Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 14, 2023

11

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 14, 2023 

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges [www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com]


SOOO CUTE: JULIUS & CAESAR

Julius and Cesar, age 5 months, 
are a handsome pair of local 
tuxedo boys with worldly 
ambitions. They enjoy a good 
chase and practice battle tactics 
with each other. Julius has 
a splotch on his nose while 
Caesar has a little extra ink on 
the side of his. Their ear floof is quite luxurious for their 
size and sport a distinctive chin splotch. They are an energetic 
pair and would do well together or with other 
feline friends. If you would like to have a cat with unique 
Rorschach face designs and be an instant conversation 
starter, please reach out. 

See more pictures of them on our website’s “More Cats” 
page, and submit the Lifeline for Pets adoption application 
on our website, as well: www.lifelineforpets.org.


THE URBAN GARDEN, Part 1

[Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Guide to Wild Foods,” “Extreme 
Simplicity,” and numerous other books. He can be reached at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 
90041, or www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com, where you can also read his Blog.]

 

FIGURING THINGS OUT

When I was still living with my parents, we had no space at all to garden. 
We lived in the city. It was unthinkable then to tear up a front lawn and 
use it for a garden – some-thing I wouldn’t hesitate to do today. The next door neighbor 
offered us the use of an empty yard between our houses. My mother – who grew up on a 
farm – sat up at night with me at the kitchen table, planning how to use that little space 
for gardening. Most of what I learned about what to plant, and not to plant, was learned 
by making mistakes.

 

I began by planting herbs, tomatoes, and corn, all neatly arranged in north-south lines 
with some pathways in-between. I knew nothing about fertilizer or mulch or pest con-
trol. I just went out there and planted what I believed would make the best garden, and I 
watched the results.

 

Herbs took care of themselves – mints, fennel, oregano, lavendar, rosemary, and oth-ers. 
Herbs tended to be drought-tolerant, insect repelling, and required very little of my time 
and effort. They are good choices just about everywhere, assuming they are herbs that you 
would normally use.

 

Tomatoes grew good too, but I learned that they just grew and grew, longer and longer, 
and only began to produce lots of tomatoes when I pinched back the stems so the branches 
would not grow as long. Yes, I got tomato worms, which I just picked off and tossed to the 
birds.

 

Corn was quite an education. It grew tall and the ears formed. As they got bigger, I no-
ticed that they were very infested with lots of ants, and aphids, and earwigs. In horror, I 
would take the hose and wash all the bugs off, and this worked to some extent since it was 
a small garden.

 

That first season’s corn was a disaster, with bug-infested, half-developed ears, I exper-
imented with some of the natural pest repellants, and made my own insecticide from a 
mixture of garlics and hot peppers, liquified in the blender, and sprayed on the plants. I 
even added a little Basic H to the mix. I had some results, but I was still trying to grow 
crops in poor soil.

 

In desperation, I studied all I could on natural pest control. I would not use the various 
liquid and spray commercial insecticides. I still had fresh memories of one of my uncle 
from Ohio, who had to dress up in what looked like a bee suit every time he went into 
his apple orchards so he would be protected from all the pesticides that he sprayed on the 
apples. (He died of cancer). Shouldn’t farming and gardening be about life, not death, I 
wondered? Can’t nature take care of itself? Isn’t there a way to find a balance so that the 
bugs keep the other bugs in check?

 

I knew, instinctively, that even in my small 
garden, nature could find a balance, and 
that through natural methods, I could grow 
food and encourage good insects to eat the 
bad insects. I learned little by little that this 
was indeed possible. 

 More later

Pet of the Week

 
This handsome guy is Evan- a 6-year-old Chinese Shar Pei mix 
at Pasadena Humane. Evan is an incredibly social dog who loves 
everyone he meets. 

 Evan recently attended a busy event with the Wiggle Waggle 
Wagon and he was a star! He met some other dogs and enjoyed 
that. He also got to play with toys, and bask in the adoration of 
everyone who came to visit. He happily showed off that he knows 
how to sit, lay down and even shake. Did we mention we think 
he’s housetrained, too? 

 Evan loves going for walks- he would be an ideal hiking 
companion because he always seems to be on the move sniffing, 
exploring, just enjoying whatever comes along. 

 Because Evan is over 5 years old, he is eligible for the Seniors 
for Seniors program. His adoption fee is waived for an adopter 
over 60! 

 The adoption fee for dogs is $150. All dog adoptions include 
spay or neuter, microchip, and age-appropriate vaccines. 

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA Animal Hospitals, 
as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet. 

 View photos of adoptable pets and schedule an adoption appointment at pasadenahumane.org. 
Adoptions are by appointment only, and new adoption appointments are available every Sunday 
and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. 

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone calls or 
email.


AB 829, THE ANIMAL CRUELTY & VIOLENCE 
INTERVENTION ACT, SIGNED INTO LAW BY 
GOVERNOR NEWSOM

 

On October 09, 2023, Sacramento, CA – Assembly Bill 829, the Animal Cruelty & Violence 
Intervention Act, authored by Assemblywoman Marie Waldron (R-Valley Center) and sponsored 
by Social Compassion in Legislation was signed into law by Governor Newsom. The 
bill will expand currently required counseling for violations of Penal Code 597 to additional 
sections pertaining to animal abuse, such as those involving mali-cious violence, willful 
poisoning, or bestiality. The bill also codifies language which encourages a judge to order 
a psychological evalua-tion and, if deemed beneficial after evaluation, to undergo a higher 
level of treatment in lieu of current mandated counseling.

“I am very thankful that AB 829 has been signed by the Governor,” said Assemblymember 
Waldron. “We are helping to ensure people have access to the proper care they need while 
also protecting innocent animals. Early mental health intervention is key to stopping the 
progression and escalation of violent behavior.”

"We are grateful to Governor Newsom for signing AB 829 into law. He understands when 
there is violence to an animal, you can bet there is or will be violence to a human," said Judie 
Mancuso, Founder & President of Social Compassion in Legislation. "People convicted 
of animal abuse crimes need help. This new law expands mandated counseling for animal 
abuse convictions and calls for psychological evaluations to help prevent the abuser from 
further crimes against both animals and humans. Yes, people must be punished for hurting 
animals, but they also need treatment with the hope of fixing their underlying emotional 
and psychological issues before they do it again or go on to hurt humans."

AB 829, the Animal Cruelty and Violence Intervention Act fits into a larger effort in California 
to ensure people with mental health issues get the help that they need.

California has been struggling with a mental health crisis since the deinstutionalization 
that began after mental health facilities were emptied under both the Reagan California 
governorship and presi-dential administration. It has been taboo for the decades since to 
spend taxpayer dollars on helping individuals with mental illness. But this simply shifted 
the burden onto our streets, and our criminal jus-tice system which contributed to prison 
overcrowding, in addition to the inhumane nature of housing mentally ill people in prisons 
with little to no treatment.

Recently, Governor Newsom’s CARE Court began in San Francisco and six other counties, 
allowing family members, police, health workers and others to refer people with certain psychotic 
illnesses to a newly established court system. Those who are found by a judge to need 
treatment they are not receiving, and who cannot live safely on their own or pose a threat of 
harm to others, can be placed in housing if needed and ordered to undergo treatment.

Over the past 30 years, researchers and professionals, led by Dr. Kenneth Shapiro of the 
Animal and Society Institute, in a variety of human services and animal welfare disciplines, 
have estab-lished significant correlations (the “Link”) between animal abuse, child abuse 
and neglect, domestic violence, elder abuse and other violent crimes.

Despite the recognition of this link between violence to animals and to humans, current 
sentencing options for animal abuse crimes are largely punitive measures that do little to 
help end the cycle of vio-lence or rehabilitate offenders. Fines, jail time, probation and forced 
animal surrender are the primarily utilized options, but may not be enough to address the 
underlying issues leading to animal abuse. Appropriate mental health evaluation and counseling 
are essential for public safety and stop the abuser from abusing.

"The research is clear: animal cruelty is a common precursor to future violent acts. Governor 
Newsom’s endorsement of AB 829 supports early intervention and will help put an end to 
cycles of violence," said Rebecca Katz, Chief Program Officer for Animal Rescue Foundation 
- Walnut Creek.

"No matter how common sense it may seem to the general public, navigating a bill through 
the legislative gauntlet requires political will and savvy," said Nickolaus Sackett, Director of 
Legislative Affairs for Social Compassion in Legislation. "And that is exactly what Assemblymember 
Waldron brought to the table. 

We are so thankful to her and her staff for their dedication in getting this bill through the 
legislature and Governor Newsom for signing it into law."


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com