City fire hydrants in Fort Bragg are being flushed, which is routine. Public Works crews reported next week, Monday thru Thursday all day long, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. they’ll flush the hydrants in cul-de-sac and court city streets only. It’s for preventative maintenance to keep the hydrants in good working order. So you may see some rushing water in those streets for a period of time. You may also have lower water pressure or see some discoloration which won’t last long. They say it won’t affect the quality of the drinking water and just to run cold water for a bit and it should lessen.
Three vehicles reportedly damaged after someone trying to drill into a gas tank of one of them, ignites it at a Ukiah repair shop. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority reports coming out to the repair shop Sunday morning in the 3600 block of North State Street after a would be crook tried to rip off gas from a FedEx van, which then caught on fire. Two FedEx vans were in flames when they arrived. But they say, neither had any holiday packages inside. But one was a total loss. And a pickup parked nearby was damaged from the heat. Firefighters say someone was trying to siphon gas out of the vehicles with an electric drill, which was found burned, under one of the vans, along with a gas can. No suspect has been identified.
Congressman Mike Thompson’s got a new district with the new redistricting maps, with Lake County all in one district now. He’s announced he’s running for re-election in the new Fourth Congressional District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties and parts of Solano, Sonoma and Yolo Counties. He’s represented part of the district for years and says he grew up there. As a democrat, he’s a senior Member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
The Lakeport Fire Protection District has a new fire engine and with that an old pastime. They just got their 2021 Pierce Enforcer 1500 Type 1 Pumper after receiving money from Measure M. On Saturday they held an official “push in” ceremony, where crew members, and some community partners gather around the engine, and they “push in” to the station. The ceremony is symbolic of years past when fire brigades pushed in their horse drawn pumpers to a stall close to where the horses were kept. After the ceremony, they swore in some new firefighters too.
During an update on the COVID19 pandemic, the Mendocino County Public Health Officer, Dr. Andy Coren urged those who were not yet vaccinated to get their jabs. He updated on the new, and fast multiplying omicron variant and said the new year was looking ominous. He mentioned case numbers doubling, and that deaths have been rising over the last several weeks. He also said vaccination rates were up since the shots were approved for kids from five to 11 years old. Dr. Coren confirmed there had been a trio of outbreaks in schools, but all were resolved last week. He also said the hardest hit communities continue to be Native Americans, partly due to low vaccination rates.
Mendocino Headlands State Park is getting new restrooms. California State Parks report a new agreement with a company in Santa Rosa to give the current bathrooms a facelift across from the Ford House Museum and Visitor Center. The main purpose they say is to meet ADA requirements, then secondarily to put in more fixtures so more people can use the facilities, and also to improve safety and vandal resistance through design. They will also move the ADA parking spots on Main St. to the Ford House parking for better access for those with limited mobility.
Public outcry after a new requirement is considered for several hundred thousand Californians to return unemployment money, they got during the height of the COVID pandemic. A new state policy says almost 900,000 people who filed for unemployment benefits but didn’t work or look for work must return the benefits. But some say it might force low-income workers to come up with money they don’t have anymore. The Economic Development Department is requesting proof of work from a third of nearly 3 million Pandemic Unemployment Assistance recipients. And if they can’t prove they were working or planning to before applying, they’ll have to return the money, that could mean over $32,000.
Thousands of students in independent study programs at many of the larger school districts get a reprieve on their vaccination mandate deadlines. The Los Angeles Unified School District board has voted to allow students to wait until next fall to have had both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. They first said spring of 2021. Same for West Contra Costa Unified, they went though just until February. Oakland and Sacramento are also delaying. Some anti-vaccine and anti-vaccine mandate groups said it was a win, but Ed Source reports school board members said that was not the case.
Governor Newsom says not only do healthcare workers need to be vaccinated, they also need to have booster shots. It’s because of the surge in cases due to the omicron variant. Governor Newsom says Omicron is triggering immediate action to protect Californians and make sure hospitals are prepared. Health experts say the state may be able to escape the worst because of the high vaccination or natural immunity rates. So the state has that protection against omicron, but it obviously doesn’t guarantee people won’t get the virus either.
The state of California says they will grant waivers on cannabis license fees for people of color who may have been impacted by the War on Drugs. It comes as stakeholders are asking for a suspension of cannabis taxes, saying the industry could bottom out if it doesn’t happen in the New Year. Then on Monday the California Department of Cannabis Control announced the new program starting New Year’s Day. And lawmakers put several million dollars aside to pay for certain groups to get fee waivers and deferrals.
