A dramatic change of events for the Potter Valley Project as the Fed has a change of heart. PG&E has been planning to decommission the hydro-electric plant that diverts water from the Eel to the Russian River for some time. Now the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, says it may reopen the license. The agency granted PG&E its annual license last April, but will apparently add requirements for wildlife protection and habitat monitoring proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service in March. PG&E says there’s no evidence of harm from the decommissioning process. But FERC is accepting comments supporting and planning the reopening of the license as PG&E promises to send in the decommissioning documents by January of 2025. Also, PG&E has asked FERC if it can transfer some of its hydropower projects to Pacific Generation as a reorganization move.
Some information has been updated for folks displaced by the Dec. 20 earthquake in Humboldt County. The Red Cross Overnight Shelter remains open at the Fortuna Firemen’s Pavilion. The Red Cross also has dumpsters set up at Rio Dell City Hall after they gave out nearly 200 clean up kits. They ask not to dump hazardous materials there though. There’s still a Local Assistance Center opened at a middle school in Rio Dell (Monument). Also, the supply distribution site is moving to the Rio Dell Community Resource Center. If Rio Dell residents are having a hard time reaching their landlord for help with cleanup, they’re told to call the City itself. The boil water advisory was lifted. And anyone who gets CalFresh benefits and lost food can get replacement benefits. Donations are still being accepted at the Rio Dell Fire Dept who has set up a Venmo and GoFundMe for residents. Also, Pay it Forward Humboldt and the American Red Cross.
A man in Fort Bragg found hiding in a closet inside a business has been arrested after an alarm was set off. On Tuesday cops got a call to the commercial building on Main St. and saw a window had been broken on the side of the building. Inside they saw a backpack that was unique enough that the officer remembered who it belonged to, 29-year-old Peter Rose. He’d been involved in an earlier call with police, so the officer requested backup. They found the guy under cardboard in a closet and arrested him. Rose had some foreign coins in his pocket, apparently stolen from desks in the office.
A little extra to start the New Year. On their way out the door for the year, the Lake County Board of Supervisors voted to give themselves a hefty raise. At their last meeting of the year this week members voted for a 40% raise which will start in March. Supervisors have been making about $25,500 a year for some time and had discussed a raise last month. Now they’ll have it unless there’s a referendum against it. But there also has to be a second vote to put the pay raise in motion. If all goes as planned, supes will pocket an additional $2,100 a month. Also, at their meeting the Board said no, by a narrow margin, for a new senior substance abuse counselor to be hired.
There’s a flood watch in Lake County as the Atmospheric River dumped historic amounts of rain. The National Weather Service put out the watch for today starting at 4 p.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday. Another dumping is expected with as much as 4 inches of rain in lower elevations and some areas could reach a total of 7 inches at higher elevations over the coming week. Since the earth is already pretty wet, the increase of flooding comes as the water just lays on top of saturated soils. We could see the atmospheric rivers continuing into late next week with Lake County expecting almost 8 inches from today to Saturday.
In Mendocino County we also have a flood watch in effect, but it starts today at 4p and ends Saturday, New Year’s Eve at 10am. There’s also a hazardous weather alert in place.
A Calif. correctional officer is charged with using his power to get sexual favors from female inmates. Reports say Officer Greg Rodriguez would flirt with the inmates, especially one 30-year-old at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla who he’s accused of raping. He would lure them over the loudspeakers when they were in the recreation yard to the parole hearing room and victimize and rape them. That’s according to two federal civil rights lawsuits filed against him this month. The suits claim there was a code of silence within the prison which allowed the officer to pick off the women, before he was finally placed on leave, then retired. An investigation started in July, turning up 22 victims, but officials say there could be more.
The California Health Marketplace is open. Covered Calif. is telling those without health insurance they should sign up, especially now with the trio of respiratory illnesses this winter, RSV, the Flu and of course, COVID19. Californians who cannot afford it, can get help through the marketplace, also known as the Affordable Care Act. But they will need to sign up before the end of the year to be covered by Jan. 1st. Financial assistance is available on a sliding scale to reduce premiums.
If you’re worried about your property during this crazy rainstorm, you can get free sandbags. As we’re in the midst of flood watches and alerts, Friedman’s Home Improvement in Ukiah has 20 free sandbags and sand for anyone in need. You can also buy more if needed, but the sand is still free. Just go to the yard entrance at any of their locations. A caveat: you will have to fill your own bag. For more info, call the store manager.
The Dungeness Crab fishery is finally getting under way. Commercial crabbers can start fishing Saturday in Humboldt County, but negotiations over the price could delay things again. Crabbers are reportedly negotiating still with fish processors over the per pound price, so they may not have a deal in place until next week. Word it is could be about $4.75/pound. And the price could go higher depending on the amount of available crab. Plus add in inflation for other costs to crabbers like fuel, repairs and spare parts. South of the Sonoma-Mendocino County line, Humboldt County crabbers didn’t have to reduce their traps due to humpback whales.
A man accused of a double murder at a home in Northern Calif. considered a fugitive has been caught. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s dept reportedly saved a 4-year-old from the scene at a home in Eureka just after midnight Tuesday. The parents of the child were found dead after the tot’s screams were heard. Deputies had been searching for Russell Martin Albers in connection with the shooting. The Sheriff posted on Instagram “Great Police work and teamwork by our deputy sheriffs, dispatchers, California Highway Patrol, Bureau of Land Management, State Parks, EPD, and University police” who helped them nab Albers. They have not said what his relationship might have been with the couple, but witnesses identified him as the shooter.
