California State University faculty members are a step closer to having a new contract. On Monday, members of the California Faculty Association voted to approve a contract agreement with the 23 campus CSU system. The deal affects more than 29,000 faculty members, lecturers, librarians, counselors, and coaches. 76 percent of union members approved the agreement. The deal still needs to be approved by CSU trustees, who don’t have a meeting scheduled until next month.
They’re yellow, a little slimy and they could soon be the official Golden State slug. Assemblymember Gail Pellerin is introducing a bill which would recognize the Banana slug as an emblem of the state. According to the bill, banana slugs can be found as far north as Del Norte County and as far south as San Diego County. There are seven types of banana slugs found in California, only one of which can be found outside the state. If this bill passes, the banana slug would join other state symbols inducted into the California code like the state mushroom, the California Golden Chanterelle.
You probably didn’t notice, but there was an earthquake near Ukiah on Monday. A 1.6 magnitude quake hit about 13 miles from Ukiah just outside Fair Oakes around 12:30 Monday morning. USGS officials said it had a shallow depth of about 1.9 miles and was too small to be felt by people.
We are still under a flood watch until 9am. The national weather service says flooding is still possible around Mendocino and Lake counties. Officials report risk of rockslides and landslides, plus excessive runoff. In Lake County CHP is reporting Scotts Valley Road at Route 20 near Upper Lake is closed due to flooding.
Clear Lake is officially full thanks to all this rain. The lake reached its full mark about 10 o clock last night, according to the USGS gauges at Lakeport. According to the Lake County News, as of this morning, the lake is just under 8 feet Rumsey, and flood stage is 9 feet. The last time Clear Lake was this full was in March of 2023.
Governor Newsom activated the State Operations Center ahead of these storms. He also directed OES to pre-position swift water rescue crews, personnel, and equipment in several counties. With potential for strong storms bringing flooding, debris flows, mud and landslides, the Governor said he’s taking these storms seriously and asked all Californians to take steps to prepare. Lake county remains under a flood watch and high wind warning until 9am.
PG & E are reporting about 135 people without power this morning in Lake and Mendocino counties. Officials say the outage is due to equipment issues. According to the PGE alerts webpage, they hope to have everyone restored by this afternoon.
Today is your last day to register to vote in Mendocino County. The ballots for the March 5th Primary election were mailed out again this week, after incorrect ballots went out on the 5th due to a vendor error. If you have not received your ballot, or you have questions, you can call the county clerk’s office or go online at RegistertoVote.ca.gov. County officials said they’re committed to making sure every vote counts.
Crews in Lake County are working to clear downed trees from area roadways. Saturated soil, persistent rain, and high winds knocked down a few trees in the region. One tree came down on Highway 29 at Tucker Road on Monday, blocking southbound traffic. It took help from several fire crews from Lake and Napa County to get the mess cleaned up.
CHP is working to clear a tree that brought down some phone lines on highway 20 near Dunlap Pass. The incident was reported about 5:30 this morning. The CHP website said the tree is blocking the whole road near mile marker 20 and that the phone line is along the side of the road. CHP reminds motorists to give crews plenty of room to work, and to report any downed trees or power lines immediately.
A tree fell on a mobile home, reportedly trapping one person inside. It happened about 4pm yesterday, during heavy rain and high winds. The tree fell on the mobile home in the 200 block of Myers Avenue. Cal Fire and Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue responded, along with several local fire crews. First responders found the tree had come down on the home, the garage, and a vehicle. The tree also took down power lines and blocked the driveway. No reports of injuries have been released so far.
California Highway Patrol issued a Feather Alert this week. The alert was issued on behalf of the Ukiah PD for 24 year old Angel Murguia-Martinez. Angel was last seen on Valentine’s Day at his home in Ukiah. He’s described as 5 foot 8, and 250 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911 immediately. Angel should be considered at risk and possibly armed, according to UPD. You can see a picture of Angel at UkiahPolice.com.
