State Sen. Bill Dodd is looking to trying to transform Highway 37 into a toll road to raise money. Dodd announced the reintroduction of his Bill Tuesday which he had introduced before the pandemic, then rescinded as the pandemic hit. The idea to raise funds to protect the highway as waters rise in the San Pablo Bay. If approved, drivers would pay to travel on the Highway between Sears Point and Mare Island. He says there’s also a twin measure for almost $2 billion in federal funds for transportation projects to help with the effects of climate change. Reports say Highway 37 could be under water within 20 years.
A couple of cars have crashed on the 101 outside Willits. The CHP reported the collision around mile marker 41 near Black Bart Drive, south of Willits. One of the cars burst into flames which stopped traffic in both directions, then a semi-truck reportedly hit one of the vehicles, totally blocking traffic on the southbound side of the highway. The CHP Traffic Incident Information Page said there was one person trapped with major injuries last night, and an air ambulance and ground rig were called into the area.
A new report says crime has been down in Fort Bragg during the pandemic. Police report crime data biannually, and this is the year. The City Council heard the presentation Monday night which Mendo Voice reports showed a steady downturn of crime the last four years. The news site also reported the amount of calls for service, arrests, and violent crimes; robbery, theft and vehicle theft were also down. A huge decrease in gang-related calls too, down 90% during the same period. DUI’s stayed pretty much the same though. The report also said about half the police department had been infected with Covid-19 over the first two years of the pandemic, but it was like one at a time, not an outbreak.
Yosemite National Park has announced you’ll need a reservation to visit this summer. There is apparently some worry there could be massive traffic because there are a lot of construction projects happening all at once inside the park. So, from May 20th to Sept. 30th there will be a limit on the number of visitors who will need to get online reservations to enter.
Lake County finally has a new Public Health Officer. At their Board of Supervisors meeting this week, the board voted unanimously to hire Dr. Erik McLaughlin as the new Public Health officer. After a closed door session, the announcement was made. The doctor currently lives in Las Vegas and will serve 80% of the time, but no start date was given. He also does not yet have his medical license, so it’s dependent on that. He is however licensed in Vegas as a family physician. He has a medical degree from a school overseas that’s not listed as approved by the Medical Board of California. The last Public Health Officer resigned a year ago and has served as an interim officer, along with a couple others.
A couple of lawmakers along with the state Insurance Commissioner have introduced legislation to have an advance warning and ranking system for extreme heat waves. State Assembly Members Luz Rivas of the San Fernando Valley and Eduardo Garcia of Coachella working with Commissioner Ricardo Lara and two State Senators. Lara reportedly came up with the idea with the state Climate Insurance Working Group who authored a report last year to protect more vulnerable Californian citizens due to the impacts of climate change.
Some locals and local dignitaries take to the streets in Ukiah to help pick up trash. Last weekend, Maureen Mulheren apparently gathered friends to help load garbage bags with trash. They wrangled the police chief, who helped with his truck and trailer, as they cleared an area along Brush Street near the Daniel Steel building which is frequently strewn with trash. The truck was taken to the Ukiah Transfer Station to unload. Mulheren used to be a Ukiah City Councilmember and is now on the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors.
The California Coastal Conservancy is going to start managing the Great Redwood Trail. This is the proposed 320-mile trail along the old rail tracks that connect the San Francisco Bay Area to Humboldt Bay. Right now the North Coast Rail Authority is managing it. But it was apparently decided a state agency should manage it instead. So starting this summer, the Coastal Conservancy, who have expertise in California trails and years with the California Coastal trail itself will take over. Starting March 1st the North Coast Rail Authority is also changing its name to the Great Redwood Trail Agency for the work.
A man from Upper Lake found guilty of murdering a woman in 2017 will be sentenced next month. As you may recall Willy Tujays Timmons was accused of murdering the mother of his children, partner Vanessa Niko. He’s been charged with murder, inflicting corporal injury with a prior conviction within seven years, causing permanent disability, and torture. Some of the charges from another incident in 2016. There was a jury trial last year where he was convicted and it was referred for sentencing. He was in court via video with the case set to be back in court the end of the month and sentencing March 2nd. He’s in custody awaiting his fate.
Congressman Mike Thompson has reported filed to run for re-election in the newly drawn Congressional District 4. After each US Census, congressional and other political districts are redrawn to balance the amount of people in a district. District 4 includes all of Lake and Napa Counties and parts of Solano, Sonoma and Yolo Counties. He says he’s a native, born and raised here and considers it the honor of his life to represent the region.
For information about the newly drawn and numbered Fourth Congressional District visit https://www. wedrawthelinesca.org/final_ maps. For more information about Congressman Mike Thompson’s campaign, visit https://www. mikethompsonforcongress. com/
A new plan about how to take on the COVID19 pandemic moving forward is emerging from the Governor’s office. It’s about living with the virus, not being able to go back to normal, or before times, as it were. The state’s health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly says the state’s focus now will be to be prepared and ready because there could be another strain coming. And it could be stronger. The new protections of living with an endemic, not a pandemic, a day after the state dropped its latest indoor mask mandate. The state is set to also announce mask rules for schools Feb. 28th. Dr. Ghaly said the state will stay vigilant and monitor for other possible airborne diseases as it works to improve the state’s public health system as a whole.
There are a couple of new officers in the Clear Lake CHP office. Lake Co News reports Jared Wade and Zach Cornel were part of the latest academy of over 140 new officers who just graduated 2 weeks ago from West Sacramento. While at the academy, they studied for almost 7 months then were officially sworn in February 4th. The two new Clear Lake officers will be getting on-field training with other officers who’ve been on the job a while before they go out in the field solo.
