Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire has chosen the North Coast woman of the year. Judge Abby Abinanti, the chief judge for the Yurok Tribe since 2007 was chosen by McGuire, in turn she called McGuire a hard worker and said she had a lot of respect for him. The “California Women Making Herstory” celebration include 42 honorees. She was noted for her work on Murdered and Missing Indigenous People and what McGuire’s office characterized as her “holistic approach to criminal justice in the tribal court.“
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has now closed the Dungeness crab fishery affecting Mendocino County. The agency’s Director said it was part of the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) related to humpback whales. The closure is for fishing zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Sonoma/Mendocino County line to the U.S./Mexico border). That is effective April 15th. The season closure is to help minimize entanglement risk for the whales as they return from off the coast of California. The recreational fishery will stay open for crab traps north of Point Arguello, in Santa Barbara County, for now.
A weird new disease never before seen in Humboldt County has been detected. The Department of Agriculture reports grape leaf samples have tested positive for Pierce’s disease (PD). The samples were taken last September, and the agency’s plant pathology lab tested them for diseases. Three samples tested positive for the disease, the first time ever in the county. It’s a disease that could be tragic for grapevines because it can clog the water vessels in the vines called zylem. The agency took more leaf samples in November in the same region of Willow Creek, and they too tested positive. They will keep testing this spring as buds break.
The Sheriff’s Office has released the name of a 20-year-old man found dead in Covelo this week. Deputies reported to the scene Weds. around 4:30 in the morning on Tabor Lane, finding the man down with a gunshot wound to his chest. Round Valley Tribal Police were first on the scene and tried CPR, to no avail. Medics showed up after and declared the man dead on the scene due to unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him. The man has been id’d as Nicholas Shehli Whipple of Redwood Valley. An autopsy was set for yesterday afternoon. At the same time the Round Valley community is asking for the public’s help identifying his killer. Tribal members begged the community to report anything they may know while at a press conference.
Lake County’s health department has released a report on staffing levels, but the chief’s of each department say it’s wrong. Lake Co News reports Health Services Director Jonathan Portney put out the news release Wednesday but edited it after saying there are challenges in the Northshore Fire Protection District and Lakeshore Fire Protection District, but his agency is fully committed to ensuring public safety. But the Northshore Fire Chief says what’s been portrayed in the news are lies. Same for the Lakeport Fire Chief who said they were not informed of the press release and that items noted in it were untrue. The news site reported Portney’s release said his agency heard from each of the chiefs, something they deny. And that at least one of their names were wrong.
Congressman Mike Thompson with student leaders and Moms Clean Air Force related to how climate change and related disasters impact young people’s mental health. On Wednesday Thompson was at a press conference with all parties from both California and Florida and elsewhere to introduce a resolution promoting youth mental health and well-being in a changing climate. He says he’s reintroducing the resolution which was drafted by high school climate advocates after the devastating wildfires that caused some to lose their homes. He says he’s proud to be working with students who together with him can call attention to this growing issue.
The reports are in the Tri-county Tsunami Communication Test went very well. That’s according to the president of the Mendocino County Amateur Radio Communications Service. He says Ham Operators were stationed from Gualala to Pudding Creek, at various coastal locations which might one day be affected by a Tsunami. He says he thought all stations could hear the sirens. They reported what happened and what the ocean conditions were at the time of the test earlier this week to the Office of Emergency Services for Mendocino County.
The CDC says the state of California is now at a “low” COVID-19 community level. Per the last collected data, they gathered from March 15th to 21st. 11 of 58 counties were at medium level of risk, that’s mostly in the Sacramento and Central valleys and the Bay Area. The weekly data shows low, medium and high-risk areas. The rest of the state looked to be at a lesser risk for transmission. Those testing positive or exposed are told to have open ventilation and have equitable access to testing kits, masks and vaccinations. The state counties with the highest test positivity rate were around the 6-7%.
Lawmakers are jumping into the fray trying to get more students from California to register at any University of Calif. campus. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty says the whole thing is frustrating because of UC not committing to the same procedure for admissions for transfer students that California State University has. McCarty is chair of the subcommittee working on the issue. The Legislature has made a promise to UC that they’d receive upwards of $50 million to get 4,700 more full-time California students registered by 2023-24, and possibly a whole lot more if UC ups undergraduate California enrollment by 1%. But UC says they’re probably going to enroll 300 less students from Calif. than last year.
A woman from Redwood Valley has lost her life in a crash on State Route 29. The Clear Lake Area CHP says they got a call yesterday afternoon around 2pm to a vehicle down an embankment in the unincorporated area of southern Lake County. The solo car crash around Bradford Rd happened after the driver couldn’t stay on the road for some reason and went over the western side of the road, crashing into trees. The car ended its journey at the edge of St. Helena Creek. The CHP reports traffic was minimal at the time of the crash which is still under investigation. The woman’s name was not released so her family could first be notified.
