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Local News 08 25 26 · KMUD News

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  Speaker A: Foreign.
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  Speaker B: Welcome to the KMUD News. I'm your news director, April Lewis, and I'm glad to be with you for this broadcast. In this episode, we have stories about Last Chance Grade in Dulnor county and on this year's Canafest. But first, some local alerts and updates. This is KMUD News. Story Starting off with some truly horrific news, Dolly Parton, a music icon and one of the world's most beloved human beings, has passed away at the age of 80 years old. She died in Nashville, Tennessee and a cause of death is not yet disclosed. While primarily associated with her beloved country music, Dolly Parton was a superstar who bridged divides across the music industry and the world. Dolley's endless charitable contributions and aid to those who most needed it are too lengthy to read on any newscast. May she always be remembered with the same love that she gave to countless others. Next, and with no good way to transition from that news, is the Highway 101 ramp closure information from Caltrans in southern Humboldt. The Avenue of the Giants south entrance northbound off ramp near Phillipsville will be closed from 6am to 6pm on Wednesday, Aug. 26 and Thursday, Aug. 27. The Wiatt southbound off ramp will be closed from 6am to 6pm beginning Aug. 26 until drainage work is completed. Next is an alert from the Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association. The Humboldt County Prescribed Burn association plans to burn on Upper Bear river Ridge for three consecutive days beginning Tuesday, August 25th and ending on Thursday, August 27th. These prescribed fires aim to restore coastal prairie and rangelands by targeting encroaching woody shrubs. Smoke may be visible from Highway 101, Ferndale, Rio del Scotia and other ridgelines across the area. From the Humboldt County Office of Education, Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools Michael Davies Hughes has been elected President Elect of the California County Superintendents, also known as CCS, for the 20262027 term. CCS represents California's 58 county superintendents of Schools and advocates for high quality public education for the state's 5.4 million students while supporting collaboration and leadership across the state's education system. Davies Hughes was appointed Humboldt County Superintendent of schools in 2021 and subsequently elected in 2022 and 2026. He has dedicated more than 25 years to serving students, families and schools in Humboldt county, holding leadership roles in both the McKinley Union School District and Eureka City Schools before assuming his current position. Outside of his professional role, Davies Hughes is known for combining his passion for cycling with fundraising efforts that benefit children and families through endurance cycling events. He has raised tens of thousands of dollars for educational and charitable causes, including HCoE's Early Literacy Partners program and HopeCam. Davies Hughes and his wife, Tammy, have been married for more than 27 years and are the proud parents of three adult children who attended local public school. They remain active supporters of local community programs through volunteer service. Davies Hughes will assume the role of President of the California county superintendents on July 1st of 2027. He will be the first Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools to serve in this role since Dr. Louis Boucher, who served in 1988 from the center for Biological Diversity. Three conservation groups today sent a notice of their intent to sue the U.S. national Marine Fisheries Service for failing to issue a decision on Endangered Species act protections for the eastern North Pacific gray whale this year. There has been a catastrophic die off of whales along the West Coast. In response to a 2025 petition to protect the whales, the Fisheries Service was required to decide by August 24th whether listing this gray whale species under the act is warranted. The eastern North Pacific gray whale population has declined by as much as 50% in the past decade. This population of gray whales was protected under the Endangered Species act until it was declared, recovered and delisted in 1994. At least 187 gray whales have been stranded and died along the west coast so far in 2026, according to NOAA, and hundreds more have died in recent years. Many whales die because they are hit by ships and entangled in fishing gear. Scientists regard documented cases as an undercount because most dead whales sink to the bottom of the ocean and are never recorded. The center for Biological Diversity Oasis Earth, an international marine mammal project of Earth Island Institute, plan to file a lawsuit if the service does not act within 60 days. From Humboldt County Public Works the Humboldt County Department of Public Works will be repairing storm damages on Alder Point Road near Bell Springs Road between mile marker 7.9 and 8.15. Work began on Monday, August 24th and is ending in November of 2026. Construction will occur on weekdays between the hours of 7:00am to 5:00pm Traffic through the construction site will be restricted to a single lane controlled by temporary traffic signals or stop signs. Travelers are to expect delays greater than 15 minutes. If you have any concerns or questions regarding this project, please call 707-445-7448
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  Speaker C: from
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  Speaker B: the Fort Bragg Police Department on Aug. 22 at approximately 7:30am Officers, along with Adventist Health, Mendocino Coast Ambulance and the Fort Bragg Fire Department were dispatched to the 1000 block of North Main street for a reported traffic collision. California State Parks was also requested to respond. A vehicle was reported to have entered the water of Pudding Creek. Upon arrival, officers located a vehicle sinking in water approximately 230ft from the roadway and 50ft from the shoreline on the east side of the Pudding Creek Bridge. Prior to officers arriving, a Good Samaritan, Lloyd Lewis, and his K9 entered the water after observing the accident. Lewis assisted in removing the driver and the driver's canine from the vehicle. Officers then assisted Mr. Lewis and the two canines out of the water. Officers also assisted the driver, who was now standing on top of the roof of his submerging vehicle. The driver was unable to swim due to an injury. The Fort Bragg Fire Department then launched a water rescue operation. Officer Beek assisted the fire Department with removing the driver to safety. The driver was later transported by ambulance to the Adventist Health Mendocino Coast Emergency Department for medical evaluation and treatment. Driver's canine was transported by an officer to the Mendocino Coast Humane Society where it was evaluated by veterinary staff. The vehicle was also removed from Pudding Creek from the California Department of Public Health the California Department of Public Health, also known as cdph, is encouraging all Californians to get vaccinated to protect themselves from and their loved ones from COVID 19. Summer and fall increases in COVID 19 activity have occurred yearly since 2020, creating an expected surge of activity during this time. As COVID 19 activity increases, CDPH continues to recommend getting immunized against this disease. It has been proven safe and effective in preventing serious illness and death in children and adults for renewed protection against severe illnesses, hospitalization and death. All Californians 6 months and older should be protected with the COVID 19 vaccine, with an emphasis on protecting higher risk individuals such as infants and toddlers, pregnant individuals, and others with risks for serious disease. CDPH recommends healthcare providers continue to administer the 2025-2026 COVID 19 vaccine through the summer while awaiting arrival of the 2026-2027 COVID 19 vaccine later this year. For the last two years, there have been higher peaks of COVID 19 disease activity in late summer rather than in winter, so it's important to protect now. Talk to your healthcare provider about which vaccines are right for you and your family. And up next our main stories this is KMUD News. The California Transportation Commission approves $225 million for last chance Grade to move into the design phase, KMUD News reports Caltrans
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  Speaker C: recently announced that a landmark project has advanced into its design phase the Last Chance Grade tunnel Project, once completed, promises to improve travel times and safety through Del norte County on U.S. 101 by avoiding the most unstable landslide areas and placing approximately 6,000ft of the highway underground, protecting travelers from landslide related closures and reducing long term maintenance needs. According to Caltrans Project Update page, this 3 mile stretch of highway within the project limits has been challenged by active landslides, steep coastal terrain and increasing storm impacts for decades. Those geographical issues have led to extended traffic, road closures and environmental impacts due to erosion. Because U.S. 101 is the only north south route through the area, closures mean an 8 hour 449 mile detour, making this project critical for communities who rely on that route for work, healthcare and jobs. Beyond that, two and a half million tourists a year travel this route to reach Redwood national and state parks, the coastline, fishing access, camping and more. The Last Chance Grade project not only proposes an alternative that would improve travel through this stretch of the 101 for locals and travelers alike, it's also landmark in the scale of coordination it has required among state and national parks, tribal governments, ecological organizations, elected officials in the local community. Following more than a decade of planning due to the project's environmental impact, Caltrans project documentation states that while the current alternative results in the irreplaceable loss of 2.24 acres of late successional forest habitat and the loss of 16 large 4ft in diameter redwood trees, there may remain opportunities through the final design process to potentially further reduce impacts to both old growth trees and coastal habitat. To mitigate this loss, Caltrans plans habitat restoration for species like the marbled murrelet stream and road removal work to protect salmon habitat and water quality, and funding for broader forest restoration research. In a statement released by Caltrans, State Senator and California Senate President Pro Tempore emeritus Mike McGuire stated, Getting this project off the ground has been an all hands on deck effort, but with major state investments over the past five years, we're closer than ever to solving one of our biggest transportation challenges on the North coast. End quote. On August 20th, the California Transportation Commission awarded $225 million towards the project's design phase, the most recent state investment in bringing last chance grade to shovel ready status by 2031, according to Caltrans. During this next phase, the agency will further develop design concepts for several project elements, including the tunnel portals connecting roadway bridge, drainage safety systems and operations and maintenance facilities. Work will also continue on permitting mitigation implementation, geotechnical investigations, cost refinements and securing project funding. Construction is expected to Create temporary regional jobs in areas such as heavy civil and earth work, tunnel support, hauling material supply, traffic control and restoration. Reporting for KMUN News, this is Bridget Karstensen.
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  Speaker B: The 2026 CanFest will take place at the Arcata Ballpark. We spoke with one of the organizers to learn more KMUD News reports. Cana Fest is back for its 11th year. The event will be on Saturday and Sunday, September 12th and 13th at the Arcata Ballpark. The event brings together farmers, hashmakers, musicians, artists, chefs and more for a curated community minded event center celebrating the unique cannabis culture of Humboldt County. KMUD News spoke with one of the event's organizers, Steve Guider, to learn more about this year's Canafest. Steve first spoke on the event's move to the Arcata Ballpark and Community changes since the first Canafest 11 years ago
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  Speaker D: it's an exciting change for us because when we first started Canafest 11 years ago it was, it was like a coming out party for the community of legacy farmers that never really had a actual state license, legal way to show to make their income and to something to be proud of. So through the years it's changed a lot in the last 11 years around here as far as the cannabis like kind of his life cycle ecosystem, you know, the prices change so much. There used to be 15,000 farms in the community in 2015. That's what was measured. And at this point there's less than 250 licensed cannabis farms in Humboldt County. So because things have changed so much, it's really cool to be able to bring the festival from what it started out as into a staple community focused celebration of the community that's around, the creative community that's encompassed around Canna Fest and all in our our community. It's really an expression of our local community and definitely focused on education, entertainment and the community around the plant itself. And so bringing it right downtown to Arcata just invites it more into the middle of the community. It makes it way more accessible. Lots of people can ride their bikes, lots of people can walk, people can easily bring the whole family down.
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  Speaker B: This year's Canafest also includes the Headstache Bowl, a competition for growers and rosin
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  Speaker D: makers called the Head Stash Bowl. And the Head Stash bowl was originally the Canna fest bowl in 2015. So we've also been doing these competitions for 15 years and the name changed and the competition kind of runs side by side kind of fast. So we start promoting the competition and the festival around the same time. But as of this last Saturday, all of the samples have been collected from all of the participants. So adults that want to participate, they share their cannabis concentrate samples with us and then we get those to other adults that are judges. And we had over 300 applications come in for the judges and we picked like 23 judges, I believe. And so we had, we have all these competitors that give us the samples. We have an app that we've made that helps assess and score their samples. And so they fill, they use the app to score and give us all their comments and input. And then we use that to determine the winners and give out awards at a party that we'll be having at the end of October. So we give the samples out the night before Canafest and then we actually have the party, the head Stash bowl party, awards party, and we give out the awards and have a dance party. So all that stuff kind of runs, you know, side by side.
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  Speaker B: Canna Fest the 2026 Canna Fest will not include on site cannabis sales owing to a complicated regulatory system and onerous oversight in past years from the California Department of Cannabis Control. However, the downtown Arcata location means attendees are mere blocks away from many cannabis retailers.
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  Speaker D: So this year we decided to not have a licensed sales. It's called a licensed sales and consumption area, which is basically like setting up a giant dispensary on site. So the last couple of years the DCC really made it. They've really harassed us and many of the, the businesses who came to, to the festival. We did everything possible and followed all the rules of how we were to set it up so that we could do this. And it's just the, the things they're asking are just ridiculous and it's not worth, it's not worth it to us to do that this year. Maybe we'd change our mind in the future or something. But instead of bringing the dispensaries into the ballpark, we have a shuttle bus and a couple options to get people to dispensaries right from out front of the festival. So as far as like purchasing cannabis, if people came to cannabis and they wanted to purchase cannabis, we point them to the five local dispensaries that are within five blocks of the festival.
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  Speaker B: And of course, a huge reason to attend Canafest is the full lineup of musicians over the two day festival. Steve Guider spoke about the artists coming to the Arcata ballpark for this year's event, along with additional education opportunities and a zone for families.
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  Speaker D: Melvin Seals and JGB are headlining on Saturday night. And Brett McFarland and the Freedom Riders are headlining on Sunday. And then we have, you know, some international and nationally touring acts as well as a whole bunch of our local legends that don't necessarily play all the time. Or don't. You never really see them all playing together. So we always try to mix it up and bring out folks like Ishidube and Naive Melodies, the California Poppies, Kingfoot, Papa Hale and the fleas, Timbata McKenna, Helen Mendocino and the Cowtown palace, plus Sister Carol on Saturday night as well as Chuck Nasty also playing Saturday night. And you can see Bella Rain on Sunday night before Brett McFarland. And so that's all of our music on our two music stages. And then we also have our family interactive zone. And there's a little zone over there where there's entertainment and educational things, mostly entertaining and educational things for the the whole family.
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  Speaker B: Steve also spoke on the logistics setup of this year's Canafest, including opportunities to engage with speakers and many vendors that will be at the festival.
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  Speaker D: Yeah, we also have a the end of the Cannabis Talks stage, which will be adjacent. It'll be close to the main stage. And whenever the main stage goes off, the talk stage will pick up for an hour in between each of the main stage acts while the Unity stage is running, giving you an option to listen to some live music or come over and engage with a panel discussion or visit one of our couple hundred vendors that will be out there, exhibitors, vendors, and we've got a lot of really good food. I was just going over the food list. There's a little bit of everything out there. You won't have to go anywhere, but you'll be able to leave the park and come back in at your will. If you have a weekend pass, you can do that throughout the whole weekend. And then we also have day passes. If you just want to come out for the day, pick a day and come on out.
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  Speaker B: Canafest will be held on September 12th and 13th at the Arcata Ballpark. You can find more event information and purchase tickets@canafest.com Reporting for KMUD, I'm April Lewis. Western states remain divided over how to share shrinking Colorado river as feds propose new options to manage dwindling water supply
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  Speaker E: Water from the Colorado river watershed makes life possible across the Southwest. It supplies more than 5 million acres of farmland, farm, 30 tribal nations and three of the country's largest cities, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. The river serves roughly 40 million people across seven U.S. and two Mexican states. Its vast water system is governed by a complex collection of laws, treaties and agreements known collectively as the Law of the river and overseen by the U.S. bureau of Reclamation. Federal guidelines adopted in 2007, not the original 1922 Colorado River Compact, expire at the end of this year. With states and other stakeholders unable to agree on a new plan, the Bureau has proposed its own options for dividing the dwindling river's water. Vic Bodoyan reports from Fresno.
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  Speaker A: The Colorado river is in crisis. Its two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have fallen to historic lows amid a quarter century megadrought. But the seven basin states, tribal nations and other water users have yet to agree on how to share the river's shrinking supply. That's the context for the Bureau of Reclamation's final environmental impact statement on future Colorado river operations. It lays out options for managing the river while leaving room for stakeholders to reach an agreement. Dr. David Rosenberg is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Utah State University. He said the Colorado river operations are extremely complicated.
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  Speaker F: One of the most important things of this new environmental impact statement is defining the minimum levels that we're going to draw down or that we can draw down Lake Powell and Lake Mead to, and those levels are going to continue to generate hydropower. And I think that's a really, really important feature of this new framework, this new agreement, and that's going to have a lot of benefits throughout the system.
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  Speaker A: The new guidelines could bring painful cuts for the lower basin states of Arizona, Nevada and California, reducing water supplies for cities, farms and ranches as the river declines. Most of the Colorado River's water comes from snowpack and runoff in the upper basin states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Under the 1922 compact, the upper and lower basins were each allocated 7.5 million acre feet of water a year. But the upper basin generally uses less water than the lower basin and wants to protect its water supply for future growth. Sarah Porter directs the Kyle center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.
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  Speaker G: We really need to figure out a way collectively to be reducing demand in the Colorado river by at least 3 million acre feet out of the 15 million. And that probably can't all fall on the lower basin. The lower basin didn't agree to be junior to the upper basin.
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  Speaker A: Dr. Rosenberg says the bureau's planning was informed by extensive research and scientific modeling. Its final analysis presents several alternatives, with the agency's preferred approach calling for coordination among the basin's water users.
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  Speaker F: Reclamation has put out state of the art science, which includes the hydrology and the hydrology is. Is declining. It's also variable. And that information being out there can help clarify and put into perspective what maybe needs to happen.
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  Speaker A: Porter, however, says a new plan is unlikely to bring the competing parties closer together and could instead push them further from consensus.
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  Speaker G: We could look at all of the measures that have been taken in the last 25 years, including the 2007 guidelines, the drought contingency plan, some of the additional lower basin commitments to leave water in Lake Mead. Those different agreements are revisiting the Colorado Compact. We are in for a lot of legal conflict and meanwhile, we don't have good reason to hope that hydrology is going to bail us out.
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  Speaker A: Dr. Rosenberg agrees that extreme climate conditions will make water supplies more vulnerable, hurting all users, but leaving California and Arizona to absorb some of the largest cuts. California has already agreed to temporary reductions aimed at preserving water levels in Lake Mead.
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  Speaker F: The shortages, the reductions from the legal entitlements are going to be quite large, particularly at low flows and at low reservoir storage, and everyone is going to be feeling the effect of that.
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  Speaker A: Sarah Porter says that while Abiro's plan provides a framework for operating the river system, it falls short of bringing the competing parties together.
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  Speaker G: It doesn't place the basin on a path to stabilizing the system at all. It's really sort of tells how we'll manage things when they get really bad as they are right now. And I mean, there's some parts that would that discuss what to do if we have a gloriously wet year. But it's really about how do we keep managing a system that's on the edge.
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  Speaker A: The Bureau of Reclamation acknowledges that developing new guidelines is difficult in such a complex landscape, with critically low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, wide variations in river flows, and the expectation of drier conditions in the future. Those stressors complicate the task of balancing the impacts of water delivery reductions with the need to maintain reservoir infrastructure. The Bureau admits that achieving that balance is harder in a warming climate and under critically dry futures, even unprecedented reductions might not be enough to stabilize the Colorado River Water Storage system. Vic Bedoyan reporting for Pacifica Evening News and KFCF Radio.
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  Speaker B: That's all for our news broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our rotation of broadcast engineers, Dennis Mar, Katie Phillips, Bianna Federico, Michael McCaskill, Larry Lashley and Javier Rodriguez. Also thanks to our assistant director, Bridget Carstenson. KMUD News is now on streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can download our stories and newscasts for offline listening. You can Also follow us on social mediamudnews, including Facebook and Instagram. Do you have issues important to you deserve more attention? Are there stories we're missing that you're curious about? You can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsmud.org Redwood Community Radio, Inc. Is funded by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at PressForward News. Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are local, located on the unceded territory of the Sinkion, Wailaki, Wiat, Wilka and Kato people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and physical connection that these tribes have to the region. I'm April Lewis. Stay tuned.
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  Speaker E: In.