The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Mendocino County District 3 Supervisor John Haschak, published here as a column, in which he updates his constituents. We encourage the other supervisors to submit letters — we will happily publish them. You can see Haschak’s previous letters to his constituents here. The opinions expressed in this letter are the author’s, not those of The Mendocino Voice.
Senator Mike McGuire and I conducted a Town Hall meeting in Willits on Oct. 9. It was great to be back
in-person mode as the bay in the new Fire Station was packed. We talked and answered questions for
over two hours. Issues of concern were PGE’s Vegetation Management program, economic
development and broadband, homelessness and Care Court proposals, Jackson State Demonstration
Forest management, Education (especially Career and Technical Education), cannabis, and the Great
Redwood Trail.
I appreciate the many people who showed up and Senator McGuire for his accessibility and openness.
Senator McGuire is the Senate Majority Leader so we are fortunate to have him as our representative.
He certainly gets things done on behalf of Mendocino County.
The Mendocino County Museum opened its exhibit Exploramos Juntos: Nuestra Alianza on Oct. 9. The
exhibit is beautifully done, educational as well as emotionally appealing, and highlights the contributions
of the Hispanic community. Of course the opening had fabulous food, dancing, and smiles. As I work
with the Museum in developing a Strategic Plan, one of the goals is to reach out to all of Mendocino
County. This exhibit does just that in an inclusive way. It is open until Feb. 5 so check it out.
We just had another Tree Mortality Task Force meeting. We can all see the number of dead trees in the
hillsides due to drought, climate change, and bark beetles which are all interconnected. We had a
productive conversation. CalFire, CalTrans, Office of Emergency Services, UC Cooperative Extension
scientists, Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, and others shared their perspectives. Moving forward,
we will propose a Declaration of Emergency and Resolution of the Board. This will be in alignment with
Lake, Napa, and Sonoma Counties which will help us solicit state and federal dollars and resources for a
regional approach to this problem. According to projections, tree mortality will get worse.
Time to be thinking rain, rain, rain.
Please reach out to me at [email protected] or 707-972-4214.
John
