Forest officials announced on Friday that they lifted the wet weather closure order for the Upper Lake OHV, and the Grindstone OHV. They also announced a volunteer cleanup day for this coming weekend. This Saturday Mendocino National Forest will host the cleanup for Stonyford OHV trails. If you’d like to volunteer, you can check in at the Stonyford Work Center between 9 and 10 am. Forest staff will be on hand to give out tools and assign work areas. Volunteers will be needed until 4pm.
Fort Bragg City Council will meet tonight. The meeting is set for 6pm at Town Hall on Main Street, or online over Zoom. Agenda items include the proclamations of Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, and a proposal on placement of a new sculpture. The meeting is open to the public, you can get the full agenda and zoom invite on the City of Fort Bragg’s website.
If you’re a local entrepreneur, a business owner, or someone thinking about starting a business there’s a networking event tomorrow at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center. The West Business Development Center is hosting a Capital Summit starting at 10:30am. It’s a free event that gives local business owners and entrepreneurs the chance to network with each other and meet with financial lenders servicing Mendocino and Lake Counties. It’s also a chance to learn about services offered by the West Business Development Center like free training and advising services.
A Lucerne man was killed in a single vehicle crash. The California Highway Patrol responded to the crash just before 1:30 Friday afternoon. It happened on Highway 20 near Upper Lake. The man, who has not been identified, was driving east on Highway 20 when his pickup went off the edge of the road, turned and went across all the traffic lanes, then overturned. According to the police report the man was not wearing his seatbelt. He was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital where he later died. The crash is still being investigated by the CHP.
Another reminder, if you live in Lake County and have storm damage from last week’s winter storm, you could be eligible for federal assistance. Renters, homeowners, and business owners with damage can report by filling out the online form at Lake Sheriff dot COM. This storm was Lake County’s 14th disaster in the last 6 years. Officials said about 40% of county residents lost power, some waited several days for it to be restored. High winds knocked down trees and power lines, and heavy rains flooded roads and homes. During the height of the storm, one Lake County Fire District reported responding to about 100 calls in 10 hours.
One person jumped out of a moving vehicle in Ukiah. UPD responded just before 3 Sunday afternoon to a call about a pedestrian being hit on North Orchard Avenue. Police said once they got to the scene, they found the person was not a pedestrian, but had actually jumped out of the moving vehicle. The victim reportedly told police there were multiple children in the vehicle, and that they were the passenger. The victim had a few cuts and bruises on their arms and legs but was not seriously injured, according to reports. The incident is still being investigated by Ukiah Police.
More than 600-thousand people who rely on water from the Russian River are now looking at an uncertain future. That’s after PG&E reversed its position on some of its plans for the Potter Valley powerhouse. PG&E had committed to working with water managers in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties to allow water diversions from the Eel River into the Russian River. But, PG&E announced last week they are moving ahead with license surrender for the Potter Valley plant without those terms in place. A spokesperson says future diversions would have meant liabilities for the company. They also said it would have delayed the removal of the Scott and Cape Horn dams as part of the plant decommissioning plan.
California is taking action to make communities cleaner and greener. Governor Newsom has certified the first project under the state’s new infrastructure law. That means a streamlined process for legal challenges that could otherwise cause long delays.
Last week’s storms coupled with a warmer than average winter have brought mosquitoes out of hibernation. Sacramento officials said they noticed the uptick in activity and said the bugs are being very aggressive. Officials said the mosquitos they’re seeing in the area are not the same species that carry the West Nile Virus, but it’s important to get rid of any standing or stagnant water just the same. Mendocino County recommends residents drain any potential breeding grounds.
Governor Newsom is trying to bring high paying careers to underserved communities in California. The Governor signed the Freedom To Succeed executive order last year. Over $33 million will go to support nearly seven thousand workers and apprentices. $27 million is being used to prepare displaced oil and gas workers for other careers that match their skills. $25 million will expand pre-apprenticeship programs to help young people connect to better jobs. Another $26 million will help out of work farm laborers learn new skills.
You may see more helicopters over Mendocino county this month and next. It’s the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They’re doing their annual helicopter survey to take inventory of the mule deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, and bighorn sheep populations. According to a news release, they use the data collected to estimate the total population of each species all over the state. Results of the surveys also help regulate the harvest recommendations to the California Fish and Game Commission.
The ballot issues in Mendocino County are now being investigated by the state. Last week, voters across the county started getting their ballots in the mail, and right away they noticed something was wrong. By Wednesday, the county was getting calls about errors on the ballots. Mendocino County officials have said the mistake is reportedly the fault of a third party vendor who was hired to produce the ballots. Mendocino County issued a press release with several questions and answers about the ongoing issue. You can read through them all at MendocinoCounty.gov
