Clearlake Police will be temporarily closing Lakeshore Drive tomorrow morning. It will be around Olympic Drive to Pomo Dive for an hour starting at 9am. Pomo Road from Lakeshore to Arrowhead will also be closed until 10am.
Caltrans is hosting a virtual open house for the Pudding Creek Bridge upgrade tomorrow from 5:30 to 6:30. The agency will give information on the project at the north end of Fort Bragg. In MendoVoice online, the cost of the project for the new bridge is about $8.5 million. The 65 year old bridge is getting rehabbed to be wider and more pedestrian friendly. Caltrans expects backups throughout the summer there.
A fight that erupted at the Lake County Fairgrounds left one person with serious injuries, and authorities are asking for help finding the people responsible for the assault. It happened Sunday, at the second night of the Memorial Weekend Opener for the Lakeport Speedway. Lake County News is reporting just before 10pm, a brawl broke out during the boat races. Joseph Simpson of Ukiah was injured and airlifted to Kaiser in Vacaville. Nelson was beat up by several people. Organizers say the crowd size contributed to the disruption. If anyone knows anything about the battery, place call CHP Clear Lake.
At least two people were injured in a crash near the Mendocino and Humboldt County lines. It happened Saturday when a truck rolled off of Highway 101 and landed on its side. Grace and Bobby Hill were driving home when the truck veered off the road. Grace had just gone through surgery for a broken arm. According to information on KymKemp online, a GoFundMe has been set up for the couple, who only had liability insurance. First responders sent for a helicopter to take the two injured to the hospital.
A tourist from Argentina was sentenced to five years in state prison for robbery. Matias Vietto was sentenced Friday for robbery with a gun last December. Vietto robbed Mi Esperanza Market in Boonville and took $17,000 in cash then fled. Vietto went to San Francisco then flew to New York City, where he was arrested by the New York Port Authority. According to MendoFever online, Vietto’s parents wired the stolen cash amount in restitution to Mendocino County. Vietto says a cocaine addiction that triggered his behavior.
State Farm Insurance has announced it will stop covering property and casualty insurance in the state. The company said Friday that rising construction costs and catastrophe exposure are too much to handle in California. In the Press Democrat, they will stop accepting applications for coverage on Saturday for personal and business lines. State Farm said it will work with the California Department of Insurance to restore its coverage in the state. The company has the largest share of property and casualty insurance in the US and controls over 8 percent of California’s market. Friday evening, a spokesperson said there are factors beyond their control including climate change and global inflation that prompted the company to stop issuing new policies.
California’s own Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to deliver a commencement at West Point on Saturday. The AP is reporting that Harris congratulated about 950 graduates but warned of an unsettled world with Russian aggression and threats from China. The visit is her first to the academy, as she joined the Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth who just 2 years ago became the first woman to hold the top civilian post.
Ukiah Police arrested a man for choking a woman last week. In a release in the Ukiah Daily Journal, Andru Campbel had a restraining order filed against him by the victim and has a history of domestic violence charges. Campbell was found and arrested on Thomas Street, at what some sources say was a relative’s home. He is charged with suspicion of domestic battery, and violating probation and a protective order and more. He is in the Mendocino County Jail under a S130 thousand bond.
US Representative Jared Huffman announced he is reintroduction the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forests Act. Huffman said Thursday that the act would include nearly 260,000 acres of national forest in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties as federal wilderness. That would include about 480 miles of river under the nation’s strictest environmental protections for waterways, according to the Press Democrat. The bill would include wildfire mitigation work in the 2020 August Complex wildfire footprint. It’s a package of 3 bills lawmakers call the Protecting Unique and Beautiful Landscapes by Investing in California, an acronym PUBLIC.
The US Forest Service can continue to use fire retardant while fighting wildfires. A US District Court in Montana ruled in favor of the department to use the firefighting tool, and was a loss for an environmental case against the stuff. Plaintiffs argue the retardant chemical violates the Clean Water Act. In Lake County News, the case for tool helps prevent wildfire from spreading and causing more harm outweighs the fact that some parts of retardant may harm water tables.
A Mendocino County worker is in jail charged with having hundreds of image of child pornography. Brian Klovski works for he county in sensitive data about the local homeless community. In KymKemp online, the 43 year old is facing two felony counts, and includes imaging of kids under 12 years old. Klovski works for the social services department as the county’s Homeless Management information System Administrator according to his social media information. He was hired in 2016. Klovski was taken to jail last Friday with bail set at $50,000.
The Clearlake Police Department is looking for a missing teenager. The 13 year old is a white kid wit short brown hair and brown eyes. His name is Dominick Berwisk. Dominick is 5 foot 6 and weighs about 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a brown jacket and black pants with white tennis shoes in the Clearlake area. If you’ve seen Dominick or have any information, call Clearlake Police at 707-994-8251, extension 1.
In a ruling that angered environmentalists, the US Supreme Court ruled last week to decrease protections for wetlands. However, the state of California will still work to protect the waterways despite the federal ruling. Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered that the Clean Water Act only applies to wetlands connected to bodies of water. In the court’s order, five justices implied that if they don’t limit federal authority, many landowners would be at risk of criminal prosecution.
Teachers unions in districts nationally and in California are demanding better pay, benefits and class sizes among other demands as they renew their contracts. In the Record Bee, the unions are bargaining in the common good, a process that updates facilities, increases medical staff and more. The common good labor practice is not the norm in the state, according to a spokesman for the California School Boards Association. A report on the budget outlook shows California is unlikely to afford spending levels as they sit now. Unions want to see thousands of new schools in California over the next eight years.
California legislators pushed bills forward just before the holiday weekend. They include increased requirements to get a Carry Conceal Permit in the state. Another bill allows legislative staffers the right to unionize. A bill on the way would divest state pension funds in fossil fuel companies. Another bill is proposing increased protections for California abortion providers. And finally, the Senate approved a bill to decriminalize hallucinogens like magic mushrooms.
The Regional Parks River Shuttle is running again, taking people to two beaches along the Russian River. The bus will run now through Labor Day 10am to 6pm on weekends. Every half hour the bus will take people from Forestville to Steelhead Beach Regional Park and Sunset Beach River Park. In the Press Democrat, tickets are $5 and kids under 18 are free.
Fort Bragg’s City Council will gather next Monday for a special meeting on the proposed Grocery Outlet. In MendoVoice, it’s part of the latest planning for the company to build a franchise in Fort Bragg. The old county building at the south end of Franklin Street will be demolished if Grocery Outlet builds a store there as planned. Sometimes, the franchise rehabs a site to build on, but the site in Fort Bragg is too old and moldy. The meeting on June 5th is a one item agenda that includes certification of Grocery Outlet’s environmental impact report. Lindy Peters, a member of the city council said the Mayor will recuse himself from the vote, as he owns property near the site. The 4-member council will vote next Tuesday.
Sea otters may be reintroduced to the North Coast, according to reporting on a summit last week organized by Sonoma County officials. The Press Democrat reports that a study by the US Fish and Wildlife Service analyzed the potential for the sea otter’s return could help stabilize the northern kelp forest and help the ecology of the near shore habitat. The otters could help get the sea urchin population under control. Studies show that not only do otters have the potential to balance ecosystems near shore, but also could help grow eelgrass, that has recently decreased significantly near coastal rivers. The sea otters also play a cultural and ceremonial role for local tribes. There may be community open houses this summer on sea otter reintroduction if the proposal is approved.
Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest Calso Camp is closed for this season. In Lake County New, the announcement from Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa says State Forest staff will be making repairs to trails, roads and buildings after last winter’s storms wreaked damages across the area. Day-use will be allowed with firewood and rock gathering permits. If you plan to visit, staff ask that people to check area closures and signs as they continue their work.
Lake County will begin their summer reading program this week. Thursday, the library will start the challenge for young children to teens and even adults in the “Find Your Voice” themed program. Starting June 1, you can register for the summer reading challenge on the Library’s website or in person at the Lake County Library. This Saturday, June 3, starting at 10:30 am, the library will host a Super Sign Up event with sidewalk chalk and activities for the kids. If you reach 1,000 points in the program you will also have a book donated to the library in your name by the Friends of the Lake County Library.
A new state law may make it harder for livestock grazing companies to help mitigate fire risk. In the AP today, a law is making its way through the legislature that requires goat and sheep herders to get overtime pay for herding the animals. New state labor regulations could raise the monthly salary of herders from about $4,000 to $14,000, according to the California Farm Bureau. Labor advocates say the state should investigate their work and living conditions especially since the state is funding goat grazing to reduce wildfire risk. A Northern California company that uses goat grazers says demand has grown a lot this year. But in January, if new laws take effect, prices will have to rise if herders become farm workers and get the same protections in labor laws.
