Redding news roundup in Sept. 2020: Redding development services director leaving for SoCal tourism post

In this roundup, read about:

• Redding Development Services Director leaving for tourism position in SoCal
• Grassroots Redding group holds protest against police brutality on Sunday
• Cinemark 14 in Redding reopens amid the pandemic
• House fire damages bedroom in south Redding
• Sierra Pacific Industries to close public access on its forest lands in California due to wildfire risk
• The FDA reported a company issued a voluntary recall for two kinds of hand sanitizer.
• Shasta College will continue online course instruction during its spring semester

Redding development services director departs for SoCal tourism post

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020

Larry Vaupel, who became Redding’s development services director in 2015, has resigned to take a new job. He’s accepted the position of tourism management director in the year-round Southern California resort city of Big Bear Lake.

Vaupel said his last day working for the city of Redding is Saturday and his first day in his new job will be Sept. 21.

“Leaving Redding wasn’t an easy decision because of all the exciting projects and programs that are under way. The city of Redding is undergoing a significant transformation,” said Vaupel in an email, calling out the surge in construction of commercial and mixed-use development in the city.

“Working for this community has been a highlight of my career. I consider myself blessed to have met and worked with so many amazing people,” he said.

Before coming to Redding, Vaupel had worked as the Economic Development Agency Administrator for San Bernardino County and had been economic development manager in Riverside.

It has not been determined whether his position in Redding will be replaced, city officials said.

One northbound lane of Interstate 5 in Anderson closing

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020

One northbound lane of Interstate 5 in Anderson will be closed starting Thursday night as crews replace girders as part of the Redding-to-Anderson six-lane expansion project, the California Department of Transportation said.

The northbound Deschutes Road onramp also will be closed.

Closures will be in effect Thursday through early Sunday morning. The closures go from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day.

Eighteen girders will be placed, ranging from 110 feet long to 146 feet long and weighing between 65 tons and 87 tons.

A speed limit reduction of 55 mph remains in effect in that area of the project.

Crews inspect lines to restore power in Weed

Update at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 13, 2020

Pacific Power crews began patroling transmission and performing inspections Sunday afternoon ahead of restoring power to about 2,500 customers in the Weed area.

The utility said crews were trying to determine if tree limbs or other debris got tangled in power lines after high winds moved through the area Sunday afternoon.

The company estimated the patrols would take about three hours. Power will be restored as crews determine it is safe. The goal is to have power back on for the 2,500 affected customers by 8 p.m., Pacific Power officials said.

Original story

WEED, Calif. — Pacific Power is shutting off electricity to about 2,500 of its customers in the Weed area at 10 a.m. today due to "extreme wildfire conditions" brought on by hot and dry conditions and strong winds.

The utility said it hopes to restore power by 8 p.m.

The area affected by the outage includes a section from just north of Black Butte, extending north to the south end of Lake Shastina, bounding on the east just west of Highway 97 west to Old Highway 99 and Stewart Springs Road, in the areas of Weed, Hammond Ranch, Edgewood and Carrick.  

Go to https://bit.ly/33mDiZC to see a map of the Public Safety Power Shutoff area and to see if you are affected. Customers are encouraged to be prepared and have an outage kit ready.

PSPSs prevent wind-blown or falling debris from making contact with energized power lines, Pacific Power said.

Grassroots group Shasta County Advocates for Justice to protest police brutality in Redding on Sunday

Friday, Sept. 11, 2020

Shasta County Advocates for Justice, which describes itself as a grassroots group dedicated to social justice, will hold a march protesting police brutality on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m.

The march begins at the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay in Redding and ends at the Shasta County Sheriff’s office at 300 Park Marina Circle, according to group organizer Heather Fullmer.

March organizers asked that participants “bring masks, a friend and a sign,” the group’s page on Facebook said.

Marchers were also asked to bring skateboards, in tribute to Anthony Huber, an unarmed man who died in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 28 during a widespread protest against police shootings.

Cinemark Redding 14 reopens

Friday, Sept. 4, 2020

Cinemark Redding 14 will reopen Friday with a host of enhanced cleaning and safety measures, the company announced.

The first showtime is 1 p.m.

Highlighting the reopening will be movies like “Unhinged,” “The New Mutants,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” “The Broken Hearts Gallery,” and “Tenet.”

Tickets are on sale at www.cinemark.com.

The precautions the movie complex is taking includes a designated employee who will monitor and ensure that safety and physical distancing, among other things, is taking place in each theater.

Each theater will be disinfected every morning and between shows, seat buffering technology will automatically block seats next to a party, refresh and replace cycles have been added to the ventilation system and supply fans are being used to increase fresh, outside air flowing into the building. Also, all public and high-touch spaces will be sanitized every 30 minutes.

Customers must wear facemasks and they can only be removed for eating and drinking. Employees also must wear face masks and gloves.

Resident suffers smoke inhalation, cat dies in house fire

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020

One person suffered smoke inhalation and a cat died in a house fire that damaged a bedroom in the 2200 block of Concord Lane early Thursday morning, authorities said.

The fire was reported around 2 a.m. and firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the house in south Redding. Concord Lane is just west of South Market Street.

Crews extinguished the fire within five minutes.

Investigators said the fire was isolated to a bedroom and caused an estimated $24,000 in damage. The cause is under investigation.

The four people who were in the house managed to get out, however, one person was taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation, investigators said.

The house did not have functioning smoke detectors, a Redding Fire Department news release said.

Sierra Pacific Industries to close public access on its forest lands in California

Due to extreme wildfire risk and safety concerns, Sierra Pacific Industries will close its forest lands in California starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

“The decision is being driven by the weather risk as well as the fact that firefighting resources are already fully deployed across the state,” company spokeswoman Andrea Howell said.

Howell did not know when Sierra Pacific Industries will reopen the forest lands. Sierra Pacific owns about 1.8 million acres in California.

“We took a similar action in 2018 in the midst of the fire season,” she said.

Public roads on SPI property will remain open, but walk-in access to its privately-owned lands will not be allowed, Howell said.

For more information, go to http://spi-ind.com/OurForests/RecreationAccess

Shasta County to offer free technology, hazardous waste disposal

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020

Shasta County residents who want to get rid of hazardous chemicals and old technology may do so for free this month.

The Shasta County Department of Resource Management will offer free household hazardous waste collection from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Shasta Lake City Hall, 4477 Main St. in Shasta Lake. People bringing items they want to dispose should enter via the main entrance off Red Bluff Street.

The event is for disposal of waste generated by Shasta County residences. No business-generated waste is accepted.

Items accepted for disposal include:

• Latex and oil-based paint and paint products
• Motor oil and oil filters
• antifreeze
• Solvents
• Cleaners
• Pesticides
• Fertilizers
• Batteries
• Pool chemicals
• Sharps
• Fluorescent light tubes and bulbs
• Propane and fire extinguisher cylinders
• Electronic waste: Computers, televisions, phones, radios, etc.
• Other products with labels marked caution, danger, toxic, flammable and keep out of reach of children

Items not accepted include trash, yard waste, tires, pharmaceuticals, appliances, explosives, ammunition, radioactive materials like smoke detectors or biological waste.

County officials plan a second collection event on Oct. 10 at Bella Vista Elementary School.

Call 225-5789 or e-mail recycle@co.shasta.ca.us for more information.

FDA adds to list more hand sanitizers to avoid

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020

A company that makes hand sanitizer recalled some of its products due to risk of methanol poisoning.

Open Book Extracts (OBX) issued a voluntary nationwide recall of “Always Be Clean Hand Sanitizer” and “Just Hand Sanitizer,” according to a report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Both products contain methanol, and are labeled as such.

Those who use the products on their hands are at risk of methanol poisoning; but most at risk are children who ingest them accidentally and anyone who drinks them as an alcohol substitute, according to the FDA.

“Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death,” the report said.

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Based in North Carolina, OBX produces food and skincare products. It bills itself as "the complete source for all your hemp-derived cannabinoids."

Read the FDA’s report for more information at https://bit.ly/3jABmTJ.

Shasta College to continue online class in spring 

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020

Shasta College administration announced Tuesday the school plans to offer most of its spring curriculum online.

After moving to an almost all of its fall courses to online platforms, college administrators decided to continue online instruction during the spring semester, the campus announced on Tuesday.

The move is intended to protect students, staff and other people associated with the college from catching or spreading COVID-19.

“We firmly believe that this plan will provide our students with the safest, least disruptive avenue to earning their degrees/certificates during this pandemic,” Shasta College president Joe Wyse said in the statement.

Some programs that require in-person coursework include the college’s Allied Health program, fire academy, nursing program and some career education courses, college spokesman Peter Griggs said.

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Some services have reopened to students with restrictions in place, Griggs said. These include the college bookstore and its health and wellness center.

Campuses will continue to restrict access, and to have check-ins and self assessments at its campuses. Most college employees have the option to continue to work remotely, but some staff and faculty must return to campus “when needed and appropriate, with proper safety protocols in place,” Griggs said.

Plans to keep most curriculum online could change “if state or federal guidance changes, (but) moving predominantly online is consistent with the approach planned or under consideration by many California community colleges,” Griggs said. 

Registration for spring courses open Nov. 14.

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For more information on the college’s plans to stem the spread of COVID-19, call the campus safety department at 242-7910.