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Local News 03 18 26 · KMUD News

• 0:05
  Speaker A: Good evening and welcome to the local news. Today is Wednesday, March 18th. I'm Gabriel Zucker reporting for KMUD. In tonight's news, federal alone could aid purchase a Fortuna Theater. EPD releases results from last night's DUI and driver's license checkpoint and DHHS releases press release about individual who was hospitalized after ingesting a poisonous mushroom. Stay tun. Those stories and more coming up.
• 0:37
  Speaker B: Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are located on the unceded territory of the Sinkion, Wailaki, Wiat, Wilkot and Kato people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and physical connection that these tribes have to this region.
• 0:57
  Speaker A: The Fortuna City Council has given a go ahead to apply for federal loan that would fund a local group's purchase of the city's downtown art deco movie theater. Daniel Mintz reports.
• 1:09
  Speaker C: Shuttered for years, the Fortuna Theater could be revived if a federal loan to a local foundation is approved. A Community Development block grant or CDBG application for a loan of up to $1 million to help the Fortuna Theatre foundation buy the theater property would was approved by the Fortuna City council at a March 16 special meeting. The theater was closed in late 2022 when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake ruptured its sprinkler system, causing extensive water damage. The 88 year old theater is owned by Cinema West, a Petaluma company that owns movie theaters throughout California. Theater foundation president Linda Rasmussen said the company's owner is open to the foundation's vision of turning the theater into a community venue.
• 2:02
  Speaker D: The theater owner at that time, and it's Cinema West, Dave Corkill, he has 18, 19 other theaters all around California, Montana and I think Idaho if I have that right. But some of them are like ours, art deco and restored. Some were built from scratch, but ours is the only one shut and closed. And I wanted to spend a couple minutes just letting you know that we have met with him three times now and we've really built up rapport. And when we started he was very much a first line theater guy. This is how you have to do it. You know, I've talked to a lot of people. Why are you different kind of a vibe until the last meeting where he's like okay, I get it. If I work with you, you want to expand the stage. You want to make this open in the future for something besides the first line movies.
• 3:01
  Speaker C: Foundation board secretary Elizabeth Wardell said the goal is to make the theater into a community hub that offers more than just movies.
• 3:10
  Speaker D: You know, after Covid and First Line, movies kind of went downhill attendance wise just because people began to dream. I think it just of course that idea of using it for more than just playing movies, you know, bringing in some classic or independent films, bringing in themed things with Rodeo Autorama, doing some live events. I know when my kids were little so our taste come down and do a Christmas a show at our theater and so we see you know, potentially school plays still are potentially live music to bring in just to bring a little more entertainment to the area. And like Katie said, that foot traffic that comes in with additional entertainment available in Fortuna, we just see it as a benefit to everybody.
• 4:13
  Speaker C: Under the federal loan application, the city would administer the loan to the foundation, allowing the theater purchase. The city has almost $1 million in revenue from CDBG funded projects and there's a requirement for the money to be spent on CDBG eligible projects. Senior Planner Katie Schmidt talked about what the city will get in exchange for the loan.
• 4:37
  Speaker D: In exchange for the loan, the Fortuna Theatre foundation would be required to create jobs for LMI or LMC individuals. They can provide on the job training or other such employment and there would be ongoing monitoring and reporting involved with that. So the impact for the community for that it would support downtown economic vitality by preserving an active entertainment venue, increased foot traffic and spending at nearby businesses. As I said, over time it would also generate ongoing program income and allow the city to reinvest in future economic development and community revitalization efforts.
• 5:18
  Speaker C: Repairs also need to be funded and Schmidt said future CDBG funding could play a role along with fundraising. The theater loan is part of a 3 million dollar CDBG application package. The Council also approved grant applications for removal of ADA barriers in various parts of the city and planning for housing and infrastructure improvements in the city's general plan Update For KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
• 5:48
  Speaker A: EPD releases results from DUI and driver's license checkpoint from last night March 17th KMAD talked with Rachel Sollum, a police Operations analyst and the Assistant Public Information Officer for the Eureka Police Department. She broke down the results from the driver's license and DUI checkpoint from last night and talked about the California Highway Patrols Canada Tax Fund program that funded this checkpoint.
• 6:13
  Speaker E: On March 17, the Eureka Police Department conducted a driver's license and DUI checkpoint in the area of Harris and Ocean street here in Eureka. The checkpoint was operational from 7pm to midnight and is a part of the EPD's ongoing commitment to reducing impaired driving and promoting roadway safety because it is a DUI checkpoint and a driver's license check. The officers, when they have a vehicle come up to them, are checking for signs and symptoms of drugs or alcohol that the driver may be exhibiting, and then they are also looking for any unlicensed drivers. As a result of the checkpoint, there was a total of 474 vehicles that passed through the checkpoint. 30 enforcement stops were conducted by officers and as a result one driver was cited, one driver was arrested for driving under the influence, one vehicle was towed and four field sobriety tests were administered by officers. It was funded by the California Highway Patrol's Cannabis Tax Fund program and that grant funds to DUI checkpoints throughout their
• 7:17
  Speaker A: fiscal year, according to the press release. The California Highway Patrol's Cannabis Tax fund program supports EPD's efforts to prevent impaired driving, reduce traffic related injuries and keep our community safe. Sollam also said the EPD is funded for one more checkpoint but do not have a set date yet and have until June to do their second checkpoint. Humboldt County's Department of Health and Human Services released a press release today where a local individual was hospitalized after eating wild foraged mushrooms. KMA had reached out to DHHS for comment but was told that DHS was unable to accommodate an interview at this time. According to the press release, local health officials are advising the public not to forage for wild mushrooms or consume foraged mushrooms after a local individual who consumed locally foraged mushrooms was diagnosed. Diagnosed with Amatoxin poisoning A local individual is currently in an out of area ICU suffering amatoxin poisoning after consuming mushrooms foraged by a friend in Humboldt County. While details are very limited, it appears that the individual who picked the mushrooms was an experienced forager who shared the mushrooms with the now sick individual and possibly other friends on Friday, March 13. The individual consumed the mushrooms on Friday and went to a local emergency department Saturday after feeling sick. They have since been transferred to an out of area hospital. The individual has been too ill to provide any additional information about who they received the mushrooms from. While the type of mushrooms has not been verified, health officials believe it is likely a death cap. In December, the California Department of Public Health issued an alert after 21 cases of amatoxin poisoning were identified by the California Poison Control System. Although significant clusters were reported in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas, officials warned the risk could be statewide. As of February, confirmed cases had resulted in severe liver damage in both pediatric and adult patients, including four deaths. Anyone with information about the current incident should contact the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Public health branch at 707-268-2182. If you have consumed forage mushrooms in the last week, symptoms may not appear until 6 to 24 hours after eating a poisonous mushroom. Mild symptoms Even mild nausea can be a beginning of a more severe reaction. Sometimes early symptoms go away within a day, but serious to fatal liver damage can still develop within two to three days. Seek help immediately if you or someone you know has eaten a poisonous mushroom, do not wait for symptoms to appear. Treatment is more difficult once symptoms start. Common early symptoms include, but are not limited stomach pain, cramping, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, drop in blood pressure, fatigue and confusion. Mushroom poisoning can lead to serious complications liver damage sometimes leading to the need for a liver transplant Kidney damage, hallucinations and euphoria, seizures or death. What to do if you may have eaten a poisonous mushroom, immediately seek medical care and call the California Poison control hotline at 1-800-222-12 to 2. If you or someone you know may have eaten a poisonous mushroom, the hotline can tell you exactly what to do in the case of a mushroom poisoning. They also provide guidance to medical providers to help ensure proper care. The hotline is free and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week in over 200 languages. When you go to the hospital, take any of the uneaten mushroom with you. If you can, experts can identify the mushroom, which can help with your medical care. To preserve the mushroom, place it in a paper bag or waxed paper, not plastic, and refrigerate if you don't have the mushroom. Photos of the mushroom, including its cap, stem and underside, can be helpful in state news. Civil rights groups call on police to respect laws on use of force, Public News Service's Suzanne Potter reports.
• 11:12
  Speaker F: Nine months after the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles, peace activists are calling on local police agencies to follow the law on use of force. Last month, two more protesters filed lawsuits against the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department, alleging they were shot in the head with so called less lethal projectiles. Despite not posing a threat, the authorities say some people in the crowd threw objects while protesting ICE enforcement. John Lindsey Polent, co director of the California Healing Justice Program with the nonprofit American Friends Service Committee, says police have also resorted to using tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters and journalists.
• 11:50
  Speaker A: Militarized equipment has become very normalized. Often it's made to sound like de escalation tools. I mean, that phrase is frequently used for armored vehicles and launchers of rubber bullets.
• 12:02
  Speaker F: Police agencies say they need Advanced Weapons to fight drug gangs In 2021, California passed Assembly Bill 48, which restricts the use of chemical agents and impact projectiles like rubber bullets in crowd control to situations where there is a direct threat to public safety. They must issue warnings only target people who are creating the danger, and refrain from shooting at a person's head. Lindsay Poland notes that a second law, Assembly Bill 481, is supposed to improve transparency. It's meant to allow people to lobby local city councils to establish policies on the use of weapons of war.
• 12:36
  Speaker A: This law requires every single law enforcement agency to disclose what militarized weaponry they have, what their policies are, report on that use annually, and get approval of local elected officials.
• 12:51
  Speaker F: The American Friends Service Committee published a report last fall that found many departments are evading the transparency law, using loopholes to conceal the extent of their stockpile. Researchers obtained inventory lists of weapons through public information requests from 30 county sheriff's departments. They compared that data to those counties annual reports to the state and found they had underreported the number of assault weapons by 67%. For California news Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. Find our trust indicators@publicnewservice.org New law bringing
• 13:26
  Speaker A: Amsterdam style cannabis cafes to San Francisco KPFA's Brianna Vazquez reports.
• 13:34
  Speaker G: With the growing use of cannabis in the US and specifically in California, there has also been an increase in the challenges faced by local businesses selling cannabis. Challenges such as high taxes placed upon them, strict regulations and competition from illicit markets have caused business owners to refrain from expansion. With help from Assemblymember Matt Haney, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman has finally won passage of AB 1775 to provide businesses with more opportunities to expand and survive against the growing cannabis industry.
• 14:10
  Speaker B: That we are allowing cannabis businesses to sell food and cannabis products for on site consumption, which is currently, well, which has been in the city and county of San Francisco not allowed. We need to support our legal cannabis industry and too often and in too many ways in San Francisco and in California we do the opposite. And it's important we have our legal cannabis industry retailers following all the rules, following all the laws, paying the taxes and in competition with people who just don't have to deal with any of that. And so it's important to provide new pathways for the legal industry to survive and thrive.
• 14:52
  Speaker G: Even though it is said that cannabis business owners have sustained the rules and regulations in the past several years, they have still not been allowed to sell food or beverages to customers, making it difficult to keep up in a competitive market. Assembly Member Matt Haney says this has caused much more serious issues to arise.
• 15:12
  Speaker B: What we know in California, as has been stated, is that our legal cannabis industry, our small businesses, are struggling. Since 2021, legal cannabis sales in California have fallen nearly 20%, and state cannabis tax revenue has dropped as well. Thousands of licensed businesses close their doors and more cannabis licenses have been surrendered than are active. Thousands and thousands of jobs lost. This ordinance does something very simple. It gives licensed cannabis businesses new ways to survive. It provides new opportunities for our residents and visitors to be able to access a product that they want and build community and culture at the same time.
• 15:59
  Speaker G: Not only will the new ordinance help small businesses, supporters also say the ordinance will help stabilize the legal cannabis industry and encourage tourism while giving San Francisco's nightlife economy a new boost. Among the supporters Drakari Donaldson, the equity owner and operator of the California Street Cannabis Co. Located in San Francisco,
• 16:23
  Speaker B: I strongly support this bill because it opens up critical revenue opportunities for cannabis businesses with consumption permits. By allowing licensed businesses to host entertainment and sell food and beverages outside the cannabis space will allow businesses to compete in a very challenging market. This bill supports small businesses and helps the legal cannabis industry survive. And more importantly, it provides an avenue to an essential avenue to help it grow further.
• 16:58
  Speaker G: The legislation would provide a new model for licensed businesses to attract customers and create social spaces where adults can legally consume cannabis alongside food and entertainment. If adopted, the ordinance would make San Francisco one of the first cities in California to fully implement the expanded lounge model and authorized under state law. This is Brianna Vasquez for KPFA News.
• 17:24
  Speaker A: In national news, Supreme Court case Noem v. Al Otolato could decide Trump policy limiting asylum seekers. KPFA's Scott Baba reports.
• 17:35
  Speaker H: The case, Noem v. Al Ocho Lotto, could have serious consequences for refugees fleeing to the United States. It centers on a practice called metering, in which border officials claim the right to turn away asylum seekers who arrive at official ports of entry on the basis that they are at capacity. Asylum seekers turned away by metering were often left on the other side of the border without safeguards or a timeline for when their asylum application would be processed. Nicole Elizabeth Ramos is the Border Rights Project director at El Ocho Lado, an immigrant rights group and one of the plaintiffs in the case. She said that federal law regarding asylum seekers is clear.
• 18:19
  Speaker D: The right to seek asylum is not a policy preference or a loophole, as conservative pundits would have Americans believe. It is a legal right and a moral commitment forged in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
• 18:32
  Speaker E: And this case asks whether that right
• 18:34
  Speaker D: still has the force under law or whether a president can effectively erase it through unchecked executive action, shutting the door on thousands of people who are simply asking for for the chance to save their lives.
• 18:49
  Speaker H: First introduced as an informal policy in 2016 under the Obama administration during a surge of Haitian refugees, metering was formalized in a memorandum in 2018. During the first Trump administration, Al Ocho Lado and 13 asylum seekers sued in federal court in California, arguing the metering policy violated federal administrative law. A federal district Court ruled in 2021 that the government violated its statutory duties by turning back asylum seekers without inspecting and processing them. The 9th U.S. circuit Court of Appeals largely affirmed that ruling in October of 2024. Melissa Crow is director of litigation at the center for Gender and Refugee Studies and a co counsel in the case. She said that it was frustrating to have to deal with what had appeared to be settled law.
• 19:42
  Speaker I: After President Trump came back into office, his administration decided to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ninth Circuit's decision. We of course argued that there was no reason to do this because the turn back policy had been defunct for years and we had a whole new set of illegal border policies to contend with. But in November of last year, the Supreme Court granted cert anyway.
• 20:12
  Speaker H: The Trump administration argues US Laws generally apply only within the country's borders. The Justice Department likened the situation to a running back stopped at the 1 yard line, arguing such a person has not yet arrived in the end zone for a touchdown. The Constitutional Accountability center, which filed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs, countered that the case involves interactions between border officials on U.S. soil and asylum seekers at ports of entry clearly subject to US authority and control. Reverend Dr. Liz Theo Harris is executive director at the Kairos center for Religions Rights and Social justice, which led 31 faith organizations on an amicus brief for the case in support of asylum seekers.
• 21:01
  Speaker I: Stopping outsiders at our border, preventing them from lawfully seeking asylum is contrary to our civilization's long standing understanding of asylum. It's antithetical to asylum's understood role in any moral democratic society. As the many faiths practiced by this country's residents teaches, a society that does not protect the least among us is a failed society.
• 21:31
  Speaker H: The Supreme Court will HEAR Oral arguments March 24th. I'm Scott Baba, Pacifica Radio, KPFA.
• 21:39
  Speaker A: In National Native News, Antonio Gonzalez reads today's headlines.
• 21:44
  Speaker I: This is National Native News. I'm Antonia Gonzalez. Legal Online sports betting in Wisconsin would have to go through in state tribal computer servers under a bipartisan bill given final okay by the state Legislature Tuesday. Chuck Kormbach reports.
• 22:00
  Speaker J: Supporters and critics of online sports betting acknowledge it frequently occurs in Wisconsin. Gamblers go through commercial companies like DraftKings, but the Wisconsin Constitution says most legal betting can only occur on sovereign tribal properties here regulated by state tribal gaming compacts. The just passed bill by the legislature attempts to reinforce that online sports bets in the state must go through the 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin. Shannon Holsey is president of the Stockbridge Muncie Band of Mohican Indians. She says the new legislation is good public policy.
• 22:40
  Speaker E: It provides clarity respect to tribal sovereignty and it strengthens Wisconsin's long standing state and tribal partnership and especially for our tribe and all tribes. It really creates opportunity while allowing us to grow responsibly, securely and on our own terms.
• 22:57
  Speaker J: Halsey says any additional revenue for the Stockbridge Muncie would go toward funding things like tribal housing, health care and public safety. Remarks opposing the Wisconsin sports betting bill center on what critics say is the possibility of more people becoming addicted to gambling. Steve Nass is a Republican state senator.
• 23:18
  Speaker B: Making gambling easier and more accessible online will only exceed accelerate these harms family
• 23:25
  Speaker F: breakdown, loss, productivity, addiction, treatment.
• 23:28
  Speaker J: But other supporters of the sports betting bill say more ways to prevent problem gambling could now be negotiated with the tribes. Wisconsin governor Tony Evers still has to sign the legislation and the federal government still has to okay amended gaming compacts. For national Native news, I'm Chuck Kornbach.
• 23:48
  Speaker I: Jesse Holmes was the first musher to reach the end of the 1,000 mile trail from Anchorage to Nome, winning his second consecutive Iditarod. As KMBA's Rhonda McBride reports, indigenous mushers were still out on the trail Wednesday morning.
• 24:03
  Speaker K: Pete Kaiser, a Yupik from Bethel, and Ryan Reddington and Inupiaq from Knik were finishing their mandatory eight hour rest in White Mountain, one of the last two checkpoints in the race. Both former champions were hoping for a repeat, but Kaiser says his team contracted a stomach virus on the trail, so he rested them more to give them time to recover. Kaiser told the Iditarod insider that this changed his focus.
• 24:30
  Speaker A: I've been kind of reminiscing and soaking in the sights more than ever, trying to be in the moment, more than stressing out about placement and different things like that. So of course it would have been fun to be further up, but that's not always in the cards and I've had a good trip.
• 24:45
  Speaker K: Kaiser's team is positioned to finish in the top 10, he says. The cold dry snow on the Bering Sea coast has been one of the biggest challenges because it sticks to the sled runners. Reddington, who was running not far behind Kaiser, told the Iditarod Insider this last stretch of trail has also tested his team.
• 25:06
  Speaker C: Hopefully we get a little less wind and
• 25:11
  Speaker F: if it is windy, I'm going
• 25:12
  Speaker D: to take a lot more risk.
• 25:14
  Speaker K: There were also three rookie indigenous mushers in the race. Jesse Terry, an Anishinaabe from Ontario, is in 16th place and Kevin Hanson in Anupiak from Kotzebue in 21st. Jody Potts. Joseph A. Han Gwichin from Eagle Village, who had to contend with bison on the trail, pulled out of the race yesterday after her team came down with kennel cough. She said that she had to put her team first in anchorage. I'm Rhonda McBride.
• 25:42
  Speaker I: And I'm Antonia Gonzalez,
• 25:59
  Speaker A: Native voice one, the native american radio network. That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thank you for listening. Thanks to our engineer, Larry Lashley, and thanks to our reporters Daniel Mintz, Suzanne Potter, Brianna Vasquez, Scott Baba and Antonio Gonzalez. KMUD News is online. You can find us on kmud.org and now streaming on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify 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 any questions or suggestions, you can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsemud.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. Reporting for KMUD, I'm Gabriel Zuckerberg.