Lake County News | California - GE crop ordinance, subdivision appeal on Tuesday supervisors' agenda

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the board chambers in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. The PEG Channel, TV 8, has resumed live broadcasts of the meetings, which are rebroadcast at 9 a.m. on Sundays.

Likely to be the hottest issue of the day will be the ordinance Supervisor Ed Robey is bringing to the board to keep GE agriculture out of Lake County, scheduled to be discussed beginning at 10 a.m.

In 2005 an ordinance proposing a 30-month moratorium on GE alfalfa was voted down 3-2, with Supervisors Jeff Smith, Rob Brown and Gary Lewis voting against it, and Robey and Anthony Farrington voting for it.

Since that time, Denise Rushing has succeeded Lewis on the board, which could lead to a new result this time around.

If Lake County were to approve such an ordinance it would be only the fifth California county to do so, joining Mendocino, Trinity, Marin and Santa Cruz. In fact, it's Santa Cruz's ordinance that Robey has used as the model for this local legislation. The cities of Arcata and Point Arena also have accepted such bans, as Lake County News has reported.

In other news, at 3:15 p.m. the board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Sierra Club Lake Group's appeal of developer Mark Mitchell's Eachus View Estates, located at 3565, 3585 and 3595 Hill Road, Lakeport, near the site of the proposed Cristallago project.

In February, the board voted down a larger version of the subdivision, which Mitchell redesigned and took back to the Planning Commission. The commission, in turn, approved a mitigated negative declaration on an initial study of the project's parcel map on June 12.

As it's currently planned, Eachus View Estates would subdivide 87 acres into three residential lots and rezone 8.7 acres from Agriculture-Scenic-Floodway Fringe-Waterway to Rural-Residential-Scenic-Floodway Fringe-Wetland-Waterway-Special Lot Size). One of the primary reasons the Sierra Club Lake Group opposes the project is the necessity for a rezone of agricultural land.

‒ 9:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of Oct. 23 through 31 as Red Ribbon Week in Lake County.

‒ 9:20 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of October 2008 as Toastmasters Month in Lake County.

‒ 9:30 a.m.: (a) Discussion/consideration of proposed memorandum of understanding for the implementation of the mercury and nutrient total maximum daily loads for Clear Lake; and (b) consideration of mercury and nutrient total maximum daily loads monitoring and implementation plan for Clear Lake.

‒ 1:30 p.m.: Discussion/consideration of recommendations on cost of service rate study for water and wastewater systems managed by Lake County Special Districts.

‒ 4:15 p.m.: Discussion/consideration to direct staff to begin updating the Lakeport Area Plan.

‒ Supervisors Consideration of approval of findings of fact in Ray Williams' appeal of the Planning Commission's denial of a subdivision consisting of approximately 53 acres to create 13 one-acre parcels and one 40 acre remainder parcel; project is located at 8999 Miwok Way, Kelseyville.

‒ Second reading of an ordinance amending Section 19-93.1 of the Lake County Code pertaining to the minimum amount of public liability and property damage liability coverage for taxicab and/or public transportation vehicles for hire.

‒ Second reading of an ordinance revising a permit and service fee schedule for Environmental Health Programs of the Lake County Department of Health Services (decreasing fees applicable to the operation of marinas).

‒ Consideration of Change Order No. 2 for Riviera Heights Cape Seal Coatings Project affecting a total decrease in contract price of $1400 (for liquidated damages).

‒ Consideration of proposed agreement between the county of Lake and Sierra Air Helicopters for flight services at a rate of $480 per hour, not to exceed $50,000.

The board also will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations and conduct performance evaluations of the Mental Health director and Special Districts administrator.

please support GMO regulations
written by vbrandon, October 20, 2008

Please let your supervisor know that you support sensible regulations of genetically engineered crops, thereby protecting the environment from technology run amok and providing a special marketing opportunity for Lake County farmers. They can all be reached at 263-2368 (leave a voice mail message) or

Ed Robey: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jeff Smith: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Denise Rushing: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Anthony Farrington: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Rob Brown: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The proposed ordinance can be downloaded at http://www.lakelive.info/cra/draftordinance.pdf. To give your personal endorsement (and that of your business or organization) to this effort go to
http://www.lakelive.info/cra/noGMOendorsements.htm or send me an email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) giving your name and address,

What I know about
written by Donna Christopher, October 20, 2008

GMO's would fill a coffee cup. My knowledge as to what people want to buy will fill a horse trough and let me tell ya - Marketing Lake County as a GMO free zone, Organic Savor the Flavor is gonna get ya alot more tourist (and other) dollars than Marketing Lake County as 'hey, we got frankenfoods just like everybody else'. The better the brand, the bigger the bang of the buck.

no
written by admankins, October 20, 2008

please keep lake co. ge free. it is a bad idea. Monsanto put a lot of money here in mendocino to try and get our measure H not passed, and it did not work, they should take our lead and go gmo free. Don't let the big guys push you around.

...
written by bearer, October 20, 2008

Great, we are going to model ourselves after the wackos in Santa Cruz now.

Have to love the slow creeping effects of socialism.

How about choice. You know, you do not like something you do not buy it.

\"slow creeping effects
written by Donna Christopher, October 20, 2008

of socialism." C'mon bearer, keep up. Bush is contemplating yet another massive bailout for Wall Street. Nothing slow or creeping about the socialism W is now shoving down our throats. Truth in labeling would be nice but ya know that deregulation that has served us oh so very well to date - yeah, that's where you'll find your truth in labeling. Mighty hard to get that toothpaste back in the tube dude.

...
written by bearer, October 20, 2008

Well Pelosi, Boxer and Feinstien made certain that the original culprits who robbed the cookie jar in the first place did so without any oversight.
Or didnt you know congress and the house make the laws?

And I am mad about the bailout also. Again, Pelosi, Feinstein and Boxer voted for it. There is that thing about Congress and the house controlling the budget and making laws again. Oh snap.

The elimination of open market products by a government entity is socialistic in nature. Genetically engineered crops are technology at work.

People have a choice whether they want to buy a product or not. You admit yourself that you choose not to shop at our local market. Others shop there.

The line of thinking about controlling advances to the foodsystem this way is akin to introducing a law that says no one can shop at the store you hate.

Now that\'s funny bearer, you
written by Donna Christopher, October 20, 2008

should take your act on the road. Yeah, it's all the triads fault as we all know that the bailout bill didn't take W's signature. Oh, wait. Your analogy is humorous also. It equates that all stores must sell the same thing as the local grocery store. As far as it being "advances to the foodsystem" well the jury is out on that one which is why caution should be used. And I guess pot laws are socialistic also by your way of thinking - they are "an elimination of open market products by a government entity" tehehehe you little socialist you.

...
written by bearer, October 20, 2008

Gee, you feel there is not three branches of government now? Our economic problem is the result of Carter/Regean/Bush/Clinton/Bush and 30 years of greed and consumption in the senate and house.

As far as the strawman, pot is currntly illegall. What we are discussing is not yet.

As for pot, It should be allowed in the marketplace with the same restrictions, advertising, claims as harmful to your health, and taxed at the same rate as cigarettes.

I am for an open market unlike you. smilies/cheesy.gif

Again bearer, try to keep up
written by Donna Christopher, October 20, 2008

triad referring to Boxer, DiFi and Pelosi, not executive, legislative and judicial. Open market would eliminate the need for the FDA. smilies/cheesy.gif

We don't really need to know what's in our food or drugs now do we. Thought you were buying blood pressure meds - to bad so sad - open markets police themselves, dead people won't make that mistake and buy your bad product next time!

...
written by bearer, October 20, 2008

Ok in your mind Pelosi, Feinstien and Boxer are not accountable for their votes. They along with many others are directly responsible for our current crisis. Pelosi even more given her stature in leadership. She is the head of a 9% approval rating remember? It appears the majority 91% think she is the worst majority leader in American history.

Fact still remains, government is eliminating a product from the local marketplace because it is fashionable to do so.

whoa!
written by vbrandon, October 20, 2008

(a) this ordinance won't eliminate ANYTHING from the local marketplace: it doesn't affect food sold in grocery stores at all, just genetically engineered commercial SEEDS, none of which are grown by Lake County farmers at the present time, and none of which are relevant to local agriculture anyhow.

(b) "freedom of choice" doesn't really apply in this case because there's no requirement for labelling genetically engineered foods -- to the contrary the agribusinesses that dreamed these things up have been fighting tooth and nail to prevent non-GE products from being labelled as such. Without information, it's impossible to make meaningful choices.

...
written by bearer, October 21, 2008

Fair enough.

a. If the seeds are not relavant to local ag why try to outlaw them?

b you are aware that a lot of organic foodproducts are mutated from their original form and have been in the marketplace for decades.

One of the most popular organic snack foods was genetically altered by native americans hundreds of years ago.

Again, this is a special interest group against streamlining food production with better quality products.

Kind of like the corn thing in the midwest that has raised the price and made a lifethreatening problem in poor countries.

Starving people in other countries because of agendas is selfish.

...
written by angisangels, October 21, 2008

Once again some people truly belong in stupidville. We have so many GE food in a grocery stores and hormones in our meats and poisons in our drinking waters. bla bla bla bla bla. You complain about the people that get elected (some one voted for those officials). You want to legalize pot that kills (read the fact) But you don't get the truth and that why you should move to stupidville. I think that the BOS should read the studies on GE food decide what they will accept in our county and go from their which is what this article is really about. not bush,legalizing pot, or socialism, by the way Donna the government must be paying your bills because you complain on every news article in lake county and no one has that kind of time unless they sit home all day. I thank God that we have the BOS, Congress and the President this the USA and not to many other countries would allow you to choose where to shop, who to vote for, or to speak ill of everyone on the planet.
Good Day :idea:

angisangels
written by jmadison, October 21, 2008

Newsflash!!! Can you actually name 1 country in this hemisphere that WON'T let you choose where to shop or who to vote for. I bet you can't think of 1 country in the entire world that won't allow you to shop where you want and I'd be surprised if you could name 5 countries that don't allow voting. You sound like you are too busy sticking the American Flag in people's faces to actually learn anything about them. Stupidville? thats pure genius.

...
written by angisangels, October 21, 2008

jmadison I can name more than 1 here is 5 just in the northern hemisphere that people do not vote Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and China. I could probably name more but I just thought of the ones that our countryhas either went to war with or currently purchase GE foods from right now so you are just the kind of person that proves my point. Why do you even live in America? Our flag should not only be in are faces but on our front porches, in our schools, at the court house, and anywhere else that Americans can pay respect to this great country. Obviously you failed history because more countries in the world do not vote for their officials than do? That is why we are called a democracy. I.E back you go to stupidville. :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea:

From delusional.
written by James, October 22, 2008

My hostility is the birth from the seeds of discontent. This finding so meany that lie and have little regard for our government or us that a oath was asked of them. The oath that only three Ladies with Lake County government understood and all others as yet hide their lies. My point is don't find yourself within a labyrinth after the fact ask questions before. I warn you your good will be the last thought after greed and that power that comes with control.Less we goose step as other and tell all that hear we didn't know.

...
written by jmadison, October 23, 2008

No, you're wrong. Thailand is in the newspaper everyday. They absolutely have a democracy, vote for their prime minister, and are allowed to have public protests to speak out against the leaders that they want to get rid of. The also have a supreme court. Read the newspapers instead of just watching FOX news.