The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has released new details into a suspicious death that happened months ago in Willits. On October 8th, CHP responded to a car accident in the Brooktrails Sub. One of the vehicle’s driver in a Toyota van fled the scene. Officers found a man walking on Birch Street, who fit the description provided by the other driver. Root Harvest Birimisa was arrested and jailed for DUI and hit and run resulting in property damage. This event prompted Birimisa’s family to reach out and confirm that Christine Randolph was traveling with him from Eureka. On October 11th, they searched the Toyota van he had crashed, and found her body. Randolph was his mother. The coroner finished his report yesterday and found Randolph’s death was an accident, an overdose of mix of morphine, diazepam and more.
The Lake County Office of Emergency Services is one of several agencies helping people learn how to get an agricultural pass to get to properties during a wildfire evacuation. The Ag Pass Program is for any commercial agricultural lands or livestock producer, including cannabis, who need to tend to their property during an evacuation. There is a course that will include an overview, how to get and use the pass and instructions in wildfire incidents. There will be three of these meetings next month. On February 10th at the Scotts Valley Women’s Club, Monday the 12th at the Lake County Fire Protection District, and one on February 15th at the South Lake County Fire Protection District. Check with the Lake County Sheriff for details, registration and more.
The primary election in Mendocino County will include seats for three county supervisor’s in Districts 1,2 and 4 and the Assemblymember seat for California’s District 2. MendoVoice reports that their election coverage will include information you may want to know before you vote. The local online news publication has a survey to see what voters find important in the elected roles, and questions they have for the candidates. The Mendocino Voice 2024 Election Survey is anonymous and can help determine what candidates will focus on as they stump for votes.
Decapitated seals are being found again near Fort Bragg along the Mendocino County coastline. Harbor seal pups have been found on the beaches, up to a dozen seal carcasses in the last few years. The Press Democrat reports the years long enigma of headless seals can be attributed to coastal coyotes. Researchers set up wildlife cameras near the seal rookery where they captured a coyote eating on the seals, saying they drag a freshly killed seal and within minutes take their heads off. Researchers are working to study the predator prey relationship and hope to publish research on the coastal coyotes to document how the species has changed from beach scavenger to beach predator. Scientists say coyotes are not a villain, that it’s part of the ecosystem. Officials say its important to continue reporting marine creates that are stranded or dead on the beach to the West Coast Marine Stranding Network.
There are stricter penalties for retail theft suspects if Assembly Bill 1772, introduced yesterday, is approved and wins voter approval. Lake County News reports if a suspect has been convicted of two or more specified theft related offenses, punishment could range from time in county jail to time in prison for up to 3 years. The Public Policy Institute reported that the 2022 rates for commercial burglary increased by nearly 16 percent with shoplifting increasing about 30 percent from the pandemic years.
There will be a Lake County District 1 Supervisor Candidate Forum in the Middletown Community Meeting Room on Thursday, January 11th at 7pm. The forum will be moderated by Elizabeth Larson of Lake County News and will be broadcast via Zoom and Youtube. The Record Bee reports community members are asked to submit questions for the candidates in advance, accepted no later than January 10th. Questions will be taken on the day of the Forum from the floor in writing and submitted to the moderator. The candidates for District 1 Supervisor are Bren Boyd, John Hess, Sean Millerick, Helen Owen and Brian Pritchard.
The California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board is announcing the release of its 2022 report on police stops in the state. Millions of vehicle and pedestrian stops were analyzed by 560 law enforcement agencies, an expansion from 58 who participated in the previous report. Lake County News reports the findings include over 4.5 million stops in 2022. Overall, the proportion of stops was greatest for Black people, stopped over 130 percent more frequently than expected. Black individuals were searched nearly 1.7 times the rate of white people. People perceived to be Native Americans had the highest rate of being searched and handcuffed. The report includes recommendations like limiting law enforcement on traffic laws, prohibiting information entered into CalGang or other databases without an arrest, and internal policies that consider mental health.
The former Mendocino County Auditor/Controller being charged with misappropriation of funds case continues to be scrutinized. The Anderson Valley Newspaper reports a recently released county document shows acting Auditor Sara Pierce saying “Cubbison’s suspension and indictment was an awakening, but Eyster has a lot of baggage.” In a document filed with the Superior Court, DA Eyster claims that former Auditor Weer and Cubbison’s co-defendant Paula Kennedy denied any mutually agreed arrangement when questioned by investigators. Eyester said Weer and Kennedy blamed Cubbison for allowing an obscure county code to be used to make unauthorized payments to Kennedy. Cubbison’s attorney says there is no evidence that she benefited from the extra salary paid to Kennedy for work done.
The Savings Bank of Mendocino County is helping students learn about financial literacy in both Lake and Mendocino Counties. The Mendocino Beacon reports students at 14 schools and the area have free access to Banzai, an online program and library that shows users how to practice real world finance from their home or classrooms. Students can learn to manage a budget, save for something they’d like, and deal with unexpected problems. Calculators, coaching sessions and articles are part of the program and cover taxes to insurance. The Savings Bank of Mendocino is part of the Banzai learning, with presentations from a bank expert and class visits to a branch. The program is used by over 100,000 teachers across the country and aligns with California’s state curriculum requirements.
People convicted of Fentanyl possession and distribution will face stiffer penalties this year in a new law aimed at the increasing rate of overdose deaths. The penalty for selling or distributing more than a kilogram will be an automatic addition of three years to an original sentence. Penalties will increase with weight, topping out at up to 25 years of additional time for trafficking in the drug over 80 kilograms. CalMatters reports the synthetic opioid is often fatal in small doses on its own. Heroin and cocaine are sometimes laced with it, making it cheaper and leads to accidental overdoses. Fentanyl is the most common drug causing fatal overdoses in the state.
While Mendocino County welcomed one of the first babies to be born this year, Lake County is celebrating their first baby, a healthy girl named Jaylin, born on New Years Day at about 10:30pm. Jaylin weighed 6 pounds and 6 ounces. Parents Janette Rivera and Gustavo Mora Cueras beamed over the new baby at Sutter Lakeside Hospital. Lake County News reports big brother, five year old Dylan was exited to meet his new sibling. Baby Jaylin received a New Year’s Baby Basket from the team at Sutter Lakeside’s Family Birth Center, coordinated by Registered Nurses.
