Dear members of the Lakeport Educational Community,

I'm writing once again to update you on our superintendent search. Our board has been very busy since my April 14 update to you.

The deadline for applications from candidates desiring to be our superintendent was Friday, April 21.

Fifteen people submitted applications and they came in from as far away as Seattle, Wash., all the way down to San Diego.

The professional screeners spent Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, screening the applications against the criteria that came from all the input our community provided to Dr. Mahoney.

We considered the input from the screeners at our Special Board Meeting on Monday evening, April 24. We identified seven very strong candidates and invited six of them to interview with us on Thursday, April 27.

We interviewed using questions developed from the input we received starting at 7 a.m. By 8:30 p.m. that night we decided to invite three candidates back for a more intensive, final interview the next day.

The three finalists were very strong and any one of the three could serve as our superintendent. After significant deliberation and discussion, our board identified one final candidate to move forward
in the process.

The next steps are for Dr. Mahoney to contact fifteen references for the candidate, negotiate a contract, and to have a professional background check conducted. If we can get these tasks accomplished this week, we hope to be able to announce the name of our new superintendent by the end of the week.

Contract approval will be on the agenda at our May 11 board meeting.

The new superintendent will spend three days in our district prior to the end of the school year to meet staff and spend time transitioning with outgoing Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg. The official start date is July 1.

We are very pleased with the process, the quality of the candidates who applied, and especially with who we have selected to fill the position. We believe you will be, too!

Dennis Darling is president of the Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees in Lakeport, Calif.

FINLEY, Calif. – The Big Valley Hall will hold its monthly breakfast along with a plant sale on Sunday, May 7.

The breakfast will take place from 8 a.m. to noon with the plant sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Stop in to find items for your garden.

The hall is located at 1510 Big Valley Road in Finley.

For more information contact Pam Ayle at 562-533-1588 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Food and Agriculture has released proposed regulations for the state medical cannabis cultivation and licensing program. 
 
Release of the draft regulations marks the official start of a 45-day public comment period provided under California law.

All interested parties are encouraged to submit comments about the proposed regulations to CalCannabis, the branch of CDFA that is overseeing the cannabis cultivation regulatory framework.

You can read the proposed cannabis cultivation licensing regulations at California’s cannabis web portal, http://cannabis.ca.gov .

Comments may be submitted in writing during the 45-day open-comment period, or verbally at one of four public hearings that are planned.

The hearing schedule is as follows:

– Tuesday, May 16, 1 to 3 p.m., Delhi Center, Ballroom, 505 East Central Ave., Santa An.
– Thursday, May 18, 1 to 3 p.m., Visalia Convention Center, Sequoia Room, 303 East Acequia Ave., Visalia.
– Thursday, May 25, 1 to 3 p.m., Ukiah Convention Center, Cabernet Room, 200 South School St., Ukiah.
– Wednesday, June 14, 1 to 3 p.m., California Department of Food and Agriculture Auditorium
1220 N St., Sacramento.
 
The last day for the public to submit written comments apart from public hearings is Monday, June 12, 2017, by 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
 
There is currently budget trailer bill language designed to align the Medical Cannabis Safety and Regulation Act with Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.

If that bill passes, these proposed regulations will be withdrawn and a new set of regulations will be proposed that is consistent with changes in the law.

However, public comments on the regulations published today are still very important, as many of the provisions in the licensing regulations published today will carry over to new regulations if the trailer bill passes.
 
CalCannabis is preparing to accept applications for state cannabis cultivation licenses beginning Jan. 1, 2018.
 
For more information and updates on California’s cannabis cultivation licensing program, please visit CalCannabis at http://calcannabis.cdfa.ca.gov .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Doll Club meets on the second Tuesday of the month at Scotts Valley Womens Club, 2298 Hendricks Road in Lakeport.

The group has programs on different types of dolls or share our own.

Lunch is served by a hostess or a potluck is served by members.

The club has a small fundraiser at each meeting to collect for their yearly holiday donations for animal rescue and families in need around Lake County.   The club donated to Four Legged Friends, Orphan Dog, local food baskets, the Lake County Safe House and Scotts Valley Womens Club at the end 2016. 

If you love your dollies and want to learn more about them, you will love this group, too.

Please call President Ellie Perinoni at 707-263-0411 for more information about joining the club. 

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Church of the Nazarene will hold its annual rummage sale on Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6.

The sale will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

There will be clothes, furniture, household, items for children and more.

Proceeds from the sale will support the church’s children’s ministry and youth camps.

The church is located 15917 Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

The possibility of my identity being stolen is something I worry about frequently, it’s a scary concept.

But what is it really, and how worried should I be?

Simply put, identity theft is the unauthorized use of another’s identity to commit crimes or for financial gain, like opening accounts, filing taxes or making purchases. Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone.

Consumers nationwide reported around 400,000 identity theft complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC in 2016, making identity theft the third largest category of complaints.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to mitigate the risk of identity theft. According to the FTC, it’s important to “shred receipts, credit offers, credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks, bank statements, expired charge cards, and similar documents when you don’t need them any longer.”

To further protect yourself against identity theft, keep the following BBB tips in mind.

Secure your information offline

– Limit what you carry. When out and about, only take what you need – leave your Social Security card at home. Lock up financial documents and records in a safe in your home, and lock up your purse or wallet while at work.

– Keep an eye on your mail. Use a secure, locked mailbox if possible. If you don’t have a locked mailbox, take sensitive outgoing mail to the post office or to a post office box and pick up incoming mail as soon as possible. Only order new checks to your home if you have a secure mailbox.

– Don’t overshare. The FTC recommends that “before you share information at your workplace, a business, your child's school, or a doctor's office, ask why they need it, how they will safeguard it, and the consequences of not sharing.” This is especially true for your Social Security Number (SSN). Ask if you can use a different kind of identification, although sometimes you will have to share your SSN. Also be careful sharing health plan information, and destroy the labels on prescriptions bottles before throwing them out.

Stay safe in the digital world

– Dispose of electronics carefully. Your computer, phone and tablet store immense amounts of personal information. Before disposing of or selling your computer, wipe the hard drive. For a mobile device you’ll need to check your owner’s manual, service provider’s Web site or manufacturer’s Web site to learn how to delete information permanently. Always remove the SIM card and delete your contacts, messages, photos, voicemails, folders and Web search history.

– Be proactive about passwords and security settings. Use different, strong passwords for all of your accounts, including your devices. Change passwords frequently and use multi-factor identification if possible. Learn more about password safety at www.bbb.org/passwords . Set the privacy and security settings on web services, devices and apps you use – make sure you aren’t sharing more information than necessary.

– Keep your devices secure and look for encryption when online. Run updated anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware on all of your devices, including your phone and tablet. Before sending personal or financial information online, read the Web site’s privacy policy and make sure it’s encrypted. Look for the “https:”, where the “s” stands for “secure,” and the lock icon on the status bar. If you’re unsure about a Web site, look it up at www.bbb.org to see its rating, complaint history and reviews from past customers. Never transmit sensitive information when on public Wi-FI.

– Be social media savvy. Keep your social media accounts as private as possible. Make sure you’re only “friends” with people you know and trust in real life. Be careful about what you share, especially personal information – identity thieves can piece your life together based on seemingly-innocuous posts and use the information to answer account security questions.

If you’ve encountered a scammer, report it to BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker . If you’ve been a victim of identity theft, find out about your options at www.identitytheft.gov .

Rebecca Harpster works for the serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California.

The Green California Summit honored the California Wildlife Conservation Board last week with the 2017 Leadership Award for Resource Conservation.

The annual summit showcases strategies for emission reduction, water conservation, clean transportation and other environmentally sustainable practices, and supports attainment of the sustainability goals set by the state.
 
The award was presented for projects that have accomplished preservation of a natural resource, such as wetlands, forest and species conservation.

Accepting the award at the Sacramento Convention Center, WCB Executive Director John Donnelly thanked the organizers of the event, WCB staff and other government agencies, nonprofits and private citizens who partner with the WCB.
 
"We're pleased to fund projects designed to protect and restore critical habitats that are self-sustaining and essential to wildlife,” Donnelly said. “The majority of Californians demonstrate their support for this work by voting in favor of ballot initiatives that benefit our wildlife, ecosystems and water."
 
The WCB is an independent board affiliated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

It protects, restores and enhances California's spectacular natural resources for wildlife and for the public's use and enjoyment, in partnership with conservation groups, other government agencies and the people of California. John Donnelly has been its executive director for 10 years.

To learn more about the WCB and its programs, visit http://wcb.ca.gov .
 
The Green Leadership Awards, now in their 11th year, are unique in that they honor and celebrate green government. The WCB is the first recipient of the Resource Conservation award, as it is a new category.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Central Committee will hold its regular monthly business meeting on Thursday, May 4.

The meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the community room at the Lower Lake Methodist Church, 16255 Second St.

The agenda for the meeting includes reports from representatives for Congressmen Mike Thompson and John Garamendi, Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and State Sen. Mike McGuire, as well as reports from the representative of the Lake County Democratic Club.
        
Meetings are open to the public and committee membership is open to all registered Democrats.
        
The Lake County Democratic Central Committee is the official governing body for the Democratic Party in Lake County.
        
For more information about the Democratic Party in Lake County visit www.lakecountydemocrats.org or www.facebook.com/LakeCountyDemocrats .
        
Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-533-4885 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .