The city of Ukiah’s Public Spaces Commission discussed creating a new park at the end of Norgard Lane. The Ukiah Daily Journal reports that the city owns the property at that location and the area has already been tagged as being underserved in terms of having a park. Also, a staff report confirmed the need for additional park access on the south end of the city, which would meet the goal of every Ukiah resident living within a half mile of a park. The 2.8-acre site even features an old barn that could be refurbished for some kind of park use, depending on community input.
Congressman Jared Huffman says the annual Congressional Art Competition is now accepting submissions from high school students throughout Mendocino County. The Mendocino Voice reports that every year, thousands of high school students across the country submit their best work of art to their local congressional representative’s office and each representative selects one artist’s work to represent their district for one year at a gallery at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Students from throughout the 2nd District (Marin, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties and a portion of Sonoma County) are invited to submit their art, which will be accepted through April 18. For more information, go to huffman.house.gov.
A reminder from city officials. The City of Fort Bragg says as of April 1, the local Sales Tax rate will increase to 9.25%, and the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) rate will increase to 14%. The rate hikes were approved by Fort Bragg voters this past November through the passage of Measure T, the (Sales Tax) and Measure U (Transient Occupancy Tax).The new Sales tax applies to most retail sales and the TOT increase—which went from 12% to 14% applies to stays at local hotels, motels, vacation rentals, and other short-term lodgings within city limits.
Fort Bragg City Manager Isaac Whippy says the additional revenue will help the city keep up with rising costs, improve infrastructure, and ensure a solid financial future for Fort Bragg.
The state’s total cannabis tax revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was down more than 13% to $219 million compared to the previous quarter. That’s according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration’s March 5 report. The Press Democrat reports that it also declined by over $56 million year over year for the same three-month period. By the way, since January 2018, the state has collected more than $6.5 billion in total cannabis tax revenue. About half that is the and sales tax accounts for about one third of that total. As of three years ago, the state stopped collecting cultivation tax. On a side note, the United Cannabis Enforcement Task Force is reporting that it seized $534 million in illegal cannabis last year.
Mendocino County made the list of top 10 counties for enforcement activity, with $52.5 million worth of product confiscated and destroyed.
Phase three of the updated California Fire Hazard Severity Zones is now open to public viewing. The Office of the State Fire Marshal and Cal Fire unveiled a map with updated areas deemed a very high or high fire hazard in the northern middle part of the state. Previous Cal Fire hazard maps only had a "very high" category, but have since added a "high" and "moderate" category. New regulations begin this year to help homeowners impacted by recent wildfires to rebuild under the revised requirements.
