The Mendocino County Sheriff says he had to shut down a “prison monastery” program at the jail related to sexual meditation. The organization known as Unconditional Freedom was reportedly involved with an organization called OneTaste and the Institute of OM Foundation. The Sheriff says he was worried inmates may fall prey to the supposed spiritual curriculum created by a woman who wrote a book called “The Art of Soulmaking”. It also involved a penpal program. The Sheriff found one of the volunteers also worked at Juvenile Hall but was never alone with inmates or involved them. A BBC report said the organizations were like cults and the people leading were accused of abusive and controlling behavior tied to making money from sex.
Caltrans is looking at locations for better safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The Caltrans Active Transportation Plans maps areas online on a special website with links showing current conditions and areas where there could be improvements. The state budget has over one billion dollars for creating safer and more connected walking and biking paths, so folks don’t have to drive that much. That’s a way to reduce pollution from the transportation sector. The new plans add to the Caltrans Active Transportation Plan goals from the 2017 State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, Toward an Active California, which also looked to established transit safety, mobility, preservation, and equity.
For more information on Caltrans Active Transportation Plans, visit catplan.org.
The Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG) is looking at ways to better transportation needs for Covelo, Laytonville, Brooktrails, Potter Valley and Hopland – five inland rural communities with no public transit services. The Council is inviting residents of those communities to fill out a 5-minute E-Survey. Staffers say this is the second round of public comment they’re getting after several community workshops back in August. Folks who fill out the survey get a chance to be entered in a drawing for one of five $100 gift cards.
Find the survey at: bit.ly/MCOGMobility.
The Governor has created a new state agency to oversee several state departments all tasked with ridding the state of illegal cannabis operations and transnational criminal organizations. The “Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce” actually launched over the summer. It’s co-chaired by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The coordination of the two agencies is through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and its Homeland Security Division. The head of the Dept. of Cannabis Control says the state’s committed to fighting illicit commercial cannabis activity. The new team will be investigating, removing and reclaiming illegal grow sites, and closing illegal manufacturing, distribution and retail operations. They will also arrest or lockup offenders and traffickers.
State Parks workers have been out along the shoreline in Clear Lake clearing away old tires and other trash. The public safety, natural resources and maintenance department staff members had help from a Clear Lake State Park lifeguard too at Molesworth Beach, that’s at the southernmost side of the lake in the boundaries of Anderson Marsh State Historic Park. The Supervising Ranger says people have been using tires as dock fenders for years and as the docks break down, the tires float around. There’s not a lot else in the area except for walking trails that lead to Cache Creek and Clear Lake.
State water officials say we’re in for another dry winter. The weather forecasts available now show a slightly better water year, but below average just the same. The California Department of Water Resources put out the water year report last week. Believe it or not the 2022 water year was wetter than 2021. But last November was the third warmest on record. December was pretty wet, with record snowfall in sections of the Sierras. We had an average of 76% rainfall for 2022.
Talk about the climate at the latest Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting. They covered possible grant funding under the Regional Climate Collaboratives program and putting together a new partnership agreement for the Climate Safe Lake Project. The board looked at a grant application for the California Strategic Growth Council Regional Climate Collaboratives Program to build climate resiliency. The Climate Safe Lake Project would fold together plans, funds, and committees.
The National Night Out event is back after the lockdowns triggered a two year break. On Tuesday in Library Park, the family friendly event included free snacks and a raffle by the Lakeport Police Department who handed out more than 90 prizes including bikes, Razor scooters, helmets, fishing poles with tackle boxes, backpacks, gift cards, and a kayak. It’s an event for the public to co-mingle with law enforcement. It was presented by the Lakeport Police Department as they had in the past each year on the first Tuesday of October. The event happens nationwide as a community-builder between police and their communities.
Another of Assemblyman Jim Wood’s bills has become law. The Governor signed the latest to require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to map out broadband access at the local level. It would show all access to the state agency at the “household level”. Per Wood, that will include local addresses who can access service, especially in rural, low-income and tribal communities. He also says most providers complied with, then provided the CPUC all needed data. But he says some companies who serve bigger chunks of the public did not help. Wood’s legislation looks to build on past broadband expansion work, with improved maps to identify the level of broadband access statewide.
An inmate at a prison in California has been killed after other inmates attacked him in a yard. The prison in Sacramento was the murder scene for 36-year-old Felipe Rodriguez. Police say one of his killers was from Sonoma County, Selso Orozco. He along with Mike Calderon of Los Angeles County are blamed for the murder after correctional officers found two weapons and fingered the men as the attackers. Orozco was from Rohnert Park and was sentenced a few years ago to 23 years for robbery, child endangerment and weapons possession by a felon. Calderon was serving a life sentence without parole for murder and Rodriguez was sentenced for a carjacking back in 2015 to nine years. Then he was sentenced while in custody to a life term for an attempted murder, then again for multiple life terms for fatal kidnapping for ransom, extortion and causing great bodily injury.
