Postal workers in California and across the country are drawing attention to problems with understaffed facilities. Members of the American Postal Workers Union are calling for more staffing and better pay to reduce turnover. They say the problem is affecting mail delivery, particularly in rural areas like unincorporated Mendocino. An audit by the Office of the Inspector General last year found the U-S Postal Service lost almost 60-percent of its non-career employees in 2022. A-P-W-U California President Gaare Davis says smaller, rural post offices are hit the hardest. In November, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the agency is trying to reduce labor costs because it lost 6-point-5 billion dollars in 2023. Davis says many workers see DeJoy’s ten-year-plan to make the Postal Service more efficient as misguided because the move to centralize mail processing has only led to more delays.
Hold off on sending back your mail-in ballot. On Monday, the Elections office mailed ballots to residents in Mendocino County for the upcoming Presidential Primary Election. By Wednesday afternoon the office was getting calls saying some people got ballots that had errors. The Elections office said in a press release that all voters in the county were sent Republican ballots regardless of their party affiliation. They said they also found out there may be errors in all the ballots that were mailed in the First District. The Elections office says they’re working with the 3rd party vendor who printed the ballots to correct the situation. That vendor is printing replacement ballots for voters in Mendocino County and officials said they’ll be mailed out early next week.
Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services wants your help to assess property damage from this week’s storms. Officials said anyone with storm damage is asked to self-report by filling out an online survey. They ask that you have the survey finished no later than Sunday the 11th. You can find the survey link on the Mendocino County Facebook page. OES says the storm cleanup has stretched their staff very thin, as some in the county are still dealing with utility outages. They’re reminding residents that damage from the storm is not the fault of the men and women who are working around the clock to clean up the mess. They ask for your patience and kindness during the recovery process, and that you give crews room to work. Mendocino OES says residents should travel only when necessary, and always pull over and allow road crews and first responders to pass safely.
As of this morning, there are still about 1300 residents in Mendocino County without Power, and just over 500 in the dark in Lake County. The PG & E website says they hope to have most households restored by 10:00 tonight. Lake County residents can warm up at the Little Red Schoolhouse on Bottlerock Road in Cobb. They’ll be open today until 10pm.
If you’re looking for something to do here are a couple options for today. Bring the kids over to Fort Bragg Library for songs and stories from 10:30 to 11am. From noon to 2, you can swing by the Mendocino Farmers Market at Howard and Main street in downtown Mendocino. Then tonight, grab your skates and head over to the Old Rec Center in Fort Bragg. Tonight is Skate Night from 5 to 7pm. And don’t forget, every Friday, weather permitting, the Fort Bragg Food Bank is set up for the Friday Free Clothing Pop Up Swap. That’s going on from 11am to 4pm at 910 North Franklin Street.
A traffic stop led to drug charges for a Ukiah man. On Wednesday, Ukiah PD pulled over Jessie Slotte for driving erratically on North Orchard Avenue. When they ran Slotte’s information, they found he was wanted on an outstanding warrant from Mendocino County for illegal possession of ammunition. Officers tried to remove Slotte from his vehicle, which he refused. He was eventually arrested and searched. Officers found suspected meth and cocaine, plus a loaded firearm and about 80 rounds of ammunition. He was taken to Mendocino County Jail and now faces several charges including possession of a controlled substance, illegal possession of a firearm, and resisting arrest.
In addition to continuing storm cleanup, Caltrans is planning some major road work next week in Lake County. Look out for continued electrical work in Upper Lake on Route 20, crews will be working daily from 7am to 5pm. Route 20 will also see tree work from Verna Way to Gladys Street on Monday from 8am to 3pm. In Cobb, look out for tree work on Route 175 on Monday from 8am to 3pm. There will be lane closures for that from Humboldt Drive to Golf Road. In Lower Lake, be aware of some electrical work on Route 29. That will happen on Tuesday from 8am to 4pm from Bell Park Avenue to Seigler Canyon Road. Check Quickmap at DOT.CA.GOV for updates.
