{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Referendum forum explores views on new cultivation ordinance","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":389,"description":"July 16, 2021 — The deadline to file petitions for the referenda opposing Chapter 22.18, the county’s new cannabis cultivation ordinance, is fast approaching. Employees of a pro-ordinance group shadow signature gatherers and counter their arguments as they urge voters to sign, to get the item on the ballot, to repeal the ordinance in part or in full. Documents showing financial support for the pro-ordinance group are still not available, but the steering committee includes Joshua Keats, of Henry’s Original, Amanda Reiman, of Flowkana, vineyard owner Heath Dolan, John Schaeffer, formerly of Real Goods, and Willits schoolteacher Shawna Jeavons. Passions are running high on all sides, with some volunteer signature gatherers for the referendum claiming that the paid workers of the pro-ordinance group are resorting to intimidation. Leo Buc, the pro-ordinance campaign advisor, said field staff have come in for screaming and harassment, too.\r\nIn an attempt to sort out who’s doing what, the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council held a forum on the referenda and the ordinance on Wednesday night, with First District Supervisor Glenn McGourty arguing on the county’s behalf. McGourty lit up a discussion among policy watchers on Monday, when he wrote a letter saying he is 100% committed to a lengthy list of amendments and actions, including a full programmatic environmental impact review on all cannabis cultivation in the county. The board passed the ordinance at the end of last month, barely making a state deadline to get it on the books before a requirement for an EIR kicked in. He insists that the new ordinance will include rigorous environmental protections. But Ellen Drell, speaking on behalf of the People’s Referendum to Save our Water, Wildlife, and Way of Life, which seeks to repeal Chapter 22.18 in its entirety, says the new ordinance is all about expansion, especially into the county’s treasured rangeland zones.\r\nCharles Sargenti, representing Small is...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}