Empire Report

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Cartoon by Matthew Reid, 2009, showing "Monoculture Valley" sign held by Glassy Winged Sharpshooter (insects) with glasses of wine labelled "Sonoma County Table Wine" and "Sonoma County Water Table"
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A hillshade map showing a magenta area of Neely Road neighborhood at risk of landslide and treefall.
A California state appeals court last week denied a landowner’s request that the court reconsider its decision that the owner of the Skunk Train in Mendocino County has the power to condemn private property. The decision is the latest salvo in a long-running dispute over the attempt of Mendocino Railway — the owner and operator of the popular Skunk Train excursion service — to condemn a 20-acre undeveloped parcel in Willits, allegedly to be used for current and future passenger and freight rail operations. In California, a public utility is authorized to condemn private property for public purposes, providing that it pays the owner “just compensation” for the land. The owner of the parcel, John Meyer, challenged the condemnation on grounds that Mendocino Railway is not a “public utility” for purposes of the eminent domain law and therefore had no power to pursue condemnation. Meyer also argued that even if the railway was a public utility, the proposed use of the condemned property was not for public purposes and therefore did not qualify for condemnation. After a six-day jury trial in 2022, Meyer’s arguments prevailed in Mendocino County Superior Court. Under California law, to be deemed a public utility, a rail operator must be open to, and actually serve, the general public, not a private group, and the property to be condemned must be for public purposes. The railway owns a roughly 40-mile rail line that runs from Fort Bragg to Willits. The track’s primary operations and revenues (over 90%) come from running private Skunk Train excursions. In addition, the line provides passenger commuter service to a small number of individuals and families that commute to their properties on the line. The train also has some modest freight operations and hopes to have more in the future. The line was open for the full 40-mile run until 2015 when a collapsed tunnel — yet unrepaired — severed the line into two parts. Notwithstanding the collapse, the railway continued off…
map of H1 flying looking for Kale. https://www.sebastopoltimes.com/p/missing-man-grew-up-in-west-county
Landslide on State Route 116 West of Monte Rio in Sonoma County Caltrans Has Implemented One-way Traffic Control Update January 9, 2026 Caltrans hired an emergency contractor who arrived at the site yesterday to stabilize the highway. Using a crane with a large auger, the contractor drilled through the pavement and earth below the eastbound lane, lowered steel beams into the holes, and backfilled them with gravel. Although the steel beams aren’t interlocked to create a solid wall, they are aligned close enough together to stabilize the road until a permanent retaining wall is designed and built.
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-123.2/centery:38.3/zoom:10
google maps of the accident
Lake Berryessa's Glory Hole (spillway)
raw sewage alert for the lower russian river
source: https://poweroutage.us/area/utility/760
SF to Fort Bragg - coast is out of power almost without exception, and deep into west Sonoma County
shark breaching - image credit Michael Fontenot, Flickr
a vehicle follows a fire truck through the flooding Garcia River at 10:50pm 12/21/25
Swirls of green curled across the Pacific Ocean off of northern California in early December 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of the brilliant tones on December 11. Well inland, a thick layer of low cloud (fog) lays over the California Central Valley. The bright colors are the result of a large floating colony of phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms that live in these waters year-round. When conditions are right (adequate light, favorable water temperatures, and plenty of nutrients), the tiny organisms can reproduce explosively to create massive blooms that can easily be seen from space. There are many types of phytoplankton, ranging from diatoms and dinoflagellates to coccolithophores and cyanobacteria. Most types are harmless or helpful, consuming carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen while forming the backbone of the marine food web. However, a few types can be harmful, especially those that produce biotoxins (chemicals that can be harmful to living things). According an article published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on December 14, “A record breaking algal bloom continues to expand across the North Pacific reaching as far north as the Aleutian Islands and as far south as southern California. Amidst well-above average sea surface temperatures across the North Pacific and along the western coastline of North America, a toxic algal bloom has developed with far reaching consequences for sea life as well as regional and local economies.” The bloom, which began in May, is responsible for the deaths of at least 9 Fin whales near Kodiak Island, Alaska this summer. More recently, the presence of a toxin called domoic acid led to closures or recreational razor clam harvests in Oregon and Washington, closure of portion of the Dungeness crab fishery in Washington, and the closure of some sardine and anchovy fisheries in California. Some, but no…
Sonoma County Redwoods and Blue Sky