FEMA has agreed to allow wildfire victims be compensated by PG&E before the agency. A tentative deal has been announced by the Bankruptcy Court and part of the deal is that FEMA will not go after repayment from wildfire claims after there had been a threat that the federal government may demand getting its federal disaster aid paid back by survivors. FEMA has also agreed to reduce its claim by $3 billion, from $4 to $1 billion. The lawyer who represents wildfire victims says until the victims are paid, FEMA will receive no money. A FEMA spokesperson has confirmed the details of the deal and says it’s satisfied with the tentative agreement and says, “the needs of disaster survivors are placed first” and that the federal agency “holds PG&E accountable for expenditures of federal disaster assistance” for fires caused by the utility’s electrical equipment.
Sonoma County says they have no evidence of communal spread of coronavirus. Local health officials says they’ve got an aggressive plan to fight the illness from spreading which includes local testing, targeted tracking at hospital emergency rooms and recommends anyone organizing a public event consider canceling. The county’s interim health officer, Dr. Sundari Mase spoke to the Board of Supervisors saying it’s hard to track the virus, because it’s so new and some who get sick never show any symptoms. 29 people were tested since the weekend and all tests were negative.
The latest numbers show a pretty low voter turnout in Mendocino County. The Registrar of Voters Office reports of the nearly 25,000 voters, only about a third of them, or 31% got out the vote in the 2020 Presidential Primary. There are still no official results because the office has a month from the election to post the State of Vote.
Some school districts in Calif. say they’re not getting enough money in their budgets, only a 2.3% cost of living adjustment. Apparently they’ve been expecting 3%. Some say that divide of less than three quarters of a percent is a big deal as some don’t have enough to cover basic operating expenses with higher pension expenses, special education costs and the fact that the minimum wage went up. Some districts are also dealing with lower enrollment. Now the coronavirus is tapping reserves for larger districts that may have to close, like Elk Grove, which boasts enrollment of 60,000 students.
Several dozen budget changes are being discussed in Willits. At the City Council meeting tonight, 61 changes will be considered for the 2019-2020 budget. The Willits News reports they’ll work on high priority goals and approve upcoming road projects. The agenda notes the budget amendments as decreasing the budget balance because of insurance costs, decreasing the Enterprise Fund because of Capital Improvement Projects and a decease to the Special Fund because of personnel costs in the Police Department. All of this and the agenda can be found online at the City’s website.
A community forum is planned in Ukiah. The public’s invited to the discussion of the Downtown Streetscape Project tomorrow. Construction’s set to start next month. If you attend you can meet the City of Ukiah Project Team, see the final designs, and ask questions. It’s at 6 pm tomorrow at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center, 200 S. School Street.
More than 40 million dollars is being distributed among local groups and businesses to help reduce the risk of wildfires. CAL FIRE awarded the money so 55 local fire prevention projects can be completed for hazardous fuel reduction, wildfire preparedness planning and fire prevention education. Lake Co News reports the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center, got more than $3 million for the first phase of the Lake County Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project. The Cal Fire director says they’re doubling their efforts to “clear brush, inspect homes for defensible space and reduce the risk of wildfires. He says the “local projects will play a critical role in augmenting our fire prevention efforts.” Some of that includes removing dead and dying trees that will protect communities from possible wildfires in the future. The agency’s put up more than $150 million dollars the last 6 years for hundreds of projects to address the risk of wildfire.
There are now nearly 160 cases of coronavirus in Calif. The Department of Public Health released new numbers yesterday and announced the creation of an online hub so you can access information about how to protect against the illness. 157 recorded cases of the virus, including 2 deaths, but as Lake Co News reports, that doesn’t include passengers from the docked Grand Princess cruise ship in Oakland. The website also includes guidance for all sorts of health care facilities, schools, event organizers, first responders, employers, healthcare workers, how to clean your home for coronavirus positive patients, using cleaners at schools, labs and healthcare facilities from Cal Osha.
One person is dead and another has been hurt after a solo car crash near Clearlake Oaks. Lake Co News reports the crash happened last night just after 8:15 p.m. by mile marker 37 on Highway 20 near Walker Ridge Road. The California Highway Patrol on the scene of a white SUV that had veered off the highway and traveling down an embankment. The CHP says the car went about 100 to 200 feet down the embankment. The driver was unresponsive when they arrived so an air ambulance was requested. But the driver died soon after. A passenger had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, but later they were taken to an out-of-county trauma center.
A middle school student in Lakeport has been arrested for threatening statements. Police say a school resource officer was alerted by school staff about a former Terrace Middle School student who was not on campus and is on probation for making the threats. Police notified the probation department. The school resource officer and probation officers then went to the student’s home and found an unloaded Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun, no ammo was found though. The kid was arrested and taken to Juvenile Hall.
A local emergency in Mendocino County’s been ratified by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors due to COVID- 19 (coronavirus). The Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan declared the public health emergency last week for the County to better coordinate emergency planning and coordination between state and federal agencies. The county can also get money back from state and federal governments for any expenditures it incurs related to the virus. Just like Lake County announced, they’re working with officials to monitor and respond to the virus with the California Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Neither county has any confirmed cases.
A meeting’s set between the Ukiah City Council and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District. The meeting tonight to present a rate study after analyzing wastewater revenue requirements for the City and the District, analyze fiscal resources, to maintain wastewater services, including operations, debt service, and capital improvements. The Daily Journal reports the two are also going to consider Prop 218, regarding new rates. A 2006 bond may be refinanced to pay for upgrades to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and reduce the debt for both parties.
A five year contract has been agreed to for an online tax auction bidding service for Lake County. The Board of Supervisors agreed to the agreement to help sell tax defaulted parcels. District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier wants more than the 300 properties noted in the contract that would be up for auction each year of the agreement. The $262,500 contract maximum with Bid4Assets, Inc. out of Maryland would give that company $175 fee per property with a maximum of 300 auctioned properties a year. And District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown says he just wants the taxes paid, hoping to avoid tax sales altogether. The board did end up voting unanimously, with one supervisor absent to enter into the agreement.
Two people aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship docked at the Port of Oakland are suing Princess cruises after they were quarantined on board and forced to stay in their rooms for fear the coronavirus would spread. One of the passengers got off on February 21st after showing symptoms, and later died. The ship and crew and several dozen passengers were aboard after, headed to Hawaii. Now Eva and Ronald Weissberger of Broward County, Florida say they were exposed “to actual risk of immediate physical injury.” They say the cruise line only had passengers fill out a sheet of paper saying they weren’t sick and nobody was questioned further. They say the cruise line informed passengers 4 days after they took off about the risk and say, had they known, they would have stayed in Hawaii where the ship docked. They go on to say the company chose profits over safety of passengers, crew and the general public by operating as business as usual. They are seeking $1 million in damages.
