Willits police are getting a new crime-fighting tool. The city council has approved installing automated license plate readers around town to make it easier to find wanted and stolen vehicles. The readers capture tags that are then run through a state and national database to identify a possible match. They’ll be installed on North Main, South Main, and Highway 20., Several other jurisdictions–including Ukiah and the County Sheriff’s office already use similar cameras from the same vendor, Flock Systems. The cost for two years–$52,00 and then $23,500 a year after that if the city continues with the program. Interim Police Chief Michael Parish says the cameras will only be used to capture vehicles coming and going from the city and won’t be used to monitor residential streets–and that images are only stored for 30 days unless they’re part of an ongoing investigation. He also says they won’t be used for traffic enforcement or to track immigration status.
Police have identified a man killed in a weekend crash in Lakeport. CHP says 88-year-old Edmund Slevin of Lakeport died when his car hit another just before noon on Saturday on Lakeshore Boulevard near Rainbow Road. The investigation continues.
Clearlake Police are looking for a missing teenager. 13-year-old Xavier Newman was last seen near Olympic Drive and Jefferson Avenue. He is black, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a gray shirt and basketball shorts. You can call Clearlake PD with any info.
Some California state workers are unhappy with Governor Newsom’s return to the office policy out this week. He wants all state employees–with some exceptions–to return to their offices at least four days a week by July 1st. Hundreds of state workers–protesting outside the state capital today. They say telework gives them flexibility and they call the governor’s mandate a step backward for state employees. They say since many offices have closed or downsized since the pandemic, finding enough space for the newly back to office workers could be a problem. The governor says in-office work is more efficient with better collaboration, but employees disagree, saying many work teams have adapted just fine to work-from-home jobs
No office jobs OR work from home here. Cal Fire is hiring. The agency says it’s looking for front-line crew members as it gears up for the coming fire season. There is more on the CalFire home page.
