KZYX News

July 15, 2021--Reporter Frank Hartzell talks with Fort Bragg residents about the possibility that their city's name would be changed, and the ongoing survey by the Fort Bragg City Council to gather input.

July 14, 2021 — The Delta variant has arrived in the county, as evidenced by full genome tests from late April. A letter-writing campaign based on shoddy science is seeking to spread misinformation about the efficacy of masks and social distancing in spreading covid-19, ahead of students returning to in-person classes. And the water supply for coastal residents is dwindling, with scanty water avai...

July 13, 2021 — Last month, summer steelhead were listed as endangered under the state Endangered Species Act, which highlighted some of the differences between the summer and winter stocks. Pat Higgins, a fish biologist and managing director of the Eel River Recovery Project, traces the life story of summer steelhead, from the run of the river to the health of the forest and finally, to its place...

July 12, 2021 — Barge water is out, and water storage is in. With shortages rapidly approaching a critical point in most parts of the county, water storage ideas are getting a lot of traction. At one point, bringing water into Noyo Harbor on a barge was an idea that had some currency. But at Thursday night’s virtual drought task force meeting, Alex Huang, of the State Water Resources Control Board...

July 8, 2021 — A new law that transfers coastal property from the State of California to Native Americans will be a historic first. Mendocino tribes could take possession within a year, creating an 172 acre natural preserve south of Westport. An interview with Melanie Rafanan, the Chair of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians explains the process, obstacles and traditional uses of the land.

July 7, 2021 — The current governor declared the latest California drought from the cracked, dry basin of Lake Mendocino, which is generally believed to provide some portion of water to 600,000 people from Coyote Valley Dam to Marin County. As per the original arrangement, Mendocino County is entitled to 11.3% of the water. The dam was dedicated on June 6, 1959. The ceremony included a beauty cont...

July 5, 2021 — The latest entry in the political canvassing effort around the recently enacted cannabis cultivation ordinance is Citizens for Sustainable Agriculture. That’s a pro-ordinance organization that’s hired a strategist and canvassers to persuade voters not to sign either of the referendum petitions currently in circulation. The People’s Referendum to Save our Water, Wildlife, and Way of...

July 5, 2021 — Possible responses to the drought range from relaxing permitting standards for water storage to calling on the National Guard or the state Office of Emergency Services. Josh Metz, the program manager for the newly revitalized county water agency, accompanied the drought ad hoc committee on a tour of drought-stricken communities last week, and discussed various approaches.

July 2, 2021 — There’s a new addition to the art scene in Ukiah. The Deep Valley Arts Collective, which held online shows during the lockdown, is opening a gallery called Medium for the First Friday art walk today. The introductory show, in the freshened up former Radio Shack in the Pear Tree shopping center, is called Prologue, in anticipation of much to come. For Chris Pugh, one of the three fou...

July 1, 2021 — The 2020 census has come to a close, and now it’s time to think about redistricting. The final census numbers will probably be available by the end of September, and the county has until December 15th to readjust the borders of the supervisorial districts to reflect population changes. Each district is supposed to have roughly the same number of people, to ensure equal representatio...

June 30, 2021 — Summer steelhead have been listed as endangered under the state endangered species act, which some conservationists believe will ease the way to seeking protections for them. Summer steelhead have a different life cycle from their winter-run cousins, and a differentiating genetic marker on one chromosome. Samantha Kannry is a fisheries ecologist who has been studying them in the va...

June 29, 2021 — Live in-person theater was one of many enjoyments that was impossible during the pandemic. Local venues did what they could with virtual fare, but this Friday night, the Willits Community Theatre is reopening its physical, non-virtual doors to an in-the-flesh audience who will file in and take their seats as the lights go down. “The Viewing Room” is a comedy that involves a dysfunc...

June 25, 2021 — This week, the Board of Supervisors discussed how to include members of the public in an upcoming effort to redraw the district boundaries after receiving data from the 2020 census. The Board also heard an appeal from an applicant who claimed to be “astounded and appalled” by an allegedly racist comment delivered during a meeting of the Archaeological Commission.

June 24, 2021 — The Board of Supervisors discussed cannabis and water at this week’s meeting.

June 23, 2021--Myles Anderson is the owner of Anderson Logging, the logging company working on the controversial Timber Harvest Plan in Jackson State Forest known as Caspar 500. Anderson’s crews began cutting in the area on June 10, but they have been slowed or stopped every day by protestors. On Saturday, June 19, the logging company owner decided to take a page from the forest activists, calling...

June 21, 2021 — As the region heads into a dry spell expected to rival the drought of 1977, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a much-reduced flow of water to Lake Mendocino and Potter Valley. The lake and the Potter Valley Irrigation District have relied heavily on water from the East Branch of the Russian River from the Eel River via the Potter Valley Water Project, which incl...

June 18, 2021 — Last month, PG&E cleared the vegetation on either side of its transmission lines for about two miles along Road A in Redwood Valley, from its substation to Highway 20. The clear cut area is up to 80 feet wide in some places, and traverses steep slopes and narrow canyons. The work is in a public utility easement outside the coastal zone, and is exempt from county review, accordi...

June 17, 2021 — Lake Mendocino’s supply of water from the Eel River is likely to dry up sometime this summer, due to flows being reduced to a fifth of what they were when conditions were dry rather than critical. The lake receives regular infusions of water from the east branch of the Russian River through the Eel River via the Potter Valley Project. The Project is still owned and operated by PG&a...

June 16, 2021 — Logging continues in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, in close proximity to activists trying to prevent it. The site, Capar 500 is one of six timber harvest plans being carried out by CalFire. Reached by phone yesterday, Kevin Conway, Cal Fire State Forests Program Director, said he couldn’t comment. Tree sitters with the Mama Tree network took up residence in two old-growth...

June 15, 2021 — The Board of Supervisors agreed to move ahead with a multi-department plan to enforce cannabis codes, involving aerial surveillance and more staff. The plan is based on the Humboldt County model, which relies heavily on satellite imagery and fines and liens to achieve compliance. Another big change is that enforcement will be proactive as well as complaint based. The estimate for t...

June 14, 2021 — With a looming drought and the high likelihood of emergency curtailment regulations on the Russian River, local agencies are encouraging water conservation. On Saturday, anyone pulling up to the stop signs at the Redwood Valley Grange or Club Calpella could expect to receive a bucket full of drought swag. We’ll hear about the dire situation for the fisheries, how the Calpella Water...

June 11, 2021 — With the drought declaration that started in the dry bed of Lake Mendocino, the county has revived its water agency with $50,000 and the hope of further grant funding to come up with water security plans and ways to pay for them. The agency is headed up by Josh Metz, a senior advisor with a firm called Regional Government Services. Helistmmmed the main areas for the agency, startin...

June 10, 2021 — Logging started early this morning in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, in spite of the efforts of local tribal and environmental groups that believe the trees are more valuable standing. But CalFire is moving ahead with its timber harvest plan in Caspar 500, one of six plans the agency intends to move forward with. Tree sitter Alder was high up in the now-iconic Mama Tree wh...

June 10, 2021 — As the Board of Supervisors prepares to adopt an unpopular cannabis cultivation ordinance, two separate groups are planning referenda to repeal or amend the final product. One group is gathering signatures to repeal the whole thing. Another group wants to strike the ten percent provision, and follow up with negotiations for further amendments, or, failing that, a citizens’ initiati...

June 9, 2021 — A proposed development in the Western Hills of Ukiah has neighbors fuming as the city takes steps to acquire and annex about 700 acres off of Redwood Avenue, in the headwaters of Doolan Creek. The property currently belongs to David Hull, who gave the city 188 acres adjacent to the proposed project parcels late last year. The city wants to break 54 acres into seven lots for single f...