Measure O, the initiative to raise the sales tax to bolster the library system has officially passed. About 60% of voters in Mendocino County punched yes for Measure O for the permanent ¼ cent sales tax after a petition drive landed it on the ballot. The money will be there to continually maintain and improve services for the County Library System. 40% of what’s collected will be used to upgrade facilities and expand them. The same thing happened over a decade ago. Back in 2011, voters said yes to Measure A for a 1/8 cent sales tax. But that was for longer hours and more collections and programs, but not enough for long deferred capital improvement projects.
The Ukiah City Council has approved of a loan to develop a mixed-use project with homes on E. Gobbi Street. At a meeting on Monday the council unanimously voted to approve the loan after committing to the funding previously. The Asst. City Manager says they had to take the loan approval to the City Council to authorize it through the Housing Trust Fund which is a revolving fund to help the city develop affordable and other types of housing throughout the community. The city came up with the fund in 2017 as a local match to support more housing applications. The city staff report reminded that the council had already given approval for the project to be developed back in 2019.
Snarled traffic expected in Fort Bragg due to some Christmas festivities. The yearly Lighted Truck Parade tomorrow night on Main and Franklin Street has the streets closed to cars street starting at 6:00 PM ahead of the 6:30 parade opening. The streets are partially closed for a couple of hours so police are reminding to drive cautiously in the area. There will be signs up warning about the closures. Police are also thanking the Skunk Train and Fort Bragg Unified School District for helping with the road closures this year so they don’t have to pay staff to work the event, which the department says will keep costs down.
A man from Fort Bragg’s busted by cops after a traffic stop finds forged checks. Mendocino Deputies on routine patrol in Willits stopped Carlos Ogawa as they saw him get out of a car with someone else. They knew he was out of jail on bond and could be searched. They looked in the car and found a checkbook belonging to a woman in Ukiah which they say looked to have been altered to include his name in the Pay to line. They also found other stolen items in the car and arrested Ogawa for Felony Forgery, Felon in Possession Blank Checks, Possession Stolen Property and Felony Commit Offense While on Bond. He was being held on $25,000.00 bail.
It’s not over yet. We’re in the third year, almost, of coronavirus and health officials in Calif. say there are some indications we could be in for another winter surge of the virus. The case rate statewide is about 13 cases per 100,000 residents/day. The California Department of Public Health also reports test positivity at nearly 11%, which is up from around 8% a week ago, and the first spike above 10% since about August. It was as low as 4% in late October. But it was also at around 16% back in July and key indicators show the rate is climbing now as fast as it did in early summer. The agency reported nearly 3,800 COVID-positive patients in hospitals too. Another key indicator is a major surge in cases in nursing facilities.
Clearlake City staff are going to continue pushing through housing projects in the Sulphur Fire burn area. The City Council says the staff should still review, then approve the rebuilding projects even if they don’t adhere to current zoning requirements, but with certain conditions. The City Manager Alan Flora asked for the topic to be covered so the Community Development director could review and approve “legal nonconforming status” projects and permits as long as they don’t affect health and welfare. The fire burned in 2017 and destroyed over 160 structures in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks due to a broken PG&E power pole.
The Fort Bragg Food Bank has expanded just ahead of the holidays. The Advocate reports the yearly Season of Sharing fundraiser starts as the new addition is added for more storage as the food bank is bursting at the seams. The Food Bank bought a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Willits so they could serve more people. Management says it will help them be more efficient in the way they deliver food, allow for more storage for goods closer to inland pantries, and have enough space for bigger shipments of dry goods they couldn’t hold before now. They say they’ll also add more refrigeration units for meat, fresh veggies and dairy items.
Not a lot of water is expected to be diverted from the state’s largest reservoirs to cities and farms next year. The Department of Water Resources says Lake Oroville and others may only be meeting five percent of what the demand is so folks may have to conserve more than they are now. Unless we get slammed with rain and snow this winter, supplies will continue to be low and we could be looking at another severe drought year. And still water experts don’t think it would end the three year old dry period.
Chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead trout are expected to start spawning in the Eel River. The conservation group California Trout, who uses a sonar system to count migrating steelhead and salmon climbing the fish ladder to spawn upriver, say there were nearly 1,800 Chinook salmon that moved to local spawning grounds in Humboldt County. But they also say they can’t really estimate the total amount that will spawn, but think it will be about the same as the 2018-19 and 19-20 seasons. They also warn to be careful crossing rivers, especially in shallow areas to avoid disturbing spawning because you might accidentally crush fish eggs
