4 more people have died due to the coronavirus pandemic in Mendocino County, for a total of 75 deaths. The Public Health Dept. reports being notified of the deaths, 3 were vaccinated, one was not. The 72nd death in the county in a 66 year old woman from Gualala who had been fully vaccinated with multiple comorbidities. They say she died while in Riverside County 2 weekends ago. The 73rd death was a 79 year old man from Ukiah who had not been vaccinated. The 74th death in an 85 year old woman from Ukiah who was fully vaccinated but had multiple underlying health conditions. And the 75th death was in fully vaccinated 98 year old woman from Ukiah. The Public Health Officer, Dr. Andy Coren says the county’s been seeing a surge in deaths. He says while most in this group were vaccinated, they were elderly and with many co-morbidities. And he adds overall, however, vaccines are proven effective.
A cold case has warmed up. After almost two years a teenager out of Fort Bragg was in national headlines after going missing in San Francisco. News reports said the teen was found with 23 year old King John Baylon Asuncion. He was finally in court yesterday for coercion and enticement of a minor. Court papers say Baylon persuaded, coerced, or enticed a person younger than 18 to engage in a sexual activity, including producing child porn. So for that, if he’s convicted, he faces at least ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The case back in January of 2020 caught national attention after the then 13 year old who was at a hospital in San Francisco escaped telling her family she wanted to go get some air, but she didn’t come back. A server at a restaurant saw her alone outside and watched as she met a man and saw them walk off. She reported it to police after a missing persons report on Facebook. Baylon was arrested after a transit employee also spotted the pair together, but he was released soon after for further investigation. The case now taken up by the federal Department of Justice.
A man charged with arson has been to court and will no longer face a jury trial. Alfredo Orduno Hopper has instead pleaded no contest to felony arson of property for a fire on Old River Road in Talmage in May. Someone driving by, witnessing the fire called 911. Hopper has agreed he will go to prison for 36 months and he’ll be formally sentenced next month. After Hopper is released from prison, he will have to register every year as an arson offender for life in the city or county where he lives.
A body has been found on the 101 near mile marker 57. Mendo Fever reports a tip from a reader had them calling the sheriff’s office who confirmed detectives and deputies were on Highway 101 near the intersection to Highway 162 investigating “badly decomposed” human remains. The news site said part of the highway was blocked for law enforcement activity. The Sheriff’s office reportedly said there was a nearby homeless camp and the remains were a man.
The Mendocino County Public Health Office has a new health order out. After Dr. Andy Coren met with restaurant owners and managers he decided not to mandate vaccinations, but has put out new signs that need to be placed at the entrance to the establishments that are like traffic lights, red, yellow or green. The order is based on whether employees are vaccinated or if not whether they test weekly for the virus; and whether patrons who are not vaccinated are allowed to dine inside. The color coded signs will inform patrons the varying level of risk they take on by entering the business. Dr. Coren is encouraging residents to continue supporting small businesses, at the same time protecting their health.
A new order by the state insurance commissioner says homeowners and renters in nearly 2 dozen Northern California counties, including Mendocino and Lake counties, won’t lose their property insurance policies for the next year if they’re near recent wildfires. It’s been done before, and State Commissioner Ricardo Lara has done it again, issuing the temporary moratorium Monday for 22 counties either next to or within the perimeter of a declared wildfire disaster. The moratorium covers around 325,000 policyholders. The last time it was for 25,000 policyholders in July in three Northern California counties and it’s the third year there have been insurance moratoriums.
They’re safe, for now. The four famous giant sequoias, the Four Guardsmen, at the entrance to the Giant Forest in California’s Sequoia National Park. The trees were protected by firefighters working the KNP Complex. They removed vegetation near the trees and wrapped them in fire-resistant material around their bases. The fire is two that merged after a lightening storm which has burned over 37 square miles on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. But there’s yet another fire, the Windy fire in the Giant Sequoia National Monument area of the forest and the Tule River Indian Reservation. Part of a trail to the giant trees has burned. The Windy fire has scorched over 39 square miles.
The public safety power shutoff that impacted about 50 Lake County residents is over. The power was off less than 24 hours for 56 customers because of fast moving winds. PG&E turned off the power for over 7,000 customers, but so far they have not announced if there was any damage to their equipment from the wind. It’s the second intentional power down by the company in Lake County this fire season.
The Willits Unified School District has added a COVID19 dashboard to its website for the school year. At the Board of Directors Meeting 2 weeks ago they discussed reopening with students in person full time as the county deals with more cases than ever before. So far they reported no suspected school-based staff or student cases as students and staff are wearing masks at all times. The superintendent was bringing in a company for testing so school staff doesn’t have to test students and each other. The board also approved getting a new school resource officer mostly at Willits High and Baechtel Grove Middle School.
The state of Calif. is expecting many more Afghan refugees. The state already has the most in the country, so school officials are getting ready for more students. So far Sacramento and Fremont have some of the largest Afghan communities in the state. Some of the schools are now offering culturally appropriate meals and there are rooms set aside for prayer during Muslim holidays. Others are offering Saturday school for English learners. Sacramento schools are expecting as many as 1,200 new students from Afghanistan to enroll. Elk Grove they reportedly have about 2,000 student refugees from Afghanistan. And San Juan Unified has 3,000.
A mobile home has been destroyed and more homes were damaged in the same complex in Ukiah. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority reports the fire broke out Saturday morning in the Rancho Del Rey mobile home park. When the first responders arrived, one home was fully engulfed in flames. The resident described only as an older woman with a small dog, was able to escape, but she lost her home. The trailers on either side had heat and smoke damage. The cause of the fire was unknown. Cal Fire, and the Hopland, Potter Valley and Redwood Valley Fire departments were on the scene. Apparently the fire was reported by a group of people who were nearby and ran to help.
Two bills Calif. lawmakers passed could help firefighting. The pair are to use prescribed fires for wildfire prevention. The bills awaiting the Governor’s signature, would have the Cal Fire director identify areas considered moderate and high fire severity zones, then the director would appoint a cultural burning liaison to serve on the State Board of Fire Services and work with the director on prescribed burns. The other introduced by state Senator Bill Dodd and co-sponsored by Assemblyman Jim Wood would change state law to ease restrictions on prescribed burning.
A suspected hit-and-run driver caught speeding on Highway 20 in Lake County has died after crashing into a tree. The man was reportedly driving along the edge of the highway east of Bachelor Valley Road when he hit the tree and his 1998 Mercedes-Benz rolled. It hit a second tree and burst into flames and the fire spread to nearby brush. The man was taken to a hospital but died. The CHP reported witnesses saying the guy was going too fast and was driving recklessly before the accident. He was also suspected in a hit-and-run crash on Highway 20 west of the intersection with Highway 29 before he died.
