Creek contamination by Paul Hobbs Winery

On Tuesday I visited the fallen apple orchard as the rain fell on Paul Hobbs Winery's vineyard conversion. I witnessed run-off contaminating the creek. Once again, clear cutter Paul Hobbs has violated the rules that he agreed to follow. He cut trees inside the set-back required around the year-around creek. Though I have not witnessed the sign yet, I hear that the site has a red flag on it, meaning that work must stop. It was a sad sight to see the water rushing down the road, carrying DDT, lead, arsenic, and who knows what else. Paul Hobbs is, as a neighbor described him, a "repeat offender," certainly not a man of his word.

At 2:25 this afternoon, June 28, Winnie and I drove by the vineyard conversion by repeat offender Paul Hobbs, this particular one at 622 Watertrough, which borders 5 schools with over 700 students. "Order to Stop Work" the red sign said. "Causes: Failure to implement erosion control measures. 2) Removal of riparian vegetation." It was signed Agriculture Commissioners Office, Gail Davis, 6-25-13, Ag. and Vineyard Conversion Cooridinator.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. How many more rules has Hobbs broken and will he break in his quest for profit, at the expense of children and our bio-diverse agriculture? We citizens caught him this time and reported him. What is happening behind closed doors? Why is the local daily covering-up this newsworthy travesty rather than reporting it? Hobbs will merely pay the paltry fines and continue extracting wealth from our county and taking it away, depriving children of their health and real local farmers of work. What is wrong with this picture?

The newspaper that has most honestly covered the Paul Hobbs vineyard conversion--next to Waccobb.net--has been Sonoma West. Following is the breaking story on the front page of their website, soon to be in the print edition next Wednesday. After weeks of hounding government officials, we are finally getting some response--including a Stop Order on the vineyard conversion, which will probably only be temporary. We need to continue dogging repeat offender Paul Hobbs and all that he stands for.

Shepherd

https://i.imgur.com/yv1Iu.png
Work on Hobbs vineyard conversion halted by county
https://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/work-on-hobbs-vineyard-conversion-halted-by-county/article_6741ad70-e047-11e2-b0bd-001a4bcf887a.html

by David Abbott Sonoma West Times & News Editor | Posted: Friday, June 28, 2013 4:06 pm
The Sonoma County Ag commissioner’s office has ordered work stopped at the site of the Paul Hobbs vineyard conversion on Watertrough Road after a complaint of water runoff in the wake of storms earlier this week.

County and Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) officials investigating the complaint found that sediment had been washed into the creek on the property and further that Hobbs had cleared riparian vegetation along the creek.

“We discovered that there were not adequate measures taken to address runoff,” Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner Tony Linegar said. “Bottom line is, the project manager should be prepared for any rain event.”

The vegetation removal that was discovered also violated the terms of the project’s permit that requires a 50-foot setback from the creek, according to Linegar.

“There was a significant amount of vegetation removal,” he said. “This was a serious breach of our agreement.”

Linegar added that the matter is “unfolding,” and is being investigated by several government agencies, including RWQCB, California Fish and Wildlife and possibly even the National Marine Fisheries Service.

“Certainly there will be action,” Linegar said. “The grape-growing community at large condemns this sort of activity. He is not representative of the grape growers at large.”

The conversion began earlier this month on the 40-acre property surrounding the Twin Hills Union School District campus that includes Apple Blossom School, Tree House Hollow Pre-school, Orchard View School and SunRidge Charter School.

There has been an uproar over the conversion by parents in the district and activists in the Sebastopol area over pesticides found in the soil and fears of the use of pesticides in the vineyard.

The local vintner has had some high-profile dustups over vineyard conversions in other parts of the West County.

His long-running issues with former neighbor John Jenkel led to the conversion of Jenkel’s Graton property into vineyards and in October 2011, Hobbs cleared Davis Christmas Tree Farm in Graton, leading to a public castigation from 5th District Supervisor Efren Carrillo.

Hobbs’ Marketing and Public Relations Manager Tara Sharp was unavailable for comment.

Big surprise. Another 1%'er broke the law to make money.
Paul Hobbs will get another little slap on the wrist. He'll pay his measly fine with a smile. It's just the cost of doing business.
Paul Hobbs cannot be trusted. The damage is done.
Funny that Miss Tara was not available to comment. Maybe she was out getting some pies for the neighbors.

Well, he's at it again. But are you really at all surprised?

The dastardly Paul Hobbs' newest vineyard conversion project which is occurring on Watertrough Road, next to three schools and across the street from two others, has been red-tagged for illegally clear-cutting a significant amount of vegetation in the 50-foot riparian corridor as well as for not installing the proper erosion-control measures as required per the Sonoma County Vineyard Ordinance.

Ever heard of the term "deja vu"?

After a week's worth of silence since last week's protest in front of Hobbs' vineyard on Gravenstein Highway, next door to John Jenkel's property, Sebastacat now has to confess that he was feeling sadly resigned to the fact that the once-energized opposition would just give up fighting and fade into wine-country oblivion and that this unwanted vineyard would now become a reality, replacing the once-beautiful apple orchard which occupied this pristine piece of west county land for decades.

Now I'm stunned at the incredible turn of events and have some pointed questions for some of the players involved -- and some who were not involved enough but should have been -- in this grapa mess.

Accordingly I have a question:

1. For Tony Linegar, Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner who, on several occasions, tried to mollify Hobbs' critics and the surrounding community with the lame argument that a vineyard would be "so much better" for the students and the schools. "You'll see." Tell me how you feel now?

2. For Barbara Bickford, Twin Hills Superintendent of Schools, who, it was learned at the community meeting held at the Sebastopol Grance back at the end of May which was sponsored by the Watertrough Children's Alliance, had been involved in meetings with Paul Hobbs since the fall of 2012 and, yet, did not share that fact with the parents of the students who attend the five bordering schools, in an attempt to slide this vineyard conversion under the proverbial rug, how do you feel now?

3. For the Twin Hills School Board members, who said that they "felt satisfied" that Hobbs would take the appropriate measures to protect students, teachers, staff and parents and would perform no work when students were present on school grounds, how do you feel now?

4. For Fifth District Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who did not see fit to shop up at the aforementioned Grange meeting, which was attended by over 100-plus community members, despite being repeatedly asked to do so by members of the Watertrough Children's Alliance and others, and who all but ignored Hobbs' most recent critics in an attempt to make this just go away, how do you feel now?

5. For Tara Sharpe, community relations person for Paul Hobbs, who told several newspapers as well as those in attendance at the aforementioned Grange meeting that she had gone door to door and introduced herself to the neighbors in the immediate vicinity of this vineyard conversion project and had given each of them a Kozlowski (!) pie, only to have that story repudiated strongly by said neighbors when they were told the untrue story by me and others at the June meeting of the Twin Hills School Board, and who repeatedly made assurances that Paul Hobbs would be a good neighbor and a good steward of the land, how do you feel now?

6. And, lastly, to all of the members of the Watertrough Children's Alliance, members of this community who showed up at various public meetings to voice your outrage, frustration and concerns and to offer constructive suggestions for a meaningful compromise, including a call for Hobbs to "go organic" in an effort to make this project safe for students, parents, teachers, staff and the neighbors, as well as repairing the damage to Hobbs' sullied reputation caused by his numerous dust-ups involving numerous previous violations at his other vineyard properties, how do you feel now?

Vindicated, I hope, and emboldened for sure!

At least that's how Sebastacat feels.

And I will add to that that I was proud to stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with other activists in our brave attempts to educate the members of our wonderful community about the dangers of having a vineyard in such close proximity to so many institutions of learning.

The question now is: Will the punishment fit the offense this time, or will Mr. Hobbs be given a similar laughable punishment such as the slaps on the wrist which he has been previously given by county officials?

One thing's for sure, Sebastacat will be watching -- and I hope you will be, too.....

what a keystone crew, the hobbsians and their confused spokeswoman sharp. hobbs himself was out of town, and now questions whether anyone will believe him. such an opportunity is rare. all it takes is community organizers to facilitate positive change in this world. will the water trough parents step up to the plate and not shut down those of us who are willing to speak the ugly truth about hobbs? are they still only willing to just try sweet collaboration? what about the apple alliance? make no mistake, the school district is just ass covering at the advice of legal council. who is willing and able to set up a website to share how hobbs is an ongoing environmental criminal and correct the web scrubbing efforts of tara bs sharp? she who claims credit for bear protection:>( they bulldozed the creek the children were trying to restore and got a grant for;....( who will come together to stop these hurtful winos?

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Posted in reply to the post by sebastacat:

Well, he's at it again. But are you really at all surprised?....

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THANK YOU to whoever discovered the violations, and I assume alerted the County. It's a beautiful day in Sebastopol when a few people who love this place take on the 1% and win. Hallelujah.

Tommy....

I agree. But please keep in mind that we haven't won yet.

The real "win" will come when any potential punishment which is meted out finally fits the crime.

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Posted in reply to the post by tommy:

THANK YOU to whoever discovered the violations, and I assume alerted the County. It's a beautiful day in Sebastopol when a few people who love this place take on the 1% and win. Hallelujah.

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https://www.facebook.com/BoycottPaulHobbsWines

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

On Tuesday I visited the fallen apple orchard as the rain fell on Paul Hobbs Winery's vineyard conversion. I witnessed run-off contaminating the creek. Once again, clear cutter Paul Hobbs has violated the rules that he agreed to follow. He cut trees inside the set-back required around the year-around creek. Though I have not witnessed the sign yet, I hear that the site has a red flag on it, meaning that work must stop. It was a sad sight to see the water rushing down the road, carrying DDT, lead, arsenic, and who knows what else. Paul Hobbs is, as a neighbor described him, a "repeat offender," certainly not a man of his word.

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Also remember that, in the works is another conversion in the pocket canyon area very near the headwaters of Green Valley Creek and probably near another creek which runs through pocket canyon toward Guerneville. I watched Caltrans behead a first growth redwood and cut it into split fence lengths at the junction of 116 and Green Valley Road and a few weeks later clearing was being done on private property in that same area. Also there has been small plane activity cruising back and forth for many hours, possibly scouting for "conversion" areas. We who love West County have to be alert to these activities and rport them (at least on Wacco)

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Posted in reply to the post by tommy:

THANK YOU to whoever discovered the violations, and I assume alerted the County. It's a beautiful day in Sebastopol when a few people who love this place take on the 1% and win. Hallelujah.

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Personally, I believe the punishment should fit all his crimes, not simply the latest of them.
Seize all of his assets - cash, land, property, cars, boats, stocks, and anything else he owns or has access to.
Create a non-dischargeable fine that will bury him in debt the rest of his life.
Leave him penniless and homeless, begging on the street for handouts.

Repeat with ANYONE who comes to his aid, supports, or in any way sides with him.

Takes care of the problem.

People from various group opposing repeated offender Paul Hobbs will be attending the Board of Supervisors meeting on July 30th, for the public comments time, when each person can speak for up to three minutes. This has been happening for a few weeks and is likely to continue for a while. Please consider coming and expressing your points of view.

Supervisor Carrillo has not been very supportive on this matter and unwilling to meet with people about it. It is unclear what will happen with him now that he has been arrested and charged. Perhaps the 5th District, which is where Hobbs does most of his local damage and which Carrillo represents, will eventually be represented by a true environmentalist, as it used to be.

Now that Efren Carrillo has proven how uncaring and ineffective he is in representing us-first a fight in a bar in Los Angeles when he beat a guy up so badly he had to go to the hospital. Efferen was arrested then,bailed out then the crime was swept under the rug,and forgotten about up here. Now he's wandering around almost butt naked trying to break into a womans' home .Too bad she didn't have a baseball bat handy, could've been a knock out home run! A demand for his resignation needs to be in order now and requested also at this meeting. He never attended the town hall meeting concerning Paul Hobbs,saying he could not find time in his schedule. Well, Ernie Carpenter found time ,and he is very concerned .:vote1:

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Posted in reply to the post by Henry Bernard:

A website explaining [Paul Hobbs] practices, specifically his disregard for playing by the rules and the cost to our county that results would surely have an impact. Does anyone here know if such a website exists?

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I do... WaccoBB.net! :waccosun:

https://www.facebook.com/BoycottPaulHobbsWines
https://boycottpaulhobbswines.blogspot.com/

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Posted in reply to the post by Henry Bernard:

Paul Hobbs maintains wealth through sales outside of Sonoma County. Those who purchase his product know nothing of his business practices or the ecological devastation to which he's prone. A website explaining the man's practices, specifically his disregard for playing by the rules and the cost to our county that results would surely have an impact. Does anyone here know if such a website exists?

Henry

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if you want the wine buying public to know the truth about hobbs google his name or the winery name and click on links which truly describe his business practices. the more people who do this on different computers the more prominent they will be when people are looking for info on his wine. he does employ people and services to suppress negative info about him, however search engines discourage such web scrubbing.

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Posted in reply to the post by David MySky:

https://www.facebook.com/BoycottPaulHobbsWines
https://boycottpaulhobbswines.blogspot.com/

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Pesticides from the Central Valley are turning up in frogs in the Sierra Nevada. (https://www.sfgate.com/science/artic...gs-4689606.php)

How can anyone doubt that pesticides and herbicides from vineyards in our neighborhoods poison everyone nearby?

"he does employ people and services to suppress negative info about him"
Lolz, so should I be expecting a visit from one of his suppressors? Does he own any black helicopters?

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Posted in reply to the post by rschlesinger:

if you want the wine buying public to know the truth about hobbs google his name or the winery name and click on links which truly describe his business practices. the more people who do this on different computers the more prominent they will be when people are looking for info on his wine. he does employ people and services to suppress negative info about him, however search engines discourage such web scrubbing.

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Frankly, he would be stupid if he didn't, and his director of sales and marketing, Jenifer Freebairn would be negligent in her duties if she didn't attempt to eliminate any and all negative publicity about the brand.

He doesn't need black helicopters. He has the Chamber of Commerce, the shibboleth of "entrepreneurship", and the best wishes of the wine industry behind him. And when he can get this kind of free publicity from The Press Release Democrat: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...3271003#page=2
...well, who needs friends?

:partyindahouse::Champagne::lotsopeople::hammer:

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Posted in reply to the post by Ted Pole:

...He has the Chamber of Commerce, the shibboleth of "entrepreneurship",...

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:firstplaceribbon:

Congrats, Ted! You win the vocabulary prize of the day!

Everyone just remember that unless you have permission, fair use laws permit only 3 paragraphs of copy written material.

This is why I've suggested having official Media Partners for WaccoBB.net; so that permission is a given; and readership of all formats rises with all the reader supported and generated news.

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

The newspaper that has most honestly covered the Paul Hobbs vineyard conversion--next to Waccobb.net--has been Sonoma West. Following is the breaking story on the front page of their website, soon to be in the print edition next Wednesday. After weeks of hounding government officials, we are finally getting some response--including a Stop Order on the vineyard conversion, which will probably only be temporary. We need to continue dogging repeat offender Paul Hobbs and all that he stands for.

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At the very least, we can inspire 99.5% of us to be unwilling to poison the planet and its people, with every purchase & vote we make. Moving our money to the brands that win our endorsement for proven demonstrations of social and environmental qualities, beyond what the toxic .5% offers.

(I'm working on a branding campaign for that endorsement. Got apps, etc.? Please contact me if you'd like to help.)

:waccosun: What do ya say 99%; think we can divide and conquer the 1% with a carrot (fund) & stick (de-fund)?

What 10 standards would you require to get your business?

What must Hobbs make right to ever win you over?

He/"They" won't have the incentive till we take our voice global. Viralize the remedies.

Ready, set...:heart: all those who support & protect this magnificent Earth, it's wildlife and all populations.

Investing in peace & safe, healthy products is the only way we can truly prosper!

:WaccoRays:
:waccosmile: :lotsopeople: :rose:

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Posted in reply to the post by Imagery:

Personally, I believe the punishment should fit all his crimes, not simply the latest of them.
Seize all of his assets - cash, land, property, cars, boats, stocks, and anything else he owns or has access to.
Create a non-dischargeable fine that will bury him in debt the rest of his life.
Leave him penniless and homeless, begging on the street for handouts.

Repeat with ANYONE who comes to his aid, supports, or in any way sides with him.

Takes care of the problem.

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Note that the Feds are known to not return seized property from drug related allegations, and which are not always returned when charges are: not filed, defeated, or dropped.

Why would the wine biz be exempt?

Also Jared Huffman's bill re: marijuana's impact on the watershed, must also include grape growers & all ag.

For at least 8 years the State and Sonoma & Mendocino Counties have known of at least 800 illegal water diversions in the Russian River Watershed.

How many were: pot, wine, residential, other commercial & industrial?

Why have so few been investigated & prosecuted? Will each sector be held to the same standards? Will governments on all levels fund enforcement of watershed protection? Not with the mega foreign investors they've been falling over backwards for, along with the toxic domestic product producers.

They could if the Federal government respected State's Rights and de-funded Federal investigations and incarcerations in the legalized marijuana states. This would also free up the funds to prove the many medical benefits of this non-gmo plant, (one of many), to the federal government. Which would in turn reduce the cost of providing wellness-care and preventing disease. Win-win-win...

Once the medical benefits of marijuana and other herbs & spices, etc. are not suppressed; and the true cost of alcohol related: crimes, accidents and health impacts are measured; then the dysfunctional laws and spending priorities are evident. :ambulance:

Why have California's Senators done nothing to fix these messes? When will the rest of Congress?

Not until the hemp & marijuana lobbies merge & grow and can begin to challenge big pharma & industrial alcohol. Just how many GMO products go into beer, wine & spirits? What does that add to our national health care bills?

The industrial wine lobby does not want their clients' profit to be reduced by people finding the benefits of herbs over being drunk.

Until 99.5% of us get very choosy, nothing will change, or come even close to being fair. Could you imagine an organic twinkie? I know it's like an oxymoron; but what if the market demanded it?

Organic, or bio dynamic, locally owned & responsibly grown wine in moderation is what I support. You can find a long list of producers meeting that standard I & others posted a while back.

:Champagne:Cheers!

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Posted in reply to the post by Imagery:

Personally, I believe the punishment should fit all his crimes, not simply the latest of them.
Seize all of his assets - cash, land, property, cars, boats, stocks, and anything else he owns or has access to.
Create a non-dischargeable fine that will bury him in debt the rest of his life.
Leave him penniless and homeless, begging on the street for handouts.

Repeat with ANYONE who comes to his aid, supports, or in any way sides with him.

Takes care of the problem.

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I've had this idea also ... we vote with our money, but without information about the products that we buy, we can not intelligently exercise that power ....

I thought of a compulsory rating system that would be required on all packaging, services, etc., but perhaps that goal is a bit lofty ... in the meantime a branding campaign might be a step forward ... can we trust and verify the information that we gather though? ... what goods producer is going to admit to polluting the earth and abusing employees?

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Posted in reply to the post by Peace Voyager:

At the very least, we can inspire 99.5% of us to be unwilling to poison the planet and its people, with every purchase & vote we make. Moving our money to the brands that win our endorsement for proven demonstrations of social and environmental qualities, beyond what the toxic .5% offers.

(I'm working on a branding campaign for that endorsement. Got apps, etc.? Please contact me if you'd like to help.)

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