The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors is observing an annual recess this month. There will be no regular board meetings until September. The annual August recess allows Board staff to focus on behind the scenes tasks like records filing and prep for the upcoming year. While the Board will not meet, they will continue to hold and attend regularly scheduled committee and public meetings. The BOS reminds parents that August is a good time to get ready for back to school. They suggest taking time to visit schools, get the kids updated on vaccines, establish school time routines and prep for upcoming changes like children moving to new schools. They say the efforts you make this month will prepare and support your students and encourage their academic success and personal growth.
The Park Fire has now burned nearly 421,000 acres of land in Butte and Tehama Counties and remains 34% contained. The fire, which started two weeks ago today, has picked up in intensity near the Mill Creek canyon. Firefighters are still dealing with high temperatures and low humidity, with little overnight relief. This week, several evacuation orders and warnings were reduced in Butte, Tehama and Shasta Counties. But, there are also some new evacuation orders in Tehama County, where the majority of the burning and destruction has been. The Park Fire has chewed through more than 98-thousand acres of land in the Lassen National Forest.
California is getting more than half a million dollars to improve the power grid. The grant comes from the Department of Energy and will be used to upgrade 100 miles of electric transmission lines. Governor Newsom says this is critical to the state’s efforts to build a power grid that ensures everyone has access to cleaner, cheaper and more reliable electricity. It’s also essential for protecting public safety during extreme weather.
Clean cars are here to stay. Those words from Governor Newsom as more Californians make the switch in record numbers. One in four drivers are now ditching gasoline-powered cars and trucks. The state just saw one of its best quarters ever for new zero-emission vehicle sales topping 118,000. That represents 25% of all vehicles sold in the state. Newsom’s goal is to reach 100% by 2035.
It’s been almost a month, and police are still searching for two young children and their father after a woman was found dead in Sacramento. Twenty-eight-year-old Angelica Bravo, the children’s mother, was found dead at a home in North Sacramento on July 8th. Thirty-nine-year-old Camron Lee, four-year-old Athena Lee and two-year-old Mateo Lee have been missing ever since. Bravo was found dead at Lee’s home, but police are not calling the death suspicious, and Lee has not been named a suspect. Sacramento police now confirm there is a warrant out for his arrest on an unrelated gun charge. Lee was previously arrested on gun charges in 2019 and 2021.
A juvenile riding their bike was injured when they were hit by a car in Fort Bragg. According to first responders, the victim was hit near the intersection of South Franklin and Chestnut Streets in Fort Brag just before 8 last night. The juvenile was treated for facial injuries at the scene. The victim has not been identified. Police are investigating the incident.
A Ukiah man was arrested after reportedly stealing a large amount of medication from a business. Ukiah Police Department responded to the business on South State Street just before noon on July 30th, after an employee saw a man put a large amount of over the counter meds into a bag and walk out of the store without paying for them. Police located Ryan Witman on August 4th and detained him on Talmage Road. A search of his belongings turned up the stolen medication. Witman was arrested and taken to Mendocino County Jail on charges of theft and probation violation. According to officials, a total of 60 items were recovered in the search, valued at just over $2,000.
