CHP continues investigating a serious crash this morning on Highway 101 in Willits. MendoFever reports the collision involved a tractor-trailer and a passenger van around 1:30 this morning on the Willits bypass section of the highway. Reports say The loaded tractor-trailer hit the van stopped in the traffic lanes without its lights on. The van driver, identified as a man from Shasta County, suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown to a hospital in Chico. The truck driver, identified as a man from the Sacramento area, was not hurt. The road was closed for several hours for the investigation. No word yet on why the van was stopped on the road.
The drought in Lake County is officially over. The state water resources board told the Board of Supervisors this week that zero people in the county are affected by drought, given the wet winter. They also report Clearlake is at a full 8 feet. Supervisors responded by lifting the declaration of drought emergency that was enacted almost three years ago.
A report says California community colleges are seeing more financial aid fraud. The problem–is made worse by sophisticated scam artists who use AI to help them commit fraud. It works like this. Students apply for up to $7,400 in federal Pell grants, posting as students. The schools process the applications, award the grants, and then later realize the so-called students are just taking advantage of the college’s more liberal admission policies and some financial aid rules that have been simplified since the pandemic. Some estimates say 25 percent of all applications are fraudulent.
