SACRAMENTO – The California Home Visiting Program (CHVP) celebrated a landmark 100,000th visit this week as part of the state’s hands-on efforts to provide assistance to new parents and improve the health and wellbeing of children across the state.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) preventive intervention program focuses on positive parenting and child development.

“Home visiting is an effective intervention for at-risk children and produces positive outcomes for babies, families and communities,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. “The California Home Visiting program provides low-income parents with the tools and skills they need to independently raise their children.”

Recent studies show that home visits by nurses or trained professionals during pregnancy and a child’s first years prevent child abuse and neglect, support positive parenting, improve maternal and child health, and promote child development and school readiness.

Home visitors teach parenting skills, provide guidance on everything from injury prevention to nutrition, and offer referrals to needed services for families struggling with substance abuse, violence and mental health concerns.

They also screen children for developmental milestones and promote early learning and a language-rich environment.

“Home visiting allows parents to build and develop trusting relationships with experts who can provide emotional and physical support for mom and baby during their critical first years,” said Dr. Connie Mitchell, Deputy Director of CDPH’s Center for Family Health, which oversees CHVP.

The state’s home visiting program began in 2012 and now includes 25 sites in 24 local health jurisdictions across the state.

“At the time I enrolled in home visiting, I was rebuilding my life and needed all the support I could get,” said Shannon, a Northern California mother who once struggled with addiction and is a survivor of domestic violence. “The relationship I developed with my home visitor has done wonders for repairing my confidence, getting me to a point where I believed in myself enough that I could return to college and get a degree.”

For additional information, visit CDPH’s California Home Visiting Program page, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/mcah/Pages/HVP-HomePage.aspx .

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Veteran Cassidy Nolan, a 26-year-old Napa Valley Community College (NVC) student, was honored Wednesday in the State Capitol as the 2016 Veteran of the Year for the Fourth Assembly District.

Each year, the state Assembly honors one veteran from each of the state’s Assembly Districts who has significantly contributed to their local communities and served their country with honor and distinction.

“I’m humbled to receive this recognition, and I’d like to thank Assemblymember Dodd for honoring me as his Veteran of the Year,” said Nolan. “It was a privilege to be recognized along with veterans of all different generations from across California. This was a special day that highlighted the contributions of veterans.”

Cassidy Nolan joined the military immediately after graduating high school in 2008, enlisting in the Marine Corps.

He served two deployments in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2013 as Senior Intelligence Analyst and later as Intelligence Chief and Assistant Security Manger.

During his service, Nolan received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. After completing his service in July of 2013 with the rank of E-4 Corporal, Nolan enrolled at NVC to study business management.

“I’m honored to recognize the service and character of Cassidy Nolan as my district’s Veteran of the Year,” said Assemblymember Bill Dodd. “As we look ahead toward our Independence Day it’s important to honor veterans like Nolan who have protected this nation and are now supporting other veterans as they return home.”

At NVC Nolan became president of their Student Veterans Organization in 2013. As president he acts as an ambassador between veterans and the college, and as a veteran he understands the difficulties and challenges that fellow veterans face when leaving the military.

He provides outreach, college assistance, scholarships and other financial support for veterans attending NVC.

In his three years as president, Nolan has been instrumental in the transition and development of a new version of a Pathway Home in Yountville which helps empowered veterans through education and adequate medical treatment.

Looking to the future, Nolan has plans to transfer to UC Berkeley to finish his studies in business management.

When Nolan is not advocating on behalf of veterans or pursuing his education, he spends time with his wife and two little girls.

The Fourth Assembly District includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Lake and Colusa counties. You can learn more about the district at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .

Starting July 1, 2016, nonlead shot will be required when taking upland game birds with a shotgun in California, except for dove, quail, snipe, and any game birds taken at licensed game bird clubs.

In addition, nonlead shot will be required when using a shotgun to take resident small game mammals, furbearing mammals, nongame mammals, nongame birds and any wildlife for depredation purposes.

Existing restrictions on the use of lead ammunition in the California condor range, when taking Nelson bighorn sheep and when hunting on all California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) wildlife areas and ecological reserves remain in effect.

The next phase of the implementation goes into effect July 1, 2019, when hunters must use nonlead ammunition when taking any animal anywhere in the state for any purpose. There are no restrictions on the use of lead ammunition for target shooting purposes.

Nonlead ammunition for some firearm calibers may be in short supply so hunters should plan accordingly. Hunters are encouraged to practice shooting nonlead ammunition to make sure firearms are sighted-in properly and shoot accurately with nonlead ammunition.

In October 2013, Assembly Bill 711 was signed into law requiring the phase-out of lead ammunition for hunting anywhere in the state by July 1, 2019.

The law also required an implementation plan designed to impose the least burden on California’s hunters while adhering to the intent of the law.

In order to determine what was least disruptive to hunters, CDFW coordinated question and answer sessions at sportsmen’s shows, held meetings with hunting organizations, and hosted a series of eight public workshops throughout the state. Incorporating the public input from these workshops, CDFW then presented draft regulations to the Fish and Game Commission.

In April 2015, the Fish and Game Commission adopted CDFW’s proposed regulations and implementation plan.

More information on the phase-out of lead ammunition for hunting in California can be found at www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting/nonlead-ammunition .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Have you ever felt the excitement of catching a fish? This summer, angling novices can experience the thrill for free.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) invites all Californians to fish on July 2 and Sept. 3 – no fishing license required.

If you would like to fish the rest of the year, you can purchase a license online through CDFW’s Web site, https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing .

“Free Fishing Day is always great opportunity to try an all-American pastime that is one of my favorites,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “If you’re already an experienced angler, I encourage you to invite a friend, relative or neighbor who’s never tried it or who wants more experience.”

A basic annual resident sport fishing license in California currently costs $47.01, but CDFW offers two Free Fishing Days each year – usually around the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend – when it’s legal to fish without one.

This year, the first of the two Free Fishing Days falls on the Saturday of Independence Day weekend.

All fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect.

Every angler must have an appropriate report card if they are fishing for steelhead or sturgeon anywhere in the state, or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems.

Anglers can review the sport fishing regulations online ( www.wildlife.ca.gov/regulations ) or use CDFW’s mobile Web site to view limits and regulations specific to a body of water ( https://map.dfg.ca.gov/sportfishingregs/ ).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – At a recent potluck picnic at Dana DiRicco Benjamin's Upper Lake farm, officers for the 2016-2017 term for the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club were initiated.  

New officers included Kathleen Steinberg, secretary; Dana DiRicco Benjamin, president; Debra Watson O'Dell, co-vice president; Karen Yows, treasurer; Maureen Brasier, co-vice president; and Nancy Benkelman, parliamentarian.

Benjamin said she is very enthusiastic about her term and will be having a planning meeting at the Umpqua Bank at 10 a.m. July 21.

Her theme is “Fauna, Flora, Food and Fun” as well as “Landscape Design.”

The Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club is a member of the Mendo-Lake District of the California Garden Club Inc.-Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

The club meets the third Tuesday of the month from September to June.

If you are interested in joining, they are interested in welcoming you. For information call Evy Escalante at 707-263-3632.

Kathleen Steinberg is publicity chair for the Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club.

SACRAMENTO – In less than a week’s time, Sen. Mike McGuire’s bill to combat the over-prescription of powerful psychotropic medication among our state’s foster youth has been approved overwhelmingly by two Assembly committees on its way to creating a formal on-going process for the California Medical Board to review and confidentially investigate psychotropic medication prescription patterns outside the standard of care.

In addition to securing key support for the legislation this week, Senator McGuire is pushing back and crying foul at the failure of the California Department of Health Care Services for not releasing data to the State Auditor regarding prescription rates and methods for prescribing to foster children, as well as the nature of non-medication therapy that children were receiving.

Two-thirds of the required data was not turned over by the department, causing a delay in the release of this important audit.

“It is unconscionable that the state is not acting in the best interest of these foster kids,” McGuire said. “This legislation stems from a culture that has developed in our State’s foster care system where excessive prescription of psychotropic medication has taken hold and it has lifelong negative impacts on young lives. We know that psychotropic and antipsychotic medication prescription rates in California’s foster care system have soared over the last 15 years by 1400 percent. Yet we have no system for evaluating the medical soundness of these prescribing rates.”

On Tuesday, McGuire, along with colleagues in the state legislature including the entire Senate Human Services Committee, sent a letter to California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Diana Dooley calling on the department to address the inefficiencies and investigate why the data was not turned over.

“It is inexcusable that the Department did not release the data needed to make appropriate policy decisions about the way our foster children are prescribed psychotropic medications,” the letter stated.

Last year, McGuire, as chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, held two hearings on over-prescription of psychotropic medication among foster youth and heard first-hand the devastating and potentially life-long impacts this practice has had on countless foster youth in California.

The two measures, SB 1174 and the audit, were brought forward out of concern for these children.

Nearly one in four teens in foster care are prescribed psychotropic medication, and 6 in 10 adolescent foster youth on psychotropic medications are prescribed antipsychotics, the strongest class of drugs.

Teens in foster care are three and a half times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medication than their peers who are not in foster care.

“It is simple, without data, the medical board and the auditor’s office cannot perform their mandated duties. This is, unfortunately, another example of the state not stepping up and protecting our foster youth and these types of moves erode the public’s trust,” McGuire said.

SB 1174 will be heard in Assembly Appropriations Committee before heading to the Assembly floor for a vote.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Central Committee will hold its regular monthly business meeting on Thursday, July 7.

The meeting takes place at the Lower Lake United Methodist Church Social Hall, 16255 Second St., at 6:30 p.m. Map link: https://goo.gl/maps/v6yp62whsBy .
 
The agenda for the meeting includes reports from representatives for Congressmen Mike Thompson and John Garamendi, Assemblyman Bill Dodd and state Sen. Mike McGuire, as well as reports from the representative of the Lake County Democratic Club.
 
Our guest speaker this month is Tom Steyer, founder of Next Generation Climate, an environmental advocacy based organization: https://nextgenclimate.org/blog/ .

Steyer is a retired hedge fund manager who has turned his activism and considerable financial resources to implementing climate change legislation via legislature and ballot initiative.

He will be joining the group on July 7 for 30 minutes at the beginning of the meeting to talk about this project and his partnership with California Democrats.

Meetings are open to the public and committee membership is open to all registered Democrats.

The Lake County Democratic Central Committee is the official governing body for the Democratic Party in Lake County.
 
For more information about the Democratic Party in Lake County visit www.lakecountydemocrats.org or www.facebook.com/LakeCountyDemocrats .
 
Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-533-4885 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .