The commission’s determination becomes final in 30 days, subject to discretionary review by the California Supreme Court.
The commission ordered Justice Johnson removed from office for 18 acts of prejudicial misconduct, comprised of more than 40 proven allegations.
The commission found that Justice Johnson engaged in the unwanted touching of four women, engaged in conduct that would reasonably be perceived as sexual harassment of seven women at his court, and misused the prestige of his position and demeaned his judicial office by attempting to develop personal relationships with three other women.
He also is alleged to have further demeaned his office by his offensive conduct toward a fourth woman, as well as by multiple incidents of undignified conduct – including conduct at the courthouse for the Court of Appeal – while intoxicated, and displayed poor demeanor to coworkers and made a disparaging remark about judicial colleagues.
Justice Johnson’s misconduct was aggravated by his lack of candor throughout the commission proceedings, according to the commission’s report on its action.
The commission found that Justice Johnson “testified untruthfully in many instances.”
As a result of his misconduct and his lack of candor during the course of the proceedings, the commission concluded that Justice Johnson “cannot meet the fundamental expectations of his position as a judge.”
High-profile police shootings and deaths of black men in custody – or even while out jogging – bring cries of racism across the country. The May 25 death of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis and the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020 by a white father and son have resulted in outrage and protests in cities across the U.S.
But, as a public health researcher who studies the effects of racism on the health of black men, I have found that the life-and-death effects of racism in the U.S. go far beyond police shootings. I also have found that, while racism harms many groups of people, black men are paying the highest cost.
As a result of racism, and associated poverty and injustice, life expectancy at birth of black men is 71.9 years, far below white women (81.2), black women (78.5), and white men (76.4). These are mainly because of black men’s higher risk of dying from several typesof cancer, stroke, HIV, and homicide. Despite overall declining numbers of homicide in the U.S., homicide remains the number one cause of death for black males 10 to 24.
One example is being turned down for a job (as opposed to being treated differently on the job). On average, each black youth faces one major discriminatory experience each year. Discrimination is a major risk factor for health problems across the board, as shown by reviews.
There are also blocked opportunities for black men and other types of discrimination that are less frequent but very consequential, also called major discriminatory events. Combined, these discriminatory experiences make living harder and shorter for black men than for other race by gender groups. While discrimination is known to be a risk factor for premature death, heart disease, depression, and suicide, we know black men experience discrimination more than other groups, including black women.
In a recent study, I found that a sense of mastery, which refers to people’s ability to take control of their life, could reduce psychological distress for black women. For black men, however, high levels of mastery were not enough to reduce psychological distress.
In another study, I compared black men and black women for the effect of their educational attainment on their depressive symptoms and psychological distress. I analyzed data of 3,570 black adults (2,299 females and 1,271 males) and found that education protects black men less than it protects black women from depressive symptoms and psychological distress. That means black men are at risk of depressive symptoms and psychological distress at all levels of educational attainment. That is, their success is not enough to reduce their depression and distress.
As all these studies have used nationally representative data. Thus, the results are generalizable to the U.S. people. They all show a pattern called diminished returns of economic and non-economic resources for black men. Although they are also seen for other race by gender groups, they are most pronounced for black men. As a result of these diminished returns, black men who have high levels of aspirations and motivation to get to the top of society still get sick, feel unhealthy and die early.
In other words, as long as U.S. unfairly treats black men, their very same resource would fail to protect them, so they show systemically pooroutcomes, regardless of their status in the society.
Again, these are not limited to, but worst for, black men.
Racism in health care
Even the U.S. health care system treats black men worse than black women. This includes receiving a lower quality of health care compared to whites, and even black women. Such discrimination deteriorates their ability to manage their disease, so they develop worse outcomes and get sicker.
One of my papers shows that white men have a specific role in this. My work shows that anti-black bias is highest in white men than white women. This is very concerning because white men have the highest level of power in law, politics, police and many other institutions in the U.S. These all mean that odds are not in favor of black men.
Recent shootings of black men, either by police, or others, also shows that black men are specifically targeted by white men, the group which also is in charge of law and order. These all are examples of how social structures and biases cause poor health among black men.
Money doesn’t improve health for black men
Several of my studies have documented high risk of depression in black men and boys of high socioeconomic status. These studies shows higher, instead of lower, risk of depression as a result of socioeconomic mobility in the US.
One explanation for this is that they pay a very high price for their ticket to the top of the society. This journey also opens their eyes to the real inequalities that exist in the U.S. society.
In another study among black boys, high income increased the risk of depression, suggesting that high-income black boys are more, not less, depressed than low-income black boys. In yet another study of mine, 25 years’ follow-up of American adults showed that high education actually increases depressive symptoms of black men over time. I did not see this pattern in white men, white women or even black women.
In another study, I found that white men gain most life expectancy from their employment. The gain was smaller but still considerable for white women and black women. Black men, however, died earlier, regardless of their employment.
Thus, in todays’s U.S., racism is a root cause of poor health of black men. Given the societal structure, personal assets and ambitions such as advanced education, income and employment do not insulate black men from the racism of the American society they live in. In fact, these assets increase the likelihood of black men to be discriminated.
I end this conversation with a few questions for my fellow Americans. How on earth can social mobility make the lives of white Americans easier, but not for black men? Why should social status increase rather than decrease black men’s exposure and vulnerability to discrimination? Why, for whites, does discrimination vanish if people attain high levels of success, but for black men, discrimination increases as they move up the social ladder? Why does success increase discriminatory experiences of black men?
Racism, however, is bad for everyone’s health, not just black men. It is just bad in a different way. Everyone dies sooner in a racist community. This is partially because societal inequalities increase people’s vulnerablities, even the most privileged ones, as I explained in another piece.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A man died on Sunday night when he was hit by a vehicle while riding his bicycle in Clearlake.
Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White said the fatal crash occurred at about 10:40 p.m. Sunday at Highway 53 and Dam Road.
White confirmed that the adult male was hit by a vehicle and killed while on his bicycle.
Late Sunday night, officers were still on scene investigating along with the help of the California Highway Patrol, White said.
The Clearlake Police Department issued a late-night Nixle alert asking people to use an alternate route on Highway 53 in the southbound lane from Dam Road to Anderson Ranch Parkway due to the investigation.
White said he anticipated the release of the victim’s name should take place on Monday.
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’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen again, Lake County’s Public Health officer confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr. Gary Pace said that the test results for the four new cases came in late Monday.
Pace said the latest testing results bring Lake County’s total caseload to 30. Two additional cases previously included in Lake County's total have since been transferred to their home counties.
Of Lake County’s 30 current cases, 11 are active, one is hospitalized and one is housed in the Lake County Jail and in stable condition. The remaining nine are stable and under home isolation, Pace said.
The Lake County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard shows that approximately 2,151 individuals in Lake County have been tested, with the results of 133 of those tests still pending.
“Even with these latest identified cases, we are seeing some clusters of infections, but no widespread community transmission,” Pace said. “Because of the robust contact tracing that occurs with each new positive test, it is common that secondary infections are identified.”
Pace said COVID-19 is highly contagious and therefore easily spread, particularly in the period before the individual knows they are infected.
“We have a significant number of active COVID-19 infections in Lake County right now, and investigations remain ongoing. It is possible further positive cases will be identified as that process progresses,” Pace said.
In his report on the latest cases, Pace said “increased social movement generally brings increased risk of COVID-19 infection, as the virus is pervasive in our region.”
He added, “While we have yet to have documented cases tightly related to reopening of a particular category of business activity, reasonable precautions should be exercised, and only increasingly so as sectors reopen.”
Pace urged community members who think they may have been exposed to get testing right away. “It may make a significant difference for people close to you.”
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.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – In response to violent and destructive incidents this weekend in Sonoma County, the city of Santa Rosa and the town of Windsor enacted mandatory curfews that began Monday night and are to continue until later this week.
The city of Santa Rosa declared a local state of emergency due to the violence and vandalism, and City Manager Sean McGlynn, in consultation with Police Chief Rainer Navarro, has implemented a citywide curfew that officials said is meant to keep the community safe.
The curfew is from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily through 5 a.m. Thursday, June 4.
During those hours, residents must stay home. City officials said those exempt from the curfew are first responders, essential city service employees, individuals who are in the course of traveling directly to and from work or to obtain medical assistance, credentialed media and persons who are experiencing homelessness who remain sheltered in place in a single location.
In addition, the curfew permits medical facilities, pharmacies, cannabis dispensaries and gas stations to remain open to the public.
Windsor’s curfew is between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., and will last until Friday, June 5, at 5 a.m. Windsor residents are required to stay home during curfew hours.
If you are not a Windsor resident, travel into the town is discouraged and enforcement action may be taken against you, officials said.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will continue a discussion on resuming in-person board meetings and get the weekly COVID-19 update from the Public Health officer.
The board will meet virtually beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 2, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
Because the meeting will be held virtually, members of the public are asked to submit comments on items to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please note the agenda item number addressed.
The board will get its weekly update from Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace at 9:02 a.m.
In an untimed item, the board will continue a discussion that began last week regarding resumption of in-person meetings.
In another untimed item, the board will consider rescinding an ordinance it passed on May 5 to establish temporary safety protocols for members of the public visiting county facilities, requiring the use of face coverings absent the option of a minimum 6-foot separation or the use of protective shielding.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson said the matter is being brought to the board at request of Chair Moke Simon.
“At the time your Board adopted this Ordinance, there was no Public Health Order in place requiring the use of face coverings, although an Order has more recently been put into effect. Since the Public Health Order essentially supersedes the Urgency Ordinance, the Chair is recommending your Board consider rescinding the Urgency Ordinance effective immediately,” Huchingson wrote in her report to the board.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Sitting as Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, authorize the air pollution control officer to sign and submit the grant agreement between the district and CARB for AB197 Emissions Inventory District Grant, and sign all other program documents.
5.2: Adopt resolution approving the amended Agreement No.19-0237 with the state of California, Department of Food and Agriculture for exotic pest detection in the amount of $38,223 for FY 2019-20.
5.3: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Redwood Community Services Inc. for the Lake County WRAP Program, Foster Care Program, and Intensive Services Foster Care Program for specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2019-20 from April 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020, for an increase in fees and payment terms due to COVID-19.
5.4: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Hilltop Recovery Services for substance use disorder intensive outpatient program and outpatient drug free services for FY 2020-21, for a contract maximum of $175,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.5: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods and/or services; and (b) approve agreement between county of Lake and High Country Security for commercial fire alarm installation and monitoring at 14092 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake for fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 for a contract maximum of $28,366.70 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.6: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings on March 10 and 24, 2020, and May 12.
5.7: Adopt resolution approving county of Lake Health Services to apply for grant funding in the amount of $176,856 through the County Medical Services Program Governing Board (CMSP) for Fiscal Year 2019-20.
5.8: (a) Approve the purchase of a mobile radio communications vault for the Goat Mountain repeater site (b) approve budget transfer and (c) authorize the Sheriff or his designee to sign the Purchase Order in an amount of $119,064.
5.9: Approve contract for commissary services between the county of Lake and Keefe Commissary Network LLC with costs neutral to the county.
5.10: Approve second amendment to lease agreement between county of Lake and Gary Sada and Sheila Sada for $86,332.68, from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, for the property located at 926 S. Forbes St. in Lakeport and authorize the chair to sign.
5.11: Approve second amendment to lease agreement between county of Lake and Gary Weiser and Shelly Weiser for $15,000 per fiscal year, from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2025, for the Property Located at 4477 Moss Ave., Unit C, in Clearlake and authorize the chair to sign.
5.12: Approve amendment one to the agreement between the county of Lake and SCS Engineers for CEQA environmental review and regulatory agency permitting services for the Eastlake Landfill Expansion Project in the increased amount of $121,800 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.13: Adopt resolution establishing county-maintained mileage for 2019.
5.14: Approve Award of Bid for the Clayton Creek Road at Clayton Creek Bridge Replacement Project, Bid No. 20-10; Federal Aid Project No. BRLO-5914(077) and authorize the chair to sign.
5.15: Approve addendum to agreement by and between the county of Lake and Megabyte Systems Inc. to purchase the transient occupancy tax module for the amount of $25,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.16: Approve to Waive 900-hour limit for extra help quagga mussel coordinator Edward (Marty) Jones.
5.17: Approve to waive 900-hour limit for extra help field technician II Daniella Cazares.
TIMED ITEMS
6.1, 9:01 a.m.: Public input.
6.2, 9:02 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of timeline for resumption of in-person Board of Supervisors meetings.
7.3: Consideration of rescission of Urgency Ordinance No. 3091 establishing temporary safety protocols for county facilities to the public during the ongoing COVID-19 state of emergency.
7.4: Consideration of resolution further amending Resolution 2019-79 to clarify the procedures used in the collection of taxes due pursuant to the Lake County cannabis cultivation tax ordinance.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with Legal Counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(1) – FERC Project No. 77, Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project.
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.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – During a special meeting last week, the Clearlake City Council voted to sell the former Austin Resort property to a developer.
Meeting for about a half-hour on Wednesday morning, the council offered unanimous approval for the plan, which Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten estimated will be a $40 million project.
This spring, Bailey Building and Loans LLC approached the city with a proposal to purchase the property, consisting of two parcels, in order to build a destination resort at the site that would include a marina, hotel, restaurant and retail.
The council approved an initial letter of intent with the developer in March, and it has since received approval from the Clearlake Planning Commission, as Lake County News has reported
The property is made up of two parcels. The first is the 4.74-acre parcel located at 14061 Lakeshore Drive and owned by the city’s redevelopment successor agency since 1997. The second property, located at 14071 Lakeshore Drive, is 2.94 acres and owned by the city since 2001, when it purchased it from the Redevelopment agency.
City Manager Alan Flora said the purchase price for both properties will be $915,350.
The larger parcel at 14061 Lakeshore Drive, held by the redevelopment successor agency, will sell for $564,943, and 15.73 percent of the proceeds, or $88,815, will go to the city. Other taxing entities will split up the remaining funds. Flora’s report said the largest amount, or $252,534, will go to Konocti Unified School District.
The parcel at 14071 Lakeshore Drive, is priced at $350,407, all of which will go to the city, Flora said.
Among the items Bailey Building and Loans LLC is requesting of the city, it’s asking for the city to coordinate with tribal governments as necessary; build a roundabout at the intersection of Olympic and Lakeshore drives, in partnership with developer for property frontage improvements; that the police department would identify the property as a priority for law enforcement visibility and enforcement; that the city would take all reasonable efforts to ensure expedited entitlement approval process; and that the city would consider a lease or license agreement for adjoining property that would facilitate infrastructure improvements to reflect and unified project image, while maintaining public access.
The developer’s responsibilities including developing a waterfront resort including a hotel, restaurant, marina and other services; maintaining public access to the waterfront of Clear Lake in perpetuity; perform desired due diligence of property including any requests to city for data; and work collaboratively with the police department in identifying processes and equipment that continue the decrease in crime within the city.
Flora noted that when the council had discussed the letter of intent earlier this year, it had given direction to make sure that if the project stole the city would have the opportunity to get ownership of the property back.
As such, the developer has agreed to a three-year timeline; if they haven't started construction within three years of closing the sale the city would have the opportunity to purchase the property back for the sale price.
Flora said the project will be a fairly complicated one, particularly because of the developers’ interest in doing a large marina which will require both permits through the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He said permits through the Army Corps can take up to two years.
Flora said the Redevelopment Agency Oversight Board is due to meet on June 8 to consider approving sale of the property owned by the successor agency.
Once the oversight board and council had given approval, Flora said city staff would finalize the sale agreement with the developer and begin working on the terms of a development agreement any other issues needed in order to close escrow within 120 days.
Slooten said he thought it was an exciting time, explaining that based on the estimated size of the project you could cost $40 million to build. He said he also thought it was reasonable to include the three-year time frame to start construction considering environmental review and other requirements that they will face.
Mayor Russ Cremer said he, Slooten and Flora had been in an initial meeting with the developers. He said the project will transform the city landscape along with a newly redeveloped Austin Park.
Cremer asked about a lease agreement the developer is requesting for Austin Beach. Flora explained that the developer had wanted to buy the beach but instead has agreed to a staff proposed lease agreement for the beach.
Flora said the developer is interested in making the beach appear to be part of the resort development and would like to make improvements to it including to the short wall along the sidewalk.
Councilman Phil Harris said at resorts he’s visited he’s seen them utilize and work to maintain public beach space, and he said it would be a huge benefit to the city to have the developer helping with Austin Beach.
He said he also wanted to see the project include a celebration of local Native American culture, such as a stature.
Flora said he thought it was a great idea, and he noted that the developers seem sensitive and interested in the local Native American history and have asked the city to help them work with the local Native American tribes on this project.
“I think that's a great suggestion and I think it's pretty likely to be part of the project,” Flora said.
Cremer asked Police Chief Andrew White if he foresaw any difficulties responding to the developers’ request that the police department make the property – located across from City Hall – a priority for law enforcement visibility and enforcement.
White said no, that he didn’t foresee any issue.
Cremer asked to see periodic progress reports on the project as well as a concept drawing.
Slooten moved to approve both parcel sales separately, with each receiving 5-0 votes.
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’s Public Health official said Monday that five more cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the county, with one of them being a Lake County Jail inmate.
Dr. Gary Pace said the test results came in over the weekend.
The newest positive tests mean that the number of COVID-19 cases reported in Lake County has quadrupled over the past month.
All five of the new cases are stable, and four are isolating at home, Pace said.
The fifth is a jail inmate, the second inmate to have been found with the virus over the past month, as Lake County News has reported.
Lake County now has 12 active cases, and one previously-identified case has grown sicker and is hospitalized, according to the Public Health COVID-19 dashboard. That brings Lake County’s overall case hospitalization total to three.
Fourteen cases to date have recovered and no deaths have occurred, Public Health reported.
Approximately 2,082 tests have been conducted and 67 test results are pending, the dashboard showed.
Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the newly confirmed COVID-19 inmate – along with every inmate who had direct contact with this inmate – is in isolation.
Paulich said all staff and inmates who had direct contact with that inmate and were willing have been tested and the sheriff’s office is expecting to receive those results on Tuesday.
“We are continuing to conduct surveillance testing of staff and inmates,” Paulich said.
Paulich said the sheriff’s office is working with the jail medical provider and Public Health to remove the affected inmates from medical isolation per Centers for Disease Control recommendations based on a “symptom-based strategy.”
On March 12, the sheriff's office instituted and continues enhanced measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the jail, including suspending jail programs and modified visitation procedures, screening all staff prior to entry to the facility, placing inmates who are in custody for minor offenses on home detention, enhanced medical screening at booking, wearing of face masks by staff and inmates, designating bed spaces for isolation and quarantine, and comprehensive regular cleaning and disinfecting.
Overall to date, 28 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Lake County. However, Pace said Lake County's current caseload now stands at 26. He said that's because two of the patients previously identified in Lake County returned to their home county, where their cases will now be recorded.
Pace said most of the recently identified cases appear to be clearly connected to a previously known case. Others contracted COVID-19 outside of Lake County. “Investigations and contact tracing are ongoing, but there remains no evidence of significant community transmission.”
Pace said that, to protect the identities of the affected individuals, no further information will be released at this time. “We can appreciate there is public interest in additional details, and when we reach 50 cases, we will begin sharing demographic information.”
As for the status of the county’s efforts to reopen, Pace said to this point the health systems have been able to manage and contain the cases as they have emerged.
“Therefore, the plan remains to allow indoor dining to resume at Lake County restaurants this Thursday, June 4. If the number of cases rises significantly, we may have to slow the opening process down,” Pace said.
“People’s willingness and ability to continue to practice social distancing and comply with masking requirements will have a significant effect on the rate at which COVID-19 spreads. As long as it stays at a manageable level, we can continue to move forward with gradual relaxation of the restrictions,” Pace added.
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. – The Lakeport City Council will discuss the new fiscal year budget when it meets this week.
The meeting will take place via webinar beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling 213-929-4221 or toll-free, 866-952-8437. The access code is 706-076-643; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments prior to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2.
Please indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.
The main item on Tuesday’s agenda is the consideration of the recommended 2020-21 budget, which will be presented by Finance Director Nick Walker.
The document, which can be seen here, shows revenue projections of $5.2 million for 2020-21, down by $1 million from the revenue actuals for 2019-20.
It also shows projected expenditures in the coming fiscal year of just over $6 million, up from the $5.5 million reported for the current fiscal year.
The city has had several years of fiscal surpluses. The current fiscal year also has a projected surplus of $718,000, while a $851,630 deficit is anticipated in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the special meetings on May 18, 19, 26 and 27, and the regular meeting of May 19; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the Mendocino Complex fire; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the February 2019 storms; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the October 2019 public safety power shutoff; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the COVID-19 public health emergency; approve application 2020-013 for the Tuesday Farmer’s Market in Library Park, contingent on Health Department approval and staff recommendations; authorize the city manager to sign purchase order with Arrow Fence for the purchase and installation of the chain link security fence at the new police department, and to authorize the purchase and installation of the electrical work, IPROX reader and Honeysuckle vines; approve and authorize the city manager to execute a professional services agreement with Miskis Services for installation of a sewer liner as proposed; approve the side letter agreement with Unrepresented Employees Compensation and Benefits Program adopted March 6, 2018; receive and file the Illegal Fireworks Police Operation Plan; approve and authorize the city manager to execute a service agreement with the Local Government Commission for CivicSpark Fellow for project year 2020-21; approve Amendment No. 4 to the agreement for services between the city of Lakeport and Margaret Silveira, dated Oct. 18, 2016; adopt a resolution accepting acquisition of the property located at 800 N. Main St. in Lakeport and authorizing the city manager to execute documents related thereto.
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. – With the summer fire season arriving, the effort to find fire lookout volunteers is underway.
Chris Rivera is director of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, California-Pacific Region, which includes the Mendocino National Forest and some of the Los Padres National Forest.
The Forest Fire Lookout Association has been getting more calls to see it can assist with staffing lookouts, he said.
Rivera said the US Forest Service has asked him to assume the responsibility of recruiting and training experienced and new lookout fire watchers.
He said Lake County currently has no available fire lookouts, as the one on Mount Konocti can’t be used due to structural issues and the High Glade Lookout above Upper Lake burned during the 2018 Ranch fire.
“We’re going to do old-school, mountaintop types of lookouts,” Rivera said.
They are planning to have several locations. One will be Anthony Peak in Mendocino County, which is 16 miles above Covelo. Anthony Peak will need experienced lookouts which Rivera said will probably turn out to be a paid, part-time job during fire season.
Another area where they plan to have a lookout is in Upper Lake at a location yet to be determined, Rivera said. The Pinnacle Rock area is a possibility.
They also plan to have people up on top of Mount Konocti, though not in the tower, Rivera said.
He said they want to put fire lookouts on a mountain top in the “old school” style. They’ll have binoculars, a compass and a radio, and will report fires and smoke.
Rivera said that the group feels it’s important to protect the county.
The need that led to towers being built in the first place is coming back, said Rivera.
Even though there is the use of infrared or cameras with satellites, “The human element cannot be replaced,” Rivera said, adding that all of the elements need to come together.
Rivera said they want to continue the early detection methods, preserve the towers and refurbish them, and train people to locate fires.
Fire lookouts have been deemed essential because they are part of the fire workforce at this time, Rivera said.
For more information, call Rivera at 707-239-6824 or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
To learn more about the Forest Fire Lookout Association, visit www.FFLA.org . To donate to the Mount Konocti fire lookout tower renovations, visit https://ffla-ccwr.org/ .
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.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has identified a Clearlake man killed Sunday night when his bicycle was hit by a vehicle.
Lt. Corey Paulich said the bicyclist was Michael Dale Anthony Everson, 20.
Everson was killed in a crash with a vehicle that occurred at about 10:40 p.m. Sunday at Highway 53 and Dam Road, said Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White.
White said that his agency was assisted in the investigation by the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
Authorities have so far not released the findings of their investigation into the crash or what led to it.
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.
Jeb Barnes, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Thomas F. Burke, Wellesley College
Superficially, this standoff seems like another example of Washington’s toxic politics, where hope for any legislation rests on crass political trades among bickering partisan factions.
Our research, though, indicates there’s more to this struggle than just partisan politics. American ambivalence about government has left litigation to play an outsized role in responding to crises like this one. Including protections for businesses against lawsuits alongside a new aid package might make sense.
But research shows that litigation is an expensive, haphazard way to handle injury claims. Legal action can drive some businesses into bankruptcy while leaving many victims without the money and damages they sought. Studies of the personal injury system suggest that for every dollar the injured recover, another dollar is spent on lawyers and lawyering.
Although only a small number of cases have been filed so far, the coronavirus pandemic seems likely to replicate this pattern.
At this early stage, class action lawsuits are pending against cruise ships on the grounds that they negligently exposed passengers to the virus and, in some cases, prevented them from seeking treatment. Prisons and nursing homes, where many have died as a result of COVID-19, face similar suits.
Consumers are suing airlines, colleges and universities, ticketing agencies and others for refunds. Bankruptcies – another kind of litigation – are reportedly on the rise, and many more will surely follow, as businesses collapse under the weight of stay-at-home orders and people with no or limited insurance face crushing medical bills.
While conservatives like McConnell and his fellow party members have legitimate concerns about the potential costs of litigation, they’re wrong about why litigation happens in the first place. They tend to attribute surges of litigation to a kind of character defect: Americans, they contend, have become whiny victims who, urged on by greedy lawyers, sue at every opportunity.
And even when a majority of Americans favor expanding government, our fragmented lawmaking process, in which bills must pass through multiple committees and two chambers of Congress and be signed by the president, provide repeated opportunities for special interest groups to block sweeping reforms.
This leaves those in distress to pursue help where they can find it, in the legal system.
Asbestos cases: 730,000 claims in US, only 10 in Netherlands
Consider the asbestos crisis. Asbestos is a “magic mineral,” which is flexible enough to be woven into cloth yet stronger than steel. After World War II, manufacturers used it in everything from hair driers to automobile brakes to ship boilers.
The problem is that exposure to asbestos can be deadly, causing fatal diseases such as asbestosis, a progressive scarring of the lungs that slowly strangulates its victims, and mesothelioma, a fast-acting cancer of the linings of the lungs.
Contrary to the myth of litigiousness, American workers exposed to asbestos did not immediately sue when they starting falling ill in growing numbers in the late 1960s.
Instead, they filed claims with state workers’ compensation programs for lost wages and help with their medical bills. When these programs provided very limited relief, they turned to lawyers, who found new ways to hold companies liable for the failure to warn their workers about the dangers of their products.
Over the next few decades, asbestos litigation skyrocketed. By the early 2000s, Americans had filed an estimated 730,000 claims for damages associated with their illnesses and to punish companies for their reckless conduct. Those claims have bankrupted scores of businesses while providing victims slow and erratic payments. The final price tag could reach an estimated US$325 billion in today’s dollars.
The Netherlands offers an instructive contrast. Dutch workers suffered from asbestos-related diseases at five to 10 times the rate of American workers.
Dutch workers had little incentive to sue, because they were guaranteed relatively generous health and unemployment benefits from the government that would be deducted from any recovery in the courts.
Less government; more litigation
The asbestos example underscores an implicit trade in the American approach to social problems that leaves both Republicans and Democrats unsatisfied: less “government” but more litigation.
The coronavirus pandemic, like other health disasters, has revealed the downsides of this trade for both businesses and households. Businesses, already under financial strain from the pandemic, worry that the trickle of lawsuits that has already begun will turn into a torrent. Displaced workers lack adequate health care insurance and have no guarantee they will be protected from poverty when their unemployment benefits run out.
This brings us back to the congressional standoff. Congress could clarify the responsibilities of businesses, creating a safe harbor from lawsuits: If businesses adopt model sanitation and social distancing measures and provide workers with protective equipment, they could not be sued on the grounds that these procedures were inadequate. In exchange, the aid package should ensure that workers’ lost wages and medical costs associated with the pandemic are fully covered.
This would not be a cynical partisan deal. It would be an exchange of remedies, replacing some forms of litigation, which have often proved expensive and unreliable mechanisms for protecting workers and consumers, with direct support for those whose health and livelihoods have been devastated.
If properly structured, such a deal would offer more aid for victims of the coronavirus and more legal certainty for businesses seeking to reopen. That would be a win for both sides – and a step away from depending so much on courts to respond to disasters like this pandemic.