A mad rush to get marijuana rules in place across the state. The Lake County Planning Commission is having workshops on commercial use. They had their first workshop earlier this month where the commission considered the first five parts of their ordinance. It had updates on cultivation, manufacturing, transporting, testing, distribution, retail sale and delivery of medical and commercial use of marijuana. No ordinance has been approved yet, the workshops set up so the public can hear about the various sections of the ordinance. They are separated into the areas that need to be addressed for those who want permits, like certain restrictions, land usage, enforcement, pesticides, security and protection, among many others. They’re considering a pilot program for regulation and permitting. So far there are almost 40 kinds of permits that an individual or business can apply for, but only 4 permits can be held at once. Another meeting of the commission is planned for Thursday.
It may be just a pipe dream, but the North Coast Railroad Authority says it still wants to restart railroad service in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. At a meeting in June of the California Transportation Commission it was noted the commission wasn’t interested in a freight line north of Healdsburg, plus there was concern mentioned about the railroad authority being in the red each year, to the tune of about $200,000, sometimes employees weren’t even paid. Now the Humboldt County Association of Governments, the Arcata City Council and the Humboldt Land Area Formation Commission want to be in on future talks if the authority might consider giving back its railroad easements to the state. The rail lines have been offline since 1998 after major storms blew thru north of Willits.
A bill to rein in Big Pharma, at least in Calif., has been tabled… for now. Assemblyman Jim Wood sponsored the bill looking to regulate pharmacy benefit managers and the coupons given out to physicians by pharmaceutical companies. Wood’s office says his bill has stalled in the Senate after the state administration had a problem with a disclosure requirement. Wood says the bill gained momentum and support all year, but then when the discussions moved to the state administration, it was revealed they had to keep discussing, and there’s not enough time this legislative session on the matter.
Plans for a glamping site at the Six Sigma Ranch and Winery discussed at the latest Middletown Area Town Hall. A representative of the family who owns the ranch near Middletown showed up to the meeting and made a presentation on their planned luxury camping site, they’re calling, “Huttopia”. Lake Co News reports the Ahlmann family wants to now offer accommodations at their 4,300-acre property where they’ve already got a winery, vineyard and cattle operation. The idea for the glamorous camping site after a representative from the French Company, Huttopia, approached them so they could offer “nature campsites”, like they have across France.
The governor’s got a bill on his desk that hopes to bring more broadband access to rural areas. The bi-partisan bill recently passed both houses jointly sponsored by Cecilia Aguiar-Curry of Winters, Eduardo Garcia of Coachella and Brian Dahle of Bieber. It had overwhelming support by both parties in both houses. The bill was in a holding pattern for three years, but Aguiar-Curry says she’s personally worked on it for a decade. She says internet access can transform a community, something she thinks this bill will do across Calif. The author’s of the bill say they’ll fight to make sure the Governor signs the bill into law.
Two suspected gang members in Fort Bragg have been arrested in connection to the violent attack of another man whose car they blocked from getting home from the store. Police say the unidentified blocked-in driver was yanked out of his car and three men knifed him, used a baseball bat and a chain on him before someone else in the victim’s car said they were calling cops. Then the suspects ran off. Investigators went after the three men and found 18 year old Andrew Hurtado and later, 21 year old Ricardo Arenas. The two held in Mendocino County Jail without bail on multiple charges each, including, suspicion of making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury, stalking and conduct for the advancement of a criminal street gang. The third suspect is still on the run and has not been named. No word on the condition of the victim.
A bill that could mean multiple, massive 5G cell tower boxes in Calif. is headed to the Governor’s desk. But health advocates are pressing for a veto. S-B 649 would allow telecom companies to install refrigerator sized 5G boxes and other wireless cell equipment on poles and the ground every few hundred feet without getting permits from local jurisdictions. Ellen Marks with the California Brain Tumor Association says there hasn’t been any studies to prove 5G is safe – but studies have shown that older, less powerful cell technology can have serious health effects.
| Cut 91345 :14 "There’s a U-S ]National Toxicology Program that was released last year found that 2G was causing brain tumors and tumors near the heart in laboratory animals. So employing 5G without any knowledge of health effects is not a good idea." |
Tag: The bill requires cities allow large equipment boxes in the public right of way, so Marks says they could end up in front of homes, schools, libraries and parks, but not fire stations because firefighters have been given an exemption due to health concerns. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association says the boxes are safe and will introduce super-fast wireless internet across the state.
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Second Cut: Dozens of cities protested after the state Assembly passed the bill last week. Marks notes that Brown is now the only hope of stopping it.
| Cut 92345 :13 "Our legislators took about $2.5 million from telecom in their last election. I don’t think the governor is concerned about campaign contributions any longer, so hopefully he does what is right for the state." |
Tag 1: Brown has until next week to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
An elderly man in the middle of the chase of a burglar, tosses the suspect off his roof in La Puente. Police say the 83-year-old grandpa pushed a suspected burglar from his roof, after an hours-long standoff with sheriff’s deputies. Police say the suspect was on top of homes and wouldn’t come down, so homeowner Wilford Burgess took matters into his own hands. The octogenarian told ABC7 he was all in, on video, taken by his granddaughter, Burgess said, "I’m going up and that suckers coming down”. And that he did, the sheriff’s dept. on twitter saying Burgess pushed the suspect off the roof because he got "tired of the suspect’s games," saying “grandpa did what we couldn’t".
