News 6/1/16

Lake County’s sale of marina property in Nice is not happening… yet. The county entered a sales agreement for Holiday Harbor with Bella Lago Development out of the Bay Area, but apparently the deal fell apart. The Deputy County Administrative Officer Josh Jones tells Lake Co News the property fell out of escrow during due diligence. The Board of Supervisors had approved selling Holiday Harbor to the development company in March. That same company had bought the 104-acre Robin Hill property in Lakeport in a tax default sale in 2014. So it’s back to the drawing board with administrative staff now having to go back to the Board of Supervisors with a new sale resolution.

Cal Trans looking down a potentially huge budget gap has come up with a five-year state transportation funding plan which means cuts to hundreds of millions of dollars in projects statewide. Two projects are in Lake County. Cal Trans has adopted a $754 million budget but put off $755 million more in highway, rail, transit, bicycle and pedestrian project spending. The Record Bee reports the cuts mostly due to a steady loss in gas tax revenue over the past two years after a drop in gasoline prices. $58,000 was supposed to help pay for the extension of Dam Road and Phillips Avenue in Clearlake. That project pushed to the 2020-21 fiscal year. The improvement of the intersection of Lakeport Boulevard and S. Main Street in Lakeport is also being delayed to the same fiscal year. They also took quite a bit of money away from that project, so it remains unclear if it will go thru at all.

CalTrans is making plans public next week on widening part of Highway 29 to four lanes. The public forum on June 8th to discuss the proposal to extend eight miles, the Kit’s Corner intersection in Kelseyville all the way to Diener Drive in Lower Lake. The Record Bee reports there’s concern though that the project would infringe upon wetlands areas. It also requires new right-of- ways so they need to get public input before the final design is chosen. The meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lower Lake High School Gym.

The Lake County chapter of the NAACP bestows honors on St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake and its CEO. The awards last month for improving access to folks with disabilities. The hospital CEO David Santos gets a Silver Life Membership to the NAACP in recognition of his leadership, collaboration and commitment to civil and human rights. The NAACP Chapter President and its Life Membership Chairman worked with Santos and the chapter’s ADA committee the past two years on access issues at the hospital and its affiliated clinics.

Many different species of trees in the Sierra Nevada mountain range — including lodge pole pine, red fir and western white pine are in higher elevations as the planet warms. This according to a new study by state biologists showing from south of Lake Tahoe to the northern Sierra, areas where these types of trees survive best in cooler areas, are moving nearly 500 feet higher than the last 80 years. Researchers say new saplings take root further up mountainsides now. But they also say the trees are adjusting, but it shows impacts are continuing, and that could mean some trees might have nowhere to move up to.

A woman from Ukiah’s recovering after her car crashed into the front of a home, then went down a cliff. A man with his son says they heard a crash yesterday afternoon and saw a woman turn her green Toyota RAV4 and drive up into a neighbor’s house after smashing into a beam at his house. They say the woman then turned around and rolled the car, then took it down a 60 foot cliff. It eventually stopped by some large bushes. The California Highway Patrol reports they’re not yet sure what caused the crash, perhaps the woman was having a medical issue before.

Police in Ukiah report a trio of cars broken into over the long holiday weekend. Police say three separate car owners reported their vehicles were broken into Friday night or early Saturday morning. They all told police their cars were locked up but they found someone forced their way inside and took items including, construction tools, a black softball backpack, men’s Nike softball cleats, a black and gray softball glove and a gray Easton softball bat.

A family announces the death of their grandma in a Spanish newspaper by using a winking face emoji. That’s because their beloved grandma told them she wanted to be remembered in their local paper with her favorite symbol. The 75 year old from Barcelona died Friday, and on Saturday, the announcement of her death was published with the icon. Her son says she was a character and a great mom who never stopped being a child. He says they communicated with mom thru a mobile app and that winking face emoji was her favorite.

News 05/31/16

The body of a man who disappeared over the holiday weekend in a boating accident has been found in Clear Lake. Lake Co News reports a dive team went in after the man, finding his body early yesterday afternoon by Anderson Island near Kelseyville. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office had not released the name of the victim as of late yesterday. They say the boating accident happened around 2 p.m. Saturday. They get a call to Braito’s Marina in Buckingham for a report of a single vessel that went down near Anderson Island with some witnesses reporting the boat fell apart in the water. The cause is being investigated.

The sheep shearing business in Ukiah, once a pipedream, may be up and running by years’ end. The Daily Journal reports Matt Gilbert has been demonstrating how to shear sheep in Hopland. On Saturday he had a shearing audience at the Hopland Research and Extension Center. The center had their yearly Barn to Yarn event. Gilbert’s the self-proclaimed only shearer in Mendocino County. He says he shears as many as 3,500 head a year. He says his dream to have his own wool mill at his home in Ukiah has already gathered $350,000 in startup funding.

A couple new wells coming to Ukiah. The biggest one is 260 feet near the Orchard Avenue Bridge. Another one at 100 feet, also near the bridge. The well to be cleaned out this week, before pumping water and testing the area’s supply. Engineers say if there’s as much water as they hope, another well will be drilled about 20 feet away, with the second one adding to the city’s water supply. But if there’s not enough water, it will monitor groundwater supply.

A man from Fort Bragg busted for DUI after a power pole was hit. Fort Bragg Police Department reports they found a crash in the 100 block of North Main Street early Saturday morning. One car with three people inside hit a light pole. Officers on the scene say the driver, 31 year old Carlos Sanchez-Ku of Fort Bragg, was drunk. They’ve arrested the guy on suspicion of DUI causing injury, which is a felony. He was booked into Mendocino County Jail under $50,000 bail. The other two people with him were taken to a hospital for treatment.

A man from South Lake Tahoe’s been arrested in New Hampshire in connection to the death of another man in Mendocino County. As we reported Joshua Ruoff was being held without bail at the Merrimack County Jail in Concord, N.H. for the murder of Timothy Sweeting, in Covelo between May 17 and May 18. They say the two were connected to a pot farm in Covelo where 300 to 400 plants were found on property owned by New Hampshire residents. Police went to the property after finding out Sweeting had been attacked the day before. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s office went to New Hampshire to investigate further and the DA’s Office is working to extradite Ruoff who’s challenging the process.

Police in Clearlake are on the lookout for a man they say assaulted a woman and grabbed her young child in a park. The child was found later in a restroom at Austin Park. Police got a call to a home in Lower Lake Saturday to a report of a kidnapping. Police found the woman and her 3 year old were at the park and a man approached and started a conversation about her toddler. She says the man was in his 30s, between 5 foot 6 and 5 foot 9, with a thin build, a dark mustache, possibly a beard and long dark hair – which may have been a wig – and a deep voice. She says he asked to hold the tot and she said no, he then pushed her down and she hit her head and he took the child. She found her child, uninjured, but traumatized.

Fire officials say a fire over the weekend may have been caused by a kid playing with fire. Two homes in the Blue Lakes area west of Upper Lake had serious damage. Firefighters called to the garage fire Friday night. They say when they arrived they found the fire had spread to a second home. There were also utility lines down. The fire was under control in about an hour. Lake Co News reports the fire started in the garage of the first home. Three adults and one child had to find another place to live.

The search for a missing teenager goes on after police narrowed the search to the area of Jenner. The Solano County Sheriff’s Dept. reports they moved to search for 15-year-old Pearl Pinson over the weekend, but she’s still not been found. The man suspected of abducting the teen was killed after a shootout with police Thursday. 19 year old Fernando Castro was killed after police saw his car and he tried to get away. A witness told police they saw Castro with a gun, pulling a screaming Pinson across a freeway overpass in Vallejo, where they both lived. The witness reported hearing a gunshot while running for help.

A divorced man has been acquitted in an Italian court for offering to pay child support with pizza. Nicola Toso promised to continue paying to support his daughter in 2002 after the parents divorced. A local newspaper reported the amount at about 300 euros, or about $335, per month. But apparently after the recession hit, the professional pizza maker from Padua couldn’t pay anymore so he offered pizzas, calzone and other meals instead. The ex took him to court, but the judge found no evidence of any crime.

A man in Texas says he was sitting on his porch and was shot in the butt. Police outside of Waco say the man thought he was shot in his left buttock but instead they say he was too high from smoking marijuana to notice that as a thunderstorm passed by his dog was frightened and nipped him in the butt instead. The man called police because he believed he was shot.

Playlist 6/2/16

ARIANA GRANDE-DANGEROUS WOMAN

CALVIN HARRIS W/RIHANNA-THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR

CHAINSMOKERS (THE) W/DAYA-DON’T LET ME DOWN

DRAKE W/WIZKID & KYLA-ONE DANCE

FIFTH HARMONY-WORK FROM HOME

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE-CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!

ALESSIA CARA-WILD THINGS

FLUME W/KAI-NEVER BE LIKE YOU

GRACE W/G-EAZY-YOU DON’T OWN ME

JAMES BAY-LET IT GO

JASON DERULO-IF IT AIN’T LOVE

MEGHAN TRAINOR-ME TOO

NICK JONAS W/TOVE LO-CLOSE

PINK-JUST LIKE FIRE

PITBULL W/ENRIQUE IGLESIAS-MESSIN’ AROUND

RUTH B-LOST BOY

SELENA GOMEZ-KILL EM WITH KINDNESS

SIA-CHEAP THRILLS

TWENTY ONE PILOTS-RIDE

ADELE-SEND MY LOVE (TO YOUR NEW LOVER)

BEBE REXHA W/NICKI MINAJ-NO BROKEN HEARTS

DAYA-SIT STILL, LOOK PRETTY

ELLE KING-AMERICA’S SWEETHEART

KENT JONES-DON’T MIND

MAJOR LAZER W/NYLA & FUSE ODG-LIGHT IT UP

TIMEFLIES-ONCE IN A WHILE

ALAN WALKER-FADED

DNCE-TOOTHBRUSH

ELLIE GOULDING-ARMY

JONAS BLUE W/DAKOTA-FAST CAR

KIIARA-GOLD

ONEREPUBLIC-WHEREVER I GO

TRYON-SOMEBODY TO LOVE ME

News 05/27/16

A morning lockdown at Lakeport Schools was triggered by the appearance of a former teacher. Police say around 7:30am yesterday the former Clear Lake High School teacher Michael Oleson came to the campus and caused a disturbance at the district office. Police say Oleson demanded access to his former office at the high school, then left the district office and headed towards the old office. Police came out and locked down all the campuses as a precautionary measure. Once they searched the campuses and determined Oleson had left the lockdown was lifted.

Ukiah police looking for a couple of people who they say may know something about a fight at the bar called “The Pub” on Monday night. Police say they found a man unconscious there around 8pm and another man assaulted him and he fell and hit his head. As of yesterday afternoon he was in stable condition at an out-of-county hospital. UPD detectives have surveillance footage from outside the bar and are looking for man and woman who seem to be connected with the incident but took off before police got there. You can get a look at them on the UPD Facebook Page, and if you know them, you are asked to call the UPD detective division.

Packed room at the Fort Bragg City Council meeting in support of Overtime Brewery. The wannabe brewery looking to put up a craft beer manufacturing facility on Elm Street. The company says that will entail a brewing system of up to 1,500 barrels per year. They also want to put in a retail store and food and drinks. They have to consider city water and wastewater fees, including capacity fees. So the council has to figure out the total of the fees which could cover capital improvements of the water and wastewater systems.

A teen in Fort Bragg’s been arrested after a report of a stolen car. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s office reports a 14-year-old was found with the car last Wednesday afternoon. Police found the kid after reports of a youngster vandalizing a vehicle in the 29000 block of Highway 20. The report was the juvenile was using a screw driver, crowbar and hammer to vandalize the gray minivan. When deputies were headed that way they found the minivan was stolen from Willits. The teen was taken into custody for alleged possession of a stolen vehicle and brought to the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall.

A mess is still outside a home in Lakeport where the resident died. Neighbors and city staff tried to get it cleaned up. Patrick Joyce had a huge pile of junk on Third Street after almost ten years of complaints that were never addressed. The city’s community development director says Joyce played a cat and mouse game with the city, never really doing much except, just enough to avoid citations and fines. He died last fall but the junk remains. Calls to the bank that owns the home have also gone unanswered. So the city may have to do the abatement after neighbor complaints to the city council last month.

The passenger of a motorcycle driving thru Willits has been injured when a jacket got tangled up in the rear wheel, causing the bike to crash. The Calif. Highway Patrol reports the entangled jacket caused the rear wheel of the motorcycle to lock up and that caused the bike to crash just north of Ridgewood Road. The passenger, Patricia Stone, of Santa Rosa had to be flown to a Hospital with moderate injuries. The bike pilot had minor injuries.

A man from Colorado along with his elderly dad have been sent to prison in connection to a triple murder in Forestville during a marijuana deal. 41 year old Odin Dwyer of Black Hawk was at the home when the men were all shot, but he didn’t pull the trigger. He got 20 years and four months and should be out in about 7 years. Dad, 68 year old Francis Dwyer of Truth or Consequences, N.M. had a minor role in the murders and got eight years and is expected to be out by February. The two had been charged with murder but agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges so they’d testify against Mark Cappello of Central City, Colo. He got life in prison.

A house fire has killed a dog and two lizards on Low Gap Road. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority reports getting a call to the fire across the street from the Mendocino County Administration Building yesterday mid morning after someone noticed smoke coming from the house. Those who live there were not at home at the time. Apparently a family member had driven by, seeing the fire and called them. The dog and two geckos did not survive. Fire officials say they believe an incandescent night light was the likely heat source. The inside of the home was gutted.

A man suspected of kidnapping a teen from Vallejo who was the subject of an amber alert is believed dead. Police say 15 year old Pearl Pinson of Vallejo has not been found though. The Solano County Sheriff’s Department reported canceling the Amber Alert after the car they were in was found. Police say a 19-year-old led them on a high-speed chase in Southern California before stopping and getting involved in a shootout with them. The man suspected of kidnapping Pinson Wednesday morning. A witness telling police they heard a gunshot and the girl screamed but was dragged away across a freeway overpass, bleeding from the face.

Construction workers at a waterfront home in New Jersey find an old 44-foot wooden boat from the 19th century. The boat had its rudder fully intact when it was found under a bungalow yesterday. The Asbury Park Press reported it was probably used back in the day to move coal and other goods along local waterways. There were pieces of coal found along its floor.

The search is on for a couple of giant rodents that escaped a Toronto zoo. A spokeswoman with the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation division says the search for the pair of capybaras from High Park Zoo has been on since Tuesday. The animals look like tailless beavers with short legs. They’re the world’s largest rodents weighing about 30 pounds but they can grow to 100.

News 05/26/16

Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown has been hurt in car accident in which it’s reported he may have run a red light. In happened on Tuesday evening in Lakeport at the corner of Highways 175 and 29. The CHP says Elisa McCracken of Kelseyville was heading North on Hwy 29 as Brown was heading southbound at Hwy 175 and as McCracken was making a left hand turn onto Hwy 175, for some reason Brown failed to stop at the light and came through the intersection, and they collided. The CHP says Brown has minor injuries and McCracken moderate injuries. While they are still investigating, the CHP says alcohol was not a factor.

There’s been a big marijuana grow bust in Clearlake. Police say they’ve found more than 3,000 pot plants and have arrested five men in what was described as a large commercial operation. The Press Democrat reports it went down Monday on three adjacent properties. Arrested were: Vicente Sanchez Montalvo, Carlos Cabata Zazueta, Erik Felix, Manuel Felix, and Manuel Felix Zazueta. Police say some of the plants found in a hoop house were nearly 5 feet tall.

The Clearlake City Council is holding a public hearing on an ordinance to ask voters for a sales tax measure to raise money for city roads and other infrastructure. The council meets tonight at 6pm and the meeting will include a public hearing to introduce the first reading of a proposed ordinance that would place a 1-cent sales tax on the November ballot. The City Clerk says in a report prepared for the meeting that it would raise about $1.6 million a year with 85 percent going to road maintenance and improvements, 10 percent for equipment and personnel and 5 percent for matching grant funding.

A couple of Mendocino County beaches have made Condé Nast Traveler’s list of the "The 20 Most Beautiful Places in California". The mag lists Fort Bragg’s Glass Beach and Bowling Ball Beach south of Point Arena as two of the must-see places in the state. The Press Democrat reports Glass Beach was actually a dump site from the early 1900s until 1967 but is now home to a large deposit of multi-colored sea glass. Bowling Ball Beach has huge smooth sandstone formations softened by the waves and resembling lined up bowling balls.

The Mendocino College President/Superintendent is a finalist for a job in San Diego. Arturo Reyes at a public forum yesterday at Palomar Community College District who is searching for a new president/superintendent. Besides Reyes, there are two other finalists for the job. Reyes has worked at Mendocino College for the past three years. He says the opportunity, his family, extended family, and future retirement were factors in his decision to consider Palomar. He says it would be a difficult decision to make should he be chosen.

2 of 3 candidates running for the 3rd Congressional district, including the incumbent all have at least six figures in their campaign accounts. Incumbent Rep. John Garamendi, a Democrat; Dr. N. Eugene Cleek, a Republican from Orland; and Ryan Detert, a Republican from Davis are running for the seat. Garamendi has the most with more than $603,000 in his campaign account, according to the last campaign finance disclosure statements. He’s been in Congress since 2009. Cleek, a physician, farmer and small-business owner has more than $126,000 and looks to have loaned his campaign almost $211,000. Detert, a UC Davis Internet technology employee, is self-funding and had a bit more than $8,000.

More than $10,000 raised for Worldwide Healing Hands for this year’s Hike 4 Healing in Lake County. Sponsors, supporters, volunteers and about 30 hikers at this year’s Hike, which is an annual fundraiser. The nonprofit gives money for health services in underserved areas across the world and free health screenings for homeless and impoverished in Lake County. Those involved hiked the Wright Summit Trail on Mount Konocti for a 6 mile round-trip.

A consumer advocacy group says after the release of 100,000 emails, they find the Public Utilities Commission may not be on the up and up connected to the fatal pipeline explosion that leveled a San Bruno neighborhood. The so-called “PUC Papers” released by Consumer Watchdog after a public records request. It shows meetings and talks by top officials at the state PUC, including its current president, and multiple executives in the power industry and financial dept. That also showed encounters with Wall Street execs looking for insight and information about the regulatory climate in California and how it affects major utilities such as PG&E.

A Senate committee says yes to legislation so a drinking water contamination event can’t happen in Calif. like in Flint, Michigan. The Senate Appropriations Committee heard the bill by State Senator Lois Wolk of Davis to protect hundreds of thousands of California families residing in neighborhoods without access to safe and reliable drinking water or adequate sanitation services. Wolk says all residents in the state should have the right to safe drinking water and wastewater services to prevent another situation like in Flint. The bill would require cities and special districts to identify, analyze and map disadvantaged communities and make drinking water and wastewater services available to the communities before extending services to other areas.

A swarm of aggressive bees that killed two dogs and wreaked havoc on a neighborhood were not Africanized honey bees after all. State agricultural officials tested the DNA of seven of the bees that stormed a Concord neighborhood earlier this month. State Scientists say they were Africanized honey bees of European origin. Two miniature Dachshunds were killed by the bees. They were stung more than 50 times ea.

A man from Fort Bragg has been arrested for trying to rob a neighbor. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reports Matthew Rantala was jailed on suspicion of armed robbery, residential burglary and personal use of a deadly weapon. The victim says she was in her kitchen and a strange man with his face partially covered confronted her and demanded money. Kay Graves says she told him she didn’t have money so the man went to leave and she saw a gun. She called 911 and cops found the gun, a fake, and a disguise he had on. He’s held on $200,000 bail.

Another delay in the construction of a Costco for Ukiah. There’s a hearing set for the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco June 15th regarding the holdup in the construction of the big box store. The warehouse might have already been up and running if the lawsuit wasn’t filed. The Daily Journal reports some residents concerned if the delay will mean Costco officials will lose interest in building here. The newspaper reports the Ukiah Planning Commission Chair had asked the Planning Director about the concerns of some earlier this year. Costco is however paying lawyers to represent them. The city of Ukiah’s got California Environmental Quality Act lawyers helping.

The ex grant development director for Detroit Public Schools is charged with bogus tutoring services. Carolyn StarkeyDarden is accused of putting together a fake company and getting almost $1.3 million by lying about the tutoring services, running a scam, submitting phony invoices for 7 years. The services were never provided to kids. StarkeyDarden’s charged with federal program theft and faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 if convicted.

A swarm of bees followed their queen trapped inside a car. The Mitsubishi Outlander had the queen inside. Its owner, Carol Howarth says she went shopping, not knowing the queen was in her car and when she got back thousands of bees were attached to her vehicle. A Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ranger driving by saw the insects and says he just "couldn’t resist getting involved!" A local Beekeepers Association was called and they got the bees into a box but not without stinging their captors first. It happened again the next day though. The bee keepers association came out again and rescued the vehicle.

News 05/25/16

If you have property in the Valley Fire burn area and want the County to remove damaged trees in county right of ways, the deadline to apply for a Right of Entry form is coming. Lake County officials say property owners in the burn area must complete the ROE by June 17th to allow County contractors access to private property. A certified arborist will examine trees then decide if they need to go, if so the county contractor will remove them. The County says this is the last chance for you to do an ROE and have them do the work. After that you will have to pay for any tree removal if needed within the County right-of-way and be liable for damage from fallen trees. You can get the ROE at the website www.LakeCountyRecovers.com.

An ex resident of San Francisco now living in Idaho having her childhood home renovated and construction workers found a 120 year old casket under the house. The casket for a little girl. It had no identifying marks or name on the coffin. Apparently in the early 1900s, San Francisco officials ordered most large graveyards to exhume and relocate caskets to Colma. The woman who owns that home says she thinks one of those cemeteries accidentally left the girl’s coffin behind when they moved in the 1930s.

A new draft environmental impact report is up for the Central Coast Transfer Station. The Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority is gathering public comments on the draft until June 24th. There’s a meeting set for June 16th at the Fort Bragg Town Hall. It’s not a joint meeting with the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors but they’re invited to attend. The revised report regarding replacing the solid waste transfer and disposal system that the county of Mendocino and the city of Fort Bragg own. It’s operated by Solid Waste of Willits and Empire Waste Management. The new station would be off Highway 20 in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest.

Major turnout already for the primary. A firm in LA that tracks voter trends says Californians are registering in huge numbers that they’ve not seen since the Reagan Revolution. The firm, Political Data says more than twice as many Californians have registered than in the same four-month period in 2012. They also say the new voters trend towards young and Democratic. Groups they say are more inspired by Bernie Sanders than Donald Trump. The firm says they usually see more voters for presidential elections, but usually in the summer or fall. The first quarter of the year had more than 850,000 new voters and 600,000 others re-registered. Plus almost 200,000 more Californians registered through Facebook just last Monday and Tuesday.

A giant wildfire already this spring. Fire officials say the fire in a rural and mostly agricultural section of the Central Coast. The fire burning near Soledad in Monterey County has charred almost 4,000 acres and is only 20 percent contained. So far no injuries reported and no homes or other structures are being threatened. The fire started last Sunday, burning 800 acres in the first two hours but exploded to almost 4,000 acres due to strong winds. Six air tankers and two choppers were working with 135 firefighters on the ground.

Unemployment down in Lake County as well as the state. The California Employment Development Department has released a new report on unemployment for April showing Lake County’s unemployment rate was 6.7 percent, down from a revised 7.3 percent in March and under the 7.5 percent from a year ago. This is the third consecutive month the county’s jobless rate was down. The statewide unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. Lake County’s rate was No. 32 out of California’s 58 counties in April. The lowest unemployment in Calif. was San Mateo County at 2.9 percent and Imperial had the highest, with 20.1 percent.

A small fire meant a generating tower at the world’s largest solar power plant so it was operating at just a third of its capacity. Firefighters had to climb up about 300 feet on a boiler tower at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California. The plant uses mirrors focusing sunlight on boilers on three 459-foot tall towers. That apparently creates steam that drive turbines to produce electricity. There were some misaligned mirrors that moved the sunbeams to a different level which caused electrical cables to catch fire. A spokesman for plant operator NRG Energy says they’re investigating.

It won’t be until August for a lawsuit filed by a supporter of Bernie Sanders to extend California’s voter registration deadline before the June 7th primary. The lawyer in the case arguing the process for unaffiliated voters needing a presidential primary ballot, especially those for the Democratic primary, was confusing and many voters were left disenfranchised. He also says in his filing that at least two counties never notified some voters of their right to request a ballot to vote in the Democratic, Libertarian or American Independent Party contests.

News 05/24/16

A man from Piercy has been arrested for illegal discharge of a gun. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reports getting a call to a home where a woman says she heard a gunshot outside her home. She says she saw Bradley Nystrom standing in front of her house with a shotgun. She says the man also stole her wheelbarrow, shot off the gun again, then walked home. Deputies and the California Highway Patrol arrested Nystrom for an outstanding arrest warrant, armed robbery, possession of a loaded firearm in a public place and the discharge of a shotgun within 500 yards of an occupied dwelling. He was held on $75,000.00 bail.

The name has been released of a motorcyclist killed near Ukiah Saturday afternoon by a suspected drunken driver. The Mendocino County Coroner’s Office says Ingrid Fedje of Pacheco was killed while riding on Highway 20 in the Jackson Demonstration Forest. They say Jesse Bourdeaux, who was going the opposite way, lost control of his pickup truck and went across the center line, hitting Fedje’s motorcycle. Bourdeaux was not hurt. The CHP says he is charged with gross vehicular manslaughter with intoxication and drunken driving causing injuries. He was being held in the Mendocino County Jail with bail set at $200,000.

That Marijuana Cultivation Urgency Ordinance has been unanimously adopted by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. The ordinance passed after meetings last week that included a presentation from the Medical Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee. Apparently the amendment has a more stringent definition of “legal parcel” than when it was previously in effect. It also has new requirements for wildlife fencing and secure fertilizer storage; and requires anyone cultivating more than 25 plants to follow several conditions designed to limit community and environmental impacts. The amendment doesn’t change the 25-plant-per-parcel limit, but it allows an exemption for those who were cultivating before January 1, 2016, allowing for up to 50 plants on a legal parcel of no less than five acres and up to 99 plants on a legal parcel of no less than ten acres.

A home that caught fire where a boy died in Vallejo may have been intentionally set… by the 5 year old’s dad. Police say the boy’s dad lit the fire and he’s on the run. Darrylone Shuemake Sr. is wanted for the weekend fire which also hurt the boy’s mom and teenage brother. Fire officials say heavy smoke and flames were coming out of the house as crews arrived Sunday morning. Neighbors tried getting inside the house to get the boy out and firefighters also couldn’t get him out in time. Mom had second- and third-degree burns and the teenage boy had minor burns.

A greenlight for plans to turn a vacant lot near the center of Graton into housing and a community park. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors have greenlit the project which a local developer says he hopes to break ground on this fall. The nearly 1.5-acre Green Valley Village just one of the same developer’s projects in town. He’s renovated about 6 buildings along Graton Road. The new project is closeby, just behind Underwood Bar and Bistro. There are plans for 10 densely positioned, two-story homes, two of which will be built by Habitat for Humanity.

Just as Mendocino’s privatized mental health services makes a transfer, the board of supervisors gets an update from consultant Lee Kemper who was the one who prepared a report for the county last winter. That report recommended guidelines to totally overhaul the county’s services. The Daily Journal reports the Health and Human Services Exec. Dir. was also at the meeting last week to talk about the transition with updates on staff openings the county needs to fill before the July 1 transition deadline. The transfer after the county’s adult services provider Ornter Management Group cancelled its contract in March.

A probation officer out of Nevada County’s taking over as the new Mendocino County chief probation officer. Pamela Markham has been appointed to take over for the current Chief Buck Ganter, who is retiring in July. She’ll start July 5th. She was the probation program manager in Nevada County, and had also been a deputy probation officer there. Markham lives in Lakeport. She says she’s honored to get the position and is excited to work in the county.

The world’s slowest pursuit. That’s what California Highway Patrol officers say happened on Interstate 80 near Oakland. A CHP officer telling the San Francisco Chronicle they got a call to a flock of baby geese that had toddled onto the left lane of the highway. Officers stopped traffic and rounded up the birds and escorted them off the freeway.

Facebook is getting rid of one way they get their trending topics, relying on media companies. It comes after a leak by some inside the giant social network about how items get posted as a “trending topic” and a report saying it suppressed conservative views. Facebook’s General Counsel has released a letter that he sent to the Republican chairman of the commerce committee, Sen. John Thune which oversees the Internet and consumer protections. The company has said it’s found no evidence of systemic political bias.

News 05/23/16

Two new commissioners have been appointed by the Mendocino County Fish and Game Commission and another incumbent Commissioner was reappointed too. 3rd District Representative Terry Guerrero is Newly Appointed along with 4th District Representative David Wright and Inland Member at Large Randy Vann, who’s also the Vice Chair was reappointed. There are a couple vacancies too, for anyone interested, contact Clerk of the Board staff at 463-4441.

A 12-year-old student from Sacramento with three community college degrees to his name already has now been accepted to not one, but two, University of California campuses. Tanishq Abraham was accepted to UC Davis and also got a regents scholarship for UC Santa Cruz. He says he wants to study biomedical engineering and become a doctor and medical researcher by the age of 18. He’s not decided which of the UC campuses he’ll attend, but says when he’s 18 he’ll go for his M.D. He started going to community college at age 7 got his associate’s degrees from American River College, in Sacramento, in general science; math and physical science; and foreign language studies.

Police in Glenn County looking for any info on a man that was reported missing last week. John Thomas Maiers hasn’t been seen since last Monday at the Sacramento Airport. The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office reports Maiers’ friend reported him missing the day after. The Sheriff’s dept. reports Maiers was supposed to head to the Kettenpom Store in Zenia and meet his friend there but never showed up. A search was launched in the Mendocino National Forest and the California Highway Patrol was conducting an air search. He’s described as being 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, with blue eyes, shoulder length brown hair and a long beard and is known to have a camouflage backpack with him.

A man reported missing from Mendocino County. The Sheriff’s office reports Timothy Sweeting vanished last Tuesday after suspicious circumstances. They say his 1999 white Chevy Tahoe was found Thursday abandoned near mile marker 32 on Highway 162. Friends and family asking anyone with info regarding Timothy’s whereabouts or anyone who saw his Tahoe between last Tuesday and Thursday to call Detective Luis Espinoza on the TIP line at 707-234-2100.

A teenager from Cloverdale has been seriously hurt after his speeding car slid off rain-slick street and hit a tree. The CHP says firefighters had to cut open 19 year old Austyn Johnson’s 2001 Chrysler 3000 to get him out. He was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries. The CHP reports he was driving at a high rate of speed when he lost control out of a curve and his driver’s side door slammed the tree. A passenger with him had minor injuries. Johnson had on a seat belt and police say they had no reason to think he was drinking. No ticket was given.

A vote of no confidence for the Fort Bragg Unified School District Superintendent. The District Board of Trustees had a meeting last week to talk about the administration and Superintendent Chuck Bush was talked about with the vote formally presented to the board. The Fort Bragg District Teachers Association President says about 89 percent of their permanent certificated employees signed the petition and out of 115 members, around 20 percent are probationary, so one third were willing to sign the petition. She told the board most who signed it, said they were afraid for their jobs, but signed anyway. Some concerns noted were a climate of fear that was seen as vindictive.

Volunteers at Art Explorers have reported a man coming rambling about Measure U. Police got a call to the nonprofit that works with developmentally disabled adults after getting a call about Rex Gresset causing a scene in front of the students. The director of Art Explorers says Gresset was telling people the nonprofit would be shut down. Measure U, if approved, would mean some cuts to social services in the Central Business District. A dad of one of the students at the Art center tried to get Gresset out but then says Gresset threatened him. Gresset says he never raised his voice, or touched anyone.

A representative of FEMA answering questions by those concerned about impostors posing as FEMA inspectors in connection to the Valley Fire. Several Valley Fire-related Facebook pages have warnings for survivors about inspectors seen at construction sites and FEMA mobile housing units without badges or proper uniforms. But FEMA says they heard about this in April and had no official preventative inspectors in the county displaying the proper badges as it was not told to them that they had to wear a photo ID. They say now that they know, they’ve taken care of it. So FEMA shut down the inspection team and got new badges for them with operations picking back up.

The first draft of an ordinance has been released which would help survivors of all three of last summer’s fires so they could rebuild their homes without conforming to the current county zoning code. The Lake County Community Development Department released the language for the ordinance that is similar in wording to one in Napa County where similar issues came up after a fire back in 1981. Their measure permitted legal non-conforming structures to go up as long as the new building wasn’t transferred or abandoned and it was about the same size as before the fire.

The dad of a baby found dead last year has been arrested in Woodland. Justice Rees was found dead outside Knights Landing. There was a warrant for mom and dad after the three week old baby was found along Ridge Cut Slough near Knights Landing where police also found methamphetamine, a smoke pipe, and ammunition. Rees was arrested in March of last year on possession charges, for violating his probation, and for being an ex-felon in possession of ammunition. Then he was arrested again the same month on different charges in Yolo County and for child endangerment, driving on a suspended license, and impaired driving in Lake County.

P,G&E is having low-level helicopter patrols inspecting electric distribution lines for maintenance in rural and remote areas of Mendocino and Lake Counties. The chopper is flying at about 500 feet unless there’s livestock or other obstacles. The patrols look at remote power lines by helicopter for safety reasons and to check the reliability of its electric system. It’s happening this morning until 4 this afternoon, weather permitting in Little River, Albion, Ukiah, Talmage, Calpella, Yorkville, Kelseyville, parts of Lower Lake and surrounding areas.

A Spanish priest who says he gave up hope that potholes would be fixed in his parish of Xestoso asked instead for divine intervention. Luis Roldan Patino outside on a damaged road celebrating mass yesterday, splashing holy water on the road to bless it. All of the potholes now marked with a wooden cross so drivers will slow down before hitting them. He says he’s pleading for divine intervention just like they pray for rain. He says local authorities are quote “blind to the situation" and they feel "totally abandoned.”

It took 40 minutes for a trio of mayors from Pennsylvania to be rescued from an elevator they got caught in. The Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto stuck in the Westin Hotel elevator last Thursday night with the mayors of Millvale and Leetsdale, as they were all attending a meeting of the Allegheny League of Municipalities. Apparently nobody stuck in the elevator could get cellphone service, but then one of the other stranded passengers who worked at the hotel got maintenance crews and first responders there with a walkie-talkie. The mayors meanwhile, took a selfie with their phones as they waited.

Playlist 5/26/16

ARIANA GRANDE-DANGEROUS WOMAN

CHAINSMOKERS (THE) W/DAYA-DON’T LET ME DOWN

DRAKE W/WIZKID & KYLA-ONE DANCE

FIFTH HARMONY-WORK FROM HOME

LUKAS GRAHAM-7 YEARS

ZARA LARSSON W/MNEK-NEVER FORGET YOU

ALESSIA CARA-WILD THINGS

CALVIN HARRIS W/RIHANNA-THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR

DESIIGNER-PANDA

FLUME W/KAI-NEVER BE LIKE YOU

GRACE W/G-EAZY-YOU DON’T OWN ME

JAMES BAY-LET IT GO

JASON DERULO-IF IT AIN’T LOVE

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE-CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!

NICK JONAS W/TOVE LO-CLOSE

PINK-JUST LIKE FIRE

PITBULL W/ENRIQUE IGLESIAS-MESSIN’ AROUND

RIHANNA-KISS IT BETTER

RUTH B-LOST BOY

SELENA GOMEZ-KILL EM WITH KINDNESS

TWENTY ONE PILOTS-RIDE

BEBE REXHA W/NICKI MINAJ-NO BROKEN HEARTS

BELLY W/THE WEEKND-MIGHT NOT

DAYA-SIT STILL, LOOK PRETTY

ELLE KING-AMERICA’S SWEETHEART

JEREMIH-OUI

MAJOR LAZER W/NYLA & FUSE ODG-LIGHT IT UP

SIA-CHEAP THRILLS

ALAN WALKER-FADED

ELLIE GOULDING-ARMY

JONAS BLUE W/DAKOTA-FAST CAR

KENT JONES-DON’T MIND

MEGHAN TRAINOR-ME TOO

TIMEFLIES-ONCE IN A WHILE

TRYON-SOMEBODY TO LOVE ME

News 05/19/16

The Mendocino County Executive Office has announced its done with the fiscal analysis of the charter county initiative that will be on the ballot in June. The County CEO Carmel Angelo came before the Board of Supervisors with the analysis Tuesday and posed three likely scenarios if the board went with the charter commission: minimal, moderate or expanded support options. Minimal support would be $50,000 to $100,000 in county funds needed, moderate support to require $100,000 to $200,000 in county funds and as much as $300,000 or more for expanded support.

Operation Dry Water will include participation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol Unit. It’s a national boating under the influence (BUI) awareness and enforcement campaign. The idea to draw attention to the dangers of boating under the influence and to remove impaired boaters from waterways. It’s the eighth year, Operation Dry Water partners with recreational boaters, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. This time around it happens, June 24th, 25th and 26th the first official weekend of summer. Those found with a blood alcohol content higher than .08%, could be arrested and jailed. Operation Dry Water a joint program of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and the U.S. Coast Guard.

National Police week is coming. Communities across the US get together this week honoring law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, and for family members, friends and fellow officers they left behind. This year there are 252 officers killed in the line of duty that have been added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. The 252 officers include 123 officers killed during 2015 and another 129 officers who died in past years but their stories are just being made public now. All of their names have been formally dedicated during the 28th Annual Candlelight Vigil last Friday, May 13th.

A man from Clearlake’s been arrested and several weapons taken from him after a domestic violence investigation. Clearlake Police say John Robert Mee faces multiple felony charges including domestic violence, criminal threats, child endangerment, brandishing a firearm, and many other weapons charges. Police allege Mee threatened to kill his wife and assaulted her. Responding officers finding her with several injuries. Lake County News reports as a convicted felon, Mee is prohibited from owning guns, but during a search police found seven firearms, including a short-barrelled rifle and a flare launcher. A police spokesman told the news site there were some young kids in the home who had access to some of the guns. Mee’s bail was set at $350,000; police also obtained an emergency protective order for his wife.

A panhandling law in the works for Lakeport. The City Council has introduced the first reading of an ordinance to address soliciting and panhandling. It was presented by Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and as Lake County News reports would require anyone participating in soliciting activities to apply for a free permit that would be valid for 30 days unless revoked. The new rules would apply to anyone planning to solicit – including nonprofits and community groups – so that anyone asking for money without a permit could more easily be told to stop. The City Attorney explained that people have a First Amendment right to ask for money, although not aggressively, and while an ordinance could help protect property owners, in the big picture it’s not really legally enforceable. A public hearing is set for June 7th.

A woman from Clearlake’s been arrested in connection to the stabbing of a man. Police say Sara Thomas was arrested for the stabbing which they say happened after the woman tried to steal the victim’s pickup truck after he refused to give her a cigarette. She’s charged with attempted murder, burglary, armed robbery and vehicle theft. Her neighbor, Andrew Beckerley was the man attacked. Cops say he had several wounds and had to be flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. He’s listed in stable condition. Thomas lives in a granny unit in the back of the home.

A man who killed 3 people in Forestville has been sent to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mark Cappello of Central City, CO convicted of killing Raleigh Butler, Richard Lewin and Todd Klarkowski in February of 2013 in a drug deal gone bad. 2 of the victims family members yelled at Cappello in court yesterday. He killed the three after forcing them to kneel on the floor of a home. He packed up almost 100 pounds of pot to take to the East Coast but was caught as he tried getting away. He was convicted this past March.

40 years of public service for the California Conservation Corps. The Governor Jerry Brown established the corp in 1976. Celebrations across the state and around the world. When it was founded, Brown likened the corp to “a combination Jesuit seminary, Israeli kibbutz and Marine Corps boot camp.” There’s been more than 3 million hours of conservation work and disaster assistance across California ea year. That can include emergency response, energy conservation, irrigation system installation, landscape management, boardwalk construction and wildlife habitat restoration. The Ukiah Center boasts a fire crew that works with the U.S. Forest Service who have worked across the west with wildfires.

7.5 million dollars into Mendocino County thanks to the district attorney’s marijuana restitution program. The Mendocino County Grand Jury released the report on the program after an internal investigation after complaints by the public and certain public officials about the marijuana program. Some calling it a “pay for play” program giving preferential treatment to people with money to pay the fees, which they complain discriminates against those who can’t pay. The DA David Eyster started the program in 2011 after first being elected to office.

Police in Hawaii searching for whoever broke in and took off with six dogs from a Humane Society shelter. Police say three mixed breed pit bulls, two Airedale terriers and a 2-month-old lab mix named Arianna, were kidnapped from the Kauai shelter sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. They say the crew cut off a lock on a gate and abducted the pups. Arianna however, has a microchip implanted. The Humane Society has offered a $5,000 reward for any tips leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever’s responsible.

Sometimes it’s best to look in the toilet before being seated. A baby opossum had to be rescued from a toilet in Pacific Beach. The San Diego County Department of Animal Services says the creature was found May 1st by a woman in her toilet. An animal control officer went to the home and took the little guy to the San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife. They’ll release it when it’s old enough to survive on its own.