A judge in California stopped a program operated by the state to spray pesticides on public lands and some private property because of potential health risks. The judge ruled the Department of Food and Agriculture has to stop spraying under the Statewide Plant Pest Prevention and Management Program within two months. The San Francisco Chronicle reports it comes after a state appeals court ruled the program violated the California Environmental Quality Act because it didn’t do site-specific environmental reviews or notify the public before they sprayed the poisons. Over 6 dozen types of pesticides have been used as part of the program. The Dept. of Food and Agriculture does have the right to appeal.
Quick work of a fire in the center divider of the 101 in Ukiah. Mendo Fever reports the fire started Monday south of N State St., allegedly started by a pedestrian wearing a black jacket. Ukiah CHP officers went to the scene and found a woman who matched the description and detained her. They say they found a green lighter on the woman. Mendocino Deputies also worked on the investigation with the CHP and arrested Melissa Beck of Ukiah. She’s charged with arson and was booked into jail.
A former Deputy in the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office says he’s a write-in candidate for Sheriff. Sheriff Matt Kendall doesn’t have a formal opponent on the ballot, but now has a competitor in former Deputy Trent James. The registrar of voters says he qualified as a write-in because he secured enough signatures of support, before the deadline last week. He apparently came to the decision too late because as he was told he could be a write-in, all ballots had already been mailed to voters and thousands of them had already been returned to the office. James was stationed in Covelo and was also a Willits police officer for a short time.
A former Mendocino County probation officer says she still wants a jury trial in her case against and County. The defense filed a motion to dismiss Carley vs. County of Mendocino, which won’t be heard until next month. Amanda Carley’s accused her former fiancé, Ukiah Police Chief Noble Waidelich of domestic abuse and more. She’s due in court in the matter next week. Then a motion to dismiss is also supposed to be heard July 15th. The chief is accused by Carley of using his position for witness intimidation and using his power position to get out of criminal prosecution. Carley claims the County and City of Ukiah tried to protect Waidelich.
After reports of a pickup truck catching fire in the Brooktrails area, several resources rushed to the scene. Mendo Fever reports the fire was on the truck and an attached utility trailer which sent smoke into the sky. A resident told the news site the fire was out within about 15 minutes and didn’t spread. There were a couple of water tenders and three trucks on the scene with a Deputy from the Sheriff’s office. The Brooktrails Volunteer Fire Department posted on social media they responded with the Willits’s Little Lake Fire Department and CAL FIRE.
Quick work of a vegetation fire near Laytonville. Firefighters on the scene yesterday afternoon after reports of flames in the 44000 block of North Highway 101. Mendo Fever reports fire engines, aircraft, a helicopter, and a dozer were headed there, but were not needed as forward progress stopped on the fire, which the news site says was about as big as a football field.
Congressman Mike Thompson, who happens to be the Chair for the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force has introduced a bill with some colleagues to protect children from gun violence. Thompson along with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler and House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Sheila Jackson Lee have introduced the Protecting Our Kids Act. The three House members say the legislation is needed and offers more than thoughts and prayers. Instead Thompson says it will help end gun violence by “raising the age to purchase certain firearms, cracking down on gun trafficking, ghost guns and bump stocks, supporting safer storage of firearms, and banning large capacity magazines often used in mass shootings”. Thompson says he’s a life-long gun owner and hunter.
Thousands of teachers in Calif. have quit their jobs since the pandemic started. Several more Ed Source reports quit after in person learning restarted. The news site reports many were burnt out already and when kids returned thought things would get better, but then the social-emotional trauma children were dealing with kicked in. The report says students regularly came to school late, got into fights with each other, interrupted lessons and ignored teachers. The report also says many teachers are retiring early. Thousands retired in 2020. They cited the pandemic as a main reason. And in a survey by the country’s largest union, over half said they would leave the teaching profession earlier than expected. 90% said it was due to burnout and pandemic-related stress.
Three Black women have been honored in the wine industry for promoting diversity and equal opportunity. The North Bay Business Journal reports the Association of African American Vintners honored Monique Bell for contributing to education at Cal State Fresno, Theodora Lee the founder of the Black Vines Wine Festival and Dorothy Gaiter, a former wine columnist at the Wall Street Journal. The trio got their awards at Santa Rosa’s DeLoach Vineyards May 21st. The Association of African American Vintners says they’ve been getting more inquiries on memberships ever since the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
