MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Town Hall will meet this week to get updates on local projects and consider a bylaws amendment.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, 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 659 964 1209. Call in at 669-900-6833.
Speakers scheduled to give presentations at the meeting include Lisa Kaplan, who will discuss the Rabbit Hill water tanks beautification project; Chef Matt Metcalf will speak to the group about the Hidden Valley Lake Greenview Restaurant; and there also will be an update on the Maha Gueno Project.
MATH also will consider a proposed amendment to the bylaws and discuss a clarification for the qualifications for board nominees.
At 8 p.m., District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon is scheduled to give a brief report.
The MATH Board includes Chair Monica Rosenthal, Vice Chair Ken Gonzalez, Secretary Todd Fiora, Rosemary Córdova and Bill Waite.
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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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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Home sales and prices across Lake County are down when compared to last year, according to the latest report from the Lake County Association of Realtors.
The association, or LCAOR, said that for the 30-day period ending July 24, total homes sold through the multiple listing service totaled 89, compared to 122 during the same time last year.
Those sales include traditionally built “stick-built” houses as well as manufactured homes on land.
There were nine sales of mobile homes in parks compared to 12 for the same time last year, and 25 bare land (lots and acreage) sales, compared with 50 for the same time last year.
During that time period, 32% of homes were bought for all cash, compared to 33% for the same time last year.
Of those, 35% were financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (“conventional loans”) compared to 43% for the same time last year; 13% were financed by FHA (same as last year this time); and 3% were financed by the VA or CalVet compared to 5% for this time last year).
Another 11% had other financing such as private loans or seller financed notes, which was the same as last year.
There are 421 homes on the market right now. If the rate of sales stays the same at 89 homes sold per month, there are currently 4.7 months of inventory on the market at the moment. That means that if no new homes are brought to the market for sale, in 4.7 months all of these homes would be sold and there would be none available.
Less than six months of inventory is generally considered to be a “sellers’ market” while more than six months of inventory is often called a “buyers’ market.”
The inventory has been growing steadily over the past several months and again is a record of most homes available at any time in the last two years, LCAOR said.
Most homes were selling very close to the asking price, at an average of 97% of the asking price. This is in contrast to other areas, where homes sell for more than the asking price.
The median time on the market last month was 23 days, compared to 17 days for this time last year.
The median sale price of a single family home in Lake County over the last 30 days was $300,000 compared to $328,000 during this time period last year.
In the past 30 days, 26% of homes sold had seller concessions for an average of $9,462; a year ago 26% of homes sold had an average seller concession of $8,959.
A more detailed breakdown by the different areas is below.
Last week, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-05), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Jim Costa (CA-16), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Cindy Axne (IA-03) and 17 members introduced legislation to reauthorize the Emergency Relief Program, formerly known as WHIP+, for natural disasters that occurred in 2022.
The Emergency Relief Program, or ERP, offers critical assistance to agricultural producers, including grapegrowers, whose crops were impacted by smoke taint.
“Communities in our district and across the country have been devastated by natural disasters, including wildfires and drought,” said Thompson. “That’s why I am proud to work with a bipartisan group of my colleagues to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Emergency Relief Program. This program is an essential support system for our growers to recover from wildfires, smoke damage, and other natural disasters. As we continue to deal with the impact of climate change, I am committed to ensuring that all producers and growers have the resources they need to offset their losses.
“The Emergency Relief Program is a necessary resource for Central Washington farmers as they continue to recover from this year’s late spring, which significantly impacted tree fruit production. I am pleased to introduce this legislation and encourage my colleagues to support this important program that will provide much-needed assistance to Central Washington’s growers so they can continue producing the high-quality Washington crops Americans enjoy for many years to come,” said Newhouse.
“The Emergency Relief Program is critical to farmers in my district, providing them the assistance they need to recover from the ongoing impacts of the drought and wildfires,” said Costa. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to provide much-needed relief to California farmers and ranchers. Supporting and advocating for California agriculture has always been one of my highest priorities, representing California as the number one agricultural state in the nation.”
“Iowa farmers know all too well how common and devastating natural disasters have been,” said Axne. “The Emergency Relief Program, which I fought hard for, has provided assistance to thousands of Iowan farmers who suffered from the 2020 derecho. By reauthorizing the Emergency Relief Program for 2022, this bill provides certainty to farmers that should disaster strike, assistance will be ready.”
“California winegrape growers appreciate the leadership and commitment of Congressman Thompson and other members of the California delegation to provide disaster assistance for those who suffered crop losses due to wildfires and other natural disasters. Through this tremendous leadership, growers have received much-needed aid for past disasters, and we applaud Rep. Thompson's efforts to enact assistance for the 2022 crop year,” said Natalie Collins, California Association of Winegrape Growers Interim President.
“For several years now, California farmers and ranchers have experienced significant losses due to ongoing droughts, wildfires, and other natural disasters. In order to maintain the well-being of our nation’s food supply, it is critical to ensure that our agricultural producers receive the support and resources necessary to recover from the impacts of such events. We applaud Congress for moving forward on reauthorization for the Emergency Relief Program so that these crucial safety nets in place,” said Jamie Johansson, California Farm Bureau President.
ERP is a vital program that provides desperately needed payments to agricultural producers to offset losses from wildfires, drought, hurricanes, derechos, freeze, polar vortex, excessive heat and other qualifying natural disasters.
This relief is critical as prolonged drought, severe weather events and natural disasters continue to wreak havoc on crops and livestock.
This bill is endorsed by the National Farmers Union.
Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The city of Lakeport is seeking proposals for mid-range to large-scale sculptural and/or innovative, mixed or multimedia installations to be showcased in the new lakefront park development in downtown Lakeport at 800 and 810 N. Main St.
Awards to successful applicants will range from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the scale and budget of the proposed work, which includes materials, artist’s labor, installation needs, and any necessary travel expenses.
Proposals with interactive components are encouraged.
Lake County artists and Black, Indigenous and people of color, or BIPOC, are strongly urged to submit proposals; there are no geographic restrictions for applications.
All proposals must be submitted no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19.
Proposed art works must be made of materials that can endure the outdoors and extreme weather in a public setting.
All object-based sculptures must be securely mounted to the ground or a plinth base at the designated site; all work must be safe for pedestrian traffic.
The call for artists may be viewed on the city’s website.
The request for proposal includes specific application requirements and a map of the lakefront park with designated spaces for art.
In January 2020, the city of Lakeport was awarded a competitive grant from the California Department of Parks and Recreation funded by Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.
After two years of design, the project is ready for construction.
The new park consists of approximately 6.9 acres and will include, in addition to the public art, a basketball court, splash pad, skate park, concession building with restrooms, shade structures, picnic areas, fitness equipment, a pavilion, lighting, irrigation and landscaping.
Estimated completion date is spring 2023.
For more information, contact Community Development Director Jenni Byers at 707-263-5615, Extension 201, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Female domestic shorthair kitten
This female domestic shorthair kitten has a gray and white coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. A21, LCAC-A-3636.
‘Olive’
“Olive” is a female domestic medium hair kitten with a black coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. A117, ID No. LCAC-A-3742.
‘Willow’
“Willow” is a female domestic shorthair cat with a gray and white coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 47, ID No. LCAC-A-3762.
Male domestic shorthair kitten
This male domestic shorthair kitten has an orange tabby coat with white markings.
He is in cat room kennel No. A1a, ID No. LCAC-A-3662.
Male domestic shorthair kitten
This male domestic shorthair kitten has a gray tabby coat with white markings.
He is in cat room kennel No. A1b, ID No. LCAC-A-3663.
Female gray tabby
This 2-year-old female gray tabby has a short coat with white markings.
She is in cat room kennel No. 28, ID No. LCAC-A-3661.
Domestic shorthair kitten
This female domestic shorthair kitten has an all-black coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 84b, ID No. LCAC-A-3615.
Domestic shorthair kitten
This male domestic shorthair kitten has an all-black coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 84c, ID No. LCAC-A-3616.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has a big new group of dogs it’s offering for adoption this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of catahoula leopard dog, German shepherd, Great Pyrenees, hound husky, Labrador retriever, pit bull, poodle, shepherd, terrier and treeing walker coonhound.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
‘Autumn’
“Autumn” is a 6-year-old female treeing walker coonhound with a short tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 1, ID No. LCAC-A-1776.
Male terrier-poodle mix
This 1-year-old male terrier-poodle mix has a curly cream and orange coat.
He is in kennel No. 2, ID No. LCAC-A-3743.
Male Labrador retriever mix
This 5-year-old male Labrador retriever mix has a short gold coat.
He is in kennel No. 8, ID No. LCAC-A-3737.
Female catahoula leopard dog mix
This 2-year-old female catahoula leopard dog mix has a short brindle coat.
She is in kennel No. 18, ID No. LCAC-A-3768.
Female hound mix
This 1-year-old female hound mix has a short brown and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-3766.
Male hound mix
This 1-year-old male hound mix has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-3767.
Female treeing walker coonhound
This young female treeing walker coonhound has a short black brindle coat.
She is in kennel No. 22, ID No. LCAC-A-3776.
Male German shepherd mix
This 1-year-old male German shepherd mix has a long black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 23, ID No. LCAC-A-3775.
Female German shepherd
This 1-year-old female German shepherd has a short black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 24, ID No. LCAC-A-3780.
Male husky
This 4-year-old male husky has a white and cream coat and blue eyes.
He is in kennel No. 25, ID No. LCAC-A-3797.
‘Rebel’
“Rebel” is a 7-year-old female yellow Labrador retriever with a short coat.
She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. LCAC-A-3783.
Male shepherd mix
This 1-year-old male shepherd mix has a black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 28, ID No. LCAC-A-3796.
Female Great Pyrenees
This young female Great Pyrenees has a gray and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 30, ID No. LCAC-A-3790.
Male Great Pyrenees
This young male Great Pyrenees has a short white coat.
He is in kennel No. 31, ID No. LCAC-A-3791.
‘Maya’
“Maya” is a 2-year-old female German shepherd with a short black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 32, ID No. LCAC-A-2598.
Female Great Pyrenees
This young female Great Pyrenees has a short white coat.
She is in kennel No. 34, ID No. LCAC-A-3789.
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.
Henry Tran, University of South Carolina and Douglas A. Smith, Iowa State University
California, for example, allows teacher candidates to skip basic skills and subject matter tests if they have taken approved college courses. New Mexico is replacing subject skills tests with a portfolio to demonstrate teaching competency.
Similarly, Oklahoma eliminated the Oklahoma General Education Test as a certification requirement. Missouri no longer looks at a prospective teacher’s overall grades – just the ones earned in select courses required to become a teacher. Alabama has moved to allow some who score below the cutoff scores on teacher certification exams to still get a teacher’s license, and Arizona’s education requirements for teachers now allow people without a college degree to begin teaching – so long as they are currently enrolled in college.
Disrespect to the profession is driving teachers away
Even before COVID-19 hit, teachers were leaving the profession at an increasing rate. In the late 1980s, annual teacher turnover was 5.6%, but it has grown to around 8% over the past decade.
We found that the reasons teachers are leaving primarily revolve around the disrespect they and the profession consistently face. For example, teachers earn about 20% less than similarly educated professionals.
In addition, teachers have been experiencing diminishing control over what and how they teach. They are also regularly exposed to a continued tide of disrespectful student behavior and parental hostility, as highlighted by a survey of 15,000 educators that revealed a growing trend of students verbally and physically harassing teachers, as well as parents engaging in online harassment and retaliatory behaviors for teachers simply doing their jobs.
This overall lack of respect drives turnover from existing teachers and discourages potential teachers from considering the profession.
One college student told us, “I looked into teaching as a career pretty strongly … and every person I talked to, be it a grade school teacher or college professor, told me the same thing – that it was a lot of work, it was an unstable work environment, and the pay was very poor for the amount of work that you put in.” Unsurprisingly, she chose another career path.
The wrong solutions for the problem
A growing number of states have eliminated or have proposed to remove basic skills and subject matter exam requirements for teacher certification. Those prerequisites have long served as quality control checks for prospective teachers. While they do not guarantee effective teaching, they do serve as a minimum qualification threshold.
We believe efforts to loosen requirements for new teachers will bring more disrespect to the profession. History also suggests that they will make it so that schools that serve mostly students of color will have even fewer certified and experienced teachers than they already do.
But more directly, these efforts to boost teacher recruitment don’t address the reasons teachers are leaving the profession in the first place, which drive 90% of the demand for new teachers.
Lowering the standards to allow more people to enter the teaching profession may, for a short period, boost the number of people available to stand in front of classrooms. But that approach does not make teaching an attractive profession to consider, nor worthwhile for someone to stay and thrive in. Solving the teacher shortage problem requires solutions that reduce the numbers of teachers leaving the field and specifically address the lack of respect, low pay, hyperscrutiny and poor working conditions that they regularly endure.
After news broke that the U.S. declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency, friends and family started asking me, an infectious disease epidemiologist, if monkeypox is about to begin causing widespread death and chaos. I assured them that the Aug. 4, 2022, public health emergency declaration is about government resource allocation. Similar to the World Health Organization’s declaration of monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern, the U.S. declaration isn’t calling for individuals who are not in a high-risk group to change anything about their lives.
There have not yet been any monkeypox deaths in the U.S., but more than 7,000 cases have been diagnosed thus far, and the spread of the virus to nearly every state is concerning. While most cases are still occurring among men who have sex with men, the virus is also transmitted through nonsexual skin-to-skin contact, so there is a risk of people in other population groups contracting the infection. The federal declaration is intended to help slow the spread of the virus among men who have sex with men and stop it from spreading to new communities.
What is a public health emergency?
Presidents and state governors have the authority to declare states of emergency when there is a potentially life-threatening situation and the resources routinely allocated to the responding agencies are insufficient for dealing with the situation.
In late July, 2022, for example, the governor of Kentucky declared a state of emergency following devastating flooding in the eastern part of the state. The governor requested and received federal assistance to help respond to the floods. The declaration didn’t mean that more flooding was expected. It just made extra resources available for rescuing stranded individuals and providing essential services, like shelter and drinking water, to displaced people.
Similarly, the monkeypox emergency declaration doesn’t mean that the government expects millions more cases in the next month. It is about helping health agencies get the vaccines and other tools they need to slow the spread of the virus.
Does the public health emergency call for public action?
No. The main thing the emergency declaration does is enable the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to get more of the funding and other resources that it needs to protect the public from a more widespread monkeypox outbreak. At this point, monkeypox is an emergency for the U.S. government’s public health agencies to deal with. It is not an emergency for the public right now. The goal of the emergency declaration is to prevent monkeypox from becoming a more widespread threat to public health.
First, the government will intensify its efforts to protect at-risk communities by trying to get new vaccine doses faster and increasing access to testing and treatment. Officials are also working with LGBTQI+ communities to educate men who have sex with men about reducing their risk of contracting the monkeypox virus.
Second, the emergency declaration calls for all states and other jurisdictions to share data with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also authorizes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to collect data about monkeypox testing and hospitalizations. These actions will give the Department of Health and Human Services better data about where monkeypox is occurring so the agency can distribute vaccines and the antiviral medication tecovirimat (Tpoxx) to the states and cities that have the greatest need for them.
Will the declaration boost the supply of vaccines?
The package insert for the Jynneos vaccine specifies that it should be given in two 0.5-milliliter doses four weeks apart. The emergency declaration outlines a strategy in which people are instead given two 0.1-milliliter doses. If the lower dose is as effective as the full dose, up to five times more people could be vaccinated with the same amount of vaccine.
Fractional dosing is not a new strategy. During a 2016 yellow fever epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, clinical trials showed that a small portion of the approved vaccine dose was just as effective as a full dose at conferring immunity.
The emergency declaration does not call for schools, businesses, nursing homes or individuals to change their behaviors in any way or to prepare for any sorts of future restrictions. Declaring monkeypox a public health emergency just makes more resources available to help the government protect the public from this infectious disease.
A new study uses data from the ECOSTRESS instrument aboard the space station to better understand why some parts of a wildfire burn more intensely than others.
Even in drought-stricken California, not all areas face the same degree of wildfire risk. A recent study featuring data from NASA’s ECOSTRESS mission found relationships between the intensity of a wildfire and the water stress in plants measured in the months before the blaze.
The correlations weren’t just a matter of dry plants burning more than hydrated ones; some areas where vegetation had sufficient water burned more severely, possibly because fires had more fuel to consume.
The research, led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, draws on plant water-use data collected by ECOSTRESS, short for the ECOsystem and Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station.
The instrument measures the temperature of plants as they heat up when they run out of water. For this study, researchers focused on data collected during portions of 2019 and early 2020 over six areas — three in Southern California mountains and three in the Sierra Nevada — that were subsequently scorched by wildfires.
Other research has shown that wildfire season across the Western U.S. is starting earlier in the year and increasing in length and severity. In California — a state with 33 million acres (13 million hectares) of forests, much of it managed by federal, state, and local agencies — detailed insights on the relationship between wildfire and the availability of water to vegetation could help fire-management officials identify not just whether an area will likely catch fire, but how serious the damage will be if it does.
“We are in an intense megadrought — the worst in 1,200 years — and it’s creating conditions for more catastrophic fires,” said Christine Lee, a study co-author at JPL. “Data sets like those from ECOSTRESS will be critical for advancing science and can provide information to support those who are responding to climate-change crises.”
Comparing the ECOSTRESS data with separate postfire satellite imagery, researchers found that the rate at which plants release water by “sweating” — a process known as evapotranspiration — as well as how efficiently they use water for photosynthesis, can help predict whether subsequent wildfires are more or less intense. Both measures indicate whether a plant community is getting enough water or is under stress from lack of it.
“We were trying to understand what drives differences in why some areas have severe burns and other areas don’t,” said Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, a water and ecosystems scientist at JPL and lead author of the paper. “The results show how crucial water stress is for predicting which areas burn the most and why it’s important to monitor vegetation in these regions.”
Tracking plant stress
Like humans, plants struggle to function when they’re too hot. And in much the same way that sweating helps humans stay cool, plants rely on evapotranspiration to regulate their temperature.
Evapotranspiration combines the rate at which plants lose water as it evaporates from the soil and by transpiration, in which they release water through openings in their leaves, called stomates. To avoid losing too much water, plants start closing their stomates if they get too dry.
“As a result, they start to heat up because they don’t have the benefit of ‘sweating’ anymore,” Lee said. “With ECOSTRESS, we can observe these really fine changes in temperature, which are used to understand changes in evapotranspiration and water-use efficiency.”
In general, slower evapotranspiration and lower efficiency signal that plants are water-stressed. Higher values indicate that plants are getting enough water.
ECOSTRESS tracks evapotranspiration via a high-resolution thermal radiometer that can measure the temperature of patches of Earth’s surface as small as 130 by 230 feet (40 by 70 meters).
High versus low stress
In the paper, published in Global Ecology and Biogeography, researchers found that water-stress-related variables, along with elevation, were dominant predictors of burn severity in areas struck by three Southern California wildfires in 2020: the Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest, along with the Apple and El Dorado fires in the San Bernardino National Forest.
Whether higher or lower stress predicted more severe burning depended on the primary type of vegetation in an area, Pascolini-Campbell said.
For example, stressed pine forests tended to burn more severely, suggesting that drier conditions made trees more flammable. Meanwhile, in grasslands, lower stress tended to correlate with more burn damage, a possible indication that robust vegetation growth produced more fuel, resulting in more intense blazes.
And in the Sierra Nevada regions burned by the Creek Fire, the Sequoia Complex Fire, and the North Complex Fire, results showed weaker relationships between pre-fire stress and burn severity. The study authors hypothesize that variables not captured in the analysis — wind or other weather conditions — were more influential in those burn areas.
Supporting decision-makers
The study comes as NASA is ramping up efforts to mobilize its technology, expertise, and resources to study wildfires. The agency in May announced the formation of NASA Wildland FireSense, an initiative aimed at bringing together experts from different disciplines, along with advanced technology and analytical tools, to develop approaches that can inform and guide fire management decision-makers.
The importance of tools such as ECOSTRESS, which is scheduled to operate until September 2023, will grow as climate change drives greater wildfire risk across the Western U.S., Pascolini-Campbell said. “It’s a high-priority region for using these types of studies to see which areas are the most vulnerable,” she added.
More about the mission
JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, built and manages the ECOSTRESS mission for the Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. ECOSTRESS is an Earth Venture Instrument mission; the program is managed by NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder program at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors will discuss with staff this week a proposal to purchase and renovate the Kelseyville Senior Center, and will get an update on drought conditions.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 972 4365 5590, pass code 716589. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,97243655590#,,,,*716589#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
In an untimed item, the board will consider a request to appoint a team of county staff to negotiate the purchase of the Kelseyville Senior Center, more recently known as the Kelseyville Event Center, located at 5245 Third St.
A memo to the board from County Administrative Officer Susan Parker explains that the county has received $12.5 million in funds as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March 2021.
The county ARPA Committee has evaluated community needs and their potential fit with the intent of the law and the U.S. Treasury’s guidance for the funds, Parker said. “District 5 Supervisor, Jessica Pyska, brought forth purchase and remodel of the Kelseyville Senior Center for the Committee’s consideration.”
Parker is asking for herself and Stephen Carter, her newly appointed assistant county administrative officer, to be appointed to the negotiating team. “After completing the negotiation process, the Negotiating Team will present the tentative purchase agreement for consideration and approval by the Board of Supervisors in the course of a regularly scheduled and open meeting.”
The board also is scheduled to have a closed session discussion regarding the property negotiations.
In response to questions from Lake County News about the proposed purchase, county staff reported that if the county is successful in purchasing and renovating the Kelseyville Senior Center, use of the facility will be mixed.
“We anticipate many current uses either continuing or being enhanced with renovation of the space: senior-focused services; hosting community group meetings; use of the commercial kitchen, which would be refreshed, for cottage vendors. The space could likewise be used as a Community Resource Center site during a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff events, or a venue for wildfire recovery community meetings, for example,” the county statement said.
“The County is cognizant more robust library services can be offered in the community of Kelseyville. We anticipate exploring some ongoing provision of services, and this could also be a location where mobile library events are held,” the statement continued.
County staff said public input and the board’s collective discussion will further clarify the position of the county on the matter.
In other business, at 9:45 a.m. the board will consider an ordinance adopting the California Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
At 10:30 a.m., the supervisors will receive an update on drought conditions and Clear Lake.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve continuation of proclamation of the existence of a local emergency due to pervasive tree mortality.
5.2: Adopt resolution approving agreement with California Department of Food and Agricultural Industrial Hemp Cultivation Program Agreement No. 22-0756-000-SA for July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, in the amount of $23,781.69.
5.3: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, authorize participating in the FARMER Grant Program and authorize the air pollution control officer to sign all program documents.
5.4: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, approve travel of more than 1,500 miles for district staff to attend the 2022 National Ambient Air Monitoring Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, utilizing Federal EPA Grant funding.
5.5: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, approve the Community Air Protection Incentives Program Lake County Office of Education School Filtration Project, and authorize the air pollution control officer to sign the funding contract and issue payment upon project completion.
5.6: (a) Approve reissuance of payroll check number 515476, issued to Casse Forczek on 11/1/2018, for $1,098.36; and (b) approve reissuance of payroll check number 517827, issued to Kelly Kobetsky on 10/1/2019, for $827.09.
5.7: Approve Board of Supervisors minutes for July 26, 2022.
5.8: Approve late travel claims for a total amount of $211.89 for the Community Development Department.
5.9: Approve continuation of resolution authorizing teleconferenced meetings during a state of emergency continue to exist.
5.10: Adopt resolution authorizing the 2023-2024 Grant Project-Lake County Child Advocacy Center Program and authorize the chair to sign the grant subaward certification of assurance of compliance.
5.11: Adopt a resolution approving the renewal application and certification statement for the State Department of Health Services, CMS Branch’s Child Health & Disability Program (CHDP), Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care Program (HCPCFC), Monitoring Oversight of Foster Children Treated with Psychotropic Meds (HCPCFC-PMMO) and Caseload Relief (HCPCFC-CR) Grant for FY 2022-2023 and Authorize the Board Chair to Sign Said Certification Statement.
5.12: Approve continuation of a local health emergency related to the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) as proclaimed by the Lake County Public Health officer.
5.13: Approve continuation of a local health emergency and order prohibiting the endangerment of the community through the unsafe removal, transport, and disposal of fire debris for the LNU Complex Wildfire.
5.14: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District, adopt resolution authorizing the Lake County Watershed Protection District to sign and enter into Amendment No. 1 of agreement with CivicWell for independent contractor services through the AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellowship in the amount of $29,000 for one CivicSpark Fellow to develop an aquatic invasive species outreach assessment and improvement plan.
5.15: Approve continuation of a local emergency in Lake County in response to the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire event.
5.16: Approve continuation of a local emergency due to COVID-19.
5.17: Approve continuation of an emergency declaration for drought conditions not available.
5.18: Approve continuation of a local emergency by the Lake County Sheriff/OES director for the Cache fire.
5.19: (a) Authorize the sheriff/coroner to negotiate a food services agreement with Summit with a Sept. 6, 2022, effective date, to supervise the preparation and service of meals at the Lake County Jail/Hill Road Facility for a period of three years, with two one year extensions; and approve a purchase order with Trinity in an amount not to exceed $65,000 for the period 7/29/2022 to Sept. 6, 2022.
5.20: Authorize the Social Services director to sign a purchase order, executing the purchase of 100 computer workstations, from CDW-G, in the amount of $101,106.90 and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
6.3, 9:07 a.m.: Election of vice chair of the Board of Supervisors to replace Supervisor Scott.
6.4, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of update of 2022 committee assignments for members of the Board of Supervisors due to the resignation of Supervisor Tina Scott.
6.5, 9:45 a.m.: Public hearing where The Board of Supervisors will consider an ordinance adopting the California Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
6.6, 10:30 a.m.: Update on 2022 drought conditions, Clear Lake.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of request to appoint negotiating team for the purchase of the Kelseyville Event Center, a property located at 5245 Third St., Kelseyville, CA (APN: 025-083-06).
7.3: Consideration of agreement between county of Lake and Vista Pacifica Enterprises Inc. for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2022-23 in the amount of $130,000 and authorize the board chair to sign.
7.4: Consideration of agreement between county of Lake and Women's Recovery Services for substance use disorder residential treatment services for fiscal year 2022-23 in the amount of $105,850 and authorize the board chair to sign.
7.5: Consideration of Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement between county of Lake and Paragons LLC for consultant services to the Lake County Continuum of Care on behalf of Lake County Behavioral Health for fiscal year 2021-22 increasing the contract maximum to $30,723.00 and authorize the board chair to sign.
7.6: Consideration of purchase order for Adventist St. Helena and Vallejo Hospital for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services in the amount of $69,103.00 for fiscal year 2021-22 and authorize Lake County Behavioral Health Services Department head to sign the purchase order.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): Interview of Public Health officer; appointment of Public Health officer.
8.2: Conference with real party negotiators pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.8: Property: Purchase of property located at 5245 Third Street, Kelseyville, CA (APN: 025-083-06)(Kelseyville Senior Center property). Negotiating parties: (a) Negotiators for the County: S. Parker and S. Carter and (b) property owner: Kelseyville Senior Center Inc. Under Negotiations: Price and terms.
8.3: Public employee evaluation: Community Development Director Mary Darby.
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.
Suzanne McLeod, Binghamton University, State University of New York
As a former school principal and district superintendent, I’ve witnessed firsthand how some students struggle to settle into routines when a new school year begins.
Some students would show up late, if they came at all. Some told their parents they were sick and wanted to stay home.
A lot of this was due to the anxiety over going to a new school or having to adapt to new friends, new teachers and a new schedule. But sometimes it was the simple result of kids having gotten used to staying up late and sleeping in over the summer. The sudden change of having to wake up early to go to school can make kids very cranky.
Even though it can be challenging for some kids to start a new school year, there are a few simple steps that parents can take to make the process easier and less stressful. Here are four of my top recommendations:
1. Reestablish a bedtime
Don’t wait until the night before the first day of school to bring back bedtime. Do it a week or two before school starts. Then, stick to the schedule throughout the school year.
Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest detriments to students of any age doing well in school. Children of all ages need adequate sleep to improve their mood and their behavior.
And, to ensure your child’s sleep is uninterrupted, keep technological devices out of the bedroom.
2. Practice the morning routine
A week before school begins, start practicing the morning routine. Are clothes and shoes chosen and ready to go? Are lunches and snacks packed? Are backpacks packed and easy to find?
Part of healthy child development is giving children a sense of control. To further this goal, let children pick out and lay out their clothes for the next day. Provide some basic guidance on what’s appropriate to wear to school. Allow children to pack the lunch or snack, again providing guidelines of what’s appropriate and what’s not.
3. Visit the school ahead of time
If possible, especially for children going to a new school, visit the school and practice walking to their classrooms.
Many schools offer orientations for students and their caretakers.
If there is no orientation, call the school and ask when it might be possible to come to walk around with your children to help familiarize them with their new classrooms. This will provide a level of comfort to your child on the first day of school.
4. Sign up for after-school activities
Encourage your child to participate in one or two after-school activities, whether school- or community-based. If the after-school activities are off-site from the school, ask school employees or after-school program providers about transportation.
Participation in extracurricular activities that interest your child can increase their motivation and ability to pay attention, both in the activity as well as school in general. However, be careful not to overschedule your child. The benefits of extracurricular activities – which include a stronger sense of belonging to the school community, higher grades and improved academic engagement – are maximized when after-school activities are limited to two.
Following these tips will hopefully help families make sure the school year gets off to a good start.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is urging community members to be prepared for the dangers of fire season.
Lake County has already experienced the effects of fire season, with multiple fires in June and July.
As the summer progresses, now is the time to make all necessary preparations.
Here are five steps you can take to prevent and prepare for wildfire.
Get alerts/stay up-to-date:
• Update your LakeCoAlerts email, phone number, and address to stay up-to-date with all messages from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Add LakeCoAlerts to your phone contacts or caller I.D., so you know we are trying to reach you. The phone number you will see is 707-289-8964. When you receive a text message, you will see the number 89361.
• Know your local radio stations to tune into for timely reports and situation updates.
• Zonehaven is a tool that the public can use to look up their zone number ahead of an emergency. During an emergency, information can be viewed at https://community.zonehaven.com/. Zonehaven does not require an account and is not a service to sign-up for. There is an option to subscribe to alerts when viewing zone information. This will take you to LakeCoAlerts. LCSO will use zone numbers when sending evacuation orders, shelter-in-place warnings, and other emergency information via LakeCoAlerts.
Make a plan:
• Have a go-bag ready for you and your household. Visit ready.gov/kit for examples of what to include.
Prepare your home:
• Fire-safe starts with defensible space. Take time now to ensure that your property is clear of dead or overgrown brush, trees, and grass. Contact your HOA, landlord, or local fire department for more information.
Help your community:
• Individual efforts contribute to the success of all. Talk with your neighbors about being fire ready. Start making plans now — ensuring your neighborhood stays safe and has the help they need. Be sure to tell them to sign up for LakeCoAlerts.
Remain vigilant:
• Each incident may behave unpredictably and rapidly, and no one should wait for an electronic alert before evacuating if the threat is imminent. If a situation appears threatening, evacuate immediately.