A cold case may have been solved with an arrest inside the Mendocino County jail. Matthew Susmilch, already in jail on an unrelated case has been arrested in connection to the 2018 murder of Anthony Joseph Calderone. Calderone was found shot to death December 7th of that year in a car around State Highway 36 near mile marker 43. Susmilch has reportedly been charged with felon in possession of a firearm and murder and will be taken to the Humboldt County jail in the case. Deputies are asking anyone with further info to be in touch.
The name of a woman from Arcata killed in a car crash last week on Highway 101 has been released. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reports 76-year-old Wendy Marcus died in the crash Friday near the weigh station on Ridgewood Summit, south of Willits. It happened after someone on the other side of the highway veered into Marcus in slick road conditions at crashed head on. Three surviving victims were taken to the hospital.
Mendocino County is asking for the public to step up and report any damage from the severe weather and snowstorms on February 21st through now. The County says any information they get is vital to secure FEMA Individual Assistance and other aid for residents who were impacted by the storms to their homes, businesses and agricultural infrastructure.
The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SnowRecovery, by visiting www.Mendoready.org or scanning the QR Code below with your phone.
Please complete the survey as soon as possible or reach out to Disaster Recovery at Disasterrecovery@mendocinocounty.org to report your damages.
Mendocino County Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/mendocinocounty/) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/countymendocino.)
Intro: A bill designed to fight price-gouging at the gas pump is expected to pass the California State Assembly and be signed by Governor. The Senate Bill would create a watchdog at the California Energy Commission who can set a “reasonable” profit margin for gasoline and assess penalties for price-gouging. Meghan Sahli-Wells, the former mayor of Culver City, and current California director for the nonprofit advocacy group Elected Officials to Protect America.
:16 "What we've seen is behind these price hikes aren't the external forces that the big oil companies have blamed for the humongous price spikes. What we've seen are refineries that have doubled their profits."
Tag: The Western States Petroleum Association has slammed the bill, blaming high gas prices on a supply shortage linked to a lack of investment in refining capacity and necessary infrastructure. Gas prices last summer and fall hit an average of 6-dollars-42-cents per gallon in California – more than 2-and-a-half dollars higher than the national average.
Second Cut: The oil and gas industry is behind a ballot measure to roll back a California law passed last year that requires new drilling permits to include setbacks from homes and schools. Sahli-Wells says the state needs to cut air pollution from burning fossil fuels, adding she doesn’t like the recent mailers blaming higher gas prices on state regulation.
:18 "The industry itself is going hot and heavy on propaganda to scare people into dialing back environmental protection. It does feel somewhat like an 'oil war' is happening in California. But we know that if we are to win, that oil must lose."
Tag: The new watchdog would also have the power to subpoena business records in order to root out price manipulation.
Even though we got to bask in some sun-shiney weather this weekend, we’re about to be slammed by another storm. A two-day event will start tonight and go through the middle of the week. There was also a frost advisory in place until this morning with light rain too. But fast moving winds are expected overnight into early tomorrow. It is not an atmospheric river this time, but some areas could get up to 3.5 inches of rain. We are not expecting flooding though. Wind gusts could hit up to 55 mph in Sonoma County.
The State of Calif. is reportedly using Medicaid money for affordable housing for some. The health program funded by the state and federal government has been approved for use in Arizona and Oregon for housing, as more and more research points to stable housing leading to better health outcomes. California is campaigning to do the same. The Governor is proposing using over $100 million/year from the state’s Medicaid program for up to six months of housing for the homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, those getting out of prison or foster care; or others at risk for hospitalization or emergency room visits.
Coaches and volunteers in Willits say they’re unsure about the new fair use, field use policy. The City Council held a meeting on recent changes to the policy and the city manager also said he was concerned about the redrafting the policy. During the same meeting last week, the police chief brought up the service agreement regarding Animal Control services which is no longer being managed by the Sheriff’s Office. It costs over $22,000 a year to run the shelter, but apparently some paperwork wasn’t finished up on the matter. They also talked about the emergency declaration related to winter storms, and EV charging stations fees.
The rain that continues to come down in Calif. means a relaxation of some of the rules related to drought in the state. The Governor says we are not totally out of the woods, but since the Sierra Nevada snowpack is so high, and we’re still dealing with rain week after week, Newsom announced an end to some regulations in place for the last year. So, cities and water agencies can ease off limits for watering lawns and landscaping. It’s up to individual areas to decide if they’ll drop the restrictions. And the state Department of Water Resources announced last week it’s increasing water deliveries from the State Water Project to cities and farms from 35% of their requested amounts to 75%.
More and more high school students in the state are applying for federal and state financial aid to go to college. A study shows year over year, students need aid more. The state Student Aid Commission says this year is due to a new state law requiring high schools to really encourage kids to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Over 450,000 students sent in a FAFSA application this year. That’s up 17.5% from last year. And at state high schools almost 8,000 students submitted Dream Act applications, a 1.6% increase from last year. That allows students not documented as born in the USA to still get financial aid. They don’t qualify for federal aid though.
The state is cracking down on illegal cannabis operations. It comes after a Los Angeles Times investigative report last year. So, state officials are doing an audit, looking to bring down the amount of bribery, conflicts of interest and other corruption in cannabis licensing. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles requested the audit which was approved by the state Joint Legislative Audit Committee last week. The corruption reportedly uncovered in governments in rural Northern California areas like Calexico near the Mexican border.
