The Lake County Board of Supervisors has unanimously agreed they will make “Promoting Tolerance, Respect, Equity and Inclusion” among their utmost priorities. Each supervisor read part of the new Proclamation, and affirmed they were committed to have Community Visioning Forums to come up with priorities in the categories to “build bridges, where there may be walls; foster tolerance, respect, understanding, equity and inclusion; promote non-violence and non-violent conflict resolution; focus resources on underlying causes and conditions that lead to inequitable resource and justice distribution; and find relevant solutions for any social injustices, as they may come to light. They’re now coming up with listening sessions and are looking for four community members to help ensure they are inclusive and effective.
Two people in a travel trailer in Ukiah have been arrested for burglary. The Lake County Sheriff’s Dept. say they got a call from Ukiah police about a possible burglary where someone was ripped off in Lucerne. Deputies reported to the travel trailer and found John Buckhanan and Rochelle Slaybaugh. Buckhanan had a felony arrest warrant from Stanislaus County for stolen property, so he was arrested. They also found stolen items in the travel trailer from a rip off in Stanislaus County. They found tools too, stolen from the victim in Ukiah. They also found a short-barreled shotgun, a handgun, and ammo for various guns, miscellaneous rifle parts, burglary tools, and Heroin and Meth. Buckhanan was charged with various crimes and Slaybaugh for being under the influence. More charges could be coming.
People are needed to sit on the 2021/2022 Mendocino County Civil Grand Jury. Applications are being accepted at Superior Court for consideration. The Presiding Judge of the Civil Grand Jury made the announcement. The application deadline is Friday, May 28th. Then the Grand Jury will be sworn in at the end of June. They will have 19 members for one year. They’re tasked with investigating the operations of county, city and district governments; they provide civil oversight of local government departments and agencies; and respond to citizen complaints. They set their own agenda and meeting schedule. Jurors get paid $25 per full panel meeting, $10 per committee meeting and committee attendance at public meetings. They also get their mileage reimbursed at the current County of Mendocino rate.
A man in Fort Bragg has been arrested after reports of a teenager being raped. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reports getting a call last Tuesday from the mother of a 16 year-old girl who said her daughter was raped a day before. Apparently she was given booze, got too drunk to provide consent and was sexually assaulted. Police served a search warrant at a home and found Robert Devito Jr. and arrested him. He’s charged with rape of an intoxicated person, oral copulation of an intoxicated person and statutory rape of a person with more than a 3-year age difference. He was being held on $100,000.00 bail and the Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who may know anything about this incident or other incidents involving Devito to call them.
The Mendocino County Public Health Dept. reports over 40 percent of adults in the county have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, and almost 20 percent have had both or are fully vaccinated. The Public Health Officer, Dr. Andy Coren said about a quarter of the eligible population has been given at least one shot. In Ukiah, officials say the vaccine supply is coming slower than expected, so they’re focusing on the second dose in the county. The Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been given to inmates and will also be directed toward the homeless since it’s just a single dose. So far there have been 3,920 cases and 46 deaths in Mendocino County. There are currently 2 people in the hospital, one in the ICU.
Vaccine eligibility is starting to loosen in Calif. Some counties are filling appointments by allowing those 50 and older with or without underlying health conditions to get the vaccine. That’s happening in Contra Costa County as of yesterday. And in Solano County where they had open appointments. But in the Bay Area the eligibility is restricted to residents 65 or older, people 16-64 with disabilities and certain health conditions and employees in certain industries, especially schools, in healthcare and public facing jobs. The last week there have been millions more who have become eligible, but there’s still not enough supply to meet the demand.
The legislature is considering a new rule to end a distinction in language outlining spousal rape as opposed to other forms of sexual assault. Twin bills are being considered on the matter, that would go against what the law is now, that anyone convicted of spousal rape can be eligible for probation instead of prison or jail, and they might not have to register as a sex offender, but if it’s rape of another kind, they would have to register. So spousal rape is not treated as harshly, according to the author of one of the bills, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia who says, “Rape is rape, regardless of marital status.” California is one of less than a dozen states still drawing a line between spousal rape and rape.
There are issues once again with the state’s unemployment benefits department. The Employment Development Dept.’s website reports “intermittent issues” which has meant it’s taking longer to certify those applying and others to continue to get their benefits. Those who get benefits have to sign in every couple of weeks. On Sunday, there were problems logging in. The agency reports anyone unable to certify were told to “check back a little later.” But they reported other areas of the website worked fine.
Former Democratic Governor Gray Davis who was recalled is speaking out about Gov. Gavin Newsom and the intended recall against him. Davis interviewed by New York Magazine said there was a communication problem when he was recalled regarding the electricity crisis at the turn of the millennium which led to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unseating him. He says voters should forgive Newsom for his French Laundry dinner debacle, saying you get one pass. And that Newsom fessed up immediately and admitted his error in judgment. There are already 3 challengers to Newsom if the recall gets onto a ballot. He’s started a PAC to raise money to fight it.
Museums in Lake County are reopening after being closed for months due to public health restrictions related to the pandemic. So the Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport, the Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake and the Gibson Museum in Middletown are all reopening to the public today. They will of course have public safety guidelines in place like masks needing to be worn all the time and social distancing required. The museums closed when the county entered the purple tier. But now that the county moved to the red tier, various businesses were able to reopen. With that the museums will be open weekends, from Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Call boxes are being renovated in Lake County. Lake Co News reports the Lake Area Planning Council has approved upgrades. They’re the local entity that maintains the county’s call boxes. Most apparently work thru cellular service, but the service provider has changed its technology from 3G to 4G. And since the insides of the callboxes can only work with 3G, the systems need upgrading or they may not work at all. So they’re working with the cell provider and technicians to make it happen. There’s a short supply of the new radios though, so it’s taking a minute for the upgrades to happen. They’ll be monitoring for any out of service call boxes, and ask the public to report them too.
The Zogg Fire that broke out in Shasta County last year has been officially traced back to a tree hit by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equipment. The fire started last Sept. 27th and blackened more than 56,300 acres, burned over 200 structures and killed four people. The fire burned in both Shasta and Tehama counties. Cal Fire says their investigation showed a pine tree contacted electrical distribution lines owned and operated by PG&E. The utility company has issued a statement saying it’s tragic and they recognize, “nothing can heal the hearts of those who have lost so much”. They also say they have not seen the report and look forward to reviewing it. The company also says they filed an Electric Incident Report with the California Public Utilities Commission a couple weeks after the fire burned. The Cal Fire report has been sent to the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office.
