A grim milestone in Mendocino County as the 100th person has died from COVID-19 and it’s apparently a child. The Mendocino County Public Health Dept. announced over the weekend that a minor under the age of 18 had died. The child in the Fort Bragg area had been fully vaccinated and had other underlying health conditions. The health dept. reminds fully vaccinated people over 16 should strongly consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine booster to improve immunity.
A local veteran in his seventies says when he went inside the Veteran’s Hall in Garberville he was attacked by a homeless man. Hank Toburg says he went to identify things to be taken from the building before it’s torn down, but a homeless man had been living on the porch there. Toburg says when he tried to ask the man to leave, he assaulted him. The veteran was apparently injured, his hands bloodied and a bloody nose and his knees, also bleeding. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department reports the suspect, Christopher Nicholson was cited for assault and battery.
The Governor says he’s going the way of Texas to get a law on the books so private citizens can sue to enforce a once longstanding, now, overturned ban on assault weapons in the state. A federal judge overturned the assault weapon ban comparing an AR-15 to a Swiss Army Knife. The US Supreme Court recently sided with Texas allowing their abortion law to stay in place, disallowing them if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Newsom says Calif. will use the same authority to protect people’s lives, getting a law passed so private citizens can sue to enforce California’s ban on assault weapons.
Sequoia National Park has reopened part of the Giant Forest after a massive wildfire took some trees and firefighters saved others. The Giant Forest was opened during daylight hours Saturday and Sunday and will be open moving forward Thursdays through Sundays, then to a seven-day schedule between Christmas and New Year’s. The General Sherman tree, the largest living thing on earth by volume, made it through with foil wrapped around its trunk, along with other giants in the grove. Tens of thousands of other giants were lost however to fires this summer.
Cal Fire is looking for volunteers for the Jackson Demonstration State Forest as part of an advisory group. They will work with the fire agency and the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection on forest management at JDSF. They need three individual applicants with expertise in one of three categories: a Licensed Timber Operator, Forest Conservation and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. You have until January 7th to apply to Cal Fire’s State Forests Program Manager in Fort Bragg.
A half billion dollars has been set aside for road and infrastructure projects in the state. The California Transportation Commission has over $495 million to fix and improve transportation infrastructure across the state after the legislature passed the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Nearly $800,000 will be used for work near Blue Lake in Humboldt County; another $841,000 toward pavement, guardrail, and signage upgrades on U.S. 101 near Willits in Mendocino County and about $776,000 for culvert upgrades on the 101 near Laytonville, Leggett, and Piercy in Mendocino County.
State Senator Mike McGuire says he’s fighting to get more seasonal firefighters in the state as full timers are burnt out. McGuire had already worked to get the seasonal firefighters the same protection as full-time firefighters. He says the state needs to fix the critical firefighter shortage for their health and safety. He says he has bipartisan support for proposed legislation for next year to immediately hire another 1,124 firefighters, make it mandatory for at least three firefighters per engine, and have mandatory minimums for firefighters in hand crews.
Complaints have been coming into the Lakeport Police Department about drivers who are not stopping for school buses with their red lights and stop signs activated. Police putting out a public statement that it’s extremely dangerous not to stop, and against the law. It includes those driving on the other side of the road from a bus, when there is not a double yellow line or another kind of physical barrier.
Lake County Supervisors are about ready to accept the new supervisorial district boundaries. The board is going to also consider the Blue Zones Project locally to help improve Lake County’s health outcomes. They will take up the maps first, then later in tomorrow morning’s meeting, they’ll hear a presentation on the 2020 crop report.
A man who owns two buildings in Ukiah, where businesses are open, is asking the Planning Commission, if he can tear the buildings down. Dragon’s Lair and Tom’s Glass at 101 and 105 S. State Street respectively are in the buildings where the owner says the buildings have become hazardous and repairing them would be too costly. The Ukiah Director of Community Development says the buildings are both in the city’s historic registry, so they need a permit for demolition. No word what would happen to the two businesses.
The Rotary Club of Clearlake had their annual Christmas dinner, but because of the pandemic, it wasn’t in person again. The Rotary’s Community Christmas Dinner brought out club members, local government and school officials and volunteers Saturday to help pack up and distribute the free meals along with gifts for the 28th year. They say they believe they handed out over 1,000 meals at Burns Valley Elementary, plus another 100 meals for Meals on Wheels. The event was drive through.
A woman from Nevada arrested for arson in Lake County in October will not stand trial right now. The CHP arrested Nickelina Williams of Fallon, Nevada after the fire was reported by a group of motorists who tried to put the fire out themselves in mid-October. An officer on the scene noticed the woman near what was believed to be the ignition point and she was arrested but denied any guilt. Doctors say she’s incompetent to stand trial, so she was referred to the Community Program Director for a placement recommendation. That won’t happen until December 28th. She was charged with felony arson and arson during a state of emergency. She’s in jail on $35,000 bail.
