Thursday night’s Planning Commission meeting began with a surprise announcement during talk of a string of appeals filed by over-zealous developer Rob Arkley against Humboldt County.
Commissioner Ralph Faust announced he would recuse himself from hearings on those issues to save county money and make time for other items. Arkley’s groups Humboldt Sunshine, Arkley Irrevocable Trust, LLC, and Samoa Dunes assert Faust has a conflict of interest, and have a lawsuit pending in superior court.
The complaints stem from Faust’s 2007 stint as interim county counsel.
Faust said he doesn’t believe there is a conflict and that applicants have been treated fairly. But the cost of money and time fighting the suit prompted his recusal.
“I think the whole process would be better served if I recuse myself from participation in these three matters.”
Spotlight on the three appeals come at a time when Arkley opponents are accused of “extortion” and excessive litigiousness. But Arkley reigns supreme when it comes to front groups and lawsuits to fight any obstacle on the way to creating Arkleyville.
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November 13, 2009 at 12:51 am
Holy crap, how many lawsuits has Arkley brought in the past year alone? Piece of work that guy is.
November 13, 2009 at 6:35 am
Since Humboldt County is want to follow the law, it takes a private citizen to hold its feet to the fire. Thanks Mr. Arkley.
November 13, 2009 at 6:49 am
certainly he has a conflict if they are appealing administrative decisions that faust participated in.
November 13, 2009 at 7:41 am
had enough?
November 13, 2009 at 8:06 am
I wonder if a look at Arkley’s very ugly divorce with Kramer, his Samoa partner might give the city pause when considering any legally binding agreement with Mr. Arkley.
Hank?
November 13, 2009 at 8:08 am
when there is corruption in the court house (Faust leaking info to Lovelace ) it’s good that someone will stand up for open government/won’t it be good if Nicolus is deposed and the truth about these eco=frauds is reveled/
November 13, 2009 at 8:13 am
Can you believe poor Mr. Arkley is gonna get sued over his ill-advised Balloon Tract boondoggle? He’s so busy throwing paper at everyone else, he might not even notice. Whatta piece of work.
How could we peons possibly question His omnipotence?
November 13, 2009 at 8:39 am
All this will do, is embolden the Bully Arkley, and all of his little blue sweat shirted minions. It would have been worth the money to fight it. don’t give in to no this prick. NO ARKLEYVILLE!
November 13, 2009 at 8:45 am
Wow- now that’s the pot calling the kettle black! When the enviros, anti-development types, and “progressives” accuse Arkley of “extortion” and “excessive litigiousness”- it makes me want to toss my cookies! (not my brownies for you pot-heads out there) I sincerely doubt that “Arkley reigns supreme when it comes to “front-groups” and lawsuits to fight anything in his way”. After watching EPIC, EARTHFIRST, etc etc ply their trade over the last 20 years, I can tell you that NOBODY even comes close to those guys! They are the consumate pros! They can wrap themselves in an American flag, trample all over private property rights, and file lawsuits and block gates all with one hand tied behind their back!
November 13, 2009 at 9:08 am
421 your right on point with the issue. The rest of you just come across as whiny and suffer from an inferiority complex of some type.
Shit, how hard is it to focus on the merits of the issue of recusal.
Oh yah, forgot; its better to just whine about the big bad bully
November 13, 2009 at 10:37 am
I’ve said it before…SO…I’ll say it again, Arkley is a bully & a spoiled two year old. Here are the facts;
The balloon tract sat for 40 years, while the powers that be that run this city scratched their asses.
The Arkleys can’t give the ugly thing away SO they decide to HELP Eureka out & develope the property.
We are told by the Arkleys that this project will generate more jobs & NO BIG BOX STORES.
During this process, Robbie-Boy has public confrontations with both City Councilpersons, Leonard & Glass.
Meanwhile, we are told that Home Depot is also going in.
After much debate, the project comes before the council.
Arkley has a party & passes out scripts to follow & (I love this) directions to City Hall for all of his little followers.
We are told over & over that anyone who is in opposition to this project is anti-job, anti-development, anti-Eureka, & downright anti-American & anti-God.
Jeffy-Boy (Arkley’s personal “Stepford Wife”) tells the press that no one should sue because the city & the Arkleys are just trying to clean-up the place (after 40 years of ass scratching).
The Ass Scratchers that run this city don’t really care if the balloon tract is cleaned up or not. If they did, someone would of managed to contact the railroad 40 years ago!
Now the Baykeepers have not only sued a few of these poluting companies but they also won & won big!
There are a few in this city that are not willing roll over & play dead for the Arkleys. If we are ever going to get a beautiful, prosperous, healthy city, remember these events when you vote next November!!!!
November 13, 2009 at 10:45 am
I totally agree with 421 – Faust had to recuse himself here. I also think that he has to recuse himself from anything he even was consulted upon while still on the county’s pay. (Essentially, everything until June 30, 2008.
1. it is a conflict
2. it will cost a fortune in attorneys fees
3. it will void anything he votes on and those votes will have to be redone.
Now, lets just move on.
November 13, 2009 at 11:50 am
Faust’s appointment was made with the clear understanding of his conflicts. But the way it works here is the powers that be will push their own agenda irrespective of what the law says and then rely on citizens to make it right. So when Arkley sued and got this agreement, Faust’s supporters will just cry anit-Arkley stuff rather than considering the outcome before the appointment was made.
November 13, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Giberish! The only thing that legally costitutes a conflict of interest is some type of financial tie to the outcome. Having opinions and even biases are not conflicts of interest. RA is damn lucky Faust didn’t want to push the issue. RA is willing to use lawsuits in a heartbeat to intimidate and bully anyone he wants. But when the shoe is on the other foot…oh, the tears do fall!!!
November 13, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Yes, lawsuits are good n’ righteous when Arkley files them but devious tools of devilry when filed against Arkley.
November 13, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Hmmm. Pg. 1 In 2008… Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation, $1,775,300.00, Attorney’s Fees and Costs…$1,060,000.00… if I am reading this right, they gave a shitload of money (other distribution) to ERF (Ecological Rights Foundation), that would be “Humboldt Paykeeper”’s predatory litigious parent… Pg. 26-31 from 2000-2008…, you got a calculator, heraldo? Pg. 26 1/3/08…$10,000.00, 1/14/08…$20,000.00, 1/22/08…$15,000.00, 1/23/08…$15,000.00, 2/15/08…$20,000.00, 2/19/08…$20,000.00; Pg. 27 3/3/08…$20,000.00 (ERF and CATS), 3/3/08…$5,000.00, 3/3/08…$20,000.00, 3/26/08…$15,000.00…. and on and on and on it goes
Pg. 2 from 2000-2008… $14,166,687.00…280 settlements… Attorney’s Fees and costs… $7,917,000.00
AND The “Ecological Rights Foundation” themselves another 38 settlements,,, $950,000, 750.00, roughly half of that in lawyers fees and costs…
That’s just in one document. More money to CATs, KFPA radio ($35,000.00 and $15,000.00Fifty grand? What’d the radio station do for that?), Beginnings…
Big bucks…
November 13, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Fuck yeah, rolling in the money. Arkley should be so lucky.
November 13, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Make that The “Ecological Rights Foundation” themselves another 38 settlements,,, $950,750.00… those big numbers are so confusing…
November 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm
You can’t blame the numbers.
November 13, 2009 at 1:04 pm
What’d the radio station do for the money? Was it an ad buy?
November 13, 2009 at 1:19 pm
It must be part of the conspiracy to take over the world.
November 13, 2009 at 1:22 pm
No, just Humboldt County
November 13, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Yeah. Have to make it through the phone tree.
November 13, 2009 at 1:26 pm
So, what’re they doing with all this money, heraldo? Patty? Bill? I mean, it’s a nice chunka change.
November 13, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Like I said, they’re rolling in it. Naked, maybe.
November 13, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Maybe. Good little capitalists, I guess.
November 13, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Geez, you know, they could donate the proceeds to clean up the Bay. That would be cool.
November 13, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Lets talk about “Front Groups”- I am on the right thread, right?
November 13, 2009 at 1:53 pm
They’re tipping at a level playing field Rose.
Have you and Scotia Boy (8:45) been to any of the H.E.L.P. or the Humboldt Sunshine public meetings, or one of their public workshops, or public fundraiser events? Surely thousands of supporters were there, right?
November 13, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Enjoying the cat(s?)fight. I predict Rose wins by TKO!
November 13, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Don’t forget Sunshine for Humboldt and Humboldt Future.
November 13, 2009 at 1:58 pm
What’s that, Wheel? heraldo says “But Arkley reigns supreme… really? MORE than 280 settlements? I’m thinking Mateel/ERF/(Baykeeper)/CATS kinda takes the prize here.
November 13, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Let’s not forget Humboldt Watershed Council/”Healthy Humboldt”… and how many other “Projects” do we have running here? I’m sure Mr. Wheels up there knows.
Remember “Baykeeper/Paykeeper” is a “project” of ERF… now we’ve got Mateel and Cats and EPIC in this mix – you guys warrant a page of your own on Muckety and Discover the Networks – and Activistcash.com, too.
November 13, 2009 at 2:01 pm
The Mateel has front groups? And CATS? No wonder they’re so stinking rich!
November 13, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Heraldas staggering, Rose lands another to the chin!
November 13, 2009 at 2:05 pm
$14,166,687.00 – that’s some stimulus, huh?
November 13, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Arkley must be jealous.
November 13, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I mean how much is that? Is that like, Fourteen MILLION, One Hundred Sixty Six Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighty Seven Dollars even? That’s no vow of poverty.
November 13, 2009 at 2:14 pm
And that’s JUST the Prop 65 Go-Away money.
November 13, 2009 at 2:16 pm
How much were they hoping to get from Arkley?
November 13, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Really, I think these guys are part of why the State of California is going bankrupt…. maybe the Teacher’s Unions ought to turn their sights this way, think of the jobs that could have been saved with that Fourteen Million… and that’s just to ONE predatory litigious ORG… next time you hear about teachers being laid off, and no money for the Healthy families fund, you’ll know why.
Looks like Jerry Brown agrees with me.
November 13, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Hope Bill and Patty and the rest of you took that ACORN lady’s advice and buried some of that dough in a can in the backyard, looks like Jerry’s about to put a stop to the Prop 65 gravy train.
November 13, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I think Rose might be suffering from ‘leaf mold’. For that many actions, that’s not that much money. Yeah, a good chunk pays for the lawyers but much of it actually pays for things like the cleanup on Simpson’s land by the old flea market. A settlement usually includes money for the remediation dictated by the action. I don’t see a lot of new BMW’s on F St. I would love to see how much RA has spent on legal actions in the last few years, won and lost. It would probably shock us all.
November 13, 2009 at 3:19 pm
For normal people things like lawyers are an expense item. For the modern big businessman, who has modeled their businesses on the mafia, lawyers become a profit center.
You form an S Corp or an LLC, hire some lawyers and then charge your own company for their services. Outsource profit, pay less tax. SWEET!
have a peaceful day,
Bill
November 13, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Haha. Comedians.
November 13, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The price of liberty is eternal vigiliance. Rose wants to wage economic warfare, teabagger style. Well, she can drown herself in the bathtub because the US electorate doesn’t accept her belief that having more wealth is proof of being wise and more worthy of respect.
The American revolution was waged to obtain the right of redress against the sovereign(and its corporate licensees). If Rose has a problem with lawsuits she’s got a problem with the rule of law and US Constitution which gives everyone access to courts.
Or maybe Rose has a problem with the judiciary? Verdicts awarding compensation are subject to appeal. And every pretrial settlement has to be approved by the trial judge. Many of the judges who approved those settlements and verdicts that Rose is anguished about were Republican appointees. But they weren’t sufficiently “of the Rose faith”. Who else beside her ever could be?
November 13, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Maybe you should be thrreaten with a lawsuit and see how it feels.
November 13, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Rose,
You may think it is funny, but when businesses use the mafia as a model, guess who loses? You and I lose. His partners and the rest of us become suckers, marks for the con.
Imagine that you are in partnership with someone like this. Your business shows a little profit but not what it should. Why? Legal expenses are high. This goes on for a few years until you realize that the expensive law firm is also owned by your partner. The light goes on but you are s-c-r-e-w-e-d.
This is like the hotel in Manhattan that is not very profitable because the cost of clean linens is so high. Yeah right.
You are not that stupid Rose.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
November 13, 2009 at 4:06 pm
And slowly the apologists emerge… oh, that’s not very much money. Uh huh. Nothing to see here, just move along, and let us go back to the Arkley bashing.
“For normal people things like lawyers are an expense item.” That’s the best line of the day.
Like toothpaste and apple pie, huh, Bill?
Fourteen MILLION off ONE teat. How much more have the parasites been getting?
November 13, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Rose has expressed heartfelt feelings, as in the song lyrics below:
“Only we, the workers of the worldwide
Great army of labour,
Have the right to own the land,
But the parasites – never!”
BTW, the song is the Soviet Union national anthem, words taken from The Internationale. Too funny, Rose is a closet Marxist.
November 13, 2009 at 9:15 pm
A conflict is when a decisionmaker has a financial stake in the outcome. Faust has no financial stake. That’s the law, people, look it up. It doesn’t matter if Faust was God’s personal assistant when the original papers were filed; he has no financial interest in whether Arkley can chop up an old ranch and sell it for ranchettes.
Jeff Smith, now there’s a conflict: the guy is CFO of one of the biggest developers in the County! Have you ever seen him recuse himself? I haven’t. Jeff’s all right, but still ought to do the right thing and recuse himself when DanCo projects or property are involved.
November 14, 2009 at 8:55 am
Everyone can comment all they want, but if Faust did not have a conclict he would not have said so!
November 14, 2009 at 9:16 am
Rose is on the right track. Lawyers who make up rules are making money. Ecophiles who file suits are making money. The rest of us get a stick up or A%%.
November 14, 2009 at 9:17 am
Faust explicitly denied any conflict.
November 14, 2009 at 9:58 am
Oh, that settles it then.
November 14, 2009 at 10:02 am
use the mafia as a model Bill?
Have you not been listening? Who is extorting protection (go-away) money here? Bill, open your eyes.
These aren’t cute little grassroots groups. Fourteen MILLION, Bill. Off ONE Proposition. No wonder these extortionists can afford the nice Old Town storefronts, when little Mom and Pop stores can’t. Think, Bill, think.
November 15, 2009 at 8:55 am
Faust also lied to the BOS about the TPZ/Palco issue. So his word is worth==????
November 15, 2009 at 9:00 am
Which was?
Faust had to correct a lie Frank Bacik told the BOS about its ability to participate in the Palco bankruptcy hearings.
November 15, 2009 at 11:59 am
Ralph Faust is a self-centered egotistical maniacal meglomaniac. “Cost to the County would be too high” my ass. Truth was about to come out via the trial and THOSE political costs would be too high…
As for his prowess as an attorney; he is good only at spewing his political opinion (not legal advice – or he would be dis-barred)and insisting all the while that he is right and there is no conflict. Good job on following through with those “duties” you swore to uphold when you were licensed in the State of California, Ralphie…
November 15, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Lil Birdie you sound like the punkass bully Rob Prickering Arkley. The “truth”, that has to come out is what a pitiful attorney Rob P. Arkely was, I say was since he is no longer licensed to malpractice law anymore. How much money has Robin the coward cost the county. GFY birdie or Robin red breast.
November 15, 2009 at 2:03 pm
“Big Byrdie” – Andrew, blow hard, is that you? Guess I called it cuz’ your pants are all knotted up. Too Bad So Sad lil’ wiener.
November 16, 2009 at 8:01 am
Faust lied flat out to the BOS about the palco “kingdoms” being ministerial.
November 16, 2009 at 9:08 am
But are we not glad he did! The BOS overreaction to his advice woke up the masses and will eventually mean a fundamental change to the GPU overhaul.
November 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm
We’ve had half a century discovering the costs of illness and economic ruin associated with brownfields, 50 years of good ‘ol city councils and supervisors doing NOTHING.
Then, the public demanded and formed a plethora of environmental groups and FINALLY a little justice is being done.
For decades, the old boys have completely dominated the system, the courts, and the influence of billions of dollars; their lobbyists authored the laws that successfully deregulated industries, and they elected officials that underfunded inspection agencies, while ensuring public subsidies for outdated technology. A monumental economic and environmental failure that continues despite proven alternatives like Europe’s Precautionary Principles requiring industry to first prove their products are safe before mfg. and distribution.
While the rest of the industrialized world is already decades ahead of us in the green energy revolution, we’re having more low-wage big boxes crammed down our throats.
Even a child can understand that an economy based upon 70% consumer spending and 30% manufacturing IS NOT sustainable!
If we want to attract capital investment, we need a clean bay and a growth model that contributes more to our economy than it exports to Wall Street.
Thank you Ralph and Pete, we need many more like you!
November 18, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Isn’t the Arkley klan supposed to be residing in Louisiana?