LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's unemployment edged up again slightly in November while statewide and nationwide numbers improved.

The California Employment Development Department's latest report on joblessness put Lake County's November unemployment rate at 6.6 percent, up from the 6.4 percent reported in October but improved over the 7.7 percent reported in November 2015.

California's unemployment in November dropped to 5.3 percent after holding at 5.5 percent for three months straight. The state's November 2015 rate was 5.9 percent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said nationwide unemployment also decreased in November, dropping from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, the lowest national jobless rate since August 2007. The November 2015 nationwide rate was 5 percent.

In November employers added 13,600 nonfarm payroll jobs in California and 178,000 nonfarm payroll jobs nationwide, according to the report.

With November’s new jobs, the state has gained a total of 2,417,100 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010, the Employment Development Department said.

Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 16,603,600 in November, according to a survey of 55,000 businesses, a year-over increase of 377,200 jobs, up 2.3 percent.

A federal survey of 5,500 households showed the number of Californians holding jobs in November was 18,417,000, an increase of 47,000 from October, and up 551,000 from the employment total in November of 2015.

The report also said that the number of unemployed Californians was 1,038,000 in November, down by 32,000 over the month, and down by 86,000 compared with the previous November.

In Lake County, the report showed that in November there were 1,950 unemployed people, compared to 1,890 in October and 2,210 in November 2015.

The number of jobs in Lake County in November totaled 16,240, down 0.9 percent from October, when there were 16,390 jobs, but up by 4.9 percent over November 2016, when there were 15,480 jobs, according to the report.

Lake County's “total farm” industry category had a 21.1 percent drop in jobs from October to November, while total nonfarm grew by 0.3 percent, the report showed.

In November, eight of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 29,300 jobs: trade, transportation and utilities; manufacturing; mining and logging; construction; financial activities; professional and business services; other services; and government.

Month-over job losses occurred in three sectors: information; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality, according to the report.

In year-over comparisons, nine sectors added jobs: educational and health services; government; construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services, the state said.

The state report showed that two sectors, mining and logging, and manufacturing, showed year-over job losses.

Lake County's unemployment rate ranked it No. 39 statewide out of 58 counties. The lowest unemployment, 2.8 percent, was reported in San Mateo County, and the highest, 20.3 percent, was in Imperial County.

The November jobless report also showed there were 358,096 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the November survey week. That's compared with 323,124 in October and 355,913 in November of last year.

New claims for Unemployment Insurance were 54,252 in November, compared with 44,808 in October and 54,438 in November of last year, the state reported.

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.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Children impacted by the Clayton fire got a helping of Christmas cheer on Sunday thanks to the efforts of a group of friends who began a toy drive this summer.

On Sunday at the Brick Hall in Lower Lake, the Clayton Fire Toy Drive distributed presents to 31 families and more than 50 children impacted by the August fire, according to Christian Villalobos, one of the toy drive's organizers.

Villalobos said each child received a stocking full of goodies and specific toys they had wished for, which had been collected thanks to the generosity of the community over the last two months.

The toy drive crew is comprised of a group of friends involved with the Lake's List Facebook group. The crew included Christian Villalobos, Joleen Nichols, Denise Villalobos, Annabeth Villalobos, Cameron Nicholas, James Ortega, Tom Azevedo and Samantha Ambrecht.

Nichols said they began by challenging Lake's List's 26,000 members to donate to the Rotary Club of Clear Lake at the Safeway register. They each donated $25 and tagged five friends and challenged members to do the same.

They began brainstorming about other ways to help, and one night in late August, Nichols said she had mentioned that it would be cool if they could hold a toy drive for the Clayton fire children. “And Christian basically said, 'Let's do it!'”

All the other members also were on board, and so the work began, starting with the first planning meeting on Sept. 4. Nichols said they began making fliers and registration forms, compiling a list of needs and getting the word out.

They collected toys, clothes and other items the children requested from Oct. 17 to Dec. 12, with six dropoff points around the county. Nichols said packages also were mailed from Hawaii, Sacramento, Stockton and Southern California.

The result was a mountain of gifts. While Nichols said they didn't count every item they received, the estimated value of toy donations came to about $8,000, with an additional $1,200 in gift cards. They also received cash donations from groups like the Rotary Club of Clear Lake.

“We were so blown away,” she said.

On Sunday, it was time for handing out the gifts. Nichols said the first family arrived at around 9:45 a.m., and the distribution continued until about 12:30 p.m., with the group also delivering the gifts to a few families.

Villalobos said families picked up their specific toys, stockings, new blankets donated from the community of Napa, toys from the Future Farmers of America of Petaluma and distributed by FFA of Lower Lake, and enjoyed refreshments and Christmas music.

“Sunday was a day full of community love and magic,” and families left the Brick Hall “with teary eyes, smiles, and gratitude,” he said.

It was a “touching day,” said Nichols, and an example of the incredible generosity of Lake County's residents. She said one man told the group on Sunday that if they lived in a big city he couldn't imagine such an effort happening, “but our little community is our family and takes care of its own.”

Villalobos said the Lake's List team offered its thanks to the organizations and businesses that contributed to the toy drive in many different ways, including Stone Fire Pizza Co., Carlé Continuation High School, Konocti Education Center, Mendo Mill of Lakeport, Spruce Grove Storage in Lower Lake, Lake County Fire Protection District, Clearlake Paper Supply, Lakeview Market in Lucerne, Kingdom Games in Lakeport, Funtopia Toys in Middletown, Riviera Foods, CSS of Clearlake, Ritcher Construction, Rotary Club of Clear Lake, Legacy High School of Napa, Ca., Napa teacher Michelle McMaster, the community of Napa, Lower Lake Fire Station, Konocti Unified School District youth services coordinator, Dave Hubbard with Toys for Tots, FFA of Lower Lake and Petaluma.

He said it was a community effort and a huge success.

Nichols added that she couldn't believe their very first endeavor was so successful, calling it a “terrifying and amazing experience.”

As for any future projects, Nichols said they are looking at other ways of helping families in need at the holidays.

“We were honored to do this and to be able to give back to this community,” and to make the holidays brighter for the families who lost so much, she said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission's last regular meeting of the year will include discussion of an appointment to an ad hoc committee and consideration of a plan for a drive-thru addition to a restaurant.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The Tuesday's agenda's two main items include consideration of the appointment of a member of the city's ad hoc committee to review and make recommendations for amendments to the dispensary and marijuana cultivation ordinances.

Also on the agenda is consideration of the approval of a use permit to allow LETAP Real Estate LLC to construct a drive-through service area and 2,100 square feet of retail space at 15060 Lakeshore Drive.

The addition would be on the east side of an existing 1,600-square-foot building that houses a Subway restaurant.

There also will be reports from the city manager and commissioners.

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. – A group of new young cats has been added to the roster of adoptable felines at Lake County Animal Care and Control.

The available cats include tuxedos, tabbies, a black cat and a calico.

Four of the cats are being offered for $10 each – including spay/neuter, vaccination and microchip – thanks to a sponsorship begun last week that so far has resulted in five other cats getting new homes. The cats offered for $10 are noted below.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.

For those looking for a barn cat to keep the rodents at bay, be sure to ask about the barn cat adoption program. Feral barn cats are adopted out for $1 each, which includes altering, ear notching and vaccines. 

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Shelter_Animal_Search.htm .

The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).

Domestic short hair

This young female tuxedo cat has a short cat and gold eyes.

She's in cat room kennel No. 7, ID No. 6666.

Male lynx point

This male lynx point has a short coat and blue eyes.

He is offered for adoption for $10.

He's in cat room kennel No. 19, ID No. 6564.

Domestic short hair

This young female domestic short hair has a black and white coat and gold eyes.

She's in cat room kennel No. 75a, ID No. 6658.

Domestic short hair

This young male domestic short hair cat has an orange and white coat and gold eyes.

He's in cat room kennel No. 75b, ID No. 6663.

Domestic short hair

This young male domestic short hair has an orange tabby coat with white markings and gold eyes.

He's in cat room kennel No. 109a, ID No. 6659.

Domestic short hair

This young male domestic short hair has an all-black coat and gold eyes.

He's in cat room kennel No. 109b, ID No. 6661.

Domestic short hair

This young female domestic short hair cat has a gray tabby coat and gold eyes.

She is offered for adoption for $10.

She's in cat room kennel No. 112, ID No. 6555.

Domestic short hair

This female domestic short hair has a gray tabby coat and gold eyes.

She is offered for adoption for $10.

She's in cat room kennel No. 120, ID No. 6416.

Domestic medium hair cat

This male domestic medium hair cat was severely injured during the Clayton fire, and continues to recover.

He has a gray and white coat, gold eyes and has been neutered.

He's in the animal shelter clinic, ID No. 5856.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.

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On Monday, California State Senators Scott Wiener and Mike McGuire announced that they will be co-authoring legislation to require that any future presidential or vice presidential candidate must make their tax returns public to appear on the California ballot.

The two senators said they are offering the legislation in response to President-Elect Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns to the American public, despite the fact that presidential candidates have been doing so voluntarily for decades.

The bill will be modeled on similar legislation that has been proposed in New York by State Senator Brad Hoylman.

“Transparency is a nonpartisan issue. Voters not only deserve full disclosure of their future leader’s tax returns, they should be entitled to them,” Sen. McGuire said. “The world is a dangerous place and all potential conflicts of interest a future president may have, let alone dangerous ties a candidate may have with a foreign government, must be disclosed. This legislation will help make transparency great again.”

“The American people deserve honesty and transparency from their president. Unfortunately, we are getting lies and obfuscation from President-Elect Trump, especially in regards to how his business interests may impact his administration,” said Sen. Wiener. “While the impetus for this legislation is the refusal of Donald Trump to partake in what has become standard practice among presidential candidates, this is also a larger, non-partisan issue. The American public deserves to know that the individual they are selecting to be president will have their best interests at the heart of every decision, not the best interests of any business venture or investment fund. Requiring that this basic financial information be made available to voters will help build critical public trust.”

Prior to Trump’s refusal to release any tax returns, every president since Jimmy Carter has released at least one year of tax returns.

During the 2016 Presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Jill Stein, candidate for the Green Party, both released their tax returns.

McGuire and Wiener plan to require that presidential and vice-presidential candidates release five years of tax returns in order to appear on the California ballot for future elections.

In New York, State Senator Brad Hoylman has introduced Senate Bill S8217, which has called the TRUMP Act – the Tax Returns Uniformly Made Public Act.

New York’s S8217 requires that any presidential candidate must file five years of tax income returns no less than 50 days prior the general election in which they wish to run. If they do not file, they will not appear on the ballot.

American voters also agree that presidential candidates should release their tax returns. In an August Quinnipiac University poll, 74 percent of all likely American voters responded and said they wanted then Candidate-Trump to release his tax returns. In that same poll, 62 percent of Republicans said they wanted Mr. Trump to release his tax returns.

Senators Wiener and McGuire will formally introduce the legislation in January.