Two teens have been arrested for arson for an August fire near Costco in Ukiah. The fire broke out August 22 in a dry field east of Airport Road. The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority quickly contained it and no structures were damaged. But Ukiah Police say witnesses saw someone fire a distress flare into the field from a car with three teens in it and then take off. Using their FLOCK license plate recognition camera system, police found the car a few days later and arrested a 17-year-old for arson during a state emergency and conspiracy. This week a second suspect, 18-year-old Gabriel Ruiz, was arrested by Mendocino Deputies on unrelated charges but Ukiah Police added arson and conspiracy. The third suspect – said to be a juvenile – has not yet been found.
Bower Park in Gualala will be getting much needed upgrades thanks to a $2.2 million cash influx from the State. Mendocino County has been allocated the money to address what they call critical needs that focus on the park’s safety such as hazardous tree removal, fire mitigation, ADA improvements, and installing electricity. While that work gets underway, the County will work on the next phase of the improvement plan by doing community outreach to see what upgrades the park users would like to see. Assemblymember Jim Wood of Healdsburg says he helped get the budget allocation done after learning from a local resident that Bower Park had been closed because of safety issues forcing residents to drive nearly an hour to the next closest park.
The 94th Annual Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show gets underway today at the fairgrounds in Boonville. The fair is open from 9 a.m. to midnight with tickets $10 for adults, $8 for juniors 13-18, $6 for children 7-12 and free for children age 6 and under. Tickets for seniors 65 and over are $6 and today only all kids 12 and under will be admitted free. Events include the Apple Bowl Varsity Football game tonight at 5 p.m. the C.C.P.R.A. Rodeos Saturday night at 8 p.m., the Sheep Dog Trials Sunday at 10 a.m. and the parade will be Sunday at Noon along Highway 128.
The Lucerne Elementary School District is getting a piece of nearly $34 million in state funding to upgrade early education facilities across the state. The State Allocation Board announced the funding for 11 projects within 11 school districts across the state with Lake County News reporting Lucerne Elementary will get just over $2 million. The Superintendent says the money will go to build two new kindergarten classrooms.
The Mendocino College Art Gallery is hosting a Faculty Art Exhibition next month. The exhibition highlights the diverse talents of the College’s instructors with a dynamic selection of sculpture, ceramics, painting, drawing, mixed-media, photography, and woodworking. 18 faculty members, representing the college’s four campuses and the Krenov fine woodworking school are participating. The opening is on Tuesday, October 4th although Ukiah Symphony ticket holders get early access on October 1st and 2nd.
There’s a free Harvest Sharing at the Willis Grange on Sunday. It’s from 9:30 a.m. to Noon at the Little Lake Grange which is at 291 School Street. The Harvest sharing is a free event being held at the same time as the Grange Pancake Breakfast. The Harvest Sharing will be outside in the back of the Grange with tables ready for donations of food related items to give away to all who need it, and you can bring extra harvest from your garden as well as food related items like extra dried or home canned goods. There will also be a table for herbalists to swap culinary and medicinal herbs.
California is getting some wildfire risk prevention help from the federal government. On Thursday, the Department of the Interior announced that it is using $7.5 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed earlier this year to support projects to mitigate risk and rehabilitate burned areas on nearly 10,000 acres across California. It will also increase support to the Joint Fire Science Program which is an interagency partnership with the USDA Forest Service that funds wildfire science research projects.
The California Department of Public Health is asking school leaders to be on the lookout for “rainbow fentanyl”. In a letter to all superintendents and charter school administrators this week, CDPH warned that “rainbow fentanyl” is the same potentially fatal drug that has been wreaking havoc over the last year but this new version comes in bright colors and different shapes that could attract kids. CDPH says so far “rainbow fentanyl” has been found in at least 18 states. They are recommending educators and parents learn to recognize the signs of opioid overdose and consider learning to administer naloxone which can counter the effects of an overdose.
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