Saturday, 09 November 2024

News

LAKE COUNTY – With the construction season in full swing, the Lake County Public Works Road Division and its contractors are working on projects around the county, including a list of storm damage repairs now nearing completion.


Two major projects currently are taking place on Soda Bay Road, including a stimulus-funded overlay project and storm damage repair, according to Road Superintendent Steve Stangland.


The $800,000 overlay project started a few weeks ago and is set to wrap up next week, Stangland said.


Thanks to highly competitive bids, the county was able to extend the project – which originally was supposed to reach down Highway 281 to just past Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa – all the way to the Riviera West entrance, Stangland said.


Also under way is a storm damage repair project in the area of Ferndale Resort on Soda Bay Road. Stangland said that project should wrap up this week.


A slide necessitated the repairs. Stangland explained that a gravity wall made of huge blocks is being installed to repair the slide, along with associated earth work at a total cost of about $340,000.


Another project set to start this summer involves realignment of a portion of Soda Bay Road from Big Valley Road to Mission Rancheria Road, which the Big Valley Rancheria and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are paying for and for which Stangland didn't have a cost figure immediately available.


“We're still trying to get the storm damage projects out,” said Stangland.


He explained that a department list of storm damage projects, compiled in 2006, had 125 projects at a total cost of just over $12 million.


Stangland said the projects came from two declared disasters – a period of stormy weather in December 2005 and January 2006, and another period of extended rain this past February.


“That's when a lot of things started showing up,” he said.


The projects range in size from as little as $1,000 of repair all the way up to a $3.5 million project on Morgan Valley Road near Lower Lake, which requires fixing a 160-lineal-foot slipout on the road's downhill side, Stangland said.


That latter project will get done, but Stangland isn't sure of the time frame, as it's still in a final approval process with the federal government, which is providing funding.


“We're going to do all of them,” Stangland said of the 125 projects.


Despite some setbacks and deadline adjustments, the road division is down to about the last 20 projects on the list. “We hope to have them all done by the summer of 2011,” Stangland said.


A $900,000 storm damage repair project on Sulphur Bank Road in Clearlake Oaks was recently completed, and another $86,000 project on Scotts Valley Road is set to start soon, Stangland said.


Other storm-related projects on the drawing board include $100,000 in repairs on Highland Springs Road and $200,000 for culvert replacement and slide repairs on Elk Mountain Road toward Lake Pillsbury, he said.


This summer another stimulus project will take place, this time on Lakeshore Boulevard in north Lakeport, Stangland said. Contractor North Bay Construction will widen the road shoulders and install bike lanes.


So far, even with all the projects going, the road division is able to get the asphalt it needs, which wasn't the case two summers ago when there was a run on available asphalt in the area, he said.


“We're optimistic,” Stangland added.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California late Wednesday afternoon.


The quake occurred at 4:53 p.m., and was centered 15 miles north northwest of Borrego Springs and 30 miles south of Palm Springs, according to the US Geological Survey. It was recorded at a depth of 7.3 miles.


The 5.4 quake was immediately followed by a 3.6-magnitude quake six miles northwest of Anza and 15 miles southwest of Palm Springs, with the survey reporting that dozens more smaller aftershocks followed, including five quakes measuring between 3.0 and 3.3.


Throughout the afternoon and early evening the US Geological Survey received thousands of shake reports from more than 500 zip codes around California, Nevada and Arizona, with reports also coming from Mexico.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

Unemployment nationwide edged downward from 9.7 percent in May to 9.5 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, but there are concerns that those numbers improved because of people dropping out of the job search, not an improving economy.


Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 125,000 in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The decline in payroll employment reflected a decrease of 225,000 in the number of temporary employees working on Census 2010. Private-sector payroll employment edged up by 83,000.


In California, the latest employment information, for the month of May, put the state's unemployment at 12.4 percent, as Lake County News reported late last month.


Both the number of unemployed persons nationwide, at 14.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 9.5 percent, edged down in June.


Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult women (7.8 percent) declined, while the rates for adult men (9.9 percent), teenagers (25.7 percent), whites (8.6 percent), blacks (15.4 percent), and Hispanics (12.4 percent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted.


In June, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was unchanged at 6.8 million. These individuals made up 45.5 percent of unemployed persons.


The civilian labor force participation rate fell by 0.3 percentage point in June to 64.7 percent. The employment-population ratio, at 58.5 percent, edged down over the month.


The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons (some-times referred to as involuntary part-time workers), at 8.6 million, was little changed over the month but was down by 525,000 over the past 2 months. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.


In June, about 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, an increase of 415,000 from a year earlier. These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed

because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.


Among the marginally attached, there were 1.2 million discouraged workers in June, up by 414,000 from a year earlier. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.


The remaining 1.4 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.


Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 125,000 in June, reflecting the departure of 225,000 temporary Census 2010 workers from federal government payrolls. Total private employment edged up over the month by 83,000 due to modest increases in several industries.


So far this year, private-sector employment has increased by 593,000 but in June was 7.9 million below its December 2007 level.


Within leisure and hospitality, employment rose over the month by 28,000 in amusements, gambling, and recreation.


Within professional and business services, employment continued to increase, by 21,000 jobs, in temporary help services. Employment in temporary help has risen by 379,000 since a recent low in September 2009. Elsewhere in professional and business services, management and technical consulting (+11,000) and business support services (+7,000) also added jobs over the month.


In June, transportation and warehousing added 15,000 jobs. Since a recent low in February, this industry has added 44,000 jobs.


Health care employment edged up in June (+9,000). Over the past 12 months, the industry has gained 217,000 jobs.


Mining employment continued to trend up in June (+6,000); the industry has gained 56,000 jobs since October 2009. Within mining, support activities added 7,000 jobs in June.


Manufacturing employment continued to trend up over the month (+9,000). The industry has added 136,000 jobs since December 2009.


Construction employment decreased by 22,000 in June, with the largest decline in nonresidential specialty trade contracting. On net, construction employment has shown little change over the last 4 months.


Employment in other private-sector industries, including wholesale trade, retail trade, information, and financial activities showed little change in June.


Government employment fell by 208,000 in June, driven by the loss of 225,000 temporary workers hired for Census 2010. Employment in both state and local governments was little changed over the month.


In June, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 34.1 hours. The manufacturing workweek for all employees decreased by 0.5 hour to 40.0 hours; this followed an increase of 0.4 hour in May. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.4 hours in June.


Average hourly earnings of all employees in the private nonfarm sector decreased by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $22.53 in June. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.7 percent. In June, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged at $19.00.


The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for April was revised from +290,000 to +313,000, and the change for May was revised from +431,000 to +433,000.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LAKEPORT – Officials on Wednesday were looking for a teenager who ran away after being taken to the hospital from juvenile hall for a medical evaluation.


The 15-year-old male was reported to have run away from Sutter Lakeside Hospital shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to Chief Deputy Probation Officer Dean Thornquist.


Thornquist said the teen, who was in juvenile hall for a probation violation, had attempted suicide on Tuesday night but was intercepted by juvenile hall staff.


He was then taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for medical clearance and was found to be in good physical health. The boy was then detained by Lake County Mental Health for a 72-hour treatment and evaluation before he ran away, Thornquist said.


Lake County Mental Health Director Kristy Kelly confirmed Wednesday, “We do have a report of someone from juvenile hall leaving the emergency room pending transportation for placement.”


She added, “My understanding is that law enforcement is trying to locate this person.”


Thornquist said mental health officials notified juvenile hall that the minor ran away from the hospital.


“We've sent out a pickup order,” which will notify local law enforcement to the teen's wanted status, Thornquist said.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LAKE COUNTY – A Maxwell woman who was reported missing after leaving for a hike in Lake County Monday night has been found safe.


Kathy Jones, 57, was found unharmed but thirsty shortly before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday after Lake County Sheriff's deputies and Cal Fire personnel launched a search for her, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.


Bauman said that shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday Jones' husband reported that she had not returned from a hike that she'd left to take the evening before.


Jones reportedly left her Maxwell home at about 5:30 p.m. Monday to go for a hike in the Wilbur Springs area of Lake County, near Highway 20 about two miles from the Colusa County line, but had failed to return, Bauman reported.


When deputies responded on Tuesday morning to the area where Jones was reported to have gone hiking, Bauman said they found her vehicle parked and unoccupied off of the highway in the area of the Lake/Colusa County line.


Bauman said one of the sheriff’s Search and Rescue coordinators, who happened to be working a regular patrol shift at the time, responded to the area and began coordinating other resources from Cal Fire to assist with the search for Jones.


Deputies teamed up with Cal Fire personnel to start a ground search of the area while a Cal Fire helicopter dispatched out of Boggs Forest began searching from the air, according to Bauman's reported.


At about 7:20 a.m. Jones was located by the Cal Fire helicopter in the wilderness. Bauman said she was was loaded into the helicopter and transported to a field command post in the Wilbur Hot Springs area where she met with deputies.


Bauman said Jones told deputies that she and her husband often hiked in the area together but she was unaccustomed to hiking in the dark.


On Monday evening she decided to do a solo hike so she drove to the area and parked her car off of the highway. Bauman said she reported hiking into the wilderness on a fire road but as darkness fell, she became disoriented and her cell phone battery died.


Jones was equipped with a flashlight and GPS device but as night came, she decided to bed down with a space blanket she had and wait for morning to proceed any further, Bauman said.


On Tuesday morning, Bauman said Jones started looking for access back to the highway and then when she heard the Cal Fire helicopter flying overhead in the area, she suspected they were looking for her and managed to flag the aircraft down.


Bauman said Jones was transported by ground back to her car on the highway and after ensuring her condition was satisfactory, she was released to return to her Maxwell home on her own.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LAKE COUNTY – The sixth-annual Lake County Wine Adventure, a two-day passport event, will be held July 24 and 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.


This year's Lake County Wine Adventure is once again being hosted by the Lake County Winery Association.


Adventurous wine enthusiasts will have an opportunity to discover the “new” wine country and taste the reason why Lake County – with a grape-growing history that extends back to the mid-19th century – is fast becoming known for its award-winning wines, ultra-premium winegrapes, resort-style wineries and friendly tasting rooms.


Throughout the weekend, “wine adventurers” will taste wines from five of Lake County's six distinct viticulture areas (AVAs) as they visit participating wineries.


Wineries taking part include Ceago Vinegarden and Tulip Hill Winery in Nice; Brassfield Estate Winery, Shannon Ridge Winery, High Valley Estate Vineyards, and Noggle Vineyards & Winery in Clearlake Oaks; Villa La Brenta in Clearlake; Gregory Graham Winery, Ployez Winery, Hawk and Horse Vineyards, and Six Sigma Ranch in Lower Lake; Langtry Estate & Vineyards and Off the Vine at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown; Moore Family Winery on Cobb Mountain;Cougar's Leap Winery, Kelseyville Wine Co., Shed Horn Cellars, Mt. Konocti Growers, Bell Hill Vineyards, Rosa d'Oro Vineyards, Steele Wines, and Wildhurst Vineyards in Kelseyville; Sol Rouge Wines will be offered at the Lake County Wine Studio in Upper Lake and Robledo Family Winery will be pouring at their brand new tasting site located on Soda Bay Road in Lakeport.


Adventure tickets can be purchased online at www.lakecountywineries.org for $35 each plus a small handling fee through July 15. Tickets also are available at every participating winery on the day of the event for $40 each.


Each ticket is good for two days of activities and entitles the holder to wine tastings and hors d'oeuvres at each winery, a logo wine glass, a tasting booklet and a reusable wine tote.


Several wineries also offer barrel tastings, winery tours, art exhibits and entertainment.


Event-goers will be entered into a raffle drawing when they leave their completed adventure tickets with the last winery they visit. The grand prize features a cellar collection of premium wines from each participating Lake County winery.


Event organizers promote responsible hospitality and encourage all participants to designate a driver.


Designated drivers are invited to enjoy non-alcoholic drinks, food, and entertainment free of charge at each site compliments of the Lake County Winery Association. Designated drivers also can turn in their special button to be eligible for some fun Lake County prizes.


For more information, call 800-595-WINE (9463), 707-355-2762, or visit www.lakecountywineries.org.


Lake County is part of the North Coast AVA, which also encompasses Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Within Lake County, five other AVAs exist — Clear Lake AVA, Benmore Valley AVA, Guenoc AVA, Red Hills AVA and High Valley AVA.


For visitor information, contact the Lake County Visitor Information Center at 800-525-3743 or www.lakecounty.com.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – A team of law enforcement officials seized approximately 17,978 illegally grown marijuana plants in the Mendocino National Forest during a two-day operation, according to a Wednesday report.


The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Eradication Team (MET) operation took the plants from three separate grow sites, according to Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones.


Jones said MET, assisted by the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) and members of the US Forest Services Law Enforcement Branch, took 3,894 plants in the Twin Rocks area, 11,881 from the Heifer Ridge area and another 2,203 plants from the Freshwater Drainage.


Potential street value of these plants, if allowed to grow to maturity and processed for sales, would exceed $70 million, according to Jones.


All grows were consistent with those of large drug trafficking organizations, Jones said.


The grow site complexes were discovered during aerial reconnaissance flights. Jones said some grows were found three and a half miles from forest roads but near good water sources within the national forest.


Camps were found at the sites, however, Jones said the growers had fled the areas prior to entrance by law enforcement.


Clean up of the grows will be supervised by the US Forest Service, Jones said.


Jones urged anyone with information regarding these, or other marijuana plantations on public lands, to contact their local law enforcement agency.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LAKE COUNTY – With thousands of people out enjoying the July 4 holiday celebration, local law enforcement reported that, overall, it was a mild weekend with no serious incidents.


In Clearlake, holiday festivities took place on Saturday, with visitors and residents alike crowding into the city.


Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain said the parade, daylong events and firework in the evening went smoothly.


“Everything was fairly quiet for us this weekend,” he said, adding, “We had a lot of people in town.”


Across the lake, Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke estimated that the crowd was slightly smaller this year, but still large for the city.


He said it was pretty “mellow,” with several police units on patrol during the Sunday events.


“We had one fight at the park itself fairly early on, resulting in one arrest,” he said, and there were a few loud parties here and there which had to be dispersed.


“We did have a lot of intoxicated people in town,” he said, but the good news was that police made contact with many designated drivers who were helping keep drunk drivers off the roads.


The big concern came when wiring problems delayed and then caused gaps in the city's annual fireworks display Sunday evening.


“We were getting a little concerned because people were starting to definitely get upset that the fireworks show wasn't starting,” he said.


Burke added that for the most part the crowd remained calm and didn't cause any problems.


However, he said the police department's phone was ringing off the hook with questions from people wanting to know what was up with the fireworks display.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

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LAKE COUNTY – Another July 4 holiday came and went this past weekend, marked by parades, barbecues and fireworks.


Fireworks displays ringed the lake over the weekend, extending from Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks to Nice and Lakeport.


On Sunday evening, Lucerne photographer Ron Keas captured these photos, taken of Lakeport's display from the vantage point of Library Park.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

 

 

 

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Sonoma Valley Health Care District announced this week that it has hired Kelly Mather as president and chief executive officer of Sonoma Valley Hospital.


Mather is the former CEO of Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport. She's also the author of six books on health and wellness, and developer of a healing model for hospitals.


She will begin work as CEO of Sonoma Valley Hospital on July 19.

 

“Kelly was quickly perceived by both the search committee and by the district board as a courageous and decisive executive,” said Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board Chair Bill Boerum. “She embodies the mission of the district ‘to maintain, improve, and restore the health of everyone in our community.’ We believe Kelly will be a transformational presence and leader.”

 

Mather was named Sutter Lakeside's CEO in 2001. During that time she transitioned the hospital to the critical access hospital designation, with a maximum of 25 beds.


She left in 2008, when she founded Harmony Healing House, an education and consultancy organization devoted to the concept hospitals offering four levels of healing – traditional hospital care, staff wellness, health awareness education in a healing environment and community outreach.


Mather recently completed a successful 18-month pilot of her healing hospital model at Mendocino District Hospital.


An avid writer, lover of nature and yoga practitioner, Mather is married and the mother of three children, ages 10, 12 and 15. The family currently lives in Lake County but plans to move to Sonoma.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LAKEPORT – A wiring issue is the reported cause of problems that led to delays and gaps in Lakeport's July 4 fireworks display.


The decades-old Lakeport fireworks display, which can be seen across the lake on the Northshore, got started late and then ran into problems Sunday night, according to Lake County Chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton.


The show, which had been scheduled to start at around 9:30 p.m. following the daylong Lakeport celebration, got started late, Fulton said.


At around 10 p.m. the fireworks started to go off – set of from four chamber-owned barges purchased several years ago for that purpose – and continued for about 10 minutes, said Fulton.


“Then there was a long pause,” she said.


Pyro Spectaculars, which Fulton said has done Lakeport's fireworks for more than 20 years, continued trying to work out the problems. Eventually, the show continued, finally ending at about 10:40 p.m.


When company technician Howard Main got back to shore, Fulton said he took full responsibility, explaining that the wiring hadn't been done correctly.


This is the first time in 20 years that there has been any problem, Fulton said.


The company's technicians started setting up the framework to hold the shells on the chamber barges at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, she said.


The process, she said, takes approximately eight hours to complete – with technicians working in the extreme heat – and is a difficult and dangerous operation.


Fulton reported that Main was extremely apologetic about the issues.


She said the chamber wanted to thank the community members, visitors and businesses who once again contributed to the display both through direct donations and the annual “Add A Dollar” campaign to pay for the display. As of the chamber's last report last week, it had raised $4,362 through a letter to members.


Fulton also thanked the city of Lakeport, which signed the contract for the display. She said the city deserved credit for helping to keep this American tradition alive and well locally.


“Notwithstanding the technical problems, the city, the chamber and everyone who contributed to the fundraising should be congratulated for their community support,” she said.


Fulton pointed out that many communities, some far larger than Lakeport, have canceled their fireworks displays due to budget issues.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

THE GEYSERS – A 3.3-magnitude earthquake was reported early Sunday morning at The Geysers geothermal steamfield.


The quake, originally reported at a magnitude of 3.1, occurred at 2:07 a.m., according to the US Geological Survey.


It was centered immediately at The Geysers, five miles southwest of Cobb and six miles west of Anderson Springs, at a depth of 2.1 miles, the agency reported.


The US Geological Survey received 11 shake reports from nine zip codes, including Kelseyville, Middletown, Windsor, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Napa, Union City, San Francisco and South San Francisco.


A 3.2-magnitude temblor was reported at The Geysers on June 22, as Lake County News has reported.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

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