A new bill in California aims to declare non-disclosure agreements in legislative negotiations unenforceable. Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong’s bill is partly in response to the state’s new fast-food minimum wage law reportedly being negotiated in secrecy. The bill also bans public employees from signing NDA’s in their official capacity when negotiating proposed laws. NDA’s were reportedly used in the final negotiations of the fast food minimum wage law at the request of Service Employees International Union. The governor was closely involved in the negotiations but his office says it had “no involvement” in the signing of NDA’s.
Three people from Santa Rosa escaped with only minor cuts and scratches after crashing a small plane in a wooded area of Mendocino County. It happened Friday afternoon. The people who survived the crash have been identified as a 38-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman and a two-year-old girl. The plane, which took off from Shelter Cove Airport in Humboldt County, lost engine power about five minutes after takeoff. Officials say the plane was flying too low to attempt a safe landing, so the pilot deployed a parachute to slow the plane down. Authorities say the trio had a slim chance of surviving without the parachute to ease them to the ground.
The Lake County registrar of voters sent out a press release on Friday stating the March 5th Presidential Primary Election results are still not final. They said about 8500 ballots still need to be counted. Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by tomorrow in order to be included in the official count, and those ballots must have been postmarked on or before Election Day.
Mendocino Land Trust has announced they’ve acquired about 12 acres of land near Point Arena. The Saunders Landing Project includes the land between Hearn Gulch and a Caltrans vista point. MLT says they’ll work on restoring the coastal prairie on the land and are planning to add about .4 miles of coastal trail, eventually connecting to the California Coastal Trail in southern Mendocino County. Owning Saunders Landing will help MLT with the mission of conserving and restoring habitat, protecting scenic areas, and providing public access. Officials say it’s an important step forward, and that the State Coastal Conservancy funded the required environmental studies.
A man is dead after his van went down an embankment and hit a tree near Westport. Ukiah CHP responded to the crash just after 10am Saturday on State Route 1 just south of Branscomb Road. The driver, a 73 year old man from Ojai, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was reportedly wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, and officials said there is no indication that drugs or alcohol were a factor. The incident is still being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.
Thousands of votes are yet to be counted in Mendocino County. The results could potentially impact some of the district races yet to be officially decided. Mendo Fever reports there are still over 14 thousand vote-by-mail ballots that need to be processed, and almost 600 ballots that need further review. California State Law says officials have 30 days after an election to complete the canvass, and statement of vote. Once that deadline passes, final results will be made available. If you have questions, you can call the Mendocino County Elections Office.
A Willits man has been convicted of DUI after a 4 day trial. Ignacio Arancibia was found guilty in a Mendocino County Superior Court on Thursday morning. His charge was driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or greater. According to court reports, he was also found guilty of having a blood alcohol of over .15 percent. It’s against California law to have a BAC at or above .08 percent behind the wheel, whether or not their driving ability was impaired.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow to consider the formation of a new advisory council. The council will serve Kelseyville and Big Valley and be called the Kelseyville Area Council, according to a news release. It will serve as the municipal advisory committee for the Kelseyville area of District 5. The meeting is scheduled for 9am tomorrow in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse on Forbes Street. The meeting will be televised locally on Channel 8, and on the county’s social media. Residents can also participate on Zoom. Other agenda items include the proclamation of March as American Red Cross Month in Lake County, and a proclamation designating next week National Agriculture Week. See the full agenda and get the Zoom link here.
A man was arrested for attacking a police officer in Lakeport. The Lakeport Police Department reported Nino Gonzales was arrest just before 1am on Thursday when he attacked a uniformed police officer at the Shell station in Lakeport. The officer was making a purchase when Gonzalez reportedly came in and charged at him, saying he was going to kill him. The officer attempted to taze Gonzalez and called for backup. When back up arrived, Gonzalez was still being combative, but they eventually arrested him. He was booked in to the Lake County Jail on several charges including assault on a police officer and possession of a controlled substance.
