Maybe you felt something… there were a couple of earthquakes along the coast. Further up, but medium sized anyway. The 4.1-magnitude earthquake shook around Rio Dell yesterday morning, but it was about 13 miles deep into the earth. Several shake reports came into the United States Geological Survey. Then minutes later a 3.9-magnitude hit. The aftershock hit right where the first quake shook. Experts say earthquakes between 2.5 and 5.4 can be felt pretty good, but usually don’t cause any damage.
The state is considering raising the amount of money residents get back for turning in recyclable cans and bottles from deposits. The Governor’s administration is going to temporarily double the deposit for 12- and 24-ounce bottles or cans. The administration is hoping that will encourage more people to recycle. The director of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery says it will get Calif. back to being at the top of the heap as far as recycling programs go. The plan would keep the deposit charge the same but the return amount would double in order to raise the recycling rate to at least 80%, from its current 70% rate.
A warning from the health dept. about the recent spread of norovirus. The stomach ailment has reportedly sickened over 30 people in the state the last few weeks after they ate raw oysters harvested in British Columbia, Canada. The state Dept. of Health warns you should not indulge in the slimy mollusks if they’re imported from British Columbia where several growing regions have been shut down because of sanitary contamination. There are nine restaurants in Calif. where folks ate the oysters and became ill between March 11th and 19th. There are reports of contaminated oysters in other states from British Columbia as well.
The city of Clearlake has a new, beautiful mural up on a wall at Hope Center. The artwork created by Violet and Michael Divine on the building on Emerson Street. The building is used to help the homeless and those who suffer from substance abuse conditions. Lake Co News reports the idea was for an inspirational mural, so the image depicts a dragonfly to represent the Hope Center’s story of healing and renewal. It shows the dragonfly flying up from a muddy bottom to evolve and traces the lifespan of the flying insect, showing eggs and what’s left behind after it mutates, leaving the river behind. The news site reports it’s part of a campaign by the Lake County Rural Arts Initiative to bring murals to Lake County to make it an arts destination for economic growth.
A man from Lakeport is going to prison after being arrested for child pornography. 60-year-old Scott Cramer, the former owner of a local bike shop got two years for felony possession of child pornography. He was arrested 2 years ago after cops found he was using social media to upload kiddie porn at least five times. The uploads were over almost one year. The former owner of Main Street Bicycles was charged with felony possession of child pornography and bringing obscene materials that depict a minor in a sex act into the state. He got a deal with the DA’s office if he entered a no contest plea to one charge with the second charge dropped. The judge rejected the deal originally. But Cramer’s lawyer told the court he had prostate cancer and needed treatment, and possible surgery. The DA offered up the mid-term sentence that was in the probation dept. recommendation and the judge agreed. Cramer also has to pay $1,300 in restitution.
The Clearlake City Council is considering what to do about a restaurant that’s fallen into disrepair and has been vacant quite a while. The meeting Thursday night will also feature Proclamations for April 10th to 16th as Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. They’re going to be asked by city staff to give a demolition contract to a company to tear down the old Sunflower restaurant. The staff report says they’ve been continuing with abatement actions after new owners took over last year, yet there are still health and safety hazards that have not been addressed.
You can grab your firewood on the Mendocino National Forest now. Personal-use firewood permits are available for free for the 2022 season. You can go online to apply or visit the Upper Lake Ranger District, or the office in Willows. It does take about three weeks for the permit to arrive and includes a map of where you can cut. It’s illegal to go into the forest and take wood without a permit. The firewood has to be from dead trees, already on the ground. And the most you’re allowed is 6 feet. Permits are also available by mail.
Download a firewood permit request form at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/mendocino/firewood and follow the mail-in instructions.
The mayor of Fort Bragg has written an open letter to the public to let them know the status of Mendocino Coast Health Care District after discussion of a possible closure. The letter comes after a February meeting of the District where possible dissolution was considered. The mayor, Bernie Norvell, says he was interested after hearing about it and wrote a letter to one of the Directors of the District, finding there had not been a meeting yet by an exploratory committee. He then asked the Chair of the Directors for a meeting with himself and a city council member so they could objectively research the possible dissolution. He says it’s a positive move in a “forward-thinking direction”. If you have any questions you feel are important on the matter, the mayor asks for emails: bnorvell2@fortbragg.com.
A new report shows math scores in Calif. schools for eighth graders were pretty abysmal. Ed Source reports the 2021 standardized test scores were in line with those of fifth grade skillsets. That’s according to the recent study of the state’s Smarter Balanced tests. It takes a look at the performance over a period of time, shedding a light on students falling behind annually, and even before the pandemic broke out. It starts in third grade, the analysis shows, which lines up at about the time when the first tests were administered. The analysis shows progress really slowed last year when most kids were doing distance learning.
