying with a court order to leave, and there’s a growing petition to just let “River Dave” live out his days off the grid. (Jodie Gedeon via AP) AP
CANTERBURY, N.H. (AP) — For almost three decades, 81-year-old David Lidstone has lived in the woods of New Hampshire along the Merrimack River in a small cabin adorned with solar panels. He has grown his own food, cut his own firewood, and tended to his cat and chickens.
But his off-the-grid existence appears to be at risk.
“River Dave,” as he’s known by boaters and kayakers, is behind bars after being accused of squatting for 27 years on private property in Canterbury. As the owner of the land seeks to tear down the cabin, Lidstone has been jailed since July 15 on a civil contempt sanction.
“You came with your guns, you arrested me, brought me in here, you’ve got all my possessions. You keep ’em,” he told a judge at a hearing Wednesday. “I’ll sit here with your uniform on until I rot, sir.”
Jodie Gedeon, an avid kayaker who befriended Lidstone about 20 years ago, is working with other supporters to help him, including organizing a petition drive and collecting money to cover property taxes.
“He’s just a really, really, big caring guy, and just chooses to live off the grid,” she said. “It really is about humanity, it really is about compassion, empathy … he’s not hurting anybody.”
Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman agreed that Lidstone isn’t hurting anyone, but said the law is clearly on the landowner’s side.
“You’re doing your own thing in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state, so there’s a lot of sympathy to you for that,” he said. “But there’s a lot of weight on the other side of the balance sheet, and not just about what the (landowner) wants to do with the land, but the weight I feel to uphold the judgment of the court and the rule of law.”
Gedeon and other supporters came out to a town selectboard meeting on Monday. Board members said the town currently has no standing in the property dispute.
But even if there were a way to allow Lidstone to stay, it would be an uphill battle. His home is in violation of local and state zoning and environmental regulations, and there is no access to a road.
“You guys are in a quandary. So are we,” selectman Robert Steenson said.
[]('') This undated photo provided by Jodie Gedeon shows the shack that David Lidstone, 81, has built and lived in for nearly three decades in the woods of Canterbury, N.H., growing his own food and cutting his firewood. He’s now jailed after not complying with a court order to leave, and there’s a growing petition to just let “River Dave” live out his days off the grid. (Jodie Gedeon via AP) AP
The woodlot Lidstone calls home is just a few miles away from Interstate 93. But it’s hidden by the trees; it’s on 73 acres that’s been used for timber harvests. The property has been owned by the same family since 1963. There are no plans at this time to develop it.
Lidstone has claimed that years ago, the owner gave his word — but nothing in writing — allowing him to live there. But in the eyes of the current owner, he’s a squatter and needs to go.
Property owner Leonard Giles, 86, of South Burlington, Vermont, didn’t even know Lidstone was there until the town administrator found out in 2015 and told him, expressing concern “with regard to the solid and septic waste disposal and the potential zoning violations created by the structure,” according to Giles’ complaint in 2016.
The judge suggested Wednesday that Giles and town officials work with a mediator, but Giles’ lawyer said the logistics would be too daunting.
“We’ve got to recognize the fact that this was a managed woodlot, with income which is supposed to support my elderly client in his retirement. At some point, how far is he supposed to go in order to turn his woodlot into a habitable lot for somebody else who’s there trespassing?” said attorney Lisa Snow Wade. “He just wants his land back.”
Lidstone, who doesn’t have an attorney, insisted his cabin is a hunting and fishing camp, not a home. “Why do you need a road to it? Do you think I’m an idiot? You’re going to put a septic tank in for a hunting camp?” he said.
He also argued that Giles doesn’t own the property but is being pressured by the town.
“He’s a heck of a nice old man, I’ve talked with him a couple of times. This is not his fault, this is not my fault,” he said. “It’s lying, cheating corrupt judges like you that are stepping on little people like me. But I’m telling you, sir, you step on me, I’m going to bite your ankle.”
Lidstone, a bearded, small-framed, spritely man, has resisted efforts to leave since a judge issued an order for him to vacate in 2017. Following that, both sides had attempted to reach some sort of agreement for him, but were unsuccessful, according to court documents.
Currently, Lidstone can be released if one of three things happen: he agrees to leave, the cabin is demolished by Giles, or 30 days have passed since he was jailed. Another hearing will be held next week.
He hasn’t had any other contact with law enforcement, unlike the case of a man in Maine called the ” North Pond Hermit,” who also lived in the woods for nearly three decades and pleaded guilty in 2013 to multiple burglary and theft charges.
Over the years, Lidstone, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a father of four who has made money as a woodsman, has been known to invite kayakers and boaters into his home, sharing stories about his life in the wild.
The wooden, two-level A-frame cabin was profiled by a local television show in 2018. There is a small, cluttered kitchen with pots hanging from the ceiling, some appliances, and curtains on the windows. His porch has a footstool with a base made of stacked beer cans. He converted a wood stove into a beehive. He’s attached lights, a mirror and a pulley for a clothesline to logs supporting the cabin. There are piles of firewood.
Nearby is a gravel path leading to vegetable garden plots outlined by logs and some berry bushes. Lidstone gets his water from a stream.
Lidstone’s decision to live in the woods is “exactly the lifestyle he wants,” said his brother, Vincent Lidstone, 77, of Lafayette, Georgia.
“What they’re doing to him isn’t right for anybody, whether he’s my brother or anybody’s brother,” he said. “He’s 81 years old. Leave him alone.”
Vincent Lidstone said he lost touch with his brother through the years, but described how the two of them and a cousin enjoyed spending time outdoors. They grew up in Wilton, Maine.
“We lived in the woods,” he said. “We camped, fishing, hunting. The three of us did everything together for a lot of years.”
It’s unclear where Lidstone would go. Vincent Lidstone said he doesn’t have the resources to help him. The Associated Press reached two of his three sons, who said they haven’t been in touch with their father recently. His daughter didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
Gedeon said the matter hasn’t been discussed by her group yet.
“We want to see him be able to live out his remaining years where he is,” she said. ____ Associated Press writer Holly Ramer contributed to this report.
Shall I go to heaven or a-fishing? - H. D. Thoreau Veni. Vidi. Cepi. - with apologies to Gaius Julius Caesar
By KATHY McCORMACK August 4, 2021 []('') This undated photo provided by Jodie Gedeon shows David Lidstone, 81, who for nearly three decades has lived in the woods of Canterbury, N.H. along the Merrimack River in a shack, growing his own food and cutting his firewood. He’s now jailed after not complying with a court order to leave, and there’s a growing petition to just let “River Dave” live out his days off the grid. (Jodie Gedeon via AP) AP
CANTERBURY, N.H. (AP) — For almost three decades, 81-year-old David Lidstone has lived in the woods of New Hampshire along the Merrimack River in a small cabin adorned with solar panels. He has grown his own food, cut his own firewood, and tended to his cat and chickens.
But his off-the-grid existence appears to be at risk.
“River Dave,” as he’s known by boaters and kayakers, is behind bars after being accused of squatting for 27 years on private property in Canterbury. As the owner of the land seeks to tear down the cabin, Lidstone has been jailed since July 15 on a civil contempt sanction.
“You came with your guns, you arrested me, brought me in here, you’ve got all my possessions. You keep ’em,” he told a judge at a hearing Wednesday. “I’ll sit here with your uniform on until I rot, sir.”
Jodie Gedeon, an avid kayaker who befriended Lidstone about 20 years ago, is working with other supporters to help him, including organizing a petition drive and collecting money to cover property taxes.
“He’s just a really, really, big caring guy, and just chooses to live off the grid,” she said. “It really is about humanity, it really is about compassion, empathy … he’s not hurting anybody.”
Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman agreed that Lidstone isn’t hurting anyone, but said the law is clearly on the landowner’s side.
“You’re doing your own thing in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state, so there’s a lot of sympathy to you for that,” he said. “But there’s a lot of weight on the other side of the balance sheet, and not just about what the (landowner) wants to do with the land, but the weight I feel to uphold the judgment of the court and the rule of law.”
Gedeon and other supporters came out to a town selectboard meeting on Monday. Board members said the town currently has no standing in the property dispute.
But even if there were a way to allow Lidstone to stay, it would be an uphill battle. His home is in violation of local and state zoning and environmental regulations, and there is no access to a road.
“You guys are in a quandary. So are we,” selectman Robert Steenson said.
[]('') This undated photo provided by Jodie Gedeon shows the shack that David Lidstone, 81, has built and lived in for nearly three decades in the woods of Canterbury, N.H., growing his own food and cutting his firewood. He’s now jailed after not complying with a court order to leave, and there’s a growing petition to just let “River Dave” live out his days off the grid. (Jodie Gedeon via AP) AP
The woodlot Lidstone calls home is just a few miles away from Interstate 93. But it’s hidden by the trees; it’s on 73 acres that’s been used for timber harvests. The property has been owned by the same family since 1963. There are no plans at this time to develop it.
Lidstone has claimed that years ago, the owner gave his word — but nothing in writing — allowing him to live there. But in the eyes of the current owner, he’s a squatter and needs to go.
Property owner Leonard Giles, 86, of South Burlington, Vermont, didn’t even know Lidstone was there until the town administrator found out in 2015 and told him, expressing concern “with regard to the solid and septic waste disposal and the potential zoning violations created by the structure,” according to Giles’ complaint in 2016.
The judge suggested Wednesday that Giles and town officials work with a mediator, but Giles’ lawyer said the logistics would be too daunting.
“We’ve got to recognize the fact that this was a managed woodlot, with income which is supposed to support my elderly client in his retirement. At some point, how far is he supposed to go in order to turn his woodlot into a habitable lot for somebody else who’s there trespassing?” said attorney Lisa Snow Wade. “He just wants his land back.”
Lidstone, who doesn’t have an attorney, insisted his cabin is a hunting and fishing camp, not a home. “Why do you need a road to it? Do you think I’m an idiot? You’re going to put a septic tank in for a hunting camp?” he said.
He also argued that Giles doesn’t own the property but is being pressured by the town.
“He’s a heck of a nice old man, I’ve talked with him a couple of times. This is not his fault, this is not my fault,” he said. “It’s lying, cheating corrupt judges like you that are stepping on little people like me. But I’m telling you, sir, you step on me, I’m going to bite your ankle.”
Lidstone, a bearded, small-framed, spritely man, has resisted efforts to leave since a judge issued an order for him to vacate in 2017. Following that, both sides had attempted to reach some sort of agreement for him, but were unsuccessful, according to court documents.
Currently, Lidstone can be released if one of three things happen: he agrees to leave, the cabin is demolished by Giles, or 30 days have passed since he was jailed. Another hearing will be held next week.
He hasn’t had any other contact with law enforcement, unlike the case of a man in Maine called the ” North Pond Hermit,” who also lived in the woods for nearly three decades and pleaded guilty in 2013 to multiple burglary and theft charges.
Over the years, Lidstone, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a father of four who has made money as a woodsman, has been known to invite kayakers and boaters into his home, sharing stories about his life in the wild.
The wooden, two-level A-frame cabin was profiled by a local television show in 2018. There is a small, cluttered kitchen with pots hanging from the ceiling, some appliances, and curtains on the windows. His porch has a footstool with a base made of stacked beer cans. He converted a wood stove into a beehive. He’s attached lights, a mirror and a pulley for a clothesline to logs supporting the cabin. There are piles of firewood.
Nearby is a gravel path leading to vegetable garden plots outlined by logs and some berry bushes. Lidstone gets his water from a stream.
Lidstone’s decision to live in the woods is “exactly the lifestyle he wants,” said his brother, Vincent Lidstone, 77, of Lafayette, Georgia.
“What they’re doing to him isn’t right for anybody, whether he’s my brother or anybody’s brother,” he said. “He’s 81 years old. Leave him alone.”
Vincent Lidstone said he lost touch with his brother through the years, but described how the two of them and a cousin enjoyed spending time outdoors. They grew up in Wilton, Maine.
“We lived in the woods,” he said. “We camped, fishing, hunting. The three of us did everything together for a lot of years.”
It’s unclear where Lidstone would go. Vincent Lidstone said he doesn’t have the resources to help him. The Associated Press reached two of his three sons, who said they haven’t been in touch with their father recently. His daughter didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
Gedeon said the matter hasn’t been discussed by her group yet.
“We want to see him be able to live out his remaining years where he is,” she said. ____ Associated Press writer Holly Ramer contributed to this report.
**[SIZE=5]THIS JUST IN, Fire has destroyed the cabin!!!
**North Korean defector [Yeonmi Park]('https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=712682475588710') says she failed to call for help while being robbed in Chicago last year as bystanders barred her because it would be “racist.”
[LIST] [*]Park was out with her baby and a nanny when three Black women allegedly robbed her near Saks Fifth Avenue on Michigan Avenue. The suspects tried to flee but she managed to grab the woman who took her wallet. [*]Park held onto the woman and attempted to call the police. At this point, the woman allegedly started accusing her of racism and punching her in the chest. “You’re a racist! The color of my skin doesn’t make me a thief,” she recalled the woman as saying. [*]The situation became more difficult for Park as bystanders -- whom she identified as white people -- gathered around the scene and allegedly prevented her from phoning law enforcement. She said they also let the suspects go. [*]“These people on the streets, these bystanders, who were white people, were calling me racist,” Park alleged. “They were telling me that the color of their [the robbers'] skin doesn’t make them thieves.” [*]Park said she also saw one white mother point at her to illustrate racism in the U.S. to her teenage children. “Look at that racist, that’s the problem we have,” she recalled the mother as saying. [/LIST] The aftermath: Park said the incident marked the beginning of her “speaking out” and becoming "the enemy of the woke.” When the group of some 20 bystanders blocked her from calling the police, she thought to herself, “This country lost it.”
[LIST] [*]The 27-year-old stressed that if the same thing had occurred in North Korea, bystanders would have naturally helped the victim. “They’re not going to just, out of nowhere, scream ‘You’re a racist!’” she said. [*]Park said police were able to find a suspect after reviewing surveillance footage and tracking her credit cards. A report from [CWB Chicago]('https://cwbchicago.com/2020/08/cops-use-taxi-cab-transaction-to-track-down-mag-mile-robber-prosecutors-say.html') shows that Lecretia Harris, 29, was arrested in connection with the incident and initially charged with felony robbery. [*]Harris reportedly pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful restraint in exchange for a two-year sentence. Prosecutors dropped the robbery charge as part of the plea agreement. [/LIST]
*In most states, individuals have to prove they’re out of work through no fault of their own to collect unemployment benefits.
“This often means that they are let go due to a lack of work,” said Alana Ackels, a labor and employment lawyer at Bell Nunnally, a Dallas-based law firm.
“Typically, an employee who is terminated for failing to comply with company policies is not eligible for unemployment benefits, which would include refusing to comply with a company’s COVID-19 prevention policies, masking requirements or vaccine requirements,” Ackels told MarketWatch.
But an employee who has proof of a medical exemption or religious objection to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine may still be eligible to collect unemployment benefits if fired, said Rebecca Dixon, executive director at the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit that advocates for worker’s rights.
Otherwise, refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, if your employer requires one, “is akin to an employee’s refusal to submit to permissible drug tests or participate in safety trainings,” said Ronald Zambrano, employment law chair at West Coast Trial Lawyers, a Los Angeles–based law firm. *
"Well, it's alright. .............even if you're old and gray." "Well, it's alright. ............you still got something to say."
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