TOWN’S BIG RAIDERS TAME

‘THANK YOU’ » THE LIONS »

Windsor citizens Oakland gets
gather to salute last-second
firefighters for defensive stop
efforts against to hold off
Kincade fire. A3 Detroit 31-24. B1

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM

IMPEACHMENT
KINCADE FIRE RECOVERY » Kaiser reopens, Sutter prepares to follow
suit this week after both hospitals forced to close, evacuate patients Officials
Major cleanup operation to defy
House
orders
Mulvaney deputies join
boss in White House
rejections of subpoenas
By RACHAEL BADE
AND JOSH DAWSEY
WASHINGTON POST

One of acting chief of staff

Mick Mulvaney’s top allies is
preparing to deliver what Pres-
ident Donald Trump wants but
has failed to achieve so far in the
impeachment inquiry: unques-
tioning loyalty from administra-
tion staff.
Russell Vought, a Mulvaney
protege who leads the White
House Office of
Management
and Budget,
intends a con-
certed defiance
of congressio-
nal subpoenas
in coming days,
and two of his
subordinates
Mick
will follow suit
Mulvaney
— simultane-
ously proving
their loyalty to
INSIDE
PHOTOS BY ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
the president Ukraine
Hugo Gonzalez, right, and the rest of a cleaning crew from American Technologies Inc. clean the emergency department of Sutter Santa Rosa and a creating whistleblower
Regional Hospital from top to bottom on Friday as the hospital prepares to reopen after the Kincade fire in Santa Rosa. a potentially willing to answer
critical firewall GOP’s written
By MARTIN ESPINOZA only city hospital able to stay open last regarding the questions / A6
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT week during the Kincade blaze. alleged use of

C
losing Sutter Santa Rosa Regional
Hospital and Kaiser Permanente
Santa Rosa Medical Center was
unprecedented in October 2017, when the
Tubbs fire torched a section of northern
Santa Rosa.
Two years later, the larger Kincade
fire — neither as deadly nor as destruc-
tive in terms of homes and commercial
buildings destroyed — again forced the
shutdown of those two hospitals.
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital was the
The reopening of a hospital after an foreign aid to extort political fa-
evacuation and relocation of patients vors from a U.S. ally.
is no easy task. It’s a painstaking effort Giovanni OMB is at the nexus of the
that requires far more work than turning Mercado of impeachment inquiry because
back on lights, computers and medical American Democrats are pressing for de-
equipment, said Mike Purvis, CEO of Technologies tails about why the White House
Sutter Health’s Santa Rosa hospital. Inc. cleans a budget office effectively froze
“It’s a pretty huge undertaking and ceiling light the Ukraine funds that Con-
requires cleaning out the air filtration fixture. gress had already appropriated.
system, cleaning floors and walls, taking Congressional Republicans
out all the linen and getting that cleaned. are also predicting that Mul-
vaney’s deputy, Robert Blair,
TURN TO HOSPITALS » PAGE A2 will refuse to show for his sched-
uled Monday appearance before
impeachment investigators —

Last of displaced residents allowed to return

By KEVIN FIXLER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
After being forced to leave to
get away from the Kincade fire
more than a week ago, Sunday
the last of the 186,000 Sonoma
County residents displaced
in an unprecedented evacu-
ation of more than a third of
the county’s population finally
were allowed to return home.
Cal Fire said the mandatory
evacuation that still had been
INTERACTIVE MAPS ONLINE: TRACK THE KINCADE FIRE AND SEE MORE PHOTOS, VIDEOS AND PAST STORIES AT PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM
in effect for about 900 people
living in communities closest
to or where the fire burned was
changed to a warning, enabling
them to go back to their resi-
dences in areas including Shi-
loh Ridge outside of Windsor,
Mark West Springs, Franz Val-
ley, Knights Valley and Mount
St. Helena.
“This brings it down to zero,”
said Barry Dugan, spokesman
for the county’s emergency op-
eration center. “They’ll go to a
warning for 24 hours, and then
after that it’ll be completely an
all-clear.”
Meanwhile, the army of
firefighters still working to
get full control of the county’s
largest wildfire still burning
near the Sonoma County and
Lake County line gained more
ground Sunday, too. Cal Fire
said containment increased by
4% to 78%, the strongest grip
the firefighting force of still
more than 3,200 firefighters
has had since the blaze sparked
Oct. 23 northeast of Geyserville
and quickly spread.
Firefighters continue to build
containment lines in steep, ru-
ral terrain that is more chal-
lenging for hand crews on the
Kincade fire’s eastern flank
in the Mayacamas Mountains
near Lake County. Cal Fire is
still targeting Thursday for full
containment of the inferno,
TURN TO RETURN » PAGE A2
though a White House spokes-
man and Blair’s attorney, Whit
Ellerman, did not respond to
questions about his plans. Blair
was on the July 25 phone call
when Trump asked Ukraine’s
president for a “favor” investi-
gating former vice president Joe
Biden, a 2020 presidential con-
tender.
The anticipated defiance
toward impeachment inves-
tigators comes as Trump has
grown enraged that so many of
“his employees,” as he refers to
them, are going to Capitol Hill
and testifying, said a person
who regularly talks with him
and who spoke on the condition
TURN TO DEFY » PAGE A2

Police continue to use faulty

alcohol breath-test machines
Courts reject evidence
in tens of thousands
of DUI prosecutions
By STACY COWLEY AND
JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
NEW YORK TIMES
A million Americans a year
are arrested for drunken driv-
ing, and most stops begin the
same way: flashing blue lights in
the rearview mirror, then a bat-
tery of tests that might include
standing on one foot or reciting
the alphabet.
What matters most, though,
happens next. By the side of
the road or at the police sta-
tion, drivers blow into a minia-
ture science lab that estimates
the concentration of alcohol in
their blood. If the level is 0.08 or
higher, they are all but certain
to be convicted of a crime.
But those tests — a bedrock
of the criminal justice system —
are often unreliable, a New York
Times investigation found. The
devices, found in virtually every
police station in the U.S., gener-
ate skewed results with alarm-
ing frequency, even though they
are marketed as precise to the
third decimal place.
Judges in Massachusetts and
New Jersey have thrown out
more than 30,000 breath tests in
the past 12 months alone, large-
ly because of human errors and
COOPER NEILL / NEW YORK TIMES
lax governmental oversight.
Across the country, thousands The Dräger Alcotest 9510 is ready to conduct a test in Coppell, Texas.
Alcohol breath tests — a bedrock of the criminal justice system — are
TURN TO BREATH » PAGE A8 often unreliable, a New York Times investigation found.

Advice B7 Editorial A9 Lotto A2 NFL B2 MCDONALD’S CEO OUSTED: Fast food giant’s SANTA ROSA ©2019
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A2
RETURN
CONTINUED FROM A1
which destroyed 374 structures and
burned 77,758 acres, or about 121
square miles. The inferno has not
grown in size since Thursday night.
“It’s a huge relief, honestly,” Su-
pervisor Lynda Hopkins said of
Sunday’s developments. “We still
have to remember that hundreds of
structures were destroyed, but I’m
hoping the community can start to
get into a normal routine and hope-
fully it means more businesses are
opening and we can start feeling like
we have our towns and our commu-
nities back.”
To help residents struggling to
recover from the emergency con-
ditions created by the fire, Sonoma
County on Monday will open a local
assistance center at the Healdsburg
Enrique Rodriguez of American Technologies Inc. vacuums inside an equipment storage room Friday at Sutter Santa Rosa
Regional Hospital as the hospital prepares to reopen after the Kincade fire.
HOSPITALS
CONTINUED FROM A1
... There’s smoke in the building,”
Purvis said last week.
Purvis said staff need to go
through a number of steps to meet
state licensing and public health
standards before reopening for
patients.
Most of these processes are
centered around cleaning the
medical center, establishing clean
air quality levels and making sure
that all of the temperature ranges
within the hospital do not jeopar-
dize the effectiveness of supplies
and medications.
Since the blaze two years ago,
Sutter installed more advanced air
filtration in the 84-bed hospital to
counter the effects of the smoke
from Kincade that blew into the
Santa Rosa area last week.
On Saturday, Kaiser’s city
hospital passed inspection and
reopened, a spokesman said. Sutter October 26 forced the relocation of
staff worked through the weekend
to prepare for a reopening early
this week, the CEO said last week.
Sutter evacuated 97 patients on
October 26.
As Kincade was threatening
densely populated Healdsburg,
Windsor and Santa Rosa, it forced
Kaiser to relocate about 110 patients how to expedite reopening.
from its Mendocino Avenue and
Bicentennial Way hospital early
October 27.
Tarek Salaway, senior vice pres- and a full review and calibration
ident and area manager for Kaiser
Permanente’s Marin and Sonoma
service area, said that after county more.
authorities lifted evacuation orders
Wednesday, Kaiser staff began the
reopening process.
“We are working to reopen our
services and facilities as safely and clinics. Healdsburg patients requir-
efficiently as possible,” Salaway
said last week before the Saturday
reopening.
Cleaning the hospital and
emergency department, as well as
The Press
Democrat
Owned locally by
Darius Anderson, Managing Member
Steve Falk, Chief Executive Officer
Bill Hooper, Chief Operating Officer
Board of Advisers
Darius Anderson, Chairman
Bill Jasper
Gary Nelson
Norma Person
Jean Schulz
Les Vadasz
Sandy Weill
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019
Community Center.
The center, at 1557 Healdsburg
Avenue, will be open from 10 a.m. to
A PG&E spokeswoman said Sun-
day night that more than 1,900 cus-
tomers remain without natural gas
DEFY decisions in the OMB,
signed the OMB document
freezing the Ukraine aid,
7 p.m. through Wednesday, or longer because utility employees have not CONTINUED FROM A1 according to two adminis-
if needed. been able to access their properties, tration officials. Duffey is
Residents directly affected by the and that number may be higher of anonymity. The presi- OMB’s associate director
Kincade fire can receive recovery pending crews connecting with in- dent has asked for copies for national security pro-
help there, such as kits with protec- dividual businesses and homeown- of witness statements so grams.
tive equipment for people who lost ers. PG&E had turned off the gas to he can decide how to criti- An agency spokeswom-
properties in the blaze, information 24,600 customers, also a safety pre- cize them, complained that an said its officials are sim-
on rebuilding and health care ser- caution as firefighters battled the his lawyers are not doing ply abiding by the White
vices, including mental health refer- Kincade blaze. enough to stop people from House’s directive, which
rals. “There’s a lot of frustrated people. talking, and even encour- is that the impeachment
PG&E said that all customers Nobody thought that’s one of these aged members of Congress inquiry is illegitimate and
in Sonoma County affected by the things that would be shut down,” to question the credibility the administration is not
back-to-back power shut-offs intend- county Supervisor James Gore said of people working in his cooperating.
ed to reduce the risk of the utility’s of natural gas. “I know they’re out own administration, cur- “The idea that OMB’s
equipment igniting fires during dan- there working hard on this one. It’s rent and former officials posture is informed by
gerous weather, again have power. in their own financial interest to get said. anything other than re-
However, there’s about 1,000 cus- the gas back on.” “He is the war room,” specting the prerogatives
tomers countywide, fewer than the press secretary Stephanie of the president is absurd,”
1,400 Saturday, still left in the dark You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Grisham said on Fox News. said OMB spokeswoman
due to damaged infrastructure that Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fix- This article is based on Rachel Semmel.
requires repairs before electricity is ler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter interviews with adminis- Trump suggested on
restored. @kfixler. tration officials and con- Sunday that he could con-
gressional aides, many of tinue exerting his prerog-
whom spoke on the condi- ative over the OMB when
tion of anonymity because he told a reporter that he
they were not authorized to wouldn’t rule out direct-
discuss the White House’s ing another government
approach to the impeach- shutdown later this month
ment inquiry. if negotiations with Dem-
Vought, who serves in ocrats don’t lead to the re-
an acting capacity in the sults he wants.
job Mulvaney once held, The expected defiance
has sought to build a rela- from Mulvaney’s allies
tionship with the president could bolster the standing
for some time and sees of the acting chief, whose
standing firm against the job has been a constant
impeachment inquiry as a source of speculation.
way to bolster it, according In an interview with The
to two White House offi- Washington Examiner last
cials. week, Trump seemed to
Like Trump, the long- sympathize with Senate
time conservative warrior Republicans’ annoyance at
has derided the impeach- Mulvaney and refused to
ment inquiry as a “sham weigh in on whether he was
process” and has said he “happy” with Mulvaney’s
will not comply with the performance. He contin-
subpoena to appear for ues to complain about him,
a deposition this coming advisers say, but is unlike-
Wednesday. ly to immediately replace
Vought shares the pres- him at this time.
ident’s disdain of foreign “Happy?” he asked in re-
aid and has sought to cut it sponse to a question from
in previous budgets. the Examiner. “I don’t
Trump has at times want to comment on it.”
questioned the loyalty The OMB officials’ re-
of Mulvaney’s aides, but fusal to cooperate with the
OMB officials have assured impeachment inquiry will
ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT mark a significant break
the president they will not
show up and help the Dem- from the trend of the past
ocrats’ probe, two officials four weeks, when House
said, pleasing the presi- Democrats have had suc-
restocking it with medical supplies
and other things were part of the
work before the center was inspect-
Rosa Memorial.”
Harrington said the closure of
hospitals is unthinkable. “I’ve been
dent.
Vought’s move to stone-
wall Congress follows a
cess convincing a parade
of current and former
administration officials
ed and reopened. working in the Healdsburg health string of National Security to testify about their con-
Kaiser’s medical office buildings care business for 45 years and I’ve Council and State Depart- cerns regarding Trump’s
on Bicentennial Way and on Old never had to go through something ment witnesses testifying use of foreign policy for po-
Redwood Highway, as well as Kaiser like this,” he said. that the president tried litical gain.
office buildings on Round Barn The evacuations throughout to withhold nearly $400 Those officials have
Boulevard reopened with limited Sonoma County also affected some million in security aid for come forward despite or-
services Friday, Salaway said. All of the county’s largest primary care Ukraine unless that coun- ders from Secretary of
medical offices are expected to be providers, including several Santa try would launch political- State Mike Pompeo and
fully operational by Monday. Phar- Rosa Community Health clinics ly charged investigations White House counsel Pat
macies in medical office buildings and those operated by the West that could benefit him. Cipollone to ignore im-
adjacent to the Kaiser hospital also County Health Centers. Santa Rosa Vought, Blair and the peachment summons.
reopened Friday. Community Health has reopened at other two OMB officials The OMB’s posture could
Kaiser officials said medical least its Lombardi, Brookwood and called to testify could shed complicate Democrats’ in-
buildings on Mercury Way in Santa pediatric campuses. more light on those deci- vestigation, keeping them
Rosa and in Rohnert Park remained Mary Szecsey, CEO West County sions and the process. from learning more de-
open for primary and urgent care, Health Centers, said all of its sites Although OMB officials tails about alleged moves
mental health services, medical reopened Thursday. A walk-in were not the ones calling to link aid to Ukraine with
imaging, laboratory and pharmacy clinic was in Guerneville resumed the shots about how to Trump’s pressure on the
needs. treating patients Wednesday. handle the military aid, it nation.
Farther north, hospital staff and Jason Cunningham, chief med- was their responsibility to Democrats argued, how-
a contracted cleaning crew are ical officer of West County Health implement those decisions ever, that it might not mat-
laboring to get Healdsburg District Centers, said clinics also will be and to release the aid — or ter in the long run, as they
Hospital reopened. Healdsburg providing behavioral health ser- hold it up — as directed. already have two witnesses
Hospital CEO Joe Harrington said vices to help people manage their Their testimony could fill testifying that the money
the evacuation of the hospital on stress, anxiety and trauma as a in important details about hinged on the Biden inves-
result of the fire and evacuations. the decision-making pro- tigations.
22 patients, who went to North Bay Meanwhile, Santa Rosa Memorial cess around the money. “In my view it would be
Medical Center in Fairfield. saw an influx of patients last week “We know from the pres- useful to hear from them,
‘We’re doing an assessment of with the other two hospitals closed. ident that he wanted the but not essential,” said Rep.
what needs to be done to clean the However, medical professionals Ukrainians to do these in- David Cicilline, D-Rhode
facility, most of what we had was from Sutter and Kaiser helped the vestigations, and we know Island, an impeachment in-
smoke,” Harrington said. Memorial team take care of all of that aid was being with- vestigator.
Harrington said he contacted the patients. held when he was asking The decision to ignore
Purvis at Sutter for information on On Thursday, for example, the the Ukrainians,” said Rep. a congressional subpoena
emergency room staff at Memorial Eric Swalwell, D-Castro comes with risk. House
As with the other hospitals and treated a week-high of 221 people, Valley, an impeachment in- Democrats could hold
medical facilities, Healdsburg Hos- about 100 more than its daily av- vestigator. “You still have Vought and his aides in
pital will require a deep cleaning, erage, said Chad Krilich, the chief to connect all the dots ... contempt of Congress or
medical officer. They’re dot-connecting take them to court to try to
of imaging equipment, IV pumps, “Our staff has been incredibly witnesses.” compel their testimony, as
blood pressure equipment, and resilient through this whole experi- Vought was immediately the party has done for for-
ence, and they continue to rally and told of the president’s deci- mer White House counsel
Harrington estimated that it step forward,” said Todd Axberg, a sion to scuttle the aid and Donald McGahn.
would take two to three weeks to lead nurse in the emergency room agreed with some other top Democrats have said
reopen the hospital, its emergency who lost his home in the 2017 Tubbs advisers that it was legal, they will not wait on the
department and related outpatient fire and last weekend had to evacu- two administration offi- courts before they pro-
ate the house he rebuilt. cials said. ceed with their impeach-
ing a hospital admission will be Michael Duffey, one of ment inquiry, but by suing
taken to other local hospitals. You can reach Staff Writer Martin Vought’s subordinates Trump officials now, they
“Ambulance and first responders Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin. who has also been called could force testimony next
are aware that we’re closed,” he espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On to testify on Tuesday and year, shortly before the
said. “In this case it will be Santa Twitter @pressreno. who controls foreign aid presidential election.
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 A3

The North Coast

KINCADE FIRE » WINDSOR Fulton
Spared from flames, Road
rebuild
community says thanks resumes
Congestion expected
as SR project aims for
completion this month
By WILL SCHMITT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

After problems with a spe-

cial type of concrete delayed a
$4  million road project, Santa
Rosa will rebuild a section of
Fulton Road with more tradi-
tional material and officials
maintain hopes of finishing the
work before heavy winter rains
begin.
Repaving began Friday —
following a delay due to the
Kincade fire — and both south-
bound lanes of Fulton Road
between West Third Street and
Occidental Road are scheduled
to be closed through Wednesday.
Once those lanes are finished,
crews will close and rebuild the
road’s northbound side.
Officials hope to complete
the paving project by Nov. 23,
weather permitting.
The project initially called for
allowing for at least one lane of
traffic to be open in each direc-
tion at a given time. Closing both
lanes in each direction simulta-
neously will allow crews to fin-
ish the work faster, said Erich
Rauber, a city engineer.
PHOTOS BY ERIK CASTRO / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT “Regardless of how traffic is
Windsor residents Anthony and Serena Rupert watch as their son Tyson, 5, gives Sonoma County Fire District firefighter Denis Rutkowski a hand- routed, the work will result in
shake next to his brother Trey, 7, during a gathering Sunday that was held to thank first responders for saving the town from the Kincade fire. increased traffic congestion,”
Rauber said in an email. “Clos-

Thousands fill Town Green in relief, gratitude after blaze kept at bay ing Fulton Road to southbound
traffic then northbound traffic
will allow the work to be per-
By KEVIN FIXLER formed more quickly and thus
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT allow traffic conditions to re-

S
taring at the thousands of cheering
Windsor residents who showed up at
the Town Green on Sunday morning
to lavish praise upon the first responders
who battled the explosive Kincade fire,
Sonoma County Fire District Deputy
Chief Matt Gustafson paused to compose
himself.
“This turnout to me is just overwhelm-
ing. It’s just hard to describe,” said Gus-
tafson, a veteran of the department that
covers Windsor and Rincon Valley. “The
fire department here loves this town. Most
of the firefighters live here just like you.
It was really important to them to take a
stand.”
With the smell of wildfire smoke still
hanging in the air, the town’s weekly
Sunday farmers market, which also was
hosting its annual Pumpkin Jamboree re-
scheduled from the previous weekend due
to the blaze, quickly shifted into a salute
to heroes for saving the town from being
consumed by flames.
The price of admission appeared to be
TURN TO WINDSOR » PAGE A4
turn to normal more quickly.”
Southbound traffic approach-
ing West Third Street on Ful-
ton Road will be detoured onto
Stony Point Road, city officials
said in a prepared statement.
The work began in late Octo-
ber, but the stretch of northwest
Santa Rosa road was subject to
evacuation orders imposed due
to the Kincade fire. City offi-
cials decided to put the project
on hold and install temporary
ramps to allow evacuees to use
southbound Fulton Road to
leave town.
The city decided to use a
standard concrete mix instead
the special roller-compacted
concrete it touted earlier in the
year as a durable and cost-effec-
tive alternative to asphalt. The
initial plan, which would have
yielded one of the first roads in
the Bay Area to use the special
concrete, was scrapped after
A large crowd cheers and holds signs during a gathering Sunday at the Windsor Town Green to several failed attempts to cre-
thank first responders who saved the town from the Kincade fire.
TURN TO FULTON » PAGE A4

Owner foils attempted carjacking in Santa Rosa

Suspect hops into truck,
along with victim, drives
off before hitting light
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A would-be automobile thief
was thwarted Saturday by an
obstinate owner who refused to
relinquish his ride and instead
jumped into the vehicle as the
stranger tried to drive away in
it.
The suspect soon crashed into
a street light, jumped out of the
pickup and ran away, only to
be apprehended and arrested
about two hours later, Santa
Rosa police said.
Destiny Nicholle Case, 42, was
still being held at the Sonoma
County jail Sunday on suspi-
cion of felony carjacking and
hit-and-run, causing injury. Her
bail was $120,000.
The incident unfolded at a
public storage space just off the
Joe Rodota Trail at the north
end of Lombardi Court, west of
Stony Point Road, police said.
The victim in the case had got-
ten out of his Nissan truck and
was at his storage unit when a
woman ran up, climbed into the
driver’s side and got ready to
drive it away, police Sgt. Bran-
don Matthies said.
But instead of letting her take
it, the victim jumped into the
passenger seat just as she start-
ed speeding south toward Sebas-
topol Road, Matthies said.
He was pleading with her and
pushing her, and by the time
they reached the intersection,
she had crashed into the light
pole and fled on foot, Matthies
said.
Passersby reported the
5:44 p.m. crash, drawing an am-
bulance and police response to
the area.
The victim, whose name was
not released, was treated for in-
juries at the crash site and then
released to go home. His truck
was not driveable, Matthies
said.
Police officers, meanwhile,
searched the vicinity but were
unable to find anyone matching
his description of the suspect,
at first.
Then, about two hours later,
an officer in the area saw Case in
the area of the Stony Point Road
and the Joe Rodota Trail.
Case, who police described as
homeless, matched the descrip-
tion and was positively identi-
fied by the victim in the field,
Matthies said.
You can reach Staff Writer
Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249
or mary.callahan@pressdemo-
crat.com. On Twitter @Mary-
CallahanB.

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A4
All evacuations lifted for Maria fire
Trump again threatens
to cut US funding to state
over forest management
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Authori-
ties lifted all evacuation orders
as firefighters made progress
Sunday on a large blaze that sent
thousands fleeing homes and
farms northwest of Los Angeles.
Crews working in steep terrain
were tamping down hotspots and
keeping an eye on lingering wind
gusts in mountain areas that
could carry dangerous embers,
said Ventura County Fire Capt.
Kaiser workers ratify new contract
Four-year deal raises pay
3% a year in California,
limits job outsourcing
By CATHIE ANDERSON
SACRAMENTO BEE
More than 84,000 health care work-
ers voted to ratify a new four-year
collective bargaining contract with
Kaiser Permanente, backing an
agreement that provides for annual
wage increases and certain limita-
tions on outsourcing, the health care
giant announced Friday.
The company announced that it
had a tentative agreement Sept. 25
with its Coalition of Kaiser Perma-
nente Unions representing workers
from three unions — the Interna-
tional Federation of Professional and
Technical Engineers, the Office and
“It came so close and we are so grateful to all the firefighters,” said Windsor resident Tam Shook after she thanked
Sonoma County Fire District firefighter Tyler Mason during a gathering Sunday at the Windsor Town Green.
WINDSOR
CONTINUED FROM A3
a homemade sign celebrating the
region’s firefighters and law en-
forcement who prevented the worst
of what was expected — a repeat
of the October 2017 firestorm that
devastated Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park
and Fountaingrove neighborhoods.
But this time the town of about
27,000 people a few miles north of
Santa Rosa was at the epicenter.
“When I was first briefed that the
fire was going to come down and
basically decimate Windsor, I was
fully expecting that we were going
to be another Coffey Park,” Wind-
sor councilwoman Esther Lemus
acknowledged to the estimated
4,500-plus person crowd. “We were
bracing ourselves for the worst. We
were certain we were going to lose
our town.”
But through the efforts and
preparation of firefighters from
across California, including many
of the local fire departments and
hundreds from neighboring states,
the potential crisis was averted.
And on Sunday, residents had the
chance to offer their gratitude as
everyone returned to a town that
because of firefighters’ actions not
only survived, but did not suffer a
single home destroyed within town
limits.
Handshakes and embraces be-
tween neighbors seeing each other
for the first time since last Satur-
day’s widespread evacuation were
in many cases tear-filled. Those in
the crowd waved their signs deco-
rated with hearts, hashtags, includ-
ing #WindsorTogether and some
with only the word “Gracias!,” as
people shouted the English version
in unison at the guests of honor on
stage.
Longtime councilman Sam Salm-
on called the event, where residents
NORTH COAST / STATE
Steve Kaufmann.
“I’d say we’re cau-
tiously optimistic,”
Kaufmann said, citing
calmer winds overall
and rising humidity lev-
els.
Firefighters have con-
tained 70% of the blaze, Gavin
which has burned nearly Newsom
15 square miles of dry
brush and timber. Three build- Newsom replied with a tweet
ings were destroyed. of his own:
More than 11,000 people evacu- “You don’t believe in climate
ated after the flames spread Oct. change. You are excused from
31 during dry winds that fanned this conversation.”
fires across the state this fall. California has increased fire
In his first recent comments prevention investments and fuel
on the California fires, President management projects in recent
Donald Trump threatened to cut years while federal funding has
Professional Employees Internation-
al Union and the Service Employees
International Union.
Coalition members have touted the
deal because it assured an investment
of $130 million in a health care acade-
my to develop and sustain the health
care workforce of the future and be-
cause it provided that Kaiser would
not sign new outsourcing contracts
for existing jobs held by coalition
members.
These unions represent workers
at 11 local chapters in California,
Colorado, the District of Colum-
bia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon,
Washington and Virginia. The coa-
lition’s largest local chapter, SEIU-
United Healthcare Workers West,
represents roughly 57,000 health care
workers in California. SEIU-UHW an-
nounced Oct. 16 that its members had
approved the contract.
From left, Valerie and Charles With-
erell, Betsy Allen and Jasmine Allen, 6,
came with their homemade sign.
also posed for a town photo to send
to fire agencies involved in Wind-
sor’s defense, an opportunity to
celebrate and consider how to move
forward in a productive way.
“It means a lot for people to come
out and share, and I think help
people get over it a little more, and
hopefully people will reflect more
on what’s going on globally,” said
Salmon, a 30-year resident. “The
earth is trying to tell me something.
The voice is getting louder and
louder, and this isn’t the end of it.”
Lifelong Windsor resident Mike
Mosiurchak, 38, wore an Amer-
ican flag tank top and swapped
out 4-year-old son Aceyn’s bicycle
helmet for that of a fireman to
complete an outfit popular among
several children there for the fall
costume parade, but also pay trib-
ute. Behind blue spectacles, Aceyn
said he had his eye on a magician
making balloon animals, but last
year’s Halloween duds still fit and
U.S. aid funding to the
state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom
has done a “terrible job
of forest management,”
Trump tweeted.
When fires rage, the
governor comes to the
federal government for
help. “No more,” the
president tweeted.
The agreement gives workers in
California and the Northwest region
an across-the-board wage increase of
3% a year.
In Colorado, Hawaii, the mid-Atlan-
tic states and Washington, workers
will get a 3% wage increase across the
board in the first year and 2% in sub-
sequent years.
Management will also work with
labor to set up a committee that
will work to ensure that Kaiser’s
caregivers can apply a patient-cen-
tered approach when integrating
cutting-edge technology. Both sides
also agreed to continue to seek in-
novative ways to improve job con-
ditions and lower costs while also
advancing patient care.
The tentative labor agreement was
reached about three weeks before a
strike that the union had planned to
begin on Oct. 14.
PHOTOS BY ERIK CASTRO / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
he and dad were glad to attend.
They even got a photo with Gus-
tafson and a member of the Sonoma
County sheriff’s department.
“This is typically a celebration of
the community,” Mosiurchak said
of the yearly Halloween pumpkin
jamboree. “But today is a special
celebration and we’re just recogniz-
ing the heroes, the firefighters and
police departments — the ones who
saved our community. We’re feeling
really grateful, and really blessed.”
Families still were able to enjoy
the usual jamboree activities,
including carving and painting
miniature pumpkins and building
their own 6-foot-tall, take-home
scarecrow. Because of the Kincade
fire’s sudden assault last week on
daily life, Windsor also plans to host
a make-up Halloween this Saturday.
But Sunday’s celebratory com-
munity gathering adapted from a
truncated farmers market with the
seasonal add-ons to make way for a
couple ladder trucks and the crews
aboard them.
The event’s transition was
welcomed by Sasha Martin, 33, of
Santa Rosa, who said she brings her
young kids to the Windsor farmers
market nearly every Sunday. She
also was forced to evacuate for the
Kincade fire, as she did for the blaze
two years ago, and felt compelled to
attend. Martin dressed as a pirate
to coordinate with son Brewster, 3,
who wore a Captain Hook costume
and daughter Jasmine, 2, in the role
of Tinker Bell.
“We’re definitely involved in the
community, and this is our farmers
market,” Martin said. “We may
not live in Windsor, but we love
Windsor. There’s definitely a lot of
gratitude for all of the emergency
workers. We made sure we came.”
You can reach Staff Writer Kevin
Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fix-
ler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter
@kfixler.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019
shrunk, the governor’s office lar threat as wildfires devastated
said in a statement. Malibu and Paradise — accusing
“We’re successfully waging the state of “gross mismanage-
war against thousands of fires ment” of forests.
started across the state in the last At the time Newsom defended
few weeks due to extreme weath- California’s wildfire prevention
er created by climate change efforts while criticizing the fed-
while Trump is conducting a full eral government for not doing
on assault against the antidotes,” enough to help protect the state.
Newsom reiterated Sunday. The cause of the Southern Cal-
The state controls just 3% of ifornia fire is under investigation
forest land in California, while but there was a possibility that
the federal government owns electrical lines might have been
57%, according to numbers pro- involved — as was the case at
vided by Newsom’s office. About other recent fires.
40% of the state’s forest land is Southern California Edison
privately owned. Neither of the said Friday that it re-energized a
two major fires currently burn- 16,000-volt power line 13 minutes
ing are on forest land. before the fire erupted in the
Last year Trump made a simi- same area of Ventura County.
STATE BRIEFS
HEALDSBURG
4.2 earthquake strikes near the Geysers
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck near the Geysers
at 12:34 p.m. Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.
The quake was 1.3 miles deep and was felt as far away
as Santa Rosa, according to reports to the agency.
The earthquake follows dozens of smaller tremors,
most falling below 2.0 magnitude, in the area in the past
seven days, including a 3.7-magnitude quake Saturday,
the USGS reports.
The Sunday afternoon quake was followed by at least
three more small quakes ranging from 1.8 to 2.3 magni-
tude.
The Geysers is the world’s largest geothermal field
and contains several geothermal plants. It’s the site of
frequent earthquakes, the USGS reports.
MONTEREY
Two murder suspects escape from jail
Two murder suspects escaped Sunday from a central
California jail and officials were trying to determine
how the men managed to get away.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office warned the
public the men should be considered dangerous.
The escape from the county’s Adult Detention Fa-
cility occurred in the early morning, according to the
Sheriff’s Office.
Santos Fonseca and Jonathan Salazar, both 19, had
been in custody since 2018 and were awaiting trial on
unrelated murder counts “along with numerous other
felony charges,” a sheriff’s statement said.
Both men are five-feet-seven-inches tall. Fonseca
weighs 150 pounds and Salazar weighs 170 pounds.
They each have black hair and brown eyes.
RIVERSIDE
Parachutist’s body found in quarry
A parachutist found dead Sunday morning in a
Southern California quarry may have been trying to
perform a BASE jump from the quarry’s rim, KTLA
reports.
The man’s body was found about 7:30 a.m. at the
Riverside Quarry in Jurupa Valley, The Riverside Press
Enterprise reported. Authorities think he jumped Sat-
urday evening. A police investigation into the death is
ongoing, KTLA reported. The man’s identity has been
withheld pending notification of his family.
FRESNO
Officer kills another, himself at party
Authorities said an off-duty law enforcement officer
killed a police officer and critically wounded his father
before killing himself in a shooting during a birthday
party.
Kings County sheriff’s detectives said 32-year-old
Ramiro Trevino Jr. died after fatally shooting 31-year-
old Johnathan Diaz and critically wounding 58-year-old
Ramiro Trevino Sr. Saturday in Hanford.
Authorities said Diaz was a Lemoore police officer
and a friend of Trevino Jr., who worked as a Kings
County welfare fraud investigator. Investigators said
the shooting occurred around 9 p.m. at the party for the
elder Trevino in the community about 33 miles south of
Fresno.
— Press Democrat news services
ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Marco Alanis of Urata and Sons Concrete directs the spout
of a concrete mixer during the repaving of Fulton Road on
Saturday in Santa Rosa.
FULTON City transportation of-
ficials announced delays
to the Fulton Road proj-
CONTINUED FROM A3 ect in late August without
much explanation or a new
ate a batch strong enough schedule.
to withstand the stress of In early September, a
daily road traffic — 24,000 project superintendent
vehicles daily, according to told the Press Democrat
city data. that attempts to mix the
Now, Fulton Road’s new roller-compacted concrete
pavement will be made of had turned out material
Portland cement concrete, too weak for the city’s stan-
which has been common- dards.
ly used for road projects
across California for de- You can reach Staff Writer
cades and recently the city Will Schmitt at 707-521-
used it on northeast Santa 5207 or will.schmitt@
Rosa’s Austin Way, Rauber pressdemocrat.com. On
said. Twitter @wsreports.