A bomb threat that led to an evacuation of the Mendocino County Administration Building Tuesday has been confirmed as a hoax. The County said in a statement that on Tuesday afternoon the County Executive Office was alerted to a concerning email threat indicating a bomb had been placed within the building. CEO Darcie Antle and Sheriff Matt Kendall called for an evacuation per county protocol and a comprehensive assessment and search was done. About an hour later the bomb sweep was finished with no explosives found. Officials say it turned out to have been one of a series of email bomb threats targeting Registrar of Voters offices in multiple California counties that have all been assessed as non-credible. There is no word on who sent the emails.
A more reliable water system could soon be coming to Redwood Valley. For several months the Ukiah Valley Water Authority has been working to consolidate several local water districts which they say will eventually bring infrastructure upgrades and improve reliability. Mendo Fever reports that General Manager Jared Walker and Ukiah Water Manager Sean White recently checked out Redwood Valley systems with the engineers working on the consolidation. Much of the needed infrastructure updates will be coming with help from a grant from the State Department of Water Resources. Also being consolidated are the billing systems which is reportedly still a work in progress.
The safety of kids in cars is the purpose of a new federal grant to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP says their new driver education program “California Restraint Safety Education and Training”, which acronyms to CARSEAT, is thanks to an $850,000 federal grant aimed at reducing injuries and deaths among child passengers. For the next year the campaign will provide resources and education on child passenger safety with community-focused events, training sessions, child safety seat inspections, and making sure families know how to correctly install and use car seats. The program also offers free child safety seats to families who cannot afford them.
There’s a new leader at the Fort Bragg Harbor Commission. The City of Fort Bragg has announced the recommendation of Jim Hurst as the new Chair of the Harbor Commission and the appointment of Domenick Weaver as a new Commissioner. Officials say Hurst is a long-time advocate for the development and sustainability of Fort Bragg’s harbor and has extensive experience in maritime affairs and local environmental initiatives. They say Weaver brings extensive expertise in emergency marine operations, safety protocols, and public policy and they are happy to have him aboard as they look at long-term strategic planning. Mayor Bernie Norvell says they will work to support the needs and vision of Fort Bragg’s Harbormaster.
Ukiah’s Annual Leaf Pickup will be done the first week of December. The City says Ukiah Waste Solutions will be sweeping up the autumn leaves from December 2-6. They ask that you place up to 7 bags or 32-gallon cans of leaves at the curb on your regular collection day that week. Your empty bags and cans will be left at the curb, ready for reuse. And if you have more leaves than you can handle you can bring them to the Ukiah Transfer Station. For more information, visit www.candswaste.com
The City of Clearlake will be cleaning up some neglected properties thanks to a $500,000 CalRecycle Abatement Grant. The City says in a big step toward their goal of removing blight around the City, the grant that will allow crews to raze about 40 long-neglected properties in Clearlake. They say before cleaning up any properties that do not meet code, Code Enforcement staff take a series of steps according to City ordinance to ensure the property owners are notified several times in writing that they either need to bring their properties up to code or the City will have them removed.
