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Save Mount Diablo, a 53-year-old conservation group based in Walnut Creek, has thrown its support behind a San Benito County ballot initiative that would require a public vote for future conversions of open land to commercial, residential or public use, the group’s conservation head said last week.

The organization, which has advocated for preserving open space in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, is helping local proponent Andy Hsia-Coron campaign for the Empower Voters to Make Land Use Decisions Initiative, which qualified in June for the Nov. 5 ballot, said Seth Adams, Save Mount Diablo’s land conservation director.

Save Mount Diablo has distributed an undisclosed number of fliers and large-scale physical maps to conservation organizations in San Benito County for their comment, Adams said. The group’s website lists San Benito County as one of 12 that it follows in its work of protecting open space in the Diablo Range, which runs through the eastern portion of the county. It’s map shows all of San Benito County, including the Gabilan Range, as belonging to the Diablo Range.

“San Benito County is the largest part of the Diablo Range and it has pretty tremendous growth pressures, and we’re pretty good at being involved,” Adams said.
San Benito is one of the fastest growing counties in California largely because of its proximity to Silicon Valley.

The conservation group’s support comes as the initiative’s proponents and opponents begin squaring off less than three months before the election.

The measure proposes requiring voter approval of any project in unincorporated parts of the county that involve zoning changes from agricultural, rangeland or rural to commercial, neighborhood, public or quasi-public. San Benito County’s Planning Commission, which is appointed by the Board of Supervisors, makes those decisions today.

Opponents of the measure say its passage would deter developers from pursuing beneficial projects because it would cost too much to run campaigns to woo voters.

They advocate new commercial use of land in four locations along Hwy 101, among other places, to create jobs for locals and bring in tax revenue that would go toward fixing roads, expanding the public library and improving parks.

Save Mount Diablo’s work shows that people from outside the county are trying to influence San Benito County’s direction, said Bob Tiffany, a former county supervisor and spokesman for the opposition. Save Mount Diablo had also supported Measure Q, 2022’s Let Voters Decide initiative, which was rejected by 56% of voters.

“Once again it’s outside money and people from outside our county that are trying to influence the direction of our county,” Tiffany said. “I much more respect disagreements coming from our own residents than when outside residents step in.”

Proponents of the measure point to wildlife protection and the county’s appeal as a scenic tourist destination as reasons for their support. 

Anthony Botelho, also a former county supervisor and opponent of the ballot measure, said tourists who visit San Benito County contribute little to the tax base because they seldom stay long enough to use local services.

“We have tourism coming through here,” Botelho said. “We have Pinnacles National Park and that has made hardly a dent in our revenue stream. We have nothing to sell them. We don’t have gas stations. We don’t have hotels.”

The conservation group says it hasn’t yet gauged how much of San Benito County—which by area is mostly ranchland and farms—is publicly accessible. The group’s “Diablo Range Public Access Map” shows about 19% of San Benito County as “protected” land. 

“The intent is to show San Benito residents what exists in the county and give them the big picture,” Adams said, though he cautioned that it’s “not a trail map.”

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On any given day between April and September, dozens of wildfires are burning throughout the West. More than 4,700 fires have already scorched California this year, burning nearly 30 times the acreage that was charred over the same period last year. The Park Fire — now the fifth-largest fire in the state’s history — has destroyed more than 821 structures and forced residents of four counties to evacuate. 

After more than a decade of increasing risk, many residents of fire-prone areas are well aware of the need to make evacuation plans and clear defensible space around their homes. Some residents are stepping up to fill gaps in regional fire protection. Still, many fire prevention and mitigation strategies can only be addressed by local government. 

Just as individuals vary widely in their approach to wildfire preparedness, so too do community leaders. How do you know that your county or municipality is taking effective measures? 

While the answer depends on the area’s level of fire risk, among other factors, there are certain steps that can help strengthen wildfire defense. We asked three experts working in or alongside local governments about essential, advanced and ideal wildfire-preparedness strategies for Western communities. 

Essential preparedness

Publish a wildfire action plan. In May, Oregon’s Wasco County received a $5.9 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service, the largest in the state so far this year, to conduct multiple mitigation projects, including targeted tree removal and community education. It’s a feat that community development director Kelly Howsley-Glover said would not have been possible without the county’s community wildfire action plan, which aggregates information on local risk reduction efforts, updating a previous version from 2005.

“Plans translate into grants,” she said, because they demonstrate that local agencies are already working together to identify their most urgent needs. This year, Wasco County’s priorities include finalizing a study on vegetation near roads, which can contribute to fires, and adopting new standards for building with nonflammable materials. 

Establish an active dialogue with community members. Both Wasco’s community wildfire action plan and its natural hazards mitigation plan sought public feedback through surveys, which informed how the county prioritized its goals. Over time, the county bridged the communication gap between firefighters and the local farming community, encouraging the latter to play an active role in containing this year’s fire in Larch Creek. 

Build relationships among agencies. Tuolumne County, which sits north of Yosemite National Park, is 75% public land. To effectively reduce the buildup of fallen trees and shrubs, which fuel fires, county leaders must work with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. When county officials realized that they were competing for the same state and federal grants as the Forest Service and other agencies, they decided to host annual meetings among county, state, tribal and federal agencies to streamline their efforts and set shared priorities.

“We have very high fire-severity zones,” said Dore Bietz, assistant director of Tuolumne’s Office of Emergency Services in. “In a rural community that is truly dependent upon finding grant-funded programs, (identifying areas of need) really allows us to work together as a team.”

Update fire safety standards. Detailed building and zoning codes can also ensure that every homeowner is prepared for fires. In Wasco County, these codes remind residents to make sure their driveways are wide enough for emergency vehicles, and, on longer private roads, to have enough turnouts for cars to pass one another safely. They also emphasize that homes need fuel breaks, including barriers of fire-resistant plants. Whether self-certified or externally enforced, standard codes can encourage property owners to act ahead of time and keep their fire agencies in mind. 

Advanced preparedness

Identify areas of greatest risk. The Forest Service and the Bozeman-based research group Headwaters Economics run a program called Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire, which provides fire expertise to local governments. Their study of Wasco County found that unused agricultural lands, previously believed to pose a low risk, had contributed significantly to recent fires when farmers applied no-till practices, leaving enough vegetation to allow wildfires to spread. 

Share data across jurisdictions. When the Tuolumne County team of federal and local officials began to apply for funding, they compiled all their land-use data into a single map that showed where fuels reduction was proposed or already occurring. The map eventually became a publicly accessible tool that is updated annually. It cost the county only a small amount beyond paid staff time, because each office had already collected its own data. 

Develop auxiliary measures for vulnerable communities. The storyboard also helped Tuolumne County secure a $10 million grant from the USDA to create defensible space around over 1,000 homes. These homes were identified as a priority because many of their owners were elderly or low-income and either could not carry out the manual labor or couldn’t afford to hire contractors. In Lost Valley near Eugene, a nonprofit connects young adults with older residents in need of mitigation efforts. 

Ideal preparedness 

Conduct an annual evacuation drill. In Benton County, Oregon, Carrie Berger, fire program manager at Oregon State University and a local Firewise coordinator, was one of the first to receive a text that her community-wide evacuation drill had begun. Despite working with local emergency services for months, she still felt her stomach flip. Then she and her family grabbed their bags, piled into the car and joined hundreds of neighbors participating in the voluntary drill. Five years and four drills later, Berger said she and her neighbors were able to overcome the anxiety by working through the first few steps of an evacuation. “Now,” she said, “I don’t feel uneasy about it. I just go.” 

Widen existing roads or build new evacuation routes. At the time of 2018 Camp Fire, one of the deadliest wildfires in recent history, Paradise, California, had only six emergency exit routes. Some were blocked when cars broke down or fires swept through town. According to an investigation by USA Today and The Arizona Republic, hundreds of Western communities face similar vulnerabilities. 

New roads are costly, and they can harm habitat and wildlife. When designed to minimize impact and maximize access, however, they allow more emergency vehicles to get in and more people to get out when a fire approaches. 

Hire local workers for annual mitigation efforts. Bietz of Tuolumne County reflected that even with millions of dollars of state and federal grant money, opportunities for long-term mitigation are limited. Grants typically run out after five years, and the funding is often spent on contractors, who can charge steep prices for their work. With a longer funding horizon, the county could hire more full-time staff and develop training programs for seasonal fuels reduction or prescribed fire management, involving more residents in active mitigation. 

Creativity is the key to building resilience, Bietz said. “Everyone, if they do their part, from their little household to their community to their neighborhood to their county to their state, helps reduce all of that risk, which means we will survive what’s to come.” 

The post Is your community ready for a wildfire? appeared first on High Country News.

Mendocino County might be known throughout the state for its towering redwood trees, stunning coastlines, wine, cannabis and small-town communities.

But one thing the locals know about this rustic, rural region when it comes to health care: you need a helicopter membership.

For many, the less than $100 they spend for the year to cover themselves and loved ones in the event of an emergency could wipe away the entire bill for an airlift during a medical emergency.

This was exactly the case for Fort Bragg resident Kathy Orsi, who two years ago experienced the most fatal type of heart attack known as a “widowmaker” and received a transport by air to Adventist Health St. Helena, a hospital located in northern Napa County. The 30-minute helicopter trip from her small coastal town to the hospital with the cardiologist who ultimately saved her life would have otherwise taken three hours by car.

“For help for heart attacks, especially, it’s either Santa Rosa or St. Helena,” Orsi said, explaining that smaller nearby hospitals offer more basic care than what she needed during the heart attack that has a notoriously low survival rate.

The American Heart Association cites the survival rate following a widowmaker heart attack to be 12% if it occurs outside of an advanced care center.

Orsi’s helicopter ride alone would have cost her $117,000, but thanks to the membership her husband secured for their entire family as the fire chief of Fort Bragg Volunteer Fire Department, she never paid a penny.

Tanya Taylor shared a similar story. And because of her experience, she urges everyone she knows living in rural Mendocino County to make sure they too become members.

Taylor is still recovering from the injuries she suffered from an accident on a Kawasaki Mule, a utility task vehicle, in August 2021 when she was 64 years old. She and her brother were at the ranch their family has owned for more than 60 years near Leggett.

As dinner was ready, Taylor took the Mule to pick up her brother who was out on the property. But on the way back to the house, she lost control of her steering going down a steep hill.

“What I learned later is that the front axle had broken and snapped and went into the front wheels and took out my brakes and steering capability,” Taylor explained.

When the Mule flipped, her brother stayed in the vehicle and suffered a minor concussion. But Taylor was ejected, her ear ripped off and the skin torn from her left hand. She broke all her ribs on one side, along with her back in several places.

“My brother thought I was dead,” she shared.

The helicopter took her to Enloe Medical Center in Chico.

“By the time I got there, they could no longer get a blood pressure on me, and it had been probably just about three hours total, not quite. But had it been any longer, I certainly would not be here,” she said.

She commended everyone involved — from the first responders who managed to get an IV in her while driving down a bumpy dirt road to the helicopter crew and the hospital staff.

When she got home, however, the medical bills arrived promptly, and she contacted her regular health insurance to learn they would only cover about $20,000 of the nearly $90,000 bill that arrived for the helicopter flight.

“And I just thought to myself, this is going to put me in the poorhouse,” Taylor said. “How can I afford $60,000 worth of a bill for one trip, not to mention all the other ones?”

But then she remembered her membership. When she called and provided her number, she was told, “You will never hear from us again.”

“They completely swallowed the entire bill,” she said.

When a resident in Mendocino County needs an emergency flight like Orsi or Taylor did, REACH or CalStar helicopters are set to arrive. REACH acquired CalStar in 2016 and merged under the Global Medical Response umbrella, covered by the AirMedCare Network membership. In other words, Mendocino County members might get picked up by either REACH or CalStar, but their membership would cover a flight with either.

Sarah Gordon, AirMedCare Network director of membership, shared that the network has 320 aircraft across 38 states. She explained that while the service might sound like insurance, it’s technically a membership, as AirMedCare Network owns and operates its aircraft, as opposed to paying another vendor for those services.

“We do not pay money to anyone else. So if you’re a member with us, we do bill your major medical or whatever insurance plan is applicable, and any remaining is written off as a member. So we’re not exchanging funds, not paying out to anyone else,” she said. “And also, we do not offer reciprocity with other (aircraft) providers, because we don’t own their assets.”

Much like a ground ambulance, the helicopters will transport a patient regardless of their membership, but it’s the bill that arrives later that’s the difference.

While rural residents are inclined to become members, Gordon explained that interfacility transfers also make up a significant number of their flights even in urban areas.

“Sometimes it’s not that they can’t get to a hospital, but it’s that they’re not at the right hospital,” she said. “You may go to a facility that cannot meet the needs of the patient at the moment — whether it be a burn, stroke, trauma — and they will actually use our helicopters or fixed wing airplanes to send that person to a higher level of care.”

According to Mendocino County Supervisor Maureen Mulheren — whose young daughter required an emergency flight in October 2018 — every parent should be prepared for the chance that their child might need an interfacility transfer flight.

“So you may think, as a parent, oh, we’re not hunting, we’re not out four-wheeling, we’re not out of the remote country,” she explained. “But almost any kid that goes to our local hospital is airlifted to Oakland Children’s Hospital.”

“I remember hearing the doctors call for the helicopter, and my very first thought was, ‘I can’t afford that. I know that cost.’ And it makes me emotional now, because no parent should have to think that,” Mulheren said. “You’re in this super hard situation with your child, you shouldn’t have to be thinking about money and how much it’s going to cost.”

Remembering that she had purchased a plan brought her tremendous relief.

Daniel Schoenfeld, firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District, said if a rescue is needed in addition to medical response, sometimes the crew will call for a Sheriff’s Office helicopter, but this is rare.

“Quite honestly, unless your medical insurance company is going to 100% cover it, you should have a helicopter membership,” he said.

Given the rural landscape in Northern California, he also urged residents to call for help before it becomes a life-or-death emergency. He noted that the pain from an injury like a broken ankle could trigger a heart attack in some patients.

He also stressed the importance of staying up to date on visits and vaccinations.

“For rural people, it’s kind of hard to make appointments, because it might take you 45 minutes to get there, it might take an hour and a half — you never know,” he said. “But it’s preventative medicine, and it’s really important.”

For more information about helicopter memberships, visit www.airmedcarenetwork.com.

The post Examining the rural need for helicopter membership appeared first on The Mendocino Voice | Mendocino County, CA.

During the third day of hearings for Laura Hobbs case against the Shasta County Elections Office, Judge Stephen Baker issued a ruling formally dismissing the case. 

“The lack of evidence was profound,” Baker said, while issuing the judgement.

Hobbs sued the Elections Office, and her winning opponent Allen Long, shortly after she lost the March 5 primary. She has alleged, among other things, that her name being placed in the incorrect order on the ballot affected the election outcome. 

Attorney Christopher Pisano, who represented the county, acknowledged early on in the case that the Elections Office had made a mistake in how names on the ballot were ordered. But, Pisano argued, the simple clerical error was neither evidence of mal-conduct by elections staff, nor a reason to invalidate the election outcome.

Today, June 25, Judge Baker agreed, saying that Hobbs’ attorney, Alex Haberbush, had failed to offer any expert witness testimony to attempt to prove that the mistake made by the Elections Office changed the outcome of the election. He asked Haberbush how he could possibly expect to prove his case without such testimony.

Haberbush, who works for a Long Beach legal firm specializing in bankruptcy and runs the non-profit Lex Rex Institute, told the Judge he didn’t need to offer any expert witness testimony because case precedent indicates “as a matter of law” that mistakes in ordering of names on election ballots necessarily affect the outcome. 

Judge Baker said he “could not disagree more” with Haberbush’s assessment.

“There is no case that has found, as a matter of law, that mere placement creates an advantage,” Baker said. 

Judge Baker also emphasized that while some prior cases have used expert witnesses to prove that alphabetization errors created an advantage for some candidates, no prior court has ever reversed an election on the basis of that kind of mistake even when such advantage was documented.

In a scathing statement that accompanied his ruling, Judge Baker issued a definitive rebuke against Hobbs and her attorney, saying that evidence presented in the case was “ill-defined, vague, full of irregularities and lacking in foundation.”

In fact, the only qualified elections expert interviewed during the case at all, Judge Baker said, was the acting County Clerk and Registrar of Voters herself, Joanna Francescut, who faced hours of questions that he referred to as “argumentative”, “misleading” and “undignified.”

Nevertheless, Judge Baker continued, the evidence showed that Francescut competently and professionally performed her duties as the county’s acting top elections official. “Some mistakes were made,” Baker said, but they were “normal and unintentional.” 

To argue otherwise, Baker stated, “is pure speculation.”

Francescut has worked for the Elections Office for sixteen years. She took charge of day-to-day operations last November when her boss, the last elected County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, stepped down due to health concerns. 

Francescut was running the Office during the March primary election when the alphabetization error was made. She testified that her staff applied the wrong random alphabetized name list in local races, including Hobbs District 2 supervisor race. Francescut said it was ultimately her responsibility to have caught the error during ballot proofing. She also testified that a confluence of factors including a change in voting machine systems, a change in ballot creation process, a series of new laws that affected ballot wording, and the absence of the Elections Office supervisor, Darling Allen, were contributing circumstances.

A majority of county supervisors issued a statement a few weeks ago saying that they believed the misordering of names on the ballot might have affected the election outcome.

Last week, they chose a new candidate to be appointed as County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, overlooking Francescut in favor of a semi-retired prosecutor who has no elections experience. The Hobbs case did not come up during interviews. 

In a statement to Shasta Scout after today’s ruling, Francescut said she was very pleased with the judge’s ruling and the comments he made.

“I’m proud of my staff for the work they do every single day to serve our community and ensure our elections are accurate, transparent and fair,” Francescut said.

Haberbush said he plans to appeal the case, noting that he disagrees with the judge that expert witness testimony was needed to prove that mis-ordering of names affected the election. Hobbs did not respond to a request for comment.

Do you have a correction to this story? You can submit it here. Do you have information to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org

| YOUNG VOICES MEDIA PROJECT By Fe Aguilar | Part of the series Our Future, produced in collaboration with the California Youth Media Network. The Salinas Valley is a green ocean that flows for miles. Rows of lettuce seem to stretch endlessly, meeting the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountains like a kiss after a long […]

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In search of answers was first posted on June 24, 2024 at 10:30 am.
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Former San Benito County Free Library supervising librarian Erin Baxter was charged with three felony counts involving an alleged embezzlement scheme, including forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime with public funds. She posted $20,000 in bail.

According to court documents, Baxter allegedly took between $100,000 and $500,000 between July 2022 and April 2023.

San Benito County District Attorney Joel Buckingham said his office obtained a warrant for her arrest on May 21. She surrendered and posted bail two days later.

He said no other person has been charged in connection with the case but that his office is still involved in parts of the investigation that are ongoing to determine if “additional individuals should be charged.”

“It’s of utmost importance to me that taxpayers understand how important this case is to the District Attorney’s Office and ensure we hold all individuals accountable who were responsible for the loss of these funds,” Buckingham said.

San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor previously told BenitoLink he asked the FBI to become involved with the investigation because his office lacked “the expertise in forensic accounting.”

Taylor said the alleged suspect or suspects opened up a number of accounts that allowed them to order merchandise. No actual cash had been taken, he said, and an internal audit established that none of the library’s supply of Chromebooks, which had been purchased through a $11.8 million federal grant from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, were involved.

While merchandise, including camping equipment and electronics, was found at the home of the suspect or suspects, Taylor said he did not know if they planned to resell the goods.

Around the time the investigation began, the then-librarian Nora Conte retired. It is unclear if her retirement had anything to do with the investigation. BenitoLink also confirmed that other staff members resigned, but the county did not disclose how many. Baxter was among the staff that resigned. She is scheduled to appear in the San Benito County Superior Court on July 10.

San Benito County Public Information Officer Rosemerry Dere told BenitoLink Baxter had been a county employee since January 2017.

Since Conte’s retirement, Manny Gonzalez has been serving as the interim librarian.

In March, the county was set to consider hiring a new librarian but the item was removed from the San Benito County Board of Supervisors’ agenda. Dere said that the county decided to go in a different direction.

She said the county is currently going through a thorough background check process for one candidate for the position. Dere said there is no timeline for when the Board of Supervisors will consider this candidate.

“We’re actively trying to wrap it up as quickly as we can,” Dere said.

In April, the Board of Supervisors moved in a 4-1 vote to reduce the number of years of experience they would require from applicants because the county “experienced multiple unsuccessful recruitments,” according to the staff report.

Supervisor Bea Gonzales cast the “no” vote.

“Making this change will facilitate internal training opportunities and the opportunity to hire and promote from within the county,” the staff report states. “These revisions allow current staff promotional opportunities throughout several levels within the library structure as there are staff that currently possesses sufficient experience and capabilities to effectively fulfill the role of County Librarian.”

BenitoLink related articles:

Sheriff’s Department investigating criminal complaint at library

BL Special Report: FBI looking into alleged embezzlement at library

County to consider hiring new librarian

We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.

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As a result of a nearly year-long Voices inquiry into a possible homicide, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has reopened its abbreviated investigation of the 2015 traffic death of longtime King City resident Aracely Zavala.  Over the past few weeks, a detective and a commander have been assigned to question South County residents including Zavala’s […]

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Sheriff’s Office reopens ‘lost’ King City death case was first posted on May 31, 2024 at 5:16 pm.
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