NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County and the North Coast during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20
 
– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Rosemont Drive to Bruner Drive through Friday, Jan. 27. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 175
 
– Valley fire recovery work from the junction of Routes 29/175 in Middletown to Loch Lomond will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
MENDOCINO COUNTY
 
Highway 1

– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs near Fish Rock Road on Friday, Jan. 27. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs from Haven Neck Drive to Old Stageroad Drive beginning Thursday, Jan. 26. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Repairs at the Albion River Bridge will continue through Friday, Jan. 27. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs from Albion Little River Road to the Little River Bridge through Friday, January 27. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Emergency slide removal near Leggett will continue. One-way traffic control with STOP signs will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 20
 
– Pavement repairs from the Russian River Overhead to marina Drive will continue through Friday, Jan. 27. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 20-minute delays.

Highway 101
 
– Routine maintenance near Frog Woman Rock will continue. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Emergency slide repairs on the westbound Route 20 to southbound Route 101 connector ramp will continue. Full intermittent closures will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
– Emergency slide repairs just south of Standish-Hickey State Park will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Emergency slide removal near Piercy will continue. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in both directions 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.

Highway 128

– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for tree trimming from Nash Mill Road to Philo through Friday, Jan. 27. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
Highway 175

– Emergency storm damage repairs from Harrison Street to Wooldridge Ranch Road will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Dr. Stephen Pollaine, a noted Lake County physicist, cosmologist and pianist, will speak at the Taylor Observatory’s monthly public night event on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m.

The Taylor Observatory is at 5725 Oak Hills Lane in Kelseyville.

The observatory opens at 7:15 p.m. A planetarium show beginning at 7:30 p.m. precedes the talk, and telescopic views are available until 11 p.m.

Pollaine will address a compelling topic, “Is There a Deeper Reality Beyond the Physical World?”

In the talk he explores the question of defining human consciousness. Hoffman’s Interface Theory of Perception, according to Pollaine, presents the idea that there is more to consciousness than science knows.

Dr. Pollaine received his Ph. D. in astrophysics from U. C. Berkeley followed by a 31-year career at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, working in fusion energy research. His avocation is the piano.

Public nights at the Taylor Observatory include the lecture, a planetarium show and, weather permitting, astronomical viewing through the observatory’s several telescopes.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12.

Friends of the Taylor Observatory sponsors the lecture series.

Contact FOTO President Bill Haddon at 707 262-4121 or 415 209-3084 for further information.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Mendocino College's Lake Center Campus still has spots available in its Construction Fundamentals and Green Building class.

The class takes place on Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with lectures on various phases of construction.

Hands-on labs are on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

For more information or to sign up visit www.mendocino.edu .

SACRAMENTO – The state’s cost for retiree health and dental benefits has grown to $76.68 billion, according to a report published today by State Controller Betty T. Yee.

The liability represents the present-day cost to provide retiree health and dental benefits earned as of June 30, 2016 – one of the state’s largest long-term debts.

The total liability grew $2.49 billion compared to the prior fiscal year, but the size of the increase was $1.45 billion less than estimated in last year’s report.

Health care claims did not grow as rapidly as expected, and changes in health care delivery helped to lower costs by $3.78 billion.

Conversely, demographic shifts and changes in assumptions about long-term health trends added $2.33 billion to the liability.

These costs have increased dramatically over the past 15 years. In 2001, retiree health care costs accounted for 0.6 percent of the state General Fund budget. This year, they will total $1.92 billion, or about 1.5 percent of the budget (FY 16-17).

“One of the greatest fiscal challenges facing California is the mounting cost of providing health care benefits to public sector workers,” said Controller Yee, the state’s chief fiscal officer and a board member of CalPERS and CalSTRS. “Through collective bargaining, there is positive progress towards the long-term security and sustainability of retiree health benefits. Barring drastic cuts into other public spending, these changes will not happen overnight but, in time, our long-term liabilities will be paid down.”

State pensions are prefunded with contributions from employees and the state, allowing investment returns to significantly reduce liabilities.

By contrast, California has traditionally paid for retiree health benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis, covering costs as they come due.

Gov. Jerry Brown, in contract negotiations with public employee unions, is moving toward a prefunding approach to health benefits more like that used for public employee pension funds.

Under standards created by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), state and local governments have been reporting the costs of retiree health care and Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) in notes to their financial statements.

Starting next fiscal year (17-18), a new GASB standard requires state and local governments to report OPEB liabilities and expenses in their financial statements.

Many, like California, are expected to report substantial liabilities for retiree health care and the annual expense, and OPEB liability amounts will likely become much more volatile.

The OPEB report provides estimates of California’s obligation for retiree health and dental coverage based on different funding scenarios:

· The current pay-as-you-go policy results in a liability of $76.68 billion. The shortcomings of this method are evident. While the current fiscal year’s budget sets aside $1.92 billion to cover just actual costs, a true accounting of existing and future costs would have required $5.77 billion.

· If the state shifted to fully prefunding future benefits, the liability for the current fiscal year would have been cut by 34 percent to $50.29 billion. To take advantage of the significant reduction in liability from fully prefunding, the state would have needed to contribute $4.11 billion in FY 2016-17, or $2.19 billion more than it budgeted.

In Gov. Brown’s contract negotiations, he has asked unions to agree to make contributions to retiree health costs.

Approved by members last week, the proposed contract for state government’s biggest union, SEIU 1000, would phase in payroll deductions for retiree health care over several years.

Contract negotiations also have included extending the period to qualify for retiree health benefits and reducing the employer subsidy for retiree health coverage.

Even these incremental steps can meaningfully reduce the state’s liability, according to Yee.

For example, prefunding just 10 percent of the annual service cost, in excess of pay-as-you-go expenses, would increase current annual costs by $260 million but reduce the total unfunded liability over time by $3.37 billion.

Prefunding 50 percent would cost $990 million more each year but ultimately result in savings of $13.52 billion in the unfunded liability.

Controller Yee noted that CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund and largest public employer purchaser of health benefits in California, offers an optional California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust Fund to help employers fund retiree health benefits. More than 500 California public employers currently participate in the fund.

Last year’s state budget included a one‑time allocation of $240 million to the trust fund.

The state has approximately $400 million set aside in the prefunding trust fund to pay for future retiree health benefits. 

According to the California Department of Finance, by June 2018 the trust fund balance will more than double and approach $1 billion.

The actuarial report can be found on the Controller’s Web site at www.sco.ca.gov .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Konocti Education Center in Clearlake and the Lake County Theater Co. are teaming up to sell raffle tickets to benefit theater around the lake.

The grand prize is two tickets to the musical, “Hamilton,” at the SHN Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco on May 20 at 2 p.m.

Ticket donations are $10 per ticket.

Two winners will be selected and each will receive two tickets in the drawing to be held on April 20. Winners need not be present to win.

Tickets can be purchased at the Konocti Education Center, 15850 Dam Road Extension, Clearlake, or Chris Kinney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Konocti Education Center is a fourth through eighth grade visual and performing arts school in the Konocti Unified School District.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Parks and Recreation Commission will next meet on Thursday, Feb. 2.

The commission will meet beginning at 3 p.m. in the conference room at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The agenda includes updates on activities at Library Park and Westside Community Park.

The commissioners also will discuss changing to quarterly meetings and will get a progress update on a sign for a new walking path.

Commissioners are Ann Blue, Kipp Knorr,  Suzanne Lyons, Suzanne Russell and Cindy Ustrud.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center will host the opening night of its new “Driven to Abstraction” exhibit on Saturday, Jan. 28.

A reception will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the center, located at 21456 Highway 175, at the junction of Highways 29 and 175.

This new exhibit will highlight a variety of abstract art works that do not represent external reality but work through shapes, form, color and texture.

Saturday’s opening reception also will include live music by members of The Middlemen band and screenings of work by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage in the classroom-studio area of the MAC.

Refreshments and wine will be available to enjoy. 

The exhibit runs through March 5. Art exhibits at MAC change approximately every six weeks.

“The exhibitions and caliber of work keep getting better,” said MAC Director Lisa Kaplan. “It’s really exciting to curate the shows and see it all come together. This will be our fifteenth exhibit since MAC first opened in March 2015. Each exhibit has focused on a different theme and showcased work by Lake County contemporary artists. We invite everyone to come out and join us at our openings, which are always a terrific local cultural event, or to visit the gallery during regular business hours.”

The Middletown Art Center is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to providing artistic and cultural opportunities to the residents and visitors of south Lake County while contributing to the community’s health and economic vitality.

MAC offers an array of memberships, child and adult art classes and performance opportunities. The center is open Thursdays, noon to 6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 7 p.m.; and Sundays, 1 to 6 p.m. or by appointment.

MAC accepts donations online at www.Middletownartcenter.org .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Methodist Thrift Shop will hold a special 25-cent sale on Monday, Jan. 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The shop is located at 5250 First St., just off of Main Street.

“This is a special sale to new and regular customers,” said Methodist member and volunteer Marti Dunn. “We have an array of pants, blouses, dishes, linens, purses, sweaters, infant clothing and coats.”

The 25-cent sale is for inside items only. All outside items are at regular prices.

The thrift shop has been providing assistance to the community since 1954 and all proceeds assist the operation of this Kelseyville Church, which has served the community since 1854 on the same spot at First and Main streets.

In addition to Kelseyville United Methodist Sunday Services at 9 a.m. with Sunday brunch on the first Sunday each month, the church hosts Girl Scouts, 4-H, AA and the Lake County Unitarian Universalist at 11 a.m. on Sundays.

For more information about donations to the thrift shop, contact Linda Breeding at 707-349-5400.

For information about the Kelseyville United Methodist Church and prayer requests contact Pastor Voris Brumfield at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or text 707-295-7174.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Saturday, Jan. 21, the Clear Lake Cardinals entered wrestlers into two separate tournaments.

Four boys headed off to the 18th annual King of the Mat in Windsor and four girls went to the fifth annual Lady Eagle Invitational, held at Del Oro High School in Loomis.

The King of the Mat, one of the tougher tournaments held in the North Coast Sections, proved to be so once again.

Justin Cantrell (154 lbs.) won a silver medal in the bronze division bracket going 2-2 on the day, unfortunately injuring his elbow in his finals match, possibly putting an end to his very successful first year of wrestling.

Frankie Sturr (128 lbs.) went 1-2 with one pin, with one of his losses against the No. 1 seed and eventual champion.

Brandon Dickey (140 lbs.) and Thomas Lairson (122 lbs.) also wrestled some tough matches in the tournament for the Cardinals.

At the Lady Eagle Invitational tournament in the Sac Joaquin Section, Mavis Pyorre (113 lbs.) took fourth place in the varsity bracket, going 2-2 with one pin.

Unseeded in the tournament, Pyorre went on to beat the No. 2 seed from Bear Creek 9 to 0, then lost a close battle to the wrestler (from Cordova) who advanced from the No. 3 seed.

A little banged up, Pyorre went on to pin the No. 4 seed from El Capitan and advance to battle for third place, against the No. 2 seed again. She controlled the first period but there were no points scored.

In the second period Pyorre took a shot to the head and used up most of her injury time, now down by two.

In the third period Pyorre came back taking the lead, almost pinning her opponent, who then slipped out. Pyorre took another bang to the head and was out of time and lost by injury default to take fourth.

Merari Alvarez (162 lbs.) won the silver medal in the novice bracket going 3-2 with two pins.

Along the way Merari got her first win by pin against a Christian Brothers wrestler, then beat a Del Oro wrestler 6-2, fell to a wrestler from Whitney, pinned an opponent from Will C. Wood and came up just short against a wrestler from Casa Robles.

Also wrestling some hard-fought matches for the Cardinals were Mackenzie Markham (103 lbs., varsity division) and Scarlett Ballard (123 lbs., novice division).

On day one of his administration, President Donald Trump suspended a quarter point decrease in the FHA mortgage insurance premium that was set to begin on Jan. 27.

The decrease was designed to make FHA mortgages more affordable as mortgage interest rates are on the rise and allow more people to qualify for home ownership.

The National Association of Realtors expressed disappointment stating that “roughly 750,000 to 850,000 home buyers will face higher costs, and 30,000 to 40,000 new home buyers will be left on the sidelines in 2017 without the cut …” 

If I had voted for Donald Trump based on his promise to make “America Great Again,” I would be curious as to why that doesn’t include giving more people an opportunity to own their homes.

But maybe his supporters aren’t aware. There’s little media coverage of this mean-spirited action because we are all distracted by the facts and alternative facts of crowd counts for the inauguration. 

Shirley Howland lives in Clearlake, Calif.