A Senior Deputy DA has retired from the Mendocino County DA’s office. On the District Attorney’s Facebook page, they noted Friday was the last day on the job, after 34 years for long-time prosecutor, Elizabeth Marie “Beth” Norman. The Mendocino County native got her JD from the University of North Dakota School of Law and later started working for the Mendocino County DA in 1988. DA Eyster called her the office’s “Swiss army knife” at a going away dinner last weekend. She handled everything from DUI’s to burglaries to child sexual assaults to murders, making her way up to a management-level prosecutor. The DA says she will be missed, and made the county a safer place to live and work because of her persistent pursuit of justice.
The fire burning in Yosemite National Park has some containment, and a cause. Cal Fire reports the Washburn Fire was human caused because there was no lightning that day. They are investigating the 2,270 acre fire. There are still evacuations for the Mariposa Grove, where the park’s oldest grove of sequoia trees stand. And the town of Wawona and the Wawona Campground were also emptied. The fire is outside the grove of trees and the operations manager of that section of the fire says things look okay for now. He says hand lines and other work was being done to protect the grove of about 500 trees first protected by Abraham Lincoln in 1864. That’s before Yosemite National Park and the National Park Service were even created. The fire is 22% contained. Other areas of the park, though smoke-filled, are open.
A fourth California condor is about to be released by the Northern California Condor Restoration Program. The bird will be taken into Yurok ancestral territory and the Redwood National Park. There have not been critically endangered birds in the park for at least 100 years. The release depends on the bird entering and exiting a staging pen that has access to the outside world. The bird will join 3 others and will be the first prey-go-neesh over Yurok skies since 1892. Another group of condors is expected to come in next month and be released with the others in later summer or early fall. They plan to bring a group in annually for release. The others are said to be doing well in the rewilding project. The Yurok Tribe began the condor reintroduction in 2008.
Two men from Ukiah have been arrested after a Deputy spotted them, recognizing one of them who had a warrant for his arrest. Tobias Wood, the passenger in the vehicle was contacted along with the driver, William Kidd. The Deputies say they saw Wood moving items around in the car as they approached. They detained Wood for the warrant, and found Kidd was on felony probation and could be searched. There was a commercial quantity of Fentanyl which the Deputies surmised was going to be sold. The two men were arrested on various charges including possession of a controlled substance/narcotic for sales, bringing a controlled substance into jail and transporting narcotics for sale. Wood was held on $105,000.00 bail and Kidd on $25,000.00 bail.
The new Superintendent of Schools for Mendocino County has written a Letter to the Editor for Mendo Fever. Nicole Glentzer says she’s honored to have been elected and thanked “countless volunteers and supporters” who helped her win the June 7th election. She also said she was “especially grateful” to be supported by fellow educators. She went on to say as a parent herself, and an educator, she knows about the current challenges, first-hand. From staffing shortages to the impact of COVID, school safety, and student performance, Glentzer says when she takes over the office in January, she’ll work collaboratively to address the challenges and says she’s committed to lead schools and the County Office of Education to overcome them.
After a routine traffic stop on Highway 162, a man from was arrested for DUI and found with a ghost gun. The Sheriff’s Dept. reports last Friday night Gonzalo Vazquez was in Covelo alone. A Deputy smelled booze in the car and says Vazquez seemed like he was drunk. When they asked him to exit the vehicle, he was about to be given a field sobriety test, but the Deputy saw ammunition in a cup holder in the center console. The guy was asked if there were firearms in the vehicle and found that yes, there was one in the trunk. The car was searched, and Vazquez was cuffed. The Deputy found a ghost gun and loads of ammo. Vazquez was arrested for DUI of alcohol/drugs and since he had a criminal history, he wasn’t allowed to have guns. His home was also searched, and more ghost guns were found there, including an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle with an illegal short barrel, multiple rounds of ammo, firearm parts and packaging materials. He’s held on $25,000.00 bail.
A convicted sex offender set to be sentenced gets a reprieve while awaiting a new trial. 36 year old Antonio Thomas Magalhaes of Nice was found guilty after only an hour of jury deliberations in April. He was charged with seven offenses, including forcible rape; first degree burglary; rape of an intoxicated person; rape of an unconscious person; and domestic violence involving corporal injury. He was accused of abusing two victims, one of them repeatedly over a six month period from 2018 to 2019. He faced 38 years to life in prison, but his lawyer filed for a new trial last week, so the judge is reviewing the motion and trial transcripts. So, next month the court will hear the motion, and if it is not given a green light, the sentencing will take place instead. Magalhaes is being held in the Lake County Jail.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors is hearing a presentation about a new state program for those suffering from mental illness and need housing. At their meeting this morning, the Board will also figure out what to do about the empty District 4 supervisorial seat after Tina Scott said she would leave at the end of July. Her seat could land on the November election ballot. The board is also considering a response this morning to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ asking for a comment on the Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians non-gaming land acquisition application. They want to put over a dozen parcels of land in trust for its casino near Nice. Officials reportedly concerned because the more than 800 acres are in the boundaries of a restoration project on the Middle Creek Flood Damage and Ecosystem Restoration Project.
Water usage is down in Calif. The State Water Resources Control Board reported urban water use was down just over 3% in May as compared to May 2020. The report also says preliminary data from last month of 30% of the state’s population had water usage down 7.7% compared to June 2020. Still, state officials say Californians and businesses have to do more to save water during the extreme drought. It comes after water use was up 19% in March and almost 18% in April compared to the same months in 2020. All still way lower than what the Governor asked for, water usage to be down 15%.
Some truckers in Calif. and owner operators of the trucking companies say they’re trying to figure out what to do about a bill in the Assembly. The bill mandates they pass a three-part test to be considered independent contractors. If they don’t pass it, they’d be considered employees, entitled to benefits. Bloomberg is reporting as many as 70,000 truck owner-operators pretty much prop up the entire California transport industry. The Calif. Trucking Association sued, and it ended up in the US Supreme Court, who refused to hear the case. The trucking industry pretty much relies on contractors, who’ve been fighting to be exempt from state regulations for years. The Association says the law could mean thousands of independent truckers leave the job until they can work to comply with the new regulations.
