LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee will start off the new year with officer elections and getting update from city and chamber of commerce officials.
The committee, or LEDAC, will meet via Zoom from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St. It is open to the public.
The meeting also will be available via Zoom: Meeting ID, 880 3641 4661; pass code, 202031. Dial by your location, 1-346-248-7799.
The meeting will start with the elections of the chair, vice chair and secretary for 2023.
Current Chair Wilda Shock said City Manager Kevin Ingram and Chief Building Official Bethany Moss Childers will provide information about city projects and discuss the role of LEDAC and the City Council priorities.
Laura McAndrews Sammel, chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, will present the chamber’s strategic plan and the process for creating and implementing it, Shock said.
Shock said LEDAC members and the public will have the opportunity for announcements about activities and programs in their respective organizations.
LEDAC’s next meeting will be March 8.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members are Chair Wilda Shock, Vice Chair Denise Combs and Secretary JoAnn Saccato, along with Bonnie Darling, Jeff Davis, Candy De Los Santos, Bill Eaton, Monica Flores, Barbara Flynn, Pam Harpster, Laura McAndrews Sammel and Tim Stephens. City staff who are members include City Manager Kevin Ingram and Community Development Department representatives.
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.
Andrew Fisher, University of California, Santa Cruz
California has seen so much rain over the past few weeks that farm fields are inundated and normally dry creeks and drainage ditches have become torrents of water racing toward the ocean. Yet, most of the state remains in severe drought.
All that runoff in the middle of a drought begs the question — why can’t more rainwater be collected and stored for the long, dry spring and summer when it’s needed?
As a hydrogeologist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, I’m interested in what can be done to collect runoff from storms like this on a large scale. There are two primary sources of large-scale water storage that could help make a dent in the drought: holding that water behind dams and putting it in the ground.
Why isn’t California capturing more runoff now?
When California gets storms like the atmospheric rivers that hit in December 2022 and January 2023, water managers around the state probably shake their heads and ask why they can’t hold on to more of that water. The reality is, it’s a complicated issue.
California has big dams and reservoirs that can store large volumes of water, but they tend to be in the mountains. And once they’re near capacity, water has to be released to be ready for the next storm. Unless there’s another reservoir downstream, a lot of that water is going out to the ocean.
In more populated areas, one of the reasons storm water runoff isn’t automatically collected for use on a large scale is because the first runoff from roads is often contaminated. Flooding can also cause septic system overflows. So, that water would have to be treated.
You might say, well, the captured water doesn’t have to be drinking water, we could just use it on golf courses. But then you would need a place to store the water, and you would need a way to distribute it, with separate pipes and pumps, because you can’t put it in the same pipes as drinking water.
Putting water in the ground
There’s another option, and that’s to put it in the ground, where it could help to replenish groundwater supplies.
Managed recharge has been used for decades in many areas to actively replenish groundwater supplies. But the techniques have been gaining more attention lately as wells run dry amid the long-running drought. Local agencies have proposed more than 340 recharge projects in California, and the state estimates those could recharge an additional 500,000 acre-feet of water a year on average if all were built.
One method being discussed by the state Department of Water Resources and others is Flood-MAR, or flood-managed aquifer recharge. During big flows in rivers, water managers could potentially divert some of that flow onto large parts of the landscape and inundate thousands of acres to recharge the aquifers below. The concept is to flood the land in winter and then farm in summer.
Flood-MAR is promising, provided we can find people who are willing to inundate their land and can secure water rights. In addition, not every part of the landscape is prepared to take that water.
You could inundate 1,000 acres on a ranch, and a lot of it might stay flooded for days or weeks. Depending on how quickly that water soaks in, some crops will be OK, but other crops could be harmed. There are also concerns about creating habitat that encourages pests or risks food safety.
Another challenge is that most of the big river flows are in the northern part of the state, and many of the areas experiencing the worst groundwater deficits are in central and southern California. To get that excess water to the places that need it requires transport and distribution, which can be complex and expensive.
Encouraging landowners to get involved
In the Pajaro Valley, an important agricultural region at the edge of Monterey Bay, regional colleagues and I are trying a different type of groundwater recharge project where there is a lot of runoff from hill slopes during big storms.
The idea is to siphon off some of that runoff and divert it to infiltration basins, occupying a few acres, where the water can pool and percolate into the ground. That might be on agricultural land or open space with the right soil conditions. We look for coarse soils that make it easier for water to percolate through gaps between grains. But much of the landscape is covered or underlain by finer soils that don’t allow rapid infiltration, so careful site selection is important.
One program in the Pajaro Valley encourages landowners to participate in recharge projects by giving them a rebate on the fee they pay for water use through a “recharge net metering” mechanism.
We did a cost-benefit analysis of this approach and found that even when you add in all the capital costs for construction and hauling away some soil, the costs are competitive with finding alternative supplies of water, and it is cheaper than desalination or water recycling.
Is the rain enough to end the drought?
It’s going to take many methods and several wet years to make up for the region’s long period of low rainfall. One storm certainly doesn’t do it, and even one wet year doesn’t do it.
For basins that are dependent on groundwater, the recharge process takes years. If this is the last rainstorm of this season, a month from now we could be in trouble again.
The year 2022 was a tough one for the growing number of people living in food insecurity and energy poverty around the world, and the beginning of 2023 is looking bleak.
Russia’s war on Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain and fertilizer feedstock suppliers, tightened global food and energy supplies, which in turn helped spur inflation.
Drought, exacerbated in some places by warring groups blocking food aid, pushed parts of the Horn of Africa toward famine. Extreme weather disasters have left trails of destruction with mounting costs on nearly every continent. More countries found themselves in debt distress.
But below the surface of almost weekly bad news, significant changes are underway that have the potential to create a more sustainable world – one in which humanity can tackle climate change, species extinction and food and energy insecurity.
I’ve been involved in international sustainable development for most of my career and now teach climate diplomacy. Here’s how two key systems that drive the world’s economy – energy and finance – are starting to shift toward sustainability and what to watch for in 2023.
Ramping up renewable energy growth
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine has reverberated through Europe and spread to other countries that have long been dependent on the region for natural gas. But while oil-producing countries and gas lobbyists are arguing for more drilling, global energy investments reflect a quickening transition to cleaner energy.
In December, the International Energy Agency published two important reports that point to the future of renewable energy.
First, the IEA revised its projection of renewable energy growth upward by 30%. It now expects the world to install as much solar and wind power in the next five years as it installed in the past 50 years.
The second report showed that energy use is becoming more efficient globally, with efficiency increasing by about 2% per year. As energy analyst Kingsmill Bond at the energy research group RMI noted, the two reports together suggest that fossil fuel demand may have peaked. While some low-income countries have been eager for deals to tap their fossil fuel resources, the IEA warns that new fossil fuel production risks becoming stranded, or uneconomic, in the next 20 years.
The main obstacles to the exponential growth in renewable energy, IEA points out, are antiquated energy policy frameworks, regulations and subsidies written at a time when energy systems, pricing and utilities were all geared toward fossil fuels.
Look in 2023 for reforms, including countries wrestling with how to permit smart grids and new transmission lines and finding ways to reward consumers for efficiency and clean energy generation.
The second system to watch for reform in 2023 is international finance. It’s also crucial to how low-income countries develop their energy systems, build resilience and recover from climate disasters.
Wealthy nations haven’t moved the energy transition forward quickly enough or provided enough support for emerging markets and developing countries to leapfrog inefficient fossil-fueled energy systems. Debt is ballooning in low-income countries, and climate change and disasters like the devastating flooding in Pakistan wipe out growth and add costs.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has brought together international financial institutions with think tanks and philanthropists to push for changes.
Countries like Mottley’s have been frustrated that the current international financial system – primarily the International Monetary Fund and the multilateral development banks, including the World Bank – haven’t adapted to the growing climate challenges.
Mottley’s Bridgetown Initiative proposes a new approach. It calls for countries’ vulnerability to be measured by climate impact, and for funds to be made available on that basis, rather than income. It also urges more risk-taking by the development banks to leverage private investment in vulnerable countries, including climate debt swaps.
The Bridgetown Initiative also calls for countries to reflow their IMF Special Drawing Rights – a reserve available to IMF members – into a proposed fund that vulnerable countries could then use to build resilience to climate change. A working group established by the G-20 points out that the “easiest” trillion dollars to access for urgent climate response is that already in the system.
In early 2023, Mottley and French President Emmanuel Macron, with others, will drive a process to examine the possible measures to improve the current system before the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in April, and then at a June summit called by France.
Watch in 2023 to see if this is the year the G-7 and the G-20 rekindle their global economic leadership roles. Their members are the largest owners of the international financial institutions, and also the largest emitters of carbon dioxide on the planet. India will lead the G-20 in 2023, followed by Brazil in 2024. Their leadership will be critical.
Watch small nations’ leadership in 2023
In 2023, expect to see small nations increasingly push for global transformation, led by the V-20 – the finance ministers of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
In addition to the Bridgetown Initiative, Barbados has suggested a way to pool new funds working off the model of an oil spill damage fund at the International Maritime Organization. In the IMO fund, big oil importers pay in, and the fund pays out in the event of a spill. Barbados supports creating a similar fund to help countries when a climate event costs more than 5% of a country’s GDP.
This model is potentially a way to pool funds from a levy on the windfall profits of energy companies that saw their profits soar in 2022 while billions of people around the world suffered from energy price inflation.
Finally, the breakthrough agreement on biodiversity reached in December 2022 provides more promise for 2023. Countries agreed to conserve 30% of the world’s biodiversity and restore 30% of the world’s degraded lands. The funding – a $30 billion fund by 2030 – remains to be found, but the plan clarifies the task ahead and nature’s place in it. And we can hope 2023 is a year when signs of peace in our war against nature break out.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — At its first meeting of 2023, the Board of Supervisors will host a swearing-in of county elected officials, consider finalizing a significant raise for its members and discuss an emergency action that’s proposed to help save the native Clear Lake hitch.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 934 5333 8139, pass code 387270. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,93453338139#,,,,*387270#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
On Tuesday, the meeting will begin with the election of the chair and vice chair of the Board of Supervisors, the Lake County Board of Equalization and the Lake County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Board of Directors for 2023.
At 9:04 a.m., the registrar of voters will then administer the oath of office to District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell, Treasurer-Tax Collector Patrick Sullivan, County Clerk-Auditor Jenavive Herrington, Sheriff-Coroner Eutice “Rob” Howe, Assessor-Recorder Richard Ford, District Attorney Susan Krones and Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
In an untimed item, 7.10, the board will hold the second reading of an ordinance amending Section 2-3A.1 of Article I, Chapter 2 of the Lake County Code, relating to the compensation of the Board of Supervisors.
At the Dec. 20 meeting, the board approved the first reading of the ordinance, which will give members a 40% annual raise.
If approved on Tuesday, the raises would go into effect 60 days after passage, on or around March 10, unless challenged by a referendum.
In another untimed item, 7.4, the board will consider a number of final agreements and promissory notes to allow construction to move forward on the Collier Avenue Housing Project, which will be an apartment complex for Behavioral Health Services clients in Nice.
At 9:30 a.m., the board will consider a proclamation declaring the existence of a local emergency due to persistent drought, habitat loss and potential extinction of Clear Lake hitch.
In a memo to the board, supervisors Michael Green and EJ Crandell are proposing a resolution which they said “proposes a multi-jurisdictional call to acknowledge the chi emergency and take appropriate measures; to rank and prioritize projects and funding sources to support chi repopulation; to assess enforcement and compliance of existing laws and regulations; and to encourage robust discussion and public participation as the county and its partners consider next steps.”
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve continuation of proclamation of the existence of a local emergency due to pervasive tree mortality.
5.2: Approve Amendment No. 3 (no cost period of performance extension) to agreement Sulphur, Pawnee and Mendocino Complex wildfires structural burn debris removal insurance cost recovery and invoicing in Lake County.
5.3: Approve Board of Supervisors minutes for Dec. 6, 2022.
5.4: Adopt proclamation designating the month of January 2023 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Lake County.
5.5: Approve continuation of resolution authorizing teleconferenced meetings during a state of emergency continue to exist.
5.6: Approve continuation of a local health emergency related to the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) as proclaimed by the Lake County Public Health officer.
5.7: Approve continuation of an emergency declaration for drought conditions.
5.8: Approve continuation of a local emergency due to COVID-19.
5.9: Approve agreement between the Lake County Probation Department and the state of California Franchise Tax Board for the purpose of the collection of unpaid court-ordered fines, monetary sanctions, forfeitures and penalties through Nov. 30, 2025, and authorize the chief probation officer to sign.
5.10: Approve travel for interim Chief Probation Officer Wendy Mondfrans and staff services analyst Kelly Morin to the Tyler Technologies Conference May 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.
5.11: Approve the capitalized fixed asset listing required upon departure from elected office.
5.12: Approve contract between the county of Lake and Lake Transit Authority for local public transportation services in the amount of $65,600, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.13: Approve contract between the county of Lake and Redwood Community Services Inc. for the provision of SB163 wraparound services in the amount of $402,393 per fiscal year, from Sept. 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.14: Approve contract between the county of Lake and Lake Family Resource Center for domestic violence services, in the amount of $25,000 per fiscal year from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.15: Approve contract between county of Lake and Adams Ashby Group for HOME and Community Development Block Grant loan portfolio management services in the amount of $50,000, from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.16: Approve amendment one to the agreement between the county of Lake on behalf of CSA-02, Spring Valley and Anchor QEA LLC for engineering and design services for the Spring Valley Lake Recovery Project for an increase of $134,351.00 to the contract amount.
5.17: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Harmony Research for professional research services related to tax default land sales in an amount not to exceed $307,500 and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
6.1, 9:01 a.m.: Election of chair of the Board of Supervisors and vice-chair of the Board of Supervisors for 2023 (outgoing chair conducts election).
6.2, 9:02 a.m.: Sitting as the Lake County Board of Equalization, election of chair and vice-chair of the Lake County Local Board of Equalization for 2023.
6.3, 9:03 a.m.: Sitting as the Lake County In-Home Supportive Services, election of chair and vice-chair of the Lake County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Board of Directors for 2023.
6.4, 9:04 a.m.: Erratum, a) Administer oath of office to District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier; and b) administer oath of office to District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell; and c) administer oath of office to Treasurer-Tax Collector Patrick Sullivan; and d) administer oath of office to County Clerk-Auditor Jenavive Herrington; and e) administer oath of office to Sheriff-Coroner Eutice “Rob” Howe; and f) administer oath of office to Assessor-Recorder Richard Ford; and g) administer oath of office to District Attorney Susan Krones; and h) administer oath of office to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
6.5, 9:06 a.m.: Public input.
6.6, 9:07 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of January 2023 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Lake County.
6.7, 9:11 a.m.: Reappoint members of the Lake County Planning Commission for a two-year term (a) reappoint District 1 Commissioner John Hess; (b) reappoint District 2 Commissioner Everardo Chavez Perez; (c) reappoint District 3 Commissioner Batulwin A. Brown; (d) reappoint District 4 Commissioner Christina Price; and (e) reappoint District 5 Commissioner Maile Field.
6.8, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration of proclamation declaring the existence of a local emergency due to persistent drought, habitat loss and potential extinction of Clear Lake Hitch.
6.9, 1:15 p.m.: Consideration of an agreement to provide funding in support of the BUILD Program, facilitated by North Coast Opportunities Inc., in the not-to-exceed amount of $800,000.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of direction to the Cannabis Task Force to prioritize regulations surrounding cannabis retail operations in the first quarter of 2023.
7.3: Consideration of Behavioral Health Service Department's update regarding Tribal 638 Clinic payment process and New Life Clinic LLC.
7.4: Consideration of the PLHA Loan Agreement, PLHA Deed of Trust, PLHA Promissory Note, PLHA Regulatory Agreement, MHSA/HHAP Loan Agreement, MHSA/HHAP Deed of Trust, MHSA/HHAP Promissory Note, Chase/County Subordination Agreement, County/Sponsor Subordination Agreement, County/DDS Subordination Agreement for the Collier Avenue Housing Project.
7.5: Consideration of Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake and Native American Mental Health Services dba North American Mental Health Services for telepsychiatry services for fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 for a new contract maximum of $3,875,877.36 and authorize the board chair to sign.
7.6: Consideration of 2023 committee assignments for members of the Board of Supervisors.
7.7: Consideration of advisory board appointments.
7.8: Consideration of delegation of investment authority to treasurer–tax collector.
7.9: Consideration of resolution authorizing investment of monies in the Local Agency Investment Fund.
7.10: ADDENDUM — Second reading of an ordinance amending Section 2-3A.1 of Article I, Chapter 2 of the Lake County Code, Compensation of the Board of Supervisors.
7.11: ADDENDUM — Consideration of resolution authorizing investment of monies with U.S. Bank NA and authorizing the county treasurer to act as the duly authorized and qualified representative.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: Health Services Director Jonathan Portney.
8.2, 3:30 p.m.: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): interviews for Public Health officer appointment of Public Health officer.
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. — State officials on Saturday evening gave an update on the powerful storm conditions moving across California, which in some areas have led to flooding.
California Department of Water Resources staff said a series of big storms will be hitting California this week, bringing not just more water but high winds.
State Climatologist Dr. Michael Anderson said a string of storms are underway. The first began on Dec. 27, and they are expected to continue until Jan. 19.
“We want to stay on this,” he said of the state’s effort to monitor the situation.
The next storm in the series was expected to come on shore on Saturday night, Anderson said.
That is to be followed by a second storm early in the week that’s a bigger concern and will have more impact, followed by storms three, four and five.
Precipitation maps developed by forecasters showed large amounts of rainfall statewide.
“We see some pretty astounding numbers here,” from the North Coast to San Diego, Anderson said.
He said the coming six days could see the state getting just as much rain as its already been through due to the unrelenting storms.
Anderson said a partnership of state and federal agencies, the Atmospheric River Recon, has several planes flying the storms, with that data being placed into National Weather Service forecast models.
The result, said Anderson, is an improved precipitation model that is helping with forecasting the coming storms.
Jeremy Arrich, manager of DWR’s Division of Flood Management, said the state’s Flood Operations Center has been activated since Jan. 3.
He said the center serves as a hub to gather and share information that’s used to support locally led flood emergency response efforts across the state.
The center can also supply direct materials, enlist crews and let out construction contracts for placing rock where needed or using other flood fighting methods to mitigate the impacts to levees or other areas.
As of Saturday night, he said there were 15 water systems in the state forecasted to exceed flood stage and 30 forecasted to exceed monitor stage.
According to the California Nevada River Forecast Center, the areas approaching flood stage that are closest to Lake County are the Russian River in Hopland and the Russian River in Guerneville.
Arrich said that California’s two largest reservoirs connected to the Sacramento River system, Oroville and Shasta, both have a lot of room in them still, even after the heavy rains of the past few weeks.
“That’s going to be a big relief valve for us in terms of that available storage,” Arrich said.
“DWR expects widespread impacts in small streams and creeks across the state, localized street flooding, low lying areas, areas with poor drainage, and other areas that are prone to flooding like coastal areas, recent wildfire burn scar areas and areas prone to rock or mudslides,” he said.
Californians should pay attention to safety messages from local authorities, heed all signs posted on roadways, and absolutely never attempt to drive through a flooded roadway, Arrich said.
Arrich also urged people to have an evacuation plan and to leave immediately if local authorities direct it.
Over the past week, the Flood Operations Center has been very busy and has coordinated efforts to help deliver materials and equipment to 12 counties, including more than 150,000 sandbags, six flood fight containers, more than 3,000 linear feet of reinforcing muscle wall and deployment of flood fight specialists to various locations, Arrich said.
Materials and equipment also have been positioned at 49 locations statewide and are ready when needed, and specialists have been deployed to support counties and agencies in flood fighting efforts, Arrich said.
Arrich said incident command teams are prepared to be deployed statewide as needed, and they’ve also been reaching out to levee managers and counties and cities to keep them informed of high water conditions, and to coordinate increased levee and flood system patrols.
The Flood Operations Center also is coordinating with the state Office of Emergency Services and emergency officials on the local level, he said.
Late Saturday, Clear Lake’s level was at -0.24 feet Rumsey, the special measure for Clear Lake.
With the rainfall, it’s anticipated the lake will soon cross into the plus side.
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.
What's up for January? The planets have some close encounters, the bright stars of winter, and a chance to catch a comet.
All month after sunset, you can see four planets without the aid of binoculars or a telescope.
You'll find Mars in the east, Jupiter high overhead, and Saturn in the southwest with Venus.
From about Jan. 18 to the 24, watch Venus cross paths with Saturn as the glow of sunset fades. Look for the pair low in the southwest about 45 minutes after the Sun dips below the horizon.
The two planets appear at their closest on Jan. 22, when they'll be only a third of a degree apart on the sky. You'll be able to capture both of them in the same field of view through binoculars or a small telescope.
On Jan. 23, the two planets are still only a degree apart, and will be joined by a slim crescent moon.
And on Jan. 25, looking to the southwest 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, look high above Venus and Saturn to find the Moon only a degree apart from Jupiter, about halfway up the sky.
January nights are filled with bright stars. Looking toward the south or southeast in the first few hours after dark, you'll spy the bright constellations of winter in the Northern Hemisphere: Of course there's Orion the hunter; the big dog constellation Canis Major; and the lesser known little dog, Canis Minor with its bright star Procyon.
Y-shaped Taurus, the bull, includes the bright Hyades and Pleiades star clusters. And just east of Orion, you'll find the bright stars Castor and Pollux, which form the heads of the twins in Gemini.
Make sure you take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the January sky, which more than meets the definition of "star studded," with so much to marvel at.
A recently discovered comet is now passing through the inner solar system and should be visible with a telescope and likely with binoculars.
The comet, which has a mouthful of a name — C/2022 E3, or ZTF — was first sighted in March last year, when it was already inside the orbit of Jupiter.
It makes its closest approach to the Sun on Jan. 12, and then passes its closest to Earth on Feb. 2.
Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it'll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it's just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies.
Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will find the comet in the morning sky, as it moves swiftly toward the northwest during January. (It'll become visible in the Southern Hemisphere in early February.)
This comet isn't expected to be quite the spectacle that Comet NEOWISE was back in 2020. But it's still an awesome opportunity to make a personal connection with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system.
Stay up to date with all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at nasa.gov.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lakeport Planning Commission will start off the new year considering a new affordable housing complex for the city and a request for a permit to allow residential use at a commercial property.
The commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. Masks are highly encouraged where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here; the meeting ID is 814 1135 4347, pass code is 847985.
To join by phone, dial 1-669-444-9171; for one tap mobile, +16694449171,,81411354347#,,,,*847985#.
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 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Please 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 are 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 before the meeting.
On Wednesday, the commission will consider the application from AMG & Associates LLC for a general plan amendment, zone change and mitigated negative declaration for a 40-unit apartment complex to be located at 519 S. Smith St.
The city staff report on the project explains that the 3.7-acre project site is undeveloped, and Phase I and II of the Martin Street Apartments are to the north of the project site.
The complex, which the staff report calls an “affordable housing community,” would include 40 total dwelling units within five multi-family residential buildings with a total of eight units per building. Of those, 10 units will be adaptable units, six units will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and four units will be sensory impaired units.
There also will be a 2,469-square-foot community center, a playground and half basketball court.
Staff is supporting the commission’s recommendation of approval to the Lakeport City Council.
If approved, this would be AMG’s fifth project in the city.
AMG is the builder of the Bella Vista senior housing complex and the Martin Street affordable housing apartment complex, and early last year received the commission’s approval to build a 40-unit senior apartment complex on Bevins Street.
Also on the agenda is an application from Lisa Tomassini for a use permit to allow a residential use in conjunction with a commercial business at 341 N Main St. Staff is recommending approval.
The commission is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
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.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews measured high streamflows this past week throughout California, thirteen of which were record high-flow measurements.
These measurements provide information that protect life, property, and the environment including uses for water supply and management, monitoring floods and droughts, bridge and road design, determination of flood risk and many recreational activities
“Heavy rains and hazardous weather conditions continue in northern California this week,” said Mark Dickman, associate director of data for the USGS California Water Science Center. “Streamflows have been very high, and we expect more over parts of the region the next several days.”
USGS crews made 77 streamflow measurements at 58 streamgages between December 31, 2022 and January 2, 2023, and recorded 13 preliminary record-high streamflow measurements in northern California. To the east of Sacramento, crews captured the highest direct measurement ever recorded at streamgage 11335000 on the Cosumnes River near Michigan Bar, CA — 63,700 cubic feet per second — in over 100 years of record. Additional historic peaks are expected throughout the state this week, as another atmospheric river is likely to occur.
These data are used by the National Weather Service to develop flood forecasts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to manage flood control and local agencies in their flood response activities.
“The SFPUC relies on accurate and real-time hydrology information for our water supply system and watershed land operations, particularly during storm events,” said Tim Ramirez with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. “Information regarding reservoir levels, and streams flowing into and from the reservoirs are critical data we use to make operational decisions, and we are grateful for the USGS staff out in the field during these storm events who are an important part of our team.”
There are 458 USGS-operated streamgages in California that measure water levels, streamflow, and rainfall automatically and send data wirelessly, which are accessible from the National Water Dashboard. When flooding occurs, USGS crews make numerous streamflow measurements to verify the data that the USGS provides to federal, state, and local agencies, as well as to the public.
For more than 125 years, the USGS has monitored flow in selected streams and rivers across the United States.
Access current flood and high flow conditions across the country by visiting the USGS National Water Dashboard. Receive instant, customized updates about water conditions in your area via text message or email by signing up for USGS WaterAlert.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The updated forecast for the incoming Pacific cyclone and atmospheric river warns that Lake County could see close to a dozen inches of rain over the weekend and into the new week.
The National Weather Service's Eureka Office is predicting up to 12 inches of additional rain from Saturday through Tuesday for portions of Lake County.
The forecast also predicts strong southerly winds, heavy high elevation snow, and a new widespread flooding threat from heavy rainfall atop of already saturated ground.
The National Weather Service placed all of Lake County under a flood watch from 4 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10. Forecasters also issued a hazardous weather outlook for Lake County.
Areas including Lakeport and the Northshore are expected to have up to 7 inches of rain in that time.
Cobb, Kelseyville and southern Lake County are forecast to get more rain, with predictions putting Cobb at more than 11 inches in that time frame.
The winds in the forecast for Lake County could be as high as 25 miles per hour, with gusts in the 40s. Across the region, ridges could see gusts of up to 60 miles per hour.
Temperatures into next week will mostly hover in the high 40s, moving into the low 50s on Sunday, Monday and then on Thursday, with nighttime lows in the low 40s.
Pacific Gas and Electric on Friday continued to restore power around Lake County and the rest of its service areas.
By Friday night, the company reported that about 50 Lake County customer accounts were still waiting for restoration, which the company reported was expected to be complete by Saturday.
By late Friday, Clear Lake was at -0.63 feet Rumsey, the special measure for the lake.
The lake level had been hovering around -2.34 feet Rumsey just before Christmas.
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. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has four adult cats waiting to meet new families.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
‘Leo’
“Leo” is a 3-year-old female domestic shorthair cat with a yellow tabby and white coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 7, ID No. LCAC-A-4464.
‘Star’
“Star” is a 3-year-old female domestic shorthair cat with a calico coat.
She is in kennel No. 36, ID No. LCAC-A-4465.
‘Cris’
“Cris” is a 6-month-old orange tabby with a short coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 57, ID No. LCAC-A-4375.
‘Sonny’
“Sonny” is a 2-year-old male orange tabby with a short coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 84, ID No. LCAC-A-4372.
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. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has many new dogs this week, from big fuzzy ones to little ones.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Alaskan malamute, Belgian Malinois, Chihuahua, German shepherd, hound, husky, Labrador retriever, pit bull, Schipperke, shepherd and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
‘Malachi’
“Malachi” is a 4-year-old male Alaskan malamute with a long black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 18, ID No. LCAC-A-4434.
Lab-pit bull mix puppy
This female Labrador retriever-pit bull mix puppy has a short black coat with white markings.
She is in kennel No. 2, ID No. LCAC-A-4451.
Male Schipperke
This 3-and-a-half-year-old male Schipperke has a long black coat.
He is in kennel No. 3, ID No. LCAC-A-4453.
Male pit bull
This 3-year-old male pit bull has a short white coat with gray markings.
He is in kennel No. 7, ID No. LCAC-A-4425.
Female German shepherd
This 10-month-old female German shepherd has a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 8, ID No. LCAC-A-4448.
Female Belgian Malinois
This 6-month-old female Belgian Malinois has a short black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 10, ID No. LCAC-A-4447.
Male pit bull terrier
This 4-year-old male pit bull terrier has a short brown coat.
He is in kennel No. 11, ID No. LCAC-A-4496.
Female Chihuahua
This 2-year-old female Chihuahua has a short brown coat.
She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. LCAC-A-4469.
Female pit bull terrier
This 1-year-old female pit bull terrier has a short tan and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 14, ID No. LCAC-A-4493.
Male pit bull terrier
This 1-year-old male pit bull terrier has a short black coat.
He is in kennel No. 15, ID No. LCAC-A-4494.
Female terrier
This 2-year-old female terrier has a short tan and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 16, ID No. LCAC-A-4452.
Female hound
This 8-month-old female hound has a fawn coat.
She is in kennel No. 17, ID No. LCAC-A-4386.
Female pit bull terrier
This 1-year-old female pit bull terrier has a short black coat with white markings.
She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-4461.
‘Tyson’
“Tyson” is a handsome male husky with a red and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-4344.
Female terrier
This 7-month-old female terrier has a short brown coat.
She is in kennel No. 23, ID No. LCAC-A-4436.
Female pit bull terrier
This 2-year-old female pit bull terrier has a short black and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 24, ID No. LCAC-A-4484.
Male pit bull
This 3-year-old male pit bull has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 26, ID No. LCAC-A-4445.
Female shepherd
This 3-year-old female shepherd mix has a short tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. LCAC-A-4449.
Female German shepherd
This 1-year-old female German shepherd has a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 30, ID No. LCAC-A-4486.
Male shepherd
This 3-year-old male shepherd has a short black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 31, ID No. LCAC-A-4312.
Male terrier
This 1-year-old male terrier has a tan and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 33, ID No. LCAC-A-4470.
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.
Early Saturday morning, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) was officially sworn in as United States Representative for California’s Fourth District in the 118th Congress.
He and other members were delayed in taking their oaths of office over the last several days as votes took place for the Speaker of the House job, which finally was settled on the 15th vote with the election of Kevin McCarthy.
“Serving the people of California’s Fourth District is an immense honor and I appreciate the faith and confidence of the people of our community to carry this responsibility of representing them in Congress. This Congress, I am focused on building on the bipartisan victories we accomplished over the last two years and continuing to advocate for the policies that matter most to our district,” said Thompson.
“That means lowering costs for working families, combating climate change, lowering health care costs, increasing access to affordable care through telehealth, ensuring fire survivors are not taxed on settlements, securing financial relief for growers impacted by drought and other natural disasters, ending the scourge of gun violence, and more,” he added.
“I’m ready to get to work,” Thompson said.
Following the 2020 Census, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission released new Congressional district lines for California, renumbering Rep. Thompson’s district from California’s Fifth to California’s Fourth.
California’s Fourth District includes all of Lake and Napa counties and parts of Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.