California officials have released new county maps which analyze wildfire likelihood and severity. Cal Fire’s updated "Fire Hazard Severity Zones" map now divides areas into "High" and "Moderate" risk levels, in addition to the previous "Very High" category. Nearly one and a-half million acres are now labeled at risk in the two highest tiers. Clearlake went from 1,583 “very high” hazard acres to 4,054. Unincorporated Mendocino County went from zero to 8,402 “very high” hazard acres, and Ukiah’s “very high” hazard acreage more than tripled. The maps cover lots of counties with the most recent additions, which include San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Yolo counties. Phase 3 of the mapping project will include counties like Amador, Calaveras, Sacramento, and Tulare. Phase 4 will add several Southern California Counties.
New police data shows crime down in Clearlake for 2024 when compared to 2023, along with the number of traffic collisions, which have fallen to their lowest number since 2016. Interesting to note, that at the same time police made fewer traffic stops…they still ended up issuing more citations.
Lake County news says other data worth noting shows that code enforcement cases in property and vegetation cases went down, while administrative citations were up.
The Lake County News reports that Governor Newsome appointed Kelseyville resident Elizabeth Lincoln to the Lake County Fair Board.
Lincoln has been the economic development director for the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians since 2015 and owner of Indigenous Management Services since 2012. She was also a grant writer for the Colusa Indian Community from 2009 to 2014. Lincoln joins President Tracy Medina, and members Kirk Andrus and Nara Dahlbacka.
If you need help with passports and visas, veterans benefits, IRS issues, agricultural issues, small business assistance, immigration, Medicare and Medicaid, or if you are facing any other problem navigating the federal government, Congressman Mike Thompson’s staff will be in Kelseyville this week.
The Lake County News says they’ll host office hours from 2 to 4 p.m. tomorrow, at the Kelseyville Unified School District’s Board Chambers on Konocti Road. Everyone is invited to drop in for concerns and comments. Thompson’s office says they’ll be on standby to help.
The Ukiah Daily Journal is reporting that a bombshell dropped in the preliminary hearing for Chamise Cubbison and payroll Manager Paula Kennedy on Monday. New documents showed that after the DA’s chief investigator turned over exculpatory evidence last week, which showed that extra pay, which had been disputed, was in fact disclosed to Mendocino County administrators. To refresh your memory, county administrators, led by CEO Darcie Antle, told law enforcement that Kennedy had secretly withdrawn some $68,000 in extra pay during the pandemic by using a mysterious “470” county code. Antle was praised for alerting the DA to this unauthorized pay scheme that Cubbison and Kennedy allegedly worked out. However, the extra pay Kennedy received over that three year period had routinely been included in twice monthly payroll reports that were automatically distributed to top county administrators, including Antle and her staff. The revelation didn’t bode well for the judge, who will determine if Cubbison and Kennedy will be ordered to stand trial, or whether he’ll rule for the defense and dismiss the case.
New legislation will set guidelines for ethnic studies classes in California high schools, specifically excluding topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It suggests that experts in cultural studies, such as African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American studies, should create the curriculum. The bill aims to prevent antisemitism in lesson plans and nixes discussions about the Middle East conflict. Last year, the California Teachers Association opposed a similar bill, calling it too difficult to implement.
Droughts are a normal part of the climate, however, it’s important to be prepared for a worst case scenario. That’s the word from the workshop that the Mendocino County Water Agency (MCWA) held last week on drought resilience planning in Fort Bragg. The Mendocino Voice reports that workshops are part of the County’s response to SB 522, a bill which was signed into law in September 2021. It requires each county to prepare a drought resistance plan (DRP) for state small water systems and domestic well owners. If you’d like to get informed and involved, the County’s task force is meeting this morning from 9 am to noon in the Board of Supervisors chambers in Ukiah.
