With a series of storms forecasted to continue through mid-March, including an atmospheric river event later this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proclaimed a state of emergency to support storm response and relief efforts in 21 additional counties.
Those counties are Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Yuba.
The governor last week proclaimed a state of emergency in 13 counties due to storms, and activated the California Guard and State Operations Center to bring state support to county-led emergency response efforts and coordinate mutual aid from neighboring jurisdictions.
“The state is working around the clock with local partners to deploy life-saving equipment and first responders to communities across California,” said Gov. Newsom. “With more dangerous storms on the horizon, we’ll continue to mobilize every available resource to protect Californians.”
The state has significant staffing and equipment resources from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, along with Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire and the California National Guard on the ground in impacted areas.
Cal Fire and partner agencies have 43 crews active statewide, 12 of which are committed to the San Bernardino storm incident, as well as two helicopters, two dozers and an Incident Management Team, among other resources.
The California Guard is pre-positioning high water vehicles in preparation for flood response operations.
Caltrans has mobilized more than 4,000 crew members to hundreds of incidents statewide, working 24/7 in shifts.
In San Bernardino County, more than 57 Caltrans employees operating 40 high-powered pieces of equipment, including snowplows, graders, loaders and dump trucks, have removed more than 12.6 million cubic yards of snow off state highways as of March 8, which equates to more than 3,800 Olympic-size swimming pools.
CHP is increasing resources in targeted areas to help address storm-related needs – including ensuring full staffing for air operation missions, ready to deploy as needed.
Cal OES has coordinated with the Department of Developmental Services to open six shelters in the counties of San Bernardino, Stanislaus, Madera, Butte and Nevada, and has facilitated food donations through the California Grocers Association to provide meal kits in San Bernardino County.
Visit CalAlerts.org to sign up for local wireless emergency alerts and QuickMap to check road conditions in your area.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Town Hall this week will meet to get updates from county staff, discuss a letter in response to a Cal Fire map and a support letter for a local group’s wildfire prevention grant application.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the Middletown Community Meeting Room/Library at 21256 Washington St., Middletown. The meeting is open to the public.
To join the meeting via Zoom click on this link; the meeting ID is 331 855 4843. Call in at 669-900-6833.
On the agenda is a presentation by county Chief Climate Resiliency Officer Terre Logsdon, who will give a brief presentation about the Office of Climate Resiliency and get feedback on a survey.
The group also will host Andrew Amelung, Cannabis Task Force Committee Program manager for the Lake County Community Development Department. Amelung will provide a brief update on the progress of the Cannabis Task Force meetings.
Also on Thursday, MATH will consider a proposed letter to Cal Fire in response to the proposed “State Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zones.”
MATH also has been asked to consider a support letter for Heart Consciousness Church, also known as Harbin Hot Springs, in its time sensitive application for a wildfire prevention grant.
In other business, MATH will have a Brown Act training.
The MATH Board includes Chair Monica Rosenthal, Vice Chair Todd Fiora, Secretary Ken Gonzalez, and alternates Julia Bono and Tom Darms.
MATH — established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 — is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
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Snow is expected across the North Coast on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Image courtesy of the National Weather Service. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Following a snowy Monday that led to school closures, the National Weather Service forecast is calling for more snow on Tuesday ahead of a shift to a rainier weather pattern later in the week.
Early Monday, the Lake County Office of Education reported that all of Lake County’s public schools were closed due to the overnight and early morning snowfall.
Snow continued to fall at times during the day across parts of the county on Monday, but in most lower elevation areas it melted off by the late morning.
However, areas like Cobb continue to be coated in a heavy layer of snow.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for areas of Lake County above the 1,500 foot elevation mark that will be in effect from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Wednesday.
The forecast said “another low elevation snow producing system is on tap for Tuesday morning into Tuesday night.”
It calls for snow with accumulations of up to 6 inches in those areas.
The National Weather Service’s in-depth forecast explains that “a period of heavier showers will result in one more round of heavy snow for elevations over 1500 feet Tuesday into Tuesday night.”
There will then be a pattern shift to slightly warmer conditions, with moderate to heavy rainfall below 4,000 feet expected late Thursday and Friday.
The Tuesday snow will be the result of a system that is the last in the series of cold storm systems bringing low elevation snow for the foreseeable future, forecaster said.
“It is becoming increasingly likely that the weather pattern in California will shift substantially beginning on Thursday as warmer air moves in from the Pacific,” the National Weather Service reported.
The forecast said snow levels will rise substantially, easily to over 4,000 feet by Friday as a warm front moves through the region. “This front will also spread rain across the region, some of which could be heavy.”
The Lake County forecast expects rain to follow the snow beginning on Thursday and continuing into early next week.
Temperatures are expected to rise slightly during the day from the mid 40s to the low 50s, and at night from the high 20s to the high 30s.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The pandemic began in the United States following a period of rising home prices and declining interest and vacancy rates. These pressures increased during the pandemic, contributing to higher home prices and rents.
The percentage of household income renter households spent on gross rent (rent plus utilities) — the housing cost ratio — increased nationwide from 2019 to 2021, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey (ACS).
But renter households with the lowest annual incomes, a population that traditionally has less income available for other essential goods, experienced the largest percentage point increases.
Renters spent more on rent since 2019
The U.S. Census Bureau calculates housing cost ratios for all renter-occupied units that pay cash rent and have positive household income.
When a household has a cost ratio of over 30%, it is considered cost-burdened, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Severely cost-burdened households have cost ratios of over 50%.
Cost-burdened households have less money to spend on other critical needs such as food, transportation and child care.
The median cost ratio for all renter-occupied households increased from 29.3% in 2019 to 30.6% in 2021 (Table 1).
This increase shifted the number of households considered cost burdened from 46.3% to 49.0% of all renter-occupied units. That means just under half of all renter-occupied households in the United States were cost burdened in 2021.
In 2021, 20.1 million renter-occupied households met the over 30% income threshold and were cost burdened, an increase of about 1 million households since 2019.
The number of severely burdened households rose to 25.4% (about 10.4 million renter-occupied units) from 23.0% in 2019 (9.4 million).
Renters’ household incomes lower than homeowners
Renter-occupied households historically have lower household incomes than owner-occupied households and may be more affected by changes in household income and rental prices.
Categorizing households into five equally sized groups (known as quintiles) from those with the lowest to highest incomes showed that renter-occupied households were more likely than owner-occupied households to be in the lowest income quintiles (Figure 1).
Renter-occupied households made up 52.9% of households in the lowest income quintile and 42.4% of households in the second lowest income quintile. In contrast, only 13.8% of households in the top income quintile were in renter-occupied units.
Low-income renters hardest hit
Renter-occupied households in the lowest income quintile had a median cost ratio of 62.7% in 2021. That means that half of the renter-occupied households in this quintile paid gross rent that was more than 62.7% of their total household income, 3 percentage points higher than in 2019. (A cost ratio of 62.7% is over twice the HUD cost burden threshold.)
This was the largest percentage-point increase in median rental cost ratio of any income quintile (Figure 2). The second income quintile went up 1.4 percentage points and the third income quintile by 1.0 point. The top two income quintiles had the smallest increases (0.6 and 0.4 percentage points).
For low-income renter households, even a small change in rental costs can have a significant impact on their cost ratios.
For example, while the median housing cost ratio was higher for renter households in the lowest income quintile, the cost ratios were also much more variable for this group than the higher-income quintiles (Figure 2).
This variability reflects the outsized impact of small changes in housing costs and incomes on the cost ratio for those in the lowest-income group compared to those in higher-income groups.
Renter households at all income levels more likely to be cost burdened
Statistics on the number of renter households cost burdened, in addition to the median housing cost ratio, are useful because renters who meet or exceed these thresholds may face hardships meeting basic needs (Table 2).
The lowest-income quintile had the largest number (10.8 million) of cost-burdened renter occupied households, which climbed from 85.5% in 2019 to 87.3% or 10.9 million in 2021.
The numbers were even more striking for the severely cost burdened with a substantial increase in renters in the lowest income quintile paying more than half their income for rent. In 2021, 65.9% of renter-occupied households in the lowest-income quintile were severely cost burdened, an increase of over 500,000 households from 60.9% in 2019.
In addition, 59.9% of renter-occupied households in the second quintile were cost burdened in 2021, up from 55.6% in 2019; 17.3% of them were severely burdened, up from 14.5% in 2019.
In the third quintile, 25.3% were cost burdened, up from 21.8%. Only 3.0% of households in the third income quintile were severely cost burdened in 2021, but that was still higher than the 2.5% in 2019.
Though renter-occupied households in the top income groups were far less likely to be cost burdened, they still experienced significant increases.
The fourth quintile went from 7.4% burdened in 2019 to 8.8% in 2021, and the fifth quintile went from 0.9% to 2.5%. But renter-occupied households in the fourth and fifth income quintiles were rarely severely cost burdened.
Peter J. Mateyka is a statistician and Jayne Yoo is an economist in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — As part of the work to seek assistance in response to the late February snow storms, county officials are seeking information from the community on storm-related damage.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services and Lake County Community Development Department are requesting damage reports for residential and commercial buildings that sustained structural damage in the storms.
Sheriff Rob Howe proclaimed a local emergency on Feb. 24 due to impacts from the low elevation snow storm.
Officials said this damage assessment is needed to identify potential pathways for assistance from the State of California and/or federal government.
If your home or business sustained moderate to major damage, please report damages as soon as possible and no later than Friday, March 24.
Damage can be reported at the sheriff’s website or by calling 707-263-2382 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
County officials said this is not an application for assistance, and it is possible that no assistance will become available.
The information gathered may also be used for various post-incident reports and future emergency planning.
Larry Atchison. Courtesy photo. NORTH COAST, Calif. — A Silver Alert has been issued for a missing and at-risk Santa Rosa man last seen a week ago.
Lawrence “Larry” Atchison was last seen on foot at Leafwood Circle and Silverwood Street near his home in the Bennett Valley area of Santa Rosa at 4:45 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
The California Highway Patrol issued the Silver Alert on behalf of the Santa Rosa Police Department.
He grew up in Lake County and his family is looking to spread the word in areas where he's previously lived.
Atchison is 64 years old. He is 6 feet tall, weighs 200 pounds, has gray hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen wearing a black fleece zip up jacket, blue jeans and black slip on shoes.
Family said he has medical conditions including dementia and Alzheimer's.
A Facebook group has been formed to share information about his case.
Anyone with information is asked to call local law enforcement via 911 or authorities in Sonoma County at 707-528-5222.
Kimberley Davis, United States Forest Service; Jamie Peeler, University of Montana, and Philip Higuera, University of Montana
Wildfires and severe drought are killing trees at an alarming rate across the West, and forests are struggling to recover as the planet warms. However, new research shows there are ways to improve forests’ chances of recovery – by altering how wildfires burn.
In a new study, we teamed up with over 50 other fire ecologists to examine how forests have recovered – or haven’t – in over 10,000 locations after 334 wildfires.
Together, these sites offer an unprecedented look at how forests respond to wildfires and global warming.
Our results are sobering. We found that conifer tree seedlings, such as Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine, are increasingly stressed by high temperatures and dry conditions in sites recovering from wildfires. In some sites, our team didn’t find any seedlings at all. That’s worrying, because whether forests recover after a wildfire depends in large part on whether new seedlings can establish themselves and grow.
However, our team also found that if wildfires burn less intensely, forests will have a better shot at regrowing. Our study, published March 6, 2023, highlights how proactive efforts that modify how wildfires burn can help buffer seedlings from some of the biggest stressors of global warming.
Drag the map’s slider bar from the center to compare how forest recovery is likely to differ between low-severity fires and high-severity fires in the future. K. Davis et al, 2023.
Typically, forests have regrown after wildfires, thanks to an amazing set of traits that trees possess. Lodgepole pine, for example, stores thousands of seeds in closed cones sealed with resin, that only open in the presence of high heat from flames, triggering abundant regrowth. Other tree species, like ponderosa pine, have thick bark that helps them survive low-intensity wildfires.
Intense or very large “megafires” can overwhelm those traits, though. Most conifer tree species in the West depend on seeds from surviving trees to jump-start recovery following wildfire. So when intense wildfires kill most of the trees, entire expanses of forest can be lost.
Even if some trees do survive a wildfire and can provide seeds, seedlings require favorable climate conditions to establish and grow. Unlike adult trees with deep root systems, seedlings have short roots that only reach water in the top layer of soil. Seedlings are also more sensitive to summer temperatures because hot temperatures can actually kill their live cells.
Seedlings struggling to establish after wildfires
Hotter and drier conditions due to global warming are leading to more area burning. Global warming is also interacting with over a century of wildfire suppression and restrictions on Indigenous fire stewardship, which has left denser forests and more underbrush as fuel. And that is leading tomore severe wildfires.
It’s also becoming harder for seedlings to establish and grow after wildfires.
We found that from 1981 to 2000, 95% of our study region had climate conditions suitable for seedlings to establish and grow after wildfires. Fast forward to 2050 and this decreases to 74%, even under modest warming where global average temperatures increase by around 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 Celsius).
How these changes unfold varies across the West. Today, seedlings are least likely to establish and grow after wildfires in the Southwest and California. However, the wetter and cooler regions of the northern Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest still support seedling establishment and growth.
Survivor trees are crucial for sheltering seedlings
By studying both how severely wildfires burn – for example, how many trees are killed – and how climate conditions after a wildfire affect new seedlings, our team found a surprising and hopeful result.
Even when summers are hotter and drier after a wildfire than in the past, just having trees around that survived a fire helps new seedlings establish and grow.
Besides providing seeds, surviving trees reduce temperatures on the ground, where it matters most to seedlings. In some cases, temperatures can be 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit cooler (2.2 to 2.8 C) around surviving trees, giving seedlings the edge needed to germinate and survive.
In our study, projections of future forests varied dramatically, depending on how many trees we assumed survived future wildfires.
Altering how wildfires burn can boost recovery
This means there is an opportunity to help offset some climate-driven declines in tree recovery – by reducing the number of trees killed in wildfires.
Reversing global warming is a long-term challenge for society, and some near-term impacts are already irreversible. But reducing the number of trees killed in wildfires can help maintain future forests. In regions where seedlings are already struggling after wildfire, such actions are needed sooner rather than later.
Science supports the use of a number of tools, or forest treatments, that can help decrease the number of trees killed by wildfires.
Controlled burning with forest thinning or cultural burning by local Indigenous groups removes small trees and brush. That leads to fewer trees killed in subsequent fires, especially in forests that historically burned frequently. In high-elevation forests that historically experienced less frequent but more severe wildfires, planting trees after wildfires can help jump-start forest recovery.
Expanding the use of wildfires and controlled burning as management tools is challenging, but the evidence suggests it may be one of the most effective and economical ways to reduce the number of trees killed by future wildfires.
There are clear ways to lessen the impacts of global warming and wildfires on seedlings and future forests. But in some areas, even as we work to reverse global warming, the window of opportunity is short. In these areas, forest treatments that modify wildfire or jump-start recovery will be most effective in the next few decades, setting up seedlings to better withstand near-term warming.
Condor Ridge, or “Molok Luyuk,” at sunset. Photo by Bob Wick. On Tuesday, area tribal and conservation leaders applauded U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) for reintroducing the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act, which would permanently protect part of Molok Luyuk (Condor Ridge) adjacent to the existing Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Northern California.
The expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument would safeguard public lands that are sacred to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and that are critically important to protect in the face of a changing climate.
The legislation would add 3,925 acres to the current monument, support tribal co-management, and change the name of the additional wildlands from “Walker Ridge” to Molok Luyuk — Patwin for “Condor Ridge” — a name the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation provided.
“Many of the plant and animal species within Molok Luyuk are traditionally important to the lifeways of the Patwin people, and we consider their protection and stewardship to be part of our sacred responsibility to the land,” said the Tribal Council of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. “Molok Luyuk, or Condor Ridge in the Patwin language, was home to California Condors as well as Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, and Peregrine Falcons, and provides wildlife corridors and vital habitat for other culturally important species. The recent reintroduction of the California Condor to the north of Molok Luyuk gives hope that condors will once again soar over the ridge.”
The current monument stretches from Napa County in the south to Mendocino County in the north, encompassing 330,780 acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service, or USFS.
President Obama designated the national monument in 2015, responding to a call from Representatives Thompson and Garamendi, then-Sen. Barbara Boxer, other members of California’s Congressional delegation, and community leaders to permanently protect these lands.
The bill reintroduction reflects growing momentum for the effort to protect additional public lands around the monument. Last fall, legislative leaders joined the call from tribal and community leaders for President Biden to expand the national monument using his authority under the Antiquities Act.
The Antiquities Act is a 1906 law that grants presidents the ability to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural and historical sites as national monuments to permanently conserve them.
“Molok Luyuk is a special and sacred place for area tribes and for many local residents who enjoy recreation activities like hiking and mountain biking,” added Lake County Supervisor E.J. Crandell, a member of the Robinson Rancheria Tribe. “The natural beauty of our home also drives tourism, which is key to the economic vitality of the region. Protecting these beautiful lands would be a gift to future generations.”
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, which strongly supports the expansion, has a long and significant connection to Molok Luyuk, stretching back thousands of years. The ridge includes areas where religious ceremonies are practiced and sites that were central to vital trading routes.
A key goal of this effort is also to establish co-management with federally recognized Tribes and to return to an Indigenous name for these lands.
Molok Luyok is located on the eastern edge of the existing monument and is home to great biodiversity, including oak woodlands, rocky outcroppings, wildflower meadows, the world’s largest stand of McNab cypress, and dozens of rare plant species.
“Molok Luyuk is a ‘must protect’ area in the midst of a changing climate,” said Mary Creasman, chief executive officer, California Environmental Voters. “These public lands serve as a critical wildlife corridor for species such as tule elk, mountain lions and bears. It’s also home to imperiled wildlife such as bald and golden eagles and many rare plants. Protecting this habitat would help preserve critically important biodiversity.”
The proposed national monument expansion would improve outdoor access for the region’s residents and help the state of California and the federal government meet their shared goals to protect 30% of lands and waters by 2030 as part of the international effort to address the impacts of climate change and alarming rates of extinction.
“Molok Luyuk is a rare treasure of rich cultural heritage and sacred history, diverse wildlife and rare plants, and stunning natural beauty and accessible recreational activities,” said Sandra Schubert, executive director of Tuleyome, a regional conservation organization. “We are deeply grateful to our Congressional champions Reps. Garamendi and Thompson and Sens. Padilla and Feinstein for shepherding this effort. We encourage President Biden to expand the existing monument and permanently protect Molok Luyuk.”
Incorporating the adjacent federally owned land into the existing national monument would improve land management, bring additional resources for trail construction and maintenance, help improve public access, and protect sensitive wildlife, prime habitat areas, and cultural resources. Improving the public’s access to nature, especially for historically marginalized communities, is an important goal for the State of California, as reflected in Gov. Newsom’s October 2020 Executive Order N-82-20 and the State’s Outdoors for All initiative.
“Nature can be such a valuable reprieve for so many, yet there continue to be deep inequities in access to the outdoors,” said Shanna Edberg, Conservation Program director for the Hispanic Access Foundation. “In fact, our research found that in California, Latinos and other people of color are two times more likely to be deprived of nearby nature than white people. Protecting Molok Luyuk will help to ensure equitable access to the outdoors in a county where 22% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.”
Popular recreation activities on these lands include hiking, mountain biking, photography, camping, horseback riding, and off highway vehicle, or OHV, use on designated routes.
“As an avid OHV recreationist, I strongly support expanding Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to include Molok Luyuk,” said Don Amador, government affairs, American Motorcyclist Association District 36. “The permanent protection of Molok Luyuk will improve the management of these lands and increase public access to recreation opportunities. This is a win-win for our community and I add my voice in support of expanding the monument.”
In October, President Biden created his first national monument: the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado.
“Our national monuments are a part of our country’s outdoor heritage and must be passed down to future generations,” said Janessa Goldbeck, chief executive officer of Vet Voice Foundation. “Veterans advocated for the designation of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and we’re proud to support the expansion of the monument to include Molok Luyuk."
To learn more about this effort and to sign a petition in support of the expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, visit www.expandberryessa.org.
Agencies are joining forces to help save monarch butterflies and other pollinator species. Photo by Stu Weiss. State and federal agencies in California are joining forces to address the decline of monarch butterflies and other pollinator species in the state.
The Multi-Agency Monarch and Pollinator Collaborative aims to facilitate long-term conservation of the western population of the migratory monarch butterfly and its habitats, as well as other pollinator species in the state.
“Monarchs and other pollinators are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience and preserving California’s biodiversity,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham. “It will take a collective effort between agencies to make significant headway toward the state’s conservation goals and recover pollinator populations.”
Recent surveys reveal a positive turn for the monarchs. The 2023 count of overwintering monarchs along the California coast showed a robust population of more than 330,000 butterflies. This represents more than a thousandfold increase over the all-time low count of less than 2,000 individuals in 2020.
“We are encouraged by the promising recent reports of overwintering western monarchs in California and remain committed to working with others to implement conservation actions that benefit all pollinators,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Regional Director Paul Souza.
Despite the recent increase, scientists estimate that western monarchs have declined by approximately 80% since the 1980s due to loss of breeding habitat and coastal overwintering habitat, climate change and the effects of pesticides.
Western monarchs still have a long way to go to recover and the Collaborative hopes to make a difference.
The group will identify, adopt, promote and implement ecosystem-based management approaches that can be applied within each partner’s jurisdiction to support the western migratory population of the monarch butterfly and other pollinators in California.
“I had a chance to witness monarch migration this winter on the Monterey Peninsula, and it moved me deeply,” said California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “Butterflies, bees and other pollinators are not only beautiful, but also essential to our environment and food production. They are resilient, but they need our help more than ever before. This partnership represents so much promise to provide the support that pollinators need to thrive.”
The member agencies include CDFW, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Coastal Commission, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, California Department of Transportation, Wildlife Conservation Board, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, and California Natural Resources Agency.
The Collaborative is basing its priorities on two initiatives: (1) the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ 50-year Monarch Conservation Plan, and (2) the June 2022 Western Monarch Summit, initiated by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), which laid out a set of short-term priorities aimed at improving monarch outcomes in the west.
Combined, the member agencies manage much of the state and federal land in California. These public lands comprise nearly 50 percent of California's total land area. Due to its broad participation, the group is well-positioned to maximize its impact on California's monarch and pollinator habitats.
The Collaborative’s work will also be applicable to private landowners and the general public that want to voluntarily engage in this framework.
“Many participating agencies, including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, work closely with private landowners to increase opportunities for pollinator conservation across various land uses,” said Secretary for Agriculture Karen Ross. “Public-private partnerships are a key ingredient to effective pollinator conservation.”
Agricultural regions of the state have been identified as critical to monarch recovery by the planning documents the Collaborative is adopting.
“The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) proudly assists California’s farmers and ranchers in voluntary implementation of conservation practices, including the planting of many miles of hedgerows over the last decade. Actions like these can support monarchs on California’s agricultural lands,” said NRCS California State Conservationist Carlos Suarez. “NRCS is thrilled to continue work like this in collaboration with the Multi-Agency Pollinator Collaborative.”
To increase the likelihood that conservation efforts will succeed, the Collaborative is also working to share the most up-to-date scientific and management information.
“We proudly support the collaborative with the best available science to enhance management decisions that target pollinator conservation,” said U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Regional Director Eric Reichard. “Our goal is to proactively share impartial information and methodologies to facilitate our partner’s conservation objectives.”
Ultimately, the goal of the Collaborative is to help catalyze monarch and pollinator conservation in California by building on the recent increase of monarch butterflies.
Armando Quintero, Director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, added, “This collaborative will provide a venue for us to share knowledge and work together across California to help migratory monarchs and other native pollinators, by focusing our conservation efforts where they are needed most.”
Brad Rasmussen and his dog, Remi. Courtesy photo. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lakeport’s police chief on Tuesday officially threw his hat into the ring to pursue another local job — that of county supervisor.
Chief Brad Rasmussen said he plans to run for the District 4 supervisor position in the 2024 election.
A longtime Lake County resident, Rasmussen, 53, said he’s excited about the prospect of pursuing the supervisor’s job, which — if he won — he would take over at the start of 2025, after retiring.
Because of the presidential primary, the election will come sooner than in most years. Super Tuesday primaries in California fall in March, not June.
That means the election is just a year away — March 5.
He’ll challenge Supervisor Michael Green, appointed in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace Tina Scott, who stepped down in July to take a job with the Lakeport Unified School District.
“I was surprised but also pleased to hear of Brad Rasmussen’s decision to run for District 4 supervisor in 2024,” Green said in a statement released on Lake County News on Tuesday evening. “I was privileged to work with Brad while serving on the Lakeport City Council, and his decades-long commitment to public safety and community-oriented policing speaks for itself. Suffice to say he will be a strong supervisorial candidate in the March 5, 2024, primary election.”
Green’s statement continued, “Brad’s announcement naturally raises questions about my own plans, but I’m not going to answer such questions on short notice. To my knowledge, the candidate filing period will not open for six months or more, and it’s not only possible but probable that other highly qualified candidates may enter the race. In particular, I want to encourage women, LGBTQ, LatinX and people of color to consider running for county office. There is still plenty of time to nominate a slate of strong, diverse candidates so District 4 voters have a real choice when electing their next supervisor.“
One other candidate already has confirmed to Lake County News that he will also enter the race.
Scott Barnett, who serves on the Lakeport Planning Commission, said Tuesday he will run for the supervisorial seat.
Barnett also had applied to the Governor’s Office for the District 4 seat last year but said the state didn’t interview him for the office and didn’t even acknowledge his application. Other applicants reported the same issues with the governor’s appointment process.
He said he saw Rasmussen’s Facebook announcement “and I'm even more motivated to run.”
Rasmussen said he’s been considering a run for supervisor for “quite a few months.”
The first person he talked to about it was wife, Karyn, to get her support.
They have two grown daughters, both of whom grew up in Lakeport and went to Lakeport schools: Stephanie, who is a doctor who graduated with honors in June 2022 from the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, and Savannah, who received her Master of Science in behavioral psychology from Pepperdine University in May 2022 and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Brad Rasmussen said he has so far not set a retirement date but that it won’t be before the March 2024 primary.
He said any campaigning will take place well outside of work hours.
“I’m 100% committed to my job,” said Rasmussen. “I’m going to do my job like I always have.”
He hasn’t given the city of Lakeport a letter announcing his retirement, although he has spoken to City Manager Kevin Ingram about his plans to run for supervisor.
The announcement was not mentioned during the Lakeport City Council’s Tuesday evening meeting.
When he does set a retirement date, Rasmussen said he will give the city plenty of time to find his successor.
By the time he expects to retire next year, he will have served for 34 years with the Lakeport Police Department. He’s been chief since May of 2011.
As for his reasons for running for supervisor, Rasmussen said, “I’ve had a great career in police work but I’ve been in here a long time.”
He said he wants to transition to something else but also wants to continue to serve the community in a different way.
Rasmussen said he can use his skills and knowledge to benefit District 4 and the rest of the county.
What’s been the reaction to his announcement?
“So far, everything I’ve gotten has been positive reaction and support,” he said.
Those congratulating him on his Facebook announcement included retired Sheriff Brian Martin, Chief Probation Officer Wendy Mondfrans and Greg Folsom, Clearlake’s former city manager who now is city manager of Suisun City.
By seeking to hold elected office, Rasmussen will follow in the footsteps of another Lakeport Police chief who also was his mentor — Tom Engstrom.
Engstrom, who retired in 2005 after 11 years at top cop in Lakeport, served one term on the Lakeport City Council from 2010 to 2014.
Rasmussen’s late father-in-law, Arlin Pischke, also held elected office, serving on the Lakeport City Council from 1982 to 1990, serving twice as Lakeport’s mayor.
In 1984 Pischke ran for the District 4 supervisorial seat amidst a large field but lost to Karan Mackey, who held the seat for 16 years.
Rasmussen’s Facebook post from Tuesday morning is published below in its entirety.
Dear Fellow Citizens of District 4 in Lake County, CA,
I am writing to announce my intent to run for the position of District 4 Supervisor in the 2024 election. I am excited about the opportunity to serve my community and represent the interests of the residents of District 4.
As a longtime resident of Lake County, I have a deep commitment to our community and its future. I believe that my experience, qualifications, and dedication make me the ideal candidate for this important role.
Over the years, I have worked tirelessly to improve our community and enhance the quality of life for all residents. In addition to over three decades in local government I have served on various local organizations and nonprofit groups including Kiwanis and Lions Clubs.
If elected as your District 4 Supervisor, I will bring this same level of commitment and dedication to the job. My top priorities will include promoting economic growth and development, protecting our natural resources, improving our schools, and ensuring that our local government is transparent and accountable to the people it serves.
I believe that by working together, we can achieve great things for our community. I am committed to listening to your concerns, representing your interests, and working hard to make District 4 an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.
I am honored to currently work as Lakeport’s Chief of Police. As I near retirement, this position provides the perfect opportunity to continue to serve our community.
I hope to earn your support in the upcoming election. Thank you to my family and community members who have encouraged me to run.
Sincerely, Brad Rasmussen
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Kusum Mundra, Rutgers University - Newark and Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere, Agnes Scott College
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The big idea
People of Asian descent living in the U.S. experienced an increase in housing vulnerability in 2021 – as measured by the share who said they had fallen behind on their rent or mortgage payments – even as the government spent over US$5 trillion trying to relieve the COVID-19 pandemic’s burden on Americans. Meanwhile, housing vulnerability among white people, Black people and Hispanic people all fell during this period.
These are the main findings of our recent working paper that examined housing vulnerability during the pandemic.
The massive upheaval sparked by the pandemic in early 2020 put millions out of work and made it harder for many people to afford basic necessities like rent amid government-imposed lockdowns. In December 2020, over 2 million homeowners were more than three months behind on their mortgage payment, and 8 million renters were behind on their rent, according to a March 2021 Consumer Finance Bureau report.
We wanted to better understand what was driving this degree of housing vulnerability, how that changed during the pandemic and across ethnic groups, and how it differed between renters and homeowners. To find out, we examined data from the Census Household Pulse Survey, which has sought to quickly measure the social and economic toll from the pandemic in frequent surveys, for three different periods: April/May 2020, April/May 2021 and April/May 2022.
We found that housing vulnerability was high for all groups in early 2020 as the first financial shock of the pandemic struck, though people of color and renters were especially hard hit.
Among homeowners, the overall share of people who said they were not caught up on their mortgage payments was elevated in 2020 but declined in 2021 as government aid helped relieve household hardships. An exception was for homeowners of Asian descent, who reported even higher levels of housing vulnerability in 2021 – and more than any other group. By 2022, housing vulnerability had come down for all groups.
The picture was much worse for renters. About 25% of Black renters reported being behind on rent in 2020, compared with 18% for Hispanic respondents and 9.5% for Asians. While the figure fell slightly in 2021 for Black people and Hispanics, the share soared for Asians to 17.1%. The figures stayed elevated in the double-digits for all groups except for white people in early 2022.
An additional econometric analysis we conducted, which adjusted the data for levels of education, income levels and other factors, confirmed our results.
Why it matters
Housing vulnerability is an important measure to look at because it signals someone may be at risk of losing their home, whether they’re an owner or a renter. In addition, research shows there’s a link between housing vulnerability and other negative health outcomes, such as higher stress levels and mental distress.
Our own research uncovered disparities in how different groups experienced this vulnerability during the pandemic, when the government was spending trillions to support families and businesses. It suggests some groups benefited more than others from these relief efforts.
What still isn’t known
Our study didn’t reveal why Asian housing vulnerability increased from 2020 to 2021 and why this group of people didn’t seem to benefit as much from the federal aid as other groups did.
An August 2020 McKinsey report suggested aid to Asian small businesses would likely lag behind other groups due to language barriers or a lack of understanding of the system. The same thing might be true for aid to households as well.
What’s next
In our future research, we plan to investigate what factors contributed to the rise in housing vulnerability among Asians relative to other groups. We believe it’s important for policymakers to examine these issues in hopes of making future aid programs more equitable.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has six new cats cleared for new homes this week.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm for information on visiting or adopting.
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
This 5-month-old male domestic shorthair kitten is in cat room kennel No. A13a, ID No. LCAC-A-4824. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic shorthair kitten
This 5-month-old male domestic shorthair kitten has an orange tabby coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. A13a, ID No. LCAC-A-4824.
This 5-month-old male domestic shorthair kitten is in cat room kennel No. A13b, ID No. LCAC-A-4825. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic shorthair kitten
This 5-month-old male domestic shorthair kitten has an orange tabby coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. A13b, ID No. LCAC-A-4825.
This 5-month-old male domestic shorthair kitten is in cat room kennel No. A13c, ID No. LCAC-A-4826. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic shorthair kitten
This 5-month-old male domestic shorthair kitten has an orange tabby coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. A13c, ID No. LCAC-A-4826.
This 5-month-old female domestic shorthair kitten is in cat room kennel No. 56, ID No. LCAC-A-4827. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic shorthair kitten
This 5-month-old female domestic shorthair kitten has a gray tabby coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 56, ID No. LCAC-A-4827.
“Boots” is a 1 and a half year old male domestic shorthair in cat room kennel No. 118, ID No. LCAC-A-4831. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Boots’
“Boots” is a 1 and a half year old male domestic shorthair with gray and white coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 118, ID No. LCAC-A-4831.
“Prince” is a 1 and a half year old male domestic shorthair in cat room kennel No. 118, ID No. LCAC-A-4833. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Prince’
“Prince” is a 1 and a half year old male domestic shorthair with black and white coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 118, ID No. LCAC-A-4833.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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