The second phase of the Downtown Streetscape should be finished this month, but The Ukiah Daily Journal reports that there is still more construction that needs to be completed. On Wednesday, Public Works Director Tim Eriksen told the Ukiah City Council that the Urban Core Project is moving as fast as it can despite the rain, and went on to say that crews are wrapping up the water services on North Main Street, testing some of the sewer lines, and placing traffic poles for the signals at Gobbi and Main streets. He says once the weather improves, he expects the project to wrap up. Also during Wednesday’s meeting, the City Council approved an urgency item, described as a “resolution proclaiming a local emergency due to the ongoing Atmospheric Rivers causing damage to public infrastructure.” City Manager Sage Sangiacomo used the example of a landslide that’s located next to one of the city’s water tanks in the Western Hills. He says it’s caused more than $30,000 worth of damage.
A special Fort Bragg city council meeting will be held next Tuesday, February 24. The Mill Site planning workshop is on the agenda. The meeting starts with an Open house and workshop orientation and introduction of the project team. That includes perspectives on the joint City of Fort Bragg/Mendocino Railway Illustrative Plan along with the planning process. The meeting begins at 5pm
The Ukiah Daily Journal reports that the city of Ukiah is still awaiting word on whether it will receive the previously awarded federal grant money aimed at mitigating wildfire danger in the Ukiah Valley. At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, City Manager Sage Sangiacomo says that they haven’t received official notice that the fire mitigation vegetation management grant…that the city received is on-hold, but at this point, their concern is not over if they will get it, but when they will get it. You should know that the city uses those federal grants to reduce the damage a large wildfire has the potential of causing in the Ukiah Valley by maintaining shaded fuel breaks in the Western Hills, clearing vegetation, helping residents to clear vegetation around their homes, and for overall fire-hardening efforts in the valley. He says it also allows them to utilize an additional 12-plus staff members.
The Mendocino Voice reports that the MCAHVN Care and Prevention Network is holding an informational workshop at the Ukiah Branch Library on how to administer Narcan. It’s a life saving medication for opioid addicts. Megan Wolf, a library assistant at the library and organizer of the event, says these workshops are important because it allows the Mendocino County community to learn about how to help those who are struggling with substance abuse. The MCAHVN Narcan workshop is free and open to the public, and will be held this Tuesday beginning at 5:30. For more information, go to www.mendolibrary.org or call the Ukiah Branch Library.
California may stop the sale of disposable vaping products to help reduce plastic waste in the state. A new bill would make it illegal to sell or distribute both new and refurbished disposable vapes beginning January 1st, 2026. Under the law, local governments or the state could impose fines of five-hundred dollars for the first violation, one-thousand for the second, and two-thousand dollars for any further offenses.
The Lake County Vector Control District will spray for mosquitos in some marshlands near Clear Lake today, weather depending. The county says it’s needed now because its winter surveillance program has found a lot of mosquito larvae in the marshlands along the perimeter of the lake that flooded following the recent rains. The aerial operations will cover the marshlands adjacent to the lake between Clear Lake State Park and Lakeport, parts of Anderson Marsh State Park, a small section east of the Clearlake Keys, and a small area near Bridge Arbor South in North Lakeport. The pesticide will come from a yellow crop duster flying low, so you may be able to hear the plane overhead. The spray is bad for mosquitoes, but safe for everyone else including animals and sea life. The website lcvd,org has more information–and updates on today’s spraying and future applications as well.
A new California bill could make health insurers pay one-million dollars for denying care. Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 363, titled the Health Insurance Accountability Act. It would require health insurance companies to submit a written explanation for claim denials and modications and why the insurance company is taking such action. Health care providers would also face increasing penalties for excessive denials. Financial penalties would include 50-thousand dollars for the first violation and one-million dollars for further noncompliance.
