The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors are considering an urgency ordinance to blend two offices together. At their regular meeting tomorrow the board will look at merging the Offices of Auditor/Controller and Treasurer/Tax Collector. They’ll also move to place Chemise Cubbison in a position to run both offices as one. They’ll also discuss spending tax revenue on fire protection and emergency services.
A massive wildfire has exploded in size and continues threatening a California treasure that people flock to from across the globe. The Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park is threatening the iconic Sequoia trees and a small mountain town. It burned over 2,000 acres at last check this morning with zero containment. Evacuations are in place as folks were camping in the park. Others who live nearby were told to leave, even as parts of the park stayed open. More than 500 mature sequoias are threatened in the Mariposa Grove. So far none of the named trees had severe damage, including the 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant. The town of Wawona is threatened.
A woman from Covelo faces multiple criminal charges after a routine traffic stop. Deputies pulled Keisha Hoaglin over last Wednesday morning due to a vehicle code violation. The Deputy found Hoaglin was lying and gave him a phony name, and that she had a warrant for her arrest. He also found drug paraphernalia in the vehicle and a case to hold a gun. She was immediately arrested and the car searched. In it were a couple of baggies with about 44 grams of meth, a loaded AR-15 without a serial number, tons of ammo, a pipe and more. She’s charged with numerous crimes including Possession of an Assault Weapon with a Short Barrel, Felon/Addict in Possession of a Firearm, Felony Possession of a Controlled substance while Armed, and Felony False Impersonation of Another. Hoaglin was held on $37,500.00 bail.
Two women in an altercation at the Carnival By the Sea in Fort Bragg led to one being pepper sprayed. Police say the two were first fighting online, on social media due to a love triangle. Eyewitnesses at the Carnival say a 19-year-old woman approached a 20-year-old identified as Lacee Cummings. They say Cummings pulled out a taser and demanded the other girl get away from her and looked to be about to use the taser but dropped it. Cops say Cummings then pulled out some pepper spray and sprayed the 19-year-old in the face. She ended up in the hospital for treatment and agreed to prosecute. Cummings and her boyfriend and others said the 19-year-old had continued to threaten Cummings, but police say due to various statements by witnesses they are still investigating and no arrests were made.
A fire’s out in Ukiah before it gets away and causes damage or destruction. The vegetation fire broke out yesterday near the intersection of South State Street and Oak Knoll Road. At the time it was just a quarter-acre in size with a slow spread rate in dry grass. Scanner reports said there was also electric lines involved. The fire was quickly contained and firefighters stayed to keep an eye on the burning embers.
A burned-out building had a bit of life added to it with a mural of a missing or murdered indigenous woman. An arsonist burned three buildings in downtown Covelo almost two years ago. One business reopened elsewhere, but the others stayed standing. Then a well-known muralist and advocate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women painted a striking mural of Khadijah Britton. Britton vanished in February of 2018. Shane Grammer worked with community members to install the mural on the former Round Valley Center for the Arts which was gutted in the arson fire. Grammer has installed multiple projects in Mendocino and Lake Counties and works with local kids to educate them on art and advocacy.
Another death by drowning in Lake Berryessa. The third in two weeks. This time an 18-year-old man from Vallejo drowned yesterday in the waters of Lake Berryessa. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office reported Zaire Watu Fairley was at the lake with three friends and while standing on a log he slipped and fell into the lake. There happened to be an off-duty cop there at the time who jumped out of his boat and found Fairley underwater, dragging him to shore. There were also several off-duty nurses there who all tried to resuscitate the teen. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. The first of the three drownings was June 27th, a 16 year old who fell off a raft, the second was July 3rd, a 35 year old man from San Pablo, who tried to save his son from drowning, only to save the boy, but die himself.
The upcoming almond harvest is down. A new report says this year will see a 11% downturn over last year, but it’s not all bad news. The National Agricultural Statistics Service report estimates 2.6 billion pounds will be harvested in the fall. It was just under 3 billion last year and 3.1 billion in 2020. The drought has actually helped though, less product from areas with unstable water supplies, the same goes for frost in some places in late February. The report said the average price growers need to survive is about $2 per pound. It was a close call with the average last year at $1.76 and $1.71 the year before.
A man from Ukiah is suing the police department and city for violations of his constitutional rights and assault under color of law. Arturo Valdes was arrested in March of 2021. Pictures online show his face battered, with a misshapen noise and bruising. The arrest for suspicion of DUI at his home. His lawyer claims he went out to dinner with his family and got into a small accident in the parking lot of the restaurant. There were no injuries or property damage. He traded info with another driver and left the scene. Officers went to his home after for a reported hit and run and charged him with DUI with prior DUI convictions, resisting arrest, and child cruelty for driving with his kids. His lawyer says he and his wife were mistreated. They filed a federal complaint in May and are suing now. It’s the second lawsuit against the police dept and city accusing the agency of civil rights violations and assault under color of law.
Due to threats of rising violence, the state has awarded tens of millions to a dozen organizations who work to stop hate crimes. The California Attorney General’s office has a report showing hate crimes went up 89% the last ten years or so, and Asian hate crimes shot up by 177% in 2021. The Governor chimed in on the matter saying hatred and bigotry have been stoked, and acts of cowardice and violence have increased at an alarming rate. The $30 million will pay for services for mental health, wellness, and community healing, legal assistance, navigation, and case management, working on understanding and empathy, youth development, senior safety and ambassador/ escort programs, individual and community safety planning, bystander training and other de-escalation techniques, and intervention services.
Is your child interested in state parks? MendoParks, Hendy Woods Community, and California State Parks Sonoma-Mendocino Coast District are running a program for Junior Rangers. They get together at over 70 state parks, where they play games, go hiking, create their own animal, discover tracks, and observe wildlife. Like a scout program, children get a stamp that they can enter into a logbook, and they can earn rewards. There are various Junior Ranger activity areas including, geology, ecology, history, safety, plants, and wildlife. The program is free to visitors who’ve paid for a park entrance or camping fee.
