Lake County is reportedly getting a piece of $41 million in grants to help communities still recovering from the devastating wildfires of 2018. Governor Gavin Newson has announced five counties will share the money from the federal 2018 Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery Workforce Development program. The money will go to programs that provide free job training and support services to low- to moderate-income individuals in the communities with the goal of improving job placement opportunities. Lake County’s portion will go to the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay for the Lake Workforce Program which they say will better equip the region for long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts and enhance resilience to future disasters.
It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays in Ukiah with work starting today on the outdoor skating rink. The City says construction is getting underway for “Ukiah on Ice,” which is a partnership between the City of Ukiah and the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance and is also made possible by local businesses. The rink, which opens Monday December 2, is in downtown Ukiah on South School Street on the west side of Alex Thomas Plaza so that block will be closed to traffic and parking from today through about January 22. The Saturday Farmers’ Market will still be there, right near the rink.
A Willits man has been convicted in a hit-and-run case in which investigators say he was high at the time. The Mendocino County DA’s Office says a jury has found Clayton Joel Sternick guilty of driving a vehicle while under the influence of a drug, driving on a suspended license, and hit-and-run. The DA says he had also previously been twice convicted of driving on a suspended license. There is no word yet on sentencing.
A Ukiah man has pleaded guilty to a DUI charge after a mistrial was declared in his case. The Mendocino County DA’s Office says on Thursday the jury in the case against Jaime Tinajero announced they were deadlocked and would not be able to reach a unanimous verdict on a DUI charge and a mistrial was declared. But the DA says rather than schedule a retrial after the jury had left, the prosecutor opted to save the court some time and money and let Tinajero plead to a lesser charge of alcohol-related reckless driving. But the DA says Tinajero also admitted to other charges including driving without his required ignition interlock device and giving cops a fake name.
The water supply is the subject of a public meeting of the Mendocino City Community Services District. The community event set for December 3 is the first of two public forums to address what the city calls Mendocino’s “persistent water scarcity challenges”. The December 3 event will present the draft findings of the Source Water Study which focuses on existing and potential water sources within a mile of the service boundary which include 28 public water systems, and about 400 wells for city of Mendocino residents and businesses. In order to deal with the scarcity they say is due to prolonged droughts they have asked for help from the California State Water Resources Control Board and this study is the first stage of that help.
Two more prescribed burns are on tap for this weekend in Laytonville. Officials with the Eel River Recovery Project say they are planning a 16-acre pile burn in the Lower Tenmile Creek Watershed Saturday and at the Vassar Ranch Sunday. The Lower Tenmile Creek project area is near Highway 101 about 7 miles north of Laytonville. Eel River Recovery says it’s another step in a multi-year project to return the Tenmile Creek watershed to a good fire ecosystem by thinning areas of dense trees and reducing the buildup of fuels on the forest floor. Last month they did about 30 acres in the area.
The California Highway Patrol says they have just graduated their largest class in two years – 121 cadets – and have fulfilled their multi-year goal of graduating 1,000 new officers. Starting in June of 2022, the CHP embarked on a recruiting campaign that saw more than 11,700 cadet applications in the first six months of 2024 – a 58% increase from the same time in 2022. CHP cadets are paid during training. The CHP says they earn a salary of about $5,500 a month throughout their 26 weeks at the CHP Academy in West Sacramento. After graduation, new officers are assigned to communities throughout California and can expect to earn more than $100,000 in their first year with the Department. The next CHP officer hiring seminar is Tuesday, November 26.
