A Tsunami test is planned in a week. Next Wednesday between 11 am and noon, the National Weather Service will be conducting a communications exercise in Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties. Not only will they test the Emergency Alerting System on TV and Radio, but they will also activate NOAA Weather Radios, and Tsunami Sirens. The Civil Air Patrol will also fly the coastline testing their public address system. It’s all just to make sure everything is in working order, it is only a test.
A new report says Mendocino County is one of America’s “worst in government transparency”. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Muckrock, an investigative news platform, gave the county a “Foilie” award related to legislation they passed last year for imposing fees to access public records, which is against state law. The awards regularly showcase “outrageous public records fees” they say are clearly aimed at discouraging specific records requests. The award to Mendocino County is based on what the award givers see as a way to discourage anyone requesting public records. The Foundation says the ordinance is on shaky legal ground too.
More crazy weather on the way with snow at low levels, more rain and fast-moving wind. The storm is forecast to hit today into tomorrow. Another atmospheric river will just drop light rain at first, then start pounding the ground with gusty winds and possible higher elevation snow in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The National Weather Service reports there could be wind gusts of up to 40 mph which can of course take down trees and power lines due to already extremely moist ground. Most of the rain is expected this morning into the afternoon or early evening. There could be snow on Mount Saint Helena, in Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties. Mendocino County is expected to get less than a half inch of rain.
Even though we’ve been drenched by rain and snow, the Biden administration is girding for fire-weather. Vice President Kamala Harris has announced her home, and others are getting millions in new federal grants to harden high-risk communities against wildfires. Over 100 communities in 22 states and seven tribes are getting money for firefighters and housing for fire personnel. The North Bay is getting 29 grants. Clear Lake Environmental Research is getting almost $10 million, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians is getting nearly one million and the City of Ukiah is getting over $7 million.
After weeks of being closed to the public, Yosemite National Park reopened. Some roads in are still closed due to damage from storms and snow. Hiking trails are still covered in snow so officials say you should be prepared and wear waterproof hiking books with traction devices attached to them because it could also be icy. They don’t recommend accessing the trails at all actually. They are however open 24 hour/7 with some overnight lodging. But campgrounds remain closed because they are buried in snow and debris. The park closed nearly a month ago due to storm damaged roads and buildings.
The 50th anniversary of Mendocino College is planned. This Saturday the celebration is happening on the Ukiah campus with a Community Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A fun-filled day is planned for the whole family, featuring live performances, kids’ activities, workshops, and more. The Superintendent/President of Mendocino College says it’s their goal to showcase the many wonderful resources and programs available to students and community members and to thank the community for its ongoing support over the last 50 years. The event is free and open to the public. The schedule of events at www.mendocino.edu/50th.
A Calif. lawmaker is trying to protect newsrooms across the state with Legislation to make news companies share ad dollars. Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks of Oakland is introducing the California Journalism Protection Act. The California News Publishers Association is sponsoring Wicks’ bill. It says the majority of people get their news online and digital ad dollars are taking money away from newspaper advertising, which in turn has shrunken newsroom staffs. Wicks’ bill, if it becomes law, would mandate tech platforms pay publishers a “journalism usage fee” depending on how much advertising revenue the platform receives.
The Governor has released his master plan to fight fentanyl and opioid overuse. Yesterday Newsom paid a visit to the San Ysidro Port of Entry and made the announcement of a $1 billion dollar investment in the state to find ways to beat back the ongoing crisis. He says expanding the California National Guard led to a 594% increase in seized fentanyl. The new plan adds to that by strengthening the overdose prevention efforts, holding the drug making industry accountable, fighting drug dealers and raising awareness about the dangers of opioids, and distributing more NARCAN.
Almost $800 million dollars is being paid in pension money to retirees from CalPERS related to long-term care insurance in the late 1990’s. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which is the largest public pension fund in the nation, had sold long-term care insurance with inflation protection to protect members from spikes in premiums, but their premiums were raised no matter, and at times to as much as 85% more. A lawsuit ensued and the settlement was approved this month which was based on a 2012 fee increase. But payouts won’t happen until plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit vote on it. That is supposed to happen sometime between April and early June.
A mistake made in a press release by the Mendocino County Public Health Dept. said if you get COVID, it’s recommended you isolate for five days. Now they say, it’s actually mandated, and they erred. The new COVID orders came out after the California Department of Public Health ended many of the health orders in place since the pandemic started three years ago. Mendocino County was following what the state did and last week released new orders. If someone tests positive they should isolate. If they’ve been exposed, they should test as soon as a day after, unless they had COVID within 30 days, then they don’t have to. Healthcare workers do need to test no matter what, 1, 3 and 5 days after exposure.
