Press release from the management team of the Six Rivers Lightning Complex:

INCIDENT INFORMATION

Unified Command: Six Rivers National Forest, CAL FIRE, California Highway Patrol, Trinity County Sheriff, and Humboldt County Sheriff.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

The Lightning Complex Fire is currently 26,000 acres with 33% containment. 2,111 personnel are assigned to the incident. USFS, CAIIMT 11 and CAL FIRE continue to work closely together in unified command with a full suppression strategy to protect homes and other structures, communities, crucial infrastructure, and important wildlife habitat. Fire activity was minimal overnight with only one instance of fire spotting outside of the control lines, and that was quickly contained. Crews conducted several successful strategic firing operations and improved control lines using dozers and handlines to remove fuels. Control lines are holding well.

Campbell Fire

Crews will continue to strengthen fire lines and limit the spread of the main fire. Fire crews will patrol and extinguish remaining pockets of heat inside control lines on the west side of the fire.

Ammon Fire

Firefighters will continue strategic fire operations along the southwest perimeter in the Friday Ridge area. Crews will continue to improve and reinforce fire lines along the Six Road of Ammon Ridge and within the Friday Ridge System as well as along Titlow Hill Rd/Route 1 out to Highway 299.

WEATHER

Lightning and thunderstorms may occur today, but are less likely than yesterday. This activity could produce erratic winds that may increase fire activity. These storms may form even above areas with thick low-level smoke. Cooler overall temperatures are predicted today.

SMOKE

Strong inversion and forecast wind conditions will continue to keep smoke over the area. Please check this site for air quality resources.

ROAD CLOSURES

State Routes 299 and 96 are currently open in the Lightning Complex but may be impacted by fire behavior. Travelers are encouraged to visit the Caltrans QuickMap to check for state highway closures.

The following roads leading to evacuation zones have been closed (residents may use these roads to exit only):

• Forest Route 7N15 at Six Rivers Forest Boundary
• Horse Linto Creek Road at Saddle Lane
• Friday Ridge Road at Forest Route 6N06 (both roads are closed at this point)
• Titlow Hill Road/Forest Route 1 after Horse Mountain Botanical Area

Because fire personnel and machinery will be building control lines for the Ammon Fire, residents are asked to limit travel on Titlow Hill Road/Route 1 in zones HUM-E052 and HUME062 to essential traffic only.

EVACUATION CENTER

The American Red Cross Evacuation Center at Trinity Valley Elementary School is closed. If further evacuations are ordered or evacuation orders changed, the facility will re-open to accomodate new evacuees.

ANIMAL EVACUATION CENTER

Hoopa Rodeo Grounds 1767 Pine Creek Rd., Hoopa, CA 95546 Phone: (707) 492-2851

** The Hoopa Rodeo Grounds has several single pens and larger pens for whole herds. Call directly if you need directions or help transporting your large animals. They cannot house sheep, goats, poultry, or small animals, but they can potentially help arrange for temporary foster placement. If you can foster, please reach out regarding your availability and capacity.

EVACUATION UPDATES

For the latest evacuation information go to Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services or Trinity County Office of Emergency Services. For an interactive map of evacuation zones visit Zonehaven Aware. To sign up for alerts visit this link.

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California lawmakers this month are considering a fast food bill that would significantly shift the relationship between restaurant workers and the corporate chains whose products they sell.

If Assembly Bill 257 passes, California would be the first state to assign labor liability to fast food corporations and not just their individual franchise owners.

The bill’s provisions would let workers and the state name fast food chains as a responsible party when workers claim minimum wage violations or unpaid overtime at a franchise location.

The bill’s language also would allow a franchisee to sue a restaurant chain if their franchise contracts contain strict terms that leave them no choice but to violate labor law.

It’s part of a larger bill pushed by unions to more strictly regulate fast food businesses. AB 257 also includes a measure to create a state-run, fast food sector council to set wage and labor standards across the industry.

Last week the bill survived the “suspense file” process, where controversial bills often are quietly killed. After clearing the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill awaits a vote on the floor.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has not stated a position on the bill, but his Department of Finance opposes it, saying it would create “ongoing costs” and worsen delays in the state’s labor enforcement system.

If it becomes law, proponents said it could deter wage theft and other abuses in the low-wage industry.

“How you hold the companies at the top of the food chain, who are really setting the terms and conditions of employment, responsible for the lower levels — California has been way ahead on that,” said Janice Fine, professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University. “What’s happened in California is a real effort to try to figure out the fissured economy.”

California’s fast food bill

The fast food bill is one of the most contentious measures the Legislature is considering during its final weeks in session.

The California Chamber of Commerce and the state restaurant association have lobbied hard against it, arguing the bill would upend the franchise business model and ultimately raise costs for franchise owners and consumers. On Wednesday, a group of franchisees flooded the Capitol to oppose the bill.

The Service Employees International Union and its Fight for $15 campaign led a series of strikes this summer to rally for the bill’s passage, including an overnight rally at the Capitol this week.

Currently most workers who allege wage theft, say, at a McDonald’s, Burger King, or a Jack in the Box can only name the owner of their specific franchise location as responsible for paying them back — even as they work under the banner of a multibillion-dollar fast food corporation.

“You’d be holding an entity responsible or assigning liability for things they don’t have control over.” 
— Jeff Hanscom of The International Franchise Association

In other industries, California already has done some of what AB 257 proposes to do for fast food. In some cases, the state has expanded responsibility for employment conditions beyond the subcontractor or supplier level to the larger companies they do business with, even though they don’t directly employ the workers.

For instance, in 2014 the Legislature made businesses that use contract workers liable for wage theft committed by those workers’ agencies. Lawmakers later did the same for contractors in the janitorial, gardening, construction and nursing home industries.

Last year the Legislature passed a measure putting major fashion brands on the hook for wage theft by garment manufacturers in their supply chains.

Wage theft in fast food

Fast food is the latest industry attracting this type of regulation, and it is one of the largest and most visible.

Restaurants such as fast-food joints, take-out businesses and cafes employed more than 700,000 workers across the state, according to June federal data. Proponents of the bill estimate 80% of the workers are Black, Latino or Asian and two-thirds are women.

SEIU and Fight for $15 say the industry is rife with labor violations. The union released a survey of 400 workers this year in which 85% said they were victims of wage theft.

Business groups said the bill targets fast food unnecessarily. The Employment Policies Institute, a national think tank with restaurant ties, published a report this month showing the percentage of wage claims filed against this segment of business is lower than its share of the California workforce.

If approved, the proposed legislation could mark a turning point in American labor law.

Typically under the franchise model, fast food corporations strike agreements with franchisees that dictate a variety of standards for selling food under their brand — but leave wages, hours and labor conditions up to the franchisee.

The model has provided inroads to business ownership for many minority entrepreneurs, supporters point out.

But critics say companies like McDonald’s and Domino’s have been allowed to profit while distancing themselves from any responsibility for how restaurant employees are treated.

Joint employers?

The question of franchisors’ relationship to workers remains unsettled at the federal level. Across three presidential administrations the National Labor Relations Board has gone back and forth on whether to automatically consider franchisors and franchisees “joint employers.” The courts, including the California Supreme Court, have generally rejected that idea under current laws.

“These franchise models have been an avenue and way for companies to avoid responsibility for being employers,” said Emily Andrews, director of education, labor and worker justice at the Center for Law and Social Policy, a national, left-leaning anti-poverty organization.

Studies have found franchisors can exert a significant amount of pressure and control over franchise business owners.

“Clients want to avoid the liability that contractors would bring in terms of wage theft cases.”
— Yardenna Aaron, executive director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund

In a paper published last year, law professors at the University of Miami and Cornell University examined 44 franchise contracts from 2016 and found that more than three-quarters gave the chain exclusive power to terminate contracts, putting a franchisee “in a position of economic dependence.”

“Franchisees can respond to intensive franchisor monitoring and tight profit margins by unlawfully chiseling wages as the only cost variable that the franchisor does not directly monitor,” the law professors wrote.

The International Franchise Association disagrees, arguing the business model is defined by franchise owners’ independence in labor decisions. The fast food bill, they said, would reduce those owners to middle managers, and larger companies would pull back opportunities in California if they’re required to monitor labor law compliance.

“You’d be holding an entity responsible or assigning liability for things they don’t have control over,” said Jeff Hanscom, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based association which includes franchisors and franchisees. “You’re taking a franchise and turning it into the corporate entity.”

The Cheesecake Factory case

That argument holds some sway with lawmakers in the state Senate.

During a June hearing for the fast food bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee, some Democratic lawmakers questioned if an automatic expansion of liability is necessary. Sen. Bob Wieckowski, a Fremont Democrat, pointed out that under current law a judge can already find a franchisor liable for a labor violation if it’s proven on a case-by-case basis.

Representatives for some franchisors, including McDonald’s, Jack in the Box and Burger King, did not respond to requests for comment on California’s fast food bill.

To worker advocates, extending liability is key to enforcing wage and labor laws.

Yardenna Aaron is executive director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a janitorial worker center that pushed for joint liability in that industry in 2015.

Prior to that law’s passage, Aaron said, contractors often closed up shop or declared bankruptcy when faced with allegations of wage theft, only to reopen under another name or business entity later.

The new law has enabled the state’s labor commissioner to issue citations against larger and more prominent companies in cases of alleged wage theft.

In a highly publicized 2018 case, the California Labor Commissioner named the Cheesecake Factory jointly responsible with a janitorial services firm, saying they owed nearly $4 million to 559 janitorial workers who cleaned eight of the chain’s Southern California restaurants. It was one of the state’s largest cases of wage theft.

The state has brought similar cases against electric car manufacturer Tesla for its contractors allegedly underpaying janitors at its San Jose factories, and e-commerce giant Amazon for a contractor allegedly failing to pay overtime to its delivery drivers.

The power of the purse

Labor experts said it’s too soon to tell if joint liability has made it easier for the state to recover unpaid wages. State investigations of wage theft take months. And when the state cites employers, seeking unpaid wages and penalties, employers usually appeal, setting off administrative hearing processes that can take years.

The Cheesecake Factory case is still awaiting a hearing, four years later. Advocates expect a resolution this year, Aaron said. The Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund represented the workers interviewed in that case; its director at the time, Lilia Garcia-Brower, is now the California State Labor Commissioner.

Officials in the labor commissioner’s office in 2020 pointed to the growing complexity of liability laws for the long delays in processing the tens of thousands of individual wage claims workers file each year.

Still, legislative staffers predicted joint liability would “almost certainly” improve labor compliance in fast food by forcing the larger businesses to monitor the behavior of franchisees.

Aaron said that has been evident in the janitorial industry since the 2015 law change. The worker center meets with client companies that hire janitorial contractors to educate them about labor laws.

“We find, generally, clients want to avoid the liability that contractors would bring in terms of wage theft cases,” Aaron said. “The power of the purse is real.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Joseph “Joe” Lewis Toste was born to Mary and Joseph F. Toste at their family home in Arcata on May 3, 1933. He passed away and went to his Lord on August 9, 2022, at the age of 89, with his wife and children by his side. Joe spent his childhood in Arcata, working on the dairy and attending school there. He never lost his fondness for the dairy industry. As a young adult, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and later his family enjoyed hearing tales of his travels and experiences in the military. This is where Joe learned to cook. His Sunday morning hotcakes were the best! After many years of hard work, Joe retired from the lumber industry where he was known as a skillful forklift operator.

Joe met his wife of 64 beautiful years, Anna Godinho, at a Portuguese Holy Spirit Festa in Ferndale. They were married in 1958 and made Ferndale their home. It was a love of a lifetime.

Joe is survived by his wife, Anna Godinho Toste, his children: daughter Jo Ann Toste (Mark Reich), sons Tim Toste (Jody), Tom Toste, Joel Toste (Raenel), and his daughter Jennifer Toste; grandchildren: Nichole Myers (Lee), Jeremy Toste, Anthony Toste, Tyton Toste, James Toste, Janna Johnson (Devin), and Max Toste. Joe was blessed with one great-grandchild, Manny Myers. He is also survived by his brother Tony Tostie and his sister Mary Ann Norris as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Joe’s parents, his brothers Johnny and Lewis, and his sister Virginia preceded him death.

One of Joe’s favorite pastimes was dancing — oh, how he loved to dance! Joe and Anna belonged to Ferndale’s Jolly Time Dance club, and he was a member of the Moose Lodge where they enjoyed attending regular dance nights. Along with their close circle of friends, he and Anna visited many different dance venues around the county in their day. Joe and Anna could clear a dance floor! He loved good country western music and could whistle a tune like no other.

At a young age, Joe learned to “call” (in Portuguese!) two Azorean folk dances — the Chamarrita and the Fado. In the mid-1970s, Joe was pleased to dedicate time giving dance lessons in preparation for the 50th anniversary of Ferndale’s Portuguese Hall. Young and old alike had lots of fun learning and understanding the words and the steps (and missteps!) of the traditional dances. He was often thanked by local first-generation Portuguese immigrants for breathing new life into these old dances. Joe was proud of his Portuguese heritage and enjoyed speaking the language with others who knew it. He was a member of the Portuguese lodges I.D.E.S., Luso-American, and S.E.S.

More than anything, Joe was a wonderful family man. Kind, witty, and patient, Joe loved his family and genuinely enjoyed every moment spent with the grandchildren. If there was a project to be done or a grandchild who needed care, he was quick to pitch in and help. Joe taught all of his children to drive which is a testament to his patience and forgiving nature. He loved a good game of Pedro or double-deck Pinochle, and all the better if dessert was part of the plan. While any sweets would do, he had a particular fondness for cookies, pineapple upside-down cake and Tootsie Pops.

In addition to all he did for his family, Joe was happy to lend a hand to those who needed it, including regularly volunteering at the Ferndale Senior Center in years past. Joe gave unselfishly to those around him, friends and family alike. He valued hard work and kindness towards others. To say that he will be missed is an understatement, but we are forever grateful to have had him in our lives.

The family would like to thank Dr. Baird, staff of Redwood Memorial Hospital, the Eureka Veterans Clinic, and Hospice of Humboldt for their care and for their assistance in getting Joe home from the hospital to be with his family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hospice of Humboldt, the Church of the Assumption (Ferndale), Humboldt Senior Resource Center, or to your favorite charity.

A funeral mass will take place Friday, August 26, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Assumption, 546 Berding St, Ferndale.

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The obituary above was submitted by Joe Toste’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Fortuna Police Department press release:

On August 17, 2022 Fortuna Officers received a report of a past tense burglary at The Fortuna Veteran’s Memorial Hall in the 1400 block of Main Street, Fortuna CA. In the course of the initial investigation, it was determined that unknown suspect(s) gained access to the building and Canteen associated with Walker Bailey American Legion Post 205 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Sunset Post 2207.

Suspect(s) stole several items, some of which included an undisclosed amount of US currency, a cash register, electronics and irreplaceable military memorabilia commonly known as challenge coins.

It is extremely disheartening to see a theft committed against our local veterans, those who have stepped forward for all of us and who continually aid our community through their organizational influence.

This is an active investigation and the Fortuna Police Department requests the public’s assistance. If anyone has any information regarding this burglary or the whereabouts of the stolen property contact Officer JJ Mullen at 707-499-2836. Officer Mullen is the Fortuna Police department’s Lead Investigator on this case.

The Fortuna Police Department remains committed to public safety and transparency.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On August 17, 2022, at about 10:13 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 1600 block of Ocean Drive in McKinleyville for the report of an assault and firearm brandishing.

Cora. Photos: HCSO.

According to the reporting party, a male suspect, later identified as 40-year-old Ricardo Cora, was outside his residence in a physical altercation with two male victims. The victims sustained minor injuries as a result of this assault. At some point during this incident, Cora reportedly also brandished a bb gun at the victims. Upon deputy arrival, Cora retreated inside his residence and began firing the bb gun at deputy patrol cars. No one was injured as a result of this shooting.

After a short negotiation, Cora peacefully surrendered to deputies and was taken into custody without further incident. During a search of Cora’s residence, deputies discovered multiple assault rifles, a large quantity of cannabis trim and a Butane Honey Oil extraction lab.  The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team was dispatched to assist with the BHO lab investigation.

Cora was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of battery with bodily injury (PC 243(d)), exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC 417(a)(1)) and resisting a peace officer (PC 69). The investigation into the illegal BHO lab is ongoing and the case will be forwarded to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that California law prohibits openly displaying or exposing any imitation firearm in a public place or exhibiting an imitation firearm in a threatening manner (PC 20170(a), PC 417.4). These laws were enacted to reduce confusion between real and imitation firearms. Displaying or brandishing an imitation firearm in violation of the law is dangerous and could result in a deadly situation.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

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Over the past year or so, a number of Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies hit a snag in their training: They drove down to the main College of the Redwoods campus to attend one of their regular, mandated instructional courses, only to be turned away and asked to leave campus.

Sheriff Billy Honsal explained the problem at yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. 

“One of the things that we found during the pandemic was that College of the Redwoods was requiring all students to be vaccinated,” he said, “and we have about half of our deputies that, you know, refuse to be vaccinated for various reasons … . We actually had deputies that showed up for training that had to be sent home.”

Humboldt County doesn’t require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19, though last year the board adopted a policy requiring all unvaccinated workers to submit to weekly testing. [CLARIFICATION: On March 8, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors officially adopted that policy, but to date it has not been implemented, meaning unvaccinated employees do not have to submit to weekly testing.]

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone had questions for Honsal. He said he’d spoken with trustees at College of the Redwoods who told him that the director of the law enforcement academy would be “more than willing” to give deputies an exemption to the college’s vaccination requirement.

Honsal acknowledged as much, saying he’d spoken with CR President/Superintendent Keith Flamer the previous night, and Flamer made the same offer, saying un-vaccinated deputies could get a waiver to attend the training courses. But Honsal passed.

“That’s not something that I would ever, you know — it’s a rule from CR,” he told the board. “I respect the rule. And we would never ask [for] us to be treated any differently than any other students that go to CR.”

The inconvenience caused by deputies’ refusal to comply with the college’s vaccine mandate was among several reasons why the sheriff’s office has been pursuing a new space to conduct required trainings, Honsal said, and at Tuesday’s meeting the board agreed to sign a five-year lease on a 900-square-foot office space near RMI Outdoors in Eureka. 

The training courses instruct deputies on a variety of “perishable skills” including use of force, arrest and control, domestic violence and sexual assault investigations, driving, firearms and strategic communications. By law, Honsal said, correctional officers must attend 24 hours of such training annually while patrol deputies need to accumulate that much every two years.

Currently, deputies are getting paid overtime to attend these trainings, but Honsal said that a new schedule starting in January will make it so these employees are just making “straight time,” which should save the county about $50,000 per year. 

Honsal also noted that his department’s quarterly trainings on firearms, arresting control techniques and de-escalation had, to this point, never been certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Trainings (POST). 

“And so we were training our people once a quarter and then having to send [them] to CR to get this ‘certified training’ so they got their continued professional training points,” Honsal said. He added that the county will save more money in the future because his department’s training program will be certified.

The sheriff’s office also needs a permanent home for its Force Option Simulator (FOS) — a training device that uses video sequences and laser-emitting firearms to simulate high-risk incidents. The new rental space should meet that need, Honsal said.

During the public comment period, the county’s most prolific public commenter, Kent Sawatzky, questioned the terms of the lease, noting that it has a five-year term and an annual inflation clause. According to a staff report, rent would start at $1,700 per month and increase by three percent in each of the next four years for a total cost over the five-year term of $108,306.48. 

This rent bill would be paid out of the sheriff’s office’s State Asset Forfeiture Trust fund. 

Following the public comment period, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn made a motion to approve the lease agreement. Bushnell seconded the motion but questioned Honsal about the lease, asking whether it contained a severability clause in case the county wants out before five years is up.

“Absolutely,” Honsal said, though he quickly added, “I didn’t draw up the lease here, but that’s usually what we have.”

It soon became clear, however, that nobody could say for sure whether the lease had such a clause, so Public Works Director Tom Mattson suggested the board take a break to allow staff to investigate the matter.

When the board resumed its discussion a short while later, Mattson reported that the property owner, DC & RC Properties, LLC, would not agree to early termination of the lease. “So we don’t believe you should support this lease at this time,” Mattson said, adding, “Good catch from our caller-in.”

But the board kept discussing the matter, and Honsal advocated for signing the lease anyway, noting the space’s proximity to Ballistic Precision, a shooting range behind RMI that deputies use regularly. He also noted that the property owners made improvements to the building with the expectation that the county would be renting it.

Madrone wanted the matter to be brought back at a later date with more detail, and he said it was unfortunate that the owner made improvements before knowing whether the board of supervisors would agree to sign the lease. “They did that at their own risk,” he said.

Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson said that the county has been moving many of its services into new facilities pretty regularly lately, often vacating leases on places that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

“If we want to be efficient about using space, we should be looking to [use] a place we already lease or own,” Wilson said, adding that he has concerns about the severability issue.

But Honsal said the rental facility would lower the county’s risk of liability by providing deputies with use-of-force training, including a space for the Force Option Simulator (FOS). He said he’d be happy to have each of the five supervisors come take a tour of the new place and use the simulator.

Wilson asked whether the new facility would be ADA compliant and Mattson assured him it will. Mattson then deferred to Honsal, saying, “Frankly, if Billy is willing to move forward, we support moving forward.”

Wilson said he would support signing the lease. “But I do want that tour,” he said.

Madrone cast the lone dissenting vote, and the motion to sign the five-year lease passed 4-1.

 Humboldt County Drug Task Force press release: 

On August 15th , 2022, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) with the assistance of the Arcata Police Department (APD) made a traffic stop on a vehicle as it arrived at a motel in the 4900 block of Valley West Dr. in Arcata. The HCDTF had information that the occupants of the vehicle were transporting a large quantity of methamphetamine. Three people were detained without incident.

HCDTF Agents obtained a search warrant for the vehicle. During the vehicle search agents located 1/2 pound of methamphetamine and a digital scale. HCDTF Agents placed Alex Stinnett (34 years old from Redway) under arrest. The other two occupants were released at the scene. Stinnett was transported to the Humboldt County Jail where he was booked for the following charges:

• 11378 H&S Possession of methamphetamine for sale
• 11379 H&S Transportation of methamphetamine

The HCDTF would like to thank the Arcata Police Department for their assistance with this investigation. Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes are encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.