LUCERNE, Calif. — District 3 Supervisor EJ Crandell is hosting an informational meeting on the plan to turn the Lucerne Hotel into a facility for housing homeless youth.
The meeting will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive.
The meeting also will be available via Zoom. The meeting ID is 977 5740 1156, pass code is 589351. One tap mobile: +16694449171,,97757401156#,*589351#.
The grant language stated that the Lake County Office of Education would be the primary partner, and that dozens more local organizations would be secondary partners. However, neither the Office of Education nor other partners said they knew about the application or the plan.
Lake County News has outlined the plan in a series of stories, beginning in December.
The tribe has since threatened legal action against Lake County News for covering the project.
Also in December, the Lucerne Area Town Hall passed a resolution condemning the plan.
Crandell initially only posted the meeting on his own Facebook page before the county of Lake shared it on its Facebook page and sent out an announcement about the meeting.
The meeting’s tentative guests include representatives from the offices of Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and state Sen. Mike McGuire, and the California Business, Consumer Services Housing Agency.
Confirmed attendees include the Lake County Community Development Department, the Lake County Office of Education, the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Earthways Foundation, the organization that the county sold the Lucerne Hotel to in 2019 over community objections.
A question and answer session also is scheduled.
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. — Federal funds are helping ensure that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office will have a new headquarters in north Lakeport.
On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) presented a check for $988,600 to the county of Lake for the Lakeport Armory Facility Repurposing Project.
This funding was secured in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding bill.
A year ago, the county completed a transaction in which it traded a vacant 15.5-acre property at 15837 18th Ave. in Clearlake to the state in exchange for the Lakeport Armory property, located on seven acres at 1431 Hoyt Ave. in north Lakeport next to the Lake County Jail.
The property on 18th Avenue in Clearlake is now being developed for affordable housing.
“Lake County has been significantly impacted by natural disasters and having an efficient and robust response is essential to the safety and well-being of our community,” said Thompson. “I was proud to work with Lake County officials to identify the need for this funding to repurpose the Lakeport Armory as an Emergency Operations Center and help serve the people of the county. This project will help mitigate the risk in Lake County and strengthen our response to wildfires, floods, landslides, and other natural disasters.”
The project began under the tenure of recently retired Sheriff Brian Martin, who aimed to trade the aging sheriff’s office headquarters at 1220 Martin St. for the armory location, where all of the agency’s divisions can be located on the same campus.
Martin was on hand for the Wednesday check presentation, along with his successor, Sheriff Rob Howe.
“I acknowledge that the majority of this project, to date, has been accomplished under recently retired Sheriff Martin. However, as the current sheriff and for those current and future department employees, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for Congressman Thompson’s support of this project. I look forward to continuing the relationship with the Congressman, our Board of Supervisors, County Administration, and all other stakeholders,” said Sheriff Howe. “The idea of a unified sheriff’s department campus that will improve efficiency, response, team cohesiveness, and, ultimately, public safety is very exciting.”
Within the first year, facility rehabilitation improvements may include energy efficiency upgrades — replacement of the HVAC system; roof replacement with solar; weatherization measures — and accessibility alterations.
The planning tasks and initial improvements will assist in repurposing the Lakeport Armory for permanent use by most, if not all, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Divisions and the Emergency Operations Center.
In addition to providing Emergency Operation Services, the repurposed facility will also serve as a Regional Training Center for multiple jurisdictions and public safety disciplines.
As a result, officials said emergency response operations throughout the region will be more resilient, mitigating risks to Lake County and surrounding communities.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency declaration the city manager made last week in response to the storms that have dropped heavy rain and dramatically raised the level of Clear Lake over the past several weeks.
All five council members were present for Tuesday’s meeting, with new Councilman Brandon Disney announcing that he and his wife have a brand new, healthy baby daughter.
Among the council’s main items of business on Tuesday was ratifying an emergency declaration made last week in response to the storms.
City Manager Kevin Ingram, who also is the city’s director of emergency services, declared a local state of emergency on Jan. 10 in response to the atmospheric rivers that have been impacting the city — as well as the rest of the county and the region.
Those storms are part of larger series that began at Christmas.
Ingram’s declaration said the atmospheric rivers began impacting the city around Jan. 4. That was the day that the city had to temporarily close Library Park due to fallen tree branches from the heavy rain and high winds.
Emergency Services Act Section 8630(b) and Lakeport Municipal Code requires that such emergency declarations be ratified within seven days to remain in effect.
Ingram told the council that the city has sustained some damage from the storms that will qualify it for federal disaster assistance funding, specifically, a culvert behind the Lakeport Unified School District fields has experienced some erosion.
To be eligible for that federal assistance, Ingram said the city needed to declare an emergency, which is why he took the action last week.
Councilman Michael Froio moved to adopt the resolution confirming the existence of a local emergency, with Councilman Kenny Parlet seconding and Disney, Mayor Stacey Mattina and Councilwoman Kim Costa joining in the unanimous vote.
Later in the meeting, Ingram said that, for the most part, the storms have treated Lakeport well. He said the water has been needed and was welcomed.
On Tuesday morning, Ingram said he walked down to the city’s boat docks and there was water against the sea wall, which hasn’t been the case in some time. Overall, he said the water looked good.
He noted that one more storm is coming in on Wednesday, after which there is forecast to be at least 10 days of clear weather that will allow things to dry out.
On Friday, the Board of Supervisors ratified a separate emergency declaration that Sheriff Rob Howe issued the previous day in response to the atmospheric river storm event, as Lake County News has reported.
In other business at the Tuesday City Council meeting, the council presented a proclamation designating January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, supported renewing the Lake County Tourism Improvement District’s plans to renew for 10 years, received and filed the fiscal year 2022-23 first quarter financial update, heard the latest on the plans for the Lake County Recreation Task Force and got an update from City Clerk/Administrative Services Director Kelly Buendia on the city’s communications team activity.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control maintained a high release rate in 2022 and now has many dogs for adoption.
At Thursday night’s Clearlake City Council meeting, Clearlake Police Lt. Martin Snyder, who oversees the shelter, reported on the shelter’s statistics for the 2022 calendar year.
He said 389 dogs were taken into the shelter last year.
Of those, 303 have left the shelter. Snyder said those include 169 that went to rescues, 102 that were returned to their owners and 30 were adopted.
Snyder said there were a total of three euthanizations — two for medical reasons and one at the request of an owner.
That leaves the shelter with a 99% release rate, Snyder said.
On Thursday, shelter staff brought “Noah” for a visit to the council. He’s a 3 to 4 year old male American pit bull terrier who is a staff and shelter favorite.
They said he would do well with other dogs and probably cats and he’s neutered and up-to-date on all vaccinations.
Dogs recently adopted include “Snowball,” a male American Staffordshire terrier mix, and “Maya,” a female German shepherd.
There currently are 37 adoptable dogs at the shelter, with staff hoping to find them loving homes.
The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.
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. — For the foreseeable future, the city of Lakeport’s efforts to annex an area along South Main Street are on hold.
The Lake Local Area Formation Commission, or Lake LAFCo, voted unanimously at its Tuesday morning meeting to terminate the city of Lakeport’s South Lakeport annexation in light of the annexation’s failure to receive a majority vote in the November election.
Executive Officer John Benoit presented the resolution to terminate LAFCo’s proceedings on the annexation.
The area in question includes 50 parcels totaling 137 acres in the area adjacent to South Main Street and Soda Bay Road and east of Highway 29.
It includes what is reported to be the most lucrative commercial corridor in the unincorporated county, which had resulted in years of disagreements between the city and county of Lake before a revenue sharing agreement was created. The Lakeport City Council and Board of Supervisors approved that agreement in January 2022.
The city of Lakeport has had that area in its sphere of influence since the 1980s and for the last several years has been working to formally annex it.
In August 2019, the city filed its application for the annexation with LAFCo, which is tasked with overseeing “orderly development” and protecting natural resources and agricultural lands in Lake County.
However, as the LAFCo process appeared to be moving toward the annexation’s completion last year, there was push back from property owners.
On March 30, LAFCo adopted a resolution approving the proposed annexation subject to the necessary authority proceedings.
In a May proceeding, LAFCo received protests from owners of 16 of the 50 parcels in the annexation area, passing the 25% threshold requiring an election.
That, in turn, triggered an election, which the Lakeport City Council voted in June to consolidate with the general election on Nov. 8.
The annexation was on the ballot as Measure P, and was limited to the 15 registered voters living in the annexation area.
The ballot question read: “Shall the order adopted on March 30, 2022 by the Local Agency Formation Commission of Lake County ordering the annexation to the City of Lakeport of the territory described in that order and designated ‘City of Lakeport Annexation to the City of Lakeport (LAFCo file 2019-0006) (South Lakeport Annexation)’ be confirmed?”
The final election results certified by the Registrar of Voters Office in December showed there were a total of 14 ballots cast, with two ballots, or 14.29%, favoring annexation, and 12 ballots, or 85.71%, opposed. Thirteen of the ballots were cast by mail, and one in person on Election Day.
With Measure P failing to have majority support of the annexation area’s registered voters, it didn’t meet the requirements of a resolution LAFCo approved in May 18 that would have allowed the annexation to move forward.
As a result, Benoit said the next step was to terminate the hearing.
Benoit said no substantially similar annexation proposal for that area can be filed with LAFCo within one year of the adoption of the resolution, unless LAFCo waives that requirement.
“That concludes these proceedings and I can put the box away,” said Benoit, noting a lot of information has been generated in the process.
He said he intended to speak with Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram on Thursday and let him know what his options are.
Commissioner Dirk Slooten moved to approve the resolution, with Commissioner Jim Scholz seconding. The commission approved the resolution 7-0.
Later in the meeting, the commission discussed agricultural lands and LAFCo's role, with Benoit noting that LAFCo is concerned about sprawl.
“We don’t like county developments in the sphere of influence of the city,” Benoit said.
LAFCo’s legal counsel, Scott Browne, said a classic example of that problem is the development that happened in the South Lakeport area, where there are urban levels of development without the accompanying level of services.
He said that development should have been done in the city of Lakeport. “Instead we’re now dealing with a real problem.”
Following the meeting, Lake County News reached out to Ingram to ask him about the city’s plan going forward.
“We are looking at various options for the future of the South Lakeport area but I would not say there is a plan,” Ingram said in an email response.
He said the city will work with various agencies — LAFCo, the California Department of Water Resources and the county of Lake — “to better understand the status of things with or without public services.”
Ingram also acknowledged LAFCo’s rule that the city would not be able to submit a formal application again for a year if the city decides to move forward again.
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 OAKS, Calif. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its preferred cleanup plan for the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site and is inviting the public to review and comment on the plan.
The plan proposes cleaning up significant portions of the site in Clearlake Oaks, specifically the mine area, the sovereign territory of the Elem Indian Colony Tribe and contaminated soils in the residential area to the southwest of the site.
“This proposed plan is the first step needed to reduce mercury levels in Clear Lake and address contaminated soil. These efforts will enhance public health and environmental safeguards, and advance environmental justice in the area,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA is committed to continuing to work with the Elem Indian Colony, the greater Clear Lake community and the Tribal nations as we develop a plan to clean up the Sulphur Bank site. We look forward to hearing the community’s feedback on our proposed plan.”
An extended public comment period is being provided to ensure that all impacted tribes, communities, and stakeholders have adequate time to review the proposed plan before forming and submitting their comments.
The plan is open for public comment until April 10, 2023, and the EPA Sulphur Bank team will meet with residents in the coming months and host virtual question-and-answer sessions, in-person open houses, and in-person final meetings.
The EPA will hold an online whole community question and answer session regarding the Sulphur Bank Superfund Site Proposed Plan from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25.
During that meeting, the EPA will provide information and updates related to the proposed plan, offer time for questions-and-answers, and an opportunity to submit official written comments.
The meeting will be held via Zoom; the meeting ID is 896 0307 4296. One tap mobile is available at +12532050468,,89603074296# or +12532158782,,89603074296#. Or dial by your location: +1 253 205 0468 US.
If you are unable to attend this session, there will be in-person open houses and official comment meetings held in February and in early March. For details, see the calendar below.
Since 2021, EPA has offered monthly meetings for representatives from six of the Tribal nations that surround the lake and provided independent technical support through the Technical Assistance Serving Communities Program.
Following the release of this proposed plan, EPA can continue close coordination with these tribal governments to ensure awareness of and involvement in cleanup efforts moving forward.
The 160-acre Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site sits on the shore of Clear Lake.
Historic mining contaminated the property with unhealthy levels of mercury, arsenic and antimony.
Contamination from the site also impacts the wetland area north of the mine and Clear Lake itself. Since the site was added to the Superfund cleanup program in August 1990, EPA has completed eight early cleanups to protect human health and the environment and reduce contamination in soil, lake water and sediments, fish and wildlife, and tribal and residential properties near the mine.
The cleanup set out in the new proposed plan will protect the community and environment from the 2.5 million tons of mine waste and contaminated soil on the site, and also prevent that contaminated material from entering Clear Lake.
EPA continues to study options for directly cleaning up mercury contamination in Clear Lake and wetlands near the mine site.
The goals for the proposed cleanup are:
• Combining smaller waste piles with larger piles to reduce the area of contamination. • Putting a liner, clean earth, and clean soil over the contaminated waste and soil to: make residential areas safe for a lifetime of use; make on-mine areas safe for use by Elem Indian Colony residents (hunting, fishing, foraging, transit to nearby lands); and prevent contamination from leaving the site with stormwater or wind. • Limiting mercury entering Clear Lake to allow mercury levels in sediments and fish to decrease over time, and help EPA determine the cleanup needed for the lake.
This project and progress towards a final cleanup decision is being supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests an additional $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods.
The public can submit comments to EPA on the proposed plan until April 10, 2023, in the following ways:
• Email comments to EPA’s Gavin Pauley and Carter Jessop: Printed comments can be mailed to Gavin Pauley - EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, 75 Hawthorne St. (Mail Code: OPA-2) San Francisco, CA 94105. Mailed comments must be postmarked by April 10. • Oral comments can be left on EPA’s voicemail box at 800-231-3075.
Once EPA has considered public comments on the proposed cleanup plan, it will respond to them in a “responsiveness summary” and make a formal decision on the cleanup in the “record of decision” that will guide the cleanup of the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine site.
EPA aims to make the final cleanup decision within a year of the close of public comment period. The proposed plan cleanup could begin as soon as 2025.
Hamish Clarke, The University of Melbourne; Anne Griebel, Western Sydney University; Matthias Boer, Western Sydney University; Rachael Helene Nolan, Western Sydney University, and Víctor Resco de Dios, Universitat de Lleida
Without strong climate action, forests on every continent will be highly flammable for at least 30 extra days per year by the end of the century – and this fire threat is far greater for some forests including the Amazon, according to our new study.
Our research in Nature Communications looked at 20 years of global satellite data to test the link between wildfires and “vapour pressure deficit” – a measure of the atmosphere’s power to suck moisture out of living and dead plants. It can also be thought of as how “thirsty” the air is.
Our results show that forest fire becomes much more likely above a certain threshold of vapour pressure deficit in many regions. This threshold depends on the type of forest.
Alarmingly, climate change is increasing the number of days the planet passes these crucial thresholds. But by urgently bringing global emissions down, we can minimise the number of extra wildfire days.
fuel: the leaves, branches, twigs and everything else that can catch alight in a forest
fuel moisture: whether fuel is dry enough to burn
ignition: the spark to set things off, such as a lightning strike
weather: conditions such as strong winds and high temperatures, which can aid a fire’s spread.
These four processes act as switches. All must be in the “on” position for a fire to take hold.
The drying out of fuel is particularly crucial for making a forest dangerously flammable. Indeed, manyresearchers are findinglinks between vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and fire activity.
VPD describes the difference between how much moisture is in the air and how much moisture the air can hold when it’s saturated. Once air becomes saturated, water will condense to form clouds or dew on leaves.
Importantly, warmer air can hold more water, which means VPD increases. We refer to the air being “thirsty” when the gap between full and empty air becomes bigger, meaning there’s a greater demand (thirst) for the water to come out of living and dead plant material, drying it out.
This is a serious issue as climate change leads to rising global temperatures.
We then measured the strength of the relationship between VPD and fire activity for different forest types in each continent. And we showed, for the first time, that in many forests there is a strong link between fire activity and VPD on any given day.
Our results show certain VPD thresholds beyond which forest fire becomes more likely than not.
For example, in boreal forests (predominantly northern European and American coniferous forests), this threshold is 0.7-1.4 kilopascals (a unit of pressure). In subtropical and tropical forests such as the Amazon, the threshold rises dramatically to 1.5-4.0 kilopascals. This means the air must be a lot thirstier to spark fire in the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra than in the spruce, pine and larch of Canada.
We looked at both low- and high-emissions scenarios and found the risks are much greater if we fail to curb emissions.
If humanity continues to release greenhouse gas emissions unabated, the planet is expected to warm by around 3.7℃ by the end of the century. Under this high-emissions scenario, our study finds there are forests on every continent that will experience at least 30 extra days per year above critical flammability thresholds.
Under a lower-emissions scenario where global warming is limited to around 1.8℃, each continent will still see at least an extra 15 days per year crossing the threshold.
Parts of tropical South America including the Amazon will see the greatest increases in both scenarios by the end of the century: at least 90 additional days in a low-emissions scenario, and at least 150 extra days in a high-emissions scenario.
What are the risks?
Increasing forest fires will have serious consequences. This includes potentially destabilising patterns of fire and regrowth and disrupting the carbon storage we rely on forests for. Indeed, research last year showed the role of the Amazon rainforest as a “carbon sink” (which absorbs more CO₂ that it releases) may already be in decline.
We can also expect increasing harms to human health from wildfire smoke. It is estimated that around the world, more than 330,000 people die each year from smoke inhalation. This number could increase notably by the turn of the century, particularly in the most populated areas of South Asia and East Africa.
Our next research project will explore the links between fire, VPD and climate change in more detail in Australia, our home country. We’re also interested in the forests and regions where VPD doesn’t seem to be the main driver of fire, such as in Japan and Scandinavia.
Our discovery of reliable links between atmospheric dryness and forest fire risk in many regions means we can now develop better fire predictions, at both seasonal and near-term scales. This could bring significant benefits to those on the frontlines of fighting, managing and coexisting with wildfire.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Shiva Khanal from Western Sydney University to this article.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The State Water Resources Control Board staff will hold two public listening sessions in January and February to discuss the emergency situation impacting the Clear Lake hitch and potential near and long-term solutions.
The listening sessions will include presentations from State Water Board staff and opportunities for public input and discussion.
The Clear Lake hitch is a large minnow found only in Clear Lake and its tributaries. Historically, the hitch likely numbered in the millions, but recent surveys indicate a significant decline, and in 2014, California designated the hitch as a threatened species.
The hitch has strong cultural significance for several indigenous Pomo tribes of the Clear Lake region that rely on the hitch, or “chi,” for spiritual purposes and traditions and as a primary food source.
The hitch is also of great importance to the lake’s ecosystem, a significant source of food for other fish, birds and wildlife.
Adult hitch migrate upstream in tributaries of Clear Lake each spring to spawn before returning to the lake. Juvenile hitch hatch in the tributaries and move to the lake as well.
While the hitch’s decline can be linked to a variety of factors including habitat loss, passage barriers, poor water quality, and invasive species, the most immediate threat to their survival is little to no water flowing in Kelsey, Adobe, Manning, Cole and Middle creeks during the upcoming spawning and rearing season, which takes place from February through May.
The State Water Board is looking for ways to protect the Clear Lake hitch now and in the long term, including local voluntary actions to keep water in the creeks this year, obtaining data to better understand the problem and potential solutions, collaboration to fund effective solutions and spread important messages, enforcement to ensure all diversions in the area are legal, and regulations if voluntary actions aren’t successful.
For additional information and updates, visit the State Water Board’s Hitch webpage for continued updates on potential board actions. This website will be updated with related documents and information as available.
If you would like to receive email updates about this issue, please sign up for the Board’s “Clear Lake Hitch” email list at the bottom of the Clear Lake Hitch webpage.
Please email questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
In 2022, the Biden administration developed a comprehensive strategy and committed a substantial amount of money, including US$300 million secured through a bipartisan agreement, to a national response to the children’s mental health crisis through multiple sources.
But what is often missing from this national conversation is the importance of recognizing parents’ mental health and the effect that parents’ mental well-being has on that of their children. Decades of research clearly demonstrate that the mental health of parents and their children are inextricably linked.
As an assistant professor of child and family development whose research focuses on parenting and child mental health, I see too often that the mental health of parents – or other caregivers who act in the role of parents, such as grandparents or foster parents – is overlooked when trying to support children’s mental health. Until that gap is addressed, efforts to address the mental health crisis in kids and teens will likely fall short.
The pandemic’s toll on parents
The work of multiple researchers, including my own group, shows that parents reported alarmingly high rates of mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These rates were similar to other reports, and they suggest that parents had higher levels of mental health needs than before the pandemic. The preponderance of research into the pandemic’s toll on parents’ and children’s mental health took place in 2020 and 2021, so it’s not yet clear whether mental health needs have lessened as the pandemic has waned or not.
This interplay is complex and varied and includes both genetics and environmental factors such as exposure to stress or trauma. Parents’ well-being directly affects the overall structure and functioning of the home environment, such as following daily routines, and the quality of the relationship between parent and child.
For example, when parents experience depression, they often express more negative emotions – such as anger and irritability – with their children. They are also less consistent in discipline and less engaged in the parent-child relationship. As a result of these stresses at home, their children may also develop depression as well as other challenges, such as anxiety or behavioral problems.
Children of parents with high levels of anxiety are at risk for both anxiety and depression, which themselves are associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. And ADHD is known to be highly hereditary: One study found that approximately 50% of children with ADHD also had a parent with ADHD.
Parents’ mental well-being is influenced by the amount of stress they experience, such as economic difficulties, insufficient child care and competing pressures from work and family. When parents have social support from family, friends, their community or the school system, studies show they are less likely to struggle with anxiety or depression.
Treatment for parents also helps kids
In a recent review on parental depression, researchers reported that children who are receiving mental health care often have parents with depression, and many times the parents’ depression is not being treated. Importantly, the review also found that when parents are treated for depression and see their depressive symptoms improve, their children’s psychiatric symptoms abate and overall functioning improves. It also concluded that the treatment of parent and child mental health challenges is rarely integrated.
There are, however, emerging approaches for bringing the two together, including screening for and treating both parent and child mental health challenges in pediatric primary care. While this approach to identifying and treating psychiatric conditions is new, studies show it is promising for reducing depression symptoms in both parents and children simultaneously.
So often, parents feel they need to take a back seat to what they perceive as the more important needs of their children. But just as when airline flight attendants instruct adults at the start of every flight to put their own safety mask on first, parents should know the importance of prioritizing their own well-being to promote the health of their children.
One concrete action that parents can take is to seek out family-based treatments. This may be a challenging process, but talking with their child’s pediatrician about specific referrals for this kind of care can be a good place to start. If those options are not available, parents should ensure that they are involved in their child’s mental health care and incorporate what is learned in treatment into their family’s day-to-day life. They should also seek referrals for their own mental health care as needed.
Ultimately, the children’s mental health crisis cannot be solved without also prioritizing parents. The British psychiatrist John Bowlby is widely recognized as the father of attachment theory, the study of the importance of early relationships between infants and their caregivers. Bowlby often expressed the sentiment that “a society that values its children should cherish their parents.”
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The city of Clearlake’s new recreation center complex received a major show of support and funding on Wednesday.
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-04) on Wednesday presented a check for $2 million to the city of Clearlake for the Clearlake Burns Valley Sports Complex and Recreation Center project.
This funding was secured in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding bill.
“The construction of the Burns Valley Sports Complex and Recreation Center will encourage healthier living and stimulate our local economy through youth sports, jobs, increased visitors, and additional hotel room stays,” said Thompson. “I was proud to work with Lake County officials to identify the need for this funding. This project is going to modernize our community, encourage a healthier lifestyle, and boost economic growth for our region.”
“This is a project that will have dramatic and long lasting impacts on our community. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle, safe activities for your youth, and providing a draw for visitors from outside our region are just a few of the benefits of this impact project. We are so grateful for the support of Congressman Thompson and the various agencies that will make this project a reality,” said Mayor Russ Perdock.
The full property will include a small amount of retail space, a new public works corporation yard — which will also serve as the city’s new hub for disaster and emergency response — as well as an 80-unit affordable housing project, and the sports complex and recreation center.
The sports complex will include a new Little League/softball/baseball complex, soccer fields and an approximately 20,000 square foot recreation center.
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is investigating a crash on Tuesday evening that resulted in the death of a bicyclist.
At 5:45 p.m. Clearlake Police officers responded to Boyles Avenue near 26th Avenue for a report of a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian.
Upon arrival, officers found the collision involved a Toyota Tundra and a bicycle, police said.
The bicyclist, who police said was a male in his late 40s, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
As a result of the investigation and based upon probable cause, officers arrested Johnny Leon-Rojas, 18, of Clearlake for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
Leon-Rojas was booked into the Lake County Jail, where he remained in custody early Wednesday.
He is due to appear in court on Thursday, according to his booking records.
If you witnessed the collision, please contact Sgt. Michael Perreault by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-994-8251.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Clearlake woman died and three others were injured in a head-on crash early Sunday morning.
Lisa Katherine McCuan, 40, died in the wreck, according to a Tuesday report from the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said the crash occurred at 6:31 a.m. Sunday on Highway 29 north of Diener Drive near Lower Lake.
McCuan was driving a 2013 Toyota Highlander northbound on Highway 29 with two passengers, Marrisa Humphries, 16, and Cliff Cutrell, 51, both of Clearlake, the CHP said.
The CHP said Dan Fallis, 51, of Clearlake was driving a 2015 Dodge Ram 1500 southbound.
Fallis drove the Dodge over the solid double yellow lines into the northbound lane, colliding head-on with McCuan’s Toyota, the CHP report said.
The CHP said McCuan was pronounced deceased on scene.
Humphries suffered major injuries and Cutrell suffered moderate injuries. The CHP said Humphries was transported to Adventist Health Clear Lake Hospital and Cutrell was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
Fallis suffered major injuries and was transported to Adventist Health Clear Lake Hospital, the CHP said.
The report said Cutrell, Fallis and McCuan were all wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, but Humphries was not.
The CHP said driving under the influence is not believed to be a contributing factor in this collision.
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.