The last day of 2023 had some shaking in it with a 3.0 earthquake east of Boonville on Sunday afternoon. The USGS puts the quake at about 2 miles deep about 3 miles east of Boonville. Dozens of people reported they felt the quake that happened just after lunch on New Years Eve Day. It was the second shaker in Mendocino County with a 2.6 magnitude earthquake on Saturday east of Willits. There were several more in Central and Southern California recently. The Ring of Fire was active all around with a devastating 7.6 magnitude quake on the island of Japan.
Ukiah Police are investigating a stabbing. Saturday afternoon a wounded woman called the police after being stabbed. Emergency responders were able to get to her and get her to Adventist Health Ukiah to treat the stab wound to her shoulder. Back at the scene of the crime, police spoke to a witness who described a man just tried to stab him and gave investigators identifying details. Ukiah Police were on the look out for the suspect when a Sergeant saw an intoxicated young man who fit the description, walking in the middle of South State Street. The 16 year old, found with a knife, was detained and taken to the hospital due to his level of intoxication before taking him into custody to the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall. Apparently, the woman who was stabbed corroborated the suspect’s identity. He is facing charges for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and public intoxication.
We’re learning about all the new laws now in effect in 2024. Over the counter birth control will be more available with insurance. Vasectomies will be easily accessible with no out of pocket costs, as the procedure becomes more popular with the Supreme Court’s Decision to overturn Roe v Wade. CalMatters reports California also passed a law that gets rid of out of pocket costs for abortions. Some new legislation is taking shape to address maternity ward closures. The new law would work on existing state review that will include an assessment of the impact on the closure in the community. Lake County news reports maternal mortality rates have increased in California and officials are concerned those rates will increase without more support.
A partnership between the Middletown Art Center, the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians and the Callayomi County Water District is focused on a public art project on Rabbit Hill. They’re looking for design proposals for a 360 degree mural inspired by Pomo Basketry to be painted on the Callayomi’s water tanks, according to Lake County News. Rabbit Hill, the highest in point in the town is visible from many locations in Middletown and from the highway. In partnership with the Lake County Land Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts and the community the group works to beautiful the land. The Lake County Land Trust would like to clean up the area, get rid of graffiti and repair some damaged signs, as they’ve repaired and replaced several times. Residents are asked to pick up trash, not litter and help the art vision for the future there.
The Mendocino County Search and Rescue Team received some much anticipated rain gear, with help from the Rotary Club. MendoFever reports the Search and Rescue team issued a call out for help with the gear last summer. They sought out local Rotary Clubs to help fund cash needed for the wet weather work clothes. The South Ukiah Rotary Club President got to work locally and beyond to outfit the Search and Rescue Team’s needs. Four out of five of local rotary clubs collaboratively raised funds with the help of Rotary International for a total of about $24,000 for rain jackets and pants for the team.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife along with Trout Unlimited and Cal Fire are holding a public salmon spawning survey. It’s happening at the Jackson State Demonstration State Forest on the 6th of January at Camp 1 at 10am. Salmon will be headed up stream after circling in the estuary. The first several fish were seen at the monitoring station on December the 3rd. This storm is motivating the salmon to move, and officials say January the 6th will be an active day for the monitoring team in action.
The Lakeport Fire Protection District Board plans to hear about increased development fees and more. The board will meet a week from today, on Tuesday the 9th. Community members will be heard with input on the mitigation fee study. It’s a one time fee imposed on new development, meant to help fund public facilities needed to serve the new construction. Lake County News reports the last mitigation fee ordinance amendment was adopted about 30 years ago in Lake County, and nearly 20 years ago in Lakeport. Since then, there’ve been updates and emergency medical services fee, construction costs and other fees have increased. A report issued on the mitigation ordinance fees includes fire mitigation. With over 1 million square feet of proposed new development in the district the new fee is expected to raise revenues of over $2 million.
The California statewide minimum wage is now $16 an hour. Up 50 cents, it’s the second highest statewide minimum in the nation, trailing Washington state by a dollar. The increase affects about a million workers, or 6 percent of California’s work force. 40 cities and counties in the state require wages above the $16 dollar minimum. With the cost of living high in California experts say two working adults with one child need to make about $24 dollars an hour to afford basic needs, according to the New York Times.
The Deep Valley Arts Collective is announcing its first exhibition of 2024 called “Big Works” on display at the Medium Art Gallery in Ukiah from the 5th through February 18th. They’re looking for artists to submit works in all mediums. Artists can showcase their skills with size the only limit. In a release issued in MendoFever, the collective says the opening reception will be during First Friday Art walk this week from 5 to 8pm with music beer and wine and more.
Doctors will be protected from prosecution in California when they mail abortion pills to patients in other states. There are many new laws in effect with the new year, including an increase in minimum wage and more paid sick leave. Companies cannot fire employees for using marijuana outside of work. The AP reports health care workers will see a raise in hourly wages on June 1st. Laws will require oil companies to report their emissions and financial risks they pose to climate change, but they won’t take effect for another two years. The California Legislature passed over 1,000 bills in 2023, Newsom signed 890 into law.
More avian flu cases are being reported in Sonoma County. Two additional producers had positive results for the bird flu on December 28th. Two farms had to euthanize over 90,000 birds. The same day the flu struck a commercial egg producer nearby in Marin County with over 150,000 chickens having to be put down. The Press Democrat reports Sonoma County’s total stands at over 1.15 million birds put to death since Thanksgiving, including 9 farms in the poultry belt of the county. The highly pathogenic avian flu was first detected in the US 2 years ago, and around 80 million birds have been euthanized across 47 states. In December and November alone, 20 million poultry in the state were affected.
