The state is getting ready in case there’s another winter surge of COVID, especially with Delta, which isn’t going away, and the new omicron variant. The San Joaquin Valley is preparing as their hospitalization rate, while lower than it has been, is still triple the amount of Los Angeles County. Officials are watching nursing home facilities closely in Los Angeles County too. The Department of Public of Health ordered all skilled nursing facility residents, workers and contractors to test weekly if they’ve been vaccinated or not, between Dec. 15 and Jan. 31.
They’ve begun the second phase of construction of the Mill St. Improvement project in Point Arena. The city manager says they’re installing a new storm drain system in the middle of the street today so traffic will be impacted during school hours, from 7:00am-3:30pm Monday-Friday for about 2 weeks. They’re only letting emergency traffic through and are urging residents to find other ways around during construction. They also remind there won’t be parking places in the work area, but sidewalks will be open to access businesses and homes.
There’s new leadership in Lakeport. At their last city council meeting of the year, they chose a new mayor and mayor pro tem, Stacy Mattina and Mireya Turner respectively. Mattina was the mayor pro tem five times until taking the top spot for next year, her third time as the mayor. And Turner was the mayor pro tem twice before and mayor for one term. The council did other business too, including approving over $200,000 for a Permanent Local Housing Allocation funding. And the police chief got the approval of nearly $164,000 for upgrades to radio equipment to meet state requirements.
In Lakeport the school district’s board is considering some job assignments. The Board of Trustees is appointing a president and clerk, but more importantly, they’re discussing a possible vaccination mandate for students and staff against COVID19. The meeting tomorrow night on Zoom or in person. Dan Buffalo is expected to be named president of the board and Phil Kirby, clerk. The vaccination mandate consideration after the Governor announced the same in October, but it was verify or test. The Lakeport school resolution says they’re struggling to hire people so the vaccine requirement could create more open jobs.
Reports of thefts related to rental properties in Lakeport continue. The police dept. reports getting a bunch of calls about thefts where someone pretends they’re a landlord for properties in or near Lakeport, saying the victim was approved for the rental property and to pay up on a Cash App. Police say to be careful and not fall for the scam, and not to approve of payments online, especially large sums of money. They also say if you’ve not met the landlord in person, and have not seen legit paperwork on the property, you should be wary. They say to call police if you are at all skeptical.
California is entering the last of the redistricting process as civil rights groups press the state’s redistricting commission to prioritize racial equity. The commission is holding public meetings on draft legislative maps almost every day. And the maps are expected to be approved Christmas Eve. Kathay Feng with California Common Cause says communities of interest need to examine the proposed maps closely.
| :12 “We should be looking really hard about whether the proposed lines are drawn in a way that maybe they inadvertently or intentionally hurt a community, but they’re drawn that way in order to help an incumbent.” |
Tag: Advocates say they want voting districts that avoid pitting minority groups against each other and keep communities of interest together. The California Redistricting Commission is taking public comment on the draft maps at its meetings and on its website.
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Second Cut: Brandon Jessup with the nonprofit State Voices says advocates need to delve deep into the census data and press the state commission to consider where communities of color are likely to grow.
| :11 “We need to also say that in the next five years, this community will now be a minority-majority community – and therefore, we have to give them the agency to elect folks that look like them, that reflect their interests.” |
Tag: Some groups say they’re also preparing to sue under the Voting Rights Act if they deem the final maps are unfair.
The Festival of Trees to benefit Hospice Services of Lake County takes place in Kelseyville and it’s something of an adventure. The event on Saturday included 21 Christmas trees for the auction. This was the third year, and in person, as last year was online. Tickets sold out way before the event, which took place on Kelseyville Lumber property. The proceeds benefit hospice patients, many of which are below the poverty level. Trees auctioned for between $100 to $1,000, and one of them went for $2,200. All of the money for the “Patient Needs Fund.”
The Hotcakes for Heroes event is coming to bring money for the Operation Tango Mike organization. The organization along with the Kelseyville Lions have the event this Sunday with breakfast featuring hotcakes, of course, and a choice of sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy. They will also have juice and coffee. It’s from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Kelseyville Lions Club with a suggested donation of $8. The money goes to help ship monthly care packages to deployed military personnel.
The Ukiah Planning Commission is considering a car wash. At their meeting today, the “Ukiah Car Wash” will be considered for Enrique Espinoza, who’s reportedly been working in that industry for more than two decades. He says he’s outgrown his current leased space. He wants to buy a couple of undeveloped parcels on a long-vacant property at Observatory Avenue and South State Street. The Design Review Board recommended the project as the site’s been empty for almost twenty years. City planning staff is recommending the business be approved. But the proposed owner will have to apply for a review and approval by the Director of the Community Development Department for a ‘Final Landscaping Plan’. The meeting tonight on Zoom at 6.
The Sheriff spent some time with a group of county jail inmates discussing bee keeping. Sheriff Kendall met the group last week as part of the jail’s garden project. The Sheriff used cooled smoke to calm the bees down along with project participants Bobby Hayes and Daniel Kowalski. They then checked each hive to see how the bee population was doing. Apparently, they had more bees than the last time they met. They also checked the honey stores and brood patterns to make sure they were strong enough to make it through winter. And the Sheriff treated each hive with essential oil of Thyme to protect against mite infestations.
Water conservation is supposed to be an ongoing effort in California by residents, but apparently they haven’t stepped up. That’s the word from the State Water Resources Control Board who say folks need to prepare for the worse case scenario as they’ve only cut back by about 13% compared to a year ago. Total water usage is also only down 6% since last July compared to what the governor was looking for, 15%. Northern Calif. did better though, even with all the rain we saw we were down 22%, but southern California was only down 12% in October compared to last year. Some of the water suppliers are urging their customers to conserve more.
Fire killed and fire injured trees can be removed from the August Complex fire zone covering about 2,000 acres in the Covelo and Grindstone Ranger Districts. The Mendocino National Forest Supervisor released a draft decision that there would be no significant impact for the Plaskett-Keller August Complex Phase 1 environmental assessment. The areas where the trees would be removed were mostly dead after the massive Gigafire. The trees to be mulched into biomass so they could be used for energy, saving money and reducing the fuels so they couldn’t ignite again in another massive fire. Those who want to object have until January 21st of next year.
After the Fort Bragg City Council held a three-hour closed session regarding the lawsuit over the Skunk Train and the resignation of the city manager, they only announced accepting the city manager leaving. City Manager Tabatha Miller announced last month she was leaving for personal reasons. The closed door session also about Mendocino Railway, the owner of the Skunk Train, taking over part of the millsite with eminent domain to build more rail facilities. City officials had development plans on that site though and have said the Skunk Train should not have public utilities privileges, thus the lawsuit.
There was also a rally about the issue this past weekend. Folks unhappy about what the expansion of the Skunk Train could do to air quality and the railway company being allowed to develop the area without community oversight. The CEO and co-founder of Mendocino Railway’s parent company, Sierra Energy, said they didn’t do anything wrong because the city had not moved forward in several years with development and they had the ability to acquire the site.
Meanwhile, the Mendocino County Environmental Health Department has issued a notice of violation after a small oil spill on the Skunk Train property. As part of their agreement with the county, they have to comply, but apparently have not allowed the health dept. on the property. They’re warned to set up an inspection immediately and come up with a plan to remove any hazardous material and replace contaminated soil, then provide proof of the same.
