MendoFever

The pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run crash Sunday night on Highway 162 has been identified by community members as Bill Baker, the beloved former chief of the Covelo Fire Department. According to the California Highway Patrol’s Garberville office, the collision occurred around 7:59 p.m. Oct. 12, north of Poonkinney Road. Investigators said a 2019 Toyota 4Runner driven by 20-year-old Sandra Yocselin Acosta Deloera, of Covelo, struck Baker as he walked within the southbound lane of the highway.

Authorities are investigating a reported fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of a pedestrian tonight near Highway 162 and Poonkinney Road, south of Covelo in the Round Valley area. The collision was first reported just before 8 p.m., when dispatchers received reports of a person lying in the roadway after being hit by a vehicle. Emergency crews from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Round Valley Tribal Police, Cal Fire, and the California Highway Patrol are on scene.

A dark chapter for the Ukiah Police Department quietly ended in June when the city agreed to pay nearly $450,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged former police chief Noble Waidelich entered her home in uniform, with his service weapon visible, and sexually assaulted her after she rebuffed him. Less than a year before the alleged June 13, 2022, assault, Waidelich had been promoted to police chief.

Welcome to our letters to the editor/opinion section. To submit yours for consideration, please send to matthewplafever@gmail.com. Please consider including an image to be used–either a photograph of you or something applicable to the letter. However, an image is not necessary for publication. Remember opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of MendoFever nor have we checked the letters for accuracy. Editor- When I first registered to vote, I registered as a Democrat.

A Sebastopol man accused in Sonoma County of committing sexual crimes in his role as a school counselor is also reportedly associated with a Mendocino County motorcycle club that advocates against child abuse. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office announced that 66-year-old John Conant was arrested on September 29, 2025, after deputies received a report of child molestation at Cinnabar Elementary School in Petaluma.

Mendocino County is bracing for the season’s first true fall storm, with rain expected to arrive Monday morning and linger through midweek. The National Weather Service says showers could begin in Mendocino County by early Monday morning, strengthening into steady rain by midday. The heaviest rainfall is expected Monday afternoon and evening.

More than 6,200 cannabis plants were destroyed this week in a multi-county enforcement sweep targeting unlicensed cultivation in the remote Island Mountain region of northern Mendocino County. On Sept. 23, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team, assisted by Trinity and Butte County deputies, served three search warrants on parcels lacking state or county cultivation permits.

The campaign to recall Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster is moving into a new phase, with organizers bringing on political consultants and exploring legal support as they prepare to begin signature gathering. Eyster, who has held office since 2011, is already on the defensive.

The Noyo Harbor District is inviting the community to step inside the future of the local fishing industry with a public walk-through of its new icehouse construction project on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, according to a press release. The 20-ton flake ice facility, funded through California Jobs First as part of the Noyo Harbor Revitalization Project, will provide a critical service to Fort Bragg’s commercial fleet.

Fire crews responded Friday evening to a vegetation fire on the eastern shores of Clear Lake, according to scanner traffic. The blaze was first reported about 7:30 p.m. along Sulphur Bank Drive northeast of North Drive near Clearlake Oaks. Initial reports estimated the fire at 1 to 2 acres in mixed brush and light, flashy fuels. By 7:42 p.m., Incident Command said the fire had grown to about 2 to 3 acres, burning mid-slope with a slow to moderate rate of spread.