The Importance of the Eel Realignment on E
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Community AmericCorp Forum sports digest volunteer Our readers write ..........Page A-6 Sweet profiled ................................Page A-4 ............Page A-3 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper ..........Page 2 Tomorrow: Breezy day with lots of sun 7 58551 69301 0 FRIDAY May, 4, 2007 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 48 pages, Volume 149 Number 25 email: [email protected] Governor challenges youth An EEL RIVER run to be more active By LAURA MCCUTCHEON The Daily Journal Over 50,000 students attending over 1,000 schools in the state are participating in a race for a new fitness center, among them are 144 students who attend Redwood Valley Elementary School. The Governor’s Challenge, sponsored by General Mills, is to be active 30-60 minutes a day, at least three days a week for four weeks. Every student who completes the Challenge qualifies for a certificate of completion signed by the Governor and an official patch of the Council Seal. The major motivator -- made pos- Schwarzenegger sible through support from the 11 regional award winning Blue Cross of California schools that have the highest Foundation -- is a brand new percentage of students com- fitness center to the pleting the Governor’s Governor’s Challenge Challenge by May 31. Competition’s grand prize Over the past few months winning school and $1,000 of physical activity equipment to See FITNESS, Page A-12 Ben Brown/The Daily Journal The Eel River flows under a bridge in Humboldt County. In an average water year, the water would flow UKIAH CITY COUNCIL bank to bank, but lower-than-average rainfall this year restricts water to the deepest parts of the bed. Proposed intersection The importance of the Eel realignment on E. By BEN BROWN Potter Valley south,” said In a good water year, the Environmentalists blame Gobbi to move forward The Daily Journal Janet Pauli, Chairwoman of system delivers the water, logging companies, ranch- Editor’s note: This is the the Mendocino County but on a bad one, everyone ers and private landowners, By KATIE MINTZ project out to bid for construc- second of two stories by Ben Inland Valley Water suffers. Some go looking for cutting down the trees, Brown on his two-day tour of The Daily Journal tion. Commission. for someone to blame, and filling the river with silt and The Ukiah City Council Public Utilities Director the Eel River with the Water from the main leaving the fish with no Mendocino County Farm there is no shortage of peo- voted Wednesday to move Tim Erikson, however, said he Bureau. branch of the Eel River is ple and agencies for that. place to spawn. forward with the realignment brought the plans forward According to reports diverted through a tunnel, A good portion of the Other agencies, like the of the intersection of East Wednesday night, though only from the California through the Potter Valley land in the Eel River water- fisheries division of the Gobbi Street at Oak Manor about 40 percent complete, Department of Water Project and into the East shed is owned by the National Oceanic Drive and Babcock Lane after due to public interest in the Resources, one-third of the Fork of the Russian River. National Forest Service and Atmospheric the rare occasion of being project with regard to its rain in California falls in From there it flows into the Bureau of Land Administration, the asked to review preliminary potential impacts on Gibson the north coast, which is Lake Mendocino and then Management, other parts of California Department of design plans. Creek. defined as the area between downstream all the way to it are in the hands of Indian Fish and Game, the Federal Typically, the city council “The Friends of Gibson Sonoma County and the Sonoma County. tribes and some still Energy Regulatory does not see plans until they Creek have a lot of concerns Oregon border. Along the way a number remains privately owned by Commission and even are complete, at which time about the project,” Erikson The various forks of the of communities, including farmers and ranchers. Pacific Gas and Electric, they’re asked to either also get their share of the Eel River run through a Ukiah, draw water for Private landowners like approve or deny putting the See COUNCIL, Page A-2 good portion of that and, on drinking and agriculture Ross Burgess blame the blame for regulating one average rain year, carry and from streams that originated government and the “olo- part of the river or another distribute much of that in the Eel. gists” he has no respect for, to fulfill their duties. water in Mendocino, “We are dependent on for restricting the cutting of In addition the Eel River, Alleged robber armed Humboldt and Trinity coun- it,” Pauli said. “Everything trees that overgrow the land no respecter of human ties. north of the confluence of and suck up all the water, boundaries, runs through with an ax tasered after “It supplies a tremendous Dry Creek is dependent on making the river uninhabit- amount of water from it.” able for fish. See RIVER, Page A-2 threatening deputies The Daily Journal Mendocino County sheriff’s deputies tasered a San Diego man Tuesday after he allegedly robbed a Willits area home and Mendocino County gets a breath of fresh air threatened officers with an ax. The Daily Journal pollution is 15. Mendocino County also tems,” Bard said. “This means when you According to sheriff’s reports, deputies were called to a Mendocino County received top recorded low levels of annual particle inhale these particles, they embed them- home in the 19000 block of Walker Road in Willits at 5 p.m. marks in the American Lung Association pollution, with 6.8. selves deep in the lungs. Some may even Tuesday on reports of a burglary in progress. of California’s eighth annual State of the Lake and Mendocino counties grades pass through the lungs to the blood. Witnesses told deputies that the man was armed with an ax, Air report released Tuesday. rose from a ‘B’ to an ‘A’ this year for 24- Studies link particle pollution to according to sheriff’s reports. The report, which ranks counties on hour levels of particle pollution as well. increased risk of asthma attacks, heart Upon arrival, deputies confronted Xi Kevin Chen, 23, of San pollution by ozone (commonly called The neighboring counties joined attacks and strokes, and lung cancer.” Diego outside the garage of a private residence. According to smog) and particle pollution (often Marin, Napa and Sonoma on the list of While many California counties sheriff’s reports, Chen was wearing clothing that he had referred to as soot), shows ‘A’ grades for cleanest counties for ozone pollution, remain among the most burdened by allegedly stolen from a house moments before and he was hold- the county across the board, marking an according to the report. Grades for parti- ozone and particle pollution in the nation, ing an ax with a four-inch blade. improvement from last year. cle pollution, which includes diesel and there were overall many fewer high pol- The deputy drew his service weapon and displayed it to “This is great news for our area woodsmoke, also showed continued lution days than in previous reports, Chen while telling him to drop the ax and surrender. because clean air saves lives,” Jenny improvement throughout the Redwood according to the American Lung According to sheriff’s reports, Chen refused to drop the ax Bard, assistant director of communica- Empire. Association of California. and told the deputy to shoot him. The deputy called for backup tions and advocacy for the American But statewide, 26 of California’s 52 California counties were also among and waited for another officer to arrive. Lung Association of California, said. counties with air quality monitoring sta- the most improved nationwide, with 32 When backup arrived sheriff’s deputies continued to negoti- “High grades means fewer people are tions failed the associations tests, includ- counties dropping their year-round parti- ate with Chen, according to sheriff’s reports, instructing him to exposed to unhealthy air.” ing the Bay Area counties of Contra cle pollution levels. California’s drop the ax and surrender. Chen responded by repeatedly Lake County, with its “remarkably Costa, San Francisco and Santa Clara. improvements came while much of the approaching the deputies raising the axe and threatening to kill clean air,” climbed to third cleanest coun- According to the report, these three eastern U.S. suffered increases in particle them. ty in the nation in the American Lung counties received failing grades for short- pollution. When Chen refused to surrender, one deputy fired a taser at Association’s nationwide report, Bard term particle pollution due primarily to “The good news is that the air is gen- Chen while the other sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. added. diesel and wintertime wood smoke pollu- erally cleaner. California’s aggressive When he was hit with the taser Chen fell to the ground and According to the report, Lake tion. steps, especially controls on auto emis- deputies disarmed him, according to sheriff’s reports. County’s particle pollution measured 4.6 “The dangerous thing about these fine sions, have measurably reduced air pollu- Chen was arrested on suspicion of burglary and resisting micrograms per cubic meter. The federal particles is that they are tiny enough to arrest and booked into the Mendocino County Jail on a $35,000 standard for the average level of particle penetrate the body’s natural defense sys- See AIR, Page A-12 bond.