The Lakeport City Council is set to meet this week and go over a new department leader and get an update on a new park. Lake County News reports at the meeting tomorrow night at 6, the council will hear a presentation from the Lake County Tourism Improvement District and greet the new Community Development Director. The council will also get an update on the Lakeport Splash-In and Taste-In Lakeport events. The Lakefront Park Project will give an update to members as well. The council will consider approving parking zones around the fairgrounds for the event one month from today.
There was a Nixle alert Friday afternoon in response to a fire in downtown Ukiah. Police evacuated an apartment complex after large trees began to blaze and damage buildings on Leslie Street. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority was called downtown before 2pm. Many 40 foot tall cypress trees were ablaze very near to peoples homes. Heavy smoke damage was reported along with parts of attics in a building. Thankfully, the Ukiah Daily Journal reports there was no injuries to any people or animals during the fire. Fire crews were able to contain the fire and mop up. An investigation into how it started is ongoing.
A gunshot victim was air lifted out of Hopland yesterday morning around 10am. They have a gunshot wound to the chest and are headed to Sonoma County for medical care, according to reporting in MendoFever. Authorities are investigating.
The Mendocino Railway, owner of the Skunk Train experienced burn damage to one of its bridges. KymKemp reports the Camp Three Bridge burned in the Spurs Fire that broke out on Thursday. Early in the morning when the fire was reported Cal Fire worked their air resources for water drops and contained the blaze. No train has passed over the burnt bridge since then. It’s a notable part of an S curve in a narrow gorge, so it will take special teams to rework the route. The wooden supplies are on the way, but the railway is hoping for quick repair and reopening.
There’s been a recent surge in COVID infections across the country and in NorCal. The US saw a 10 percent increase in COVID hospital admissions a few weeks ago, according to the Tribune News Service. It’s hard to tell how the latest variation of COVID is affecting people, as at-home-tests are widely available and reporting data is not as steady. California had a test positivity rate of 7.6 percent last week up over 4 percent from a month ago. California’s COVID hospitalizations are rising. As a record number of people are traveling, this latest round of COVID may include high numbers of new infections. People should remember to be vigilant and avoid sick people and get tested. Long COVID is still being analyzed as a condition many people are still dealing with.
The Lakeport City Council is set to meet this week and go over a new department leader and get an update on a new park. Lake County News reports at the meeting tomorrow night at 6, the council will hear a presentation from the Lake County Tourism Improvement District and greet the new Community Development Director. The council will also get an update on the Lakeport Splash-In and Taste-In Lakeport events. The Lakefront Park Project will give an update to members as well. The council will consider approving parking zones around the fairgrounds for the event one month from today.
There’s more information to a crash that happened in front of the Kohls store in Ukiah last week. The Ukiah Daily Journal reports a couple had 3 pounds of marijuana and $25 grand in cash when they crashed after fleeing from police. A man from Pennsylvania and a California woman were in a Chevy when they sped away from officers and almost caused another crash. The couple ended up crashing on the east sidewalk of North Orchard Avenue. The store was damaged and the Chevy was totaled. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and CHP helped Ukiah Police jail the pair and identified them as Monique Martinez and Serxhio Nokaj. The two were charged with drug sales, possession and more.
The California Assembly representative for Lake County, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was appointed speaker pro tempore. The promotion puts the democrat from Winters reporting to Speaker Rivas with Majority Leader Isaac Bryan, according to Lake County News. She was first elected in November 2016 and represents the Fourth Assembly District. She says after coming from humble beginnings she couldn’t ask for a better job and won’t let the Speaker down.
The Lake Pomo Gallery in Lakeport was given a $75,000 grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment. The Gallery is collaboration between the Lake County Museum and the Tribal Advisory Committee to the Lake County museums. Lake County News reports its part of nearly $20 million in funding from the endowment for small capital project resources for museums that were impacted by the pandemic in typically underserved communities. The Secretary for California Natural Resources said the funds will help lift up history and culture. The Lake Pomo Gallery has a vast collection of basketry in various mediums of presentation. A grand opening is scheduled for next year and will include a life size bronze sculpture of a Lake Pomo family.
The Willits City Council met last week and discussed funding over $330,000 to repair City Hall and the Art Center’s roofs. The council also discussed Americans with Disabilities Act, and how they should identify and solve issues surrounding the city sidewalks and more. Sidewalk repair is projected to cost the city about $35,000 to comply with the federal regulations. The council also discussed Prop 218 that would increase water and sewer rates. The Ukiah Daily journal reports the new fees will go into effect on Tuesday. For residents it means a relatively small increase, while sewage rates may increase about $50 annually.
The Annual Harbor and Seafood Festival is in need of volunteers for a variety of duties. The fundraiser aims to help the Pier Rehab and Repair Fund. Festival organizers need leaders to step up and help facilitate the event and are needed to join them at a meeting today at 5pm. MendoVoice reports Point Arena’s annual festival may be cancelled without residents willing to step up and join the team. The meeting tonight will be at the Point Arena Cove by the monument.
The Department of Social Services in Lake County is prepping to help residents who lost food in this month’s power loss with CalFresh. Lake County News reports the SNAP program will help those enrolled in the program replace food that was lost due to the outage on July 18th. Recipients have until August 17th to submit their replacement requests. Call the Lake County Social Services office, go online to benefitscal.com or stop by their office in Lower Lake weekdays from 8a to 5pm.
Fort Bragg announced a hazardous waste drop-off event. Redwood Waste Solutions will host their first free mobile household hazardous waste event this Thursday and Friday from 9am to 1pm at the Caspar Tansfer Station on Prairie Way in Mendocino. There is a 15 gallon household hazardous waste limit. Commercial customers with excessive hazardous waste are asked to call ahead to their office in Ukiah, at 234-6400.
The Mendocino County Sheriff announced their new software, Citizen Connect was launched on Saturday. Sheriff Matt Kendall is asking that residents use the platform that lists local events from crime to emergencies. There is a brief user-friendly tutorial on the site. The Sheriff posted the announcement on social media. As summer heats up there are more calls for help. Property crimes are on the up-tick and the Sheriff’s Office is reminding people to have as much information on property as possible, such as serial numbers and pictures, to help locate and retrieve stolen items. Authorities remind people to lock up your cars and homes. If you plan on being away, contact the post office to hold your mail. Citizen Connect is the latest in information gathering and sharing for the entire county to use to stay connected and become aware of community happenings.
The California Republican Party changed its rules on allocating delegates in the presidential primary. The LA Times reports the move could make California less competitive in next year’s nominations. Pro-Trump supporters denounced the move and nearly came to blows over the weekend. The new state rule makes a Republican presidential candidate who gets more than half of the vote in the March primary would get all of the 169 of California’s delegates. If no candidate reaches that 50 percent threshold delegates will be awarded proportionally in the statewide vote. Party leaders say the new plan aims to draw more candidates to compete. Opponents say it makes California less competitive. March 5th is slated for the state primary making it Super Tuesday along with more than 10 other states.
The Lakeport City Council is set to meet this week and go over a new department leader and get an update on a new park. Lake County News reports at the meeting tomorrow night at 6, the council will hear a presentation from the Lake County Tourism Improvement District and greet the new Community Development Director. The council will also get an update on the Lakeport Splash-In and Taste-In Lakeport events. The Lakefront Park Project will give an update to members as well. The council will consider approving parking zones around the fairgrounds for the event one month from today.
The East Region Town Hall is meeting this Wednesday at 4pm at the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks. The guest speaker is the General Manager of the Clearlake Oaks County Water District. The group will discuss commercial cannabis cultivation and a task force update.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors is meeting this week to go over a policy for warming and cooling centers and more. Their meeting tomorrow morning at 9am to go over plans of action to predict weather events before they happen to better prepare for health needs of the community. Lake County News reports Supervisor Sabatier is asking multiple departments to formulate a plan, including Behavioral Health, the Office of Emergency Services, Public Health and Social Services. Also in the agenda are considerations for professional services to continue for Public Health and MIS support. An agreement between the county and Redwood Community Services for the Tule House residential substance use disorder treatment services will be considered as well. They’ll also go over the interview and appointment of a chief public defender.
