{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"\"Cautiously optimistic\" in Faulkner Park","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":387,"description":"November 15, 2021 — Community members working to save redwood trees in Faulkner Park met with PG&E representatives and Supervisor Ted Williams on Friday afternoon. \r\nFaulkner park is a small county-owned property on Mountain View Road, just a few miles outside Boonville. PG&E contractors have marked dozens of massive trees for removal, citing concerns that the trees will fall on the power lines and cause a fire. But a group of neighbors called the Friends of Faulkner Park has been vocal in its opposition, calling on the company to bury the lines underground, like the fiber optic cable that runs beneath the stretch of road alongside the park. Some have expressed support for direct action.\r\nThere is no written assurance from PG&E that they will not cut the trees without approval from the Board of Supervisors. County staff attempted to garner a written confirmation of reports that verbal assurances had been made as early as last Tuesday, but were unsuccessful.\r\nHowever, on Friday, Alison Talbott, PG&E’s government liaison for Mendocino and Humboldt counties, told a group of about fifteen people, including Williams, that none of the contested trees would be cut this calendar year. \r\nThe PG&E representatives were not allowed to take questions from the media, so this reporter was not able to make follow-up queries at the community meeting. \r\nTalbott said there will be routine maintenance, like the removal of a large dead madrone right next to the road. Eric Haggerty, the supervisor of the local vegetation management program, said that efforts are underway to look into the possibility of burying the power lines, though some community members were skeptical about the feasibility of installing the infrastructure it would take to service such a system.\r\nWilliams said afterwards that he was satisfied with the company’s commitment not to cut the trees until the end of the year or, after that, following some collaboration. “Up to this point, I’ve been concerned that trees...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}