Free trees are being offered to PG&E customers as part of the company’s Energy-Saving Trees Program. The energy company is giving away 1,500 free trees for eligible customers across its service territory. Trees are being delivered for free compliments of the Arbor Day Foundation and PG&E. They will also explain where the best location would be on your property. You just have to plug your address into a space on a website to get your tree. PG&E’s offering its “Right Tree, Right Place” help so you don’t accidentally interfere with overhead or underground electric or gas lines. Those eligible are encouraged to sign up at http://www.arborday.org/pge. Customers can choose • Japanese Lilac • Kousa Dogwood • Little Leaf Linden • Service Berry
A massive fine is slapped on PG&E for a fire near Redding two years ago. The Zogg Fire broke out west of Redding and marched flames through over 56,000 acres. The company was already indicted on manslaughter charges for the fire which was blamed for 4 deaths. The fire was contained in less than a month, but state regulators say they’re fining PG&E $155.4 million dollars. The Public Utilities Commission blamed the company after a power line hit by a pine tree ignited the fire. The utility company has not had a break after it filed for bankruptcy for more fires it was deemed responsible for. The utilities commission says it’s reviewing the fine proposal.
After an armed robbery is reported in Ukiah, a group of men are arrested. Police say they got a call late last Sunday night to an armed robbery where three men and one woman were seen leaving the area. As we reported earlier this week, three Latino men and one Black woman were seen leaving the area in a red or maroon colored vehicle. A 42-year-old man from Ukiah says they were armed and swiped his phone by his house. He says the woman screamed that he crashed into her car, but he knew he did not. Then he says the three men jumped him, one had a gun. All four would-be criminals took off. Police put out an alert to find the car and a CHP officer stopped the car, finding a shotgun and the stolen cell phone inside. The four were arrested, the woman was actually an underage female from Clearlake, and the men were from Santa Rosa and Antioch. They’re charged with robbery, conspiracy, possessing a shotgun, accessory after the fact and giving a phony id to cops.
Part of the Weger Ranch up for grabs for the Save the Redwoods League. The nonprofit has announced it has an option to buy a conservation easement on part of the 3,862-acre Weger Ranch. It has a 1.25-mile border along the Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve. The conservation easement would mean the League would be able to buffer the old-growth redwoods at the same time expanding the redwood conservation there. It’s also part of the League’s Montgomery Woods Initiative which they announced in September. Then the League purchased the 453-acre Atkins Place property in partnership with California State Parks. This new purchase would also add an 80-acre section of Weger Ranch to be incorporated into the Reserve. Weger has a mix of coast redwood and Douglas-fir forest, and almost 400 old-growth trees on the property.
Two candidates who were running to be on the Fort Bragg City Council are out. Ricardo Garcia announced he and his family were intending to move from the area, so he wanted to be transparent about his plans. He says it was a difficult decision but had gotten a lot of support from the community. He wished all those still running the best of luck. This comes after Alberto Adalco said he would be withdrawing from the race a few weeks ago after he was caught on police bodycam footage trying to bully a cop, then urinating in public, which was also caught on camera. Not to confuse matters but another candidate who dropped her name off the ballot is now a write-in candidate for one of the four-year seats, Tess Albin-Smith. The election is two Tuesdays away.
Reports to police dispatch in Ukiah that a man was being beaten by another man with a crowbar. Police say they got a call to the intersection of Talmage Road and Airport Park Boulevard. Several people called dispatch to report the beating near the entrance to a Quick Stop gas station on the corner. They described the suspect as a Hispanic man with a long white beard and red shirt who had been riding a bike near the intersection. The victim left before police could question them.
Abortion is on the ballot for California voters. A hot topic nationwide after the Supreme Court tossed Roe vs. Wade this summer. An amendment to the state constitution to enshrine the state law as it stands now to permit abortion up to 24 weeks, or expand the timing to allow the procedure at any point in pregnancy, for any reason. Proposition 1 on the November Ballot. The constitutional amendment does not talk about viability as a limitation. But over the summer it came up in the debate for the proposition and at multiple committee hearings, where supporters weren’t sure what to do. Apparently, doctors were involved in drafting the amendment and they say they left the word viability out on purpose.
Another year of drought seems to be in the offing as forecasters say we can expect another La Nina weather pattern the rest of the year. Weather.gov says it could also get worse through the usual rainy season with nearly 100% of the state in moderate to severe drought. Lake Co News reports Lake County is in the severe drought category. And the City of Lakeport which relies on ground water wells in the Scotts Valley is asking folks to continue to conserve water when possible, even if it rains hard. Some of the things to consider skipping: hosing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes, washing your cars, boats, RV’s, use recirculated water in a fountain or other decorative water feature, don’t water a lawn and allow water to runoff, turn off ornamental turf irrigation and use water-saving equipment in your home and outdoors.
The Lakeport City Council needs some candidates. After one member resigned to be on the Board of Supervisors, the city needs folks for two seats. First, in August, it was Mireya Turner who resigned because she was named as the new director of the Lake County Community Development Dept. Just this week councilmember Michael Green was sworn into the Board of Supervisors after being assigned by the Governor to fill Tina Scott’s seat after she resigned to take a teaching position. The council appointed George Spurr, a former councilman, to be the interim member for Turner’s seat, that term expires at the end of the year. The City Council will take up the matter at their next meeting. And the city will be accepting applications from Lakeport residents to serve the city. You must be 18 years of age to apply.
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