Gotcha! We’ve had our fill of grouchy news lately—time to lighten the mood.
Each photo from the rambles of Caesar, Brutus, and me comes with a story we hope brings a smile (and maybe a little learning too). We’re tossing in a dash of education with every tale, plus a gallery of beautiful people—because we find beauty in everyone we meet. As Frank, Caesar, and the dogs wander the coast, we’ll keep showing you the folks who make this place shine.
Gotcha #1: A Prohibited Catch and a Priceless Reaction
This man reeled in a silver salmon—off-limits, but undeniably stunning—at Navarro Beach. His amazement was palpable, pure joy as he lifted the gleaming fish from the surf. I’d been snapping shots from way down the beach with the SuperZoom Nikon P1000, trying to stay discreet. But let’s be real: a man built like LeBron James, flanked by two German Shepherds, is not easily hidden.
This is when the Hawthorne Effect kicked in. Or did it?
The Hawthorne Effect: Science’s Funniest Breakthrough In the 1920s, General Electric hired social scientists to study worker productivity at their Hawthorne, Illinois factory. What followed was pure magic—or so it seemed. Turn up the lights? Productivity soared. Dim the lights? Same result. Let workers leave early? More output. Keep them late? Still more output. Every change, no matter how contradictory, boosted performance.
Eventually, the lead scientist walked into the factory boss’s office and confessed: “I believe we’ve made a major mistake.”
Turns out, GE had introduced the scientists and explained every change to the workers. The real driver wasn’t lighting or schedules—it was observation. People worked harder because they knew they were being watched.
At first, GE’s team felt foolish. But they’d stumbled onto something profound: the Hawthorne Effect. From then on, researchers began accounting for how observation itself alters behavior—sometimes dramatically. Even microorganisms, it turns out, behave differently when someone’s watching.
Gotcha #2: A Silver Surprise and a Scientific Side-Eye What our Gotcha! man did wasn’t illegal—as long as he put the salmon back. And he did, after a few joyful moments of joy and amazement. Was it the Hawthorne Effect? Maybe. He knew he was being watched, and the fish sure got a moment in the spotlight.
Right now, salmon are staging at the mouths of the Navarro and every other coastal river, waiting to run. Silvers (Coho) are more plentiful than in years past, but they’re still off-limits to anglers. Why? Because California nearly wiped out its Central Coast Coho through logging, development, and—yes—some well-intentioned but stream-wrecking environmental interventions.
These fish mingle with Oregon Coho, which aren’t endangered, so sometimes there’s a decent showing. But the rule remains: no keeping any.
Tonight’s First Friday Is the Big One—Fun, Music, and a Downtown Test Run The city officially launches its new “Entertainment Zone” (EZ) in downtown tonight—and this is the test! For the first time, participating businesses can serve alcohol outdoors within the EZ boundaries. Just grab an EZ-marked cup from Sip & Wine,Tall Guy, Cucce Verona, Los Gallitos, or Welcome Inn, and stay within the zone.
The night kicks off with a live band for the first two hours, followed by a DJ to keep the party rolling. Expect cornhole, a big skating bash in Old City Hall, and plenty of revelry.
Art Explorers is celebrating its 25th anniversary—a milestone for the beloved program that champions artists who are wired a bit differently and create extraordinary work. Their studio will be open, and afterward, the crew heads to Tall Guy for karaoke.
Councilman Lindy Peters—Once a ‘No,’ Now a Guide Councilman Lindy Peters, who cast the lone “no” vote when the city approved the county’s first-ever Entertainment Zone (EZ), now offers a helpful video on the city’s Facebook page explaining how it works. His earlier concerns about whether the zone would feel family-friendly appear to have been addressed. And word is, Willits may be next in line to launch an EZ of its own.
Legal Curveball: Testing Globalism and Diversity Laws Here’s a lawsuit you won’t likely see elsewhere—and we’ll be dropping one into each Gotcha story. This case pushes the boundaries of globalism and diversity regulations, raising questions that ripple far beyond the courtroom.
Gotcha #3: A Dangerous Disclosure at 30,000 Feet This one’s serious. A German airline agent exposed the sexual orientation of a gay couple from Saudi Arabia during their flight to San Francisco. In Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is punishable by death. Because of that, the names of the two men are withheld in the lawsuit—a rare and sobering exception.
This case tests the limits of globalism, privacy, and diversity protections in international air travel.
Gotcha #4: A Marriage, a Flight, and a Jurisdictional Fight A same-sex married couple—one a U.S. citizen living in California, the other a Saudi national—split their time between the two countries, despite the fact that homosexuality is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
In 2021, after U.S. travel restrictions eased, they booked a flight from Riyadh to San Francisco with a German airline that operates extensively in California. At check-in, a senior airline employee publicly questioned their relationship and transmitted copies of their marriage certificate and passports to airline headquarters—despite the couple’s concerns about Saudi surveillance.
After the trip, the Saudi government updated one plaintiff’s official status to “married,” triggering fears of severe penalties if he returned. The couple alleged the airline’s actions caused serious personal, financial, and health consequences.
They filed suit in California state court against the airline and its U.S. subsidiary, citing breach of contract and multiple torts. The defendants removed the case to federal court, arguing jurisdictional grounds. The district court dismissed it, claiming the U.S. was the wrong venue.
But on appeal, the Ninth Circuit reversed course. It found the airline had purposefully availed itself of California’s market, the claims were tied to its California-related activities, and jurisdiction was reasonable. The case was sent back for further proceedings.
Gotcha! Here’s to Gorgeous People and a Cleaner Feed We try not to do “gotcha” photos—but sometimes it’s hard to resist. We love beautiful people, and on the Mendocino Coast, that’s everybody.
Sure, we’d get 50 times the clicks if we posted straight to Facebook. But we’re stepping back. These days, we share our work only on MendocinoCoast.news, with Facebook used strictly as a link-out.
We simply can’t support Facebook beyond its utility in building local news. And we’re taking a long, hard look at why we keep supporting platforms that help make the world such a mess.
This time, we swapped memory tricks during our ramble.
