The obvious answer to our reader’s question about krill harvesting is that grey whales feed in the Arctic and the massive, record-breaking commercial krill industry operates in Antarctica. While the industry may not be contributing to the grey whale die-off on the Pacific coast, they could threaten the southern right whale, another family of whales in the baleen whale suborder, and other baleen whales.

A 2024 study published by Nature Communications laid out the threat. “Our calculations suggest an alarming possibility that we might harvest krill to the point where we do real damage to recovering whale populations,” the lead study author Matthew Savoca, a research scientist in the lab of Jeremy Goldbogen, associate professor of oceans in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, told the Stanford Report.

What follows are excerpts from that article:

The researchers worked out that baleen whales effectively fertilize the ocean through their prodigious droppings, providing nutrients for the phytoplankton that krill eat. The upshot: The krill population must have been much larger, perhaps five times greater, than it is currently to have sustained the pre-whaling whale populations in the early 20th century.

“Krill is the foundation of the entire Southern Ocean ecosystem. They’re really the only thing that large whales eat down there,” Savoca said.

In the nearly 40 years since a global whaling moratorium went into place in 1986, some Southern Ocean species – particularly humpbacks – have made an impressive comeback. Yet this recovery has taken place against increasing competition with humans for the whales’ critical food source; over the past 30 years, the krill catch has quadrupled to around 400,000 tons annually and is set to expand further.

Savoca and colleagues calculated how much krill is left in the Southern Ocean for baleen whales, seabirds, and other predators to eat after industrial krill harvesting at current rates, compared to the estimated amount of krill available before industrial whaling began. “The basic math makes it pretty clear that the current krill biomass cannot support both an expanding krill fishery and the recovery of whale populations to pre-whaling size,” said Savoca.

Krill for all?

The study offers suggestions for how the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), an international organization established in 1980 that manages Southern Ocean fisheries, can help avert disaster.

Regulation of the areas and times of year when commercial krill boats can operate to minimize competition with whales is a starting point. The most important such region, according to the study, is a fairly small area (16,000 square kilometers) to the west of Coronation Island in the South Orkney group, a prime fin whale feeding ground where about 30% of all krill has been fished since 2000.

Krill fishing directly overlaps with whale feeding in this region, driving welfare concerns for the whales.

The researchers also suggest expanding the use of marine mammal exclusion devices to prevent accidental bycatch of whales entangled in krill nets, as has occurred recently with the documented deaths of at least four humpback whales across the 2021 to 2022 seasons.

As for the krill themselves, improved monitoring to bring in more data on krill egg and larvae hotspots could identify zones to ban or limit fishing. Additionally, fishing vessels could regularly sample krill swarms to avoid harvesting those in the midst of critical spawning periods.

The researchers hope their study will prompt more rigorous accounting and deeper investigations into krill predators and the krill themselves, ultimately forging a path ahead that preserves the delicate ecological balance in the Southern Ocean.

“It’s not a foregone conclusion that whale populations have to suffer because of higher levels of krill harvesting,” Savoca told the Stanford Report. “With more research informing careful management, this story of saving the whales can continue to be a conservation success.”

The Willits City Council voted last week on two consultant contracts—one to retain former interim City Manager Rod Wilburn, and another to retain Deborah Muchmore, a human resources consultant who worked on the recent layoffs of seven city employees.

Both contracts drew controversy.

Vice Mayor Matthew Alaniz raised significant objections to Wilburn’s contract, citing a clause in Wilburn’s agreement as interim city manager that prohibited him from soliciting or participating in city business for six months after leaving the position.

City Attorney Jim Lance defended the proposed contract, which would engage Wilburn as a negotiator for a wastewater agreement with the Brooktrails Township Community Services District.

“I’m familiar with the Section 3D paragraph that Councilmember Alaniz referred to—I drafted it,” Lance said.

He explained that the clause was intended to prevent conflicts of interest during Wilburn’s tenure, specifically by stopping him from steering public works and engineering contracts to his firm, LACO Associates.

“That would look bad,” Lance said. “We wanted to make sure that while he was working as interim city manager, his focus was entirely on fulfilling those duties.”

While acknowledging that the prohibition on “any and all contracts” language in the clause was broad, Lance argued that the clause was meant to narrowly apply to public works and engineering services, not to negotiating a wastewater agreement.

Lance added that there also had been concern Wilburn could gain inside knowledge unavailable to other firms. For that reason, he said, the contract included a six-month restriction.

“It is like five months past his termination,” Lance said. “One month from now, that six-month window will be over.”

Lance said Wilburn is “the most qualified person to represent the city” in negotiations with Brooktrails, citing his experience as a former city engineer and his role in similar negotiations five years ago.

Alaniz did not challenge Wilburn’s qualifications but questioned why the contract did not explicitly name him.

“For those of you who had a chance to read through the packet, the proposal promoted by RW Consulting does not specify his name at all,” Alaniz said. “Why wouldn’t the name Rod Wilburn be anywhere in the several-page contract proposal?”

Alaniz also disclosed a potential conflict of interest: his wife, Tamara Alaniz, is the general manager of the Brooktrails district. Alaniz said he had contacted the state Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for guidance on whether he should recuse himself, and he proposed postponing the vote until a response was received.

Mayor Tom Allman, speaking after Alaniz, focused on the procedural aspects of the request and suggested the council wait for a formal written advisory opinion from the FPPC.

The council voted unanimously to postpone approval of the RW Consulting contract pending that response. Lance noted that by then, the six-month restriction on Wilburn working for the City of Willits would likely have expired.

Alaniz also raised concerns about a second contract with Muchmore Than Consulting, a payroll and human resources firm owned by Deborah Muchmore. Based in Rohnert Park, CA, the firm has a staff of 12, including Muchmore, who is one of two full-time employees.

The city hired Muchmore Than Consulting in September 2025 to provide “strategic human resources” support. In January, the total amount of the contract was increased to $85,900 for the six-month term.

Alaniz said he was troubled that only two bids were received and that the process could create the perception that Muchmore had an inside advantage. Willits resident Nici Caldwell illustrated this concern when she asked during public comment whether Muchmore herself had handled the request for proposals.

Interim City Manager Bob Richardson said he personally handled the RFP.

“I did 100% of the work, and there is a digital trail of everything that occurred that is available to all,” Richardson said.

MendoLocal.News submitted a public records request Tuesday, April 28, seeking that documentation.

Later, in an interview with MendoLocal.News, Muchmore said she was not involved in the development of the RFP. She said prior to the RFP being created she and Richardson had a conversation about it, and she laid out two options: she could help with the RFP but in that case she could not respond. Or her firm would be excluded from all aspects of the RFP, including discussions, planning, creation and selection process — and in that case they could respond.

After the RFP was created, Muchmore said she received an email from Richardson that said “please see attached RFP.”

Alaniz argued the city should not “force” a decision from such a limited pool and suggested re-advertising the position. He said the process “smells fishy” and questioned whether the public could trust a decision when it was unclear “who hired who when” and whether the process was “legit.”

During a recent public comment period, an employee questioned a statement by Muchmore that she had worked for the city for free prior to the contract taking effect. Muchmore confirmed to MendoLocal.News that she had done some pro bono work.

Allman noted that some employees have also raised concerns about potential breaches of confidentiality during the restructuring process.

During public comment, Caldwell said “confidential compensation information was shared inappropriately between employees,” adding that there was a lack of trust and confidence in the consultant among staff.

“I’m not going to agree or disagree with that,” Allman said. “I wasn’t there. I don’t know.”

He expressed confidence in the firm’s ability to maintain privacy. In correspondence with MendoLocal.News, Muchmore said: “I did make an unfortunate mistake during a meeting where we were providing layoff and transfer offers to a few employees. I unintentionally handed the wrong folder to one of the employees in a small group meeting. As soon as the employee let me know, I replaced the folder with their correct folder. I am and was very sorry that happened and apologized at the time and again now for my error.”

At Allman’s suggestion, the council amended the contract to require a survey of city employees at the 10-month mark to evaluate the effectiveness of the services and address concerns about trust and confidentiality.

Muchmore said she welcomed the amendment and described it as a best practice.

The council approved the contract with Muchmore Than Consulting in a 4–1 vote, with Alaniz dissenting.

A female gray whale was found dead on the beach near Virgin Creek in Mendocino County around mid-morning on April 29.

Sarah Grimes, marine mammal stranding coordinator and educator for the Noyo Center for Marine Science, said the death is part of a troubling trend.

An increasing number of gray whales are appearing undernourished and dying along the West Coast. Last year, 21 gray whales were found dead in San Francisco Bay; so far this year, seven have been reported there. The whale found near Virgin Creek is the first recorded dead in Mendocino County this year.

Grimes was on the beach Wednesday afternoon with an intern and another scientist taking measurements. If the whale remains accessible, the team plans to conduct a full necropsy.

She said the whale was a subadult — close to full size but not yet sexually mature.

Gray whales are baleen whales, meaning they have flexible plates of keratin hanging from their upper jaws that act like a sieve to filter small fish and krill. They undertake the longest migration of any mammal, traveling up to 14,000 miles round trip between feeding grounds in the Arctic and breeding grounds in Mexico.

Gray whales in the Atlantic Ocean went extinct in the 1700s. They are considered critically endangered in the western North Pacific, but until recently, the eastern North Pacific population was regarded as a conservation success. Although hunted to near extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries, gray whales were protected by the International Whaling Commission in 1946. By the mid-1990s, they were removed from endangered species lists under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

But an “unusual mortality event” from 2019 to 2023 has raised alarm among whale biologists, who say the population may no longer be sustainable.

“The gray whales are in precipitous decline, with significant range-wide die-offs, malnourished ‘skinny’ individuals, and reduced reproductive rates,” scientists James Darling, Jorge Urban Ramirez and Steven Swartz wrote in an open letter published by the Whale Trust. “The best available analysis suggests a decrease in critical food species resulting from large-scale ecological changes in traditional Arctic feeding grounds.”

Unable to consume enough food during the summer feeding season, whales — which fast during the winter — may not have the energy reserves needed to reproduce. The scientists are calling for an international review and reassessment of the whales’ protection status.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, is demanding answers about why Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is supporting a Southern California water agency’s interest in acquiring the Potter Valley Project — a defunct hydroelectric and water diversion system that serves the small community of Potter Valley and supplies downstream users along the Russian River.

On Tuesday, Huffman sent formal information requests to Rollins, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Andrew Morris, president of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.

“The communities and Tribal Nations I represent would be directly impacted by the proposal Secretary Rollins and the District have described,” Huffman wrote to the secretaries. “Yet your agencies have thus far provided no information to explain why a Southern California water district would seek to acquire water rights and infrastructure on the Eel River, hundreds of miles north of its service area — or why the Departments of Agriculture and Interior would be encouraging, facilitating, funding, or otherwise supporting such a scheme.”

Huffman requested “a clear and complete accounting” of any discussions or plans by May 12.

Huffman represents about 1,147 voters in Potter Valley, as well as many thousands more who rely on water diverted from the Eel River through the project to Lake Mendocino — the primary water source for the Russian River.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which owns the Potter Valley Project, is moving to decommission its dams and related infrastructure due to their deteriorating condition and new information about a seismic fault beneath Lake Pillsbury, the reservoir formed by Scott Dam.

Removing Scott Dam and the smaller Cape Horn Dam could help restore a once-abundant salmon fishery and reduce the risk of catastrophic dam failure. But doing so would also raise water costs for local farmers and ranchers and could force the roughly 254 single-family homes in Potter Valley that rely on well water to form a water district.

Rollins entered the process in December 2025, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject PG&E’s application to surrender its license for the project.

On April 21, Rollins posted on X that she had heard from “a legitimate buyer.”

“I heard from the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District,” she wrote. “A legitimate buyer who expressed strong interest in purchasing the project from PG&E. This would allow @POTUS and @SecretaryBurgum to restart or expand reliable hydroelectric generation while keeping both dams in place. I hope @PGE4Me is taking them seriously.”

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District serves about 48,500 water customers and 38,500 wastewater customers in southwestern Riverside County. It operates on an annual budget of $227 million and is undertaking more than $500 million in capital improvements — roughly $5,700 per customer.

The district relies heavily on imported water, with about 75% of its supply coming from the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project.

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District currently pays between $1,700 and $1,800 per acre-foot for treated water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, according to Darcy Burke, a district vice president — that’s six times more than the $300 per acre-foot that Potter Valley farmers and ranchers say would put them out of business.

“My constituents and I are acutely interested in all of the details surrounding your efforts related to a potential purchase of the Potter Valley Project,” Huffman wrote to Morris. “Even the limited information released to date raises serious environmental, legal, economic, and water supply concerns for vulnerable communities in the Eel and Russian River basins.”

Huffman said the proposal echoes a long and contentious history. In 1967, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California Department of Water Resources proposed the Dos Rios Dam on the Middle Fork of the Eel River — a project that would have flooded the Round Valley Indian Reservation and the town of Covelo.

Huffman’s request seeks detailed records related to any discussions, proposals, or agreements involving the Potter Valley Project, including ownership structure, financing, operations, and potential impacts on water rights and tribal consultation.

He also requested information on any plans to store, divert, transfer, or sell Eel River water outside the Eel or Russian River watersheds, including whether such proposals revive or incorporate elements of past projects like the Dos Rios Dam or other large-scale water transfer systems.

Our coverage of the Potter Valley Project:

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Vice President Explains Interest in Potter Valley Project (April 23, 2026)

Federal Officials Cite Potential Buyer for Potter Valley Project as Local Stakeholders Raise Questions (April 23, 2026)

USDA to PG&E: Mitigation is Required for Potter Valley Decommissioning (December 22, 2025)

USDA Steps Into Potter Valley Decommissioning Fight (December 22, 2025)

A water main break behind Fort Bragg’s Company Store temporarily cut service to nearby businesses Tuesday afternoon, prompting a rapid response from city crews and drawing conflicting accounts about what caused the damage.

City Manager Isaac Whippy said the city received a call at approximately 12:30 p.m. reporting the break and immediately dispatched its public works team. Crews identified a damaged connection in the water line, completed repairs, and restored full service by about 1:30 p.m.

A few businesses in the area experienced a brief loss of water during the repair, according to Whippy.

“Based on our initial assessment, the damage to the water line was caused by work being conducted by Mendocino Railway in the area,” Whippy said. He added that the City did not receive an Underground Service Alert (USA) ticket for excavation activity at that location.

Robert Pinoli, president of Mendocino Railway, disputed key elements of the City’s assessment. He said the water line was not known to the railway and appeared to be unusually shallow.

“The water line was unbeknownst to us. It was about 12 inches down from the edge of the ties, surely not deep enough for a city utility,” Pinoli said, adding that regulations typically require utilities along rail corridors to be buried three to four feet deep.

Pinoli also said no permit was required because the work involved track construction rather than excavation, arguing that tie replacement does not trigger Underground Service Alert requirements.

“Changing ties is not digging or trenching,” he said. “A railroad tie is eight inches thick. A water line that sits four-ish inches below is a real issue.”

Despite the disagreement over cause and compliance, Pinoli said City staff responded quickly and worked with railway crews to restore service.

Whippy said the water line involved is an older piece of infrastructure, likely dating back to the 1950s or 1960s when the area was owned and operated by the Union Lumber Company. In coastal communities, he noted, legacy infrastructure does not always conform to modern installation standards.

However, Whippy emphasized that state law still requires contractors to notify Underground Service Alert before disturbing the ground so that utilities can be located and marked. “Regardless of the age or depth of a utility, state law requires that any excavation activity include proper Underground Service Alert notification,” he said.

The question of whether local permitting or notification requirements apply to railroad work can depend on the scope of federal preemption, an issue that has been the subject of ongoing legal disputes involving Mendocino Railway. Whippy said the city is continuing to review the incident to determine next steps.

A 34-year-old Ukiah man was arrested last week on multiple felony charges following a domestic violence incident in which several children were present, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were dispatched around 9:40 p.m. on April 23 to a residence in the 600 block of Third Street in Ukiah after a 16-year-old boy called to report a disturbance involving his mother and her boyfriend.

When deputies arrived, they determined that a 39-year-old woman had been physically assaulted by her partner, identified as Eleuterio Montalvo-Perez. Authorities said the couple lived together along with their children.

According to investigators, what began as a verbal argument escalated into violence. Montalvo-Perez allegedly forced the woman onto a bed, pulled her to the floor, and dragged her approximately 15 feet through the living room. The woman struck him with a glass object in self-defense, ending the altercation, officials said.

Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and treated those involved. Four juveniles — ages 7, 8, 13, and 16 — were present during the incident and later interviewed by deputies.

Following their investigation, deputies said they found physical evidence consistent with the victim’s account and established probable cause to arrest Montalvo-Perez on charges of domestic battery causing injury, kidnapping, and child endangerment.

He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.

The case remains under investigation.

A new county-commissioned study projects that the number of coastal residential buildings vulnerable to sea level rise will increase more than tenfold by the end of the century, with bluff erosion posing the greatest threat to homes perched along Mendocino’s rugged shoreline.

The Sea Level Rise Resilience Strategy for Mendocino County, prepared by environmental consulting firms ESA and ARUP and funded by the California Coastal Commission, found that 55 residential buildings along the county’s coast face exposure to coastal hazards today. That number is projected to climb to 286 by mid-century and reach 710 by 2100 under the scenario of a 6 feet increase in sea level.

The 286 figure is roughly equivalent to the 254 single-family homes in Potter Valley, an inland agricultural community in Mendocino County that is facing a dramatic increase in the cost of water due to the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project and removal of Scott Dam. The comparison underscores the rising risk of displacement and its spread around the county, with the impact from climate change particularly acute on the coast.

“Across all asset categories, the vulnerability and risk assessment highlights that Mendocino County’s exposure to coastal hazards is widespread and diverse,” the report states.

Bluff Erosion is the Primary Threat

The study, released in April 2026 as a preliminary draft, divides the county’s 100-plus miles of coastline into 12 planning zones stretching from the remote Lost Coast in the north to Anchor Bay and Gualala near the Sonoma County line.

By the end of the century, the communities of Anchor Bay and Gualala and the Elk area face the highest residential exposure, with 112 and 111 residential buildings at risk, respectively.

Coastal bluff erosion is identified as the primary driver of residential exposure across most of the county. The report notes that bluffs along the Mendocino coast erode at an average rate of 1.3 feet per year, with some hotspots like Rockport Bay experiencing losses as high as 10.2 feet per year.

“Residential buildings show increasing vulnerability driven primarily by bluff erosion, particularly in Fort Bragg, Mendocino Town, Albion, and Gualala, where homes are located near retreating cliff edges or low-lying floodplains,” the report states.

Mid-Century Jump Draws Concern

Researchers flagged a projected jump between present-day and mid-century conditions as particularly significant. Even in a fairly conservative (not worst-case) scenario, scientists expect about 1 foot of sea level rise by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions remain moderate to high. With that rise, the number of exposed residential buildings is projected more than quintuples, from 55 to 286.

One foot of sea level rise may sound modest, but its effects are amplified by storm surge and wave runup, which can push water far beyond what tidal flooding alone would suggest.

In lower-lying areas such as the Manchester coastal plain and around Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, tidal inundation and storm flooding — rather than bluff erosion — are the dominant hazard drivers.

Broader Risks Beyond Housing

The residential exposure figures represent only one dimension of a broader coastal risk picture. The study assessed vulnerability across four asset categories: critical infrastructure, public access and recreation, habitat and agricultural resources, as well as the built environment, which includes residential buildings.

Wastewater treatment facilities, sections of State Route 1, the California Coastal Trail, and historic landmarks including the Point Cabrillo and Point Arena lighthouses all face increasing exposure under future scenarios.

The report assigned wastewater treatment facilities and public facilities such as schools and government buildings the highest possible risk score, citing their critical function, low adaptive capacity, and fixed locations in low-lying coastal areas.

Demographic Factors

The report notes that Mendocino County’s coastal population includes a disproportionately high share of older adults and lower-income households compared to statewide averages. Median household income in the county is approximately $67,000, well below California’s median of $96,000.

Those demographic factors limit the financial resources many residents would need to adapt to or relocate from hazard areas — a challenge the report acknowledges has no simple solution in a rural coastal county with limited housing alternatives.

“In general, strategies that avoid hazards related to sea level rise, such as relocation or elevation, shall be prioritized,” the report states.

Policy Framework Taking Shape

The study is intended to serve as the technical foundation for developing resilience strategies and updating Mendocino County’s Local Coastal Program, the land use document that governs coastal development and must be certified by the California Coastal Commission.

The analysis is also a warning — it describes the magnitude of what can happen if no action is taken.

The study offers draft baseline policies drawing from the Coastal Commission’s 2021 sea level rise guidance for critical infrastructure and from Sonoma County’s recently updated Local Coastal Program, which was unanimously adopted by its Board of Supervisors in February 2025.

Those model policies include requirements for site-specific hazard assessments, mandatory setbacks from coastal bluffs, restrictions on things like sea walls and deed restrictions notifying future property owners of hazard risks.

The report emphasizes that hard shoreline protection such as seawalls can worsen beach erosion and is not a long-term solution for most residential properties.

Mendocino County has not yet adopted updated coastal hazard policies. The resilience strategy, including community engagement and adaptation planning, is ongoing.

🏠 MENDOCINO COUNTY

Judicial Race: Pekin vs. Friend for Superior Court Seat
By Linda Little, MendocinoCoast.News
Voters will decide a rare contested judicial race June 2 between Judge Patrick M. Pekin and attorney Colby J. Friend. Candidate responses highlight issues including jury shortages, courthouse access, and transparency.
🔗 Read more

Short-Term Rental Permit Denied
By Elise Cox, MendoLocal.News
The Mendocino County Planning Commission unanimously denied a permit near Ukiah over septic and safety concerns, despite staff recommending approval.
🔗 Read more

Redwood Forest Expansion Announced
By Save the Redwoods League
A 453-acre donation will expand Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve by 16%, protecting habitat for endangered salmon.
🔗 Read more

Journalist Recalls FBI Scrutiny
By Mike Geniella, AVA & MendoLocal.News
A veteran reporter recounts a secret FBI memo targeting his work during the timber wars, drawing parallels to current concerns about press freedom.
🔗 Read more

Free Water Tanks Distributed
By Mendocino County Fire Safe Council
Nearly 200 water tanks are being distributed countywide as part of a state drought relief effort to boost rural fire preparedness.
🔗 Read more

Firewood Permits on Sale
By U.S. Forest Service
Permits for personal-use firewood are now available in the Mendocino National Forest, with restrictions on collection and transport.
🔗 Read more

🥖 CASPAR

Caspar Inn Reimagined
By Mandela Linder, The Mendocino Voice
The historic Caspar Inn reopens as a bakery and wine bar under new ownership, blending sourdough and natural wine culture.
🔗 Read more

🐓 BOONVILLE

Barn Sale Beckons with Bargains & Community
By Terry Sites, Anderson Valley Advertiser
A monthly sale offers affordable goods and vintage finds, with proceeds supporting construction of a new church in Elk.
🔗 Read more

🚔 COVELO

Teen Charged in Covelo Homicide
By Elise Cox, MendoLocal.News
A 16-year-old suspect has been extradited in connection with the killing of Audrey Card, 38.
🔗 Read more

License Plate Tech Leads to Arrest
By Frank Hartzell, MendocinoCoast.News
Police used automated license plate readers to locate and arrest the suspect in Oroville.
🔗 Read more

🌳 FORT BRAGG

Who Owns the Mill Site?
By Elise Cox, MendoLocal.News
Records show that the ownership of the former Georgia-Pacific mill site is tied to Mendocino Railway and Sierra Railroad Holdings, a newly formed LLC. Parcels along Pudding Creek continue to belong to Sierra Northern, which is now owned by a private equity firm. Sierra Northern appears to remain a subsidiary of the Sierra Railroad Company, a holding company that previously owned the Mendocino Railway.
🔗 Read more

Bainbridge Park Reopens
By Mary Rose Kaczorowski, The Mendocino Voice
The park reopened after a $2M renovation, after city council declined to address community concerns over environmentally hazardous materials and CEQA compliance.
🔗 Read more

💰 POINT ARENA

City Stabilizes Finances
By Chelsea Randall, The Independent Coast Observer
The city manager said the bankruptcy risk has passed, though a sewer deficit necessitated a rate increase.
🔗 Read more (subscription required)

💧 POTTER VALLEY

No Formal Offer for Potter Valley Project
By Justine Frederiksen, Ukiah Daily Journal
Pacific Gas and Electric Company says no formal offer has been made to take over the Potter Valley hydroelectric and water diversion project by the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.
🔗 Read more

Southern California District Shows Interest
By Elise Cox, MendoLocal.News
A Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District vice president said the utility is exploring acquiring the Potter Valley Project as part of its long-term water strategy.
🔗 Read more

Federal Official Cites Potential Buyer of Potter Valley Project, Sparking Local Concerns
By Elise Cox, MendoLocal.News
Report of a potential buyer drew backlash from Jared Huffman and local stakeholders.
🔗 Read more

🐍 REDWOOD VALLEY

Fatal Snakebite Confirmed
By Katy St. Clair, The Mendocino Voice
A 78-year-old woman died after multiple snake bites; the death was ruled accidental.
🔗 Read more

🎨 UKIAH

City Releases New Annexation Map
By City of Ukiah
A revised “Sapling” annexation proposal updates city boundaries; a public workshop is set for April 30.
🔗 Read more

Student Art Show Explores AI
By Laura Fogg, Ukiah Daily Journal
Ukiah students blend photography and AI in a new exhibit at Art Center Ukiah.
🔗 Read more (subscription required)

🎬 VILLAGE OF MENDOCINO

Film Festival Breaks Records
The Mendocino Film Festival returns May 28–31 with 80 films, including a record number directed by women and multiple Sundance selections.
🔗 Read more

🗳️ WILLITS

Supervisor Forum Draws Crowd
By Jennifer Poole, Willits Weekly
An estimated 160 residents attended a District 3 candidate forum.
🔗 Read more

Town Hall with Mike McGuire
By Mathew Caine, Willits Weekly
About 170 residents gathered for a town hall with State Senator Mike McGuire, who is running to represent voters in the new congressional district created by redistricting.
🔗 Read more

🏛️ CALIFORNIA

Voter ID Measure Heads to Ballot
By Nadia Lathan, CalMatters
A GOP-backed initiative requiring proof of citizenship has qualified for the November ballot.
🔗 Read more

Pension Outlook Improves
By Adam Ashton, CalMatters
California’s pension burden shows early signs of easing after years of rising costs.
🔗 Read more

The woman fatally shot on a rural Mendocino County road last weekend has been identified as Audrey Card, 38, of Covelo, and the teenage suspect in her killing was extradited from Butte County to face murder charges, authorities said Wednesday.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday April 29, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the Methodist Church in Covelo, according to a note posted by Ann Warden, Card’s sister, on Facebook.

Card was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the 23000 block of Charlie Hurt Highway shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday. Despite CPR administered by sheriff’s deputies and Round Valley Tribal Police officers, she was pronounced dead at 6:55 a.m.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office identified Card after investigators located and notified her next of kin. A forensic autopsy performed Tuesday confirmed she died from multiple gunshot wounds, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to a news release from Capt. Quincy Cromer.

A 16-year-old boy from Covelo was arrested Tuesday in Oroville after a brief foot chase. He was subsequently extradited to Mendocino County, where he was booked into Mendocino County Juvenile Hall. He is awaiting criminal proceedings on charges that include first-degree murder and personal use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Investigators said Card was shot while speaking by phone with a 15-year-old female relative who had just been assaulted by the suspect. Authorities allege the boy had been following and shooting at the girl’s car earlier that morning.

The suspect also faces charges of stalking, criminal threats and domestic battery related to the assault on the teenage girl. Because both the suspect and the assault victim are minors, their names are not being released under California law.

The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086 or the anonymous tip line at 707-234-2100.

Mendo Local’s previous coverage:

Woman Gunned Down While Speaking with Terrified Female Relative, Boy Arrested (April 21, 2026)

Woman Killed in Early Morning Shooting Near Covelo (April 20, 2026)

The City of Ukiah has unveiled a revised annexation proposal—dubbed the “Sapling” footprint—reflecting updated boundaries shaped by community feedback, technical analysis, and financial planning. The new draft adjusts the original 2025 proposal, with changes intended to better align city services, infrastructure, and long-term growth goals.

In the updated map, the original annexation area is shown in white, while the revised proposal appears in dark orange. City officials say the updated version incorporates stakeholder input and offers a more refined approach to future expansion. An interactive map is available to help residents determine whether specific properties fall within the proposed annexation area.

The city will host a workshop on annexation on Thursday, April 30th at 5:30 p.m. at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center.

FBI Director Kash Patel is rekindling a dangerous and ugly history surrounding the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

It is outrageous that Patel is using the agency to intimidate a reporter for The Atlantic magazine who reported earlier this week on his behavior on and off the job. I find it chilling to read how the FBI, under Trump, has returned to the days of agents harassing the press, infiltrating any group that questions government policies, and tracking the private lives of critics everywhere.

Years ago, I had an up-close brush with that FBI mentality.

In my case, I learned about a secret FBI memo that was distributed in 1990, targeting my role as a journalist. It had been circulated among top brass, including former FBI Director William Sessions.

The memo was written by the FBI’s Richard Held, who oversaw its San Francisco office. The Bay Area was a hotbed of protests, activists, and political groups, and Held had people everywhere as informants. A Washington Post article once cited Held’s use of “dirty tricks” and spying against alleged political radicals in the 1960s and early seventies.

In the memo, Held’s office wanted to know whether it should take their concerns about “Subject: Mike Geniella” to the New York Times, then the owner of The Press Democrat, or to the local publisher. Their concerns included the reporter’s alleged attempt to cast the agency in a bad light in reporting on Earth First! related prosecutions in Arizona and Montana.

The FBI memo was circulated 35 days before I was accused by local PD editors of creating “the possibility of a perceived bias” after I agreed to an interview by a freelance writer who, in turn, allowed the Anderson Valley Advertiser to publish her article. The AVA was at the time held in contempt by the editors, who did not consider the Boonville weekly “responsible journalism.”

I was removed from the timber beat at a time when logging-related issues were coming to a head. It was an action that drew immediate attention locally, and from outside news media and the Columbia Journalism Review.

At the time, I did not know of the secret FBI memo or its role in my banishment from covering timber issues. With the help of the San Francisco Newspaper Guild, I challenged my removal. I had refused to sign a statement written by the editors that I acknowledged creating the “possibility of a perceived bias.”

Three months later, after the statewide initiative Forest Forever was defeated at the polls, the editors relented, and I returned to writing about contentious logging practices on the North Coast.

Four years passed before I learned of the secret FBI memo that took issue with my reporting. It was written in August 1990 and distributed to the chain in the agency’s Washington, D.C. Headquarters to Sessions.

The document was uncovered during legal depositions in a civil rights violation lawsuit filed against the FBI by Earth First! Activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. A federal jury on June 11, 2002, returned a verdict of $4.5 million at the end of a six-week trial in a federal court in Oakland. The jury found that six of the seven FBI and Oakland Police defendants framed the two activists. The jury declared 80 percent of the damage was for violation of their First Amendment rights to speak out and organize politically in defense of the environment.

For my part, I filed repeated Freedom of Information Act requests about the memo once it was uncovered. I tracked an FBI official in Washington, D.C. who managed such matters. He declared that the memo I described did not exist. I recall scoffing and telling him that while we were talking on the telephone, I held a copy of the official memo in my hand.

Editors, when confronted with that copy, contended that they were unaware of it, and that to their knowledge, no one at the Press Democrat or the NYT ever had been contacted by the FBI. A supervising editor suggested that the FBI was only looking for a ‘correction.’

I accepted the editors’ assurances despite misgivings. I had a mortgage payment to make and a family to support. My experience, however, lingers because I felt intimidation and the threat to my family’s well-being.

Lellani Clark, a writer for The Bohemian, a Sonoma County publication, addressed the issue in a 2012 article.

https://bohemian.com/judi-bari-the-fbi-and-the-press-democrat-reporter-mike-geniella-on-an-unsolved-case-1/

MendoLocal.News is launching its first Go Fund Me for an investigative project.

The link to our Go Fund Me

Who is the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and what do they want with water from Northern California — and Potter Valley specifically? Why have they suddenly expressed interest in buying the Potter Valley Project from PG&E? Are they really interested in helping out local farmers in Mendocino County? Or do they have a hidden agenda/s?

Some questions worth pursuing include who is paying for EVMWD’s planned expansion? Separate from the costs of taking control of the Potter Valley Project, EVMWD is already pursuing $500 million in new projects, including an estimated $102 million treatment facility for PFAS contamination in Riverside County. Rates for their customers are being raised dramatically. How would taking over the Potter Valley Project affect existing customers in Southern California and how would the existing infrastructure projects affect the cost of water to Potter Valley farmers should the project become part of EVMWD?

With your support, we’ll launch an investigative project to find answers.

The reporting will produce a focused, multi-part series examining:

• The financial structure behind EVMWD’s expansion plans

• The potential impact on water rates in both Southern California and Potter Valley

• Whether the Potter Valley Project proposal serves local communities—or outside interests

We’re asking for $4,500 to begin this work.

Investigative reporting takes time and experience.

Our editor, Elise Cox, began working on investigative journalism projects 30 years ago for small newspapers and national publications. Before putting together the founding board of Mendo Local Public Media in August 2025, she did investigative reporting for organizations like U.S. News & World Report, Knight Ridder, and the San Jose Mercury News. .

At Mendo Local Public Media we do things differently.

We try to be rigorously nonpartisan. Our local news is not for sale to anonymous donors. We pledge to disclose all grants and gifts above $5,000. We do this so that you can hold us accountable for our coverage — or lack of coverage — of the donor and the donor’s favorite issues.

Please consider contributing.

We cannot do this investigation without your support. We are still short more than $3,000 of our goal of $10,000 for the campaign for help with operational expenses that we launched in February.

If you’d like to help but don’t have funds to spare, please share this campaign with others. We can also talk about creative fundraising — bake sales, dog washes, ice water challenges, and more.

Local investigative reporting doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because readers decide it matters.

Links to our coverage of the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project are below.

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Vice President Explains Interest in Potter Valley Project (April 23, 2026)

Federal officials cite potential buyer for Potter Valley Project as local stakeholders raise question (April 23, 2026)

USDA Steps Into Potter Valley Decommissioning Fight (December 22, 2025)

USDA to PG&E: Mitigation is Required for Potter Valley Decommissioning (December 22, 2025)

Our coverage of local water rate increases may also be relevant.

Water Bills Set to Climb 60% Over Five Years for Ukiah Valley Residents (December 22, 2025)

Editor’s Note: Mike Hart’s connection with the Sierra Railroad Holdings has been added. (April 24, 2026, 3:19 p.m.)

News that a private equity firm had acquired the Sierra Railroad Company — owner of Mendocino Railway and the Skunk Train — raised concerns in Mendocino County.

Among the questions people asked: What did it mean for the ongoing controversy over Mendocino Railway’s efforts to develop the former Georgia-Pacific mill site? And what impact would the sale have on the Skunk Train, as well as the jobs — and tourists — it brings to Fort Bragg and Willits?

A statement from Mendocino Railway President and CEO Robert Pinoli offered room for interpretation. “Mendocino Railway’s officers, directors, and ultimate shareholders remain the same as what they were,” Pinoli said.

MendoLocal.News research into deed transfers confirmed that Mendocino Railway remains the primary owner of the mill site, which appears to have been excluded from the acquisition.

According to that research, ownership of mill site parcels transferred to Sierra Northern Railroad on December 23, 2022, was transferred again to a new holding company, Sierra Railroad Holdings, LLC, on January 29, 2026. In addition to those parcels, which total 121 acres, Sierra Railroad Holdings, LLC also reportedly owns Mendocino Railway, along with mill site acreage to which it holds direct title.

According to documents filed with the Secretary of State, Sierra Railroad Holdings is controlled by Mike Hart, the long-time CEO and previous owner of the Sierra Railroad Company.

However, Ridgewood Infrastructure — the private equity firm that owns Sierra Northern via the Sierra Railroad Company — retains a foothold in Fort Bragg, according to MendoLocal.News research.

Three parcels totaling nearly 60 acres that were transferred to Sierra Northern in 2022 were not transferred back to Mendocino Railway. These parcels run alongside Pudding Creek.

When asked specifically about these properties, Pinoli responded via email: “I think it’s sufficient to say that some of the paperwork has not found its way through the system. As I’ve indicated before, Ridgewood has nothing to do with Mendocino Railway or the property in Fort Bragg.”

Read our reporting on Mendocino Railway and the mill site:

Private Equity Acquires Skunk Train Owner, Settlement Talks Continue with Fort Bragg

Federal Rail Rulings Stack up in Against State Regulators in Fort Bragg Mill Site Dispute

Federal Railroad Board Blocks Great Redwood Trail Abandonment Motion

Skunk Train Chief Details Freight Operations, Federal Oversight Amid Eminent Domain Dispute

California Appeals Court Says Public Utilities Need Not Serve Active Customers

Should the Skunk Train be Part of the Regional Transporation Plan?

California AG Bonta Challenges Mendocino Railway’s Federal Carrier Status

Mendocino Railway Rejects Fort Bragg’s Bid for Yearlong Pause in Litigation

Fort Bragg Plans Public Study Session, Website to Boost Transparency on Mill Site Development

Skunk Train, Fort Bragg Jointly Agree to Set Aside Default in Mill Site Suit

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Skunk Train Appeal

Federal Railway Agency Affirms Mendocino Railway’s Carrier Status

Default Notice Issued as Stormwater Contamination Battle with Fort Bragg Escalates

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District is exploring a potential purchase of the Potter Valley Project in alignment with the district’s long-term strategy to secure water reliability, according to Darcy Burke, a district vice president and host of the We Grow California podcast.

Burke made her remarks in an April 23 interview with writer Keely Covello, who publishes the America Unwon Substack.

Burke said the district’s interest is driven by an effort to identify new water sources and invest in infrastructure that could broadly benefit California. “We wanted to explore new water sources and go big and bold,” she said, referencing the district’s strategic plan.

She pointed to the high cost of alternative supplies, including ocean desalination, which she said could cost about $8,300 per acre-foot to deliver to the Inland Empire. By comparison, she said the district currently pays between $1,700 and $1,800 per acre-foot for treated water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Burke also cited the district’s history of acquiring water systems outside its service area in Southwestern Riverside County. She noted that the district holds a controlling interest in the Meeks and Daley Water Company, a groundwater system outside district boundaries, where water is managed locally and sold to nearby users, generating revenue that can help offset rates for customers.

Burke suggested that acquisition could illustrate a broader strategy that could be applied to the Potter Valley Project, with water continuing to serve local users rather than being exported.

She emphasized the economic pressures facing agriculture, saying high water costs can make farming unsustainable. She noted that vineyard operators in the Temecula area pay between $1,300 and $1,400 per acre-foot for water.

In addition to water supply, Burke said the district is evaluating potential energy benefits, noting that water and wastewater operations are among utilities’ largest power users. Adding generation capacity could reduce costs for customers, she said.

The powerhouse in Power Valley once had the capacity to generate 9.4 megawatts of electricity. It was shut down in 2021 after a transformer failed, and PG&E decided to decommission the facility.

Burke rejected the idea that the district’s interest amounts to a “water grab,” describing it instead as part of a broader approach to water security. “In California, getting water supply anywhere is like a tide that lifts all boats,” she said.

Read our previous coverage:

Federal Officials Cite Potential Buyer for Potter Valley Project as Local Stakeholders Raise Questions (April 23, 2026)

USDA Steps Into Potter Valley Decommissioning Fight (December 22, 2025)

Federal officials say a Southern California water district has expressed interest in acquiring the Potter Valley Project, a hydroelectric and water diversion system that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is in the process of decommissioning, according to reporting by The Press Democrat and the Times Standard.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on X that the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District has indicated it may seek to purchase the project. The district serves customers in Riverside County and relies heavily on imported water. No formal proposal has been submitted, according to PG&E.

The Potter Valley Project includes Scott Dam, which forms Lake Pillsbury, and Cape Horn Dam on the Eel River. PG&E has pursued decommissioning after years of financial losses and unsuccessful efforts to transfer ownership. A plan filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) calls for removing the dams and allowing a new, locally managed water diversion system to be developed by a coalition of regional agencies and tribes.

Under current regulatory conditions, the project’s hydropower license cannot be transferred. However, another entity could potentially acquire and operate portions of the infrastructure, subject to federal approval and additional permitting requirements.

The announcement of a potential outside buyer prompted a range of responses from North Coast stakeholders. Jared Huffman condemned the plans and said he is seeking more information from federal agencies and the water district about the scope of any proposal. Local agencies and tribal representatives emphasized the importance of maintaining regional involvement in decisions about the project and water supply.

Representatives of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Mendocino Inland Water and Power Commission reiterated support for the current plan to remove the dams and develop a “two-basin” solution that balances water supply needs with river restoration.

Environmental groups and project partners noted that the facilities are more than a century old, face regulatory and seismic challenges, and would require significant investment to continue operating. Some also questioned the feasibility of transferring water from the project to Southern California, given existing infrastructure constraints.

PG&E said it remains open to reviewing any proposals but confirmed that, to date, it has received only one formal plan—from a coalition of local and regional stakeholders working on the decommissioning and replacement strategy.

Federal regulators have not received any new filings related to a potential transfer. Any changes to the current decommissioning plan would require review and approval by FERC.

MendocinoCoast.news sent the same set of written questions to both campaigns to help Mendocino County voters get to know the two candidates vying to serve as Superior Court Judge. The questionnaire focuses on judicial experience, approach to the work of the court, and the responsibilities of the bench. Judge Patrick M. Pekin returned his answers by the initial deadline. Attorney Colby J. Friend requested a short extension while on vacation and submitted his responses soon after.

The outcome will shape Mendocino County court operations, access to justice, and judicial culture through 2032.

Please visit MendocinoCoast.news to read the responses in full and view a side-by-side comparison.

The Candidates

Judge Patrick M. Pekin (Incumbent)

• Background: Age 51, lives in Mendocino, elected 2020, practicing law since 2003

• Experience: Extensive criminal defense background, presided over criminal, civil, family law, Behavioral Health Court, and Adult Drug Court

• Community ties: Volunteer firefighter, ocean rescue team member, Mock Trial coach, Save Our Coast Court advocate

• Endorsements: Every sitting and retired Mendocino County judge from last 15 years, DA, Public Defender, 4 county supervisors, law enforcement

• Campaign spending: ~$3,000

Attorney Colby J. Friend (Challenger)

• Background: Age 52, lives in Willits, practicing law since 2004

• Experience: Family law practice, no judicial experience, diverse work history (construction, restaurants, business owner)

• Community ties: Youth sports coach, community garden founder, theater participant, radio host, pro bono work

• Endorsements: Declines attorney/judge endorsements on ethical grounds; seeks community-based endorsements

• Campaign spending: Under $1,000 spent, up to $10,000 anticipated

Key Issues in the Race

Juror Shortage Crisis

Pekin’s view: County holds many jury trials; need for judicial districts; low turnout reflects civic disengagement

Friend’s view: Compensation is inadequate; expand juror pool; create voluntary recall list of individuals willing to serve as jurors; improve experience

Coast Courthouse Access

Pekin’s position: Deep Coast ties; commuted to Ukiah for years; supports technology solutions (remote interpreters, court reporters)

Friend’s position: Supports satellite courts in every district; compares county size to Jamaica/Hawaii; funding is the core issue

Public Access to Court Records

Pekin’s stance: Must follow California Rules of Court requiring in-person access; encourages working with court clerks

Friend’s stance: Strongly supports transparency; criticizes charging for digital copies; wants user-friendly searchable portals

Judicial Philosophy Differences

Pekin emphasizes:

• Following law and facts regardless of personal belief

• Experience with difficult cases (gang homicides, prison crimes)

• Patience combined with firmness

• Speaking in plain language to aid understanding

Friend emphasizes:

• Court prioritizes process over truth too often

• Every case deserves care and attention

• Broader life experience informs empathy

• Commitment to ensuring people feel heard

Significant Contrasts

Endorsements

Pekin: Embraces establishment support from entire judicial community

Friend: Rejects attorney/judge endorsements as ethically problematic, questions their appropriateness

Experience

Pekin: 5 years as sitting judge, extensive criminal trial experience

Friend: No judicial experience, family law focus, diverse non-legal work background

Judicial Temperament

Pekin: Emphasizes empathy alongside fair an equal application of the law and communicating in plain language

Friend: Emphasizes empathy from varied life experiences (cancer survivor, single parent, multiple careers)

Court Culture

Pekin: Works within existing system, advocates for practical solutions

Friend: Challenges court dress codes as First Amendment violations, questions judicial traditions

Systemic Issues

• Geographic challenges: County size (larger than Delaware, similar to Jamaica) creates access problems

• Resource shortages: Statewide lack of court reporters and certified interpreters

• Consolidation trend: Court operations centralizing in Ukiah, reducing Coast access

• Technology gaps: Odyssey system has problems; remote appearance pilot program expiring June 2026

• Election timing: June 2 election gives candidates only 4 months vs. November general election

• Transparency limits: California keeps judicial evaluations confidential; limited public records

Notable Details

• 2016 race was razor-thin: Pekin lost to Faulder by just 154 votes (49.51% vs 50.13%)

• If Friend wins: All 8 judges would live inland; no Coast-based judge

• Judge salary: ~$240,000 first year

• Pekin’s unique experience: Represented prisoners in Salinas Valley and Soledad State Prisons

• Friend’s creative compensation: Accepted figs, fish, books, tacos, paddleboard lessons for legal work

• Background checks: Friend has multiple minor traffic violations across states, he is currently a party in a family law case that is presided over by Judge FredRicco McCurry; Pekin’s records restricted

The sun was just rising above the hills in the northeast corner of Mendocino County when blasts of gunfire overpowered the ordinary sounds of a rural community rousing itself on a Sunday morning in spring. The noise heralded a harrowing series of events — a fifteen-year-old girl fleeing a 16-year-old boy with a weapon, an assault, and then the murder of the girl’s relative.

At approximately 6:13 a.m., dispatchers at the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received an urgent call: a woman had been shot, and a Good Samaritan was rushing her to the Covelo Volunteer Fire Department on Highway 162.

When the driver arrived at the fire station, however, they could not get anyone to come to the door. Desperate for help, the driver took the wounded woman to a residence on South Airport Road.

By the time sheriff’s deputies arrived, it was too late. Neighbors and bystanders were gathered around a 38-year-old woman suffering from what authorities described as “numerous suspected gunshot wounds.” She was unconscious, and her heart was faltering.

Working alongside members of the Round Valley Tribal Police, deputies began administering CPR. They continued until emergency medical personnel arrived. Despite every effort, the woman could not be saved. She was pronounced dead at 6:55 a.m.

A Morning of Terror

In the hours that followed, detectives from the Sheriff’s Investigations Bureau pieced together a disturbing picture of domestic violence among juveniles who were just barely old enough to drive.

The fifteen-year-old girl was on the road early, driving through Covelo, when she realized she was being followed. According to authorities, the driver of the car that was pursuing her was a 16-year-old boy. The girl and the boy had been dating. But the relationship had turned sour. It included at least one incident of domestic violence that had not been reported, authorities said.

As the girl drove, the boy took out a gun and began shooting at her car. He followed her, firing, as she drove to multiple locations. Finally, she stopped. The boy forced the girl out of her car at gunpoint and assaulted her.

After the attack, he let her leave.

A Phone Call and a Manhunt

The girl was on the phone, telling a female relative what had happened, when she heard the shots.

Authorities believe the shooter was the 16-year-old boy. Arrest warrants were issued charging the boy with stalking, criminal threats, and domestic battery in connection with the assault on the girl. Additional charges related to the murder — including first-degree murder and personal use of a firearm during the commission of a felony — are being sought through the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

By the time authorities had the paperwork necessary to arrest the boy, he was gone.

Investigators received information he had fled Covelo and was believed to be somewhere near Oroville in Butte County, about 100 miles to the northeast. Investigators coordinated with local law enforcement there, but for two days, the boy evaded arrest.

The break investigators needed came in the morning of Tuesday, April August 21, when Oroville police located the 16 year old at a local restaurant. When officers moved in to make the arrest, he ran, but he didn’t get far.

After a brief foot pursuit, he was taken into custody.

Names Will Not Be Released

As of the writing of this article, the 16-year-old suspect is being held at a juvenile detention facility in Butte County. Authorities said they are working to extradite him to Mendocino County, where he will be booked into the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall.

Because all parties directly involved in the domestic violence incident are minors, their names will not be released. Juvenile records are also protected from public disclosure under California law. The name of the 38-year-old victim is also being withheld pending the completion of a forensic autopsy and notification of her family.

Captain Quincy Cromer of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains active and ongoing. Additional information, including the victim’s identity, is expected to be released as the case progresses.

The Mendocino County Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to move toward denying a use permit for a short-term rental southwest of Ukiah, overriding a staff recommendation for approval after a neighbor described the property as an unlicensed “party house” operating in a high-fire-danger zone.

The 4-0 vote directed county staff to draft a formal resolution for denial of Use Permit U-2025-0006, which would have allowed property owners Chaitanya Kadiyala and Ravali Devarapalli to operate a short-term rental at 2401 Boonville Road. The commission continued the item to its June 4 meeting, when it is expected to formally adopt the denial.

Senior Planner Russ Ford had recommended approval of the permit with conditions, telling commissioners the project was consistent with rural residential zoning and that outstanding issues, including years of unpermitted construction, could be resolved through conditions of approval.

The commission rejected that reasoning after hearing testimony from Matthew Tollini, a neighbor whose property provides the only easement access to the site.

Neighbor Describes Issues with Noise, Sewage, and Fire

Tollini told commissioners the owners had been advertising and renting the property on Airbnb since December 2024 — the month they purchased it — without ever obtaining a permit.

“We lived there for 14 years,” Tollini said. “It’s been very peaceful in our neighborhood and now they’re bringing a party house right next door.”

Tollini described a series of incidents he said had occurred over the preceding 16 months, including open fire pits burning during dry summer months in what state fire officials have designated a Very High Fire Hazard Area. He said guests had repeatedly trespassed on his property, driven recklessly on the shared private road and generated noise loud enough to wake his family through closed windows and doors in February.

“There’s been probably half a dozen times where they’ve been keeping us up late at night,” Tollini said, adding that he had observed as many as 20 vehicles at the property at one time, suggesting gatherings of 40 to 50 people. The property’s Airbnb listing advertises accommodations for up to 20 guests at a rate of approximately $7,000 per week, he said.

Tollini also raised concerns about the property’s septic system, telling commissioners that a plumbing service had been called to the site on multiple occasions because the system appeared unable to handle the volume of guests. He said the septic overflow was occurring near a creek on or adjacent to the property.

He submitted a printout of the Airbnb listing as evidence.

Staff Had Recommended Approval With Conditions

Ford’s staff report acknowledged two significant complications with the application. First, Mendocino County’s inland zoning code contains no specific use classification for short-term rentals. The county has relied since 2010 on a planning director’s interpretation that classifies short-term rentals as an accessory form of “room and board” use, a regulatory framework Ford described as an imperfect but functional permitting pathway while a formal short-term rental ordinance remains under development.

Second, the 15.2-acre property has grown substantially through what Ford described as unpermitted additions and improvements made over the past 15 to 20 years. The main residence has expanded from around 1700 square feet, permitted in the 1970s, to approximately 5,000 square feet. The property now includes an attached garage, enclosed decks, a pool, pool house, outdoor kitchen, putting green, bocce court and detached shop.

Ford said staff had recommended a condition requiring the owners to obtain all necessary after-the-fact building permits before a business license could be issued to operate the rental.

The owners, appearing via Zoom from their San Jose home, told commissioners they had purchased the property in December 2024 and planned to use it as both a personal vacation home and a short-term rental. They said they intended to hire a property manager located within a 10-minute drive of the property and planned to install exterior surveillance cameras to monitor noise and occupancy.

“We’ll make sure that all of the rules that a typical short-term rental will enforce — like no parties, no excess noise — are clearly laid out,” one of the owners said.

Commissioners Cite Bad Faith, Unresolved Concerns

The owners’ assurances did not satisfy the commission.

Commissioner Diane Wiedemann, who represents the district where the property is located, moved immediately after public comment to deny the permit, characterizing the applicants as bad-faith actors for renting their property as an Airbnb before acquiring a permit. Tollini said the owners began renting the property almost immediately after they purchased it.

“I feel like I would be negligent as a planning commissioner to put this back and say maybe we could write better ordinances,” Wiedemann said. “We have too many red flags here.”

Commissioner Michelle Johnson, who seconded the motion, said the required findings for approval could not be made given the record before the commission.

“I don’t believe that the findings can be made,” Johnson said. “Without additional information, I believe that we can’t demonstrate that this won’t constitute a nuisance or be detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare.”

Commissioner Richards noted that the owners had been given an opportunity during the hearing to rebut Tollini’s specific allegations and had not done so.

“We had very credible evidence of already existing nuisances,” Richards said. “The owner was given an opportunity to respond and rebut, and there was nothing.”

Deputy County Counsel Matthew Thomas Kiedrowski advised commissioners that drafting a legally defensible denial resolution on the fly carried risks and recommended allowing staff time to prepare a thorough written document. Chair Clifford Paulin agreed, saying a more carefully drafted denial would better withstand a potential appeal to the Board of Supervisors.

The commission ultimately amended the motion to continue the item to June 4 with explicit direction to staff to prepare a resolution for denial, incorporating concerns about septic capacity, fire safety, and the documented nuisance complaints into the findings.

Permitting History Adds Complexity

An additional complication involves the property’s building permit history. Commissioners raised questions about whether some of the structure’s construction was completed under a “Class K” designation, a county permit category intended for owner-built rural dwellings. Under that classification, a property typically cannot be rented for at least one year following the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

Planning and Building Services Director Julia Krog confirmed that Class K permits carry owner-occupancy restrictions but said the specifics of how those restrictions would apply to the current structure — given the extent of unpermitted additions — would need to be resolved by the building division.

Ford said no currently valid permit covers the structure as it exists today.

Kudrowski noted that even if the commission were to approve the use permit, the owners could face a lengthy and potentially expensive process to bring the structure into full compliance before any business license could be issued.

Caltrans separately flagged that no encroachment permit exists on record for the driveway connection to State Route 253 and requested that the owners obtain an after-the-fact permit.

The June 4 hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at 501 Low Gap Road in Ukiah. The public may also attend virtually via Zoom.

A Ukiah man allegedly threatened to shoot a gas station employee during a Sunday afternoon incident on Lovers Lane, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said the suspect entered the Chevron Gas Station around 1:30 p.m. on April 19 and became involved in a verbal altercation with a store employee. During the confrontation, the man allegedly made threats to shoot the employee while keeping his hand near his waist, implying he may have been armed.

The employee, a 37-year-old Ukiah resident, told deputies he feared for his safety as the suspect took merchandise from the store. Based on those circumstances, investigators determined the theft was carried out through threats and intimidation.

After reviewing surveillance footage, deputies identified the suspect as Joseph Mendoza, 37, of Ukiah. Officials said Mendoza was on active probation at the time of the incident.

Deputies initially searched for Mendoza at his residence in the 1600 block of Lovers Lane but did not locate him. When they returned later that afternoon, around 4:40 p.m., they detained him without incident.

According to the sheriff’s office, Mendoza made statements that corroborated the employee’s account. Deputies also recovered many of the stolen items after Mendoza consented to a search of his residence.

Mendoza was arrested on suspicion of robbery, second-degree burglary, and violating probation. He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.

A 28-year-old man from Covelo was arrested Friday following an early morning incident initially reported as a possible kidnapping, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were dispatched around 2:43 a.m. on April 17 to a residence in the 76000 block of Henderson Lane after a caller reported that a woman had been forcibly taken from the home.

When deputies arrived, they determined the reporting party had not personally witnessed the incidence. As the investigation continued, deputies contacted a 27-year-old Covelo man who was identified as the victim of an assault.

According to authorities, the victim reported that Raymond Bowes entered his residence, physically assaulted him, and stole personal property. A 21-year-old woman who had been inside the home left the residence with Bowes.

Deputies observed that the male victim had injuries consistent with an assault and located evidence at the scene supporting his account.

Further investigation led deputies to locate the woman later that day at a residence on Biggar Lane. She told authorities the initial kidnapping report was inaccurate and said she had not been injured.

Bowes was also located at the residence. According to the sheriff’s office, he gave a statement that conflicted with witness accounts and evidence collected during the investigation. Deputies also noted that Bowes had injuries consistent with being the primary aggressor in a physical altercation.

Raymond Bowes has multiple charges pending, including one felony charge for driving the wrong way on a highway while evading a peace officer on June 24, 2025, resisting or obstructing an officer on November 9, 2025, and resisting or deterring an officer on February 22, 2026. A trial on these charges is scheduled for June 8, 2026.

Based on the findings, deputies arrested Bowes on suspicion of robbery, burglary, and committing a felony while released on bail in an unrelated case. He was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and is being held on $125,000 bail.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086 or submit an anonymous tip to 707-234-2100.