LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The National Weather Services says an incoming cold front is expected to bring rain, high winds and cooler temperatures to Lake County and the rest of the North Coast.
The forecast calls for the main impacts to occur on Friday and Saturday, however, there are chances of rain until late next week.
The Lake County forecast anticipates close to an inch of rain on Friday and another half-inch on Saturday.
The rain will be coupled with high winds. Gusts topping 20 miles per hour are expected both days.
Forecasters said snow levels will remain above the 5,000-foot elevation mark on Friday, but could fall to lower levels on Saturday.
At the same time, the Sierras are forecast to get snow and a winter storm warning and winter weather advisory have been issued for eastern California.
After several days of warm and sunny weather, Lake County’s temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s during the day and low 40s at night into early next week, with nighttime temperatures set to drop into the 30s the middle of next week.
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.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — A Lakeport man has been taken into custody following a four-hour standoff with police who were responding to a domestic violence case.
Patrick James Davies, 35, was arrested Wednesday night, the Lakeport Police Department reported.
At 4:30 p.m. Wednesday Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 900 block of 11th Street to investigate the report of a disturbance, police said.
After arriving at the residence, officers located an adult female subject who had visible injuries and determined that she had been the victim of domestic violence.
Police said the woman was safely removed from the residence by officers and taken to the hospital by the agency’s Lake Family Resource Center crisis responder.
Officers also located an adult male at the scene and identified him as Davies, police said.
The officers attempted to detain Davies at the door, but he resisted and assaulted two officers, causing minor injuries to both, before fleeing into the house. Police said officers deployed a taser during the contact, but it was not effective.
Six additional officers responded and began negotiating with Davies to surrender. To protect the safety of the officers and community, police said the westbound lane of 11th Street between Mellor Drive and Safeway was closed, and traffic controls were put in place by Lakeport Public Works.
Additionally, the Lakeport Fire Protection District was called and sent a fire engine and ambulance to the scene to standby. Lake County Behavioral Health licensed clinical social workers also responded to assist police with negotiations.
At approximately 8:42 p.m. Wednesday, Davies peacefully surrendered to Lakeport Police officers and was taken into custody.
He was arrested and transported to the Lake County Correctional Facility and booked for felony domestic violence, felony resisting with violence, felony terrorist threats, committing a felony while on bail for a previous felony, felony assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest.
Davies was previously arrested by Lakeport Police on March 4 for felony domestic violence, felony false imprisonment, felony battery with injuries and felony assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on bail for those charges, police said.
Due to the repeated crimes and violence, officers sought a bail enhancement from a Lake County Superior Court judge. The bail on this current arrest was set at $500,000.
Jail records show Davies is set to be arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Friday.
Traffic controls on 11th Street were removed at approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County’s newest park project in Cobb has received a grant from the state.
The California State Parks announced the selection of 19 local projects that will receive grants totaling $6.7 million from the California Habitat Conservation Fund Grant Program.
California State Parks said the grants will help local agencies with the protection, restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat to maintain California’s quality of life.
Since 1990, approximately $84 million has been allocated to habitat conservation projects throughout California, California State Parks reported.
This latest round of grants includes $207,500 to go toward the acquisition of the new 13-acre park at 16540 State Highway 175 in Cobb.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors, which approved pursuing the park purchase in February 2023, unanimously approved purchasing the property for the new park for $300,000 at its Feb. 27 meeting. Board Chair Bruno Sabatier called the purchase a “milestone.”
That’s because Public Services Director Lars Ewing said the Cobb area is one of the few, if not the only, general plan areas in Lake County without a community park.
“We’re very excited about the project and very excited for the residents of the county and we’re looking forward to a successful project being developed there,” said Sedrick Mitchell, State Parks’ deputy director for community engagement.
Deputy Public Services Director Kati Galvani told Lake County News that the county applied for a second grant, that one from the state’s Land and Water Conservation Fund, at the same time but that it may not be able to accept due to more stringent timelines.
Galvani said Public Services initially had planned to use both grants to complement each other, but the seller wasn’t able to wait until 2025, which is what the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant would have required.
“Protecting California’s biodiversity is critical as approximately 40% of the estimated 5,500 plant species found in this state are found nowhere else on Earth,” said State Parks Director Armando Quintero in a Monday statement. “With funding from the California Habitat Conservation Fund, local, state and nonprofit organizations can work toward California’s 30x30 initiative that seeks to protect and restore biodiversity, expand public access to nature, and mitigate and build resilience to climate change.”
State Parks’ Office of Grant and Local Services, or OGALS, conducted a competitive review process which is funded by the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990, or Proposition 117.
The state said the Prop 17 grant program includes seven subcategories: Deer and mountain habitat; wetlands; trail; riparian habitat; wildlife area activities; rare, endangered, threatened, or fully protected species habitat; and anadromous salmonids and trout habitat.
OGALS develops grant programs to provide funding statewide for local, state, and nonprofit organization projects. Since 1964, more than 7,400 local parks throughout California have been created or improved through OGALS’ grant funding. Since 2000, OGALS has administered over $3.8 billion in grant funding throughout California.
The full list of grants follows.
ALAMEDA COUNTY
Riparian habitat
Hayward: Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, Sulphur Creek Restoration at D and Clay Park, $597,000. Restore a riparian habitat on 4.25 acres by managing non-invasive plants, cleaning the site and creek, installing habitat enhancement features, stabilizing the creek bank, carrying out riparian plantings and re-vegetation.
Wildlife area activities
Oakland: City of Oakland Department of Parks and Recreation and Youth Development, Welcome to Wildlife: Oakland Youth Outdoors, $200,000. Expand the Welcome to Wildlife: Oakland Youth Outdoor program in Peralta Hacienda Historical Park. Educate participating youth on the East Bay’s flora, fauna, concept of ecological change, wildlife and habitats, connection to the natural world, and introduce them to the region’s parks.
HUMBOLDT COUNTY
Wildlife area activities
Eureka: City of Eureka, Camp Cooper Environment Education Camp, $126,257. Provide an eight-week Outdoor Environmental Education Summer Camp with an emphasis on environmental stewardship, wildlife habitats, conservation, and interpretation for youth ages 5-12 over a four-year period at Cooper Gulch Park.
Trails
Fortuna: City of Fortuna, Vancil Community Forest, $171,000. Acquire approximately 6.25 acres to link together Rohner Park and Vancil Reservoir to create a contiguous forested area with trails.
LAKE COUNTY
Trails
Cobb: County of Lake, Cobb Community Park and Trail, $207,500. Acquire approximately 12.88 acres to create the new Cobb Community Park with a defined trail system.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Wildlife area activities
Glendale: City of Glendale, Nature Education Program, $336,250. Provide a weekly outdoor education program during summer months and school breaks.
Trails
San Pedro: County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, Friendship Park Trail Enhancements and Signage Project, $200,000: Construct 1,160 linear feet of new trail, improve 950 linear feet of an existing ADA trail, decommission multiple user-created trails throughout the park, and install interpretive signage and trail counters within Friendship Park.
ORANGE COUNTY
Trails
Huntington Beach: City of Huntington Beach, Shipley Nature Trail Restoration Project, $383,309. Create 850 feet of new trail to complete a loop trail and construct new interpretive signage.
PLACER COUNTY
Trails
Tahoe Vista: North Tahoe Public Utilities District, North Tahoe Trail Access Improvement Project, $1,029,005. Construction of one-quarter mile of trail with stairway to extend the Pam Emmerich Memorial Pinedrop Trail.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Trails
Moreno Valley: City of Moreno Valley, Equestrian Park & Nature Center Trail Enhancements, $122,500: Renovate 750 linear feet of trails, construct two new restrooms, and install solar lighting, informational kiosks, horse troughs, seating areas, and a shade structure with seating area.
Wildlife area activities
Riverside: Riverside County Regional Park and Open Space, Knee High Naturalists, $184,552: Provide a series of parent and toddler environmental education classes to showcase the natural wonders within Hidden Valley Wildlife Area.
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
Trails
Carpinteria: City of Carpinteria, Carpinteria Bluffs II Trail Segment, $183,438: Construct a new section of 500 linear feet of trail that will extend the Carpinteria Coastal Vista Trail.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
Trails
Rancho Cucamonga: City of Rancho Cucamonga, Cucamonga Canyon Land Conservation, $1,000,000: Acquire 122.09 acres of land at the foothills of the mountains, known as the King Family Trust, for conservation.
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
Wetlands
San Francisco: City and County of San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, India Basin Shoreline Park Living Shoreline, $756,728. Restore and enhance existing wetlands by contouring the shoreline, planting over 13,000 square feet of mid and high marsh zones, and constructing a pedestrian path and overlook bridge that will provide access into the marsh.
Wildlife area activities
San Francisco: City and County of San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, Greenager Program, $200,000. Engage teens from underserved communities in the southeast and northeast sections of San Francisco with service-learning projects through the city’s parks and wildlife areas, as well as provide opportunities to become stewards and advocates for environmental change.
San Francisco: City and County of San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, Youth Stewardship Program, $200,000. Engage K-12 students in environmental education and service-learning projects throughout San Francisco’s parks and open spaces.
SOLANO COUNTY
Wetlands
Vacaville: City of Vacaville, Peña Adobe Park Pond Restoration, $100,000. Restoration and enhancement of the lining, filtration, and aeration of the pond, enhancing the vegetation, improving the wildlife habitat, and creating access to the pond.
SONOMA COUNTY
Deer and mountain lion habitat
Santa Rosa: County of Sonoma, McCormick Ranch Acquisition Phase 2, $650,000. Acquire approximately 197.52 acres of McCormick Ranch to protect the wildlife corridors and the Columbian black-tailed deer and mountain lion habitats.
Trails
Sonoma: City of Sonoma, Sonoma Overlooks Trail Rehabilitation, $91,634: Renovate the Sonoma Overlook Trail and add retaining walls.
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.
Yihsu Chen, University of California, Santa Cruz and Andrew L. Liu, Purdue University
Small-scale solar power, also known as rooftop or distributed solar, has grown considerably in the U.S. over the past decade. It provides electricity without emitting air pollutants or climate-warming greenhouse gases, and it meets local energy demand without requiring costly investments in transmission and distribution systems.
However, its expansion is making it harder for electric utilities and power grid managers to design fair and efficient retail electricity rates – the prices that households pay.
Under traditional electricity pricing, customers pay one charge per kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption that covers both the energy they use and the fixed costs of maintaining the grid. As more people adopt rooftop solar, they buy less energy from the grid. Fewer customers are left to shoulder utilities’ fixed costs, potentially making power more expensive for everyone.
This trend can drive more customers to leave the system and raise prices further – a scenario known as the utility death spiral. One 2018 study calculated that two-thirds of recent electricity distribution cost increases at California’s three investor-owned utilities were associated with the growth of residential solar.
With abundant sun and solar-friendly policies, California has 36% of U.S. small-scale solar capacity, much more than any other state. And the state is engaged in a heated debate over pricing electricity in ways designed to make energy less expensive for low-income households.
We study energy markets and public policy affecting energy and the environment, and have analyzed various retail electricity rate structures and their economic impacts on power producers and consumers. Our key finding is that an income-based, fixed-charge rate structure of the type that California is currently considering offers the most efficient and equitable solution – if it is designed correctly.
Two-part power bills
The debate over fixed charges began in 2022, when the California Legislature enacted an energy bill that ordered state regulators to study income-based fixed charges and decide whether to adopt them by July 1, 2024. Then the state’s three largest utilities – Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric – submitted a proposal to the state Public Utilities Commission in mid-2023 that would separate retail bills into two parts: a fixed charge and a variable charge.
The fixed charge would be a preset monthly fee, independent of energy usage but tied to income levels, so wealthier customers would pay a larger share of grid maintenance costs. The variable charge would be based on the amount of electricity consumed and would cover the actual costs of electricity production and delivery.
A two-part billing system that separates fixed costs from variable usage charges offers potential benefits for both consumers and utilities.
For utilities, the fixed charge offers a stable revenue stream. The companies know how many households they serve, and they can plan on the fixed amounts that those households will pay each month. Households that go solar would still pay the fixed charge, since most of them draw electricity from the grid when the sun doesn’t shine.
This approach provides financial stability for the utility and access to the grid for all. Consumers would benefit because with a certain amount of income guaranteed, utilities could charge significantly less per kilowatt-hour for the actual electricity that households use.
One significant concern is that if electricity costs less, people may use more of it, which could undermine efforts toward energy conservation and lead to an increase in emissions. In our view, the way to address this risk is by fine-tuning the two-part billing structure so that it covers only a portion of the utilities’ costs through fixed charges and incorporates the rest into the variable usage rates.
Put another way, combining a lower fixed charge with a higher variable charge would ensure that utilities can still cover their fixed costs effectively, while encouraging mindful energy use among consumers. Ensuring affordable electricity for consumers, fair cost recovery for utilities and overall fairness and efficiency in the energy market requires striking a delicate balance.
Another argument from critics, often labeled “energy socialism,” asserts that higher-income households might end up subsidizing excessive electricity use by lower-income households under the income-based rate structure. In our view, this perception is inaccurate.
Wealthy households would pay more to maintain the grid, via larger fixed charges, than poorer households, but would not subsidize lower-income households’ energy use. All income groups would pay the same rate for each additional kilowatt-hour of electricity that they use. Decisions on energy use would remain economically driven, regardless of consumers’ income level.
Fixed fees are too big
While our research supports California utilities’ approach in principle, we believe their proposal has shortcomings – notably in the proposed income brackets.
As currently framed, households with annual incomes between US$28,000 and $69,000 would pay a fixed fee of $20 to $34 per month. Households earning between $69,000 and $180,000 would pay $51 to $73 per month, and those earning more than $180,000 would pay $85 to $128.
The middle-income bracket starts just above California’s median household income. Consequently, nearly half of all California households could find themselves paying a substantial monthly fee – $51 to $73 – regardless of their actual electricity usage.
It could be hard to convince consumers to pay significant fixed fees for intangible services, especially middle-income residents who have either gone solar or may do so. Not surprisingly, the proposal has encountered considerable pushback from the solar industry.
Finding the sweet spot
In response to public outcry, California lawmakers recently introduced Assembly Bill 1999, which would replace the income-graduated fixed-charge requirement with fixed charges of $5 per month for low-income customers and up to $10 per month for others. In our view, this reaction goes too far in the other direction.
Capping fixed charges at such low levels would force utilities to hike their energy use rates to cover fixed costs – again, risking the death spiral scenario. Our research indicates that there is a range for the fixed charge that would cover a reasonable share of utilities’ fixed costs, but is not high enough to burden consumers.
Without utility cost data, we can’t pinpoint this range precisely. However, based on estimates of utilities’ costs, we believe the caps proposed in AB 1999 are too low and could end up unfairly burdening those the bill aims to protect.
In our research, based on a hypothetical case study, we found a sweet spot in which fixed charges cover about 40% of utilities’ fixed costs. Charges at this level provide maximum benefit to consumers, although they reduce energy producers’ profits.
Our findings are similar to an alternative proposal jointly presented by The Utility Reform Network, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. This plan suggests a two-part rate structure with an average fixed charge of about $36 per month. Low-income households would pay $5 per month, and those earning over $150,000 yearly would pay about $62.
We believe this proposal moves in the right direction by ensuring fair contributions to grid costs, while also encouraging efficient energy use and investment in clean energy infrastructure. It could act as a guide for other U.S. states searching for methods to balance utility fixed-cost recovery with fair pricing and continued growth of small-scale solar power.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office continues to whittle away at the number of ballots remaining to be processed for the March 5 presidential primary election.
On Wednesday, the elections office said it still had 5,095 ballots left to process, reduced by about 2,300 ballots since its last report.
The ballots still to be processed include 4,705 vote-by-mail or absentee ballots, 266 provisional or condition ballots, and 124 vote-by-mail ballots that require further review for various reasons, the elections office reported.
Until the 28-day canvass is completed in early April, the elections office said the primary results will not be considered final and official.
Effective this year, AB 63 requires that the elections office update vote results and unprocessed ballot counts at least once per week and post the updated information on its website.
However, the elections office may stop posting results if the only ballots left to count are the ballots for which voters have the opportunity to either verify their signature or provide a signature, or until they certify election results.
For more information, visit the Lake County Registrar of Voters website or call 707-263-2372 OR toll-free at 888-235-6730.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Public Health is raising awareness regarding the concerning increase in rates of Hepatitis C within the community.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV, primarily transmitted through exposure to infected blood.
This increase highlights the importance of education, prevention, and access to testing and treatment services.
Hepatitis C can be transmitted through various means, including sharing needles, syringes, or other drug paraphernalia, needle-stick injuries in health care settings, or through birth from an infected mother.
Less commonly, transmission can occur through sharing personal care items that may have come into contact with infected blood or through unprotected sexual contact, particularly in individuals with HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.
Hepatitis C is a serious health concern that requires immediate attention. It can range from acute to chronic infection, potentially leading to long-term health complications if left untreated.
Therefore, it is crucial for individuals to be aware of the risks, get tested, and seek appropriate care.
Testing for Hepatitis C is recommended for individuals who may have been exposed to the virus, especially those with a history of injection drug use, healthcare workers at risk of needle-stick injuries, or individuals born to mothers with Hepatitis C.
Early detection allows for timely intervention and treatment, which can significantly improve health outcomes.
If you test positive for Hepatitis C, it's important to contact your doctor promptly. Additional testing may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis and assess the extent of liver damage.
Fortunately, Hepatitis C can now be cured for most people in as little as 8 to 12 weeks with minimal side effects.
National guidelines recommend treatment for nearly everyone diagnosed with Hepatitis C, regardless of drug use or recovery status.
Treatment not only cures the infection but also reduces the risk of transmission to others.
Lake County Public Health encourages community members to prioritize their health by seeking testing and, if necessary, treatment for Hepatitis C.
Furthermore, individuals are urged to adopt preventive measures, such as practicing safe injection practices, using barrier methods during sexual activity, and avoiding sharing personal care items that may carry bloodborne pathogens.
For more information on Hepatitis C testing, treatment, and prevention resources, please contact Lake County Public Health at 707-263-1090.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has dozens of adoptable dogs waiting for new families.
The Clearlake Animal Control website lists 51 adoptable dogs.
This week’s dogs include “Layla,” a female American Staffordshire terrier mix with a black and white coat.
Also up for adoptin is “Chandler,” a 6-month-old male American pit bull terrier mix with a white and fawn coat.
The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.
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.
A new report gives a picture of the state’s resources as it faces a budget shortfall.
State Controller Malia M. Cohen has issued the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, or ACFR, for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, showing General Fund revenues of $199.2 billion, a $2.2 billion or 1.1 percent increase compared to the prior year.
General Fund revenues from personal income taxes were $123.3 billion, a $6.2 billion or 4.8 percent decrease from prior fiscal year revenues.
General Fund revenues from sales and use taxes of $32.8 billion increased by nearly $3.7 billion, or 12.6 percent from the prior year, primarily due to the rebound of retail sales activities in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Corporation taxes were $35.8 billion and increased by nearly $3.7 billion, or 11.5 percent from the prior year, due to a continued growth in retail sales and investments consistent with the prior year’s upsurge.
The state ended the fiscal year with a $74 billion General Fund balance, a $98 million decrease from the prior year’s ending fund balance.
This balance included $20.3 billion restricted for budget stabilization if the governor must declare a budget emergency during an economic crisis.
The state’s general revenues increased by $6.6 billion, or 2.9 percent, over the prior year. For the fiscal year, the state’s revenue exceeded expenses by $18.8 billion for governmental activities.
California had a net pension liability of $47.9 billion as of June 30, 2022 for governmental activities. The state had nearly $239.7 billion in total long-term obligations including bonds, pensions, loans, and leases.
This is the fifth consecutive ACFR that has been published late due to ongoing challenges in receiving financial statements from state departments and audited opinions from the California State Auditor.
The California State Auditor issued modified opinions on several components of the state’s basic financial statements because of these ongoing challenges.
Thanks to resources made available by the Legislature and Governor in the 2023-24 Budget, the State Controller’s Office is aggressively working toward its goal of publishing an on-time fiscal 2024-25 ACFR by March 2026.
The State Controller’s Office has moved quickly to permanently hire 13 new staff members with more in progress, bring in consultants, address technology needs, improve business processes, and compile resources that will assist departments with quickly responding to and resolving accounting issues.
“As my office continues to make meaningful progress toward restoring the timely issuance of this critical report, I remain grateful for the collaboration and support of the Legislature, the Governor’s administration and state department leaders, and control agencies in this effort,” said Controller Cohen.
The ACFR is prepared by the Controller’s team each year, adheres to generally accepted accounting principles and follows guidance from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, or GASB.
Independently audited by the California State Auditor, the ACFR allows for apples-to-apples comparisons between entities and provides valuable financial information to the public, financial experts, and investors.
As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The controller has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds.
People with dementia and those who care for them should be screened for loneliness, so providers can find ways to keep them socially connected, according to experts at UC San Francisco and Harvard, who made the recommendations after finding that both groups experienced declines in social well-being as the disease progressed.
The patients, whose average age in the study was 80, had lost their social networks as their failing memories made conversation difficult, and their family and friends grew uncomfortable.
Caregivers, whose average age was 67 and included spouses, adult children and others, became isolated as their responsibilities mounted. They also grieved the loss of their relationships with the patients when those relationships were good.
“Unmet social needs negatively impact quality of life, and that can lead to health outcomes like depression and cardiovascular disease, as well as high health-care use and early death,” said Ashwin Kotwal, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics, and first author of the study.
“We know from previous research that older adults with higher levels of social isolation have more than double the odds of nursing home placement,” said Kotwal, who is also affiliated with the San Francisco VA Health Medical Center.
The study, which appears in The Gerontologist on March 18, 2024, included information from two dozen mainly male patients with dementia, and four dozen mainly female caregivers, some of whom were recently bereaved.
“Participating in support groups, in which patients and their caregivers can meet separately, may be low-stress places to socialize and get advice,” said Krista Harrison, PhD, of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics, Global Brain Health initiative and Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, the study’s senior author, noting that screenings take minutes and can be done by doctors, social workers or therapists.
“Clinicians should discuss options like community choirs that have been tailored for patients with dementia and their caregivers,” she said. “Prior research shows that meaningful activities can be enjoyed as the disease progresses. There may be simple ways of adapting activities, like switching attendance from a place of worship to participating in a service by Zoom with a small gathering at home.”
The interviews were conducted for two earlier studies: Dementia Palliative Care, led by Harrison, which examined patients with mild-to-moderate dementia and their caregivers; and Music and Dementia Caregiving, led by co-author Theresa Allison, MD, PhD, which looked at patients with any stage of dementia and their live-in caregivers, including those who had the assistance of professional caregivers.
Good relationships have the most to lose
A recent UCSF-led study of married couples, in which one partner had dementia, offered a fresh twist to the current study. The researchers found partners of people with dementia who were highly satisfied with their relationships experienced more loneliness than they had previously.
But those in poor-quality relationships were not impacted by their partner’s dementia, despite having higher rates of depression and loneliness overall.
“People who are really invested in their marriage or partnership have more to lose when one partner develops dementia,” said Kotwal, the study’s senior author. “But those with lower marital quality have already lost the emotional support from the marriage that can be protective against loneliness and depression.”
Co-Authors: Theresa A. Allison, MD, PhD; Madina Halim, BA; Sarah B. Garrett, PhD; Carla M. Perissinotto; and Alexander K. Smith, MD, MPH, all of UCSF, and Christine S. Ritchie, MD, MSPH, of Harvard Medical School.
Suzanne Leigh writes for the University of California, San Francisco.
SACRAMENTO — Lawmakers and tribal advocates on Wednesday questioned the impact of the 1953 Public Law 280, also known as PL 280, that transferred public safety responsibility on tribal lands from the federal government to six states, including California, without reimbursing costs.
In 1968, the law was amended to include limited federal funding for crime victims and court development.
Assembly Select Committee Chair James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Public Safety Committee Chair Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) and their members and tribal leaders participated in the roundtable.
Tribal judicial leaders, and police officials dissected how PL 280 has reduced safety on California’s reservations.
“This law has a wide-ranging impact on Indian Country relating to safety. It’s a law that had more to do with protecting non-Native people from Native Americans than protecting tribal people,” Ramos said.
Carole Goldberg, distinguished research professor of law at University of California, Los Angeles provided an overview of PL 280’s background and impact.
“Public Law 280 has a highly problematic origin story,” Goldberg said. “At the time it was enacted, the federal government was pursuing a policy known as termination, which denied Native nations’ sovereignty, disavowed the federal government’s trust responsibility for safety in tribal communities, and promoted forced assimilation of Native peoples by subjecting them to state law.”
Judge Abby Abinanti of the Yurok Tribal Court said passage of PL 280 was a “joke on all of us.”
The six “mandatory” states under PL 280 include California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Wisconsin and Alaska. Ramos noted that the law has weakened tribal safety and contributed to the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, or MMIP.
“PL 280 has resulted in jurisdictional confusion, lack of trust between tribes and outside law enforcement, and a lack of resources for tribal police and courts,” Ramos said. “There’s a myth out there that all tribes are gambling tribes, but that’s not at all the case. PL 280 states rank higher in the country than other states in the number of their MMIP cases.”
Ramos said input from the roundtable will assist in refining proposed legislation to work around PL 280’s flaws.
Ramos introduced AB 2138 earlier this year which deals with policing on tribal lands. AB 2138 is expected to be heard in April.
Nirav Pandya, University of California, San Francisco
From football to baseball, gymnastics to tennis, more young athletes are becoming sports specialists. They join expensive sports clubs or youth leagues and devote themselves to a single sport all year long. But Nirav Pandya, a professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at the University of California San Francisco, says there are risks when kids specialize, including an increased possibility of injury and a high burnout rate.
The Conversation has collaborated with SciLine to bring you highlights from the discussion, which have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What trends do you see related to kids and sports participation?
Also, in the long term, kids who specialize in a single sport perform less well in that sport and in all sports in general than kids who play more than one. So once again, we’re really hurting kids from multiple different levels if they’re specializing.
What is the relationship between sports specialization and injuries?
Nirav Pandya: There’s a tremendous increase in traumatic injuries. ACL tears used to be something we’d see in 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds. Now, 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds get them. The rate of ACL injuries has gone up 12% over the last decade in this adolescent age group.
Based on my experience as a clinician, kids are also getting overuse injuries like knee pain and shoulder pain from doing too much of the same activity again and again.
Are clubs and leagues costly?
Nirav Pandya: The Aspen Institute has shown that families will spend, on average, about $1,000 per year for these travel or private club sports. That’s a big financial burden for a lot of families.
In addition, the reason why a lot of families are doing this is because they want their kids to get a college scholarship. Colleges are very expensive, and parents think if their child specializes in a sport and plays on these club teams, they can get to that level.
Nirav Pandya: You have one group of kids who have access to sports because their families have the money and those kids are getting injured. And then you have another group of kids whose families don’t have the money to participate, and therefore there isn’t really an outlet for them to be physically active because school funding is going down. Recreational programs don’t exist. So then those kids get the problems of diabetes, obesity and hypertension, and they carry that into adulthood.
What can parents do to ensure their kids have a healthy relationship with sports?
Nirav Pandya: It’s important for parents to understand the data. And that’s our role as physical therapists, athletic trainers and coaches – to understand that data and give it to parents.
I think the second thing is also not to feel the pressure to enter the youth sports complex, a US$15.3 billion industry. Instead, donate to a community organization that is funding recreational sports, or try to push for your school to have those opportunities for your kids.
And finally, if your child is going to be playing travel sports or year-round sports, the parents should look at the websites of the club. Are they promoting kids to be healthy and active in a safe environment, or are they promoting kids to get a scholarship?
SciLine is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.