A young man from Ukiah has been sent to jail in connection to the murder of a teen. The Sheriff’s Office reports getting a call last Thursday to someone in Laytonville who reported Aaron Vossler was missing for three days. He had been with another man headed to Ukiah but never came home. Deputies say they heard rumors the 18-year-old may have been the victim of a crime, then found someone who had seen Vossler last. They told Deputies Vossler was with 20-year-old Christopher Hill. They found him in Potter Valley and say they found evidence of a possible violent crime in his car and searched it, and the area, finding a body in a shallow grave. Hill was booked on murder charges. The remains were identified as being Vossler’s.
A big turnout for the inaugural Northern California Tribal Policy Summit on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. The Yurok Tribe, the largest Native American tribe in Calif., was the host. Federal, state, and local representatives were there discussing how to tackle human trafficking and interjurisdictional criminal justice issues as they relate to #MMIW. Those in attendance are calling for law enforcement, legislators, philanthropists and advocates to work together on the issue, and address the issue of underrepresentation in the justice system and other issues including how to help survivors heal. Senator Mike McGuire, Assemblyman Jim Wood and Congressman Jared Huffman were all there.
It was the last day to either veto, sign legislation or let it become law automatically for the 2022 legislative session. And Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) reported most of the bills he brought forward this session are law. Last Friday was the last day the Governor had power of the pen for this session. Wood said that as a healthcare provider for 3 decades and the chair of the Assembly Health Committee the last several years, many of his bills were brought forward to make health care more affordable and accessible. Some included, creating the Office of Health Care Affordability; helping bring a nonresidential center for protection from wildfires; get broadband mapping to the California Public Utilities Commission; and allowing Tribal members to have the right per their culture to wait ten days to 21 days to name their newborns.
The City of Ukiah’s Planning Commission has heard from police and the fire dept. about a recent rise in calls for help from the homeless shelter. Ukiah Police and the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority’s report by staff to the commission last week showed there had been 85 calls for service to police between February and August which was a 30-percent increase over the previous six-months, when there were 60 calls. There was a rise in calls to firefighters too, 33 in the latest reporting period, compared to 22 calls previously, that was a 33% rise. The Community Development Director says he spoke to the police and fire chiefs who said it may have been because it was summer time, and very hot, and they weren’t concerned.
The Ukiah Skate Park is hosting a shindig that could bring out the crowds. This Saturday, October 8th Embassador Skateboards Sacramento is bringing their Pro Skate Exhibition to the Ukiah Skate Park on Low Gap Road from 4 – 8pm. The free event will feature the “best trick competition” along with free food, music and prizes. It’s all sponsored by Body Builders, Crossroads Church and City of Ukiah.
A career fair is coming to Adventist Health Howard Memorial. Tomorrow from 11:30am – 5pm job seekers can visit booths to hear about open clinical and non-clinical positions including nurses, patient access representatives, medical assistants, housekeepers, customer care associates, and technicians. The company says they offer competitive wages, exceptional benefits and a connection to purpose. You must wear a face mask and practice social distancing to attend.
For more information, contact Jolee White (707-963-6588, whitej@ah.org) or visit
www.adventisthealth.org/careers.
Insurance carriers in Calif. working with Medicaid in a different way may mean some of the most frail may have to switch providers. The new statewide contracting competition for Medi-Cal means commercial managed-care plans have rebid for their contracts which will require the providers to offer new benefits. They will also have new rules to follow for care. It could impact nearly 2 million of California’s poorest as Medicaid is revamped. A handful of insurers, including Health Net and Blue Shield of California may be about to lose their Medi-Cal contracts.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors has given the greenlight to hire an engineering firm to design a way to take out gravel and sediment that has built up around the levee channels near Upper Lake. The county’s water resources director went to the board as they sat as the Watershed Protection District Board of Directors to waive formal bidding to get a $45,000 agreement going with a contractor for the Clover Creek Bypass Gravel Removal Project. The same company did the Middle Creek Flood Control Feasibility Study. The Upper Lake levees will not apparently provide protection for a 100 year flood event.
It might be a good time to go get a city job in Clearlake as the City Council looks at helping workers buy homes. The council is considering the plan tomorrow night for a homebuyer assistance program for city employees. Lake Co News reports the workshop will be just before the regular city council meeting at City Hall. The city manager’s report on the matter notes how hard it is to recruit and retain high performing and committed employees. He says home ownership turns out to be a main incentive to keep employees, but local housing is still a challenger and owning a home is getting more and more expensive.
There’s hundreds of millions of more dollars available for folks who need help with their utility bills. The latest data on assistance programs shows the state of Calif. distributed $1.4 billion to help 2.2 million households during the height of the pandemic. The Governor has announced he’s set aside another $1.4 billion to pay overdue utility bills for those who may still be challenged to pay the bills. $1.2 billion of it will go to residential electric utilities through the Department of Community Services and Development to keep future costs down, $200 million for water and wastewater and $116 million of federal money will also go to water and wastewater.
Recent graduates across the state of Calif. have an opportunity to join the Forest Service in Science Technology Engineering and Math. They have positions related to engineering, engineering technicians, land surveying, geographic information systems (GIS), and ecology. They are hiring now for the 18 national forests throughout the state. Applications became available yesterday and the period continues through next Thursday, Oct. 13th at www.usajobs.gov. There are also Forest Service recruiters at the 2022 Women of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Conference occurring in Detroit, Mich. Tomorrow through Saturday.
It’s the eve of the next 100+ Women Strong of Inland Mendocino County Gathering. Tomorrow night from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at Nelson Vineyards and Winery three nonprofits will be on hand. They have five minutes to present, then they can take questions. The winner with the most votes gets as much as $10,000. The inclusive all-volunteer group says all are welcome tomorrow. You have to pledge $100 first though on the 100+ Mendocino Women Grapevine website via https://100strongmendo.com. They’ve already raised over seven thousand dollars.
