A barricade situation in Laytonville has ended. A man reportedly locked in a car with a SWAT Hostage Negotiation Team, and Behavioral Health staff there to help de-escalate the situation. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s office reports Christopher Brockway had recently been jailed on felon in possession of a firearm, forgery, possession of stolen property, conspiracy and identity theft charges and was granted short term release. He did not turn himself in so when cops tried to get him to surrender he wouldn’t and the barricade situation started. He reportedly threatened he would kill himself as a CHP helicopter hovered over the situation. The Sheriff’s office reports the man became hostile and wouldn’t surrender so they used rubber bullets, a taser and finally a police dog took Brockway down. Neighbors were also told to stay inside. After the suspect was detained, medical personnel were called to the scene.
Private well owners in Sonoma County are getting help to make sure their drinking water stays safe as changes occur due to the drought. Groundwater tables are lower so some wells could have matter in them that make the water unsafe to drink. The county warns you should test your water to make sure it’s safe, to look for naturally occurring contaminants and if there are unhealthy substances, get help from a private water treatment expert. Also Environmental Health is working with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Sonoma County Water Agency and Permit Sonoma to put up a digital resource hub to help Sonoma County well owners.
The resource hub can be viewed at: https://socoemergency.org/emergency/drought
A car crash on Hwy 20 in Nice has killed a pedestrian. Apparently an elderly white man had been jumping in and out of traffic over the weekend and was hit by a car and the man’s body was laying in the middle of the road. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene, but not a lot more info has been released so far.
The Kelseyville Unified School District is deciding if they should send a formal letter of opposition to the state regarding COVID vaccine mandates for students and staff. The board’s meeting tomorrow night to discuss the matter due to a staffing shortage. Those who attend the discussion have to wear masks. The resolution mirrors one accepted last month by the Lakeport Unified, Lucerne Elementary and Konocti Unified School District boards. Lake County News reports though that the Kelseyville resolution has some differences including continuing to partner with public health agencies to educate and offer vaccination info for school-age children and employees, but they don’t want mandates.
A tree that could not be reached by Pacific Gas and Electric because of nesting Bald Eagles is apparently a hazard that needs to be removed. A spokesperson for the energy company says an in house expert said the massive pine tree on Ridgeway Highway in Potter Valley is “dying” and could possibly fall into nearby power lines. So they say to continue to fulfill their mandate to protect public safety, they need to take the tree down. The spokesperson also confirmed there is a Bald Eagle nest in the tree, but that it’s been called “inactive” and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife gave them the greenlight to fell the tree. They were trying to do it by Friday or Saturday but there were people gathered there and they couldn’t gain access.
First 5 Lake County has a new executive director. Samantha Bond was hired locally after spending the last five years as the First 5 Mendocino County public relations manager. She says she believes the work of the organization has had an “immense positive impact for families with young children”. She says she’s “humbled to be able to continue this great work” in Lake County. She has previously worked in group homes with kids with severe mental and behavioral health challenges. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis.
A group of cannabis industry advocates and business owners in the Emerald Triangle along with farmers and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) at the Capitol calling on lawmakers to get rid of the cannabis cultivation tax once and for all. Last week the Governor signaled he might be willing to bend in some areas. Some attendees said the state was in crisis as prices of cannabis are going down but taxes were increasing and that it was disproportionately impacting small cannabis farmers and BIPOC, calling it unsustainable.
New cases of the omicron strain of COVID19 are overwhelming hospital emergency rooms in the state. The Los Angeles Times is reporting the virus is spreading at the fastest pace it has since the pandemic first arose in California. The report says health officials are expecting a potential hospitalization disaster, even though the symptoms are supposedly minor compared to delta. The report also says the omicron mutation could peak soon as hospitals consider whether or not to cancel scheduled surgeries and ambulances face long delays dropping off patients.
If you were wondering why there was a widespread tsunami warning Saturday, an undersea volcano erupted near the Pacific nation of Tonga. Tsunami waves came crashing down across the shore with people being warned from the Mexico/San Diego to the Oregon border to get to higher ground. Tsunami advisories were issued for Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Pacific coast. There haven’t been reports of injuries, but we heard Point Arena harbor had experienced 3.5 foot surges, Santa Cruz reported some flooding and damage. And two fishermen had to be rescued in San Mateo County too. Satellite images on Tonga showed a massive eruption, with a plume of ash out of the ocean with steam and gas rising above, in the shape of a mushroom.
