Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Pride March Aftermath: Mendocino County Court Foots $5,000 Cleanup Bill

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The following is a press release issued by Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino:


Workers washing off the rainbow tempera paint from the courthouse steps [Photo provided by the Superior Court]

On Saturday, June 15, Mendocino County flew its Pride Flag with a joyful display of unity and community. Pride organizers hosted a celebratory march through downtown Ukiah, starting at Black Oak Coffee and terminating in Alex Thomas Plaza. Along the way, some participants stopped at the courthouse to paint the front steps on State Street with a rainbow display that adorned the façade of the courthouse right up to the courthouse entry doors.

The marchers painted their display with tempera paint, creating a huge mess that had to be scrubbed off the steps at great public expense. Much of the paint was in powder form that adhered to the soles of shoes and tracked inside the courthouse. As a result, the court closed the front entrance to the courthouse for the entire day while the paint was removed. All public entry into the building was diverted to one entrance on Perkins Street, creating delays at the screening station and frustration for all court visitors including jurors and citizens seeking court services. County and court maintenance crews spent the entire day vacuuming and power washing the paint off the steps. The final cost of cleanup is estimated at more than $5,000 and will be paid by the State of California from taxpayer funds.

Defacement of public property is unlawful, even if its purpose is a noble one – to raise awareness of and respect for our LGBTQ+ community members. Vandalizing a public building is not consistent with the goals or spirit of the event. The public has a right to expect that future events will not result in a recurrence of this unfortunate situation.

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63 COMMENTS

  1. The organizers should be held responsible for the costs of vandalism, not the taxpayer. Doesn’t matter what type of organization caused it and the if they don’t pay no more public parade or march permit.

    • not the organizers necessarily, but those who perpetrated this act, the identity of whom surveillance video will be able to determine quite easily.

  2. I don’t care if Princess Grace herself painted the steps, she should be held accountable for her mess. The same goes with the Pride Organizers. They can take it out of their general fund. The county can CLEARLY SEE who the graffiti artists were. Cite them and make them pay for the cost. The county has better things to do with their money than repair damage of public works caused by idiots. Yes Idiots. What happened to painting streets?

    They are totally setting back the gay rights movement with stupid careless stunts like this.

    GET A CLUE HUH?

  3. Can we please have a hetero day? I’m as proud hetero and would LOVE to prance around in normal hetero clothing anatomically correct assigned clothing at that. But no, we can’t get that lol or nor can we get human lives matter can’t get that day either take this seriously or take it facetiously I don’t care but that’s the taxpayers cost about $5000 could’ve went to something way better than cleaning up at, unicorn mess mess stupid stupid, stupid stupid and now I can’t go to the post office today and I can’t go to the bank today because we’ve got Juneteenth going Galveston Texas

  4. this all must make everyone so very very “proud”.
    just keep your scooter and 4 wheelers off it or you will pay for a felony “hate crime”.

    ironically the court foots the bill with taxpayer $$$.
    on another note…hey courthouse how’s that jury recruiting going??? you’ll spring 5K of the people’s money for cleanup and on the hand expect folks to drive 70-100 miles one way for chump change to serve as jurors.

    WTFUp.

    • Floyd, if you’re displeased with the 6th amendment please be advise that this has been a fundamental feature of this country’s laws since the founding of the country. It is not the courts fault you live off three different back roads in the middle of no where you are expected to show up for jury duty. Floyd, if you feel you can’t participate in the basic request of showing up for Jury duty, please take your angst and wash the steps of the courthouse yourself. You would be saving your gov’t’s tax dollars (if you really cared so much about erroneously spent tax dollars) and spending less time virtue signaling in the comments.

  5. Gee wizz I sure do hope that all of that pesky fairy dust or tempera paint was organic and vegan and fish friendly.
    It’s my understanding that power washers were used in the cleanup process.
    Which leads me to believe that at least some of it ended up in the storm drains.
    Which also means that’s where it will remain until the first rains arrive in the fall.
    Then it will most likely end up in Gibson creek and the Rio.
    Like the old saying goes shit rolls and flows downhill.
    More double standards at play here than you shake a rubber dodo at.
    Let these folks have their parade down in San Franshitco next time.

  6. Next time deny them the permit for the march. Or better yet charge the organizers an additional $5000 fee to cover this cleanup and require a bond in case it happens again.

  7. This mural was beautiful. It should not have been removed. But the triggered Trump supporters blatantly are racist and bigotry is showing. So sad.

    • Trump supporters in Mendo?
      That’s encouraging news!
      Some friendly advice fellow Trump supporters.
      Think twice before you express your American given rights and freedom and place a Trump sticker on your vehicle.
      The leftist goon squads are vigilant and you may end up having your property monkey wrenched and vandalized.

    • There was no mural. All they did was dust the steps with powdered paint. So on that point you are wrong. What is really sad is when I read the comments and it always ends up with people insulting each other over ridiculous things. I can’t understand why every single time it erodes down to political affiliation and how the other guy is always stupider than my guy, it’s makes you look stupid too. This is about a bunch of kids that failed to use common sense and cost us all money for cleanup. It’s not about who they are or what they are and it’s certainly not about Trump. I’m starting to believe that sometimes it’s just the same four or five people posting over and over and just changing the name. I really think MendoFever should require registration and true name to post. People let they’re bad side show when they think there are no repercussions. The same way paint ended up tracked through the court house.

  8. There is no vandalism. Chalk on cement steps is not vandalism. It does no harm to the building or the workers in the building and it would have washed away in the next rain anyway. They didn’t need to “clean up” they needed to wait till it rained. When kids draw chalk on the sidewalk it’s technically illegal as well but we ain’t stopping that are we.

    • Even if it’s paint they didn’t need to scrub it. They could have left it considering it created no hazard or reason to remove it in the first place.

    • You may want to look up the definition of vandalism. Painting others’ property is one of the specified examples of vandalism. And “leaving it until it rains” would have led to either the unsafe closure if a main entrance, and or the staining and discoloring of interior floorings inside ofn he buildings, not to mention all of the people’s vehicles and homes that they carried off it off to.

    • The criticism should be directed at who paid $5000 to clean this up. Ukiah citizens use chalk on the sidewalks quite often and it doesn’t illicit a whole article in the mendo fever or a huge bill to clean up except if it was design to stir up all the triggered rednecks in the county.

  9. Noble purpose?? That’s a laugh. NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU DO IN THE BEDROOM!!! If these people aren’t perverts, then they are just narcissistic. Pride is a deadly sin. Go home and do something useful! My gay friends agree. Super embarrassing

    • Correctomundo!
      It’s 2024 not 1964 otherwise all of you would have some very serious issues at hand to contend with.
      You’re never going to change anyones mind in these times who have issues with how consenting adults conduct their sex life and love lives.
      It is and they are a lost cause so stop sensationalizing your sexual preferances it’s silly and pretentious.
      Be who you are and let the rest of us be who we are.

  10. I’m not sure what’s more egregious? The painting of the steps (no matter the impermanence or low environmental effects) or our government paying someone $5k (probably a good buddy bid & contract) to clean up something that could be power washed in a couple hrs? Did they even ask the organizers if they would clean it up? Both acts lack common sense & respect for our public buildings & funds. Shame on both!

    • Yeah that’s right it could very well have been a good o’l boy buddy system kinda deal.
      Theres also a flip side to that coin.
      Hard to tell from the photo but it could also very well have been a good o’l minority kinda bid as well.
      Either way it’s out of whack and the little darlings or pseudo artist who made the mess should have been made to clean it up in leu of a fine and or public service time.
      Zero accountability is becoming a huge problem in this county and state.

  11. Its BS why is it that all those who consider themselves marginalized feel like they have to force there race, sexual predicament or whatever down every ones throats or into the school system. its been acknowledged for a long time and im getting sick of all the me, me,me to the point im disgusted at what used to be accepted.

    • Tolerance diversity and inclusion.
      And the fear of triggering the oh so fragile abused and marginalized and discriminated against underclass of temper tantrum throwing snowflakes.

  12. “maintenance crews spent the entire day vacuuming and power washing”

    Wow, a day spent cleaning after a parade. Sounds like a super-rough shift for the maintenance crew. I hope they all got through the torturous aftermath without too much suffering.

    And the maintenance crew would be paid anyway, so the $5,000 wouldn’t have been saved.

    I mean, if they don’t like doing maintenance, maybe “maintenance crew” isn’t a great career choice.

    • “Throwing bricks through cop car windows”
      Now there’s a novel way to win hearts and minds.
      And how to win friends and influence people.
      Fucking geniuses!

      • Mendo it’s cause they were killing the gays. You’re being reminded that gays used to be killed. They’re painting the steps to remind you they’re still here and you can’t kill them for fun anymore. Kinda like memorial day or 4th of July. You should say thank you for upholding your freedom of speech

  13. Well why should the taxpayers have to pay, I’m sure a lot of people (unless you are LGBTQ) didn’t even know this parade was going on! and $5000 to clean really?!
    Ukiah, this is why you needed an audit last year because you guys don’t know how to spend your money and you spend it on the dumbest stuff. I’m sure this could’ve been easily cleaned off and not for $5000 and not at the taxpayers expense.
    Learn a budget, spend your money wiser

      • EXACTLY!!! That CHALK (NOT PAINT) can’t be more damaging and corrupt than the courthouse and the majority of their so-called “professionals.” $5000 to clean chalk off the steps!!!! But Pastels in the Plaza is perfectly fine. What a joke! More funds towards BOS raises!! No one owned a simple power washer, or a hose lol. Hopefully the people that did this have $ or have a good old boy connection in this county, you can get away with anything if you do. The system is corrupt! Sounds like more discrimination, more racism, more FAKE news, to keep perpetuating the same county BS. Maybe we need another mural to depict a FALSE history and narrative…no matter how big you paint local natives falling asleep on a blanket, we know it was genocide. Get it together Mendo County!!

    • Tell me you’ve never run a business without telling me you’ve never run a business. $5,000.00 ÷ 8 hours ÷ 4 employees ÷ 2 work trucks, pressure washer, shop vac, hand tools, etc. = cheap AF… Don’t forget the costs of fuel, benefits and retirement, unemployment and health insurance, and and and…

  14. If the Republicans do it its an insurrection. If the gays leave a rainbow trail they’re disgusting?
    Thank you alternative lifestyles for marching to uphold our freedom to express ourselves.
    Why aren’t all steps painted pretty colors?! Why?! Whyyyyyy!!!! I’m so fucking tired of cookie cutter construction!

  15. At least somethings getting painted in this town? Maybe we should hire the gays to repaint our barely visible road lines? I can’t tell what side of the road I’m on…

  16. Everyone acting like they don’t live in houses built and painted with more toxic shit then the gays ever painted on those steps. All these good ol’s commenting love their lacquer, their tire shine, their construction chemicals, chemicals in their food. Pretty hypocritical

    • Cisco mom, is that you? …..and 5 other comments. You know that little design by your name doesn’t change unless you use a different ip

      • Maybe I think the names are part of the punch. And yes, I’m aware you’re aware. Good job!

        • I miss saying "that's gay". But I also like gay people. Can we move on to women's rights yet? The gays are getting more than us... I miss saying "that's gay". But I also like gay people. Can we move on to women's rights yet? The gays are getting more than us...

          Ab, is there asbestos in the courthouse or not?

    • Oh my young Bradley Beck!
      What the fuck were you thinking?
      Did you not know that when you drop acid in school you are supposed to ditch for the day?
      We always either headed out to Montgomery woods or at the very least hiked up Gibson creek past the old Wildberger ranch to the first and second growth Redwoods for the day.

        • That’s cool Bradley’
          The thing is I didn’t want to call you junior.
          Your father was three years ahead of me at Ukiah High in the class of 66.
          Another thing I have been reading your post since I found this site and your a longways from being stupid.

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MendoFever Staff
MendoFever Staff
Editor's Note: Whenever an article's byline reads "MendoFever Staff", the contents of that article were not composed by any of our reporters. Types of writing that will be attributed to "MendoFever Staff" include press releases, letters to the editor, op-eds, obituaries— essentially writing that is not produced by a reporter.

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