Protestors out to protect DACA in Lakeport. Folks with signs that said “Honk if you support DACA” held up by about 60 people Tuesday. They’re speaking out after President Trump announced he would rescind the program put into place by President Obama a couple of years ago to protect the children of illegal immigrants who came to the U-S with their parents. There are about 800-thousand so-called Dreamers in the U-S, about a quarter of them in Calif. So that got folks in Lakeport and some from Mendocino County protesting in front of the Historic Courthouse Museum.
The lawyer for the former Ghost Ship leader and his former assistant says the two men should not be charged with involuntary manslaughter for last December’s deadly fire that killed 36 people. Derick Almena and Max Harris are charged for 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter but their lawyer Tony Serra told the judge this week, the charges were, quote “fatally ambiguous,” because they don’t specify what prosecutors are basing their case on. The judge overruled the challenge, calling it demur. The two men are in court in Lake County since the case drew so much publicity in Oakland, where it happened. Plus Almena and his family moved to Lake County after it happened. Both men are being held on $750,000. A lawyer representing the families of the victims says the cause of the fire was electrical, and a party the night of the accident strained the electricity, causing the fire.
Seems like forward progress has been slowed on the two fires near Lake Pillsbury. Fire crews are working to contain the two wildfires in the Mendocino National Forest, the biggest, the Skeleton Fire and the Slides Fire, both in the Upper Lake Ranger District. As we reported yesterday, there are also a few smaller fires in the Yolla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness. But crews on the Slides Fire, which broke out after a dry lightning storm four miles west of Lake Pillsbury have it 40 percent contained now at 50 acres burned. Firefighters trying to prevent it from spreading to private property. And the Skeleton Fire has charred 200 acres and is 50 percent contained. That one is four miles east of Lake Pillsbury.
A recruitment firm is being hired by the City of Fort Bragg to find a new city manager. The City Council announced they’re hiring a head-hunter to find them someone to oversee the daily administration and management of the city government. The manager is also tasked with making sure the policy direction by the council is implemented. The contract to hire the recruiting firm is several thousand dollars, possibly as much as $30,000, which will come from the General Fund and the Water and Wastewater Enterprises. The Mayor along with Council Member Dave Turner are getting together with an ad hoc committee to hammer out the details of a deal with the recruitment firm.
The State Assembly has passed several affordable housing bills that were first negotiated with Gov. Jerry Brown. Senate Bill 2, to create a fund that would continually funnel money into affordable housing thru a real estate fee, was the toughest to get thru, with a couple of holdout democrats who finally voted yes on it. The bill to collect $200-$300 million a year in real-estate document fees. The estimate is that the fees would eventually add up to more than $5 billion dollars after those same fees are matched by federal, local and private funds. The California Association of Realtors supports the bill. The group of bills that passed the Assembly last night have cities having to approve more housing developments because of the housing shortage in the state.
The public health officer in Lake County confirms a bat has tested positive for rabies. Lake Co News reports whoever came into contact with it has to be treated. The bat was found in Kelseyville Tuesday and apparently it was a high school student who was in contact with it. The news site reports this is the
second case reported in as many weeks. There was another bat in Lucerne that also tested positive for rabies, and there were several people in contact with that one, which was dying. So they all had to have rabies treatment too.
A man from Massachusetts found guilty for dealing a massive amount of marijuana into the state from Mendocino County had his sentenced reduced. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reports David Simmons of Fairhaven being found guilty for a count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana a couple years ago. He received 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release. But now it’s under 3 years instead, at 33 months in prison and another three years of supervised release. The sentence for working with an eight person drug dealing ring from 2010 to 2014 where “high-grade” marijuana was shipped from Mendocino County to Fall River, Mass., for sale by a network of distributors.
A public meeting of the Lakeport Planning Commission has been called regarding new potential amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to allow commercial cannabis uses in the city. The meeting at 5 Tuesday afternoon in council chambers at City Hall. The commission looking to come up with procedures to allow commercial cannabis in the city to go along with state regulations after marijuana was legalized last November. There will be a short discussion on the matter and consideration for permit standards for commercial cannabis, including its cultivation, manufacturing, testing, retail delivery, etc. They’re encouraging public participation.
A green light for recreation on the Russian River after tests no longer showed harmful blue-green algae in the water. Signs taken down yesterday after only highly diluted concentrations of the algae-produced toxin were detected. Tests over summer months were sometimes positive for the neurotoxin, Anatoxin-a. And visual monitoring and inspections at beaches didn’t show obvious signs of the algae. Water regulators along the North Coast say there’s noticeably less . So the county’s allowing swimming at the 10 most popular public beaches.
A motorcyclist has major injuries after an accident with a pickup truck at the intersection of Highway 101 and North State Street in Ukiah. The CHP reported a man in a pickup was trying to turn left as he exited the highway onto North State Street and didn’t see the motorcycle rider going in the opposite direction. So the pickup rolled on top of the Ukiah man on the 1970 Moto Guzzi.
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