The state Attorney General is warning the public about a scam to try to snag middle-income folks tax refunds. Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta says the Middle-Class Tax Refund is for one-time relief for those struggling as the cost-of-living rises. His consumer alert warns there are crooks out there trying to take advantage of Californians who will receive the refund in their bank account or with a prepaid debit card. He says not to be fooled. You can check with the California Franchise Tax Board to get an estimate of what you should get back, many will get between $2-300. Those in higher tax brackets won’t receive anything.
A warning from the Mendocino County Public Health Dept. about the trifecta, Covid-19, influenza, and RSV all circulating at high rates. The department warns flu season has arrived early and that means there’s been a jump in cases locally, especially in infants and children who have been visiting the emergency room at increasing rates. Public Health is warning the ER’s are filling up and there are long wait times. So, to reduce the burden on hospital staff, stay home if you are sick, especially young kids who may be vulnerable to RSV. There are flu and COVID vaccines available at several locations in the county, including county vaccine clinics, doctor’s offices, community health clinics, and pharmacies. Go to the ER if you feel shortness of breath, dehydrated or have a change in mental status.
Two women from Ukiah have been arrested after someone reported their car was broken into and a bunch of stuff was stolen. The woman told police a credit card was used at three different businesses. Cops found two women had used that card at Walmart. Angela Rivera and Veronica Orozco reportedly used the card and were detained. They were found with several grams of meth, 4 bank cards, a club card, and a CA driver license with different people’s names on them, along with other stolen property from the woman’s car who said it was broken into. The pair also had a concealed dagger. Then during a search of a motel room, that turned up more drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, a rifle and ammo. The two were booked into jail and held on $75,000.00 for Rivera and $50,000 for Orozco.
A new online holiday gift guide has been launched by West Business Development Center to help local businesses. The http://www.mendomarketplace.com site is dedicated to products made here in Mendocino, included with that are also experiences, besides gifts and arts and crafts. The West Center says they recognized when the COVID lockdowns were happening they had a unique ability to help small businesses in Mendocino County during the holiday season. Their CEO says the marketplace helps the local small business community to bring in some extra revenue during the holiday season. She says they’re marketing it in Northern Calif., Sacramento and the Central Valley. This is the third year in a row for the marketplace.
Adventist Health Mendocino Coast is about to launch their new electronic health records. Starting Thursday, the Cerner system will be available for healthcare professionals which the hospital says will greatly improve the ease of providing care and the quality and safety of the care. Adventist Health put up about $12 million dollars for the program which they say is the standard in electronic health records and is used throughout Adventist Health. Having all the hospitals on the same system helps to provide best practices of care and makes sharing the records across facilities a simple task.
The Sonoma County Sheriff has been sanctioned by a federal judge, along with his department for not holding onto footage from an-custody suicide. The family of Nino Bosco says the loss was intentional because it was damaging to the county. A federal judge ruled officers lost critical footage about what happened to Bosco and instructed a jury to presume the footage was lost on purpose. But the Sheriff’s office says the loss of 14 minutes of video was not intentional. The 30-year-old man in Sheriff’s custody died in July of 2019 after he shoved a bologna sandwich down his throat, hours after trying the same thing in an attempt to asphyxiate himself.
A law firm that’s had experience getting money to landowners in the way of the Great Redwood Trail has reportedly filed a lawsuit for nearly 90 people. The firm announced the case against the federal government for 88 property owners with land across from the rail-to-trail conversion. The firm also says more are suing in coming days against the trail planned from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay on the old railroad corridor. Those suing are in Eureka, Eel River Canyon, and Willits. It’s on the heels of another firm suing the fed for 170 other property owners in Humboldt and Mendocino counties.
It’s the third week of workers at UC campuses striking, which is reported to be the largest ever in the nation for higher-education workers. 48,000 workers are striking to get higher pay, but without more money from the state or federal government, there could be cuts in hiring grad students, cut into research and academic experiences, cause grant applications to be less competitive. Four United Auto Workers bargaining units at all 10 UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are also complaining they don’t have enough money due to “administrative bloat”. And Academic Senate leaders say if the striking goes on, they may have to hire temporary readers or make final exams optional.
That standalone schoolhouse in Finley, that’s been vacant for some time is about to be restored. There’s been talk about refurbishing the 151-year-old schoolhouse on Finley Road East for a few years. Lake County News owners have formed a nonprofit, the Lucerne Area Revitalization Association to spur work on projects around Lake County. The non-profit nick-named LARA has been granted the old Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse with a 50-year lease. As part of #GivingTuesday, LARA has launched a fundraiser to start the renovation and restoration in 2023. The first thing they say they’ll do is remove old lead paint inside and out. They will then move to fix the windows and make other repairs including fixing water damage, well and septic tank testing; rewiring; and stabilizing the building.
For more information, contact LARA at 707-200-4709, or email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com or John Jensen at jjensen@lakeconews.com.
A meeting of the Clearlake City Council this week will spend time on a proposal to expand the city’s sphere of influence. With that the council will also consider an annexation. The meeting is Thursday night, which will start in closed session with the appointment of a police chief. Then it’s off to the races with the rest of the meeting where public comment will be accepted and the discussion of annexing 302 acres on Ogulin Canyon Road. It would be the first annexation in over 40 years. They will also look to potentially adopt a resolution of intent to amend the city’s sphere of influence and general plan, adopt prezoning designations, prepare an environmental analysis and initiate proceedings with the Lake Local Agency Formation Commission for the annexation parcels which the owner, Lake Vista Farms asked the city for.
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