The latest report on housing shows over 30% more homes for sale this year over last. The homes in the area of Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. There were nearly 2,700 homes and condos for sale at the end of July. Each month the inventory seems to be growing from the year before, and that’s nationwide too. But still inventory is lower historically speaking. There have been 10,000 homes for sale at once in the same Northern Calif. region. No matter, there were little sales comparatively. About 1,170 homes sold in the region in July, 32 percent lower than last year, and 7 percent below the month before. In Mendocino County homes and condos for sale were up for 7 months, a 109 percent increase in July, then in 2021. Lake County had 26 percent more homes for sale in July than a year before.
Intro: Consumer advocates are trying to get Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a bill to raise what car insurance companies must cover in an accident. The “Protect California Drivers Act” would raise the mandatory minimum amount of liability insurance to 30-thousand dollars for a single injury or death, 60-thousand if more than one person is injured or killed, and 15-thousand to cover property damage. Craig Peters with Consumer Attorneys of California says the bill would double the current rates, which only require coverage of 15-thousand, 30-thousand, and five-thousand dollars respectively.
:09 “Fifteen-thousand today will barely cover the cost of an ambulance ride to the hospital, and $5,000 will barely fix a minor dent in a car.”
Tag: He notes when the current rates were set, back in 1967, they were intended to cover the cost of a two-week hospital stay or the replacement of the vehicle. Since every California driver is required to have insurance that meets state standards, the law would protect victims of car crashes from incurring massive debt. The bill’s few opponents, including some insurers, said it’s the wrong time to be raising the cost of coverage.
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Second Cut: But Peters says the bill was the result of negotiations between consumer groups and insurance industry representatives. He says the change is long overdue.
:07 “California has lagged behind every other state in the union. This will actually put us back into the middle of the pack. “
Tag: Senate Bill 1107 has already passed both houses of the California Legislature. If it becomes law, the new limits will take effect in 2025. They’d also increase ten years later – to 50-thousand or 100-thousand dollars for injuries or deaths, and 25-thousand dollars for property damage.
No moves by the Clearlake City Council for two vacant seats. The council also decided to hire an executive search firm to find a new finance director. The two open seats, filled by Mayor Dirk Slooten and Councilman Russ Cremer have no competitors. The City Clerk/Administrative Services Director says the council had the option to appoint the two to the seats they hold, or have an election in November. The city has the budget for that, so if the council does nothing by tomorrow, the election will go forward for the two seats and for the city treasurer. The city treasurer position has been appointed since 2006 when the last elected treasurer left the job.
Money is coming to a Lake County water district in the latest round of grants. The money is to help smaller towns with water supply issues during the historic drought. This is the Department of Water Resources eighth round of Small Community Drought Relief funding. They’re distributing $40 million to over a dozen projects in Butte, Humboldt, Lake, Madera, Mariposa, Placer, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, Sierra, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Ventura and Yolo counties. 12 of the 15 projects will go to disadvantaged communities for long-term solutions like pipeline replacement, well installation, and infrastructure upgrades. For Lake County, water could become scarce due to the level in Clear Lake, so Mount Konocti Mutual Water Co. is getting $2.3 million to replace leaking water storage tanks with low water intake pumps.
A grassfire that started earlier this week near the Costco in Ukiah was arson. Fire investigators say the fire was human caused Monday. It started in a grass field. Police say they’re investigating but have no suspects at this time. Mendo Fever reports on the afternoon of the fire someone reported seeing three Hispanic males in the area in a silver Mitsubishi sedan. One of them, the reporting party says, fired either a flare or a roman candle before the grass fire ignited. Then the three took off. Later a Be on the Lookout was sent out by police for the vehicle.
After the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors announced new fees for permits, now the Ukiah Unified School District is having a community meeting on Developer Fees. School District staff are hosting the meeting Monday at the School District Service Center on S. Orchard Ave. at 5:30 p.m. The town hall comes after Trustees agreed to have a discussion, then consider reinstating developer fees which help ease impacts of new developments on school facilities. About 7 years ago the Trustees stopped collecting the fees for a time, but then during the last school year Trustees asked the Administration to start a new developer fee study, which a consultant has completed. That was presented at their last Board meeting.
There’s a slew of new candidates for Fort Bragg City Council after a deadline extension for applicants. There are four open seats, one, just a two-year term. And Vice-Mayor and Councilmember Jessica Morsell-Haye’s announced she was not seeking reelection. 11 candidates in all have applied for one two-year term seat and the 3 others for four year terms.
The Coastal Cleanup is coming, and Mendocino County residents and visitors are invited to join in. The Mendocino Land Trust is partnering with other organizations and groups for the annual event, which is happening, Saturday, September 17th. There are 17 sites organizers are working with. They’ll supply the cleanup effort. Last year nearly 300 volunteers came out, removing over 3,600 pounds of trash and recyclable materials from local creeks, rivers, and beaches. The Mendocino Land Trust has been coordinating the event for twenty years.
Visit mendocinolandtrust.org for details about each of the Mendocino County sites or visit coastalcleanupday.org to view an interactive map of sites all over California.
The family of a man who died in the McKinney fire is suing an energy company for wrongful death. 76-year-old John Cogan died in the fire. His daughter Theresa claims in her lawsuit, that
PacifiCorp’s “utility infrastructure contacted, or caused sparks to contact, vegetation surrounding the equipment” last month near the Oregon border. There’s been no cause released yet, for how the fire started. But it killed three other people too, destroyed 185 structures and blackened almost 94 square miles. It is the largest fire this year and is still not 100% contained. Public Utility records state PacifiCorp filed documents with the state saying there had been an event with its electrical equipment as the time flames started
The body of a missing teen has officially been confirmed. After an autopsy Tuesday it was acknowledged that it was definitely 16-year-old Kiely Rodni who was found in a car in shallow water in a Northern California reservoir. The girl had been at a party in Truckee with hundreds of other teens and young adults, and apparently crashed on her way home. There are no other details about her death, only that it was definitely Kiely who was found by a volunteer dive team, Adventures with Purpose. Reports say the area where she crashed has curvy roads.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hubby has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DUI. For that Paul Pelosi is going to jail for five days. He has two days credit and got conduct credit for two more days. He will also work eight hours in a court work program instead of the last day in jail. State law says DUI misdemeanor defendants don’t have to be in court, and Pelosi was not there. He will have to also go to a three-month long DUI class and there will be an ignition interlock device installed on his car. He also has to pay around $7,000 in fines for the May 28th crash in Napa County.
