County staff is estimating a budget deficit of $18 million for the next fiscal year, though not all the information was available at the second of three budget workshops before budget hearings in June.Social Services, which served about 40,000 county residents last year, had not submitted its request for funds. The CEO’s office expects it to be about $3 million, though salaries and benefits are down by about a million. Currently, the combined amount of money all the departments are asking for from the General Fund is $94 million.While the estimated $18 million deficit does include the expectation of the roughly $3 million from Social Services, it does not include the Capital Improvement Plan, and it assumes no additional General Fund appropriations.The CEO’s office has recommendations to offset between $2.5 and $4.1 million, including using some of the county retirement reserve and adjusting the CalFire dispatch budget.Supervisor Ted Williams asked if the board could see the actual amounts that departments have spent over the last year. CEO Darcie Antle told him she could provide that information at the budget workshop on May 7, but Izen Locatelli, the chief probation officer, warned of the pitfalls of building a budget based on actuals…

The Fort Bragg City Council agreed Monday night to accept some recommendations about parking that are supposed to make the city more friendly to walking and biking. And the council held off on approving a conceptual design for the renovation of Bainbridge Park until the public works committee approves a gazebo or a pavilion, where visitors can give performances or have events in the open air, but with a roof over their heads.Ben Weber of Walker Consultants, said that parking in downtown Fort Bragg is usually available, even during special events. He recommended ordinance changes that he said would support the city’s general plan by encouraging more walking and biking in the central business district, or downtown area. At the top of his list of recommendations was eliminating the parking requirements, or in-lieu fee for developers, who must create a certain number of parking spaces for every living unit they build. He argued that too much parking encourages people to choose driving over other means of transportation.

Saturday’s Earth Day celebration at Todd Grove Park in Ukiah was a smorgasbord of environmentally themed activities. Students from the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas shared music and a performances about compassion for the earth. Experts stood at booths engaging passers by on compost and electric cars. A dog waste removal service called the Poop airy competed with the Army Corps of Engineers for attention...

Native American leaders have long complained about a lack of public safety in tribal communities. Now a judge and a lawmaker are narrowing their focus on a longstanding jurisdictional arrangement that they say hinders effective law enforcement on reservations. Lauren Schmitt of KMUD news reports.

At a preliminary budget workshop last week, the Board of Supervisors heard that, at this point, there does not appear to be a way to balance the county budget. Revenue is stagnant, and expenses have gone up.

The salmon fishery is closed for the second year in a row, but some agencies and fishermen think there’s reason to expect better next year. This is only the second time the fishery has been closed for two consecutive years, with the last back-to-back disaster taking place in 2008-09.Lauren Schmitt of KMUD news reports.

On his fourth trip to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Blinken will reaffirm the Biden administration's commitment to Ukraine's defense and long-term security, U.S. officials said.

The detonation marked a major step in freeing the Dali, which has been stuck among the wreckage since it crashed into one of the bridge's support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26.

The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction is a relatively new literary award given to women and nonbinary authors. This year's winner is V.V. Ganeshananthan for her book Brotherless Night.

At the European Hospital in Rafah, there are shortages of pain medication, antibiotics, even bandages, American volunteers say they are unable to save lives — and unable to evacuate to safety.

French Gates says she is "immensely proud" of the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the decision to step down as co-chair was not easy. Her last day is June 7.