The holidays are here and people are ready to gather, hug and feast. But is California in a better place this year when it comes to COVID-19?

Last year, as Thanksgiving approached, infections were creeping up, culminating in a brutal winter surge, and the governor implemented an emergency curfew to slow the spread of the virus.

Overall the state as a whole is now doing better than a year ago, before vaccines were available. But a closer look at each county shows that “better” isn’t the case for all: At least 18 counties have more hospitalized COVID-19 patients today than they did this time last year. Another five have just as many.

The vast majority of the ones faring worse are in the Central Valley and rural Northern California, which are still recovering from bad summer surges. Humboldt, Madera and Lassen counties have the biggest year-over-year increases. In Madera, the 7-day average stood at 32 hospitalized patients on Sunday, compared to 13 a year ago. Humboldt had 11 hospitalizations on Sunday compared to three on the same date last year.

It’s a different — and far better — situation in California’s urban counties. Of the state’s 10 most populous counties, all except Fresno have fewer COVID patients in the hospital today than a year ago.

Los Angeles, Alameda and Contra Costa counties are reporting less than half of the COVID-19 hospitalizations of last year. San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Santa Clara, San Bernardino and Sacramento counties have about 30% less.

Last year’s winter surge was harsh for most of the state. But for some counties — including Butte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Shasta and Placer — this summer and fall were even worse. Some saw more patients hospitalized in summer and fall than they did last winter.

In the Central Valley some local hospitals are still strained. And experts say that’s a dangerous situation going into the holidays when another wave of cases is expected.

“We hope this surge, which we’re just trending down from now, is an indication that hopefully we won’t have another surge. But an increase in cases wouldn’t be terribly unlikely,” said Lisa Almaguer, communications director at Butte County Public Health.

At Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia, the seat of Tulare County, 73 COVID-19 infected patients were being treated as of Nov. 16. Although the number is high, Chief Executive Officer Gary Herbst said it is a welcome relief from the 100-plus infected patients hospitalized there since late summer.

“The Delta variant has been much more contagious, a bit more severe, where we are seeing more patients require critical care, require significant oxygen, unfortunately,” Herbst said. “In June or July, we literally only had four COVID positive patients in the hospital and were in a bit of a celebratory mood. But that quickly changed in August as we saw our numbers start increasing exponentially.”

Why are some counties still struggling?

According to the California Department of Public Health, from Oct. 24 to Oct. 30, unvaccinated people were 11.9 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those fully vaccinated.

Experts say the main driving force behind the increased hospitalizations in some counties is their low vaccination rate. Counties with a smaller portion of vaccinated residents are continuing to see higher hospitalization numbers. For example, Shasta and Merced have vaccination rates of about 50% and both have more COVID-infected people in their hospitals today than this time last year.

However, that’s not true for all counties: In Humboldt County, about 76% of the eligible population is at least partially vaccinated — about the same as the state’s average. But Humboldt also had more people in the hospital there this weekend than a year ago.

The reopening of businesses and return to normal activities may be fueling the infections in some counties.

“We’ve also been more open this year, that may be part of the explanation,” said Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist at University of California, Irvine who focuses on mortalities during pandemics. With more activity and less masking, infections and hospital rates are likely to remain significant in those counties that have insufficient vaccination.

“In rural counties, population density ought to be a protective factor, but we’ve seen time and time again that rural locations are not spared. They might get hit later, but they can get hit hard,” Noymer said.

Noymer, however, is hopeful that most counties have seen the worst of it — either last winter or in the summer. “But we do have some tough sledding ahead, and even if the worst is past us it doesn’t mean this winter won’t be tough.”

The number of new infections in most counties have been steadily declining since the summer wave.

Still, in 27 counties the 7-day daily average of new cases last week exceeded 10 infections per 100,000 people — a rate that once signaled widespread transmission and triggered the “purple zone” restrictions on businesses.

Compared to last year, however, infections are down in the vast majority of California. Only four small counties: Inyo, Mariposa, Mono and Sierra had a higher daily case rate on Friday than one year ago.

Hospitals still under siege

Fresno County health officials said on Friday that they are preparing for another potentially challenging winter. Hospitals there are operating consistently above capacity, and it’s often difficult to transfer patients to hospitals in other regions, said Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s health officer.

“If we need to transfer patients out to keep our hospital operational, we should really be able to do that with one or two phone calls. That’s not the situation right now, and that’s a point of frustration we’re hearing from multiple facilities,” Vohra said.

Nurse shortages, also, are an ongoing issue as nurses quit the workforce over labor concerns and burnout. At Kaweah in Visalia, Herbst said that there are 650 open positions at the hospital; 145 of them are for bedside nurses. Nurses are working four or five 12-hour shifts a week and Herbst worries that staff will burn out as a result of the extended summer surge, which leaves little time for recovery between now and the holiday season.

“They are exhausted, and that’s our number one worry,” Herbst said.

Local health officials are now pushing for boosters as immunity wanes and the holidays approach. While usually milder, breakthrough cases have been a growing concern in hospitals. In Fresno County, the share of those vaccinated who are hospitalized recently went from 5 to 10% of hospitalizations to 15 to 20%, Vohra said.

Despite some confusing messaging at the federal level about who “should” and who “may” get boosters, local health officials are encouraging boosters for all adults who completed their first series of shots more than 6 months ago, or 2 months for those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “I would say for all practical purposes, boosters are not optional,” Vohra said.

One glimpse of hope: an uptick in people who are getting their first dose ahead of the holidays.

“Last week we saw 1.4 million people get a vaccine, 58% were for boosters, but that’s encouraging because 42% of folks were getting those first doses as well,” Newsom said during a vaccine event on Monday.

Some county officials also are optimistic that the hard summer could mean that natural immunity will offer some community protection — at least enough to evade another devastating winter.

“We live on hope here,” Herbst said.

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

Douglas William Lane came into this world on December 2, 1948, on a crisp fall day in Los Gatos, CA and left the same time of year, due to an unexpected blood clot following a routine ankle surgery at UCSF. He was welcomed by his parents Richard and Berget, as well as his older sister and brother, Berget and Rick. As a child, the family moved throughout the United States, to places such as Pocatillo, ID, Grants, NM and Stamford, CT, with Richard’s aviation career, before permanently returning to the Bay Area in the early 1960s. He graduated from Mills High School in Burlingame, where he was able to attend all four years at the same school and ran track and cross country.  

Following in the footsteps of his beloved older brother, he moved north to attend Humboldt State University, after studying at both Monterey Peninsula College and Santa Rosa Junior College. He used to laugh about the time he lived in a mortuary while attending SRJC, because the rent was cheap and it was quiet! He graduated from Humboldt State in 1971, with a degree in Wildlife Management. He loved telling stories about his animal taxidermy skills and participating in Lumberjack Days, racing beds down the hills and other fun campus shenanigans. He remained an ardent supporter of his alma mater, attending years worth of football, basketball and softball games, as well as providing a warm home space for student athletes without family in the area.

In 1968, Doug was introduced to the love of his life, Doreen Kennedy, on a blind date in Santa Rosa, courtesy of their respective best friends, who were also dating. The instigator of this date was his dear friend Walter, whom he met as an elementary school student while living in New Mexico in the early 1950s. Doug and Doreen were married on a sunny March day in 1970 at St. Bruno’s Catholic church in Whittier, CA where everyone in her family had been married, baptised or eulogized. Upon Doreen’s move to Humboldt, they settled first in a small apartment in Eureka, before buying their lifelong home.

Their first daughter, Stacy, arrived in 1974, shortly after the untimely deaths of both his brother and father in separate airplane crashes. Daughter Stephanie followed in late 1980. While Doug had many accomplishments of which he was proud, he was most proud of his two girls and didn’t mind sharing that fact with everyone!

Doug started his career working for his mentor John Flynn at Eureka Aero at Murray Field Airport, where he helped manage airport operations and often flew medical and mail runs to other Northern California airports. From a family of aviation enthusiasts, he loved flying, but hung up his wings for good in the early 1980s after the death of a friend on a foggy day in Crescent City. However, his love for flying was evident and when he traveled, he always insisted on a window seat, not over the wing, so he could enjoy the view from above, even if it was dark and you couldn’t see anything. He spent time working at Wright Schuchart & Harbor Company and Trombetta and Cavagnaro Distributors, before beginning his dream job as a rural mail carrier with the US Postal Service in 1992. He loved spending time in his truck listening to a Giants game and enjoying both the domestic and wildlife he encountered daily on his Elk River and Freshwater mail runs. A lover of all animals and nature, he often took the family on drives after church to see the latest baby calf or to see if he could find a doe with her new fawns. This practice continues today with us often taking peaceful drives through the woods to look for animals.

He worked hard his entire life to provide for his family, teaching his girls the value of a dollar and how to save for later. Retiring in 2015, he enjoyed trips with his daughters and with his wife, making many memories and friendships. They traveled to many countries, mostly with Overseas Adventure Travel, and were proud to be members of the Sir Edmond Hillary club. From a Zodiac landing with penguins on the ice in Antarctica to safaris in Africa, tours of Europe, swimming with sharks in the Galapagos, and seeing lights in the Arctic Circle, he made it his mission to see as much as he could. Disappointed by Covid thwarting his travel plans, he was looking forward to his 2022 trips to Australia, New Zealand, a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest and another venture by ship deeper into the Arctic Circle to see firsthand the walrus and polar bears. His travel magazines were never far from his side, and he was always looking for his next great adventure.

An unselfish man of God, with a servant’s heart, Doug was always the first to help out a friend or volunteer for any chore at the First Presbyterian Church of Eureka, where he was a member for the past fifty years. He took particular pride in his close friendship with Dave and Carol Dillon, church friends and neighbors, as well as acting as the unofficial neighborhood mayor with good friend Kent Lende. It’s said a man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth. In this regard, Doug was blessed beyond compare.  

Dad was preceded in death by his parents, Richard & Berget Lane, his brother USAF Cpt. Richard Lane, grandparents Ernst and Elin Bern, grandparents John & Rose Lane, father and mother-in-law Frank & Lena Kennedy, sister-in-law Maureen Kennedy, brother-in-law Bruce Atherton and good friend and college roommate, Jim Burke. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Doreen, daughters Stacy (Joe) and Stephanie, sister Berget, nieces Michelle (Paco) and Erin (Jason); sister-in-law Eileen, great niece and nephews Charlotte, Wyatt and Alexander, his lifelong friend, Walter, and a large extended network of Lane cousins. He flourished with a strong group of friends and enjoyed many other close relationships throughout the community.

A private graveside burial was held on Saturday, November 20th. A community celebration of life, open to anyone who would like to attend, will be held at 3pm on his birthday, December 2nd, at the First Presbyterian Church of Eureka. Masks are required and the service may also be viewed live on the church’s Facebook page. The family would like to thank his surgeon, Dr. Kirsten Olsen at UCSF, and acknowledge the incredible empathy and kindness of the ER and ICU doctors and staff at St. Joseph Hospital, during his final hours. Dad would have wanted us to encourage you to help others by registering as an organ donor: www.organdonor.gov. We all take solace in knowing while he is no longer with us, he lives on in those who received his final gifts.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Doug’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

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At yet another anguished meeting about ongoing issues with Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Monday narrowly passed a vote of “no confidence” in the elected official, signaling their increasing alarm over fiscal management problems tied to her office.

While there was unanimous agreement among the board that the county’s fiscal mess has reached dangerous proportions, both Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone and Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson voted against the “no confidence” vote — the former because he didn’t see how the vote would resolve any of the problems and the latter because of concerns about the procedure and timeline leading up to the vote.

Paz Dominguez did not call or Zoom in to the meeting, which seemed to disappoint some of the supervisors. County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes said Paz Dominguez had been notified about the meeting, along with all county department heads, but not specifically invited to participate.

The morning session of the meeting was marked by confusion as the board went in and out of closed session to discuss certain items on the agenda. A bit of public comment got squeezed in between these closed-session hearings, though much of it was questioning what was going on.

In the afternoon, the board got down to the public business at hand: considering the vote of “no confidence” in Paz Dominguez. Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass, who brought the item to the board with Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, said the vote wasn’t about last week’s payroll problems but rather a series of unfulfilled tasks from the auditor-controller, some of them dating back two years or more. 

“We’re hearing every day more concerns [and] complaints from member agencies who haven’t been getting their money and from members of the public,” Bass said, adding that the county learned just today that the State Controller’s Office plans to step in and complete the county’s overdue financial transactions report. “That’s not anything anybody wants,” she said.

The state will also issue a $5,000 fine against the county, according to Hayes. 

Bushnell said that since she took office nearly 11 months ago, she has frequently had trouble getting answers to inquiries sent to the Auditor-Controller’s Office, as have outside agencies within her district.

Wilson said his understanding was that the board would be considering the “no confidence” vote after hearing a report from Paz Dominguez, “and that’s not what we’re seeing. That’s not what we’re doing today.” He suggested that the matter be continued to the next Board of Supervisors meeting, on Dec. 7.

During the public comment period, half a dozen county employees called in to urge the county to pass the “no confidence” vote, as did the treasurer of a local community services district, one member of the public and Mary Ann Hansen, executive director of the early childhood support agency First 5 Humboldt.

A 15-year county employee who did not give her name said that while Paz Dominguez has “pretended to be a great crusader,” in reality she has just created more problems, changing procedures in ways that require work to be done twice, failing to close the books on prior fiscal years and retaliating against departments whose employees speak out.

Kelly Hampton, deputy branch director of Social Services, said the county’s fiscal problems are making it harder to hire and retain employees. Karen Baker, an administrative analyst with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health branch, said Paz Dominguez needlessly complicated a process for paying outside vendors working on a program called Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, or HOPWA.

“These delays and confusions have inhibited our ability to help people in dire need,” Baker said.

Hansen said this controversy isn’t about departmental in-fighting, as some have portrayed it. (She pointed out that her government agency is not a county department.) “I feel that this boils down to whether your board as a group is willing to acknowledge the true depth of the fiduciary responsibilities and the fiduciary crisis,” she said. “Respectfully, this isn’t politics. This is a house on fire, and you all need to use every tool to get people to safety and put the fire out. The tools you used before haven’t worked.”

Jesse Anderson, treasurer of the Briceland Community Services District’s board of directors, said the county’s previous auditor-controller was helpful and communicative whereas Paz Dominguez is difficult to reach and frequently late in posting financial reports. A $1.1 million state grant to her district has yet to be journaled over into her agency’s account, causing major problems, she said.

“There’s still money from last fiscal year that has not been journaled over,” Anderson said. “Come on. That is a simple procedure.”

Habitual public commenter Kent Sawatzky said he considered it “rude and arrogant” to expect Paz Dominguez to be available all day for the meeting, adding that the board’s “finger pointing” was getting old. Former Third District supervisor candidate Uri Driscoll defended Paz Dominguez — on procedural grounds, at least — saying she’s an independently elected official and only a recall can remove her from office.

Connie Beck, director of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), emphasized the importance of completing the single audit for past fiscal years. (Both the 2019-20 audit and 2020-21 audit remain incomplete.)

“Without this audit complete we face withholding, suspending or termination of our grants,” Beck said, noting that such measures would impact the community’s most vulnerable people by affecting homeless services, behavioral health, child welfare and other programs.

Marie Essig, business manager for the Public Defender’s Office, said the office has been significantly impacted by the lack of prompt communication from the Auditor-Controller’s as well as Paz Dominguez’s byzantine and ever-changing requirements for documentation.

“It’s almost like solving a riddle … ,” Essig said. “I really strongly encourage the board to take a vote of ‘no confidence.’”

When the matter came back to the board, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn thanked the people who spoke and urged his fellow board members to “at least give them some semblance of help or show that we’re going to do something.”

Wilson expressed mixed feelings. A vote of “no confidence” is more of a statement than an action, he said, but he acknowledged that problems need to be addressed somehow.

“We are really having some huge, huge issues,” he said. 

Bushnell asked Hayes to explain the purpose of a vote of “no confidence.” The CAO first offered an overview of the alleged failures of the auditor-controller, which were spelled out in a lengthy list included in the staff report released Friday. She said a “no confidence” vote would amount to “a testament” that the board recognizes the “serious deficiencies within our organization” and supports staff who’ve voiced concerns.

Hayes later said that having the State Controller’s Office intervene is “a little embarrassing” for the county, and she said the very public nature of these ongoing issues has negatively impacted the county’s credit rating. 

“The county is a high-risk county at this point in time,” Hayes said. “So that’s most definitely going to impact our credit rating and our ability to secure good financing for the very large projects that we’re going to have coming up in the coming years.”

Madrone spoke at length, saying everyone is trying to get things fixed and should focus on working together to solve problems. He agreed that the current situation is “untenable” but said he wasn’t sure what a “no confidence” vote accomplishes. 

The auditor-controller is micromanaging, Madrone said, adding, “We’re way beyond micromanaging at this point. We’re in a macro state, right? We’re in the macro state, where we really absolutely need to get everything posted and caught up and dealt with.”

But he also said other departments share some blame, noting that some, including DHHS, still use paper timecards. He also suggested that micromanaging has some virtue.

“If you want to fault our auditor-controller for something, you can fault her for trying to do her job way too good,” he said. “But in doing things way too good, it has delayed things that absolutely should have been done a long time ago.”

Wilson made a motion to continue the hearing until Dec. 7, and Madrone seconded the motion.

But Bohn wasn’t having it, and he’d been irked by Madrone’s comments. “Now I’m finding out that all our problems are because somebody is doing their job ‘too good,’” he said, adding, “I’ve got to vote for this today.” He said he’s had well over a dozen people in his office crying about issues with the auditor-controller and said her job should be non-political rather than a frequent source of controversy and media coverage. 

Visibly angry, Bohn said, “Sorry. I wasn’t going to talk anymore, but when this — my god, she’s doing the job ‘too good’ so we just have to deal with it.” He sighed and added, “I can’t even buy that car. Sorry.”

A vote to continue the meeting until Dec. 7 failed 3-2, with only Madrone and Wilson voting yes. 

Afterwards, Wilson said he thinks everyone on the board fundamentally agrees that the problems are serious and need to be addressed. “We’re heading down a very, very bad path,” he said, but he reiterated that he doesn’t see how the resolution to vote “no confidence” would solve those problems. He suggested a censure motion might be a better approach.

Bushnell said the “no confidence” vote would be a way of recognizing the anguish people have expressed. 

“I hope the Auditor-Controller’s Office hears this — because she’s not hearing it any other way,” Bushnell said.

“Voting yes or no, I think we’re all on the same page here,” Madrone said. “This has gone on too long and needs to be fixed.”

There’s was a bit of back-and-forth about whether Friday’s staff report was entirely accurate. (Madrone quibbled with the wording describing an issue related to IRS fines and liens; Bushnell and Hayes said the wording was accurate.)

Ultimately, Bohn said the conclusion is unavoidable. “I mean, you can’t put lipstick on this. We’ve got a problem … .”

With the 3-2 vote, the board signaled its lack of confidence in Paz Dominguez. In a separate motion, the board unanimously passed a resolution directing her to post interest every fiscal quarter on monies deposited in the county’s general fund.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• The Auditor-Controller’s Ongoing Beef With Other County Departments is Getting Ugly
• Defiant Auditor-Controller Gives Board of Supes List of Conditions for Her Help With County Payroll Project
• Supes Call Special Meeting, Say County at ‘Serious Risk of Losing Millions’; Auditor-Controller Says She’s Being Asked to Cut Corners
• County Department Heads and Local Agency Leaders Voice Frustration, Concern With Auditor-Controller
• In Ongoing Conflict With Its Own Auditor-Controller, County Opens Investigation, Looks to Outsource Some Fiscal Oversight Duties; A-C Asks to Retain Outside Counsel
• ‘Nobody is Outsourcing the Auditor’: County Administrative Office Responds to Claims By and About Paz Dominguez
• TODAY in SUPES: Board Agrees to Appoint Outside Attorney for Auditor-Controller, But Not the One She Picked
• State Suspends County’s Purchasing Account for Overdue Payment; Auditor-Controller Takes Responsibility
• County Abandons Investigation Into Fiscal Management Delays, Having Never Interviewed the Auditor-Controller
• TODAY in SUPES: Board Approves ‘Audit Committee’ in Hopes of Solving the Ongoing ‘Dysfunction’ Surrounding Financial Transactions
• The Agency Running Humboldt County’s Workforce Services is Ready to Bail Over Chronically Late Payments
• Board Approves Creation of Chief Financial Officer Position as Staff Emphasizes Distinctions From Auditor-Controller
• Humboldt County Audit Committee Held Its First Meeting … and the Auditor-Controller was Absent
• Board Agrees to Spend Another Half-Million Dollars Trying to Fix Its Ongoing Fiscal Shitshow
• An Embarrassing About-Face on an Expensive Non-Solution to Our Payroll Problems
• As County’s Fiscal Fiascoes Mount, Feds Impose Tax Liens, Contractors Plead for Their Money and Department Heads Sound the Alarm
• In Latest Audit Committee Meeting, Paz Dominguez Asks for Help and Gets It
• County Moves Payroll Back Under Auditor-Controller’s Office Despite Serious Concerns Voiced by Employees
• County Employees Threaten Legal Action Over ‘Failures’ of Auditor-Controller; Workforce Board Pursues ‘No Confidence’ Vote
• ‘Something is Broken’: County Staff, Supervisors and Department Heads Confront Auditor-Controller in Collective Airing of Grievances
• Fortuna Union High School District Submits Vote of ‘No Confidence’ in County Auditor-Controller, Files Complaint With Civil Grand Jury
• [UPDATE: Paychecks Are Getting Issued, But Many Are Incorrect] County Employees Didn’t Get Paid On Time This Morning and They’re Pissed
• County Board of Supervisors to Consider Vote of ‘No Confidence’ in Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez

Three Hoopa High School student athletes have been selected to play in the fourth annual Indigenous Bowl next month — a football match honoring 60 of the best high school football players of Native American descent from across the U.S.

After taking a year off due to COVID-19, the 7G Foundation has partnered with the NFL to host this year’s bowl game at U.S. Bank Stadium — home of the Minnesota Vikings.

Hoopa High School varsity football players Everett “Bronc” Colegrove, James Hernandez Jr. and Darvin Davis IV will travel to Minneapolis on Dec. 1 for orientation and several days of practice, before playing in the official game on Dec. 5.

“Football is my favorite sport,” 17-year-old Hoopa tribal member James Hernandez Jr. told the Outpost. “I thought this year’s football season was over. Next thing I knew, I was invited to play with other talented indigenous players and extend my season.”

Hoopa High student Darvin Davis IV. | Photo provided by the Davis family.

Hoopa High student and Yurok Tribal Member Darvin Davis IV told the Outpost that he’s looking forward to meeting other young indigenous players from around the country.

“That’s the most exciting part about it,” Davis said. “To meet and play with new people and to make new brothers and bonds that I won’t ever forget.”

Former Hoopa High volunteer coaching assistant and Hoopa tribal member Tashone Rice has played an integral part in getting local athletes to apply for the Indigenous Bowl over the years, and said that the event provides important opportunities for indigenous students.

“Native kids don’t really get the exposure that other kids living in bigger cities get,” Rice said. “The Indigenous Bowl is a cool new thing. It opens up a lot more opportunities for small rural communities. Some of these kids have never left the state before. It’s a big deal.”

Hoopa High School student Everett “Bronc” Colegrove. | Photo provided by the Hoopa Valley Tribe

Rice added that he’s thrilled that these students will be able to meet other indigenous athletes from around the country and that all three Hoopa High students have the talent to make an impact for their bowl game teams.

“[The opportunity] is huge,” he said. “That camaraderie. Those connections. You never know where some will end up in life. Hopefully they build a lot of friendships and stay connected.”

Rice is actively working with the Hoopa Valley and Yurok tribes to get $2,500 for each student to help pay for travel and boarding expenses. Those wishing to donate to the 2021 Indigenous Bowl can do so through the organization’s website.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 21, 2021, at about 9:47 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the McKinleyville area attempted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation.

The vehicle failed to yield, and a pursuit ensued. Deputies pursued the vehicle from Central Avenue onto Murray Road. During the pursuit, the vehicle crossed multiple times into the oncoming lane of traffic. The vehicle became disabled on a logging road and two occupants fled from the vehicle. Deputies apprehended both individuals a short distance from the vehicle.

The two suspects were determined to be juveniles, one of which who had been reported missing to the Fortuna Police Department. Additionally, both juveniles had outstanding warrants for their arrest. The juveniles were taken into custody and transported to Humboldt County Juvenile Hall.

Due to their juvenile status, suspect identification and charging information is restricted from release.

This case is still under investigation. 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.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 19, 2021, at about 10:19 p.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the Redway area attempted a traffic stop on a green Subaru hatchback for a vehicle code violation. The driver of the vehicle failed to yield and a pursuit ensued.

The Sheriff’s deputy pursued the vehicle onto Alderpoint Road. During the pursuit, the Subaru accelerated to high rates of speed, at times driving into the oncoming lane of traffic. The deputy followed the vehicle onto Hoaglin Road. While pursuing the Subaru, the deputy lost control of the patrol vehicle resulting in a rollover traffic collision. The deputy sustained minor injuries as a result of this collision.

The suspect vehicle is still outstanding at this time. It is described as a 2011 Green Subaru hatchback with California License Plate Number 6UJM570.

Anyone with information regarding the location of this vehicle 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.

Your President of Positivity always finds herself in awe of the countless individuals who pour out their love and energy for this community. Take the folks at the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods, for example. In this week’s episode Michaele stops by the clubhouse to hang out with friends young in old in an effort to draw attention to the upcoming Giving Tuesday — which takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, to be clear — a day set aside for generosity when people are encouraged to give of themselves and/or contribute to local nonprofits. (Hint, hint 😉)

You can do it! Ciao Bella!

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Perhaps You’d Like to Explore Previous Mondays With Michaele For Some Reason!