[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Good evening and welcome to the local news. Today is Wednesday, September 24th and I'm Nat Cardos reporting for KMED. In tonight's news, Mendocino College new automotive program remodel unveiled.
Save Our Seniors raised concern over city of Fortuna possibly violating the Brown Act.
So stay tuned. Those stories and more coming up.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are located on the unceded territory of the Sinkion, Huaylaqui, Wiat, Wilkat and Kato people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spirit, spiritual and physical connection these tribes have to this region.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Today the Fortuna City Council will be having a special closed session that was called by the city manager under the significant Threat Litigation exemption, the Safe Our Seniors SOS organization of mobile home park residents are raising concerns about this session as they believe it may be in violation of California's Brown act concerning a rent stabilization ordinance RSO that they have been pushing for in the past couple of months with the City Council.
KMUN News spoke with Hilary Mosher, the regional manager for the Golden State Manufactured Homeowners League and a rent stabilization advocate for more information on what led to this issue.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: So in June, I believe we approached, and by we I mean myself and a large group mostly of seniors calling themselves sos, which stands for Save Our Seniors. We approached the Fortuna City Council requesting that that they enact a rent stabilization ordinance because the owners of Royal Crest Park Stores management had been increasing the rent unsustainably high. The rents there are higher than any other park in the county of Humboldt. At that time, the city council, you know, it wasn't on their agenda so they couldn't really handle it. But they did agree that they would consider putting it on their agenda. And by probably the middle of July they did schedule it on their agenda. And at that time we not only requested a rent stabilization ordinance, but we also requested a rent increase moratorium until such time as the council could make their decision. The council originally was instructed by their city manager to go with an idea that the park owner attorney suggested, which is an MOU or a memo of understanding. And MOUs are frequently suggested by park owners and their attorneys because they're far more favorable and they cannot be enforced in the same way as an ordinance can. There's no penalty. They can make amendments whenever they choose to. If they sell the park, the new owner is not responsible for following the MoU, etc. Etc. There's a number of reasons. And so we talked to the city council and gave them that information. And we let them know that although there are 107 communities in the state of California with rent stabilization Ordinances, or RSOs, there are only four with memos of understanding. And we found that there are four more that used to have memos of understanding and moved to rent stabilization ordinances. At the end of that meeting, the City council, I think 4 to 1, voted to have a rentorium and asked the City manager to bring one forward at the next meeting.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: Earlier this month, on September 17th, the city council voted in a 3 to 1 vote to draft a temporary ordinance that would ban rent increases in mobile home parks to enable city staff to have more time developing a permanent ordinance. SOS is raising concern about the City Council possibly being intimidated into not disclosing their actions and that a closed session would violate the Brown Act. The Brown act is a California law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in the meetings of local legislative bodies. Mosher elaborates on what the Brown act is and how this could be in violation of it.
[00:04:14] Speaker A: Since that time, the attorney for the city well, I guess it's actually the city manager called a special closed session and we just found out about it sort of by fluke. One of the members of SOS happened to be reading one of the online media sources and saw a mention of it. And when we looked into it, sure enough, it's scheduled for tomorrow or actually today at 5 o'. Clock. And we tried to find out why. And it's they're saying that there is a significant threat of litigation associated with a Fortuna rso. And when you look at the situation of having a closed session for a government body, there is something called the Brown act that protects the public's right to know so that the government can't just hold closed sessions and make decisions that the public doesn't know about or you know, is unaware of. Two exemptions to the Brown Act. One is litigation, but describes the litigation as a significant threat of litigation. And in the Fortuna situation, there has not been a significant threat. There has not even been one park owner who has appeared at any of the meetings. There has been an attorney for one of the park owners who even been able to accurately identify who his client.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: Is prior to the closed session, there will be a period for public comment where SoS and members of the communities can voice their concerns. If the City Council follows through with the closed special session, Mosher states that the SOS will file a complaint.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: Well, if it goes through, then we will be filing a complaint against the city council for violation of the Brown Act. That will entail us finding an agency or an attorney willing to represent us.
And we are a group of low income people. I mean we live in mobile home parks. If we had a ton of money we probably wouldn't be, but I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to find representation to in order to file and then go through with a full complaint. We first will file our intent with the city. The city then has I believe 30 days to correct the problem, which would mean they would have to go back and hold the meeting in public. If they fail to do that, then it is subject to court action and we expect a pretty good settlement for that. It may fund the Campaign for the Citizens Initiative.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: The City Council meeting will start prior to broadcast at 5pm and is accessible through the City of Fortuna website. Friendlyfortuna.com On Aug. 29, Mendocino College announced the grand reopening of its automotive technology program following a year long remodeling project that upgraded the facility with an expanded shop space.
Updated equipment for electric and hybrid vehicles as well as a new certificate program focused on EV technology came unnew spoke with Michael Pratt, lead instructor for the automotive program at Mendocino College for more information about the remodel.
[00:07:15] Speaker C: It is what I call the clean space. So we have the dirty shop which does chassis and transmissions and emissions and engine performance. Then we have what I call the clean space which we do air conditioning and electricity and high voltage. High voltage is something particularly in battery packs that has to be super clean. They cannot have a piece of metal or debris inside an open battery shell. It could potentially cause problems for the car or problems like fire or problems with harmful problems. So we made a second shop that is basically a cleaner shop and a place that we can safely take apart electric vehicle components.
Well, the EV focus we have focus on lots of different things here. The EV focus right now is because by 2030 the state of California wants a larger percentage of EVs sold than they have right now and it's actually part of a quota. So we need people trained to work on these cars as they become more and more abundant on the road. And as it was an EV Focus, it's also a hybrid focus which is another class we added to the curriculum with this construction because in Ukiah Valley I would say a large and I'm not going to get guess exactly the percentage of vehicles on the road are Priuses right now. And with that Prius population we need people that can fix the Priuses and rebuild the batteries and fix the Teslas or the Rivians or Nissan Leafs that are becoming more and more abundant in our in our lives.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: With the remodel, the automotive program now has two classrooms, which opens up space for more classes as well as more workspace for projects. Talks of funding for the remodel began approximately five years ago and construction itself began last year. During the remodel, classes still occurred, bringing hurdles for professors students.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: Oh my God. Well, first of all, teaching a semester, two semesters while your building's under construction, that alone is a huge hurdle. The other hurdles are the various codes that we found with the building. Anytime in the state of California, you do a renovation of a certain cost, you have to bring the entire building up to code. And this building was built, I believe, in 1988. So from restrooms to access to fire sprinkler systems, there was a whole lot of things we had to bring the whole building up. And by bringing the whole building up, it took a lot of our funds that we weren't expecting to go into the building, at least in that way, and took more time than we were originally planning as far as how long we thought it would take to do this remodel.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: The updated building features a dedicated EV and automotive electrical workshop, outdoor lifts for engine and transmission work, new curriculum and certificate pathways in hybrid and electric vehicle systems, and more. The program is now also offering an electric vehicle certificate and students can also pursue an associate degree or stackable certificates in chassis smog and engine diagnostics. Pratt elaborates more on the highlights of the remodel.
[00:10:09] Speaker C: We extended our parking for student vehicles that are being worked on by 50%. We added some outdoor space which I do plan on using for future growth as far as possibly using using it for diesel and diesel repair if we ever do add that to the curriculum. Having a second classroom was giant as far as our abilities to teach effectively. Two classes each night and having a clean lab for, well, obviously ev, but also conditioning and basic electrical and other disciplines that require a clean and open space that's well lit. So it really helped in a lot of different ways.
[00:10:45] Speaker B: Mendocino College will be having a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, October 3rd at 11:00am at the Ukiah campus. For more information about Mendocino College's automotive program, the website is mendocino. Edu Auto Turning to Mendocino Ukiah Sewer rates rises Mendo Public Media's Elise Cox reports.
[00:11:09] Speaker D: In Ukiah, residents are facing a significant increase in sewer rates. I'm Elise Cox reporting for KMUD News and Mendo local public media Last week, the Ukiah City council approved a 22% hike for sewer services, together with a 14% hike previously approved last year. That will bring the total rate increase to 36% by 2030.
The rate increase was approved after a brief one minute protest hearing. Here's Dan Buffalo, Finance director of the City of Ukiah.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: This is the step in the rate adjustment process where the council is to conduct a public hearing and receive protests from ratepayers or potential ratepayers if they own parcels within the sewer utility service area to protest the rate adjustment as proposed, provide feedback, comments and so forth.
If there was a critical mass of protests received by the city as of the close of the public hearing, that would negate the council's action and would require us to to go through the process again to attempt to adjust the rates.
[00:12:24] Speaker D: But no one showed up for the public hearing.
Just 12 residents submitted written protests.
One senior citizen wrote about her struggles I'm now a senior citizen living on a fixed income.
My Social Security payments are less than $1,000 per month.
My property taxes are over $500 per month.
I feel like I'm being forced out of my house.
City Manager Sage San Giacomo said the increases are necessary due to other ongoing infrastructure projects involving roads.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: It just didn't make sense to put.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: New roads on or new pavement on without taking care of the aged infrastructure below those streets and have potential problems.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: Arise where we have to tear those.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Streets up shortly after we put them in because we have a sewer line failure or a water line failure or otherwise.
[00:13:22] Speaker D: Vice Mayor Susan Scher acknowledged the hardship facing some residents.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: I think I can speak for all of us that we're very sympathetic to the concerns of residents, particularly those on fixed incomes for whom this increase poses a big hardship and it gives us no pleasure in raising these rates. But the cities has to deal with inflation and the inflation is caused by circumstances beyond our control.
[00:13:54] Speaker D: Even with the increase, Ukiah's sewer service rates remain among the lowest in the region.
City staff advised residents they may be able to receive help with their bills from United Way, Catholic Charities or other non profits.
And they said the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency may also be able to help. For KMUD News and Mendo local public media, this is Elise Cox.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: In State News California Expert speaks out on combating abusive financial Practices Public News Services Suzanne Potter reports.
[00:14:33] Speaker E: As the Trump administration cuts back on consumer protections, community development financial institutions or CDFIs are offering financial products that aim to help low income consumers rather than exploit them. President Donald Trump gutted the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau through a series of staff and budget cuts, and the agency no longer takes on abusive payday lenders that trap consumers with sky high interest rates and fees on short term loans. Ellen Harnick with the nonprofit center for Responsible Lending in Oakland says predatory lenders lenders often operate in low income communities of color.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: The CFPB under the new administration specifically said they are going to withdraw focus from non bank lenders and that is especially harmful to the communities that we seek to serve who are really targeted by those lenders.
[00:15:23] Speaker E: Consumer advocates say states need to step up. North Carolina, for example, banned payday lending in 2001. California law allows payday lenders to charge $15 for every $100 lent, which works out to a whopping 460% annual interest rate for a typical two week payday loan. Online payday loan apps are also gaining traction. Harnick recommends borrowers consult with CDFIs, which have programs designed to help families buy their first home and start building generational wealth. Rather than opting for a risky payday loan.
[00:15:56] Speaker C: These loans are designed to create their own demand as the extreme cost and the short repayment period drive borrowers to borrow again and again just to keep up.
[00:16:08] Speaker E: CDFIs lost millions in grants when the Trump administration decided to withhold funds appropriated by Congress as part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund during the Biden administration, a matter that is currently in the courts. The funds were earmarked to help low income families qualify for mortgages or reduce their energy costs by installing solar panels. For California News Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. Find our trust
[email protected].
[00:16:37] Speaker B: In national news, world leaders will vow to reduce fossil fuels at UN climate summits as countries fall short on response. KPFA's Anthony Purrazzo reports.
[00:16:47] Speaker F: More than 110 world leaders will speak at a special United Nations Climate Summit Wednesday designed to get nations to strengthen their required but already late plans to wean themselves from the coal, oil and natural gas that cause climate change.
Dozens of business leaders are in the city networking in various conferences aimed at greener and cleaner energy.
Ral Frejan Vanu is the minister of Climate Change for the Republic of Vanuatu, an island nation threatened by intensifying cyclones and sea level rise.
He talks about his and other countries difficulties with climate change and calls for a global response.
[00:17:26] Speaker G: We need action by the global community.
We are a country that's contributed 0.016% of global warming and yet we are on the front line. And I just want to say we are on the front lines, but everyone will get there eventually. We will all be on the front lines. And so it's important for us to take action globally, which is why Vanuatu spearheaded this case. To get an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the impact on human rights of climate change. Our right to exist, the right to life, the right to health, the right to practice your culture.
[00:18:00] Speaker F: Earlier this year, the United Nations International Court of Justice ruled unanimously that it is the obligation of all countries to protect the global environment.
Minister Regen Vanu continues about what stands to be lost as well as the greater risk to countries closer to the sea level.
[00:18:17] Speaker G: You lose those things which are so central to your identity, like the land that you've lived on for centuries, your family, your ancestors that you hoped to give to your children.
You lose markers in the landscape that tell your stories.
So it's really non economic stuff. Of course you have all the great economic costs, financial costs of climate change. We hear about, it's in the Paris Agreement, climate finance. But the things that really hit home are those losses. And you have countries in the Pacific, for example, like Tuvalu, like Kiribati, low lying atolls, 2 meters above sea level at the highest.
Think about losing entire countries.
Where are these people who have lived on these atolls for centuries going to go? How are they going to maintain their identity?
[00:19:04] Speaker F: But it's not enough and too slow, said Regent Vanu. His country Vanuatu and other small island nations and vulnerable states plan to ask the UN General assembly, which goes by majority rule, not unanimity, to follow up on the International Court of Justice's ruling earlier this year that all countries must act on climate change.
Vanuatu's resolution won't be proposed until after November's climate negotiations. In Brazil, he said the nations of the world were supposed to come up with new five year plans for curbing carbon emissions by February, leading into the Brazil negotiations.
But only 47 of the 195 nations, those responsible for less than a quarter of global emissions, have done so.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen talks about investing in renewable energy instead of fossil fuels and how it's not just about climate change.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: The energy transition has truly taken off.
Let me give you some figures in 2024. Last year almost $2 trillion were invested worldwide in clean energy. And the economic case is clear. The renewables are so much cheaper. 90%, 90% of new renewable projects generate power more cheaply than fossil fuels. Clean Energy is not only about addressing climate change.
It is, in my view, also about energy security and it is about prosperity.
[00:20:43] Speaker F: In the United States, there have been nationwide protests against the country's lack of commitment to protecting the environment.
Protesters use the slogan make billionaires pay to express resentment towards the ultra wealthy who have profited from environmentally destructive practices while the climate crisis has grown worse.
For KPFA News, I'm Anthony Purrazzo.
[00:21:08] Speaker B: In National Native News, Antonio Gonzalez reads today's headlines.
[00:21:12] Speaker H: This is National Native News. I'm Antonia Gonzalez. On Tuesday, we reported about how people in tribal communities say they're getting approached by predatory representation and solicitation in the wake of the Radiation Exposure Compensation act, or RICA, being revived by Congress this summer. That story from KJZ's Gabriel Pietrazio continues. With the tribal fair season in full swing, solicitors are even targeting elders there like 64 year old Maggie Billyman in rural western New Mexico.
[00:21:44] Speaker A: It's overwhelming. Who do you trust? Who do you go to?
[00:21:48] Speaker H: At her home in northeastern Arizona, she says many Navajos like herself, struggle with all sorts of cancers. Billyman lives with COPD and chronic renal failure or kidney disease. The daughter of a late uranium miner and Navajo code talker, Billyman recalls being asked to sign up with a national home healthcare company at the Eastern Navajo Fair in Crown Point. But that happened in July, a month before the DOJ reopened the free process.
[00:22:16] Speaker A: And she looked at me real surprised and she goes, we can get your record for you if you like.
[00:22:21] Speaker C: Pull it out.
[00:22:22] Speaker A: And I said, oh my God, I.
[00:22:24] Speaker C: Got up out of the chair.
[00:22:25] Speaker H: I that fair booth was run by UEW or United Energy Workers Health care, which paid $9 million in 2023 to settle allegations of submitting false claims to the US Department of Labor. Several requests from KJZZ to UEW went unanswered. They've been named among companies and attorneys in the west on a growing watch list curated by a working group led by the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. Their advocacy has led New Mexico's attorney general to warn consumers to watch out for fraud. Cancer survivor Tina Cordova is sounding the alarm, too.
[00:23:02] Speaker A: It's pervasive. The scale is unprecedented.
[00:23:05] Speaker H: Co founder of the nonprofit Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, she and others cite as an example downwinders.com, a web domain trademarked by the Florida incorporated National Cancer Benefits center, which also owns another company called Atomic Veterans.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: They've made people believe that they're working with us.
[00:23:25] Speaker H: National Cancer Benefits Center CEO Kirk Gladwin denies the allegations, stressing his company is part of the solution.
[00:23:33] Speaker C: We do not solicit. We do not knock on doors. We do not call anybody ever, and we never have unless those people ask us for information. Don't let anybody tell you that, because that's bullshit.
And I hate to say that, but that I'll draw the line that makes me angry because that's not us.
[00:23:52] Speaker H: Those affected can still find free assistance from a handful of federally funded health clinics through resep, the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: The scams were new to me.
[00:24:04] Speaker H: Candice Lewis is Dannette and the RESEP patient navigator at North Country Healthcare and Flagstaff. It's one of only two such clinics in Arizona, and she's getting calls from all over.
[00:24:15] Speaker A: I actually got off the phone earlier today with someone who was from New Mexico, and he shared a little bit of what he was going through. It was a hard call. They didn't even state their name.
[00:24:25] Speaker H: That's supposed to be her job, so it upsets her.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Lawyers have more power and more pull than me, and it has been a little overwhelming at times. But I'm just like, bear with me. Just be patient with us.
[00:24:38] Speaker H: Because if someone lawyers up, Lewis says her clinic can no longer help them with filing a rika claim before the end of 2027. For National Native News, I'm Gabriel Pieterrazio. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior, Chippewa and the state of Wisconsin recently celebrated new dual language road signs. The new signs identify the tribe's boundaries and two river crossings in Ojibwemowan and English. The Bad river band is the eighth of 12 tribes in the state to collaborate on such highway signs.
I'm Antonia Gonzalez.
[00:25:16] Speaker F: Native Voice 1, the.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: Native American Radio Network.
[00:25:24] Speaker B: That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our engineer, Larry Lashley, and thanks to our reporters, Elise Cox, Suzanne Potter, Anthony Purrazzo and Antonio Gonzalez.
KEMA News is online and you can find us on kema.org and now streaming on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, where you can download our stories and newscasts for offline listening during your rural commutes. You can also follow us on social media. If you have questions or suggestions, you can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsaymud.org Are you passionate about your community? Looking to report on what's happening around Mendocino? KMUD News is looking for stringer reporters from the Mendocino area to cover local Mendocino stories that matter. Whether you're a seasoned journalist or just eager to learn, we'll help you get started. You'll get training, support and a chance to amplify real voices from your community. If you're interested, email newsmud for more information. Redwood Community Radio, Inc. Is funded by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at PressForward News. Reporting for KMUD, I'm Nat Cardiff.
