ASCAP has shut down open mic in Clearlake
The second-Friday Open Mic at the Java Express has been shut down effective this month. It wasn”t wiped out for running a meth lab. It wasn”t given the heave ho for plotting terrorism. No, it was snuffed out for something far worse. They didn”t have an ASCAP license to play music.
ASCAP is the American organization that has the monopoly for collecting royalties on copyrighted music. Everyone from struggling unknown musicians to gigantic record companies has signed exclusive agreements with this all-powerful cabal to charge whatever to whoever and pay out whatever to whoever. They decide. The unknowns who don”t show up on their radar will never see a cent from this outfit.
Apparently ASCAP has a huge hit team going around the country putting a big hurt on open mics they haven”t already shaken down, even if they are set up for musicians to play their original songs with an occasional ASCAP-listed song slipping through. They threaten to rain down massive lawsuits for each lapse. The minimum cost for protection, I mean a license, is $388 per year. No deals. Our open mic is supposed to collect this amount from a once-a-month free event where alcohol is not served and where coffee drinks are only offered during a 20-minute break. Do they care? Nope.
Most people would have dismissed one letter making such puffed up demands as computer-generated spam not to be taken seriously. But there was a follow-up letter, then a phone call and indications that they had already dropped by and cased the joint. They were serious.
The whole heavy-handed action seemed so absurd to regulars of this nine-year Clearlake institution that talk focused on theories that this had to be the result of a plot by the numerous political enemies of the proprietor. Conspiracies are not necessary though in a world where teenagers are regularly hauled off by ruthless music conglomerates for downloading songs.
Will the open mic at the Java Express rise from the ashes? Only if the community can find an alternate way to raise money to satisfy this legal extortion.
Dante DeAmicis
Clearlake
Foundation established to assist fallen cyclists
Cyclists fall, hit potholes, rocks, etc. Sometimes it is caused by other motorists on the road. Most times, scrapes heal and bruises disappear, but sometimes they are hospitalized or killed.
The non-profit Lake County Fallen Riders Foundation has been established to provide financial and emotional relief to riders and their families. So far we have helped three families and the Lake County Family Resource Center will continue to do so with your help. Our local riders help many benefits and charities in Lake and other counties. Let us all help them when needed.
Your donation is tax deductible and 100 percent will go directly to the foundation. Donations of food, merchandise or gift certificates will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you ever so much.
Ruth Bennett, treasurer
Lake County Fallen Riders Foundation
Editor”s Note: Tax ID for the Lake County Fallen Riders Foundation is 36-4596602. For more information, call 263-1722 or e-mail buckhornclub@hotmail.com.
Chain is only as strong as its weakest link
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is a common metaphor used to describe how things can be linked together and dependent on one another in order to function properly. Often times when I am at the scene of an accident, I use this metaphor to explain why the accident occurred. Most of the time traffic flows smoothly throughout Lake County. However, collisions do occur and when they do it can have a devastating affect on those involved.
When a driver becomes a weak link in the metaphoric chain of traffic, the chain can snap and a collision is the result. Drinking and driving causes an obvious weakening of the chain, but what other causes are there? The speed of a vehicle can create a weak link in the chain of traffic. The difference in stopping distance for a vehicle traveling at 55 mph compared to 60 mph is approximately 38 feet. Following too closely has a similar affect on the chain as speeding does. It effectively reduces the three second rule, but that rule is designed to create a safety cushion under optimum driving conditions. Straight and level roadways with a good sight distance are more the exception than the rule in our beautiful mountainous county. If you create a buffer between you and the car ahead longer than three seconds, you actually help to strengthen the chain against the weak link that may be ahead of you or behind you.
Driver complacency is a hidden cause of link weakening. When a driver has never had a collision, he or she begins to believe that they never will, and they begin to disregard the rules of the road. Another weak link is created when a driver continues to drive while sleepy or fatigued when they should pull over.
Next time you drive your car, take a few moments to critique your driving. Look around at the other vehicles on the road and see if you can tell who is the weak link on the road.
If you”re the weak link in the chain, it”s time to improve your driving. If we all try to strengthen our own individual links, it will have an overall positive effect on the traffic safety in our community.
If you have any questions about this article or ideas on future articles, contact myself or Officer Adam Garcia, Clear Lake Area CHP. Remember, buckle up and drive safe!
Officer Mike Humble
Clear Lake area CHP
Editor”s Note: Officer Humble has been a California Highway Patrol Officer for 17 years, and has been assigned to the Clear Lake CHP office for the past 11 years.
Overton was right to leave council meeting
I am writing to publicly express support for Councilmember Joyce Overton”s choice to walk out of the Thursday, Sept. 13, City Council meeting. I share her frustration and disgust that there would even be an issue regarding the Lake County Community Action Agency”s request to waive the fee for the use of the Clearlake Senior/Community Center, particularly given the Clearlake Police Department”s contribution to the fiasco of the Blue Heron Rally.
Not only does the LCCAA supply a variety of critical services to the citizens of the city, but efforts to provide social activities to our young people in particular should receive 100-percent council support. The council has correctly expressed a grave concern about youth choosing to socialize with destructive parties of drinking and drug use and has enacted a resolution that makes serving alcohol to minors in private homes an offense.
What about addressing the other half of the problem, providing healthy, supervised opportunities to do what ? developmentally ? youth must do: develop social, organizational and leadership skills?
If we want our young people to develop into productive, responsible citizens, we must provide opportunities and guidance where they can have fun doing just that. We need to meet the need for peer interaction in a healthier way than grouping together to drink or use drugs. Nothing the city spends money on, including road repair, is more important.
I applaud Mr. Neiman for leading donations to the LCCAA”s event and I thank all who contributed. Let me clarify that I have no personal involvement or connection with the Lake County Youth Center or LCCAA. I am just a woman who has lived a long time and seen and experienced a lot.
We have a tremendous responsibility to prepare our youth for a challenging world. My thanks to Joyce Overton, whom I greatly admire, and to all the others whose talents, time and energy go toward nurturing the development of our young people.
Nicki Botto
Clearlake
U.S. borders threatened
It would surprise most Americans to learn that some U.S. officials plan to erase our borders with Canada and Mexico and merge us into a North American Union. They plan to do this via the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). Go to www.thenewamerican.com for details.
The SPP is a stealth program. It is proceeding without congressional approval and is quietly being implemented by the massive bureaucracy of the federal executive branch. Unless more Americans learn of this deception and demand that Congress stops the SPP, we will soon find that the USA no longer exists.
Christopher H. Fogleman
Reseda
