LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County residents ventured out by the thousands to events over the Memorial Day weekend, a time that has traditionally been the official beginning of the summer season but this year also marks a return to a more familiar pattern of community life and celebration.
As the transition from full COVID-19 lockdown to reopening continues over the coming weeks, several celebrations that had been canceled last year were back, in modified form, this weekend.
In Lakeport, the Lakeport Main Street Association presented the Memorial Day parade on Saturday.
While the association had encouraged people to watch it online, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said it was a good turnout, with the crowd size in the hundreds.
“People were spread out well from Martin Street all the way to the end at Clearlake Avenue,” Rasmussen said, adding the event went well with no problems.
One of the changes this year was that there was no Kiwanis and 4-H breakfast before the parade, Rasmussen said.
In Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Daze event came back on Sunday with its parade but changed from a barbecue in the park to a street fair that stretched along the length of Main Street downtown.
It was a change that the event's organizers, members of the Lower Lake Community Action Group, hoped would offer more safety for the sake of social distancing, and community members who visited gave it their approval.
“I have never seen so many people there. We attend every year. I think everyone liked the change. I have only heard positive things about it,” said Clearlake resident Fawn Williams.
She added, “It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves.”
The warm three-day weekend culminated on Monday morning with the Middletown Cemetery District’s Memorial Day service, focusing on the sacrifice that’s at the core of the holiday.
Despite very hot weather — it was around 90 degrees at the time the ceremony started at 9 a.m. — mistress of ceremonies Linda Diehl-Darms said it drew a “wonderful turnout,” estimating between 60 and 75 people were in attendance.
“People are ready to get out,” said Diehl-Darms.
This year’s ceremony featured the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team, with the 4-H Club carrying out the flag ceremony, and Girl Scouts Troop No. 10403 and Daisy Troop No. 10917 assisting with wreaths, programs and flag placement on the 219 veterans’ graves at the cemetery on Butts Canyon Road.
Supervisor Moke Simon read the names the veterans buried at Middletown Rancheria, his predecessor on the board Jim Comstock read the names of the veterans buried in the Middletown Cemetery, Voris Brumfield gave the benediction, musicians David Neft and Kathleen Escude performed, and the Lions Club once again provided equipment and set up.
A special addition to this year’s ceremony was the dedication of headstones for three Civil War veterans, Hiram Cook, Phillip Maxwell and David Henry Thorne, who are interred at the cemetery. Dean Enderlin, past department commander of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Cindy Eddy, past department president of the Auxiliary for three Civil War veterans, performed the dedication.
Diehl-Darms said she heard good comments about the memorial. “It was a really good celebration.”
She said another major summertime event — Middletown Days — will return this year over Father’s Day weekend.
The Middletown Central Park Association will hold the 60th annual event June 18 to 20.
There will be a parade, barbecue, cornhole tournament, dancing, cowboy team races, mutton bustin’, cutest cowboy and girl contest, and more.
“It’s a packed weekend,” Diehl-Darms 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.
LUCERNE, Calif. — Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating a shooting incident that occurred in Lucerne on Sunday night.
Shortly before 9:45 p.m. Sunday deputies and firefighters were dispatched to a home in the 3300 block of Ogden Road on the report of a gunshot victim.
Firefighters requested an air ambulance to respond to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, according to radio traffic.
Scanner traffic indicated that it took nearly an hour for an air ambulance to get to Sutter Lakeside’s helipad, with no other helicopters available.
Lt. Corey Paulich confirmed to Lake County News on Monday that the sheriff’s office is investigating the shooting.
Paulich said the shooting victim was flown to an out-of-area hospital and is in stable condition.
No arrest has been made as detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting, Paulich said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Lake County Sheriff’s detectives at 707-262-4238.
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.
The U.S. is in far different shape today than it was last Memorial Day, and many Americans are, too.
According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, undesired changes in weight driven by pandemic stress are widespread: 42% of adults reported gaining weight, with a median weight gain of 15 pounds, while 18% reported undesired weight loss. About 66% of people reported changes in their sleep habits, and 23% of respondents reported an increase in alcohol use.
The switch that got flipped in March 2020 to social distancing, remote schooling, mask-wearing and long-distance work – or no work – is switching back almost as abruptly. With little preparation time, many people are faced with wanting to be in top form for reentry. Resuming – or beginning – healthier habits is a wonderful goal. Trying to get back to normal too quickly, however, may be hard on joints and hearts. Here is a guide to help you get back in shape without hurting yourself.
Attitude matters
It is vital to begin with acceptance of your current state while you plan and implement changes. It may be necessary to hold two seemingly contradictory truths at once – a core tenet of dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT. A classic example of DBT is when a therapist tells a client, “I love you exactly the way you are, and I’m here to help you change.” The statements are simultaneously in opposition to each other and true.
Doing this in terms of pandemic-driven changes involves three steps:
Take note of the current reality, such as, “I am up 10 pounds,” “I am drinking more than before the pandemic,” or “I’m not getting enough exercise anymore,” but without negative self-judgment.
Make realistic, measurable goals for change: “I want to lose a pound in four weeks,” “I want to climb a flight of stairs without becoming breathless,” or “I will drink alcohol only when out with friends.”
Create a plan to achieve these goals.
Also, wanting to take good care of oneself, rather than wanting to look or be a certain way, is an important focus. A little self-knowledge goes a long way here. People who tend to go “all in,” rather than doing things gradually, need to be sure their plans are safe by seeking professional guidance from a reliable source, such as getting weight loss advice from a family doctor rather than from people or companies that a New York Times opinion writer recently described as “weight-loss profiteers.”
How can this process be applied to some common pandemic-driven health problems? Here are some suggestions.
Sleep
One of the most effective and “simple but not easy” ways to normalize sleep is to pay attention to one’s sleep hygiene. Good sleep hygiene includes having a distraction-free, dark, quiet place to sleep. This may require using a sleep mask, blackout curtains or a white noise machine, and having no TV in the bedroom.
Even parents of very young children who may find these steps unrealistic can make some changes to help improve sleep, such as avoiding naps, sticking to a schedule, developing a routine, and engaging in some physical activity to tire oneself out before bedtime. Having a cutoff time for caffeinated beverages, as well as avoiding late night dining and too much alcohol, also help.
If excessive snoring is a problem, or getting very sleepy and dozing off throughout the day, or any other unusual symptoms, consulting a doctor should be part of the plan.
If you’re concerned, try a brief self-screening test and talk with your physician.
Physical activity
To come up with a safe exercise plan, start with an honest self-assessment. This includes looking at your current age and physical condition (particularly knees, hips, lungs, heart and balance); weight and weight changes during the pandemic; and activity levels before and during lockdown. The National Academy of Sports Medicine offers a downloadable questionnaire that can help with making this self-assessment.
Remember there are weight bearing, aerobic and stretching types of exercises. With each, begin at a level of comfort and gradually go slightly further. For example, if the goal is to start running, consider starting small, with a 30-minute routine a few days a week that involves a jog for one minute followed by walking for four minutes. Each week up the ante, such as shifting on the second week to jogging for two minutes then walking for three.
If the goal is to start walking, setting a time limit can help to achieve tangible goals: a 10-minute walk a few days the first week, 15 minutes the next week and so on, until the walk lasts 30 minutes and happens a few times a week. Then focus on increasing the pace.
Chest or arm pain, dizziness or extreme discomfort, are all signs to stop. While it’s useful to get to know what it feels like to be a little sore from working hard and how that differs from pushing it too far, it’s also a good idea to become familiar with the warning signs of a heart attack.
Whether they involve mental or physical health - while this tends to be an artificial separation - post-lockdown behavior changes should begin with an accurate assessment of how things are, a realistic goal for what they will become, and a plan to get there. All of these should reflect care and love for one’s self and one’s body.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council will honor a retiring police sergeant and consider development agreements with two cannabis operations when it meets this week.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 3, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The public may attend, however, the council chambers will have limited capacity and attendees must adhere to masking and social distancing mandates.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/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 town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/327/forum_home. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 3.
At the start of the meeting, the council will present a proclamation commending Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph on His retirement.
The council also will get a presentation by Housing and Community Development on the RecoverCA Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program and offer a proclamation declaring June 2021 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
On Thursday, the council will hold public hearings to consider development agreements with two cannabis operations.
The first is with Akwaaba Inc., and the second is with Green Growth Solutions LLC.
Staff reports for the meeting explain that Akwaaba is proposing to modify its existing business operation involving a storefront cannabis dispensary located at 3995 Alvita Ave. (colloquially referred to as 14196 Lakeshore Drive) in order to engage in retail, cultivation, distribution and manufacturing.
Green Growth Solutions LLC is proposing a commercial cannabis operation located at 2560 Highway 53, on 15.37 acres of vacant, industrially zoned property on the east side of Highway 53.
City staff said the proposed operation would involve cultivation, processing and wholesale distribution from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There would be up to six employees at normal peak shifts with extra staff to accommodate the harvest season.
It also will include a 10,000-square-foot single-story prefabricated metal building for processing and distribution, a two-story prefabricated metal building for indoor cultivation and administrative uses totaling 40,000 square feet, and hybrid greenhouses for indoor cultivation totaling 36,000 square feet between two structures.
If approved, the two agreements will be set for second and final readings at the council's June 17 meeting.
Under business, council members will consider rejecting all bids for the demolition of all structures at 14525 Lakeshore Drive after having received only one valid bid.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are the award of a contract with ECORP for the Dam Road Roundabout Project in the amount of $63,175.968 and authorize the city manager to approve up to 10% for additional unforeseen contract amendments; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; consideration of Resolution No. 2021-28, approving a temporary road closure for the community block party; minutes of the May meetings; and warrants.
The council will meet in closed session following the public portion of the meeting to hold another conference in ongoing negotiations with the Clearlake Municipal Employees Association, Clearlake Police Officers Association and Clearlake Middle Management Association, and to discuss an existing case of litigation against the county of Lake, Board of Supervisors and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara C. Ringen.
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 this week will discuss a proposal to allow wild pig hunts on city sewer district property and will consider final plans for the city’s July 4 celebration.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799. The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1.
Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.
On Tuesday, Utilities Superintendent Paul Harris will ask the council to authorize City Manager Kevin Ingram entering into a Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement, or SHARE, agreement with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to address wild pigs on the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property.
The district, or CLMSD, has 700 acres at the city’s southwest corner, from Linda Lane South to Highway 175.
“The bulk of this land is used for the disposal of treated wastewater. Numerous sprinkler fields apply water to the grass lands in which the cattle then graze. A lease agreement is in place to provide feed and water for cattle grazing,” Harris said in his written report.
“Over the past several months there has been a noticeable increase in the population of wild pigs. Numerous pigs regularly roam the property where large areas of grass are being destroyed by rooting. This creates issues with disposal efficiency and significantly decreases the feed for the cattle. We have also received complaints from neighboring properties asking if we can mitigate this issue,” Harris’ report continued.
He said the city has contacted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to discuss ways to deal with the pigs, and the agency recommended the city consider the SHARE program, which allows public access for property designated by the owner for controlled hunting purposes as regulated by CDFW.
Harris said CDFW will be on hand at Tuesday night’s meeting to discuss the program and answer questions.
In other business, with the city of Lakeport planning to resume its annual July 4 celebration this summer, on Tuesday the council will be asked to approve event Application 2021-016, with staff recommendations, for the July 4 fireworks display.
Ingram’s report on the discussion explains that the council, at its April 20 meeting, directed staff to move forward with the July 4 event, with COVID-19 mitigation measures, and to enter into a contract for a fireworks display.
At that time, Ingram said the council asked city staff to reassess a lighting discharge area for fireworks and bring it back for review.
Ingram said the plan includes a discharge area for safe and sane fireworks that is being expanded to include Fourth Street and a large portion of the parking lot between Fourth and Fifth streets.
“This will not only provide adequate space for social distancing but also encourage the discharge in a secure, fire-safe, legal area,” Ingram said.
In addition to that change, he said staff are recommending mitigation measures including moving the fireworks barges to a location visible from the Natural High and Dutch Harbor areas and Library Park; allowing the public to view displays from Natural High and Dutch Harbor in order to spread attendees over a larger area; prohibiting alcohol sales or use; collaborating with Lake County Public Health on a COVID mitigation plan which includes noticing participants via signage and other means of the most current requirements on masking and social distancing; and using radio, social media, website and other outlets to communicate “broadly and frequently” with the public on the COVID mitigation plans.
“Staff believes that with these measures in place, the event can take place safely and requests approval,” Ingram said in his report.
Also on Tuesday, the council will hold a workshop to review the recommended FY 2021-22 budget, consider adopting a resolution approving revisions to the City’s Classification System and get a report from Ed Robey on the Public, Educational and Governmental cable television channel.
On the consent agenda — items usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances, minutes of the regular council meeting on May 18 and the special meeting on May 25; approval of event application 2021-015, with staff recommendations, for the 2021 Sponsoring Survivorship Fun Walk/Run on Oct. 2; approval of event application 2021-017, with staff recommendations, for the Summer Concert Series to be held Fridays in Library Park from July 16 through Aug. 20; approval of event application 2021-018, with staff recommendations, for the 2021 Rhythm and Brews event on June 26; approval of side letter agreement for the City of Lakeport Police Officers Association amending insurance provisions of the memorandum of understanding.
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. — Although challenges posed by the pandemic prevented some students from achieving their goals this year, Kelseyville High School FFA students had a busy and productive year, said FFA advisers and agriculture instructors Donelle McCallister, Heather Koschik and Mike Zeni.
Kelseyville has a reputation for a strong FFA program, which the advisers attribute to the hard work of the students and the consistent support of school and district administrators.
KHS Principal Mike Jones was selected as the 2021 North Coast FFA Region Star Administrator and Kelseyville Unified School District Superintendent Dave McQueen has been a vocal supporter of the program for years.
According to its mission statement, the National FFA Organization is “dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”
This is done through a combination of classroom learning, FFA participation, and Supervised Agriculture Experience, or SAE, projects.
In order to offer an FFA program, high schools must have a certified and approved agriculture program.
McCallister said, “Even though the pandemic affected our schools, several agriculture students maintained SAE projects in livestock, horticulture, ag mechanics, and work experience.” At the 2020 Lake County Fair, for example, FFA students competed in market hogs, market steers, and rabbits with the following results:
— Grand Champion Market Steer and 1st in Showmanship: Laynie Wright.
— Grand Champion Market Hog: Robin Adams.
— Reserved Grand Market Hog: Laynie Wright.
— Hog Showmanship: 11 of the 14 students with hogs received showmanship pins.
— Reserved Grand Champion Rabbit Meat Pen: Katey Brown.
Students also participated in activities such as operating the Wildhurst Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze in fall, donating toys for Lake County shelters in winter, selling thousands of plants they had grown during a two-day sale in spring, and assisting at the Lake County Gleaners with food packaging and delivery days in summer.
Although FFA officers always take on significant responsibility to manage their 300-student membership, the officers elected in May of 2020 had to overcome restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
The following students developed a program of activities and successfully ran monthly chapter meetings using Google Classroom: President Hanna Scully; Vice President Laynie Wright; Secretary Dallis Beverlin; Reporter Iyali Aguirre; Reporter Robin Adams; Treasurer Jenna Williams; Treasurer Omar Cacho; Sentinel Steven Frace; and ASB representative Macy Holt.
Four KHS students received their State FFA degree, a rare accomplishment with only 3 percent of the membership achieving this honor each year: Omar Cacho, Iyali Aguirre, Kaylie Davis, and Victor Sepulveda.
Requirements for the degree include completing two years of ag and earning or investing $1,000 in SAE; working in excess of 300 hours beyond school in SAE; 50 hours of community service participation in local-and-above chapter activities; completing agriculture experience tracker record books and submitting the books and applications.
Because FFA recognizes the importance of leadership, it hosts competitions to encourage public speaking, a key leadership skill.
At the Mendo/Lake FFA Section Job Interview Contest, Hanna Scully placed first and Iyali Aguirre placed second. At the Mendo/Lake Impromptu Speaking Contest, Steven Frace placed first.
In March, KHS junior Iyali Aguirre was elected as North Coast FFA Regional President for the 2021-22 school year, representing 38 North Coast FFA chapters. Aguirre was then selected to serve on the State FFA Nominating Committee interviewing 49 potential State Officer candidates to select 12 for the State ballot.
The 12 members of the State Nominating Committee selected Aguirre to announce the candidates for ballot and approval of the committee report during the State FFA Conference.
In March, KHS senior Hanna Scully was selected as the North Coast Regional winner in a proficiency award in Agricultural Services based on her work at her family-owned pear packing shed, Scully Packing. Based on her regional performance, she competed at the state level in May where she was announced as the winner.
She is currently in the process of submitting an application for the National Proficiency competition. Scully also won a State FFA Scholarship, the Mabel W. Jacks Memorial State Scholarship.
Kelseyville High School’s ag program features a two-acre ag farm on the high school campus with a livestock barn where students can keep and care for projects, a 7,000-square-foot greenhouse that recently got a permanent roof, a one-acre Sauvignon Blanc vineyard, a show ring, gardens, and more.
KHS also has a new ag mechanics shop, one of the projects funded by Measure U, the $24 million bond measure passed in 2016. The shop allows students to gain practical skills in woodworking, ag, metals, and mechanics.
“We cannot thank our community enough for their support,” McCallister said.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Police Department said its officers, along with agents with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, participated in a statewide underage drinking enforcement operation.
On May 22, the agencies took part in a statewide underage drinking enforcement operation, referred to as a “shoulder tap.”
A shoulder tap is a covert operation in which an undercover minor decoy volunteer solicits adults to purchase alcohol for them.
The minor decoy makes it clear to the adult that they are a minor and they have money to purchase the alcohol but cannot because of their age.
If an adult purchases the minor alcohol they are placed under arrest and either booked at the county jail or released on a citation at the scene.
During the operation, the team visited six separate businesses that sell alcohol. The minor decoy asked 28 adults to purchase alcohol for them.
At approximately 1:10 p.m. May 22, the minor decoy asked and was provided alcohol by Donald Johnson of Sunnyvale.
The team contacted Johnson and subsequently placed him under arrest for providing alcohol to a minor. Jonson was released with a citation at the scene.
The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. The program is intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors.
The Lakeport Police Department said it is committed to enforcing alcohol-related laws and keeping alcohol out of the possession of minors.
This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Alcohol Policing Partnership and was funded through grant funds the Lakeport Police Department was awarded through that program.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — When you think of orchids, it is usually along the lines of beautiful flowers, long bloom time, tropical location, then an impulse purchase of one from the grocery store, which you bring one home to enjoy for a while but it never blooms again no matter what you do and eventually shrivels up and dies.
But this is a column about native wildflowers in Lake County so why are we talking about orchids? Well, they grow here as well!
Actually, orchids grow on every continent in the world (except Antarctica) and Lake County is home to nearly 20 species of orchids and are delightful to observe in the wild and some species can be purchased from native plant nurseries to cultivate in your home garden.
“In the wild, E. gigantea lives near the water. Any water. They have been found in stream banks, perennial seeps, the edges of lakes, in marshes and even at the margins of hot springs! They are almost indifferent to water chemistry and temperature (if plants can grow in the water, it will),” according to the Orchid Society of Northern Nevada.
They prefer wet or marshy soils, but can survive being underwater occasionally (wet winters), which describes many of our riparian areas in Northern California and Lake County where streams go dry in the summer and when they do, giant stream orchids also dry up as well, and return in the late spring after a winter of rain even if they’ve been underwater for a while.
Tolerant of a range of soil types, giant stream orchids can grow in gravel, sand, or clay and can thrive with dappled sunlight, all the way to full sun depending on the amount of moisture in the soil, and are the best bet to attempt to grow orchids in your gardens here in Lake County.
When the two basal leaves of the Rein Orchid (Piperia elegans) begin growing in your yard in Cobb, you recognize that they look like orchid leaves — but Cobb is not a tropical environment — so you watch, and are delighted when the single stem with multiple buds open to fragrant small white/green flowers.
“Rein orchid plants are best enjoyed in their natural environment and they’re almost certain to die if you attempt to transplant wild plants into your garden,” according to the website Gardening Know How. “Like many terrestrial orchids, rein orchids have a symbiotic relationship with tree roots, fungus, and decaying plant debris in the soil and they won’t grow in a habitat that isn’t just right.”
Another orchid that relies on fungus is the phantom orchid, and is the only Cephalanthera species entirely dependent on symbiotic mycorrhizae (fungus) for its nutrition. This mycoheterotrophic orchid has no chlorophyll, so it makes no energy for itself which causes the entire plant to be white, except for parts of the flowers.
Sadly, phantom orchids are becoming more scarce as its habitat — dense, isolated forest — becomes more rare, but a few still pop up in Lake County on Cobb and other higher-elevation forests, but climate change models forecast decline and possible extinction of this species by the year 2100.
Although there are a wide variety of orchids native to Lake County, your best bet for growing some in your yard is the giant stream orchid — and it is a lovely choice if you have the right environment.
Find interesting information here on stream orchids and here for orchids in general.
To see and learn more about the species of Orchids in Lake County, visit CalFlora.
Find nurseries where you can purchase giant stream orchids here.
Terre Logsdon is an environmentalist, certified master composter, and advocate for agroecology solutions to farming. An avid fan and protector of California wildflowers, plants, natural resources, and the environment, she seeks collaborative solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. Kim Riley is retired, an avid hiker at Highland Springs, and has lived in Lake County since 1985. After 15 years of trail recovery and maintenance on the Highland Springs trails, she is now focused on native plants, including a native plant and pollinator garden on her property as well as promoting and preserving the beauty of the Highland Springs Recreation Area. Karen Sullivan has operated two nurseries to propagate and cultivate native plants and wildflowers, has lived in Kelseyville for the past 30 years, rides horses far and wide to see as many flowers as possible, and offers native plants and wildflowers for sale to the public. You can check her nursery stock here. They are collaborating on a book, Highland Springs Recreation Area: A Field Guide, which will be published in the future. In the meanwhile, please visit https://www.facebook.com/HighlandSpringsNaturalists and https://www.facebook.com/HighlandSpringsRecreationArea.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Looking at the housing market statistics from this past April versus April of 2020 shows that there continues to be low inventory and high demand.
Spring is traditionally a time of more activity in the market and we are seeing that again this year.
Compared to March, active listings are up slightly in April — March had 128 listings compared to April’s 136.
Sales quickly follow — March had 73, April had 96 — as many homes are selling as soon as they hit the market.
Here is a snapshot of the Lake County real estate market for April 2021 compared to April 2020.
Active listings throughout Lake County were 136, which is down 51.1% from April 2020.
That breaks down as follows:
— Lakeport: 21, down 19.2%. — Kelseyville: 25, down 63.8%. — Hidden Valley Lake: 17, down 63%. That’s notably up from March, when active listings in Hidden Valley Lake only totaled nine. — Clearlake: 26, down 42.2%.
Existing home sales throughout Lake County totaled 96 in April 2021, up 57.4% from April 2020.
By community, those sales are divided this way:
— Lakeport: 11. — Kelseyville: 19, up 18.8% — Hidden Valley Lake: 24, 200% over last year. This could be due to lack of sales in that area due to COVID-19 restrictions. — Clearlake: 17, up 54.5%.
The existing home median price throughout Lake County for April 2021 was $325,000, up 19.5% from April 2020.
Prices by community are:
— Lakeport: $385,000, up 2.7%. — Kelseyville: $330,000, up 21.8%. — Hidden Valley Lake: $361,000, up 8.9%. — Clearlake: $220,000, up 5.3%.
Throughout Lake County, for April 2021, median days on the market were 17.
In Lakeport, days on market were 12; Kelseyville, 31; Hidden Valley Lake, 16; and Clearlake, 13.
Throughout Lake County, for April 2021, sales to list price was 100%, showing homes are priced correctly are selling.
In Clearlake, Hidden Valley Lake and Lakeport, sales to list price also was 100%, while in Kelseyville it was 98.2%.
Throughout Lake County for April, 20.6% of active listings had price reductions, showing that even in a market with low inventory and homes selling quickly pricing correctly is crucial for selling.
In Lakeport, 33.3% of active listings had price reductions, while in Kelseyville it was 24%, Hidden Valley Lake, 5.9%, and Clearlake, 3.8%.
It is always interesting to see how the market continues to change. Will we continue to see such low inventory and quick sales?
Tune in next month to see how May's statistics compare.
Tama Prokopowich is president-elect of the Lake County Association of Realtors.
I know that place and year well. As is the case with Fletcher – who is one of the last living survivors of the massacre, which took place when she was 7 – the terror of the Tulsa race riot is something that has been with me for almost as long as I can remember. My grandfather, Robert Fairchild, told the story nearly a quarter-century ago to several newspapers.
Here’s how The Washington Post recounted his story in 1996:
“At 92 years old, Robert Fairchild is losing his hearing, but he can still make out the distant shouts of angry white men firing guns late into the night 75 years ago. His eyes are not what they used to be, but he has no trouble seeing the dense, gray smoke swallowing his neighbors’ houses as he walked home from a graduation rehearsal, a frightened boy of 17.
His has since been a life of middle-class comfort, a good job working for the city, a warm family life. But he has never forgotten his mother’s anguish in 1921 as she fled toward the railroad tracks to escape the mobs and fires tearing through the vibrant Black neighborhood of Greenwood in north Tulsa.”
The Washington Post article said the Tulsa race riots of 1921 were among the “worst race riots in the nation’s history.” It reported: “The death toll during the 12-hour rampage is still in dispute, but estimates have put it as high as 250. More than 1,000 businesses and homes were burned to the ground, scores of Black families were herded into cattle pens at the fairgrounds, and one of the largest and most prosperous Black communities in the United States was turned to ashes.”
Riots began after a white mob attempted to lynch a teenager falsely accused of assaulting a white woman. Black residents came to his defense, some armed. The groups traded shots, and mob violence followed. My family eventually returned to a decimated street. Miraculously their home on Latimer Avenue was spared.
Disturbing history
Hearing about these experiences at the family table was troubling enough. Reading a newspaper account of your ancestors’ fleeing for their lives is a surreal pain. There’s recognition of your family’s terror, and relief in knowing your family survived what “60 Minutes” once called “one of the worst race massacres in American history.”
In spite of my grandfather’s witness, this same event didn’t merit inclusion in any of my assigned history texts, either in high school or college. On the occasions I’ve mentioned this history to my colleagues, they’ve been astonished.
In 1996, at the 75th anniversary of the massacre, the city of Tulsa finally acknowledged what had happened. Community leaders from different backgrounds publicly recognized the devastation wrought by the riots. They gathered in a church that had been torched in the riot and since rebuilt. My grandfather told The New York Times then that he was “extremely pleased that Tulsa has taken this occasion seriously.”
“A mistake has been made,” he told the paper, “and this is a way to really look at it, then look toward the future and try to make sure it never happens again.”
That it took so long for the city to acknowledge what took place shows how selective society can be when it comes to which historical events it chooses to remember – and which ones to overlook. The history that society colludes to avoid publicly is necessarily remembered privately.
Economically vibrant
Even with massive destruction, the area of North Tulsa, known as Greenwood, became known for its economic vitality. On the blocks surrounding the corner of Archer Street and Greenwood Avenue in the 1930s, a thriving business district flourished with retail shops, entertainment venues and high-end services. One of these businesses was the Oklahoma Eagle, a Black-owned newspaper. As a teenager in the early 1940s, my father had his first job delivering the paper.
Without knowing the history, it would be a surprise to the casual observer that years earlier everything in this neighborhood had been razed to the ground. The Black Wall Street Memorial, a black marble monolith, sits outside the Greenwood Cultural Center. The memorial is dedicated to the entrepreneurs and pioneers who made Greenwood Avenue what it was both before and after it was destroyed in the 1921 riot.
Although I grew up on military bases across the world, I would visit Greenwood many times over the years. As I grew into my teenage years in the 1970s, I recognized that the former vibrant community was beginning to decline. Some of this was due to the destructive effects of urban renewal and displacement. As with many other Black communities across the country, parts of Greenwood were razed to make way for highways.
Some of the decline was due to the exit of financial institutions, including banks. This contributed to a decrease in opportunities to build wealth, including savings and investment products, loans for homes and businesses, and funding to help build health clinics and affordable housing.
And at least some was due to the diminished loyalty of residents to Black-owned businesses and institutions. During the civil rights movement, downtown Tulsa businesses began to allow Black people into their doors as customers. As a result, Black residents spent less money in their community.
Historical lessons
At the end of my father’s military career in the 1970s, he became a community development banker in Virginia. His work involved bringing together institutions – investors, financial institutions, philanthropists, local governments – to develop innovative development solutions for areas like Greenwood. For me, there are lessons in the experiences of three generations – my grandfather’s, father’s and mine – that influence my scholarly work today.
On the one hand, I study how years after the end of legal segregation Americans remain racially separate in our neighborhoods, schools and workplaces and at alarmingly high levels. My research has shown how segregation depresses economic and social outcomes. In short, segregation creates closed markets that stunt economic activity, especially in the Black community.
On the other hand, I focus on solutions. One avenue of work involves examining the business models of Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, and Minority Depository Institutions, or MDIs. These are financial institutions that are committed to economic development – banks, credit unions, loan funds, equity funds – that operate in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. They offer what was sorely needed in North Tulsa, and many other neighborhoods across the nation – locally attuned financial institutions that understand the unique challenges families and businesses face in minority communities.
Righting historical wrongs
There are interventions we can take, locally and nationally, that recognize centuries of financial and social constraint. Initiatives like the 2020 decision by the Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury to allocate US$10 billion to lenders that focus funds on disadvantaged areas are a start. These types of programs are needed even when there aren’t full-scale economic and social crises are taking place, like the COVID-19 epidemic or protesters in the street. Years of institutional barriers and racial wealth gaps cannot be redressed unless there’s a recognition that capital matters.
The 1921 Tulsa race riot began on May 31, only weeks before the annual celebration of Juneteenth, which is observed on June 19. As communities across the country begin recognizing Juneteenth and leading corporations move to celebrate it, it’s important to remember the story behind Juneteenth – slaves weren’t informed that they were emancipated.
After the celebrations, there’s hard work ahead. From my grandfather’s memory of the riot’s devastation to my own work addressing low-income communities’ economic challenges, I have come to see that change requires harnessing economic, governmental and nonprofit solutions that recognize and speak openly about the significant residential, educational and workplace racial segregation that still exists in the United States today.
Boating appears to be surging in popularity in California and nationwide.
California agencies combating the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels ask new and seasoned boaters to remain cautious over the three-day Memorial Day weekend to prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels by cleaning, draining and drying their watercraft after each outing.
Quagga and zebra mussels are invasive freshwater mussels native to Europe and Asia. They multiply quickly, encrust watercraft and infrastructure, alter water quality and the aquatic food web, and ultimately impact native and sport fish communities.
These mussels spread from one waterbody to another by attaching to watercraft, equipment and nearly anything that has been in an infested waterbody.
Invisible to the naked eye, microscopic juveniles are spread from infested waterbodies by water that is entrapped in boat engines, ballasts, bilges, live-wells and buckets.
Quagga mussels have infested 34 waters in Southern California and zebra mussels have infested two waters in San Benito County, 13 of which are boatable by the public.
To prevent the spread of these mussels and other aquatic invasive species, people launching vessels at any waterbody are subject to watercraft inspections and should clean, drain and dry their motorized and non-motorized boats, including personal watercraft, and any equipment that contacts the water before and after use.
“The California Department of Food and Agriculture operates Border Protection Stations that inspect trailered watercraft entering the state” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Invasive Species Program Manager Martha Volkoff. “These inspections are an integral part of preventing further introductions of mussels and are also a window into changes in boating trends.”
In the past two years, Volkoff said CDFW has seen a nearly 20% increase in watercraft passing through border protection stations between January and May since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“Because of the additional boats, we have seen more mussel-fouled boat interceptions, but more concerning, we have also seen a significant increase in the proportion of mussel-fouled boats. We attribute this to many new boaters, who aren’t aware of the mussel issue and how to prevent their spread. Memorial Day is a great opportunity to spread the word to these boaters about the simple actions they should take,” Volkoff said.
CDFW advises boaters to take the following steps before leaving a waterbody to prevent spreading invasive mussels, improve the efficiency of your inspection experience next time you launch, and safeguard California waterways:
CLEAN — inspect exposed surfaces and remove all plants and organisms, DRAIN — all water, including water contained in lower outboard units, live-wells and bait buckets, and DRY — allow the watercraft to thoroughly dry between launches. Watercraft should be kept dry for at least five days in warm weather and up to 30 days in cool weather.
CDFW has developed a brief video, shown above, demonstrating the ease of implementing the clean, drain and dry prevention method as well as a list of Watercraft inspection Programs statewide.
In addition, California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways has a detailed guide to cleaning vessels of invasive mussels and other information available on their web page.
Travelers are also advised to be prepared for inspections at California Department of Food and Agriculture border protection stations.
Over the past decade more than 1.5 million watercraft entering California have been inspected at the border protection stations.
Inspections, which can also be conducted by CDFW and California State Parks, include a check of boats and personal watercraft, as well as trailers and all onboard items.
Contaminated vessels and equipment are subject to decontamination, rejection, quarantine or impoundment.
Quagga and zebra mussels can attach to and damage virtually any submerged surface. They can:
— Ruin a boat engine by blocking the cooling system and causing it to overheat. — Jam a boat’s steering equipment, putting occupants and others at risk. — Require frequent scraping and repainting of boat hulls. — Colonize all underwater substrates such as boat ramps, docks, lines and other underwater surfaces, causing them to require constant cleaning. — Impose large expenses to owners.
A multi-agency effort that includes CDFW, DBW, CDFA and the Department of Water Resources has been leading an outreach campaign to alert the public to the quagga and zebra mussel threats.
CDFW’s invasive species e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., is available for those seeking information on quagga or zebra mussels.