At the most recent Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake, guest speaker and City Manager Alan Flora and other city leaders gave an update on the status of the city’s streets and roads; including current progress and plans moving forward. According to Flora there are 112 miles of public roads in Clearlake and 33 miles of private roads, 44 percent of which are gravel or otherwise unpaved roads. The pavement condition index indicates that 30 percent of Clearlake’s roads are considered “very poor” or “failed.” Prior to the passing of Measure V, the budget for roads was the main issue halting any improvements, maxing out at $300,000 for the entire year. According to Flora, one new mile of paved roads can cost around $1 million dollars, and that was simply not an option until more funding was available. City Engineer Dave Swartz noted what investments in equipment the city has made that benefit the community, including a new water truck and excavator, which helps to alleviate some of the financial burden of large projects as it gives the city the ability to grade and/ or crack seal a project before a contractor comes in. While Construction Projects Manager Adeline Brown of public works also discussed upcoming projects including the installation of a round-a-bout at the Dam Road intersection where Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Carl’s Jr. are located. This is considered phase one of another large-scale project they have scheduled, the Airport Development Project, which will connect 18th Avenue to Highway 53 and include the construction of a hotel.
Filing and nominations for city council positions in Fort Bragg, Ukiah, Willits and Point Arena are now open for the November 8th election. The filing period lasts until August 12th. Four out of the five council seats are up for grabs in Fort Bragg. Three seats are up for reelection in Point Arena, Mendocino County’s smallest incorporated city of about 450 residents. The county’s largest city, Ukiah, also has three seats up for reelection this November. In Willits, two city council seats are up for grabs. Terms run for four years.
A Santa Rosa house fire in which a woman was injured trying to put out the flames last week was caused by a malfunctioning heating device in the garage, fire officials said. The woman escaped the Thursday blaze with three children. The woman was taken to a hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation. Damage from the fire was estimated at $200,000.
Two people died when the aircraft they were riding in crashed Sunday morning in northeast Napa County, authorities said. The crash happened in the Berryessa Estates neighborhood in Pope Valley, according to officials with the FAA and Cal Fire. Nobody else was on board the aircraft, according to officials with the FAA, which is investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board. Firefighters were dispatched to the crash site to put out a fire, which grew to about an acre before it was contained by residents and firefighters
After Lake County’s Community Development director resigned last week, the Board of Supervisors is expected to get an update later this morning on the process to find her successor. The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., in Lakeport.
A ballot initiative that would have raised taxes on California millionaires and billionaires to fund public health programs and pandemic prevention is dead — at least for this year. The Silicon Valley tech executives who bankrolled the measure, which had been targeted for the November ballot, said they aren’t giving up on their goal of creating the strongest state public health system in the country. But they acknowledge COVID-19 is no longer top of mind for most Americans
Horse racing will be making a comeback this August with an 8-day-long meet at this year’s Sonoma County Fair. The Wine Country Horse Racing meet will be the first since 2019, because the fair was canceled in August 2020 due to COVID-19. Last August, coordinators opted for a smaller event they dubbed the Summer Fun Fest, which didn’t include horse racing. The racing will take place August 4th through the 7th and again August 11th through the 14th.
The Bell Fire quickly grew into one of the most significant fires of Mendocino County’s 2022 fire season as it threatened homes along one of the North County’s iconic rural roadways. Located off of Highway 101 between Laytonville and Leggett on Bell Springs Road, the fire reportedly ignited near a landmark known as Blue Rock and quickly spread. The burnsite has been measured to be 43 acres in size and is 85% contained.
Enough trash to fill trash bags lining the entire California coastline twice over. That’s how much trash has been removed in the first year of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative. In just the first 12 months since the $1.1 billion multiyear cleanup effort began last July, Clean California has removed 12,700 tons of trash – which would fill enough trash bags to line the California coastline two times – from California’s roadways, funded 231 projects to revitalize underserved communities, and created nearly 1,500 jobs – with thousands more expected in the coming years.
Health officials reported seven new probable cases of monkeypox in Sacramento County residents on Monday, bringing the county’s total to 21 likely or confirmed infections since late May. The county has reported 13 cases in the past week: two cases last Tuesday and four Wednesday, prior to Monday’s seven. Investigations and contact tracing for the seven latest cases are ongoing, according to county health spokeswoman Samantha Mott. The county said all four were exposed via domestic travel to other states in the U.S.
A new report out of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago shows just how much the exodus from California is gaining steam. Only Illinois ranked worse off than the Golden State when it came to moving vans heading out of state during the pandemic, according to the report, which focused on data from the moving company United Van Lines. In 2018-19, 56% of moves in California were families fleeing the state. By 2020-21, that figure jumped to nearly 60%. The state that was by far the biggest draw of California residents? Texas, the destination for more than 7,500 California families during the four years in the study.
