The Lakeport City Council working on the redistricting maps after the 2020 US Census. At their meeting last night the city council considered maps released by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission who redraws the State Assembly, State Senate and congressional districts every 10 years. A couple weeks ago the city council asked the city manager to send a letter to the commission to support the latest ideas on redistricting, but new changes came before the letter even went out. Lake County is now with Colusa, Glenn, Napa, Tehama and Yolo counties for the State Assembly, and with Del Norte, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Sonoma and Trinity for State Senate. And for Congress, Lake County is proposed to be bundled with Napa, Solano and Yolo counties.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors has once again gone around the Planning Commission allowing for an appeal of a major cannabis operation, the High Valley Ranch. In a marathon session this week the vote was split, 3-2 in favor of the appeal by neighbors against the project at the old PSI property in Clearlake Oaks. The Planning Commission gave it the green light this summer, but some neighbors appealed because of the potential for dust, odor, traffic and water usage. Some of their ideas for drying the crops didn’t meet county code.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has jumped into the fray, telling the state to get involved in management of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. The Board is asking the state to consider the way Cal Fire has been managing the Forest related to the ongoing climate crisis. It was a lengthy discussion with plenty of public comment, ultimately ending with a unanimous vote to send Governor Newsom and the state Natural Resources Agency a letter to review the practices at the Demonstration Forest.
A Sheriff Dept. raid at the home of the former mayor of Windsor, accused of sexual impropriety and possibly rape. Sonoma County sheriff’s investigators at former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli’s home gathering electronic devices with a search warrant. Apparently they were searching for two images that may be connected to the case against the disgraced public official. One of the photos of a Jane Doe #1 in 2002 and another of Jane Doe #5 from 2017. Deputies took about ten items from the home, including a couple of laptops, a cellphone and three tablets.
A woman who police say started a wildfire that gutted over 100 homes in Redding has been found incompetent to stand trial. Two court-appointed psychologists found Alexandra Souverneva would not be able to understand the proceedings so the judge said she should be further evaluated for possible placement as an outpatient at a state hospital. She’s accused of starting the Fawn Fire in Sept. near Shasta Lake.
A woman from Nevada arrested for an arson in Lakeport has been found to be incompetent to stand trial. Nickelina Rosa Williams was arrested by the CHP last month after a fire started along State Route—29 in Lake County. Officers found others trying to extinguish the fire as Williams was seen walking away from the fire’s ignition point. She had a lighter and ignition materials on her. Her lawyer told the judge she didn’t understand what was going on so the judge ordered her to be evaluated for mental competency. The doctor’s report is due back after Thanksgiving.
A pair of virtual job fairs are being held to find firefighters by the USDA Forest Service. They’re happening Tuesday, November 30th, from 1 – 3pm and again on Wednesday, Dec. 15th from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. They will go over the job openings, training programs and how you can get hired. Following that, the Mendocino National Forest will also have a hiring event next January, followed by basic fire training in February and March.
Participants can register for the program and job fair at https://bit.ly/MNF-fire-register.
The virtual job fairs will be held online via Microsoft Teams at https://bit.ly/MNF-job-fair.
A longtime teacher in the Ukiah Unified School District has thrown her hat into the ring to be the next Superintendent of Schools. The current Assistant Superintendent, Nicole Glentzer has put out a statement to announce she’d like the job. She says teachers, parents, and administrators from across the county asked her to consider running for the job. Glentzer touts her 26 years of teaching experience as a bilingual paraprofessional, teacher, coach, and administrator. She’s been the Assistant Superintendent of Ukiah Unified School District since 2014.
Ukiah Police say a couple of kids walking to school were hit by a driver who’s vision was obscured by the sun. The accident yesterday morning before school started at the intersection of Oak and Harold Streets. The two kids were treated at the scene, with one being taken to the hospital with moderate injuries. The other child was released into their parent’s custody. Police say the driver stopped after the accident and was cooperative.
A new report says PG&E intends to take down 50 old growth Redwoods near Boonville. Friends of Faulkner Park report seeing giant black X’s marked on the trees by PG& E crews to reduce wildfire risk. The trees are in a 40 acre park and are said to be some of the only remaining old-growth Redwoods in the county. A local architect tells the Daily Journal some of the trees marked to be felled are as much as 8 feet in diameter, and some are centuries old, and as high as 250 feet into the air. Friends of Faulkner Park are requesting PG& E not cut the trees, and instead lay down one-quarter mile of underground wire. Supervisor Ted Williams is talking with PG&E about the plan.
We’re still in a drought and a new report shows most Californians aren’t meeting the moment. The Gov. had asked residents to conserve water by 15% this year, but it was under 4% in actuality. That was for September, down from about 5% in August. In all residents have reduced their water consumptions only 3.6% since July. State officials were looking at monthly improvements on conservation, but instead reports say none of the state’s “hydrologic” regions met the 15% threshold.
Gas prices may start to go down. The International Energy Agency’s last market report showed supplies were up 1.4 million barrels/day in October. That’s globally, and the United States accounted for half that increase due to damage caused by Hurricane Ida in August. So there should be another 1.5 million barrels/day this month and next, but the agency said there should be a reprieve coming, but not until next year when the average of 300,000 barrels/day in the US goes down to 200,000.
