Since there’s a threat to Humpback whales getting caught up in Dungeness crab traps, the start to the season is on hold. Both Humpback and Blue whales are in the area where anglers set their pots for the start of the season, which was supposed to be this Saturday. The traps can stay where they are, but they’re temporarily restricted in all fishing zones by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Sonoma/Mendocino County line was set for Nov. 15th but will be delayed due to the amount of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement.
The Lake County Sheriff says he’s retiring at the end of the year. He announced on Facebook he’d retire a few days before his third term was supposed to start. It comes after an announcement by the Governor that certain law enforcement elected officials would have to stay in office 6 years instead of four to align with presidential elections, for some reason. Sheriffs and district attorneys will now be in office six years, just this one time, then every four years again. Confusing for sure. Sheriffs in the Emerald Triangle have spoken out including Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin who said the bill was a main reason he was retiring early. The legislation was apparently a way to get maximum voter turnout. Sheriff Matt Kendall says he thinks it’s partisan politics. And the Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal called it a power grab and Mendo DA Eyster said it was a bait and switch.
Improvements are coming to the North Coast from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. Congressman Huffman announced more than $8M dollars for the Port Infrastructure Development Program for port maintenance and improvements in Eureka and Crescent City. The money to repair crumbling infrastructure Huffman says will also help restore the global supply chain. Nearly all of the money is going to Cresent City for a new seawall and to repair and renovate a seafood packing and truck loading area. The Port Infrastructure Development Program awards money to improve safety, efficiency, or reliability so goods can be moved into, out of, around, or within a port.
Fentanyl poisoning is being blamed for one-fifth of youth deaths in the state of Calif. A study for the year 2020 showed kids 15-24 years old were dying because of the drug. That’s over six times the amount killed three years earlier. The report from epidemiology and health services researchers at UCLA also says most who die from the overdoses have no idea the drug is even contained in whatever it was they took in the first place. One of the study’s authors says they’re not trying to scare parents, just trying to shed a light on what’s happening, which is much different now after its dramatic rise in 2020. Fentanyl killed about 4,000 people in Calif. in 2020, double the amount in 2019.
Lake County Supervisors would like a raise. At their meeting tomorrow Supervisors are looking at a possible 38% raise, more to add to all of the recent pay bumps to county workers since 2019. It’s not on the timed agenda, so it will be thrown out to the ether, to raise members pay after a study justified pay raises for many 3 years ago. The classification and compensation study triggered the board approving $21 million raises during the pandemic. Now it’s their turn. The County Administrative Officer’s report shows the board did not take a raise, but doled out many. Right now they each make just under $64,000 a year and the chair gets another couple grand. They want well over $88,000.
North Coast Congressmembers John Garamendi and Mike Thompson say they’ve secured several million dollars for school meals. The USDA Marketing Service, the two Congressional members and Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry have announced $23 million as part of a CO-OP agreement for more nutritious, local foods for school meal programs. The money comes by way of the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. The California Department of Education is buying and distributing food and drinks for kids through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. They also say they’re healthy foods and unique to their geographic area, with the goal of improving child nutrition and building new relationships between schools and local farmers.
California has an urgent reminder for parents this Halloween. The state Department of Public Health says to keep cannabis edibles away from children as some products that contain THC may look like candy, like gummies and lollipops. That they say could trick children into trying them. Officials say they’ve already seen several cases of that accidentally happening. They warn edibles can make kids sick and even cause some to die.
Several of Sonoma County’s law enforcement agencies say they’re trying to calm fears of kids getting rainbow-colored fentanyl mixed in with their Halloween candy tonight. Police say rainbow-colored fentanyl has been seen in the region, but there aren’t any immediate or known worries about trick-or-treaters being targeted with it. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office says there’s no evidence the dangerous and deadly opioid is being handed out specifically to children. Concerns started in August, when the DEA warned people to watch out for drug dealers targeting kids with opioids that look like candy.
A study of transportation needs and solutions is being conducted by the Mendocino Council of Governments. This is for the communities of Covelo, Laytonville, Brooktrails, Potter Valley and Hopland. This is a five-minute survey online they are asking the public to take. The Council staff says it’s the second round of public input after a series of community workshops in August. They say it’s to help them “quantify the needs” they heard about and also test some of the innovative ideas for transportation solutions they say are now emerging. Those participating can be entered into a drawing for one of five $100 gift cards. bit.ly/MCOGMobility.
For further information, contact project manager Loretta Ellard at lellard@dbcteam.net or 707-234-3434.
The next Jackson Demonstration State Forest Advisory Group is set at the Casper Scales. The meeting is 2 weeks from tomorrow, November 15th. The agenda will be released once they get closer to the date. The Jackson Demonstration State Forest Advisory Group (JAG) is part of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection with a mission of advice and recommendations to CAL FIRE and the Board regarding issues relevant to the periodic review of the JDSF Management Plan required under Board policy; ongoing implementation issues; and policy matters relevant to JDSF.
For more information about the Jackson Demonstration State Forest visit:
https://www.fire.ca.gov/programs/resource-management/resource-protection-improvement/demonstrationstate-forests/jackson/
The Mendocino County Cannabis Dept. says they’ve been in touch with well over 100 applicants who are eligible for the Good Standing Portal. One hundred twenty-three (123) applicants were notified October 24th and 25th that they were eligible. They can access the portal starting tomorrow morning. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2023. The Good Standing applicants who were deprioritized can still submit materials through the portal. But they won’t get reviewed until they meet the conditions to reprioritize their application. A reminder is going out weekly about the window to apply. Check the county’s website for more information.
Tens of millions of shares have been sold for the PG&E Fire Victim Trust so the utility can meet the rules set up for payments to victims under the bankruptcy filing. The company announced selling 35 million shares of PG&E stock to help pay victims of fires in Northern California from 2015 to 2018. As you may recall, the trust was set up back in July of 2020 and funded with cash and shares of stock as part of the company’s Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. Almost 477,000,000 shares of common stock have been transferred to the Trust after another 750,000 or so were transferred in August of 2020. The Trust has reportedly paid out over $5.36 billion to victims of the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires, and 2018 Camp Fire.
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