A man’s body was found on a cannabis farm in a rural part of Mendocino County Friday morning. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office says the property owner, who lives in Texas, told the sheriff’s office that she heard second hand that a man who lives and works on her property may have been murdered. Since she was unable to get ahold of the worker by phone or email, she drove from Texas to Mendocino to meet deputies in order to do a welfare check on the worker. Deputies searched the over 100-acre property and discovered a man’s remains, however there’s no official ID. The Sheriff’s office says the case is being investigated as a homicide. The Mendocino Voice says the last time anyone had spoken to him was on May 5.
Despite this winter’s much needed rain, Cal Fire says their long range modeling, which forecasts three months in advance, and is based on the amount of rain received in the area, it appears the fire season has started in Lake County. District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska appeared before the BVAC council this past week and said vegetation management is critical right now in order to save homes and It also helps ensure the safety of fire crews and other first responders when a fire strikes. She went on to warn the council that it is going to be an early and active fire season. The Record Bee says while many federal mitigation programs have been cut by FEMA,when it comes to catastrophic events, there are federal grant programs available to the county and Lake County has lobbyists working to secure those funds. Pyska adds that the Secure Rural Schools program which provides critical funding for schools, roads, and other municipal services in Lake County as well hundreds of other areas nationwide has been reauthorized.
Cal Fire’s Mendocino Unit will be conducting a research prescribed burn on the UC’s Hopland
Research and Extension Center (HREC) property. It’s targeting approximately 500 acres
of grasslands. HREC is in the southern portion of Mendocino County, east of Highway 101, and east of Hopland. It starts this morning and goes until June 6th daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. This prescribed burn is one of several underway throughout the state and brings California one step closer towards meeting the state’s fuel reduction goals directed by the California Fire Plan and the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.
There’s a town hall tonight featuring several experts on how to keep yourself, your property and your community safe from wildfires. Organizers describe it as offering the most up to date science-based developments on home protection, fire insurance and community action. They say all who attend will get schooled on the tools needed to empower the community, which in turn will create a safer and more resilient environment despite and in spite of the fire risks. The Ukiah Daily Journal says tonight’s event is from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Little Theater, Room 710 in the Lowery Student Center, at Mendocino College, located on Hensley Creek Road, and is free and open to the public.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors have asked a judge to move the civil case filed against them by County Auditor-Controller and Treasurer-Tax Collector Chamise Cubbison to Marin County. The motion to transfer venue claims that the local news media and even the judge have made it impossible for the case to be decided on neutral grounds. To refresh your memory, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman dismissed felony criminal charges brought by DA David Eyster against Cubbison and former county payroll manager Paula Kennedy, which accused both women of misappropriating $68,000 in public funds during the pandemic. The Mendocino Voice says the motion will be heard on June 20 in Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah.
A longtime Lake County resident and former sheriff has died. Sheriff James Wright, who served in the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for nearly 30 years passed away May 7. Lake County Sheriff’s office says Wright began his law enforcement career in 1964 as a reserve officer, and advanced in the ranks over the years. He retired at the end of December 1994. Lake County News says Wright was also a volunteer in the Lake County Office of Emergency Services, served on the Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee and the Senior Citizens Advisory Board in Lakeport, and was an active member of Kelseyville Presbyterian Church. His wife died in January of 2024.
The Cannabis classical festival returns to Ukiah for the second year. Coordinator Phillip Lenberg, says Classicann, which is going to be bigger and better this second year, is highlighting over a dozen musicians, two food vendors, booths showcasing the region’s finest cannabis farmers and what he calls plenty of shade. The Ukiah Daily Journal says it runs this Saturday from 2 to 7p.m.
