UPDATE, 5:27 p.m.: Friend of the LoCO Heidi Walters just texted in to say that she and her husband Ken were passengers on the interrupted flight in question. The good news: They are about to board a different plane to continue their journey homeboldt.
“Luckily they had a spare for us,” Walters joked.
Walters said that staff remained calm as they informed passengers about the situation on her prior flight. Air pressure in the main cabin remained constant, thus no masks dropped from the ceiling.
“It was odd when the plane began descending then made that sharp turn,” she said. “Then they let us know about the cracked windshield. All very calm and undramatic. Good flight crew!”
In fact, the most exciting aspect of the trip, Walters added, was the unexpected low-altitude view of the Sierra Nevada mountains. And yes, she snapped a photo. See the mountains up close below.
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Original Post: An American Eagle flight traveling from Phoenix Sky Harbor International to to California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV) was forced to make an emergency landing in Fresno around 4 p.m.
ABC30, citing Fresno Fire, reports that American Airlines flight 3130 experienced some issues while flying over Mono Lake when a windshield broke, causing a loss of cabin pressure. You can see the plane’s sudden change of direction in the flight map below from FlightAware.
EMERGENCY LANDING: An American Eagle flight set to go from Phoenix to Humboldt County was rerouted to Fresno for an emergency landing. Fresno Fire says a windshield on the plane broke near Mono Lake, causing a loss of cabin pressure. Officials confirm no injuries. @ABC30pic.twitter.com/7gF0S7olFd
The arraignment for murder suspect Austin Michael Medeiros was postponed today when Medeiros told Judge Christopher Wilson he wants to hire his own attorney.
Medeiros, 27, is accused of killing 28-year-old Emily Rose May Lobba, found dead in her Greenwood Heights home on April 3. Today Wilson advised him he is charged with murder, the felony of driving against traffic while being pursued by law enforcement, and misdemeanor charges of assault and battery on Lobba’s caretaker.
Medeiros is from Rhode Island but has a drug case from 2016 in Humboldt County. He is charged with violating probation on that case.
Today Wilson was prepared to appoint the county Conflict Counsel’s Office to represent Medeiros, whose bail is set at $1 million. But Medeiros said he plans to contact and hire a lawyer, David Skilling, who was recommended to him. No one in the courtroom today was familiar with Skilling.
Medeiros asked for three days to hire the attorney. He will be back in court on Thursday.
Lobba’s father, Alex Lobba, watched the hearing today via Zoom. He and Emily’s mother, Mary Jackson, held a memorial service for their daughter last week in the Ventura area.
In the district attorney’s complaint against Medeiros, there are no special allegations of use of a firearm or any other weapon.
On April 3, Emily Lobba’s caretaker told authorities, she arrived at Lobba’s home for a scheduled visit and was confronted by a man who refused to let her in. The man allegedly assaulted the caretaker before fleeing in Lobba’s van. Pursued by police, he left the van near Arcata Community Forest and disappeared into the woods.
Medeiros was arrested a week later in Santa Cruz as he allegedly was trying to steal a boat. Police there said Medeiros was carrying drugs and a loaded gun.
Deputy District Attorney Candace Myers has been assigned to Medeiros’s case.
UPDATE: 3:45 p.m. Well, we survived the heaviest period of the sky’s fury. And judging by the clip below, some of us downright flourished.
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Original Post: The Eureka-based skywatchers from the National Weather Service just issued a “special weather statement” on their social media accounts to warn that most of Humboldt is at risk of experiencing strong winds and hail (“pea-sized possible”) until 3:45 p.m. Monday.
A special weather statement has been issued for Arcata CA, McKinleyville CA, Fortuna CA until 3:45 PM PDT pic.twitter.com/Q4ym3u0xHs
This morning, USA
Today published the results of a months-long investigation into
claims of sexual harassment by one professor at Cal Poly Humboldt,
which allegedly took place while that professor held the post of Dean
of Humboldt State’s College of Professional Studies.
The story – about
Professor John Lee, who now teaches in the Education Department –
uses the case to illustrate a CSU-wide problem with so-called
“retreat rights,” which can be written into university
administrators’ contracts. These “retreat rights” give the
administrator the right to a full-time faculty job in the event that
they are fired.
Lee was fired from
Humboldt State in 2016 after the university upheld sexual harassment
claims – including unwanted kissing and “groping” – filed by
two of his colleagues, USA Today
reports. Upon his termination, he exercised the “retreat rights”
clause in his contract and, after three months of paid leave, took up
his post as an education professor at the top of the salary range for
that job.
USA Today
reporter Kenny Jacoby quotes
a Cal Poly Humboldt spokesperson as saying that it has since reformed
the “retreat rights” clause to specifically state that the job
guarantee would not apply in cases of personal misconduct
– though the paper says it has found examples of contracts that
still contain the unmodified clause – and a spokesperson for the
CSU Chancellor’s office says that the Lee case illustrates that
it’s time for systemwide reform of such contracts.
This
morning’s story follows on a previous USA Today
investigation, which found cases of hushed-up sexual harassment at
Cal State Fresno under then-President Joseph Castro, who is now
chancellor of the CSU system. [CORRECTION: Who WAS chancellor of the CSU system. He resigned in the wake of USA Today’s story.]
In response to the press release below, PG&E spokesperson Deanna Contreras emailed the following statement:
PG&E has received a notice of intent to sue from the Friends of the Eel River. The potential claims described in the notice are without merit. PG&E is strongly committed to environmental responsibility, and we are operating the Potter Valley Project in full compliance with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Biological Opinion (BiOp) and its incidental take statement, which is incorporated into the Potter Valley license.
For the past 100 years of PG&E owning and operating the Potter Valley Project, PG&E has complied with the licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorizing operation of the Project. The terms of PG&E’s current license, which remain in effect until the Project is licensed or surrendered by FERC, include requirements to comply with all environmental laws, including the endangered species act.
FERC set the expiration date of the Project more than 25 years ago. Upon expiration of a license, the Federal Power Act requires FERC to issue an annual license, which renews automatically, with the same terms and conditions for the project, until it’s relicensed, transferred or decommissioned. That means PG&E will continue to own and operate the Potter Valley Project safely under the existing license conditions until the project is transferred or FERC issues a final license surrender and decommissioning order.
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Original post:
Scott Dam. | Photo by Kyle Schwartz of CalTrout, used with permission.
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Press release:
Eureka, California - A coalition of environmental and fishing groups has notified Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) that its two obsolete dams on the Eel River are violating the federal Endangered Species Act by harming federally protected salmon and steelhead.
The five groups – Friends of the Eel River, California Trout, Trout Unlimited, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, and the Institute for Fisheries Resources – sent a letter required by the Endangered Species Act to PG&E last week. The legal notice states the Potter Valley Project dams and diversion are causing take of Chinook salmon and steelhead, and that to the extent PG&E had federal permits to harm listed species, that coverage expired April 14.
Alicia Hamann, executive director of Friends of the Eel River, said the groups intend to take the utility to federal court to seek protections for salmon and steelhead harmed by PG&E’s Potter Valley Project. “A century after Scott Dam blocked passage to the Eel River’s headwaters, PG&E’s license to operate the Potter Valley Project has expired. The Eel River dams must now be removed,” Hamann said. “Until the dams are removed, PG&E must operate the Potter Valley Project to minimize impacts to critically imperiled Eel River Chinook salmon and steelhead.”
Scientists estimate that historically the Eel River saw 800,000 Chinook salmon return in good years, but today, only about 3,000 Chinook come back. Vivian Helliwell with the Institute for Fisheries Resources, a fishing industry group, emphasized the impact low Eel River salmon numbers have on fishing vessels working the Pacific Coast. “The fishing industry didn’t block upstream salmon habitat, PG&E did,” said Helliwell, “but massive losses of salmon from the Eel River have been devastating to coastal fishing-dependent communities. Helping Eel River salmon recover will help restore lost jobs and income for our fishing families.”
Trout Unlimited’s Charlie Schneider noted that for the last 20 years, PG&E has operated the Potter Valley Project under restrictions set by federal fisheries biologists to protect Eel River fisheries. “The National Marine Fisheries Service is clear that the permit ended last week. Now the agency has concluded not only that those protective measures were inadequate, but that the Potter Valley Project is negatively impacting salmon and steelhead in ways the agency never allowed. The Eel is one of the best opportunities for wild salmon recovery in California, until they remove their dams, PG&E must do more to reduce their impacts to fish than continue business as usual.”
While some Russian River agricultural interests have complained about the prospect of Eel River dam removal, Darren Mierau of California Trout says “Our studies have clearly shown that dam removal is what’s best for the health of the Eel River and there are technical solutions that could provide diversions from the Eel River to the Russian without dams. Whether Russian River interests want to invest in a safe, resilient, 21st century water supply is ultimately up to them. Either way, it’s time for Eel River salmon and steelhead to get the protection they need.”
On April 15, 2022, at about 1:15 a.m., officers with the Eureka Police Department
responded to a motel on the 1600 block of 4th Street for the report of shots heard.
The caller reported seeing several people fleeing from the parking lot after what
sounded like a gunshot.
On scene, officers located a spent shell casing and one unfired round on the ground.
Several people contacted were uncooperative and denied any knowledge of a shooting.
Video surveillance was reviewed and it was determined that a heated altercation had
taken place.
During the altercation, a male suspect retrieved a firearm from a vehicle
and fired a single shot toward an additional male. All parties then immediately fled the
area. Based on the surveillance and statements made, it was determined that no victims
were struck or injured.
Officers were able to obtain a detailed suspect and vehicle description from the
surveillance and issued a BOLO. With assistance from Arcata Police Department, the
involved vehicle was located at a Motel in Arcata.
On April 16th, Eureka Police Officers responded to the motel in Arcata with a signed
search warrant. The male suspect associated with the vehicle and shooting was
contacted and identified as 44-year-old Rashad Blanchard of Los Angeles. 41-year-old
Sharon Grim of Los Angeles was also contacted.
Officers executed search warrants on both the associated motel room and vehicle.
During the search, officers located 3 pounds of methamphetamine, packaging material,
digital scales, and 10 pounds of marijuana.
Blanchard was arrested for possession of controlled substances for sales and parole
violation. Grim was arrested for possession of controlled substances for sales. Both
were transported and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.
The shooting incident is still an ongoing investigation and anyone with information is
asked to contact the Eureka Police Department, regarding case 22-001667.
Since late 2021 the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) had been investigating Lucas Adams (22
years old from Arcata) for transportation and sales of fentanyl pills. As a result of their investigation
agents received a search warrant for Adams.
On Saturday April 16th , 2022 HCDTF agents conducted surveillance on Adams as he travelled from
Humboldt County to Sacramento to purchase more fentanyl pills. On Sunday evening April 17th , 2022
HCDTF agents made a traffic stop on Adams as he entered Humboldt County on Highway 101. Adams was
detained without incident.
HCDTF Agents conducted a search of the vehicle and located 2,000 “M30” fentanyl pills. Adams admitted
to purchasing the pills in Sacramento and transporting them to Humboldt County for the purpose of sales.
Agents also located a baby bottle filled with a purple cough syrup. This cough syrup is used for
“robotripping” with is the street term for getting high on Dextromethorphan. Adams was placed under
arrest and transported to the Humboldt County Jail for the following charges:
H&S 11351 Possession of fentanyl for sale
H&S 11352(b) Transportation of fentanyl across non-contiguous counties
H&S 11351(a) Transportation of fentanyl for sales
Agents served two additional search warrants on residences for Adams. At his residence in the 1900
block of H St. in Arcata agents located a loaded Glock handgun, multiple loaded magazines for different
caliber firearms, and evidence of identity theft and fraudulent bank cards. At a second residence
associated with Adams in the 3500 block of G St. in Eureka agents located a printer and blank checks as
well as additional evidence of identity theft and bank fraud. Agents are continuing to investigate Adams
for the identity theft and fraud and could forward additional charges to the Humboldt County District
Attorney’s Office.
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.
