LAKE BERRYESSA, Calif. In the sprawling destruction of Californias wildfires, one photo became an instant icon for 2020s miseries: On a hillside roaring with flames stood a sign that asked visitors to a senior center to wear masks, wash their hands and be safe. Come Join Us, it beckoned creepily.

The virus. Lost jobs. A world aflame.

Yep, said Judi Vollmer, whose trailer home down the road from the sign burned down last week, just days after she learned that her 92-year-old father had tested positive for the coronavirus that pretty much sums up life right now.

Ms. Vollmer, 65, was succinct: 2020 can go to hell. This has been the worst year of my life.

Somehow, that welcome sign outside the Lake Berryessa senior center was still standing on Tuesday as residents trickled back through police barricades and road closures to check out what little had survived.

Three people were killed one of them a 71-year-old man in a wheelchair when flames swarmed their mountainside property. Family members said they had tried to escape, but as a last resort took refuge in a homemade burn shelter. Relatives identified the victims as Mary Hintemeyer, 70, her boyfriend, Leo McDermott, 71, and Mr. McDermotts 41-year-old son, Tom.

Much of the lakefront community of retirees and young families who commute to landscaping, winery and service jobs in wealthier corners of Napa County had been reduced to a thicket of tangled steel and ash.

Now, as people in this community of 1,700 salvaged chipped tea saucers and wooden lanterns from the char of about 100 destroyed homes, their worries were a microcosm of the question haunting so many people during this season of pandemic and strife: Would they ever get their old lives back?

Weve lost so many people who wont be back, said Jerry Rehmke, 80, who runs the country store with his wife, Marcia Ritz, 77. Her trailer home, with all of the drawings and paintings she had made, burned in the Spanish Flat Villa mobile home park, along with Ms. Vollmers trailer and about 50 others.

Everything, Ms. Ritz said. Its down to the ground.

The constellation of wildfires staining Californias skies and stinging peoples lungs across the West have now killed seven and destroyed at least 1,690 homes and other buildings, officials said. It is still early in a wildfire season expected to rage through the fall. So as 15,000 firefighters pushed to gain control of the blazes around the state, thousands of families who evacuated are now streaming back and wondering whether they will have to flee again.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the accounting of death and damage could rise as people return home. Weve never seen fire of this scale in this part of the state, he said. It demonstrates the reality not just the point of view of climate change and its impact in this state.

Ms. Ritz moved to Lake Berryessa 13 years ago and took over running the country store (which survived, as did some marinas and campgrounds). Their store actually boomed during the pandemic as stir-crazy boaters and anglers flooded the area and snapped up orders of chicken sandwiches and meatloaf. That is over now, and faced with years of rebuilding and a bleak economic future, Ms. Ritz said she was ready to quit altogether.

Our customers have gone, Ms. Ritz said on Tuesday morning, a few minutes after she woke up from another night sleeping outside on an air mattress beside the country store. By the end of the year Ill be out. This is it.

Her husband piped up: We should take down the sign that says Only Five People in the Store. There may not be five people up here.

It was never simple living along Lake Berryessa, a reservoir stocked with trout and catfish that is also famous for a drain that creates a vortex-like hole during wet years. Work is scarce, and cities and groceries are a 40-minute drive along vertiginous mountain roads. The roads can glaze with ice in the winter, and on 90-degree summer days, pints of ice cream melt into soup before you can get them home.

People said they moved from bigger cities because they liked the rural quiet and seeing mountain lions out their windows. On Tuesday morning, a singed fox limped through the mobile home park, paying no heed to the residents and power crews in the street.

Some people had been drawn to the lake by Californias affordable-housing crisis, pushed out of the rest of Napa. They said this was one of the last corners of affordable housing for people earning minimum wage or living off Social Security in a county where the average home costs more than $700,000.

Fire had always been a threat, but evacuations and smoke have gotten even more common as climate change compounds the risk of fires in what is known as the wildland-urban interface. Hillsides overgrown with dry fuel are broiling, and the greenery that people say they cherish about life here has gone as brown as scorched crust.

For the past four years, people around the lake said they watched fires march toward their homes, only to be beaten back. The local Lions Club would donate money to fire victims. Local officials installed a cache of emergency beds and supplies and a big new generator at the senior center to be used as a fallback spot, residents said.

We know what devastation it does, Pam Stadnyk, whose trailer home burned, including the wood deck she had just put in, said as she walked through the area on Tuesday for the first time since the fires. Weve been living with it. You just get to a point where you and she trailed off.

Months of the pandemic already had worn on the mobile home parks working-class residents. Some lost work at Napas wineries and restaurants.

Edward Morrison, 57, had lost overtime work doing delivery runs to businesses that closed as the pandemic dragged on. One of his sons had been living near Paradise last year when a wildfire gutted the town and killed more than 50 people. Now, his trailer was rubble and his cat was missing. He called a dispatcher.

Your address? she asked Mr. Morrison.

Well my address burned down, he said.

Ms. Vollmer, who had lived at the lake for 18 years, kept working throughout the pandemic. Her $13-an-hour job at the country store was considered essential work, and though she had asthma and customers sometimes refused to wear masks, she kept going and did not get sick.

She had stayed away from her 92-year-old fathers nursing home since February until a couple of weeks ago, when Ms. Vollmer said she got a call telling her that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Ms. Vollmer said that he had Alzheimers disease and sometimes did not know if she was his daughter or wife, but that he seemed fine when she visited him through his window recently.

I dont know if it could get any more stressful than this, she said.

The fire, like the pandemic, has hit Californias poorest residents hardest. Homeowners able to keep up with the complications and rising costs of insuring property in a fire zone had a safety net. But Ms. Vollmer said her carrier dropped her after a wildfire a few years ago. The trailer was her lifes investment and her retirement plan, and it burned alongside the $3,000 in cash she had tucked away inside.

The Red Cross is putting her up in a hotel near the airport in Napa along with three of her five cats the ones she was able to rescue. She received a paper bag stuffed with donated clothes, but said she did not know where to go at the end of the week when her hotel stay was up.

She said she loved the community. When her husband died eight years ago, people took up a collection to pay for his cremation. She said she did not know how to start over at 65.

Were survivors from up there, she said. We dodged the bullet so many times. We always were OK.

Jill Cowan contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

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2020 Can Go to Hell: The Story Behind the Viral Fire Photo That Said It All - The New York Times

WINNIE The only truck that could haul the RV had broken down two days before, so the two families on Big Hill Road were among the last left in Winnie before Hurricane Laura slammed down.

It had broken down two days before, leaking oil all over the freeway. Travis Fields managed to steer it back before it broke entirely. As the winds picked up, he leaned over the hood and called out to his wife for the wrench.

Ang Amber Angela whatever your name is

He couldnt see, he was too busy inspecting the car, but Angela Fields put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. That your girlfriend? My name was Angela when I married you.

Angela and Travis Fields live with their two children on a property with a barn that still shows damage from Hurricane Ike on its tin doors. They just moved to Winnie in late June.

Were fully expecting to come home to nothing, Angela said. Nothing.

They live on the property with Taylor and Andrew Stewart. They got married in March. Andrew remembers all the way back to Ike. Taylors grandparents house was further up to the road before Hurricane Ike. When they came back, it was flattened. They dont have high hopes for their mobile homes. (Theyll shred like Swiss cheese.)

The Stewarts have an appliance shop set up at the front of the property: Washers, dryers, refrigerators all stacked near each other. They dont expect to see it again. Andrew just got his aquaponics garden plants grown from the waste of the fish tank underneath their soil set up. He figures the fish will go free.

Once they get the truck up and running, the two families are evacuating to a hotel near Houstons Hobby Airport, with two children, three dogs (Anna, Sophie and Coco), a guinea pig and a rat in tow. Theyre leaving the goat locked in the barn. Shes smart. Shell climb. If they could take her, they would have. Some horses were left behind in Winnie; even more cows. Angelas seen posts on Facebook from horse owners, begging to borrow a trailer.

Angela put the family pictures, the familys clothes and some toys for her children in the RV She chose what to take based on necessity: Items that will keep her kids happy, sentimental keepsakes. The mattresses can be replaced.

Her 6-year-old daughter, Blake, wandered around in sunglasses and a unicorn nightgown until Angela sent her to pack. (Its your responsibility, not mine, shed said. Blake walked away, muttering that shed ask her daddy for help).

As Andrew and Travis worked on the car Travis perched on the hood, Andrew lying underneath Taylor secured a small John Deere tractor near the bamboo. Angela turned to go pack up the last of the house.

Were in the final stages now, Andrew promised.

Angela huffed. Yeah, she said. I been hearing that for about four hours now.

They had an hour and a half until curfew.

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With children and pets in tow, two families in Winnie flee Hurricane Laura, expecting the worst - Houston Chronicle

WINDOW ROCK

Oliver Whaley, director of the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency, believes Clean Water Act violations committed by Dineh Benally and his hemp greenhouse production are enough for his office to stop operations, but there needs to be coordination.

When NEPA received reports from residents that Benallys hemp workers were discharging sewage into the San Juan River, NEPA began looking into it. Although NEPAs Water Quality department did not find sewage in the river, they found a list of other concerning issues regarding the mobile homes workers have moved onto farms and other parts of the land, which goes against the home-site lease process. NEPA also found violations regarding the hemp greenhouses.

We found they installed septic tanks without any regard to our domestic wastewater regulations, said Whaley, a clear violation of the Clean Water Act. They didnt get any permits or anything like that. It didnt appear they were using them to hold sewage but for shower, hand-washing water. But it still has to be put in place properly and still has to be pumped out and disposed of properly.

Then there are the generators running fans in the greenhouses, which can be found in Shiprock, Gadiahi, Hogback, and other communities throughout the Navajo Nation.

Benally has planted up to 2.5 million hemp plants on 300 acres as of early August, according to Charlie Galbraith, special counsel for the Navajo Nation, during an Aug. 10 hearing. By now this may have increased. Theyve got a number of generators running the fans, air vent systems in the greenhouses, said Whaley. Thats a question of air quality. There are thresholds that you have to meet in terms of pollutants you release and whether you need a permit.

In this case, he said, the greenhouses are big enough, and theres enough of them it may need minor source point permit to operate those. There is also the matter of large gas storage tanks to feed the generators.

Whether the aboveground storage tanks adhere to regulation depends on their size and capacity. Last week, these issues and more were brought to the attention of President Jonathan Nez and Attorney General Doreen McPaul, as well as others in the executive branch, in hopes some sort of inter-agency coordination could take place to end the hemp production.

We have some administrative authority and can take some action, but any action we take still has to be coordinated in some strategic fashion, said Whaley. For the most part, any coordination Whaley was hoping for wasnt determined and not much came from this meeting.

But due to Benallys blatant violation of the Clean Water Act and not complying with other rules and regulations set forth by NEPA, Whaley said his office can demand compliance and if that doesnt happen they can terminate operations. I think we have enough information that they violated the act, and there is potential environmental impacts so that we can take action, said Whaley. On my end I can issue and serve an order requiring compliance and even emergency orders. We can do that now but when it comes to enforcing those order it needs to go through Navajo DOJ.

The Navajo Nation, its leaders, and its courts are not moving fast enough to put a stop to the crops, which has aggravated communities that are impacted directly and have had to deal with the plants strong smell as well as bright lights and heavy vehicle traffic for the entire spring and summer, when Benally ramped up production.

What faith the community had in leadership has dwindled to nearly nothing and on Monday, Shiprock residents held a second protest on the Mesa Road that leads to Benallys home and a few of his hemp operations. As non-Navajo workers drove by, the group screamed to them, Go home! while waving signs.

I dont know what the Navajo Nation is going to do, said protester and Shiprock resident Bea Redfeather-Benally. I feel like theyre useless. Im really disappointed with their justice system. Im angry because my familys safety is on the line, she said. Is it going to take someone to die or get injured for them to wake up and do something? If the tribe and DOJ cant handle this, maybe they should turn it over to the state. They cant handle their own laws.

Vernida Bissonette from Hogback said shes been harassed by Benallys non-Navajo hemp farm workers.

She also claimed the workers can be found at City Market in Shiprock looking at young women and taking pictures of them. Bissonette said she worries about the man camps that are being built by these workers. We got two man camps going on north of me, she said. Im concerned of our children and for our safety. We are tired of this. Our delegates, our President Nez, they need to hear us. We put them in those positions so they can stand for us, she said.

Theyre supposed to keep us safe. We want them to step down the councilmen, the farm board members all to step down. Its time Shiprock gets a new face.

Navajo Nation Police and their chief, Phillip Francisco, were also at the protest and at one point a vehicle of non-Navajo workers stopped in the middle of the road after protesters waved their signs at them. Francisco told the driver to pull to the side and after checking the workers the chief said they didnt have picture identification and did not understand much English. We are gathering up their names and sending it to the chief prosecutor to have them excluded, said Francisco. Theyre trespassing on the Navajo Nation.

Redawn George, another resident who has been vocal about the hemp production, said she texted Vice President Myron Lizer about the protest and said the community would begin to start taking matters into their own hands. When she saw Navajo Nation Police there, she said she wasnt too sure if they were there to keep the peace or to protect Benallys workers.

I let the VP know we were going to take things into our own hands based on no enforcement from local law enforcement, said George, who said reports given to police officers usually arent addressed. We are tired of waiting. All these officials, elected officials, law enforcement its money that is the bottom line. Francisco said calls made to dispatch have to be prioritized because of low manpower. Communities have been calling officers and reporting on speeding and curfew and lockdown violations.

Sometimes we can only respond to major calls like domestic violence, Francisco said. Violent crimes are a priority. So calls like speeding are put at the bottom, which isnt fair, but its the reality of us not having enough people. Whaley said Francisco informed him hed provide officers should any NEPA officials go to Benallys hemp farms for any inspections, which Whaley said may need to happen.

For now Whaley is waiting on feedback from U.S. EPA in terms of how they can assist NEPA, since a lot of what is happening falls under federal purview, and if thats the case this gives NEPA teeth to move forward, rather than waiting for Navajo Nation leadership to act.

To my understanding their final harvest is supposed to be the end of September or early October, said George, who is one of many disappointed in Shiprock District Court Judge Genevieve Woodys lack of action during an Aug. 10 hearing on a civil complaint filed by the Navajo Nation against Benally.

Woody had delayed her ruling pending additional briefs by both sides, which Benallys opponents argue will give him time to harvest his crop and pull up stakes. Theyll pull all of them (hemp plants) out and then theyll leave all these structures, and these people will get their permits and home-site leases taken away, she said. Those things are going to happen.

Benally did not return an email requesting comment.

Related

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NEPA may be able to cite hemp production - Navajo Times

The shortage of affordable housing is one of the largest unresolved issues in commercial real estate today. Huge numbers of renters are struggling to find a place to live within their means, and the problem is only getting worse in the current economic environment. Since the growing demand for affordable housing presents an opportunity for unconventional solutions, the manufactured housing industry may be well-positioned to reap the benefits of that pent-up demand.

Manufactured homes have long been overlooked as a niche residential sector, yet they comprise a significant portion of the U.S. housing stock. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, manufactured homes comprise 6 percent of the total housing stock nationwide and 9 percent of all new single-family construction starts. There are an estimated 6.7 million occupied manufactured homes in the United States. In 2019, 4,000 new manufactured homes shipped at an average sale price of $84,600 excluding land acquisition costs. This makes manufactured homes one of the fastest-growing housing segments.

READ ALSO: Manufactured Housing Powers Through

Todays manufactured home communities are quite different from the mobile home parks of the past. Manufactured homes are built with the same materials and techniques as in-place built homes. They include many of the same luxury amenities found in traditionally built new homes including high-end amenities, like granite countertops and artisanal fixtures. The construction cost for these homes is roughly half the price per square foot of in-place built homes, while still boasting the same luxury amenities of their traditional counterparts.

Approximately 40 percent of manufactured homes are built on land leased from land-leased communities. There are an estimated 50,000 of these communities nationwide. Roughly three-quarters of these homes are owner-occupied. The average length of tenancy for these properties is measured in decades. Nearly half of all manufactured home communities are located in rural areas away from the urban core; however, there is a growing interest in suburban areas.

There are challenges limiting where manufactured housing communities can be established. Many state, regional and local zoning ordinances and homeowners associations prohibit construction of manufactured homes. This is mostly due to outdated stereotypes about trailer parks and their perceived effects on property values and crime rates.

Modern manufactured homes do not bring these problems, but attitudes towards them have been slower to change. The rising demand for affordable housing may create an opportunity to rethink the policies that have kept manufactured homes away from the urban cores.

There are very few mobile home parks out there that were built later than the 1970s, said manufactured home park investor Frank Rolfe, co-owner of MHP Funds, the sixth-largest owner of mobile home parks nationwide.

While manufactured housing and mobile homes are sometimes used interchangeably, manufactured housing generally refers to home units built after 1976 and in adherence withthe U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards.

Thats because it has been difficult for park owners to find municipalities that will approve the construction of a new park, and even expansions of existing parks can prove challenging.

Out of 500 mobile home parks that we have collectively owned over the past 25 years we have not succeeded in building more than 10 to twenty expansions to existing parks, Rolfe added.

Christopher Ptomey, executive director for the Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center for Housing, believes that perceptions are beginning to change. From the outside, a manufactured single-family home looks absolutely no different from a 100 percent stick-built building, he said. As the technologies have improved, we have seen them move into more urban and suburban settings.

So, according to Ptomey, There are important aspects to applying manufacturing processes to housing that offer real opportunities to address some of the affordability challenges.

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, 22 million people in the U.S. live in manufactured housing. The median household income for manufactured housing residents is under $30,000 per year. In many markets, these are the most inexpensive housing units that do not rely on government subsidies.

MHI is working to overcome some of the public perception problems that the sector has. Primary among them is the belief that the product is of low quality and that park owners are predatory. MHI CEO Lesli Goochwho insists on the term manufactured housing as opposed to mobile homeshas been working hard to change those perceptions.

The vast majority of park owners and operators care about their residents, she stressed, and some of the newer manufactured homes are brand new homes that are a quality product that have the features that consumers are looking for today.

The manufactured housing industry is benefiting from urban sprawl. As the suburbs continue to expand farther from the city centers, places that were once exurbs are becoming part of widening metro areas. These areas have avoided the NIMBY problem by being in place in advance of development.

The traditional homeownership prices have steadily increased at a significantly faster rate than median household income. Homeownership is currently out of reach for many renters and growing more difficult every year. Manufactured housing has the potential to benefit from this widening gap.

Manufactured housing is the only form of detached affordable housing in America, said Rolfe, noting that in his parks the majority of homes are already paid off and residents have no greater hurdle than lot rent, which averages nationwide at $280 a month.

For manufactured housing investors, the barrier for entry is much lower than with other asset classes. A manufactured home community only needs shovel-ready land with access to water, sewer and electricity. As the structures themselves are owned by the residents, the maintenance costs are limited to landscaping, common area maintenance and utility repair. Longer rates of tenancy equate to lower rates of turnover. With low acquisition and operating costs, manufactured housing can be a very lucrative investment.

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Why Manufactured Housing Is the New Affordable Housing - Commercial Property Executive

DOVER Neighbors jumped into action to try to help a woman who was severely burned after her mobile home went up in flames Wednesday morning.

It was absolutely terrifying, said Gary Storms, who ran over to the home at 14 Polly Ann Park and ripped off his shirt to cover the injured woman after she escaped.

The fire, which broke out shortly before 8:30 a.m., is being investigated by Dover fire and police along with assistance from the state Fire Marshals Office.

Deputy Fire Chief Michael McShane said police and the fire marshals office joined the investigation because of the injuries.

Neighbors identified the woman as Lehana Anderson, who is listed as the property owner, according to the city assessors office.

Anderson was able to get out before firefighters arrived, but was rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she was listed in fair condition Wednesday afternoon, a hospital spokesperson said.

McShane said a man in another mobile home next door also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was brought to the hospital, he said.

A firefighter also suffered a minor injury, McShane said.

Andersons home was destroyed while mobile homes on either side of her residence also sustained exterior damage.

Because of the heat and how labor intensive it was because we had three structures to contend with, I went to a second alarm to get additional personnel here to help, McShane said.

Neighbor Bill Wildes, whose home was damaged, said he was in his living room when the fire broke out.

I heard this pop sound and hissing sound. I looked out my bedroom window and thats when I saw it engulfed, he said.

Wildes ran outside and banged on the door.

Storms also rushed over after hearing what he described as a boom. He said he tried to see if Anderson was home and at one point pushed in her air conditioner, but there was no response and thought she wasnt there.

Moments later, he said she came out of the house and was suffering from burns.

I put my shirt over her and I walked her back to my house. She was bewildered and in shock, he said.

Fire investigators remained at the home for several hours as they searched for clues. The cause of the fire had not been determined by late afternoon, officials said.

Continued here:
Neighbors jump in to help woman burned in Dover mobile home fire - The Union Leader

Here are all the reported non-deadly shootings Toledo Police responded to over the weekend.

TOLEDO, Ohio Toledo Police were once again kept busy with a plethora of shootings over the weekend, two of them turning deadly.

The other weekend shootings are listed in the order they were reported to police:

Aug. 14

Police were notified of a shooting around 7 p.m. at the Weiler Homes apartment complex on the 1100 block of Sisson in east Toledo.

It was discovered that a 26-year-old male was taken to the hospital by private vehicle with a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

Police say the apartment building was also hit by gunfire.

Another shooting was reported the same day around 8:30 p.m. at a mobile home in the 3000 block of Nebraska in west Toledo.

A woman told police she was sitting inside her mobile home when she heard gunshots outside. Shortly after, she saw a bullet fragment fall off the ceiling and onto the floor.

The third shooting police responded to on Friday was at a home on the 500 block of Platt in east Toledo around 10:23 p.m.

Police went to the home to find a 66-year-old victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Police say his injury is non-life threatening.

The man told police he heard gunshots from outside the home when he was hit by a bullet that came through the window. Police found a shell casing outside the home.

Aug. 15

Saturday's first shooting was reported just after midnight in the 2300 block of Maplewood in central Toledo.

Police say the shooting stemmed from a domestic violence incident. The victim told police she got into an altercation with 29-year-old Ricky Luster Jr. and fled from him in her vehicle.

She told police Luster shot at her vehicle while she was driving away, and police say at least two shots hit the vehicle. The woman was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, but police said it did not appear that she was hit by gunfire.

Luster fled the scene before police arrived; a warrant is out for his arrest.

Saturday's second non-deadly shooting happened in west Toledo around 5:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of Evansdale.

Upon arrival, police discovered it was a possible domestic situation, with a 25-year-old being taken to the hospital with a possible life-threatening injury after being shot at least once.

The third shooting was reported around 1:03 p.m. in an alley between Thayer and Prouty in south Toledo.

Police say an 18-year-old male was shot in the arm and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Witnesses say the victim was in the alley with an unknown man, who pulled out a handgun and shot the 18-year-old.

Aug. 16

Around 4:35 p.m., police were sent to the hospital to talk to a man who walked in with a gunshot wound.

The man told police he was on Delaware when he was shot, but does not know who shot him. The victim's injuries are non-life threatening.

A police unit was out on Delaware and Trenton for a shots fired call just prior to this one coming in

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TPD kept busy with multiple shootings over the weekend - WTOL

When Vermont students start the next school year in four weeks, many wont have full access to the internet they need for remote learning.

The COVID crisis has shined a bright light on the state's big broadband inequities as school officials and parents weigh the options of online and in-person classes.

Andre Souligny is one of many parents whod like to keep his kids at home this fall. But he doesnt think its possible with the extremely slow internet connection at their home in rural Roxbury.

If we had really good internet, it would make a big difference in sort of the possibilities and the stress level, he said. You know, we would probably immediately choose to do remote learning, because it would be safer, safer than going to school.

Soulignys family tested it out this spring. But with two children needing to do their school work online, his partner at home working remotely, a third child home from college all tried to use an internet connection thats about 25 times slower than the federal definition of broadband.

Like he said, it got stressful.

It causes tension in our family. Weve always got to be navigating, like 'Whos online, whos offline, turn off your stuff,'" he said. I mean, Im just concerned that we cant probably manage a whole school year remotely. Based on our experience, over the internet, its next to impossible.

"I'm just concerned that we can't probably manage a whole school year remotely. Based on our experience, over the internet, it's next to impossible." Andre Souligny, Roxbury parent

Their situation is not unique. According to the state's Department of Public Service, about 70,000 addresses lack access to service that meets the federal definition of broadband. That number does not include people who cant afford the service. And how many of those 70,000 households have school-age children is also not clear.

Jay Nichols, the executive director of the Vermont Principals Association, told lawmakers recently the problem became glaringly obvious when schools closed and kids struggled to get online.

It hasn't gotten a lot better, it may be a little bit better, but the last time I talked to anybody that was in the know, [they] said 50% of our kids still do not have the level of broadband connectivity they really need to be able to do the remote learning we're talking about across the state, he said.

Jen Botzojorns can tell you whats its like in her part of rural Vermont. Shes superintendent of the Kingdom East Supervisory Union, a sprawling, seven-town school district that spans Caledonia and Essex counties.

More from VPR: Did Your Zoom Video Freeze Again? COVID-19 Crisis Highlights Internet Inadequacies

The connectivity varies from town to town, she said. In some towns, everybody has connectivity except maybe one or two students, but then about 30% [of] its poor quality, and it doesnt work very well. In other towns, you have 40% who dont have good connectivity, or 50%.

Botzojorns said this causes grave inequities in education. Students and families with high speed internet can attend parent-teachers conferences online, have one-on-one sessions with teachers and not lose a minute waiting for a page to load or a video to start.

Those struggling with reading or math, for example, may need intensive instruction thats not possible remotely without a good connection. Botzojorns said in a crisis, people in poverty suffer the most, and that's true now as well.

Our biggest issue is, we are public schools we serve every child, and that is the dream of America, right? You get your education and then you can become anything, she said. And then suddenly a huge percentage of children arent able to access it. And that to me is the opposite of what we want to be doing for our schools.

"A huge percentage of children aren't able to access [education]. And that to me is the opposite of what we want to be doing with our schools." Jen Botzojorns, Kingdom East School District superintendent

One of the district's seventh grade teachers, Sophie Branson Gill, said she saw the problem this spring when she tried to teach remotely. She spoke via Zoom at a meeting convened by Congressman Peter Welch on rural broadband issues.

How can we offer those opportunities if our students cant access them? she asked. How do we engage them in their learning if we cant reach them? And how do we create connections without a connection?

Branson Gill recalled one family saying weve run out of internet and their student couldn't participate until they could afford to add more data to their plan.

To first tackle the cost question, the Department of Public Service will use $2 million in federal COVID relief funds to offer up to $3,000 apiece to help consumers pay for line extensions to their home.

Clay Purvis, director of the department's telecommunications division, said the money is for people who have internet service near them, but cant afford to extend the line to their house.

A big broadband expansion project is probably not going to touch them, he said. And we have addresses like that all over the place.

But you also need to build out the lines. A separate department program using $12 million dollars in federal COVID money will help internet service providers extend service to underserved areas. Providers can seek grants of up to $4 million apiece.

"A big broadband expansion project is probably not going to touch them. And we have addresses like that all over the place." Clay Purvis, Department of Public Service

ECFiber, based in South Royalton, has asked for $1.2 million to target mobile homes and mobile home parks. These are traditionally under-served because all utility lines are buried, so installation costs are high according to Chris Recchia, ECFibers managing director.

This is a really, probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to try and get these folks connected in a good way, he said.

More from VPR: Vermont Legislature Eyes ECFiber As Model For Community-Based Broadband Build-Out

ECFiber serves 22 towns in central Vermont and the Upper Valley and will roll out service this year to more. The fiber optic service is a product of Vermonts first communications union district, an organization of towns that band together to provide internet.

If ECFiber wins the grant and if all the park owners approve, ECFiber could expand service to 13 mobile home parks in six towns. Recchia says that should cover about 411 units, with an estimated 250 children.

Obviously, people are suffering and struggling, and this is a really good way to get lower-income people who otherwise wouldnt be able to afford this stellar internet, he said.

"It is not the virus that caused this need. It has always been there." Chris Recchia, ECFiber

Similar communication union districts have sprung up all over the state. The pandemic has obviously made their work even more vital. But Recchia said U.S. society as a whole could have tackled the digital divide a lot sooner, with aggressive federal funding similar to rural electrification in the 1930s.

It is not the virus that caused this need. It has always been there," he said. "And we are doing something that we could have done, and could do anyway, if we wished to put our collective brains together and into making life better for people all across the board. We have that ability.

More from VPR: Utilities, Internet Providers Team Up To Potentially Bid For Federal Broadband Aid

But the federal money the state will dispense this summer and fall has a strict deadline attached: It must be used on projects that can completed by the end of the calendar year.

Yet students need internet by the time schools start Sept. 8. Just how many more families will be served by then is very much an open question.

Have questions, comments or tips?Send us a messageor get in touch with reporter John Dillon@VPRDillon.

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Continue reading here:
Schools Start In Four Weeks. The State Is Scrambling To Set Up Broadband For Students - Vermont Public Radio

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At about 6:30 last night, a brush fire ignited out in the desert near the southeastern end of the Salton Sea. Because of strong dry winds, it wasn't long before the flames traveled half a mile west, jumped Highway 111, and landed in Niland a small town with a patchwork of mobile homes and trailers surrounded by ready-to-burn brush.

There were calls to evacuate the entire town as 30 mph gusts made it difficult for firefighters to get a handle on the blaze. Reinforcements from Cal Fire in San Diego were called in to help the Imperial County firefighters.

One person was killed, an estimated 40 homes were destroyed, and 130 people were displaced, though the numbers are still being tallied.

A tragedy anywhere, but even more so in Niland, where an estimated 57 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

"I don't see it being rebuilt. For my family at least. Which is kind of pretty heavy for me to say," said Pastor Elijah Baaga, whose family members lost two homes in the fire. He lives in nearby Calipatria, but has deep ties to the Niland community.

He said his family has lived there since the 1920s, when his grandparents emigrated from the Philippines to work in the agricultural industry.

"My aunties and my uncles, they were part of the generation that lived there for a long time," Baaga said. "They were there when the economy was booming in Niland. There were banks and packing sheds, and agriculture was booming."

Now, it's a low income part of Imperial Valley with people struggling to get by.

"It's like pure trailers all throughout the city. A lot of the city has been deserted and people have left their homes. It's almost like a ghost town. It's pretty impoverished," Baaga said.

The impact to the town, he said, will put further strain on those living there. And he fears that the strong sense of community that he's always felt in Niland, will diminish if people fail to recover post-disaster.

For now, those who have been displaced are either staying with family and friends, like the Baagas, or in hotel rooms paid for by the Red Cross.

The long-term plan for recovery is unclear and will take some time to pan out.

According to Linsey Dale, public information officer with Imperial County, a local assistance center is being set up so that residents can meet with both government and nonprofit agencies that might be able to help them.

See the article here:
Estimated 40 Homes Burn As Brushfire Tears Through Small SoCal Town - LAist

An updated general plan presented at the special Murrieta City Council meeting Tuesday, June 16, could potentially bring thousands of homes and jobs to families in the area.

Senior planner Carl Stiebl and Brian F. Mooney, fellow of American Institute of Certified Planners, presented a general plan for the councils consideration.

The general plan and general plan environmental impact report were last updated in July 2011, as reported by presenting staff. This focused update included land use changes in certain areas with zoning changes, updates to specific general plan elements, a supplemental and final EIR, an updated Climate Action Plan and implementation of vehicle miles traveled.

The updates address new state legislation since 2011, economic development opportunities for the city, project streamlining and improving the overall quality of life for residents, as reported by staff.

The Base Project (also known as the draft project)

There are six planning areas where there are land use changes as part of the project. Areas 1, 2 and 3 are in the southern portion of the city, and Areas 4, 5 and 6 are located in the northern and eastern portions of the city.

Area 1

This area is located south of I-15 between Madison Avenue, Monroe Avenue, Guava Street and Elm Street. This area currently has the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, two churches and various residences. There is also a hotel currently in process in this area.

Proposed land use map for Area 1

A proposed land use map for area one includes a change to innovation, which works well, according to staff, in close proximity to the existing business park, commercial and just south of the transit-oriented development area to the north.

Area 2

For Area 2, the existing land use map is located on the east side of I-15 south of the freeway split to the city border of Temecula along Jackson Avenue. The existing land use designations include small areas of single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, as well as a large area of Office Research Park with office zoning, which is a more limited zone.

This area covers The Springs Healthcare Center, Temecula Valley RV and the Murrieta Palms Mobile Home Park.

Proposed land use map for Area 2

The majority here would change to innovation, according to staff, with open space along the city owned parcels and the Warm Springs Creek, with multi-family residential for the mobile home park and commercial for the one parcel down at the border of the city of Temecula.

Area 3

Area 3 is located along Murrieta Hot Springs Road, and this site is developed with a strip commercial center and buildings that include a bank, restaurants, stores and offices.

Proposed land use map for Area 3

This is a cleanup item to change to commercial and match the way this area has developed over time.

Area 4

This area is a large area in the northern part of the city along Whitewood Road and Clinton Keith Road. The area is developed with some industrial and storage-type uses, rural residential and large lot land use designated areas. The majority of this area, other than whats near the freeway is located within the Eastern Municipal Water District. The area that has ORP has an encompassed health facility and grading for future medical office development thats currently in process along the I-215.

Proposed land use map for Area 4

This area would significantly remove the existing ORP from the area, an innovation area south of Baxter Road on both sides of Whitewood Road, with adjacent workforce housing, both multi-family housing and single-family located in close proximity. It would also change the RCA owned parcels in the southern area to open space.

There are also two alternatives in the project that provide options for how the land use in this area can be changed.

Area 5

This section is a smaller area than the adjacent area four across the I-215. This area is located north of Linnel Lane and along McElwain Road, just north of the existing Target. Its currently completely designated ORP, it contains a few existing residences with very steep terrain to the west and north. A hotel was also recently approved in Area 5.

Proposed land use map for Area 5

This area would remove the ORP, replace it with innovation along the freeway, also add multi-family residential for worker housing at the intersection of Linnel Lane and McElwain Road and single-family residential at the parcels with the steepest terrain to the north and west.

Area 6

Located within the Murrieta Springs Specific Plan in the eastern part of the city, this section is east of the Los Alamos area. The parcels are undeveloped land that have been acquired by RCA for conservation. Locations are adjacent to the existing open space in the Murrieta Springs Plan.

Proposed land use map for Area 6

This section is a cleanup to the area to make all the parcels open space. This helps with conservation and open space goals, including those in the general plan, and an addition matching RCAs intended use for the properties. A subsequent amendment to clean up the Murrieta Springs Specific Plan is necessary and will be completed separately, according to staff.

Alternatives to the project

Alternatives to the project are considered in the draft EIR. In consideration of alternatives as part of this process provides options to adopt a project that achieves the overall goals.

The city may choose to adopt the draft project as presented, or an alternative or parts of alternatives, given that theyve been fully analyzed.

The alternatives primarily look at different potential considerations of land use designations in two areas.

Alternative 2

Alternative 2 offers a different arrangement of land uses in Area 4. It would further reduce the amount of proposed innovation in area four from the draft plan, with more multi-family residential instead.

It is primarily seen in the northern part of the area where the parcels that were proposed for innovation east of Whitewood Road and south of Baxter Road, except for the innovation area around the recently developed encompassed health facility along Whitewood Road.

The parcel at the southeast corner of Clinton Keith Road and Whitewood Road in this alternative also changes from single-family to multi-family. According to staff, this creates more of a corridor running north to south of multi-family along the east side of Whitewood Road, but still provides a large innovation area.

Staff reported that they received a number of comments during public review in support of this alternative. The planning commissions recommendation was to adopt this alternative based on their deliberations and the public comment.

Alternative 3

There are different arrangements for land uses in Area 2 and Area 4. Alternative 3 replaces the proposed innovation in Area 2 with commercial. In Area 4, this alternative replaces innovation southwest of Baxter Road and west of Whitewood Road with multi-family, creating more of an L-shaped, smaller innovation area.

This alternative also adds two small areas of commercial at the northeast and southeast corner of Clinton Keith Road and Whitewood Road. Comments were also received in support of the alternative from public review.

The council can choose between the draft land use map or these alternatives. Alternatives 2 and 3 then are changes to the base project.

The project also includes a water study. It also included public workshops and public review. Twenty-six comments were received during the time period for public review, in which many supported Alternative 2.

Some comments from staff came with concern about losing innovation to make room for more housing.

Before a motion was made, Mayor Gene Wunderlich gave one final comment.

I very much want to thank the city for an excellent job of updating this and providing a very comprehensive plan, Wunderlich said. The concept of innovation districts didnt even really exist the last time we did a general plan update, so this is all new, its spreading like wildfire across the country because it is so flexible and allows so many different uses.

The focus really is very friendly, integrated communities that incorporate a mix of housing and the office design and these and so forth with sufficient landscaping and hopefully an attraction for what we focus on here as a city, new business startups, business incubators as well as some well-known anchors in some of these tenant buildings, Wunderlich said.

A motion was made to adopt the recommendation by staff for the resolutions that were outlined in their report, for the first reading of the ordinance as outlined in staff recommendation, and that council adopts the map that is Alternative 2 with the addition of the multi-family in the corner at Baxter Road and Whitewood Road.

The motion made by Councilmember Kelly Seyarto included the innovation in Area 2, with concern for the direction that commercial property is going in.

The innovation area is able to capture a lot of what would normally be, maybe commercial, retail, Seyarto said. I think it provides the flexibility we needed for that particular parcel. Theres so much competition and dwindling demand for commercial, and I want to make sure that, at least in the next few years because I look forward to seeing how this plays out for our community, so for that area Im still fine with the innovation.

The motion passed unanimously.

To see the maps of each area, learn more about the Innovation Land Use, updates in state legislation affecting the general plan proposed project, or the agenda items of the June 16 meeting, visit http://onbase.murrietaca.gov/onbaseagendaonline and click on the 2 p.m. City Council Special Meeting link for June 16.

Lexington Howe can be reached by email at lhowe@reedermedia.com.

Excerpt from:
Murrieta continues to develop future plan for adding thousands of homes and jobs to the area - Valley News

The old drive-in movie theatre screen at the Kootenay River Mobile Home Park in Ootischenia is no more.

The screen blew down onto the Kootenay River RV Parks property during a massive windstorm last Saturday at around 6 p.m.

My co-worker was working in a neighbouring site at the time and she watched it fall, said Victoria Peebles of the RV Park. She said one big gust of wind suddenly came and knocked it all down onto the ground.

While three vehicles were damaged during the incident, Peebles said luckily no one was injured.

It couldve damaged mobile homes if it had fallen the opposite way.

Peebles said the the owner of the mobile home park had a safety inspection done on the sign a few years ago, which didnt show any immediate safety concerns.

RV Park staff have tried to contact the mobile home park owner to help clean up the mess.

While the downed screen has been cordoned off with tape, people are still allowed to enter the RV park to view it as long as theyre 18 or older.

The Sunset Drive-in theatre operated from 1969 to 1986 and had a capacity of about 500 cars.

Castlegar News has also reached out to the owner of the Kootenay River Mobile Home Park for comment.

READ MORE: Drive-in theatre proposed for Grand Forks

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