Latest news with #NevadaCity
CBS News
19-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Nevada City aims for the stars with Dark Sky community certification
In a world that's growing brighter by the year, one small gold rush town is working to keep its night dark and its skies full of stars. Something unique about Nevada City is that it still uses historic gas lamps, which benefit it during mandatory electricity power shut-offs during fire season. But the low-light gas lamps have another benefit, for the night sky. The city is continuing the effort to protect the night sky by applying to become a certified dark sky community. "It's alarming how many people actually can't see stars in the world," said City Planner Lisa McCandless. Light pollution is increasing roughly 10 percent each year, according to Dark Sky International's website. It's an organization committed to protecting night skies on a global level. "One of the reasons I live here is that I can see the stars," Mayor Gary Petersen said. "But you just see over time it starts to decline." "Nevada City has the opportunity to be the first city in Northern California to be certified," said Rod Brown, chair of the Nevada City Planning Commission. The only other two certified dark sky communities in the state are down near San Diego. And Nevada City is applying to join them. Part of the criteria is community outreach and lighting ordinances, things the city has been working on over the last two years. "So the ordinance that I drafted, I tried to make it just right for Nevada City, not overly restrictive but also protective," McCandless said. In the ordinance, they aren't asking constituents to change out lighting. But they are putting regulations on the type of lighting that can go in from now on, in addition to switching out any city lighting. "Brighter lights do not mean safety or security, but what it really means is that we start to not see the beautiful sky," Mayor Petersen said. "It's an illusion thinking that brighter lights that shine out are safer. In actuality, if the lights are pointed down on the ground, you can see your surroundings better," McCandless said. The city will be opting for warmer, more pointed lighting that won't shine out and up into the sky as much. Therefore, allowing you to see the stars and the Milky Way. "It's amazing. It's beautiful, especially if you go a little outside and into the woods, you can just see everything," said a nearby resident, Margot Roa. "Light pollution is bad for human health. It disrupts our sleeping rhythms and such. It's also bad for the environment and nature," Brown said. "It is easy to forget that life keeps going, and there are plenty of species that really rely on dark skies and nighttime to survive," said Aaron Zettler-Mann, executive director with the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL). SYRCL is in support of the city's application. Zettler-Mann says animals like owls and bats will benefit, due to their nocturnal hunting habits. "Their eyes are accustomed to very dark places," Zettler-Mann said. "Just like for a human, if you're driving down the street at night and someone with those incredibly bright blue headlights is coming in the other direction, you can't see as well. Street lights are kinda doing something similar with owls." Nevada City says if the application does go through, the goal for certification is March 2026.
CBS News
18-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Nevada County deputies help bear intruder escape home
Deputies helped a home intruder escape from a Nevada City residence, and it was all caught on video. The Nevada County Sheriff's Office says, early in the morning on June 13, they got a 911 call from a Nevada City resident reporting that a bear was in her home. Several deputies and Nevada County Consolidated Fire Department firefighters responded to the home. 𝐀 '𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐲' 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐔𝐧𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐮𝐭 'Bear' with us and our terrible puns for this one. On June 13, a homeowner called 911 at 4:39 a.m. after discovering a bear inside her Nevada City residence. Three deputies of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office (NCSO) responded to assist with the bear, along with firefighters from Nevada County Consolidated FD (NCCFD) for any medical needs. While the team checked on the homeowner outside, Deputy Lewis of NCSO and Captain Menet of NCCFD searched the interior of the residence and located the bear in a stairwell. The team opened doors and windows to help the bear exit and thankfully the bear opted not to 'bear'-icade himself and left peacefully out a window. While some mornings start off un-'bear'-able, this one wasn't too bad for the books. Review tips to bear-proof your home here, courtesy of BEAR League: Posted by Nevada County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 Searching the home, deputies soon found the bear still inside in a stairwell. Doors and windows were opened and the bear was then coaxed out of the home by first responders. No injuries were reported. The incident is a reminder for residents to be Bear Aware, keeping entrances to homes closed and food -- especially pet food -- inside.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Baffled cops stumble upon fugitive inmate living normal life with his lover 30 years after prison escape
A California fugitive who broke out of prison more than 30 years ago was found quietly living with an ex-lover in the same area where he was first arrested. Ronald Keith Harvey, 79, escaped from Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin, where he was serving time for running a massive illegal marijuana operation, in 1994. 'He wasn't cultivating a small amount. He was arrested with 600 plus plants and firearms. So, it was a pretty big operation that he was running,' Deputy U.S. Marshal Cruz Moya, who has been handling Harvey's case, told ABC 7. There had been no trace of Harvey for decades - until the cops got a lead this year by conducting a data sweep and finding an address associated with the man on the run. This led officers about 150 miles away from the prison, located in Dublin, to a home in Nevada City, where the prison escapee was renting a room from a woman he dated casually 35 years ago. After years of freedom, living a peaceful life in the charming city just 60 miles northeast of Sacramento, Harvey was cuffed and detained once again on June 12, according to arrest records. But the police and his lover-turned-landlord, DeVee Brown, are stunned that Harvey was able to pull off this long-term prison break. 'It does happen. There are some people who are better than others at absconding justice and just going on the run,' Moya told ABC 7. Brown revealed she was oblivious to the fact that Harvey was a wanted man - she even checked with the Nevada County sheriff once a month to make sure there were no warrants out for him. And even though Harvey was evading the law, he never acted like it, Brown explained. 'I was very shocked, of course. He had his own room. He paid rent every month to me,' she said to ABC 7. Harvey remains at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility in Nevada City. He still has four more years of his original sentence to serve, but he may have more time tacked on for fleeing. The notorious FCI Dublin was converted into a low-security all-female prison in 2012. But the prison shuttered in April 2024 as inmates accused guards of rampant sexual abuse. Former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss - who served three years of her tax evasion and money laundering charges at FCI Dublin from 1997 to 2000 - previously told it was common knowledge guards had sexual relationships with prisoners. Fleiss said she was shocked the prison is closing, but was not surprised the guard-on-inmate sexual abuses continued years after she did her time at Dublin because 'everyone knew it was happening all the time.' At least eight former employees have been charged with sexual abuse since 2021. Victims filed a class action lawsuit against the facility, which ended in a $115.8 million settlement allocated to the over 100 inmates who endured the abuse. Stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin each served brief stints at FCI Dublin for their involvement in a college admission scheme. The actresses came under fire when the FBI uncovered they were two of 50 parents involved in a cheating scandal to get their children into top colleges including Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA and Yale. It involved parents paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into elite schools. In many instances, the children were unaware that their parents had paid these tax-deductible bribes, according to federal documents. Most of those charged either paid to get higher SAT scores or faked an athletic resume that, with the participation of a bribed college coach, helped the children get accepted to a college as a team recruit. Huffman was ultimately sentenced two weeks at FCI Dublin in 2019 for paying $15,000 to have her daughter's SAT scores falsified. After was also fined $30,000 and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service upon her release. She was on probation for a year. Laughlin served two months at the facility in 2020 after she and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither girl was a rower. The Full House star was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release. Her husband served five months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service and a $150,000 fine.
CBS News
29-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Thousands of Nevada County residents hit by power outage
Tens of thousands of people in Nevada County have been without power since the early morning hours on Thursday. The outage started around 3:30 a.m., according to PG&E. Nevada City and portions of Grass Valley are impacted by the outage. Exactly what caused the outage is unknown, but PG&E said crews were working to restore power. PG&E estimates that residents should start getting back online by mid-morning.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Nevada City widow meets contractors helping to rebuild home she lost in a fire
NEVADA CITY — A 70-year-old widow in Nevada City lost everything in a house fire. Now, the community is showing up to help her rebuild by donating their time, labor or materials. On Tuesday, she was introduced to the crew. About two dozen people showed up to make a game plan and spread the word. "I don't even know how to describe what's happening here," Lori Wisniewski said. "And the more I'm learning as I go, there would be no way I would be able to rebuild if it weren't for all of these wonderful people who are volunteering." Wisniewski lost her home back in January. "It was so fully engulfed that things were starting to pop and i had to jump off the deck over behind me," she said, "so i'm really lucky to be here and I know that." She described her escape to us last week, also telling us she has insufficient fire insurance because her husband, who passed away from cancer, is the one who usually handles that sort of thing. "I think that's one thing, Nevada County is special. We do have a lot of people who will come together," said Tom Last, executive director of the Nevada County Contractors Association. "Everybody that was here today is either offering a discounted service or free in many cases," said Matthew Sutherlin, owner of Green Bee Construction. Sutherlin is spearheading the rebuild. He's gathered everyone to scope out the damage. They've assessed that it would be best to demolish the house and start over. "We want to design something that Lori's going to love. We want to give her back a little piece of her life," said Dustin Ruckman, drafter and designer for DR Designs. From drafters to plumbers to roofers, they've got a lot covered. "It feels like a dream. It really does," Wisniewski said. I asked Wisniewski what she thought her late husband would say if he were here. "He'd probably be brought to tears, like I'm about to be," she answered. "All I had to do was ask for help, and everybody said yes," Sutherlin said. Even a local media company is offering its services to create a promotional commercial highlighting the community effort. Sutherlin says he hopes the endeavor creates momentum to help the next person in need. "My hope is that it inspires other people to reach out to each other and lift each other up. There's so much despair in the community with fires and loss and tragedy. That doesn't have to be the end of the story," Sutherlin said. "I cannot wait to have an open house and have all of these people back and let them enjoy the fruits of their labor. And more than that, my heart is full," Wisniewski said. Sutherlin says they could break ground within the next two months.
