Power shut offs have started in the midst of a Red Flag Warning which remains in effect through 5pm Saturday night due to strong winds and low humidity upping the fire danger. PG&E started the public safety power shut offs yesterday and they could go through Sunday for about 1100 customers in Lake County and 13 in Mendocino County. You can check the most up-to-date information at www.pge.com/pspsupdates. If you lose power you can visit a designated Community Resource Center for charging, WiFi, ice and more. Those are also listed on the website and include the Live Oaks Senior Center and Hidden Valley Lake Association.
Lakeport Police will be getting a new body-cam system with the Lakeport City Council approving a $100,000 contract for a new system service. The company Lakeport has been using since 2006 was bought out by Motorola which no longer supports Lakeport’s current system. Lake County News reports this week the council voted unanimously to start a new five-year service contract with Motorola for 12 new body-worn cameras plus access to evidence library services, wireless transfer hardware, and accidental damage coverage. It also includes a refresh of all the devices in the third year of the contract.
Two trustees of the Mendocino County Board of Education will be leaving the Board in December. The Mendocino Voice reports Charline Ford and Drew Duncan opted not to seek re-election. Ford has been a trustee for 17 years representing Area Three which includes Covelo, Laytonville and Willits. She was a teacher for 21 years. Duncan is leaving the board after four years. He is the board president and the Area Four representative covering Caspar, Fort Bragg, Leggett, Piercy and Westport. He plans to return to teaching full time. The challengers for Ford’s Area Three seat are Michelle Hutchins and David R. Strock. For Area Four, Nancy J. Bennett is running uncontested.
Mendocino County has received a $289,000 grant from the Department of Water Resources through the Flood Emergency Response Grant Program. County Chief Executive Officer Darcie Antle says in her October CEO report that the county got the grant last month. The money will go for development of a local flood emergency plan, updating maps, and providing emergency communication equipment for the Emergency Operations Center. It will also go toward enhancing the county’s planning and response during climate hazards, such as excessive rainfall, flooding, and severe storms, which have the potential to spur landslides and damage infrastructure.
The Ukiah Community Concert Association will open its 2024-25 season in a few weeks. It opens November 3 with a performance by the world-renowned Alexander String Quartet in the Mendocino College Theatre. The Ukiah performance will include a piece Mozart penned when he was a teenager, a Beethoven composition known as the “Harp Quartet” and Franz Schubert’s epic “Death and the Maiden”. Tickets are available at Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah and Mazahar in Willits as well as online at www.ukiahconcerts.org. UCCA offers free tickets to youth 17 and under accompanied by an adult and to full-time college students who reserve ahead of time.
Local organization 100 Women Strong Mendocino Coast has surpassed their latest fundraising goal and helped three local nonprofits. It’s the local branch of a national group whose M-O is to ask 100 people for a $100 donation and then give one group $10,000. But the Mendocino Voice reports this year donors gave $18,000. So at their annual meeting this week at which the attendees hear pitches from the non-profits and then vote on the recipient, Circle of Horses was honored with the $10,000 and Gloriana Musical Theatre and Pacific Environmental Education Center each got $4,000. Officials say 100 Women Strong Mendocino Coast is able to do all of this because their operational infrastructure comes from the Community Foundation of Mendocino County.
