CAL FIRE says it has as much as $10 million in funding for Wildfire Resilience Block Grants. The money is to support private forestland owners help improve forest health, resilience to climate change, and reduce forestland impacts due to devastating wildfires as part of the state’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan. The grants are to meet a portion of the Task Force Action Plan goals for those who own nonindustrial forestland. Those eligible will have 3-5,000 acres. CAL FIRE would distribute the grant money and provide outreach and/or technical/financial help for the work on their property. CAL FIRE is accepting applications until April 1st.
Two more people in Mendocino County have died from complications of coronavirus. The Public Health Office has put out a statement the 118th death was a vaccinated 91 year old man from the North Coast with other underlying health conditions. And the 119th was also a man, he was 65 years old, fully vaccinated and boosted with co-morbidities who lived in the North County area.
A woman who lost her dog over a week and a half ago has her back. Reese was apparently found by a couple of bike riders on Big River Haul Road on the Mendocino Coast. Owner Holly says two people put her dog in their truck to bring her out of the forest. She says she’s a bit tired, had some ticks, but was otherwise healthy after her 11 day journey.
An extension of a consulting agreement for the old Pearce Field airport is being considered by the Clearlake City Council. At their meeting this week, the council is looking at continuing to work to make the airport property a commercial center. They will also consider a voter initiative. The meeting is hybrid, both in person and virtual. The consultant for the airport property wants another $10,000 a month for 2 more months for their work towards a master development plan. Lake Co News reports the council will also consider the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act to amend the State Constitution regarding how the state and local governments can impose taxes, fees and other charges.
Applications are being accepted by the Yuba Community College District for a seat on the board of trustees. Trustee Bill Roderick resigned his seat, which needs to be filled for the rest of the year. There’s also another election in November too, for seats. Trustee Area 7 is for part of southern Lake County and the Northshore, Colusa and Glenn counties. The board governs the performance of Woodland Community College and Yuba College. The qualifications include: attending all board meetings and major college events, policy issues, and trustee education programs, knowing your community and being committed to community college missions and more.
New toll lanes have opened in the Bay Area that go from Mountain View to Redwood City on Highway 101. It opened last Friday to join up with the 118-mile express lane network. The price is sketchy and changes based on several different toll zones, discounts for carpoolers and clean-air vehicles. It’ll cost more during rush hour and more for people driving alone. It’s free though for carpools with three or more people and motorcyclists in express lanes. Clean air sticker cars get about half off.
A new healthcare program in California includes case management for those who need help under Medi-Cal. Starting last month CalAIM, or California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal began for low-income residents. Almost half of the state’s children, a fifth of adults and a couple million senior citizens and people with disabilities depend on the program. There is apparently $133 billion a year for Medi-Cal and about half is spent on this 5% sector of folks. CalAIM aims to be more proactive in helping the sickest, with things like food insecurity and housing instability too.
An update is planned by the Lakeport City Council on the planned Lakefront Park Project plus a skating ordinance at the park. Just after the pandemic started in April of 2020, the City received a grant of nearly $6 million dollars from the 2018 State of California Parks and Water Bond to develop a new community park along the lakefront. Right now engineering plans are getting the finishing touches and they’re preparing to put out a bid request for contractors. Since the new park proposes a skatepark, the city will take another look at the skating ordinance. The council meets tonight.
Napa and Sonoma County are looking at new ways they may regulate wineries. An ordinance being floated in Napa which may be adopted next month would create a new category of wine producer between the home-occupation permit and a conventional winery. There would be certain metrics to be considered a microwinery including no marketing. It comes after some voiced concern last fall about the tiny wineries making wine elsewhere. The new micro-winery ordinance is getting support from the Winegrowers of Napa Valley and Napa Valley Vintners. In Sonoma County, they’re revisiting their draft winery events ordinance Thursday after six years of consideration delayed by wildfires and the pandemic.
As tens of thousands of college students in the state of Calif. are in need of housing, the California State University system is applying for grants. The system had reportedly read some fine print wrong for construction of affordable student housing, so they’re reaching out to the Legislature to develop more housing which could give almost 3,400 students subsidized housing. Cal State applied last fall, but has now submitted revised plans after the system apparently proposed fewer beds than needed for low income students. CalMatters reported and Cal State officials later agreed they erred in their application to the state grant program. The revisions allow for $823 million in total funding projects for 10 campuses with over half the amount coming from the new state housing grant and the rest from outside funds.
A study by UCLA says California is in a “megadrought” which has not happened since at least 800 A.D. Climate change, higher temperatures and dry conditions are all factors contributing to the now 22 year long drought. The lead author of the study at UCLA says there’s an immediate danger. The study shows the state has seen a trio of short-term droughts during twenty years, 2000-2003, 2007-2009 and 2012 to 2016. Each ended when pouring rain came down, the last was in 2017. The last two years have been a short drought too, the study shows, in California and much of the West. Wildfire danger is on the rise again. Researchers say it’s highly unlikely one wet year will end this drought.
As the state prepares to end the indoor mask mandate at restaurants, grocery stores and other indoor settings, parents say they’re frustrated kids cannot take their masks off at school. The state’s health officer had a press conference yesterday, but said they would revisit again at the end of February, before unmasking kids in school. And the California Teachers Association, which boasts more than 300,000 members, supports the cautious decision, however some teachers and parents say it’s time to discuss it now. CalMatters reports interviewing parents and educators and heard about social and emotional harm and the supposed minimal benefits of masking as vaccination rates go up and case numbers go down.
