The Fort Bragg City Council is meeting today at 6pm. In their agenda is a proclamation of the first week of October as Banned Books Week. The council will execute an agreement with Mendocino Coast Adventist Hospital to participate in their Charitable Drug Program. The council is expected to approve work for the Fire Station Reconstruction Project. Also, they’ll hear from the Ad Hoc Culture and Education Committee on the Fort Building project to build a Tribal Learning and Resource Center. And in closed session the council will hear a staff report on the City Manager Position.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a murderer. Early yesterday morning, deputies were called to a reported physical assault in Point Arena. Apparently, a family member called to say a man had been assaulted while at a bar in the city. Authorities found a man who was the victim of a homicide on Ten Mile Cut Off Road. The California Department of Justice is working with the Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney throughout the Point Arena Area, and some areas may still be closed off as they investigate Ten Mile Cut Off from Schooner Gulch to Iverson Roads. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal kayak accident south of Russian Gulch State Park. Sunday afternoon a father and son from Ukiah took a trip with their kayaks to the coast. A wave capsized one of the kayaks, drowning the father. The son was able to make if out of the water. The father’s body was taken to Russian Gulch Beach using a boat carrying first responders. KymKemp reports State Parks lifeguards and Adventist Health nurses were the first to get to the overturned kayak.
Officials are investigating a 4 acre fire near the railroad tracks on Ford Road. The Factory Fire began Saturday afternoon and was reportedly burning to the east nearing the Russian River. A Nixle alert around 5:40pm urged residents in Ukiah near Masonite and Ford Roads to avoid the area. Gusty winds were fueling the fire as crews began containment and watched for hot spots. MendoFever reports within a few hours by about 8pm, forward progress was stopped. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority, Cal Fire, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and more were on scene as they halted the vegetation fire.
Governor Newsom’s veto of a bill is shocking safety advocates. On Friday, the governor said more regulation of autonomous trucks is unnecessary because existing laws are sufficient, according to the Press Democrat. He vetoed a bill requiring a human be on board a self driving vehicle. Union leaders say the human requirement would have saved hundreds of thousands of jobs in California. Opponents of the bill say self driving cars haven’t caused many serious accidents and businesses say autonomous trucks would help them transport products. The Office of Business and Economic Development says the bill would’ve pushed the technology out of the state.
Authorities are investigating a 3 vehicle crash south of Hopland. MendoFever reports two cars crashed into a semi close to the Green Bridge. Highway 101 was closed for a while following what turned out to be major injuries from the accident. CHP reports it happened around 1:30am when the collision was blocked all lanes on the Green Bridge. Two patients had major injuries, while another couple of patients had moderate injuries. It took over 2 hours to clear the scene and open the bridge with the help from a tow truck that freed one passenger.
A town hall is scheduled for this Wednesday to discuss homelessness and the mental illness crisis in Lake County. September 27th the meeting will run from 6 to 8pm at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport. The Police Chief, City Manager, Behavioral Health Director and more county officials will be on hand for the event. Lake County News reports the agenda includes legislative changes to criminal justice laws and constraints rural agencies face. The group will plan for a crisis responder program by Lakeport Police and the Lake Family Resource Center with grant funds. There will be a live stream of the event, available on channel 8. Congressman Mike Thompson is reportedly planning on attending.
Authorities from both Lake and Mendocino Counties are investigating a fatal accident. Saturday morning a car reportedly drove over the edge of a trail on Cow Mountain and dropped 100 yards down. Emergency responders were sent to the intersection of Scott’s Creek Road and Trail 17 over 2 miles south of the new bridge. A medivac copter was sent to search the area for any survivors. MendoFever reports emergency responders and authorities were making their way down the mountain to the crash site. Just after noon Saturday, CHP’s copter was called in to help recover the victim’s body.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a couple of overdoses at the annual Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show in Boonville over the weekend. The Mendocino County Sheriff confirmed one of the two overdoses happened Friday. One person was revived with Narcan and CPR and taken to the hospital. A couple of hours later, a second person overdosed, and sadly passed away. Sheriff Kendall met with the manager of the fair and also met with the owner of the carnival company. The two workers did not operate rides but they were re-inspected before being able to continue working throughout the weekend. According to KymKemp, the two overdoses happened where carnival workers set up temporary homes while working.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is searching for an alleged murderer. Officials are looking for Jesse James Connolly out of Redwood Valley for a murder in Hopland in July. Cononlly is suspected of shooting Joel Ramos in the Hopland Rancheria and was charged with felony attempted murder. MendoFever reports there are several warrants out for Connolly who is also reportedly involved with other felonies and a misdemeanor.
California’s medical aid-in-dying law is back in court. Three patients with disabilities and two doctors are asking to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the law, and they want the judge to dismiss the suit. In April, a coalition of disability rights groups and people with disabilities sued to stop the End of Life Option Act, claiming it is discriminatory and “coerces” people with disabilities into using medical aid in dying. The California News Service reports California is one of ten states, plus Washington, DC, that allow doctors to prescribe medication that would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults to peacefully end their suffering if they choose to take it.
The Mendocino County General Services Agency is publishing their Monthly Operational Update. Last year, the county upgraded all facilities and infrastructure to Sonoma Clean Power’s 100 percent renewable service called Evergreen. The Agency is starting an energy conservation and sustainable practice campaign. They plan to meet on site with several projects to go over sustainable practices like energy conservation, organic waste recycling and more. Mendocino County is also moving to electrify all fleet vehicles to reduce fuel and the overall carbon footprint. Currently, the county fleet is 293 vehicles, and will continue to downsize and switch over to electric vehicles.
Highway 101 on the border of Mendocino and Humboldt Counties is back open after closing yesterday morning. CHP reports there was a crash just after 6am Sunday morning involving a big rig that overturned in the north lane of the highway, hurting someone and spilling the truck’s cargo across the road. Hazardous material technicians were dispatched to clean up the scene. By 9am yesterday morning, MendoFever reports Highway 101 was opened to one-way traffic north of Leggett.
A Ukiah woman will spend up to 96 months in prison for assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon. Rachael Seiverston was sentenced last week in Mendocino County Superior Court. Sievertson’s sentence includes two sentencing allegations using a rock to inflict injury on a Ukiah Police Officer and also had a prior Strike conviction in 2021 in the same court for resisting police by violence. In 2019 she was convicted of felony vandalism and resisting arrest causing $20,000 in damage to fire trucks and equipment at the Hopland Fire Station.
