LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Farmers’ Finest will open its seasonal market season on Saturday, May 2.
Market manager Cornelia Sieber-Davis said she has worked with local health officials and implemented rules at their request to ensure safety at the annual markets.
Sieber-Davis said the markets will take place rain or shine through Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays in a field across Argonaut Road next to Steele Wines, 4350 Thomas Drive in Kelseyville.
No markets are yet set to return to Library Park in Lakeport, which the city of Lakeport said remains closed to the public.
To start, Sieber-Davis said vendors will include farmers only.
Offerings confirmed so far include stone fruit, organic vegetables, plant starts, honey, olive oil, eggs and jam, she said.
“We are not allowed crafts, music and food to go – yet,” Sieber-Davis said.
Sieber-Davis said she is now working on a preorder system on the Lake County Farmers’ Finest website.
The new market season will kick off with a poetry contest, led by new Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie Guardado.
Submit your food- or farmers’ market-related poems to celebrate this season’s market to Guardado at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by noon on Thursday, April 30.
Winners will be announced on Friday, May 1. Awards will be in market money, which can be used on fresh goods: $80 for first, $40 for second and $20 for third.
For more information on the markets visit the website, or contact Sieber-Davis at 707-263-6076 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view 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.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Lake County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three local residents on Friday in connection to burglaries in Kelseyville and Lucerne.
Chelsea Leann Berry, 27, of Lakeport, Jason Donavon Harlan, 27, of Nice, and Monica Nicole Wright, 26, of Clearlake, were taken into custody on Friday morning, said Lt. Corey Paulich.
At 10:40 a.m. Friday Lake County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on Peninsula Drive in Kelseyville for a reported burglary, Paulich said.
Paulich said a witness reported seeing three subjects enter a residence and leave with a bag of items in a white Dodge with a damaged trunk.
While responding, the deputies saw a vehicle matching the description given by the witness driving on Soda Bay Road towards Lakeport. Paulich said the deputies conducted a vehicle stop at the Fast and Easy Market in Lakeport.
The deputies identified the three people in the vehicle as Berry, Harlan and Wright, and also recognized them as the individuals who had been captured on surveillance video committing a separate burglary earlier in the morning in Lucerne, Paulich said.
He said the deputies saw a suitcase in the vehicle that had a luggage tag with the address to the residence that had been burglarized on Peninsula Drive.
A records check showed Wright had an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant and Harlan was on felony probation for possession of stolen property, Paulich said.
Paulich said the three were interviewed about the burglaries. Berry and Wright admitted to participating in both burglaries, while Harlan denied being involved and said he had just been recently picked up by Berry.
Items from the Peninsula Drive and Lucerne burglary were located in the Dodge. The items were later identified by the owners and returned, Paulich said.
The deputies also located methamphetamine and heroin inside the vehicle. Paulich said Berry was in possession of methamphetamine and Wright was found to be in possession of heroin during the booking process.
All three were transported to the Lake County Jail where they were booked, Paulich said.
Paulich said Berry was booked for burglary during a state of emergency, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia; Wright for burglary during a state of emergency, possession of stolen property, conspiracy and bringing a controlled substance into a correctional facility; and Harlan for burglary during a state of emergency, possession of stolen property, conspiracy and violation of probation.
Berry and Wright’s bail is set at $50,000 each and Harlan is on a no-bail hold for violation of his probation, Paulich said, adding that all three remained in custody on Monday.
With most U.S. schools closed for the rest of the school year due to the COVID-19 outbreak – and uncertainty surrounding the decision to reopen them in the fall – parents may be tempted to try out home-schooling.
As a sociologist who has interviewed dozens of home-schooling parents to learn which practices work best, I know that first-timers can quickly find themselves feeling unprepared and overwhelmed. With that in mind, here are six tips for parents who educate their children at home.
1. Don’t copy a regular classroom
When many of the parents I interviewed first started home-schooling, they tried to make their homes look and feel like a traditional school environment. They set up desks and decorated the walls with the kinds of things you’d see in a classroom. They set a schedule and positioned themselves as teacher. But they soon came to see this as a rookie mistake that causes a lot of stress and pressure.
A woman I’ll call Beth, a 37-year-old mother who has been home-schooling her four children for four years, warns parents not do “public school at home” because “it doesn’t really work.”
“Don’t make it look like public school at your kitchen table,” Beth says. “Just have more conversations with kids and see who they are and that will help you develop how you want to do school because you’ll know what speaks to them.”
2. Don’t spend much on curriculum
You might feel the urge to rush to buy a “boxed curriculum,” a set of grade-level materials that can cost more than US$1,000. Before you do that, try to find free educational lessons on websites such as Khan Academy and Learning Games for Kids. Additionally, these home-schooling parents often used their local libraries for books and programming, although during the pandemic they are now using libraries’ online and e-book resources only. They also use documentaries found online and through TV streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
Also, most home-schooling parents that I interviewed didn’t subscribe to just one method or program. Instead, they piece together lessons that were unique to their child using a blend of commercial and free materials.
3. Be mindful of your time
The parents in my study, which is forthcoming, spent an average of 3.5 hours a day home-schooling. At first, this might seem like much less than the average of six to seven hours a day spent in the traditional public school classroom. However, one key difference is that at home, your child is receiving a one-on-one education instead of splitting one teacher’s attention with 25 or so other students. Instead of trying to have school all day, focus on quality over quantity.
“Megan,” a home-schooling mother of three, said she has often seen home-schooling parents “freaking out” because they want to give their children four or five hours of schooling a day. “One-on-one instruction is way more efficient than in a class of 20 to 30 kids,” Megan says. “And you don’t need to be schooling from nine to three every day solid.”
4. Be flexible
Many of the parents I spoke with stressed the importance of being flexible and doing what works for your family. Because children are now learning at home, an environment in which they are used to being relaxed, it could be beneficial to allow them to sit on the floor, to do their work in the evening, or to do school work on Saturdays instead of Wednesdays. Maybe your child will fare better completing all of their math on Tuesdays but spreading science lessons out over the week. Be willing to try new things if something isn’t working for your family.
“Be flexible. Give yourself a lot of grace because there’s definitely a learning period for everybody,” says “Gayle,” 36, a home-schooling mother of five. “And it takes a while to get the hang of it. And just figure out what works for you.”
5. Hire experts
Home-schooling parents don’t always take on the full burden of their child’s education themselves, particularly when their children get older and into tough subjects. Many hire online tutors. Sometimes children have an interest in something that their parent doesn’t know much about, such as a foreign language or astrophysics or organic chemistry. These parents turn to tutors and specialized classes to make sure their child gets the knowledge they need to succeed and can pursue subjects that spark their curiosity.
One such place to find tutors is Outschool, which offers classes, some with certified teachers and experts. The classes can cost anywhere from $10 for a one-time class to $200 to $300 for an entire semester. If your child needs more one-on-one instruction, the average cost of a personal tutor can range from $20 to $80 per hour, depending on the subject. Another good resource for tutoring is to tap into your local university to find both undergraduate and graduate students who may be looking to make some extra cash teaching children. Due to the closure of the majority of universities and music venues, online tutoring is becoming even easier to find, as many people have turned to the internet, using platforms such as Zoom, to continue to share their knowledge. Some are even offering their services for free.
6. Join support groups
Many parents in my research turned to Facebook and Google to find local and virtual home-schooling support groups. These groups are places where parents go to air their frustrations, seek playdates (even of the online, social distancing variety), review curriculum, ask questions and find resources. This would be particularly helpful before making decisions on curriculum or outsourcing. Cast a wide net when looking for support. If you’re nervous about joining because you feel as if you aren’t truly home-schooling, reach out to the admins of the group to see if it’s a good fit.
For many of these home-schooling parents, it was very helpful to have a group of like-minded people to turn to during tough times. “That’s one of things I like about the co-op … there’s other moms,” says “Brianna,” home-schooling mother of two. “So, during lunchtime, we can say, ‘I had a horrible day.‘ 'How do you do this or how do you do that?’ And a lot of things have come about just talking to people and in forming a community, because I don’t think you can home-school on your own without some type of support network.”
LAKEPORT, Calif. – City staff updated the Lakeport City Council at its last meeting about operational changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The staff gave the overview to the council at its April 21 meeting.
At that meeting, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace had been due to give the council an update, but City Manager Margaret Silveira said he was unable to attend due to a time conflict.
Silveira said the city needs to do everything it can to sustain businesses. “We will survive.”
She said the state has extended the time period up to a year for businesses to pay sales tax. “We just wish them all well.”
Silveria invited businesses to contact the staff and the city to ask about what help is available. Lake County Economic Development Corp. also is a repository for a lot of information.
Finance Director said he’s been trying to figure out what the future is going to look like for the city on the financial side, and that day he met with a sales tax consultant.
To get a picture, they are considering broad assumptions, and Walker said everything is still really uncertain. The plan is to get a budget in front of the council by June, as is normal. He said staff will bring forward an operating budget with some projections on revenues going forward.
Walker recommended suspending discretionary spending in the 2020 budget. As time passes, they will get a better idea of what the revenue is doing.
Regarding the sales tax issue, “Anything that’s going to help the local business is going to help the city,” he said, adding, “It’s simply a cash flow impact.”
Public Works Director Doug Grider said there has been a lot of talk about the COVID-19 testing of raw sewage that Lake County Special Districts has been involved in doing.
He said that testing isn’t yet going on in the city sewer system. Grider said the city initially didn’t have the necessary equipment to do the sampling. However, they have now acquired and installed it.
The issue now, he said, is, “The laboratory that does that test is overwhelmed.” Grider said the city is on a waiting list while the laboratory expands its testing capacity.
At that point, Grider said the new Library Park seawall was nearly complete, but the project had been impacted by supply chain issues. He said a few issues were left to finish the railing.
He said that the sidewalk project is moving along with new concrete scheduled to be poured this week.
Grider said that to reduce the potential for virus exposure, staff has been split. They are doing minor maintenance and addressing other work as needed.
Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his department has had to implement a major change in operations, implementing restrictions on travel and training, and community policing as they currently know it.
He said they are adapting on a regular basis to protect the community. That includes rolling out a new online reporting system built by Lt. Dale Stoebe.
They’re also conducting all outreach online. “That seems to be working well because all of our social media was so well established before this happened,” Rasmussen said.
As of that date, Rasmussen said the police department had 376 contacts – either educational or enforcement – regarding the shelter in place order, had checked the security of 590 businesses and completed 37 hours of foot patrol.
He said the department had, at that point, had only 28 criminal investigations since the shelter in place order went into effect on March 19, a 55-percent reduction, and had only eight arrests, a 70-percent reduction. Officer-involved contacts were up by 18 percent.
In mid-March, new policies restricted police from being able to book certain crimes into the Lake County Jail. Then, on April 9, the Judicial Council of California instituted a no-bail policy which Rasmussen said created other safety concerns.
As examples, he cited a high intoxicated drunk driver that they can’t book but have to babysit and a wanted parolee at large with felony violations of failing to register as a sex offender. In the latter case, the parolee had an ankle monitor placed on him before he was released.
Rasmussen said the no bail changes will be in effect for 90 days after the governor’s declared state of emergency is over.
“Although crime in Lakeport is currently down, it’s not going to stay that way,” said Rasmussen, noting there will be many individuals they won’t be able to book into the jail.
He said they had a parolee from another county earlier that day who was in violation of a felony domestic violence restraining order. His county of origin didn’t want to deal with him.
As far as the homeless, they are being directed to the Hope Harbor warming shelter at the former Record-Bee building, 2150 S. Main St., Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the shelter is having good success helping some people, but others are being ejected for serious rule violations, assaults on staff, and possession of heroin or other drug violations, and are back on the streets.
He said 32 individuals have been banned from the shelter, the only one operating for the homeless in the county right now. “There’s a strain with that,” said Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said many community members don’t understand that police can’t force the homeless to move from one public place to another unless it’s a place like Library Park, which has restrictions.
He also noted the additional police training demands due to COVID-19. All of the training is being done online, with 150 hours overall completed by that time.
Rasmussen said they’re staying very connected with all local, state and federal agencies.
He said the situation has introduced change “like we’ve never seen.”
Rasmussen added, “Law enforcement doesn’t necessarily like change, but they are good at it,” nothing they can almost turn on a dime and keep going.
The chief also thanked the community for its support.
Kelly Buendia, the city’s human resources director and city clerk, said the primary concern has been employee safety and administering personal protective equipment for staff.
She has been working to help department heads with staffing schedules, and they are implementing social distancing measures, telecommuting where possible.
Buendia said she also worked with staff to launch virtual and telephonic meetings for the council and committees.
Assistant City Manager Kevin Ingram said the city’s emergency operations center phone line remains available at 707-263-5683, with call volume.
He said the business assistance environment is changing rapidly, and the best strategy is to put businesses in contact with the Lake County Economic Development Corp.
Ingram said he, Silveira and Walker are following up with the Community Development Block Grant program, which may offer the city $70,000 in relation to the pandemic.
He said work also is still moving forward on two key projects, including the second phase of the Martin Street affordable housing development and the request for proposals for the lakefront park project which is being funded by the state.
“We’re doing our best to keep those things moving despite short staff and a little bit of uncertainty,” said Ingram.
Councilman Kenny Parlet said at the meeting that it looks like some really good things could come out of the pandemic in the long run.
He pointed to developments with telecommuting and said it looks like the economy could emerge in good shape – and that they could be better off in a different way. He said he was very encouraged – and even excited – and believed others should be as well.
In other business, at the April 21 meeting, Mayor George Spurr presented a proclamation declaring April 19 to 25 as National Volunteer Week in the city, and the council delayed approving a resolution adopting the Eleventh Street Corridor Multimodal Engineered Feasibility Study.
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. – On Wednesday, Mendocino College Career Education instructors provided Adventist Health with 250 3D printed face shields to use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, the college also delivered 240 N95 masks, and another 5,000 – including ear loop surgical, face shield, and N95 – were given directly from the Mendocino College Nursing Department.
“This is Mendocino College Career Education instructors and students in action, making a difference by responding to the immediate medical equipment needs of our community and our region,” said Dean of Career Education Dennis Aseltyne.
“We have been touched by the outpouring of support from our community for healthcare workers on the front lines. At a time when usual supply chain channels are disrupted, the team from Mendocino College has found a way to address a great need and help keep our staff safe through their creativity. This demonstrates that one does not have to be a front line healthcare worker to help our community during this challenging time and that everyone can step up and find a way to help,” said Jason Wells, president for Adventist Health in Mendocino County, which operates Adventist Health Howard Memorial and Adventist Health Ukiah Valley.
Theatre Arts/Technical Director Steve Decker and Computer Science instructor David Pai have been running up to five different 3D printers daily for the past several weeks preparing the masks. Between the five machines, approximately 25 masks can be made daily.
Decker and Pai admit that due to the new technology, the machines require a lot of handholding, which can result in slower production at times.
“In times of crisis, we want to leverage technology to provide solutions to problems,” Pai said. “This was one way that we could leverage our 3D printing technology at the college to support our front-line medical workers in this crazy time.”
The type of 3D printing is called fuse deposition modeling, or FDM. FDM is a type of printing that melts the material and pushes it out a small nozzle where material is needed that cools to make the new part. It is much like a hot glue gun, but more controlled and produces little fumes.
The material used is called polylactic acid and is a biodegradable thermoplastic made from plant-based sources such as sugar cane.
“These masks are vital to our first responders on the frontline. It's been great seeing how a new emerging technology can help out,” said Decker.
The college offers a course in 3D Design and Printing (CSC175), where students learn not only the intricacies of FDM printing but also how to design their own parts for printing.
In addition to FDM printing, students also gain experience using a stereolithography printer.
The 3D print lab is available to all students who have previously completed CSC175.
Theatre Arts instructor and professional costume designer Kathy Dingman-Katz has also been busy making free masks for the community and filling requests as they come in.
Two of her former costume construction students are also supplying local nurses with masks.
For more information about Career Education programs at Mendocino College, visit www.mendocino.edu/ce .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As we all practice social distancing and spend more time at home, we become ever more attuned to the nuances of our backyards and surroundings.
For example, the music of nature's wind song and the concurrent movement that creates swaying trees.
Now, wild iris, blue-eyed grass and native sunflowers are all showing up. Who can dispute that the cacophony of birdsong in the early morning hours known as the dawn chorus with its variety of cheeps, chirps, trills and twitters is not amazing?
This is the time of day when mainly the males of the bird species are attempting with all they've got to win a mate, claim their territory or protect their province.
One of nature's more beautiful bird songs is that of the mourning dove. Their song is a gentle coo, and can almost be described as poignant.
Since mourning doves are seed eaters, a pair is often seen near my backyard bird feeder after the blue jays, nuthatches, grosbeaks and house finches spill some tasty tidbits for their meal.
Mourning doves will occasionally consume wild grasses, berries, the occasional snail and other non-seed foodstuffs, but seeds are their food of choice.
While feeding on seed, the birds store the food in pouches located in their esophagus called a crop.
After the crop is full the doves take time to digest the seeds somewhere secluded from danger. If adult male or female doves have young, which are known as squabs, they will feed the digested seeds, or crop milk to their squabs since the young are unable to digest raw seeds themselves.
Both sexes sit on the nests prior to hatching to incubate the eggs in nests made haphazardly of grasses and twigs.
The plump-looking brownish-to-tan birds show black spots on their wings and a long, elegant tail. This species of dove is found all across America.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology another bird in their family, the non-native Eurasian collared-dove is colonizing North America rapidly and may be affecting the native mourning dove populations.
Mourning doves have an extended cultural history affiliated with peace, and celebrations such as weddings and other holidays.
The eastern mourning dove has a starring role as both Michigan and Wisconsin's state symbol of peace.
According to the book, “Pomo Myths” by S.A. Barrett, Dove has a featured part in the Pomo Indian myth called “The Theft of the Sun,” which takes place in Scotts Valley and also features Blue Jay, Lizard, Crow and Buzzard.
North American poets Robert Bly, Jared Carter, Lorine Niedecker and Charles Wright have all incorporated mourning doves into their poetry.
For more information on mourning doves and other birds, and to become involved in citizen science projects, visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Nest Watch site at https://nestwatch.org/ .
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.”
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors last week approved COVID-19-related policies for employees that will include hazardous duty leave with a potential cash payout and a requirement that staff use masks when working in public.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson presented the proposals for hazardous duty leave and facial masking to the board in two separate discussions at its April 21 meeting.
Huchingson said she and an ad hoc committee met with all of the department heads the previous week, and they “overwhelmingly conveyed” to staff that to offer hazardous duty leave below the value of emergency paid sick leave would be a disincentive.
As a result, the ad hoc committee recommended a limited, one-time benefit of 80 hours of hazardous duty leave be made available to essential employees, equal to the 80 hours of paid time non-essential employees are receiving while sheltering in place. The leave would need to complete the required forms that would be subject to approval.
On July 30, 2021, approved employees would be able to get 40 hours of payout for the unused balance, she said.
Huchingson said that if all eligible employees took that payout, it would account for 2 percent of the work time for a year. The total cost to the county would be $916,000, of which $363,000 would be general fund costs, with the remainder to be covered by the self-funded departments.
Alternatively, Huchingson said projected costs based on what is budgeted for 2019-2020 – which she said assumed all positions are filled despite the county’s ongoing vacancy rate of above 20 percent – would total $1,080,848, of which $413,791 would be general fund, with the remainder covered by the self-funded departments.
She said staff intended to use salary savings to cover the cost and will reevaluate at midyear during the 2020-21 fiscal year budget.
Huchingson said the cost of lost productivity resulting from the emergency paid leave at 80 hours each for non-essential employees during the shelter in place order – with approximately 200 employees requesting that leave to that date – was still being determined, as the shelter in place remained active and approvals were continuing.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said that, from the beginning, the goal has been to support staff who are still being requested to go to work.
“I feel like this is a necessary thing to provide to our staff,” said Sabatier, getting agreement from board Chair Moke Simon.
Supervisor Rob Brown said it’s among the toughest decisions they have to make. “I don’t know the easy answer. I really don’t,” he said.
“I’m not sold on the idea that we can afford it,” said Brown, explaining that this same board may have to look at laying people off rather than just cutting positions due to the economic issues related to the pandemic. “We’ll see who’s really essential at that point.”
Brown said the impacts of the pandemic are going to hit the county hard due to the ripple effect, referring to a recent survey that showed 28 local businesses are closed and may not reopen.
He said he had a hard time committing to almost $1 million in extra costs, not because it’s not for a good purpose but because he doesn’t believe they have the money.
Sabatier said they could cover it without even tapping into the county’s rainy day fund. He mentioned the money used to put into reserves from the sale last year of the Lucerne Hotel – which Huchingson had pushed because she said the county needed the money – and said the county had the money to cover the expense. He added it wouldn’t cause the county to have to cut positions.
Brown replied that he didn’t say, nor imply, that this issue alone was going to break the county. He said it’s a small portion of what is going to hit the county.
The other board members expressed their comfort with going forward with the potential additional expenditure.
Public Services Director Lars Ewing raised to the board his concern that the policy only covers permanent employees, not the county’s extra-help employees. He said he has more than a dozen extra help employees working in essential capacities.
Huchingson told the board that she’s had repeated conversations with Ewing about the topic. “It’s not forgotten,” she said, explaining that they were working on permanent employees at that point.
Sheriff Brian Martin said the issue was a direct response to what the federal government did weeks earlier when mandating two weeks of leave.
The board approved the leave policy 4-1, with Brown voting no, and gave Huchingson the authority to meet and confer with employee union groups.
New masking policy approved
The board followed that discussion by another in which it approved a temporary policy requiring county employees to wear face masks when working in public at county facilities.
“The policy is a very simple one,” said Huchingson.
With Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace having issued guidance on April 13 in which he strongly urged masking in public, Huchingson said the proposed policy was for county employees to wear masks in county facilities when they are working with the public. Masks will be provided to employees by the county. The policy remains in effect until the board ends it.
“This is a great lead-by-example type situation,” said Sabatier.
Huchingson said touchless hand sanitizer also has been placed in the courthouse.
Supervisor Tina Scott asked if they had masks. Huchingson said they have some expired N95 masks and other departments are in the process of acquiring new ones.
Huchingson said employees can wear whatever type of mask they want, they just have to cover their mouth and nose.
Ewing said his department has a process in place for getting masks as part of ordering cleaning supplies.
The board approved the masking policy 5-0.
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 Board of Supervisors this week will again take up several items related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including a possible requirement for the public to wear masks when visiting county government facilities.
The board will meet virtually beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, 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 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx . 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.
In an untimed item, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson will take to the board a proposed urgency ordinance establishing temporary safety protocols for when county of Lake facilities reopen.
Specifically, the ordinance would require the public to wear masks when in county facilities under the same conditions in which county employees must wear masks as outlined in a temporary policy the board enacted on April 21.
The board also will consider a request to appoint a negotiating team for the sale of a portion of the surplused property located at 7175 S. Center Drive in Clearlake.
Last week, Lake Transit Agency received a $13 million grant for a new transit hub that it proposes to build at that site.
In other business, the board will get its weekly update on COVID-19 from Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace at 9:01 a.m.
At 10 a.m., staff is scheduled to update the board on community choice aggregation, which enables local jurisdictions to pool the electricity demand of participating communities' facilities to purchase and develop power on their behalf.
In an untimed item, the board will consider a resolution recommending that the county treasurer-tax collector immediately implement procedures to facilitate taxpayer applications for penalty waivers and payment plans for property taxes to assist county taxpayers during the ongoing pandemic.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution approving amended Agreement No.18-0689-000-SA with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to provide reimbursement for Industrial Hemp Cultivation Program for agreement term April 30, 2019 through June 30, 2020.
5.2: Sitting as Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, authorize the air pollution control officer to sign the grant agreement, all other state program documents, grant recipient contracts, accept all AB617 Incentive Funds allocated for Lake County, and to implement the program.
5.3: Approve agreement between county of Lake and CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP for Audit Services for fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, Amendment No. 1 and authorize the chair to sign.
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 first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and North Valley Behavioral Health LLC for fiscal year 2019-20 to increase the contract maximum to $362,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.5: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings from March 3, 2020, March 27, 2020, and March 31, 2020.
5.6: Approve the continuation of local health emergency related to the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) as proclaimed by the Lake County Public Health officer.
5.7: Adopt resolution to amend the budget for FY 2019-2020 by appropriating unanticipated revenue for Public Health Services and authorize the Health Services director to sign necessary documents to secure these funds .
5.8: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex Fire incident (River and Ranch fires).
5.9: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Pawnee Fire incident.
5.10: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to COVID-19.
5.11: (a) Waive the competitive bidding process in accordance with County Code Section 2-38.2 because it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve agreement between the county of Lake and SHN Engineers & Geologists Inc. for technical support services for Eastlake Sanitary Landfill 2020 waste discharge requirements and authorize the chair to sign; and (c) approve agreement between the county of Lake and SHN Engineers & Geologists Inc. for technical support services for Eastlake Sanitary Landfill 2020 Monitoring and Reporting Program and authorize the chair to sign.
5.12: (a) Waive the normal sealed bid process under Ordinance No. 2406, Section 38.4 for the purchase of a Central Garage pool vehicle; and (b) authorize the Public Works director/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order through the statewide bid contract to Downtown Ford in the amount of $34,872.69.
5.13: Approve waiver of the 900 hour extra help limit for Facilities Maintenance Worker James Adam, Deputy Sheriff Michael Moore, Marine Patrol Deputy Sheriff’s Brenndon Bosse, Kevin Odom, Emil Devincenzi, Lloyd Wells and Dennis Ostini.
5.14: (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; (b) approve the customer price quote from AMS.NET for the purchase of VOIP phone and licensing for the sheriff’s facilities in the amount of $25,524.32 and authorize the sheriff/coroner and director of information technology to issue a purchase order.
5.15: (a) Approve agreement between the Lake County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Forest Service for FY 20/21 annual operating and financial plan in the amount of $11,000 for Pillsbury Patrol; (b) approve grant modification agreement in the amount of $52,420 for the purchase of equipment for the Goat Mountain joint repeater project, (c) adopt the resolution to allocate unanticipated revenue and authorize the sheriff and the chairman to sign.
5.16: Approve Waiver of the 900 hour limit for certain janitorial positions within the Department of Social Services.
5.17: (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 the goods and services; and (b) approve the agreement between county of Lake and Clean Lakes Inc. for the Aquatic Vegetation Management Program for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 in the amount of $205,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
6.1, 9:01 a.m.: Consideration of Update on COVID-19.
6.3, 9:06 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of a local health emergency and order prohibiting the endangerment of the community through the unsafe removal, transportation and disposal of fire debris for the Mendocino Complex fire.
6.4, 10 a.m.: Consideration of an update on community choice aggregation and direction to staff for future efforts.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors recommending that the county treasurer-tax collector immediately implement procedures to facilitate taxpayer applications for penalty waivers and payment plans for property taxes to assist county taxpayers during the ongoing pandemic.
7.3: Consideration of request to appoint negotiating team for the sale of a portion of the surplused property located at 7175 S. Center Drive, Clearlake, CA (APN: 010-043-52).
7.4: Consideration of (a) resolution authorizing cannabis equity grant funding; and (b) discussion of equity assessment and program development .
7.5: Consideration of an urgency ordinance establishing temporary safety protocols upon the reopening of county facilities to the public during the ongoing COVID-19 State of emergency.
7.6: Addendum, consideration of letter to the board of barbering and cosmetology requesting restrictions be lifted temporarily to allow local barbers and hairstylists to go into the homes of their clients to provide services during the COVID-19 crisis.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with real property negotiator pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.8: Property: APN: 010-043-052; 7175 S. Center Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422. Negotiating parties: Lake County Administrative Office and Lake County Transit Authority. Under negotiation: Price and terms of payment.
8.2: Conference with Legal Counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(1): EEOC Charge of C. McCormick.
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 Clearlake City Council will hold a special meeting this week to consider extending an urgency ordinance that instituted a temporary moratorium on tenant evictions during the COVID-19 emergency, and to discuss equipment lease and purchasing agreements.
The council will meet virtually at 9 a.m. Monday, April 27.
Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual meeting will be broadcast live on Lake County PEG TV’s YouTube Channel.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . You can also visit the city’s new town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/8638. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
On Monday the council will present a proclamation declaring April 12 to 18 as Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week.
Business items on the Monday agenda include consideration of extending or repealing Urgency Ordinance 239-2020 relating to a temporary moratorium on residential tenant evictions during COVID-19 emergency. The council first adopted the ordinance on March 19.
Also on Monday, the council will consider authorizing tax-exempt lease/purchase agreements for a 2021 Kenworth water truck and a 2021 Kenworth 10-yard dump truck. Monthly payments will total $7,098.49.
The trucks are needed to replace city equipment that’s no longer compliant with air quality requirements.
The council also will consider authorizing the purchase of two trailer-mounted, emergency 70KW generators with funds from the 2019 CalOES grant the city received earlier this year. The two trailers together will cost $126,500.
In other business, the council will hold a public hearing regarding the proposed sale of several former Redevelopment Agency properties located at 36th Avenue.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – is the adoption of Resolution No. 2020-18, the designation of applicant’s agent for non-state agencies.
This article has been updated to add the information on the 36th Avenue properties.
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.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak on Monday announced their respective states are joining California, Oregon and Washington in the Western States Pact – a working group of Western state governors with a shared vision for modifying stay at home orders and fighting COVID-19.
“I want to thank Colorado and Nevada for joining the Western States Pact,” said California Governor Newsom. “COVID-19 doesn’t follow state or national boundaries, and it will take every level of government, working together to get the upper hand on this virus.”
“Coloradans are working together to slow the spread of COVID-19 and have important information to share with and to gain from other states. I’m thrilled Colorado is joining the Western States Pact,” said Gov. Polis. “There’s no silver bullet that will solve this pandemic until there is a cure so we must have a multifaceted and bold approach in order to slow the spread of the virus, to keep our people safe and help our economy rebound.”
“I’m honored to have the State of Nevada join the Western States Pact and believe the sharing of critical information and best practices on how to mitigate the spread, protect the health and safety of our residents, and reopen responsibly will be invaluable as we chart our paths forward,” said Gov. Sisolak. “Millions of visitors from our fellow Western states travel to Nevada every year as a premier tourism destination, and this partnership will be vital to our immediate recovery and long-term economic comeback.”
Gov. Newsom, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee recently announced they would be working together under a shared vision for gradually modifying their states’ stay at home orders and fighting COVID-19.
They listed three shared principles as foundational to the agreement:
– Our residents’ health comes first. As home to nearly one in five Americans and gateway to the rest of the world, the West Coast has an outsized stake in controlling and ultimately defeating COVID-19.
– Health outcomes and science – not politics – will guide these decisions. Modifications to our states’ stay at home orders must be made based off our understanding of the total health impacts of COVID-19, including the direct impact of the disease on our communities; the health impact of measures introduced to control the spread in communities – particularly felt by those already experiencing social disadvantage prior to COVID-19; and our health care systems’ ability to ensure care for those who may become sick with COVID-19 and other conditions. This effort will be guided by data. We need to see a decline in the rate of spread of the virus before large-scale reopening, and we will be working in coordination to identify the best metrics to guide this.
– Our states will only be effective by working together. Each state will work with its local leaders and communities within its borders to understand what’s happening on the ground and adhere to our agreed-upon approach.
As part of the Western States Pact, the governors commit to working together toward the following four goals:
– Protecting vulnerable populations at risk for severe disease if infected. This includes a concerted effort to prevent and fight outbreaks in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
– Ensuring an ability to care for those who may become sick with COVID-19 and other conditions. This will require adequate hospital surge capacity and supplies of personal protective equipment.
– Mitigating the non-direct COVID-19 health impacts, particularly on disadvantaged communities.
Protecting the general public by ensuring any successful lifting of interventions includes the development of a system for testing, tracking and isolating. The states will work together to share best practices.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport reported that Library Park has not been reopened, but another city-owned lakeshore property, Dutch Harbor, is available for public use.
Updated health orders Issued last week by Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace now allow some activities including fishing from shore, hiking and jogging in areas where public parks are open, as Lake County News has reported.
However, the city of Lakeport reported that Library Park remains fully closed and these activities will not be allowed there.
While the city reported that it does desire to open Library Park as soon as it can, “We must be able to fully provide for public health and safety and there are additional reasons that we can not yet allow any activities,” officials said in a Sunday statement.
Major construction is still in progress at Library Park, and to protect employees from the spread of COVID-19 the city has limited park staff available and it does not have any open public restrooms available.
“We will continually assess our ability to allow public access as we understand the people’s desire to use their public parklands,” city officials said.
While Library Park remains closed, the city-owned land known as Dutch Harbor in the 900 block of North Main Street is open for public access, the city said.
Dutch Harbor has parking and the shore of Clear Lake can be reached for fishing or walking.
Joshua M. Pearce, Michigan Technological University
Most products in Americans’ homes are labeled “Made in China,” but even those bearing the words “Made in USA” frequently have parts from China that are now often delayed. The coronavirus pandemic closed so many factories in China that NASA could observe the resultant drop in pollution from space, and some products are becoming harder to find.
The cost of 3D printers has dropped low enough to be accessible to most Americans. People can download, customize and print a remarkable range of products at home, and they often end up costing less than it takes to purchase them.
From rapid prototyping to home factory
Not so long ago, the prevailing thinking in industry was that the lowest-cost manufacturing was large, mass manufacturing in low-labor-cost countries like China. At the time, in the early 2000s, only Fortune 500 companies and major research universities had access to 3D printers. The machines were massive, expensive tools used to rapidly prototype parts and products.
More than a decade ago, the patents expired on the first type of 3D printing, and a professor in Britain had the intriguing idea of making a 3D printer that could print itself. He started the RepRap project – short for self-replicating rapid prototyper – and released the designs with open-source licenses on the web. The designs spread like wildfire and were quickly hacked and improved upon by thousands of engineers and hobbyists all over the world.
Many of these makers started their own companies to produce variants of these 3D printers, and people can now buy a 3D printer for US$250 to $550. Today’s 3D printers are full-fledged additive manufacturing robots, which build products one layer at a time. Additive manufacturing is infiltrating many industries.
My colleagues and I have observed clear trends as the technology threatens major disruption to global value chains. In general, companies are moving from using 3D printing for prototyping to adopting it to make products they need internally. They’re also using 3D printing to move manufacturing closer to their customers, which reduces the need for inventory and shipping. Some customers have bought 3D printers and are making the products for themselves.
This is not a small trend. Amazon now lists 3D printing filament, the raw material for 3D printers, under “Amazon Basics” along with batteries and towels. In general, people will save 90% to 99% off the commercial price of a product when they print it at home.
Coronavirus accelerates a trend
We had expected that adoption of 3D printing and the move toward distributed manufacturing would be a slow process as more and more products were printed by more and more people. But that was before there was a real risk of products becoming unavailable as the coronavirus spread.
The value of industrial commodities continues to slide because the coronavirus has put a major dent in demand as manufacturers shut down and potential customers are quarantined. This will limit people’s access to products while increasing their costs.
The disruptions to global supply chains caused by strict quarantines, stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures in industrialized nations around the world present an opportunity for distributed manufacturing to fill unmet needs. Many people are likely, in the short to medium term, to find some products unavailable or overly expensive.
In many cases, they will be able to make the products they need themselves (if they have access to a printer). Our research on the global value chains found that 3D printing with plastics in particular are well advanced so any product with a considerable number of polymer components, even if the parts are flexible, can be 3D printed.
Metal and ceramic 3D printing is already available and expanding rapidly for a range of items, from high-cost medical implants to rocket engines to improving simple bulk manufactured products with 3D printed brackets at low costs. Printable electronics, pharmaceuticals and larger items like furniture are starting to become available or will be in the near future. These more advanced 3D printers could help accelerate the trend toward distributed manufacturing, even if they don’t end up in people’s homes.
There are some hurdles, particularly for consumer 3D printing. 3D printing filament is itself subject to disruptions in global supply chains, although recyclebot technology allows people to create filament from waste plastic. Some metal 3D printers are still expensive and the fine metal powder many of them use as raw material is potentially hazardous if inhaled, but there are now $1,200 metal printers that use more accessible welding wire. These new printers as well as those that can do multiple materials still need development, and there’s a long way to go before all products and their components can be 3D printed at home. Think computer chips.
When my colleagues and I initially analyzed when products would be available for distributed manufacturing, we focused only on economics. If the coronavirus continues to disrupt supply chains and hamper international trade, however, the demand for unavailable or costly products could speed up the transition to distributed manufacturing of all products.