LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — This week the Lakeport Police Department reported on work it did in collaboration with the Clearlake Police Department as part of an Alcoholic Beverage Control.
On June 9, 2020, the Lakeport Police Department and Clearlake Police Department were awarded a $24,975 grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, to enforce alcohol-related crime and educate their communities on alcohol-related laws.
On July 21, 2020, the Lakeport City Council approved a resolution to accept the grant funding and go into partnership with ABC.
During the course of the grant, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, grant funds awarded to the departments were cut in half to $12,478.
The grant funds remaining were used to conduct a total of four Informed Merchants Preventing Alcohol-Related Crime Tendencies, or IMPACT, operations as well as several other grant-related enforcement operations including alcohol-related crime and DUI saturation patrols.
In total, 34 IMPACT Inspections were completed over the course of the four operations. Of the 34 businesses inspected, 13 businesses were found to be out of compliance and were educated on how to come into compliance with California law.
During the other operations conducted with grant funds, a total of eight individuals were arrested or criminally cited for various crimes ranging from DUI, to purchasing alcohol for a minor to felony warrants.
During these operations, the agencies also found that theft of alcohol by both adults and minors is a major continuing problem leading to other criminal offenses.
In particular, one Lakeport location is a regular target of these thefts. Police said they will be following up on this problem with business locations in an effort to eliminate alcohol theft.
On June 26, during an alcohol-involved crime/DUI saturation operation, an officer assigned to the operation responded to and was first on the scene of a reported opioid overdose. Police said the officer was able to quickly provide the overdose victim with lifesaving Narcan. In that incident, the victim was resuscitated and recovered.
“The Lakeport Police Department and our partners at the Clearlake Police Department are committed to fighting alcohol-related criminal activity and working with our communities to prevent alcohol-related crimes from occurring,” the department said in a statement.
This project was part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Alcohol Policing Partnership Program.
A primary goal was community outreach and public education to reduce alcohol-related crime in our communities.
The Lakeport Police Department thanked the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for awarding these grant funds, providing assistance in educating communities and enforcing alcohol-related laws.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council on Thursday gave unanimous approval for the proposed sale of the company that is the city’s franchise waste hauler.
Clearlake Waste Solutions has been Clearlake’s franchise hauler since 2011 and now provides universal garbage and recycling collection.
City Manager Alan Flora said that a few weeks ago Bruce McCracken, Clearlake Waste Solutions’ vice president, and another company representative met with him to let them know they were in the process of selling the company to Waste Connections Inc.
Waste Connections is reported to have a presence in 40 states and six Canadian provinces. The staff report said it serves about 25 communities throughout California. It has headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas and Ontario, Canada.
On Wednesday, Waste Connections released its second quarter results, reporting revenue totaling $1.534 billion. Revenue for all of 2021 is estimated at approximately $5.975 billion.
The franchise agreement between Clearlake Waste Solutions and the city requires the council to approve a company sale under certain conditions, Flora said.
Flora said he has respect for McCracken and his team. “They do an excellent job and they’re always a very willing partner in anything the city requests of them.”
He said the fact that Waste Connections isn’t planning to change the company’s name or operations gives him reassurance, as has the fact that they have entered into an agreement with McCracken to have him continue to lead the company locally.
“This has been something that’s been evolving for a couple of years now,” McCracken told the council.
He said Clearlake Waste Solutions took the sale action based on a number of factors, including the rising cost of doing business and regulatory changes. As a result, they felt that a company with more resources than Clearlake Waste Solutions could benefit the employees and jurisdictions they serve.
McCracken said Waste Connections is a true fit and matches Clearlake Waste Solutions’ culture. “If it wasn’t Waste Connections, I would not have stayed,” he said.
He added, “For me it’s kind of exciting. It’s a different chapter in a book that I started reading 40 years ago.”
McCracken, who’s been working in the Clearlake area since 1988, said he’s looking forward to what’s ahead, including developments involving electric trucks and food waste.
Sue VanDelinder of Waste Connections also was on hand to speak to the council about the transfer of ownership.
“You shouldn’t see any change. If anything, the residents here in Clearlake will have maybe a different opportunity to bill pay online if they choose to or something like that,” she said, adding the company also is very philanthropic.
She said her job is to make sure McCracken has the tools he needs to do the job.
During the discussion, Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she wanted the company to make sure that all residences with accounts have the proper garbage cans and Russ Cremer, noting that the company sweeps Olympic and Lakeshore drives once a month, suggested sweeping it more often. McCracken said they were willing to do those things.
Councilman David Claffey asked about a planned facility expansion and if it would move forward.
McCracken said yes, that they broke ground in January to expand their services. The new processing facility will eventually allow for putting things that formerly went in the trash — like pizza boxes — into the green waste bin.
Claffey also asked them to put the rates on the company website.
Cremer moved to approve the sale, with the council voting 5-0.
Council welcomes new finance director, gets reports, approves grant applications
In other business on Thursday, the city’s new finance director, Kelcey Young, introduced herself during the meeting’s public comment portion and thanked the council for bringing her on board.
“I’m very excited to be here,” she said.
The council voted in June to hire Young, who returned to her native California from Texas, where she was working for the city of Dallas.
Before working in Dallas, Young said she worked in San Antonio. She also has worked in Seattle.
“I am a California girl at heart,” she said, explaining she went to high school in San Diego and attended college at Humboldt State.
She has a background in procurement, contract management, budgeting and process improvement.
Young has two children and two dogs. They’ve been here a week. “Clearlake has already stolen our heart.”
Over the past year, Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White filled the finance director role while recruitment took place.
Also on Thursday, Mayor Dirk Slooten presented a proclamation promoting tolerance, respect, equity and inclusion to county Supervisor Moke Simon and the council received a staff update on the progress of the city’s 2021 Chip Seal Project.
The council also approved joining the Joint Powers Authority of the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority and heard updates from Code Enforcement and the owner of properties at 14541 and 14525 Lakeshore Drive.
Council members also rejected four bids for the Sulphur Fire Roadway Disaster Repair Project, which staff asked that they do due to irregularities in the bids. The project will be put out for new bids on Friday, with a Sept. 2 deadline.
Chief White presented to the council a request to prepare and submit two program income only applications for $420,000 through the California Housing and Community Development CDBG Program. White said the city previously took input on the proposal on July 21.
He said $155,000 would be used for upgrades at the senior center, including resurfacing and improving the parking lot, landscaping, irrigation installation and outdoor activity areas.
White said $265,000 will be used for improvements at Redbud Park, including a complete rehabilitation of the bathrooms along with auto locking doors, possible repairs and painting for the wooden pier, and additional lighting and cameras. Fixes to the gazebo also are being considered.
Other business items approved by the council on Thursday included a resolution certifying the appointment of David Deakins as Building Inspector II and the first reading of Ordinance No. 256-2021, an amendment to Chapter 17 of the Clearlake Municipal Code repealing and replacing floodplain management regulations.
The council met in closed session before the regular meeting to discuss lawsuits against the county treasurer-tax collector and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., and to hold negotiations with Burbank Housing Corp. for property at 6885 Old Highway 53. There was no reportable action out of the closed session.
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. — The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday welcomed the city’s first police K-9 in more than a decade.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen introduced K-9 Olin to the council at the start of the Tuesday night meeting.
Olin is a year-and-a-half-old sable German shepherd born in Europe, where Rasmussen said most police dogs come from now.
In June, he was paired with his handler, Officer Kaylene Strugnell.
The Lakeport Police Department hasn’t had a K-9 since Max, a Belgian Malinois, retired in 2009.
It’s long been a goal of Rasmussen’s to reestablish a K-9 program.
In 2018, Rasmussen and his department received the council’s approval to apply to the United States Department of Agriculture for $38,000 through its Community Facilities Grant to start the K-9 Unit.
The city received those funds, which paid for a state-of-the-art K-9 patrol vehicle with protection for the dog built into it.
Rasmussen said Lakeport Police needed community partnerships to satisfy the USDA grant guidelines, and it took time to put it all together, with Strugnell selected to be the handler before they had the program.
One of the key partnerships was with the Lucerne Area Revitalization Association, or LARA, which offered to be the fiscal sponsor, Rasmussen said.
LARA was created by the founders of Lake County News to work on community projects. The organization stepped forward in 2020 to take on the fiscal sponsor role when the group originally set to be the fiscal sponsor did not end up forming.
Rasmussen also recognized the critical partnership of the Sean M. Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation, which awarded Lakeport Police $10,000 to purchase Olin.
The organization was created in 2012 by Cheryl Walsh in memory of her son, Sean Walsh, a military police soldier in the California National Guard serving in Operation Enduring Freedom who was killed in action in the Khost province of Afghanistan on Nov. 16, 2011.
He had wanted to be a K-9 handler when he left the military, a dream inspired in part by his adoption of an abandoned German shepherd named Lena when he was 12 years old.
Olin is the 32nd dog the organization has purchased for law enforcement in the United States, Rasmussen said.
He acknowledged many other businesses that have stepped up to help with the ongoing fundraising that will be needed to support the program. That includes Bruno’s Shop Smart, whose All Access Rewards program allows customers to choose a local charity or nonprofit to receive 1% of qualified purchases. That program already has contributed several hundred dollars toward the K-9 program.
Susie Q’s Donuts & Espresso in Lakeport also is working on a fundraiser for the program, Rasmussen said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of community support,” and that’s what a program like this takes, said Rasmussen.
“So far it’s been pretty phenomenal,” he said, adding they’ve not started serious outreach yet.
Rasmussen presented Olin with his badge, which is just like his human counterparts wear. As K-9 badge No. 1 was presented to Strugnell, Rasmussen asked the young shepherd if he was going to be a good dog and catch a lot of bad guys.
“Olin loves his work. He’s super excited to be here,” said Strugnell, who had scratched his ears and given him head pats during the presentation. She noted he is very happy.
Cheryl Walsh spoke during the meeting via Zoom, thanking Rasmussen for his hard work over two years to raise the $117,000 necessary to put the K-9 program together.
“A lot of times we step in and we’re the tipping point,” Walsh said, explaining that the dog is often a K-9 program’s first piece.
She thanked the community for understanding the dog’s value. It has nothing to do with bite, it’s the sense of smell and ability to understand people, she explained.
While Olin is the 32nd dog the organization has placed, Strugnell is only the fifth female handler their efforts have supported, with Walsh noting that only a very small percentage of K-9 handlers are female.
Walsh noted her organization has assisted several other law enforcement agencies around the region with their K-9 programs, including Sonoma County, Cotati, San Rafael and St. Helena.
She congratulated the city for the new program.
Mayor Kenny Parlet, also attending via Zoom, in turn thanked Walsh. “We’re the ones who should be grateful,” he said.
In other business during Tuesday’s three-and-a-half-hour-long meeting, the council received a report on the first phase of a study on a possible recreation center and voted in support of moving forward with the study’s second phase, which will look more closely at possible locations, design, the capital cost estimate and funding sources.
The estimated price tag of about $22 million gave Parlet pause, but community members urged the council to continue studying the proposal.
Ultimately the council voted unanimously to conduct the study’s phase two, also approving the necessary $31,000 budget adjustment.
The Clearlake City Council agreed to move forward on the study’s second phase at its July 15 meeting and the Board of Supervisors is set to get an update on the study on Aug. 10. The three governments had shared the costs of the first study phase and it’s anticipated they will do the same with the next phase.
Also on Tuesday, Jeff Warrenburg, representing the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and Carlos Fagundes, manager of Bruno’s Shop Smart, presented checks to the city to go toward the July 4 fireworks show. The chamber’s check was for $3,275, while Bruno’s presented a $2,243.51 raised from customers.
The council also received updates on the All Children Thrive Youth Governance Council and on cyanobacteria from Lake County Health Services; held a public hearing and adopted the resolution to confirm and approve the utility billing delinquency list and the associated resolution and direct staff to submit the list to the Lake County auditor-controller for inclusion on the property tax roll; and discussed with Rasmussen the council current procedures for release of a vicious animal after an abatement order and seizure by the Animal Care and Control director.
Creeks, rivers and lakes that are fed by melting snow across the U.S. West are already running low as of mid-July 2021, much to the worry of farmers, biologists and snow hydrologists like me. This is not surprising in California, where snow levels over the previous winter were well below normal. But it is also true across Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, which in general received a normal amount of snow. You’d think if there was normal amount of snow you’d have plenty of water downstream, right?
Of course, a dry winter will result in meager flows in spring and summer. But there are other reasons snow from the mountains won’t reach a river below. One growing area of research is exploring how droughts can lead to chronically dry soil that sucks up more water than normal. This water also refills the groundwater below.
But another less studied way moisture can be lost is by evaporating straight into the atmosphere. Just as the amount of snow varies each year, so too does the loss of water to the air. Under the right conditions, more snow can disappear into the air than melts into rivers. But how snowfall and loss of moisture into the air itself relate to water levels in rivers and lakes is an important and not well understood part of the water cycle, particularly in drought years.
Losing moisture to the air
There are two ways moisture can be lost to the atmosphere before it reaches a creek or river.
The first is through evaporation. When water absorbs enough energy from the Sun, the water molecules will change into a gas called water vapor. This floating water vapor is then stored in the air. Most of this evaporation happens from the surface of lakes, from water in the soil or as snow melts and the water flows over rocks or other surfaces.
Another way moisture can be lost to the atmosphere is one you might be less familiar with: sublimation. Sublimation is when a solid turns directly into a gas – think of dry ice. The same can happen to water when snow or ice turns directly into water vapor. When the air is colder than freezing, sublimation happens when molecules of ice and snow absorb so much energy that they skip the liquid form and jump straight to a gas.
A number of atmospheric conditions can lead to increased evaporation and sublimation and eventually, less water making it to creeks and streams. Dry air can absorb more moisture than moist air and pull more moisture from the ground into the atmosphere. High winds can also blow moisture into the air and away from the area where it initially fell. And finally, the warmer air is and more Sun that shines, the more energy is available for snow or water to change to vapor. When you get combinations of these factors – like warm, dry winds in the Rockies called Chinook winds – evaporation and sublimation can happen quite fast. On a dry, windy day, up to around two inches of snow can sublimate into the atmosphere. That translates to about one swimming pool of water for each football field-sized area of snow.
Sublimation is mysterious
It is relatively easy to measure how much water is flowing through a river or in a lake. And using satellites and snow surveys, hydrologists can get decent estimates of how much snow is on a mountain range. Measuring evaporation, and especially sublimation, is much harder to do.
When scientists have been able to measure and estimate sublimation, they have measured moisture losses that range from a few percent to more than half of the total snowfall, depending on the climate and where you are. And even in one spot, sublimation can vary a lot year to year depending on snow and weather.
When moisture is lost into the atmosphere, it will fall to the surface as rain or snow eventually. But that could be on the other side of the Earth and is not helpful to drought-stricken areas.
Important knowledge
It is hard to say how important loss of moisture to the atmosphere is to the total water cycle in any given mountain range. Automated snow monitoring systems – especially at high elevations above the treeline – can help researchers better understand what is happening to the snow and the conditions that cause losses to the atmosphere.
The amount of water in rivers – and when that water appears – influences agriculture, ecosystems and how people live. When there is a water shortage, problems occur. With climate change leading to more droughts and variable weather, filling a knowledge gap of the water cycle like the one around sublimation is important.
In response to increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU patients due to the highly contagious Delta variant, and to further protect vulnerable Californians and health care workers, the California Department of Public Health on Thursday issued two new public health orders.
The first order requires workers in health care settings to be fully vaccinated or receive their second dose by Sept. 30.
This order builds on Gov. Newsom’s recent announcement requiring state workers and workers in health care and high-risk congregate settings to either demonstrate proof of full vaccination or be tested at least once per week.
Following the governor’s announcement, businesses and local governments have implemented similar measures for their employees.
“As we continue to see an increase in cases and hospitalizations due to the Delta variant of COVID-19, it’s important that we protect the vulnerable patients in these settings,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH director and State Public Health officer, said Thursday. “Today’s action will also ensure that health care workers themselves are protected. Vaccines are how we end this pandemic.”
This order applies to workers in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and in most other health care settings.
The second public health order directs hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities to verify that visitors are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19 in the prior 72 hours before indoor visits.
Updates to guidance for visitors to other long-term care facilities is expected in the near future.
Health care facilities are high-risk settings where COVID-19 outbreaks can have severe consequences for vulnerable populations including hospitalization, severe illness, and death. By requiring health care workers to be fully vaccinated and visitors to acute care facilities to demonstrate they are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19, California is protecting the most vulnerable individuals, while also protecting workers in these settings.
Employees may have options for compensated time off to get vaccinated, including COVID Supplemental Paid Sick Leave.
Access to PPE, worker training and education, and other infection control policies are still important tools in preventing transmission.
The state encourages facilities to make available resources that can help answer questions about vaccines and provide culturally sensitive advice.
The state’s goal is to ensure that vaccine sites are easily accessible for these workers.
California is leading the nation in vaccinations, with more than 45 million doses administered and 76.7% of the eligible population having received at least one dose.
However, the state is seeing increasing numbers of individuals — overwhelmingly unvaccinated — contracting COVID-19 and being admitted to the hospital and ICU. This increase is primarily due to the Delta variant.
California remains committed to increasing vaccination rates and urges businesses and local communities to encourage vaccination.
Health officials said COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and free. Unvaccinated Californians age 12 and up can go to http://myturn.ca.gov or call 833-422-4255 to schedule an appointment or go to http://myturn.ca.gov/clinic to find a walk-in clinic in their county.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Local hospitals are dealing with an influx of patients due to the COVID-19 delta variant, and in one case it has resulted in a new employee vaccination policy.
To help protect its patients, workforce and communities from the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant, not-for-profit Sutter Health — the parent organization of Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport — on Wednesday announced a new policy requiring its workforce to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 30.
“Our integrated network has a shared commitment to protecting the health and safety of our patients and the communities we serve,” said Sarah Krevans, president and CEO of Sutter Health. “I am grateful the majority of our workforce and allied physicians have already demonstrated their leadership and their confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines by getting fully vaccinated.”
Sutter joins a growing number of leading organizations across the country who are requiring employees to get vaccinated to help protect against the virus.
The new policy at Sutter comes as the highly infectious delta variant is rapidly increasing the number of COVID-19 cases.
“Our rigorous COVID-19 infection prevention protocols have so far helped protect the health and safety of our patients and our workforce,” said William Isenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Sutter Health’s chief quality and safety officer. “However, these measures alone are not enough against the increasing threat of highly infectious variants like delta.”
Isenberg said the only way to get ahead of this virus once and for all is for everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible. “The unfortunate reality is that the delta variant is driving a surge in hospitalizations throughout our network and around the country, mostly among unvaccinated people.”
Lake County Public Health officials have reported in recent weeks that both Adventist Health Clear Lake and Sutter Lakeside Hospital have had more COVID-19 patients than ER beds.
That’s because Lake County’s case rate per 100,000 over a seven-day average has remained the highest in the state for the past month. On Wednesday, it was 57 per 100,000, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Over the weekend, Charlie Evans, MD, Lake County’s acting Public Health officer, had reported that the critically high county case rate had been putting the two hospitals under strain for the previous two weeks.
The situation prompted Evans to ask people not to overuse the county’s limited intensive care and emergency medicine resources, but to seek testing, vaccination and care for mild symptoms through other health care facilities and clinics.
Kim Lewis,a spokesperson for Adventist Health, told Lake County News that Lake County is currently at a positivity rate of 17%, where the rest of the state is around 6%.
“We are seeing an influx of patients with COVID-19 related symptoms and are providing them with appropriate care,” said Lewis.
Lewis said that because patients’ needs change daily, the hospital isn’t able to provide an exact count. “We have a 25 bed in-patient capacity, but can expand as needed.”
Lewis added, “As we continue to treat patients with COVID-19, we would like to remind our community and neighbors of the important role we all must play. Getting vaccinated and following CDC and state guidelines supports the health and well-being of community members and the physicians and nurses on the front lines.”
Ahead of its vaccination policy announcement, Sutter Health earlier this week said it was having challenges with growing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
“As much as we’re all ready to be done with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not yet done with us. The highly contagious delta variant is driving an increase in hospitalizations throughout our network and around the country, mostly among unvaccinated people,” the organization said in a statement.
Sutter Health urged people to get vaccinated, to be tested if necessary and informed them that they will need to wear masks at all of the organization's facilities.
What's up for August? Prime time for the Perseids, Jupiter and Saturn at “opposition,” and why the third moon of the season is kind of special.
August brings the best-known meteor shower of the year, the Perseids. This annual meeting shower happens each year as Earth crosses the debris trail of comet Swift-Tuttle. Most of these meteors are grains of dust up to the size of a pea and they create fabulous "shooting stars" as they burn up an Earth's atmosphere.
Although Perseids can be seen from mid-July through late August, the most likely time to see any meteors is a couple of days on either side of the peak.
This year the peak falls on the night of Aug. 11 and into the predawn hours of Aug. 12. (Think of that as "prime time" for the Perseids.)
Under really dark skies, you could see almost one per minute near the time of maximum activity. This year's peak night for the Perseids benefits from a moon that sets early in the evening, so it won't interfere with the faint meteors, but before it sets that evening, be sure to check out that gorgeous crescent moon in the west after sunset with brilliant planet Venus.
To enjoy the Perseid meteor shower, just find a safe, dark location away from bright city lights, lie down or recline with your feet facing roughly toward the north, and look up.
The meteors appear to radiate from around the constellation Perseus, but they can streak across the sky anywhere above you.
NASA also has a way for you to catch some Perseids online. NASA's Meteor Watch team plans a livestream overnight on Aug. 11. Visit http://go.nasa.gov/2021perseids for more details.
August is perhaps the best time this year to enjoy viewing Jupiter and Saturn, as both planets reach opposition this month.
“Opposition” is the term for when a planet is on the same side of the solar system as Earth and directly opposite from the Sun. It happens each year, as Earth loops around in its orbit, passing by the much slower-moving gas giant planets. Opposition is also near the time when Earth is closest to the planet, so this is when the planet tends to look its biggest and brightest.
Now, opposition does technically have a precise moment when the sun, Earth, and the planet line up, but in practice it's better to think of it as a period of time, usually about a month.
For Saturn, opposition takes place this year on Aug. 2 and for Jupiter, it's Aug. 19. For the latest close-up views and discoveries from Jupiter, follow NASA's Juno mission with NASA's solar system exploration website and social media.
As you're enjoying Jupiter and Saturn during August, watch as the increasingly full moon slides beneath the pair of planets over several days, from the 19th to the 22nd.
Plus, the full moon on Aug. 22 is what's known as a seasonal blue moon, as it's the third full moon out of four this season, where normally each season there are only three. This happens every two-and-a-half to three years or, as they say, “once in a blue moon.”
You can catch up on all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at www.nasa.gov.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
During a visit to a Clean California site in Long Beach on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined his plan for record investments in mental health services and behavioral health housing as part of a comprehensive approach to tackling the state’s homelessness crisis.
Earlier in the day, the governor met with residents, outreach workers and Caltrans clean-up crew members at an encampment in Stockton where unhoused individuals were offered options to move out of tents and into safer, more stable shelter and housing.
“We have to get to the root issues of why people end up on the street in the first place – and for many, that’s due to deteriorating mental health conditions,” said Newsom. “For too long, California has had a piecemeal response to homelessness. When officials shut one site down, another one was likely to pop up. We’re changing that mindset and working to remove encampments by treating the root causes — lack of housing and lack of mental health resources — by investing $3 billion for behavioral health and conservatorship housing.”
The plan includes a $12 billion investment over two years to confront the homelessness crisis, helping the most unwell individuals move off the streets and into housing with wrap-around services.
As part of this investment, Gov. Newsom led the charge for a $3 billion behavioral health housing initiative — the largest investment in California history for rebuilding the behavioral health pipeline.
The $3 billion plan is expected to create 22,000 new beds and treatment slots, a component of the 42,000 new homeless housing units that will be created under the California Comeback Plan.
Newsom last year signed legislation to strengthen Laura’s Law and expand funding for the treatment of substance abuse.
AB 1976 makes county participation in Assisted Outpatient Treatment (i.e. Laura’s Law) automatic unless a county opts out.
As of June 2021, a total of 31 counties in California have not opted out and will implement Laura’s Law, covering 80 percent of the state’s population. AB 2265 expands the kinds of services Mental Health Services Act funds can pay for, specifically addiction treatment.
In addition, the Department of Health Care Services has leveraged over $260 million in federal opioid funding to support the Medication Assisted Treatment Expansion Project, allowing easy access to opioid addiction treatment in emergency departments and hospitals, primary care clinics, drug treatment programs, jails and prisons, and other health care settings.
“Let me be blunt: it is unacceptable to not provide proper care to those struggling the most, who’ve found themselves homeless due to mental health and addiction challenges,” said Newsom. “We cannot continue to tolerate the open drug use on our streets — we can no longer just look the other way.”
The governor’s plan also advances CalAIM, a once-in-a-generation reform of our Medi-Cal system that will better manage risk and improve outcomes through whole person care approaches and addressing social determinants of health. This will better serve California’s most vulnerable residents: the homeless, our children and people cycling in and out of the criminal justice system.
To ensure that local governments fulfill their obligation to provide services to people experiencing homelessness and to create safe and clean streets for all Californians, the California Comeback Plan includes $147 million for encampment resolution and clean-up efforts.
In addition, the governor has launched the $1.1 billion Clean California initiative to hire people exiting homelessness, at-risk youth, formerly incarcerated individuals and others to support state and local litter abatement efforts, providing them with a steady income to get back on their feet and lower the rate of recidivism.
Caltrans will match local investments, focusing on the needs of more severely underserved communities, with the goal of funding 300 local projects throughout California over the three-year program.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The state reported this week that all nine properties in Lake County whose owners enrolled in California's statewide Consolidated Debris Removal Program have cleared the entire debris removal process and been returned to county officials to begin the permitting process for reconstruction.
Those Lake County properties were burned in last year’s LNU Lightning Complex.
The return to county officials of the final outstanding property by state debris officials makes Lake County the second Bay Area county with every participating property returned as ready for the start of the permitting process.
Earlier, state debris officials returned the last of 28 participating properties in Mendocino County to county officials.
Properties are returned to officials in their respective county after the abatement of bulk quantities of asbestos containing materials; the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soils; confirmation by a certified laboratory that soil samples taken from the property meet state health and environmental standards; the implementation of erosion control measures; the removal of hazardous trees; and a final walk-through by state debris officials to make sure debris removal operations on the property meet the standards of the program.
To date, debris officials have returned an additional 471 properties to officials in four other Bay Area counties as ready to start the permitting process.
State debris officials have returned 227 participating properties to officials in Napa County. The 227 returned properties represent 70.5% of the 322 properties whose owners chose to take part in either the full debris removal program or the program's hazardous trees only element.
The state also has returned 160 or 65.6%, of 244 participating properties in Sonoma County as well as 75, or 98.7%, of 76 participating properties in Santa Clara County to local officials.
In addition, state officials have sent back nine, or 30%, of the 30 participating properties in San Mateo County to local officials.
As of Aug. 4, 2,254, or 50.1%, of the 4,497 properties statewide participating in either the full debris removal program or the hazardous trees only element of the program have been returned to their respective county to begin the permitting process.
In 2020, more than 8,000 climate-induced wildfires burned 4.2 million acres of California, destroying more than 5,700 homes.
Property owners incur no direct costs for participation in the state-managed clean up and recovery program, administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, in collaboration with 25 participating counties.
Major clearing work: 98% complete
To date, the remains of 2020 wildfire survivors’ homes and property — burned metal, concrete, ash, and contaminated soil — have now been cleared from 98.3% of the properties enrolled in California’s statewide Consolidated Debris Removal Program.
Most properties still need critical soil testing, erosion control, and hazard tree removal to ensure the lots are safe for families to rebuild.
Wildfire survivors had the option to either use their own contractor or enroll in the state-managed program. Of the 5,991 properties with damage from the 2020 fires, 3,842 signed up to have the remains of their homes and other structures cleared by the state.
An additional 655 property owners signed up to participate in the Hazardous Trees Only element of the program.
As of Aug. 4, state-managed crews cleared burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from 3,775 of the properties throughout the state participating in the full debris removal program.
In Napa County, crews have removed eligible debris from 310, or 99.4%, of the 312 properties taking part in the full program.
Earlier, crews have cleared debris from the last of 214 Sonoma County properties participating in the full program, as well as from all 72 Santa Clara County participating in the full program.
State contractors also have cleared eligible debris from all 28 Mendocino County properties participating in the full program; as well as all 13 San Mateo County and all nine Lake County properties participating in the full program.
Before homeowners can begin rebuilding, cleared properties need additional work including:
— Separate contractors collect soil samples for verification at a state certified laboratory that they meet state environmental health and safety standards.
— Contractors next may install erosion control measures.
— Certified arborists or professional foresters assess wildfire-damaged trees in danger of falling on the public or public infrastructure for removal by separate contractors.
— Finally, state officials inspect the property to verify all completed work meets state standards. Debris officials submit a final inspection report to local officials to approve the property for reconstruction.
Property owners can track the above data on the Debris Operations Dashboard for the 2020 statewide wildfires. The dashboard is updated every hour and provides users with the ability to search by county or address.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The National Weather Service’s forecast says Lake County should expect more smoke and haze through part of the weekend.
Lake County’s blue summer skies began to turn a smoky hue on Thursday evening as smoke from fires to the north began making its way into the air basin.
The National Weather Service said northwest winds pushed smoke from the smoke from the fires more to the southeast on Thursday, bringing smoke to eastern Mendocino and Lake counties.
Widespread haze is forecast on Friday, with patchy smoke from Friday night through Saturday night, according to the forecast.
The skies are forecast to be clear from Sunday into next week.
Temperatures will hover in the high 90s during the day and the high 50s to low 60s at night through the coming week, the forecast said.
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. — Clearlake Animal Control has dogs of many sizes and breeds ready for new homes.
The newest dog is at the top.
‘Trixie’
“Trixie” is a female German shepherd mix with a short black and tan coat.
She is dog No. 5056.
‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a short brown coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 3476.
‘Blue Eyed Jack’
“Blue Eyed Jack” is a male German shepherd mix.
He is dog No. 5046.
‘Cleo’
“Cleo” is a female Doberman pinscher mix with a short gray coat who is new to the shelter.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4865.
‘Dusty’
“Dusty” is a male American Pit Bull Terrier with a tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4750.
‘Gizmo’
“Gizmo” is a senior male Chihuahua mix with a short tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4902.
‘Mara’
“Mara” is a female Rottweiler mix.
She has a short black and tan coat.
He is house-trained.
She is dog No. 4628.
‘Mary J’
“Mary J” is a female pit bull terrier mix.
She has a white and tan coat.
She is house-trained.
She is dog No. 4927.
‘Mitzy’
“Mitzy” is a female shepherd mix with a medium-length black and white coat.
She is dog No. 4648.
‘Mojo’
“Mojo” is a male Chihuahua mix with a short black and tan coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 4881.
‘Oakley’
“Oakley” is a male pit bull terrier mix.
He has a short red and white coat.
He is dog No. 4934.
‘Patches’
“Patches” is a male Chihuahua mix with a short tricolor coat.
He is dog No. 4903.
‘Petey’
“Petey” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 4963.
‘Sassy’
“Sassy” is a female American bully mix with a short black coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4602.
‘Sissy’
“Sissy” is a female American Staffordshire terrier mix with a black coat.
She is dog No. 4964.
‘Tanisha’
“Tanisha” is a female shepherd mix with a short orange and white coat.
She is dog No. 4647.
‘Terry’
“Terry” is a male Dutch shepherd mix with a smooth brindle coat.
He is dog No. 4880.
‘Tinsel’
“Tinsel” is a female American pit bull terrier mix with a short brindle and brown coat.
She is dog No. 4433.
‘Yule’
“Yule” is a male husky with a medium-length black and white coat.
He is dog No. 4432.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
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.
Edna Ledesma, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Alfonso Morales, University of Wisconsin-Madison
For many Americans, buying fresh local food at one of the estimated 9,000 farmers markets across the U.S. is one of summer’s pleasures. But farmers markets aren’t just nice amenities. Over the past 18 months, many have filled food supply gaps caused by COVID-19 shutdowns.
While numerous farmers markets shut down at the start of the pandemic, many soon reopened under state or local guidelines that mandated masks, social distancing and other precautions.
In fact, many farmers markets enjoyed their strongest-ever sales in 2020. Affluent shoppers became more interested in buying local food, while lower-income buyers were able to use federal benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Stepping into this expanded role was no mean feat – but we know from our research in city planning and urban food systems that with adequate support, marketplaces respond vigorously to crises and opportunities.
The fall and rise of urban farmers markets
Farmers have been selling their goods at public markets in the U.S. for centuries. Many U.S. cities evicted or sidelined street vendors in the mid-20th century to make room for large-scale retail stores. But in the 1970s and ‘80s, farmers markets started reappearing in middle-class communities and suburbs.
This resurgence, which reflected the rise of the environmental movement, was most evident in university towns like Berkeley, California, and Madison, Wisconsin. In these communities, restaurants, farmers markets and educated consumers converged around the idea of eating locally produced food. Consumers wanted to taste flavors they remembered from childhood, and a new generation of growers were learning and practicing ecologically friendly farming methods.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture became interested in the related phenomena of organic products and local foods sold directly to consumers. In the 1990s, the agency began to document the number of U.S. farmers markets.
Cities like Des Moines, Iowa, and San Antonio began to promote “placemaking” initiatives around markets, using them to help create quality public spaces. By the 2000s multifunctional markets became common, often serving racially and economically diverse populations.
For example, by 2019 Chicago had 27 outdoor farmers markets across the city, offering goods such as clothing and furniture along with food. Some cities repurposed sites such as fairgrounds and drive-in theaters to house outdoor markets.
Governments began to view markets as policy tools for promoting food security, fostering new farmers and supporting place-based community development. Advocacy organizations supporting farmers markets also emerged to help markets attract public and private support. In 2008 the Farmers Market Coalition, a California-based nonprofit, was launched to represent markets around the country.
According to the nonprofit organization Feeding America, food insecurity in the U.S. rose dramatically because of the pandemic. In 2020, 45 million people – including 15 million children – experiencing food insecurity, up from 35 million in 2019.
Farmers markets have become important tools for reducing food insecurity over the past 15 years. Most studies that measure food access focus on two factors: households’ proximity to food sources and access to transportation. Food sources can include supermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, farmers markets and food pantries. Among these options, consumers purchase healthy food mostly at supermarkets and farmers markets.
Federal funding distributed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture transformed food security during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program took a variety of steps to move locally and regionally produced food into schools, food banks and farmers markets.
About US$19 billion went to these various outlets. Farmers markets helped to expand access to food, with most states declaring them to be essential services.
While there are no uniform national statistics, surveys and media reports show that many food-insecure people shopped at farmers markets during the pandemic. A survey by the Farmers Market Coalition found that in the summer of 2020, purchases using SNAP benefits – the largest federal food assistance program – increased over 2019 levels at nearly 40% of markets that responded. From central Texas to western North Carolina to Connecticut, farmers markets reported dramatic increases in customers using SNAP and Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer cards.
Farmers markets for the 21st century
As the pandemic showed, farmers markets make communities more resilient during catastrophic events. We are working to help markets become more effective and efficient so that they can play even larger roles in their communities.
We have developed a toolkit called Farm 2 Facts for market managers to help them collect and analyze economic, ecological and other data to address a wide range of questions. For example, markets have used the program to track visitor counts and demographic trends, conduct outreach to low-income and minority shoppers and estimate the markets’ local economic impacts.
We also are developing ecosystem metrics to help farmers and markets educate consumers about farmers markets’ important ecological benefits. This tool will enable farmers to measure how their products promote environmental goals such as biodiversity and soil health.
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Technology investments are helping farmers markets to grow. One priority is having the capability to process electronic benefits transactions so that the markets can serve customers at all income levels. And decision-support software like Farm 2 Facts can help them document how farmers markets promote health, equality and sustainability.
The next time you visit a farmers market, look past the corn and cucumbers. You’ll see an organization that’s promoting health and wellness, contributing to the local economy and bringing people together.