Elementary school students are back in the Konocti Unified School District. Last week the kids started to trickle back to in person learning following the hybrid model so there’s room for social distancing. Only about 50% of the regular class size is being allowed currently. The students doing at home learning on opposite days are getting the same instruction and real-time interaction according to the Schools Superintendent. The school district bought video cameras, microphones, large screens, and software so they could interact between classrooms throughout the district. Students and staff have to wear masks and do a complete self-evaluation on their cell phone or Chromebook before being allowed on campus.
That police sergeant in Ukiah who we told you about who’s being investigated for rape and assault while on duty is still in jail. The Press Democrat reports Kevin Murray of Lakeport was arrested in January for a November incident involving a woman at a hotel. He’s charged with felony sexual battery against her. Court papers say he was working the day of the incident where he’s accused of illegally getting into the woman’s room at a Super 8 on more than one occasion. He’s also accused of felony crimes against another woman in 2014, including rape while carrying a firearm. He’s jail and being held on $500,000 bail and is set for an arraignment today. Separately Murray is being sued for using force against a disabled veteran in 2018.
The newly approved single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine should start arriving in Calif. within the week. The Gov. announced the state would be receiving over 1.1 million shots in the next three weeks. It was just approved by a CDC panel unanimously this weekend. The vaccine has less handling restrictions than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which both require two doses and have to be stored at low temperatures. The federal government has reported that the state of Calif. would be getting about 380,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines this week, and Gov. Newsom says we should get about that same amount for the next three weeks.
A man in Fort Bragg’s been arrested in connection to mail theft. Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies got a call early Valentine’s Day to a possible mail theft, and when they got there, they saw a man walking away. Deputies went up to the man, now identified as Robert Hayes and say he had a bunch of stuff tucked into his jacket. Deputies asked what he had, then found mail on him, that was not his, plus they say he also had some heroin in his possession. Hayes has been arrested and let go, due to the pandemic. But he’s charged with mail theft and possession of a controlled substance.
A man in Fort Bragg’s been arrested for a couple of active warrants. Police say Cullen Graham did not appear in court, so he was booked into jail. He is charged for various crimes including, felony terrorist threats and battery, failure to appear and disobeying a court order. He’s held on $30,000.00 bail.
New guidance from the state on schools reopening. The Department of Public Health says any county in the Red Tier can reopen the following day. Each Tuesday the state updates which counties can move to the next tier, or if they fall back to a stricter tier. In Ukiah, the superintendent says they expect to get back to in-person learning in 2 weeks. That’ll be for grades 7 – 12th depending on local health conditions. The school district is also putting up a new COVID-19 Dashboard. The superintendent says so they can be completely transparent about keeping schools COVID-19 free. If there are cases, there will be contact tracing and reported if it’s school or community base, and also if they’re not sure. That’ll be noted as Undetermined. Schools will also do testing, which is not mandatory. They have 15 min results.
The COVID19 vaccine is being administered to a couple of tiers, and now the Mendocino County Public Health Office has announced logging industry personnel are now included as part of the current Agricultural Workers vaccination tier. They will post on the county’s Facebook page when there are vaccine clinics. Apparently, someone accidentally posted “Lodging” personnel as part of the current vaccination group instead of Logging. But the office says if there are lodging staffers directly involved in the preparation of food and/or food services, they too are eligible for vaccinations now. There will be two “First-Dose” clinics this week, today and Wednesday at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Ukiah, you can sign up at the county’s vaccine portal or call public health to make an appointment.
A drunk driver caught after reports of a car with several code violations. Police say they got a call Saturday from someone at a gas station who saw a silver Toyota Corolla on S. State Street parked at the fuel pumps with someone inside. So they followed, then stopped the car, finding Eryka Smith, who they say they arrested without incident. They say she was on probation, so she was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and violation of probation. She was booked at the MCSO Jail. The stolen car was given back to its rightful owner too.
A man in Ukiah’s been arrested for being inside a stolen SUV along with another man. The two seen in a Blue BMW last Thursday. A CHP officer remembered a similar SUV was reported stolen a day before to their Ukiah office> They found the plate matched the reported stolen Beemer. More officers showed up and they stopped the vehicle. Mark Nielsen and Kevin Ford were arrested. It was found the driver, Nielsen was on probation for another car theft and accused of stealing yet another stolen vehicle a week prior. He also had a suspended driver’s license. He was also found with meth in his possession. He was arrested for multiple crimes including possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and driving on a suspended license. Ford also had heroin on him, but he only got a ticket and was released. The SUV owner got his vehicle back.
A man in Covelo’s been arrested for having a gun while driving. Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies conducted a traffic stop last Thursday, finding Juan Flores with a loaded .45 caliber pistol under the front passenger seat which was reported to have been stolen from Berkeley. He’s arrested for carrying a loaded firearm in public and possession of stolen property. Since we’re in the midst of a pandemic, he was released without bail.
A staff member in the Upper Lake Unified School District has tested positive for COVID-19. The superintendent reported yesterday it was the first case in an employee since they restarted in person learning in August. Lake Co News reports the Superintendent says the staff member does not work directly with students. Last Thursday they felt unwell, were sent home and got tested. Test results came back yesterday of a positive test. They say they’ll work with the public health office, do contact tracing and test anyone who had been in contact with the staff member. Upper Lake and the Lucerne Elementary School District both went to “hybrid” learning. Upper Lake took a couple weeks off over the holidays because of surging cases and came back January 25th.
A tax default property sale is being considered by the Lake County Board of Supervisors. Lake Co News reports the board will take up the matter tomorrow and will also look at starting an ad hoc committee to promote tolerance, respect, equity and inclusion. It’s an online only meeting due to the pandemic. The summertime tax sale is proposed for over 470 properties. Regarding the ad hoc committee, the board chair Bruno Sabatier said after they adopted a proclamation promoting tolerance, respect, equity and inclusion in Lake County, an important next step would be to have the committee that could plan a community visioning forum where they would come up with ideas and actions to “build bridges where there may be walls” with tolerance, respect, understanding, equity and inclusion. He says there should be seven seats including 2 board members, one representative of law enforcement and four members of the community.
It’s a bust. The planned sale of the old Austin Resort is not happening after all. The city of Clearlake had a deal in hand to sell the old resort property for more than $915,000 to a development company, but apparently the economic fallout from the pandemic has stopped the deal in its tracks. Last May the city council approved the sale, but now the city manager says the development company is hesitant to move forward due to the economic climate. City Manager Alan Flora says the city’s confident they’ll find another partner. He says there are a bunch of other development projects they’re working on that unless someone else comes forward with a good plan for the old resort, they’ll focus their energy elsewhere.
Some concern reported about OptumServe getting more involved in the state’s pandemic response, even working to get the vaccine out to communities, even though there have been complaints about mediocre service. The Governor announced last week that 11 OptumServe vaccination sites were opening in some of the “hardest-hit or most at-risk communities” in the Central Valley. At the same time officials in Lassen County said they’d no longer work with the company saying their testing sites were run poorly and staffed by people who themselves were publicly “coughing violently” and not wearing protective gear. Rumor has it OptumServe’s parent company is a major Newsom donor, but we have not independently verified that info. Just the same there are now “pilot vaccination programs” including OptumServe clinics in Sonoma, San Bernardino, Riverside and Contra Costa counties.
Looks like the state is in good financial shape even though some 1.6 million Californians have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The Governor announced in January the state had collected $10.5 billion more in taxes than expected. And at the end of the fiscal year on July 1st there was a reported $19 billion surplus. Since the state is doing that well, it means, for only the second time ever, a state law kicks in that says Californians get a refund due to the surplus. Even though the pandemic meant the closure of scores of businesses and entertainment and sporting events, the state’s revenue swelled. It’s one of few state’s where the wealthiest pay the most taxes. The state is projecting Californians will get $185 billion from capital gains, which is the most in history. That turns into an $18.5 billion profit off taxes.
