A mom accused of crashing her car and leaving her toddler there last year has been arrested more than a year later. Trinity Bray and her three year old disappeared last November after the solo car crash. Four days later she was seen naked on the side of the road after apparently driving into the Eel River, then staying at a marijuana grow on the other side of the river. She was booked into Mendocino County jail for abandonment/child neglect. Kym Kemp reports there’s no confirmation the booking is related to that crash, just that Bray had been booked into jail on related charges.
Deputies had to administer Narcan to a man they say was down in Ukiah. They say they were at another call, when someone flagged them down to a nearby shopping center for a man down. They knew him from previous contacts, but say he wouldn’t respond when they tried to rouse him. They say there was drug paraphernalia near, in his hands, consistent with opioid, and since his breathing was shallow they considered he may be overdosing. They gave him four doses of the overdose reversal drug Narcan while waiting for medics. He finally became conscious. They couldn’t get an ambulance so they took him to a local hospital.
A bunch of maskless people in Ukiah went into a store and caused a ruckus. As of yesterday, masks are required indoors whether you’re vaccinated or not. The 15-20 people at the Natural Foods Co-op said they were from the Mendocino Patriots group and indicated they were frustrated about having to wear a mask in public. They also didn’t want to do curbside pickup and threw signs up saying things like “Fauci is a Facist” and “Freedom over Fear”. Staff there would not serve them so they eventually left items, some half-eaten in shopping baskets and left when police arrived. The Daily Journal reports the same group went to other businesses over the weekend.
Masks have to be worn indoors, so the State Dept. of Public Health Office is reminding until January 15th, you must mask up. They say it doesn’t matter if you were vaccinated, the only exemptions are for children under 2; those with medical or mental health conditions or disabilities that prevent them from safely masking; those hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, and for others where it would be a risk related to their work. The state also reports hospitals are at or near capacity so a moderate surge could be catastrophic.
The Lake County Public Health Dept. reports nearly 60% of county residents 5 and older are fully vaccinated, 7% are partially vaccinated and 34% are unvaccinated. Mendocino County did not have updated info on vaccination numbers, but the public health office says unvaccinated people are 17.5 percent more likely to die from the virus than vaccinated individuals. The county reported the 100th death this week too, in a fully vaccinated child under 18 with co-morbidities.
A father and son charged with starting the massive Caldor Fire that burned near Lake Tahoe have been released from jail. 32 year old Travis Smith had his $1 million dollar bail reduced down to $50,000, and dad, David had his reduced to $25,000. The judge did not agree that the pair were a flight risk as prosecutors said. The two were arrested last week in El Dorado County for recklessly starting a fire and for illegal possession of a silencer and Travis, for another charge of the illegal conversion or manufacture of a machine gun. Their lawyer says they still have not heard how they supposedly started the fire that destroyed 1,000 homes and other buildings. The two were in the area when the fire started and reported seeing flames. They’re due in court again Feb. 1st.
The driver of a tanker who died on Highway 20 has been identified. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says 57 year old Frank Kountz of Willows died in the crash Saturday morning. The agency says Kountz was in a 2013 Kenworth tanker headed west on the Highway near Clearlake Oaks and overturned while trying to get around a right-hand curve in the roadway. He had a load of milk, which leaked into the ground. He died at the scene.
A business competition at the Konocti Vista Resort awarded $20,000 to a local. The 1Team 1Dream finals were Sunday where Catherine Ann Reese of Reese Ranch Retreat won it all, saying she hoped to inspire others with her story. The business competition was put together to encourage and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in the community. Those participating got advice and mentorship from local business leaders. The top five winners shared the $50,000 prize money. Reese got the top award, then it was Ashley Ruth Garrigus of Wild Hope Bakery, Jennifer Marie Gayda of Bottle Rock Candle Studio in Cobb, Anahi Maria Silva of Party Ideas, Valeri Ann Stallings of Send Rover on Over/doggie daycare, training, boarding and grooming.
A Ukiah ER doc is reminding as the omicron variant begins to multiply, so may emergency room visits after holiday gatherings this month. The Daily Journal reports Dr. Drew Colfax saying that local hospitals could be in crisis mode next month. He says Adventist Health is fine now, but he believes a crisis is coming. He blames it mostly on the new strain and holiday gatherings. He’s recommending booster shots for those vaccinated, and for the unvaccinated to go get their shots.
The Governor out promoting his children’s book, made some comments about schools and his vaccine mandate. Gov. Newsom on “Good Morning America” last week mentioned the Los Angeles Unified School District and said it should adjust a vaccine mandate deadline so tens of thousands of kids who don’t get the shots by next month aren’t dismissed from classes and have to do school online. Thousands of kids still don’t have even one shot.
A new report says California has more eligible students to be admitted to attend the state’s public universities than the campuses have room for. The Campaign for College Opportunity shows there are more eligible students applying to get into University of California and California State University campuses than they can admit. So that means fewer People of Color will be able to apply. And that the state won’t have enough educated workers. The state ranks 34th nationwide for awarding four-year degrees.
San Francisco is getting out of the mask mandate as they allow fully vaccinated people to go mask free some settings. The city will allow it in gyms and workplaces but say they will have a mask mandate elsewhere. The city’s Public Health officer said it was to recognize the “thought and care San Francisco residents had put into staying as safe as possible”. Over 85% of city residents had been given at least one vaccine dose. There are also other Bay Area counties doing the same, but it remains to be seen if the state will exempt them too.
The Mendocino County Animal Shelter says they’re full and because people are not picking up their animals that have been impounded, they may have to euthanize healthy animals. They’ve been trying to alleviate the situation by offering free dogs for adoption and say the rescue groups they’ve worked with are having the same issue, so they can’t help. They say at times they wait for owners to pick up impounded pets up to a week which doesn’t allow them to have enough kennel space. They’re asking the public to help get dogs adopted.
