Was the Ukranian flag in BOS chambers, is the Pride flag at the Courthouse a violation of County policy?

 

Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees called me back just now during the lunch hour and he is the first one to respond to my request for comment regarding the email sent to Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo and others at the County by Shannon Townsend-Bettis and Parke Bostrom and the potential or threat of a lawsuit against the County. 

Mr. Rees told me he is standing by the flagpole outside the Courthouse on 5th and I. It is one of the locations he has been standing at for months now. 

For safety reasons, Mr. Rees would not confirm if the Israeli flag displayed in a window at the Courthouse is in his office. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, there was a Ukranian flag in the Board of Supervisors chambers and there is a Pride flag being displayed in the month of June at the Courthouse said Mr. Rees. He asked,"Is that a violation of County policy?"

 https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/06/threat-of-lawsuit-mentioned-in-email-to.html?m=1

This is what I sent to all addressed in the email and I cced Mr. Rees. Any other response will be added to this post. The County opened a PRA request and the CAO and HR office are the assigned departments to respond. 

I received 6 documents and a prompt response from the CAO's office ay 3:55 p.m.. Two of the six documents provided are the same sent with the Townsend-Bettis and Bostrom email.

"The County Administrative Office and Human Resources has provided significant resources and support to DA Eads to address the flag in the window of the courthouse. Current county policies prohibit the display of unapproved materials in county facilities. As the elected official responsible for the office hosting the flag, inquiries around her intentions for its removal should be directed to DA Eads. Thank you, Cati Gallardo, Public Information Specialist, County Administrative Office."

Supervisor Arroyo responded at 6:04 p.m.

"Good evening, John,

Thank you for reaching out! We had a special Board of Supervisors meeting for most of today and then I attended my monthly Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission meeting, so I'm just now seeing this. I understand that our PIO has provided the policy documents you asked about, which is great. I will echo the sentiment that human resources and the board along with the CAO's office have provided ample information to District Attorney Eads to assist with this matter and help to identify next steps, and from my perspective, the ball is very much in her court as Mr Rees's direct supervisor. The County's policy is quite clear with respect to activities occurring on County property. Please let me know if there's anything else that you need from me. "

Once again, Ms. Eads is mentioned. She was already cced on the email. I doubt she will respond. The latter isn't just my opinion.

I am not interested in Bettis, Bostrom's or anyone's personal opinions about any of the flags and Bettis has certainly had a lot of ink and screen time. Bettis and Bostrom chose to allege violation of a policy and a foreign flag. Anyone who follows coverage on various local media sources knows exactly what and who they are talking about and this issue has received a lot of coverage. Mr. Rees responded, the County and Supervisor Arroyo responded with policies. If Bettis and Bostrom feel they have a legal case, they can file a lawsuit. There is other news to cover and readers can look at documents in these two posts and the policies and decide for themselves. A constant back and forth about the June 3, 2024 email because Bettis or Bostrom feel the need does not make it news or worth more follow up.

Bettis' previous employment history includes the County of Humboldt, City of Eureka and an investigator Department of Cannabis Control,a registered agent for Play Street, Inc. People in the political community are familiar with Bostrom. The last timeI saw Parke was when I covered the David Kobak case and he had inherited a house. 

Until today, I had not covered the flag being allegedly displayed in Mr. Rees' office. An email from Ms. Eads which was provided by Shannon Bettis and Parke Bostrom acknowledges a flag in a window. I interviewed Mr. Rees when the protestors were outside the courthouse, the day after the arrests at Cal Poly Humboldt. He told me he was outside on his own time.

Since this email has now been sent to Supervisor Arroyo, DA Eads, the Grand Jury, HCSO, the CAO and Human Resources, I am reaching out for any comment as well as asking the CAO or HR to confirm what the current policy is or if what is included in the email is accurate. I dont know if this was sent to other media and am asking for a direct response to me. Given that the email was addressed to Supervisor Arroyo, I would definitely like a response from her. The CAO, HR, Ms. Eads can respond through Supervisor Arroyo or individually. I cced Mr. Rees if he wishes to comment.

The other 4 documents from the County: