Lake County Supervisors take up elder care and the unsheltered. At their regular meeting this week, Supervisors discussed possible changes to federal law related to the Medicaid inmate policy. They also looked over the Lake County Continuum of Care coordinated entry system policy. The Medicaid issue presented by District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier requesting all inmates be eligible for Medicaid, as opposed to current policy. Sabatier says the law is ancient and does not ensure all in the entire country have health insurance. And Supes reviewed the Continuum of Care coordinated entry system policy about how the unsheltered can get services and programs. Supervisors also okayed or continued several emergency declarations, including the continuation of a local emergency related to winter storms.
It was an exhaust fan that started a fire in a building in Ukiah. Ukiah Valley Fire Authority reports getting a call early yesterday morning to the 1300 block of Hastings Road and saw smoke coming out of the roof of the building. The fire started in a bathroom on the first floor of the three-story building which was believed to have been caused by an exhaust fan that was left turned on. There was nobody in the building at the time of the fire and flames were kept inside the walls because the building has a sprinkler system. Firefighters opened the walls and snuffed the fire out. Redwood Valley, Hopland and Potter Valley fire departments were also on the scene with Ukiah for about five hours. The fire was found to be accidental.
Coastal resilience projects could take a hit with the Governor’s new budget. Cuts of over a half billion dollars to help protect the coast from climate change are part of the six billion in cuts the Governor is proposing to try to help fill the $22.5 billion deficit. The programs give money to local governments to protect beaches, homes and infrastructure in danger from rising sea levels. There would be $734 million to address coastal resilience, a 43% or $561 million cut when you compare the resiliency money to 2021 and 2022.
It’s the hard work that got them the accolades. The Mendocino County Grand Jury have been honored with a Proclamation from the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors declaring February “Grand Jury Awareness Month in Mendocino County.” The Jury is tasked with investigating, then reporting about the operations of local governments, sometimes referred to as a “watchdog”. Every county in Calif. has to have one annually. They are citizens who are sworn to secrecy when fellow citizens complain to them about local government.
As the next winter storms come to Central and Northern Calif. just ahead of the official start of spring, Pacific Gas and Electric Company is sending crews ahead of time to work on possible power outages, and to avert them, if possible. Storms are forecasted today into tomorrow with more rain, higher snow levels than before though, this time around the 6,000-to-8,000-foot level in the Sierra, and strong, gusty wind. This could mean downed trees, limbs or other debris on powerlines that could mess with equipment and service. And PG&E’s own meteorology team is warning about flooding due to melting snow on top of it all because it’s a warmer system. PG&E electric crews, troublemen, distribution line technicians and system inspectors, like first responders, will be at the ready and monitoring for trouble.
A series of school walkouts, demonstrations and marches like never seen before in Sonoma County after a stabbing at a school in Santa Rosa. Those taking to the streets against school violence and asking leaders for more protections. Thousands of kids from secondary schools from as many as 10 campuses from Santa Rosa to Petaluma were out yesterday. They also tried spreading the word about a campaign spreading nationwide called, “Stop The Bleed,” which asks teachers to be trained in help for severe trauma.
Just a week after a student was killed with a knife at a school in Santa Rosa, another is found with a knife in their backpack. It happened Tuesday at Amarosa Academy, a small, alternative school for kids in middle and senior high school. The child was found with a hunting knife just after school started. The 15-year-old was reportedly carrying the knife, concealed in the plastic lining of a binder in the backpack. Police arrested the teen for suspicion of felony possession of a dangerous weapon on campus. Last Wednesday, a 16-year-old at a different school was stabbed to death in a classroom. A 15-year-old has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death.
Relief is in sight for those skyrocketing gas bills from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The bills this month could be as much as 75% lower as the company distributes its April Climate Credit a month early. Without the credit, the bill’s would be down 40% because of a huge decrease in market prices PG&E pays to purchase natural gas for its customers. Plus, customers use less gas as colder temperatures moderate. Average prices in January were as much as five times higher than the US benchmark, in Calif.
As Lakeport prepares to build a new courthouse, the City Council is working on traffic improvements because of possible congestion around the construction. At their meeting this week the council heard an update from the City Manager on the $73M dollar, 45,300 square foot courthouse on five-acres at 675 Lakeport Blvd. The project is in the design-build phase, with construction starting in about a year. Completion is expected around fall of 2025. The traffic improvements would be in the area which is an access street to the Lakeport Senior Center and the city’s corporation yard.
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