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Local News 09 22 25 · KMUD News

• 0:15
  Speaker A: Good evening and welcome to the local news. Today is Monday, September 22nd and I'm Nat Cardos reporting for KMUD. In tonight's news, Avelo departs ACV October 20th Humboldt Planning Commission supports Easing of Cannabis Micro Business Regulations, Fall Prescribed Burns Plan for Bald Hills and Charlie Kirk Memorial held at Eureka Waterfront. So stay tuned. Those stories and more coming up.
• 0:43
  Speaker B: Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are located on the unceded territory.
• 0:49
  Speaker C: Of the Sinkion, Wailaki, Wiat, Wilkat and Kato people.
• 0:53
  Speaker B: We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural stage, spiritual.
• 0:58
  Speaker D: And physical connection these tribes have to this region.
• 1:02
  Speaker A: On September 18th, Humboldt county officials were informed by Avelo Airlines that they would be discontinuing service between the California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport and the Hollywood Burbank Airport earlier than expected. According to a press release from the Humboldt County Administrative Office, the discontinuation of service was originally announced in July of this year with a set date of December 2nd. The reasoning was because they will be closing their base at the Hollywood Burbank Airport to focus on their east coast operations. Cayman News reached out to Avelo for comment, to which they responded via email with quote, we elected to end our services to ACV on October 20 due to aircraft needs elsewhere and operational difficulties at that airport. We have alerted all customers with their options and apologize for any inconvenience incurred, end quote. The last flight between ACV and BUR will now end Monday, October 20th. In the release, it stated that travelers will be notified about the changes to their flight reservations and refund options for Avelo customer support. The website is aveloair.com and the number is 346-616-9500. United Airlines will continue to offer flights out of ACV to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver and on March 12, 2026, Breeze Airways will start flying out of ACV. The move was announced shortly after Avelo announced its discontinuation of services. The airline will offer nonstop flights to Burbank three times a week as well as one stop. No change of plane service to Provo Salt Lake City. The introductory fares for the Burbank route start at $39 one way. For more information on ACV and flight booking information, the website is flyacv.com to help small scale cannabis farmers compete in a challenging market, Humboldt county is changing its permitting. Daniel Mintz reports.
• 2:55
  Speaker E: As the times and market conditions change for cannabis farmers, so do Humboldt County's permitting rules, with the Planning Commission recommending new allowances for small scale operations, changes to the county's cannabis ordinance designed to allow micro businesses to broaden their activities, were recommended for approval by the Board of Supervisors at the commission's Sept. 18 meeting. The changes redefine a micro business as a composite use, including non volatile manufacturing, distribution and retail sales. Those would have to be related to cannabis cultivation of less than 10,000 square feet. County planner Augustus Groucho said the changes respond to lots of feedback.
• 3:44
  Speaker D: So why are we doing this? We had an outpouring of public comments lamenting economic difficulties among cannabis cultivators. Notably, a lot of some of those comments referred to overcharging for services and or not fulfilling contracts. Those third parties include distribution, retail sales and processing and manufacturing. So the board directed the planning department to assess options and the planning department determined that we believe that vertical integration potential available in micro businesses may assuage this issue if cultivators are able to take advantage of them.
• 4:21
  Speaker E: The changes were directed by the board of supervisors and they'll help cultivators add manufacturing and retail deliveries to their cultivation permits without requiring a more complex and costly special permit. The new way of doing things responds to market conditions that favor high quantity farming over the craft scale farming prevalent in Humboldt. As commented on here by Ross Gordon of the Humboldt County Growers alliance, this.
• 4:48
  Speaker D: Is a really significant issue for farmers here. I don't think it's, you know, a secret that wholesale prices have totally collapsed for farmers. Trying to compete with an undifferentiated product is not working. What is working for people is selling a craft high quality product that they're putting something extra into and being able to bring these types of value added activities on farm. Vertical integration, as staff put it, is really central to that. And so I think taking this seriously is really important. And if we can get to a place where those uses become significantly more accessible, I think it's going to be good not just for individual farmers able to do that. I think it's really going to support the county and being able to support a craft cannabis industry that can succeed despite the problems in the market.
• 5:30
  Speaker E: The changes also carve out a new exception for parcels in timber production zones and floodplains, lands that would otherwise prohibit micro businesses. Manufacturing can be done within existing buildings, but both Gordon and commissioner Thomas Mulder highlighted a key remaining commercial building code standards. Mulder raised the practical difficulty for many rural farmers of bringing old existing structures up to current commercial code. And in this exchange with Ford, the potential for working residences into the existing building standard was discussed.
• 6:09
  Speaker D: Part of the struggle for many people, if not most is that you can't make requirements that are so expensive to comply with that it doesn't make economic sense to do it. And that's why, particularly for the small farmer, we've traditionally tried to balance the fact that a lot of these folks are homesteaders that have a house on the property and there is an integration of their farm with the house, and that's probably the most effective way of complying with this. Okay, so I hear staff is willing to work with individuals case by case to try to find a pathway forward? Absolutely.
• 6:54
  Speaker E: The commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the changes to the Board of Supervisors. The vote included a clarification that manufacturing on timber production zone and floodplain land must occur within existing structures or within their footprints. Also during the meeting, Commissioners recommended approval of the McKinleyVilletown center plan to the Board of Supervisors. The mixed use plan maps a downtown like community focal point in the heart of McKinleyville. But reducing Central Avenue from four auto lanes to two is contentious and the commission recommends holding off on it until a comprehensive traffic study is done in Eureka. For KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
• 7:43
  Speaker A: This fall, Redwood national and State Parks plan to conduct a series of prescribed burns in the prairies and oak woodlands of the Bald Hills east of Orec. Prescribed fire season in the parks begins in late September or as weather permits. Cayman News spoke with Leonard Ramaker, deputy program manager for interpretation at Redwood national and State Parks, for more information about what prescribed burns are.
• 8:06
  Speaker F: Prescribed burn is an opportunity to intentionally light on fire some areas with heavier fuel loads so that we can manage the burn in a way that can be controlled on human terms and not fighting it as a wildfire at some other point down the line.
• 8:21
  Speaker A: For thousands of years, the Yurok, Toloa and Chilala peoples actively managed prairies, woodlands and parts of the coastal landscape now located within the parks through the use of periodic intentional fires. These controlled burns helped maintain open spaces for grazing and hunting elk and deer, supported the growth of vital resources like tan oak trees and basket weaving plants, kept travel routes clear and reduced parasites like ticks. Early European American settlers who later ranched the land continued the tradition of broadcast burning until the practice was banned by the state in the 1930s. Here's Raymaker with more on what prescribed burns do.
• 8:57
  Speaker F: There's seven different burn units that are going to total about 1,000 acres altogether, and what this intentional burning does is it provides grazing and hunting areas for wildlife like elk and deer. It helps to maintain some of the natural resources that are native to the area like tan oak trees, things like that, and just kind of maintains trail and travel corridors for wildlife and people in the area.
• 9:26
  Speaker A: While the prescribed burns are happening in the Bald Hills, roadways will see more traffic and activity with fire personnel and equipment. Rainmaker elaborates on what people can expect.
• 9:34
  Speaker F: To see during the burns over the next couple months. As these prescribed burns occur, there will likely be some additional activity, personnel and equipment that will be on or near the Bald Hills Road, so there's going to be additional people out there. There's probably going to be some smoke that might be lingering over the roadways. There might even be some traffic control in place while the operations are happening, because some of these will be very fairly close to the road. People should just be cautious for their own safety as well as for the crews that are out there working.
• 10:09
  Speaker A: For more information about the role of prescribed fire in forest management, the website is www.nps.gov Tredwood Yesterday, September 21, a candlelight vigil was held for the far right political commentator Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed on September 10 while speaking at a college event in Utah. A crowd of Approximately more than 300 people attended Halvorson Park's Adorney Waterfront Amphitheater for the event, which was organized by the Humboldt County Republicans and Humboldt County Conservatives. Redheaded Black Belt livestreamed the event from their Facebook so I just want to.
• 10:54
  Speaker E: Say, you know this I am this country needs God. It says if my people are called by name, will call on me and seek my face, then will I. Then when I heal them, I will. I'm probably not quoting it correctly, but you know what I mean. It's like we turn to God back to godly principles, then this country is going to be saved. But it's, you know, political violence of all kind is wicked. I don't care what side you're on. If you're a Democrat, a Republican, a conservative, a liberal, violence of all kinds is wickedness to God.
• 11:40
  Speaker A: Kirk, 31, was most well known for being one of the founders of Turning Point usa, an organization dedicated to mobilizing young Republican voters. The organization was also founded by Bill Montgomery, who passed away from COVID 19 complications back in 2020. Kirk was an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment and Christian nationalism, whose death was described by Utah's governor as a political assassination. The memorial had several speakers from the community make remarks on Kirk's legacy and more.
• 12:07
  Speaker B: This night right here has enlightened something in me that I have never experienced before and I've lived in this county. My entire life and I always thought there's quite a few people here who agree with the way that I've been raised. But seeing everyone in person tonight is a blessing, an incredible blessing. And I know that there's a lot of young people here. I'm a mother of a two year old and this tragedy has sparked a fire in me that I never knew was possible to protect my baby from the disgusting parts of this world. And I know that if we come together, we can make this world a better place. And this is exactly what we're doing tonight right now.
• 13:04
  Speaker A: Kirk is survived by his wife and two young children. The vigil follows a smaller memorial that was held on September 11th outside of the Humboldt County Courthouse, where approximately 40 to 50 people met to light candles and speak about Kirk. In State News Experts Warn of Misleading Ads for Medicare Advantage Plans In California Public News Service's Suzanne Potter reports, experts.
• 13:30
  Speaker C: On Medicare are warning of an onslaught of deceptive ads targeting older adults. As many prepare for Medicare open enrollment in a few weeks, Californians are getting lots of calls and postcards for Medicare Advantage plans. Many promise incentives like gift cards or offer benefits like vision or dental, which aren't normally covered by Medicare. Tatiana Facieux with the California Health Advocates Senior Medicare Patrol says, you've got to do your research thoroughly.
• 13:57
  Speaker D: Verify whether all of your medical providers.
• 14:00
  Speaker C: Are in the network and what will.
• 14:04
  Speaker F: The out of pocket maximums be. Because having a zero premium plan has a cost to it, people can get.
• 14:16
  Speaker C: Help with the decision via their county Area on Aging's representative for the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy program. You can find a list of high cap counselors@cafehealthadvocates.org Faciu says she's seen people accidentally enroll in plans that don't even operate in their zip code.
• 14:34
  Speaker F: What sounds potentially too good to be true.
• 14:38
  Speaker C: It may be a real disaster if.
• 14:41
  Speaker F: They cannot access their doctors or if all of a sudden they find that.
• 14:45
  Speaker D: Their out of pocket costs are exponentially.
• 14:48
  Speaker F: Higher than what they were used to before.
• 14:51
  Speaker C: The deceptive ads often target people who are eligible for both Medi Cal and Medicare. But the rules on that are complicated, so it's best to consult a high cap counselor. A federal judge in Texas recently blocked a Biden era rule that would have cracked down on misleading practices by by Medicare Insurance Brokers. For California News Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. Find our trust indicators@publicnewservice.org.
• 15:20
  Speaker A: In national news. Government shutdown looming as lawmakers reject both Republican and Democratic stopgap budget bills. KPFA's Christopher Martinez reports.
• 15:31
  Speaker G: Congress is inching toward a government shutdown in 11 days after lawmakers failed to agree on a stopgap funding bill to keep government open while budget negotiations negotiations continue. Action began in the House of Representatives, where Republican Tom Cole of Oklahoma presented the Republican proposal to fund government for seven weeks.
• 15:50
  Speaker D: We are certainly moving forward productively and a bipartisan, bicameral agreement is firmly within our grasp. We just need more time to sustain negotiations and complete our work. That's why we're here today. Mr. Speaker, the continuing resolution before us is simple. It extends funding until November 21st. It's a clean, short term stopgap that protects the FY26 progress we've made and allows the appropriations process to advance toward full year bills.
• 16:23
  Speaker G: The measure passed on a near party line vote of 217 to 212, but Democrats voiced their opposition. Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut blasted the Republican move.
• 16:34
  Speaker C: So again, Republicans choose a partisan route. They would rather shut down the government than sit down and talk with Democrats about lowering costs for millions of Americans, preventing people from getting kicked off of their health care, and stopping President Trump and Budget Director Russ Vote from stealing from our communities and from our constituents. Democrats will not support the partisan Republican spending bill because it continues to gut health care, health care of the American people.
• 17:06
  Speaker G: House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries put the conflict in stark terms.
• 17:09
  Speaker D: Will we stand up for the health care of the American people or will we bend the knee to Donald Trump and his continued efforts to gut health care for everyday Americans?
• 17:23
  Speaker G: After the House vote, the Senate took up the budget resolution. There, the lawmakers took up two proposals the House passed Republican plan and a Democratic vote version. The Democrats plan would extend health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. It would also reverse Medicaid cuts from the big Republican bill passed earlier this year. The Republican bill failed on a vote of 44 to 48. The Democratic bill also failed, though it actually got more votes than the Republican version. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York spoke after the vote.
• 17:56
  Speaker D: What we saw on the floor makes makes it clear the Republicans are following Donald Trump's orders to the letter. Stonewall, scapegoat, shirk, responsibility. They're doing exactly what Trump told them to do and then they skip town. No plans, no talks, no urgency. And the house adjourned till October 1. If there were ever a sign that the Republicans wanted a shutdown, that's it.
• 18:24
  Speaker G: Democrats and Republicans are each of course blaming the other side for a potential government shutdown. It's not clear now who might be willing to give ground or even how they'll negotiate for a solution. Schumer says Democrats are ready to work and he's asking Republicans to come to the table.
• 18:41
  Speaker D: Neither bill was able to pass. The theater must end. Let's sit down and negotiate. Now that it's clear that neither bill will get the 60 votes that the Senate needs, it's time to negotiate. The theater must end.
• 19:01
  Speaker G: Reporting for Pacifica Radio News, kpfa, I'm Christopher Martinez.
• 19:08
  Speaker A: Democrats blast attentions of DACA recipients as cruel to people who've only known America as home KPFA's Kennedy Cuello reports.
• 19:16
  Speaker B: House and Senate Democrats spoke out against unlawful detainments in a news conference Thursday. DACA recipients have increasingly become the target of detainments, with the Department of Homeland Security, or dhs, urging recipients to self deport. The DACA program was established by then President Obama to allow people brought to the US as children to remain and work without fear of deportation. It is not a path to citizenship and it must be renewed every two years in a process including background checks and fees. The program has been defended in courts, with past efforts to dismantle DACA being ruled unlawful. California Senator Alex Padilla called out President Trump's current administration for being needlessly cruel to people who have only known America their whole lives.
• 20:09
  Speaker D: We've seen the cruelty, the terror and the fear that's very palpable not just in my hometown of Los Angeles, but now in Washington, D.C. and in Chicago. And we've heard the threats of the Trump administration militarizing our communities in other parts of the country. And it's gotten to the point now where they have said DACA recipients are targets, too. The whole point of DACA was to provide protections for people who were brought.
• 20:39
  Speaker F: Here at a very, very young age.
• 20:41
  Speaker D: By their parents and who have grown up here, who have gone to school here.
• 20:45
  Speaker B: Illinois Representative Delia Ramirez says it has been a difficult few months for Latino and immigrant communities. She called the administration fascist, saying they're waging a campaign of terror to cast immigrants as a public enemy. Ramirez talked about immigration enforcement activities in Illinois, which resulted in a death and the targeting of children. She also discussed a subpoena for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, related to the events in Illinois.
• 21:16
  Speaker C: In Illinois, we witnessed the murder of by ice by ICE of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez during a traffic stop, leaving his two children orphans in Cicero. We saw two children being grilled by ICE after their parents and their older brother who was a dreamer were taken by ice. And you know this. Across the nation, we're bearing witness to the disappearance of our neighbors. We know that these policies are dangerous and inhumane. That's why the reason I was late, I just requested a subpoena. I demanded a subpoena of Kristine Noem and Homeland Security's oversight committee.
• 21:50
  Speaker B: Ramirez said that though her Republican colleagues voted against her subpoena, she's glad that it is on record that they are unwilling to exert congressional oversight on the dhs. She said that she will continue to push for a subpoena. She called on her colleagues to protect DACA recipients, saying doing otherwise is cowardice. She also pushed for the passage of the Bipartisan Dream and Promise act to provide a pathway to citizenship to dreamers. She closed by urging solidarity, saying that if not stopped, the administration will pick another group to target next.
• 22:29
  Speaker C: The unlawful actions that they're using against immigrants today, you and I know they will use them tomorrow on anyone who they consider undesirable. It is exactly why all of us have to join together, whether you're Latino, Asian American, African American, white. All of us have to stand together in this moment because fascism always demands a public enemy, and only collective solidarity will get us through.
• 22:57
  Speaker B: The Democratic representatives are calling for the release of all DACA recipients who have been unlawfully detained. For KPFA News, I'm Kennedy Cuello.
• 23:10
  Speaker A: And in National Native News, Brian Bull reads today's headlines.
• 23:15
  Speaker D: This is National Native News. I'm Brian Bull sitting in Frantonia Gonzales. Last week, the U.S. department of Education announced a nearly half billion dollar investment that'll in part fund TCUs, or Tribal Colleges and Universities. As KJZ's Gabriel Piaturazio reports, it comes months after the White House proposed cuts that would have caused some schools to close. Navajo Nation President Boo Nygren met with Education Secretary Linda McMahon for the first time in D.C. to explain why tribal education isn't DEI and how these institutions are tied to preserving language and culture.
• 23:51
  Speaker F: And I had to remind her about the Navajo Code talkers and the things that we've done for this country and at the same time making sure that we fund our education properly, including our higher education as well. So she was very receptive.
• 24:05
  Speaker D: But coming away from that recent conversation Nygren calls a big win, he admittedly did not expect what would follow just days later.
• 24:14
  Speaker F: And then to get the good news after, it was even better to know that over 100 million was going to be given to tribal colleges like New.
• 24:21
  Speaker D: Mexico's Navajo Technical University and the nation's oldest Dannett College in Saleh, Arizona, both chartered by the Navajo Nation. Three dozen or so TCUs initially faced a roughly 90% funding deficit. Now they'll get a one time 109% increase. And Nygren suggests it's a sign that the Trump administration is listening.
• 24:42
  Speaker F: The meeting that I had with her the week before was honored by really upholding her treaty trust responsibilities.
• 24:49
  Speaker D: For National Native News, I'm Gabriel Pieterrazio. The first feature film ever made in Idaho was shot more than a century ago, and it included more than 100 members of the Nez Perce tribe. Although only a third of the film was recovered, it's been digitized and edited into a short film. Northwest Public Broadcasting's Lauren Patterson has more.
• 25:09
  Speaker H: Told in the Hills is considered the first feature film shot in Idaho. It was filmed in Kamiai on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.
• 25:17
  Speaker D: It was made in 1919, and it was an unusual film even for early cinematic standards because of the unique and unprecedented collaboration with the Nez Perce tribe.
• 25:29
  Speaker H: That's Colin Mannix, executive director of the Kenworthy Performing Arts Center. The silent film story follows Jack Stewart, played by Robert Warwick, a man from a wealthy family who tries to escape some family drama by heading west, but he gets himself into Trouble. More than 100 members of the Nez Perce tribe were invited to participate in the filming.
• 25:48
  Speaker D: They presented a lot of authentic cultural regalia as a part of the production.
• 25:53
  Speaker H: The Nez Perce tribal members portray the Kootenai tribe in the film. Because the story takes place in rural Montana, despite being filmed in Idaho after a young Kootenay chieftain is accidentally killed when he tries to bring a message of goodwill to the US Cavalry, Stuart is unjustly imprisoned, and the story follows how he escapes. Like many silent films, there will be music throughout the entire picture. The score for the new version of this long lost western romance was created by Dine composer Connor Chee.
• 26:24
  Speaker D: What I ended up doing was writing, I think it's about 17 different pieces, 17 cues that had, you know, a variety of emotions that could match what I'd seen on the screen in this rough cut.
• 26:35
  Speaker H: The music score will be performed live at the movie showing. Being a member of the Navajo Nation, Chi says he doesn't have to explicitly try to give his work an indigenous feel because it's always woven into his work. But he says he did approach the music with a historical lens.
• 26:49
  Speaker D: I wanted the melodrama to match sort of the time period in that sense of what you're seeing on screen.
• 26:58
  Speaker H: The new version of the restored film will premiere at the Kenworthy Theatre in downtown Motley on the last Friday and Saturday of September as part of the theater's silent Film festival. Reporting in Moscow, Idaho, I'm Lauren Patterson.
• 27:12
  Speaker D: This is National Native News. I'm Brian Bohl, Native Voice 1, the Native American rad.
• 27:33
  Speaker A: That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our engineer, Javier Rodriguez, and thanks to our reporters Daniel Mintz, Suzanne Potter, Christopher Martinez, Kennedy Coelho and Brian Bull. KMUN News is online and you can find us on kmud.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 newsamea.org Are you passionate about your community? Looking to report on what's happening around Mendocino? KMA 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 get you started. You'll get training, support and a chance to amplify real voices from your community. If you're interested, email newsmud.org 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 Matt Card.