Ukiah City crews have done a post Atmospheric River inspection of the city’s newly acquired land in Western Hills. The City says the roads held up well and staff is now reviewing some recently-completed biological studies and working on plans to open the land to public access. As we reported last month, the City of Ukiah annexed over 750 acres in the Western Hills to potentially add housing, preserve open space, and more effectively manage it for fires. Officials say for decades, the Greater Ukiah Valley has suffered from uncoordinated development so not everyone has reliable infrastructure and folding in the Western Hills gives that area more efficient access to utilities.
A Fort Bragg man has been identified as the victim of a fatal Thanksgiving night crash on Highway 1. Officials say Joseph Garcia died and two other people were hurt in the Thursday night crash on the Caspar Creek Bridge. Mendo Fever reports a Mendocino woman was driving northbound with Garcia as her passenger when she somehow lost control of her car and swerved into the southbound lane, slamming head-on into a van driven by a woman from Alameda. Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene. The Mendocino woman is in critical condition and the Alameda woman has minor injuries. The CHP is looking into whether the Mendocino woman was impaired.
The Round Valley Indian Housing Authority is getting $8.7 million toward housing from the state from the 2023 version of the Homekey Tribal Program. The money will go toward Phase 5 of the Tribal Winds housing development in Covelo. Mendo Fever reports the project will include 18 new permanent supportive rental housing units which will include two- and three-bedroom single-family homes with priority given to those on the RVIHA housing waitlist. Construction is expected to begin in 2025. Officials say the Tribal Winds development has already gotten millions of dollars in grants from the state as the Round Valley Indian Housing Authority works to improve the quality of life for vulnerable tribal members and create sustainable, affordable housing.
Ukiah’s Orr Street Bridge is back open. After being closed for 15 years while awaiting structural upgrades, the bridge is back open with one lane for cars and two side lanes for bicycles. The Ukiah Daily Journal reports the final price tag was nearly $392,000 which included new steel decking, asphalt paving, guard rails and enhanced lane markers. The cost of the project kept going up over the years as not just the cost of the materials rose but also requests for more safety measures like speed bumps and more signs. Officials say the Ukiah Public Works Department plans to monitor the bridge to see how much traffic actually uses it and how fast people actually drive over it.
The “Ukiah on Ice” outdoor ice skating rink opens today. The rink is on School Street near Alex Thomas Plaza. Crews have been installing it for a couple of weeks. “Ukiah on Ice” will be open daily, including holidays, until Sunday, January 12. It costs $12 per skater and there will also be a full concessions stand open. If you would like to book the rink for a private event call the City of Ukiah. Meanwhile the Ukiah Parade of Lights and Hometown Holiday Celebration is this weekend, Saturday, December 7 with special vendors, performances and an appearance from Santa.
You can get an update on what the Mendocino City Community Services District is doing about the water supply at a public forum Tuesday. Officials are set to present the first draft of a study done by a consultant to look at the groundwater system, locate water sources and identify options for long-term solutions for what they call a “sustainable, reliable, and safe water supply”. The first draft of the report shows the district manages water for 855 residents, two state parks, a school district, several local businesses and about 2,500 tourists a day. The consultant says water scarcity has been a continuing issue for the town for decades, especially in drought times, and while there are about 400 wells in the district many of them are “old, shallow, or hand-dug”. The meeting starts at 6pm Tuesday at the Mendocino Community Center.
If you’d like to pitch in to help keep forests healthy using fire, the Eel River Recovery Project is looking for volunteers to help with prescribed burns. The Humboldt County-based project does burns in northern Mendocino County and they need volunteers for the Tenmile Creek Forest Health Project over the next few years. Volunteers will learn pile burning, rick burning and how to use a portable biochar kiln. The free workshop is set for December 7 near Laytonville. They can only take 30 volunteers. Register by contacting Alicia Bales at the Eel River Recovery Project.
A new Mendocino County program is underway to help those with severe mental illness who end up homeless or maybe in the court system. The County says CARE Court, which stands for Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment, is part of a collaborative effort between the courts and County Behavioral Health to provide additional support for people severely impacted by their mental health symptoms. The Willits News reports it’s a voluntary civil court process which uses the court to monitor the treatment but has health professionals developing personalized care plans. And those who need it can be referred into the system by family, doctors, social workers or even cops. Get details from the Mendocino County Court’s Self Help Center.
