There’s reportedly been another delay in the long-running case involving Mendocino County Auditor Chamise Cubbison. Cubbison and former county Payroll Manager Paula June Kennedy are accused of felony misappropriation of public funds for allegedly overpaying Kennedy during the pandemic by several thousand dollars. Mendo Fever reports the county public defender that has been representing Kennedy has gotten a new job in Yolo County. There is a hearing scheduled for tomorrow, but Kennedy’s newly appointed attorney has reportedly filed a motion for a delay saying he needs time to familiarize himself with the case calling the files and evidence “voluminous and complicated”.
While there are no official numbers yet as to how many registered Lake County voters actually cast ballots on Election Day, anecdotal evidence from poll workers suggest it was a pretty high number. Lake County News reports they visited 10 of the 20 Lake County polling places on Election Day and many poll workers said it seemed turnout was higher than in recent years. Lake County reportedly had the most registered voters this year among all recent elections —with 37,915 registered for the 2024 General Election, about 600 more than in 2020. Some poll workers also told the news site there were many people coming by on Election Day to drop off mail-in ballots, saying they did not trust the mail system and preferred the security of someone official watching them drop it in a ballot box.
Sacramento State will be opening a Native American College next fall. The new school for fall 2025 will allow students to major in any field available at the university but they must minor in Native American Studies with courses that include tribal leadership and history. Officials tell the Mendocino Voice students can apply to the college after they are accepted into Sacramento State and they will accept first-year students, transfers and students entering their junior year. Officials say the first dean will be Dr. Annette Reed, an enrolled member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ (TOLL-uh-wah day-knee) Nation who currently serves as the chair of Sacramento State’s Department of Ethnic Studies.
This week is the meeting for folks along the coast to learn more about how the Mendocino County Department of Planning and Building Services and the Division of Environmental Health operate and help them learn how they could be more effective for residents. The Coastal Community Stakeholders meeting is set for Thursday November 14 at 10am at the Fort Bragg Library. Officials will talk about some recent updates and proposed changes and do some brainstorming about how things are done including how to improve permitting processes in their departments. They say your feedback is crucial in helping to streamline how things are done.
A Vietnam Veteran from Sonoma County who won the Medal of Honor for bravery but went to prison on drug charges could be getting a posthumous pardon for his convictions. Governor Gavin Newson has announced he will seek a pardon for Richard “Butch” Penry who was convicted of both state and federal drug charges which his family says was due to self-medicating for post-traumatic stress disorder. Penry died of lupus in 1994 at the age of 45 which his family also believes was related to the use of Agent Orange in the war. The Press Democrat reports Newsom needs approval from the California Supreme Court for the state-level convictions and from President Biden for the federal convictions. Penry’s sister tells the paper the move means a lot to Vietnam veterans who struggle with PTSD of which little was known when they returned from the war. Penry received his Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon in 1971.
