Governor Gavin Newsom , along with CAL FIRE, announced a critical addition to the state’s aerial firefighting fleet. The state now has seven C-130s to help battle blazes across the state. Two air tankers are already in service. A third is in the process of being retrofitted. Cal Fire plans to have that air tanker ready in the middle of the fire year, which is late in the summer. They will continue to retrofit the rest with a goal to have them done by the end of 2026. CAL FIRE has also doubled its use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems, and is using AI tools to detect fires faster.
California is in a “snowpack trifecta,” having average or above-average snowfall for three consecutive years, the first time in 25 years. Despite winter starting with dry conditions, late storms helped achieve near-average snow levels. Now, the state is experiencing good water supply for the third year in a row. This follows a record dry period from 2020 to 2022. To address this year’s dry conditions in Southern California, experts are working to secure water from Northern California and the Colorado River.
The Palace Hotel is one of five projects featured in the Spring edition of “Preservation,” the quarterly magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The article titled “The Palace Hotel has hope in the form of a new steward,” talks about efforts made by local contractor Tom Carter, who last October secured title to the building. So far, Carter and his crew have stabilized the weakened portion of the hotel and recycled doors, wood, and other material. The Ukiah Daily Journal says he has not seen the Preservation magazine article but hopes it will generate more buzz for the iconic building that dates back to 1891.
Willits has a new mayor. During Wednesday night’s Willits City Council meeting, Larry Stranske stated he was resigning from his position as mayor due to health issues, but says that he plans to stay on the council. Following his announcement, the council elected Councilmember Tom Allman as the new mayor for the rest of the year. The Mendocino Voice says Allman, who was elected to the Willits City Council in November 2024, served as sheriff of Mendocino County for 13 years before retiring in 2019. In 2020, he became the resident deputy in Shelter Cove. Allman has lived and worked in both Mendocino and Humboldt counties his entire life and has been a big public safety advocate and supporter of local businesses.
Thanks to budget deficits, Mendocino County is offering employees up to $25,000 to voluntarily resign, according to a memo sent out to county employees on Wednesday. The county is trying to fix a $2.6 million budget shortfall so they’re offering qualified employees the option of opting into a voluntary resignation program, which will pay them to quit. The Mendocino Voice says incentive payouts range from $5,000 to $25,000 and employees with the county for 10 or more years could be eligible to receive up to $25,000 in cash.
Lear Asset Management, the Mendocino-based private security firm well known for tangling with cannabis growers and forest activists, is facing criminal charges after five of its members, including CEO Paul Trouette, violently removed a female protester from a February GOP town hall in Idaho. Mendofever reports that Teresa Borrenpohl was dragged through the aisle by men, who had no visible security ID on them. Coeur d’Alene officials have since revoked Lear’s business license, and Borrenpohl filed a $5 million civil claim accusing them of physical assault and constitutional rights violations.
The CHP says a Tesla Cybertruck overturned yesterday morning on the 101 between Ukiah and Hopland, in the northbound lanes but no one was hurt fortunately. However some debris scattered across the roadway that needed clean up. Mendofever says the CHP report says it happened around 7:15 a.m. near the Burke Hill exit.
