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(1 of ) Schoolhouse Beach

RANDI ROSSMANN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 21, 2017, 9:29AM

| Updated 6 hours ago.

Sitting on a Schoolhouse Beach rock in the pouring rain and howling wind Monday afternoon, five friends were close enough to breaking waves to feel the spray as they watched the stormy sea crash against the shore.

Then white water from a particularly large wave broke over the rock, sweeping the five Solano County residents into the water. Only four got out.

Victoria Alvarez, 19, of Fairfield apparently drowned.

When the three males and one female made it to the beach, they realized Alvarez was missing. One ran across the street to a nearby home and borrowed a phone to call 911, then ran back, Sonoma County sheriffs Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

The 1:35 p.m. call launched a water rescue response to the beach north of Bodega Bay. A state parks lifeguard arrived within five minutes, joined by another state lifeguard and two Bodega Bay firefighters with water rescue training. Wearing wetsuits and carrying long rescue boards, they went into the water to search for Alvarez. Within 15 minutes of the call she was found, floating facedown and unconscious.

The Sonoma County sheriffs helicopter lifted her to shore, and she was taken by ambulance to Sonoma West Medical Center in Sebastopol where she was pronounced dead.

The survivors were taken to a ranger station at Salmon Creek Beach, where they dried their clothes and answered questions. The group told park rangers they had headed for the coast, picked that beach to stop, saw the rocks and decided to get close, supervising state parks peace officer/lifeguard Tim Murphy said.

They were pretty traumatized, he said.

Their actions were a classic recipe for disaster, said Murphy, a veteran lifeguard who said warnings are issued regularly about the danger.

State parks lifeguards annually save people along the Sonoma Coast who get too close and are swept into the water. Two of the most common warnings are: If youre standing on sand wet from waves, youre too close to the water. And if the water looks too dangerous, it probably is.

Monday was treacherous, with high swells reaching 12 feet, pounding surf, winds blowing about 30 mph and heavy rainfall.

The surf was so bad on that beach that two of our rescue boards we use both got broken yesterday, Murphy said. That was an indication of how powerful it was out there. (Those boards) are made to take a beating.

Mondays tragedy punctuated the warnings. Murphy said the death was completely preventable, with just a little bit more caution and situational awareness.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.

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Woman's Sonoma Coast beach death 'completely preventable,' lifeguard says - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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Guy Fieri goes back to his roots, surprises his elementary school teacher

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SHANNON BROWN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 21, 2017, 1:29PM

| Updated 15 hours ago.

Santa Rosa celebrity chef and Food Network star Guy Fieri went back to his tiny Northern California hometown of Ferndale recently with a big thank you gift for one of his favorite teachers.

Fieri visited Fran Fischer, his 8th-grade teacher at Ferndale Elementary School as part of the California Lottery's Thank A Teacher program, which takes California natives back to their roots to showcase the public school system.

In a video posted by the California Lottery, Fieri tells the story of how Fischer got him involved in a program called National History Day, which encourages students around the country to conduct original research on historical topics of interest. Winning the contest with a paper on the origins of the pretzel, he says, made him see how much of an impact Fischer had on students.

During his visit, Fieri not only thanked his teacher with a big hug, but gave her a cruise to anywhere in the world.

You helped me see the world in such a big way. I want you to see the world in a really great way, Fieri told her, as she began to cry.

Watch the video here:

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For a few days now there have been reports that Americas intelligence community might be conducting a silent campaign to keep the Trump White House from governing. The resignation of Michael Flynn brought this into focus. The story goes that these individuals wanted him gone to protect Obamas nuclear deal with Iran; Flynn was a staunch opponent to the agreement. Guy wrote about this alleged plot, while Lt. Col Tony Shaffer, a former CIA analyst, said that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhoadesall Obama officialswere directly involved with the leaks of the transcripts between Flynn and the Russian ambassador that sunk him. On the other hand, Flynn did mislead the vice president, which is why he was shown the exit, but the contents of the discussions, which is highly sensitive information, show that there probably were no legal infractions.

Now, Bryan Dean Wright, a former CIA operative and self-identified Democrat, is calling out his former colleagues for what he sees as an attempt to hamstring the Trump administration with these leaks. Moreover, it could lead to our institutions being irreparably harmed, especially if Trump loses re-election in 2020. Wright noted that his liberal colleagues would dance in the street, while the more conservative ones, embittered at Trumps first 100 days of his first term being sabotaged, will be lusting for blood and hamstring the incoming Democratic administration with leaks of their own. He noted the wall between spies and government workers, the awesome responsibility they have, the power that they wield when it coms to obtaining highly sensitive information, and people who were rightfully fired for going off the reservation investigating cheating spouses and ex-boyfriends. In all, the theme is clear: do you jobs, let the system work, and allow the democratic process to getrid of presidents who the public feels isn't doing a good job:

Said an intelligence officer: I know what's best for foreign policy and national security And I'm going to act on that.

Some of us might applaud this man, including a few of my fellow Democrats. In their minds, this is a case of Mr. Smith Goes to Langley to do battle against a corrupt President Trump.

One small problem. The intelligence officer quoted above was actually Aldrich Ames, a CIA traitor whose crime of treason in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the compromise of more than 100 assets. Many were tortured and executed as a result.

Ames flawed logic is eerily similar to that of his present-day colleagues who are engaged in a shadow war with their commander in chief. They, too, have decided that their superior judgment is more important than following the law.

[]

When youre trained as a spy, youre taught how to handle these kinds of situations. Upon learning the information, it gets tightly compartmented (restricted) and sent to the Department of Justice or Congress for investigation. If the evidence is found to be credible, the constitution makes clear what happens next: impeachment.

Thats how American democracy should work.And thats precisely how it has been working.

[]

I understand how this might feel appealing to deeply partisan Democrats. After all, I didnt want Trump to win either. But the solution to fighting this subpar president cannot be encouraging a network of spies to tip the scales back in our political favor. We must instead let the system continue to work, as it has, and make our case to the American people during future elections.

If you cant handle Trump, resign. Thats exactly what Edward Price did. Price starting working at the CIA in 2006 and was the spokesperson for the National Security Council:

That changed when I formally resigned last week. Despite working proudly for Republican and Democratic presidents, I reluctantly concluded that I cannot in good faith serve this administration as an intelligence professional.

Thats perfectly fine to do. If you cant work for an administration, you leave. You dont stick around to wage a silent war against the White House, nor do you hang around in the hopes that your opposition would lead to your firing, thereby becoming a martyr for the progressive cause like former Acting Attorney General Sally Yateswho was fired for instructing the entire DOJ not to defend the presidents executive order of immigration. The point that both of these former intelligence operatives are making is that theres a right way to leave when you reach a point where you cannot do your job: you resign and let the Constitution do its work in sorting out the mess.

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Former CIA Operative: I'm A Democrat, But This Effort By America's Spies To Hamstring Trump Is Troubling - Townhall

Cleone Hermsen of Iowa expressed her criticism while listening to Senator Joni Ernst during a veterans roundtable event at Maquoketa City Hall on Tuesday.

FAIRVIEW, Tenn. Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn returned to her district Tuesday in Tennessee and was greeted by tough questions on topics from health care reform to President Donald Trumps cabinet appointees. She also was met with protests.

While 100 people crammed into her town hall gathering about 30 miles from Nashville, another 100 people outside chanted about immigrant rights, Planned Parenthood and other topics in protest against the congresswoman and the president.

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Blackburns town hall was among several protests lobbed at GOP members of Congress returning home this week on break to their districts around the U.S. Now many Republican lawmakers are opting against holding public town halls, instead organizing conference calls or meeting privately.

The crowd inside Blackburns event held up signs that said agree and disagree, and at times yelled out alternative facts and shame on you for lying after Blackburns responses.

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I have always said, you may not agree with me, but youre always going to know where I stand, Blackburn told the protesters outside Fairview City Hall afterward. Having a good, solid, respectful debate, that is something that serves our country well.

Protesters upset with Republican President Donald Trumps policies have vowed to follow Mitch McConnell to every stop.

A month into Trumps presidency, protests continue over his immigration policies, Cabinet selections and the GOPs push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, without all the specifics on how to replace it. At the town halls, protesters are probing their lawmakers to see if they will veer from some of Trumps more controversial decisions, and if they will promise coverage for those currently served by the Affordable Care Act.

Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to address the town halls.

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The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad! he tweeted.

In two small Iowa towns, overflow crowds similarly lobbed questions Tuesday at Republican Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst.

Watch video of a man speaking at a town hall event featuring Senator Charles Grassley:

About 18,000 callers participated in a telephone town hall with suburban Chicago Rep. Peter Roskam, who has been criticized for canceling smaller in-person meetings and declining debates.

Protesters booed in Montana when Sen. Steve Daines canceled his speech to state lawmakers. And at a protest town hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, home of Sen. Pat Toomey, the protest group called Tuesdays with Toomey hung an empty suit in place of the senator.

Similarly, a liberal group in Maine is holding its own town halls against GOP Sen. Susan Collins.

Also Tuesday, the most powerful member of the U.S. Senate faced jeers from nearly 1,000 as he arrived to address a group of local business leaders. In Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, they chanted as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell entered the American Legion Post 34 Fairgrounds in a black limousine.

McConnell said he was proud of the demonstrators for expressing their views but told the mostly friendly audience inside that the protesters had their shot, adding: Winners make policy and the losers go home.

Sandra Brown, 45, said politics shouldnt matter as Congress moves to replace the health care law. She spoke at the Tennessee town hall about how the Affordable Care Act helped cover her pre-existing condition.

Blackburn said the plan for efforts to repeal and replace the law includes maintaining coverage of pre-existing conditions and young adults on their parents plans.

Whatever they do, it needs to be affordable for everybody, Brown said after the Tennessee town hall. Because even the people that voted for a Republican, theyre not going to be very happy if theyve been promised theyre going to repeal this Affordable Care Act and then they replace it with a garbage policy. Theyre going to be affected as well.

Continued here:
Republican members of Congress are met with protests at town halls - The Boston Globe

A senior Iowa state senator wants to require state universities and colleges to consider a job candidates political affiliation during the hiring process, in order to create more partisan balance among faculty.

The senator, Mark Chelgren (R), filed legislation over the weekend that would require Iowas state board of regents to consider a potential faculty members party during the hiring process. If a schools faculty tilts toward one of the two major parties by more than a 10 percentage-point margin, the school would be prohibited from hiring any more members of that party.

Every year, Iowas chief elections official would be required to submit voter registration records to the board of regents.

Opponents of the measure criticized it as a way to block registered Democrats from securing jobs at the University of Iowa, Iowa State and other institutions.

Chelgrens proposal would not count those who register to vote without declaring a party affiliation. He told the Des Moines Register that the loophole would allow potential instructors to change their affiliation in order to get a job.

Chelgren, the chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A similar measure died in North Carolinas state legislature on Monday. That version would have required senior professors within the University of North Carolina system to reflect the ideological balance of Tar Heel voters.

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Iowa Republican wants to require 'partisan balance' at universities - The Hill