LAKEPORT, Calif. — The city of Lakeport and Lakeport Disposal Co. Inc. announced that the Community Cleanup Day for city of Lakeport residents will take place Saturday, April 16.
The cleanup will take place between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the public parking lot north of the Fifth Street boat ramp in downtown Lakeport.
This event is limited to city of Lakeport residents and business owners.
Those dropping off trash and solid waste will be required to provide photo identification and a copy of a current city of Lakeport utility bill. The utility bill must be current in order to participate.
Participants are asked to follow these guidelines:
• Stay in vehicle while Lakeport Disposal staff unloads materials; • Two visits maximum per each Lakeport address;
Acceptable: Household trash, televisions, appliances (stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers and water heaters), electronic waste, mattresses, household furniture, unusable clothes, blankets, towels and similar materials.
Not accepted: Refrigerators, hot tubs/spas, air conditioners, construction debris, used tires and household hazardous waste.
For more details, please see the city’s website, its Facebook page or contact Lakeport Disposal at 707-263-6080.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The report on February real estate sales from the Lake County Association of Realtors shows that median prices and sales numbers are remaining strong across the county.
A total of 68 homes were sold through the multiple listing service in February. These include traditionally built “stick-built” houses as well as manufactured homes on land.
There were seven sales of mobile homes in parks and 60 bare land (lots and acreage) sales, the report showed.
Of the homes sold, 28% were purchased for cash while 41% were financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac through “conventional loans.” Thirteen percent were financed by FHA.
Almost one-third (31%) of homes sold with a seller concession to the buyer for closing costs; the average amount of seller credit to buyer was $6,800.
There are 197 homes on the market right now. If the rate of sales stays the same at 68 homes sold per month, there are currently 2.9 months of inventory on the market at the moment. That means that if no new homes are brought to the market for sale, in 2.9 months all of these homes would be sold and there would be none available, the association reported.
Less than six months of inventory is generally considered to be a “sellers’ market” while more than 6 months of inventory is often called a “buyers’ market,” the report explained.
The report said most homes in February were selling very close to the asking price.
In Clearlake the homes were selling for 101% of the asking price.
To break it down by area, see the comparison chart below of activity for February compared to the same time in 2021.
The association said that the numbers are quite small, so it is difficult to make assumptions based on them.
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of the evidence in this case.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — On Monday afternoon a Lake County Superior Court judge sentenced a Lakeport man to state prison in a child pornography case.
Judge Shanda Harry sentenced Jeffery Scott Cramer, 60, to two years in state prison for felony possession of child pornography.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office arrested Cramer in May 2020 following an investigation that found he had used his social media accounts to upload child pornography on at least five occasions between August 2019 and February 2020.
Later in 2020, the District Attorney’s Office charged Cramer — then the owner of Main Street Bicycles, a business he has since sold — with felony possession of child pornography and bringing obscene materials that depict a minor in a sex act into the state.
In March of 2021, as part of an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office, Cramer entered a no contest plea to felony possession of child pornography. At that time, the second charge was dropped with a Harvey waiver, which allows that dismissed charge to still be considered for the purpose of sentencing.
In January, Cramer appeared before Judge Harry for sentencing. However, after having reviewed the case materials — including the photos and videos found in Cramer’s possession, most of which appeared to show children under age 12 — Harry rejected the plea agreement, which did not require prison time but instead gave him up to two years of probation, along with lifetime registration as a sex offender.
Harry said it was clear from her review that Cramer had not been engaged in a “passive exploration of pictures,” but had actually been using those images to create “tribute videos” in which Cramer filmed himself masturbating and then ejaculating on the images. Harry said he later uploaded those videos to porn sites, where they were distributed.
Following two additional continuations, during which it was reported that Cramer did not intend to withdraw from the plea agreement, the sentencing was back on Harry’s calendar on Monday.
During an afternoon hearing that lasted approximately 16 minutes, in which Cramer was present, Harry heard from Cramer’s attorney, Jane Gaskell of Santa Rosa who asked for a mitigated sentence.
It was reported on Monday that Cramer, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, had an MRI on March 22 which found that the disease has spread, requiring further testing and treatment into mid-May. It’s also anticipated that he will require surgery.
In explaining her reasons for seeking a mitigated sentence, Gaskell said Cramer has accepted responsibility for his actions. After seeing a therapist, Cramer wrote a letter to the court in which he said that he realized his internet porn usage was destructive not just to his family but to others.
“I realize that this is not a victimless crime, even though they are not known by name,” his letter said, as read by Gaskell.
Gaskell said Cramer’s therapist has reported that he is making progress and that he is utilizing psychotherapy effectively.
“I want the court to be reminded of that,” said Gaskell. “Mr. Cramer has stayed on that therapeutic path.”
She said the probation report concluded that Cramer was a suitable candidate for probation. Given that he had not pursued legal remedies that Gaskell said she made clear to him were available, she said she believed a mitigated sentence would be appropriate.
District Attorney Susan Krones said that in the same letter Gaskell quoted, Cramer talked about “slipping down a rabbit hole.”
“No matter what he said after that, he downplays the start of what he did when he was first starting to continue to review and watch child pornography,” Krones said, noting that’s the part of his letter to the court that is so concerning.
She said she doesn’t believe his use of child pornography happened accidentally. “He continued to seek it out.”
Krones said that in Cramer’s case, she believed the midterm offered in the probation report — for two years in state prison — was appropriate, adding that the mitigating term would not be appropriate because of the amount of child pornography involved.
In an interview earlier this year, Krones told Lake County News that Cramer had thousands of files — both videos and images — in his possession.
Harry noted that in an earlier hearing, she also had questioned the veracity of Cramer’s assertion about going down a rabbit hole, noting that looking for such images was not like getting off course while doing internet shopping.
She said she took his mental health treatment into consideration. “Once caught he has tried to improve himself.”
Harry then moved forward with passing sentence, noting she was not granting probation and that the mitigating factors were outweighed by the aggravating factors.
She gave Cramer the midterm of two years in state prison, with restitution fines totaling nearly $1,300. Cramer also gets one day of credit toward his prison sentence.
Understanding the ongoing issue with prostate cancer, Harry did not order Cramer remanded into custody. Rather, she set a date of July 27 for him to turn himself in at the Lake County Jail; from there he will be transferred to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Harry told Cramer and Gaskell that if, due to his treatment, that turn-in date needs to be moved, that she would be open to doing so.
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.
Around the world, revolutionary changes are under way in transportation. More electric vehicles are on the road, people are taking advantage of sharing mobility services such as Uber and Lyft, and the rise in telework during the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way people think about commuting.
The systemic changes under way in the transportation sector could begin lowering that emissions footprint. But will they reduce emissions enough?
In a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released April 4, 2022, scientists examined the latest research on efforts to mitigate climate change. The report concludes that falling costs for renewable energy and electric vehicle batteries, in addition to policy changes, have slowed the growth of climate change in the past decade, but that deep, immediate cuts are necessary. Emissions will have to peak by 2025 to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F), a Paris Agreement goal, the report says.
The transportation chapter, which I contributed to, homed in on transportation transformations – some just starting and others expanding – that in the most aggressive scenarios could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 80% to 90% of current levels by 2050. That sort of drastic reduction would require a major, rapid rethinking of how people get around globally.
The future of EVs
All-electric vehicles have grown dramatically since the Tesla Roadster and Nissan Leaf arrived on the market a little over a decade ago, following the popularity of hybrids.
In 2021 alone, the sales of electric passenger vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, doubled worldwide to 6.6 million, about 9% of all car sales that year.
Beyond passenger vehicles, many micro-mobility options – such as autorickshaws, scooters and bikes – as well as buses, have been electrified. As the cost of lithium-ion batteries decreases, these transportation options will become increasingly affordable and further boost sales of battery-powered vehicles that traditionally have run on fossil fuels.
With the global trends toward more renewable generation, these vehicles will be connected with fewer carbon emissions over time. There are also many developing and potentially promising co-benefits of electromobility when coupled with the power system. The batteries within electric vehicles have the potential to act as storage devices for the grid, which can assist in stabilizing the intermittency of renewable resources in the power sector, among many other benefits.
Other areas of transportation are more challenging to electrify. Larger and heavier vehicles generally aren’t as conducive to electrification because the size and weight of the batteries needed rapidly becomes untenable.
For some heavy-duty trucks, ships and airplanes, alternative fuels such as hydrogen, advanced biofuels and synthetic fuels are being explored as replacements for fossil fuels. Most aren’t economically feasible yet, and substantial advances in the technology are still needed to ensure they are either low- or zero-carbon.
Other ways to cut emissions from transportation
While new fuel and vehicle technologies are often highlighted as decarbonization solutions, behavioral and other systemic changes will also be needed to meet to cut greenhouse gas emissions dramatically from this sector. We are already in the midst of these changes.
Telecommuting: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the explosion of teleworking and video conferencing reduced travel, and, with it, emissions associated with commuting. While some of that will rebound, telework is likely to continue for many sectors of the economy.
Shared mobility: Some shared mobility options, like bike and scooter sharing programs, can get more people out of vehicles entirely.
Car-sharing and on-demand services such as Uber and Lyft also have the potential to reduce emissions if they use high-efficiency or zero-emission vehicles, or if their services lean more toward car pooling, with each driver picking up multiple passengers. Unfortunately, there is substantial uncertainty about the impact of these services. They might also increase vehicle use and, with it, greenhouse gas emissions.
New policies such as the California Clean Miles Standard are helping to push companies like Uber and Lyft to use cleaner vehicles and increase their passenger loads, though it remains to be seen whether other regions will adopt similar policies.
Public transit-friendly cities: Another systemic change involves urban planning and design. Transportation in urban areas is responsible for approximately 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Efficient city planning and land use can reduce travel demand and shift transportation modes, from cars to public transit, through strategies that avoid urban sprawl and disincentivize personal cars. These improvements not only decrease greenhouse gas emissions, but can decrease congestion, air pollution and noise, while improving the safety of transportation systems.
How do these advances translate to lower emissions?
Much of the uncertainty in how much technological change and other systemic shifts in transportation affects global warming is related to the speed of transition.
The new IPCC report includes several potential scenarios for how much improvements in transportation will be able to cut emissions. On average, the scenarios indicate that the carbon intensity of the transportation sector would need to decrease by about 50% by 2050 and as much as 91% by 2100 when combined with a cleaner electricity grid to stay within the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) target for global warming.
These decreases would require a complete reversal of current trends of increasing emissions in the transportation sector, but the recent advances in transportation provide many opportunities to meet this challenge.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Any time drivers take their eyes off the road to look at or use a phone, they are driving blind.
For example, looking down at a cell phone to read a text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that is the equivalent of driving the length of a 300-foot football field without looking.
As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the California Highway Patrol, California Office of Traffic Safety and Impact Teen Drivers are working together to increase education and enforcement efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.
Many distractions interfere with safe driving, but cell phones continue to be the most common distraction.
“Nothing on your phone is worth endangering a life when you drive,” said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray. “Your primary focus should always be on the road and the task of driving your vehicle safely.”
In 2021, the CHP issued more than 55,800 citations for distracted driving.
Preliminary data compiled in the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System showed that in 2021 driver inattention resulted in over 13,000 crashes. Sadly, at least 56 distracted drivers were involved in fatal crashes and nearly 6,300 other distracted drivers were involved in injury crashes throughout California.
“Silence your phone and put it away while driving,” Office of Traffic Safety Director Barbara Rooney said. “It is a simple, yet significant action that keeps yourself and others on the road safe.”
While officers enforce distracted driving and other violations daily, on April 7 and 20, they will pay close attention to citing distracted drivers caught engaging in this dangerous driving behavior as part of statewide enforcement campaigns.
From April 11 to 24, the Office of Traffic Safety will run a new education campaign encouraging drivers to stay off the phone and ditch the distractions.
Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens, and the month-long traffic safety campaign will include a special emphasis during California Teen Safe Driving Week, April 4 to 10, on educating the state’s newest drivers about the dangers of reckless and distracted driving.
“Remember to be the driver you want your kids to be—eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and your mind focused on the drive,” said Impact Teen Drivers Executive Director Kelly Browning. “Parents, you are the number one influencer of your kids’ driving attitudes and behaviors.”
With grant funding provided by the Office of Traffic Safety, the CHP has partnered with Impact Teen Drivers, a Sacramento-based nonprofit, to help spread the message of safe, distraction-free driving. The Impact Teen Drivers program uses a multifaceted approach to deliver evidence-based education to teens and parents across the nation.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council will present several proclamations this week and will consider approving a contract to abate a dilapidated restaurant.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. Thursday, April 7.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
During Thursday’s meeting, the Clearlake Police Department will hold an employee recognition.
The council also will present proclamations declaring April 10 to 16 as Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Under council business, staff is asking the council to award a contract for $53,439 to Chernoh Excavating for demolition of structures and abatement of a property at 14525 Lakeshore Drive, the former Sunflower restaurant.
The staff report explains that the property has been the subject of ongoing abatement actions and, despite new owners taking over last year, the property’s health and safety hazards have not yet been abated.
The council also will consider the Public Works construction project manager job description, authorization of amendments to the management benefit plan, and adoption of an amended 2021/22 salary schedule; and will discuss the sale of vacant land at 12121 Lakeshore.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Aug. 23, 2021, and ratified by council action on Sept. 16, 2021; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Aug. 18, 2021, and ratified by council action on Aug. 19, 2021; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020; continuation of authorization to implement and utilize teleconference accessibility to conduct public meetings pursuant to Assembly Bill 361; minutes of the February and March meetings; amendment to the construction administration services for the Burns Valley Development Project with California Engineering Co. for a not-to-exceed amount of $85,457.85; amendment to the contract for the construction administration services for the Sulphur Fire Roadway Improvement Project with California Engineering Co. in the amount of $32,190.43; approval of the contract and authorize the city manager to approve up to 10% for additional unforeseen contract amendments for the Austin Park Splash Pad Project; and consideration of AAR #6 to the 2021-2022 Budget; Resolution No. 2022-17; approval of a contract with SSA Landscape Architects for phase two schematic design for the Burns Valley Sports Complex.
After the public portion of the meeting, the council will hold a closed session to discuss litigation against the county of Lake and an evaluation of the city manager.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A head-on crash on Highway 20 near Blue Lakes on Wednesday afternoon resulted in a fatality and led to a temporary shutdown of the highway.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed a death had resulted from the two-vehicle wreck, which was first reported just before 3:15 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 20 just east of Scotts Valley Road, west of Upper Lake.
Units arriving at the scene reported finding the roadway blocked by a pickup truck and a sedan, according to CHP and radio reports.
Within a few minutes of getting to the scene, medics confirmed one person had died, according to radio traffic.
Shortly before 3:45 p.m., Northshore Fire medics at the scene asked for an air ambulance to respond to Sutter Lakeside Hospital to transport another patient to an out-of-county trauma center.
The CHP said just before 4 p.m. that the highway was closed in both directions, with no estimated time of reopening.
The roadway was reported to have been reopened just before 6 p.m.
Additional information will be published as it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The U.S. Senate approved the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, with the goal of making daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023. If that happens, the U.S. will never again “spring forward” or “fall back.”
Following the Senate’s vote and a recent hearing in the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce – at which I testified – the subcommittee is now considering the issue. The full House of Representatives will need to vote in support of permanent DST before the bill goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
In my research on DST, I have found that Americans don’t like Congress messing with their clocks. However, the move to DST year-round makes a lot of sense.
In an effort to avoid the biannual time change in spring and fall, some DST critics have suggested that returning to permanent standard time would benefit society.
But research shows that DST saves lives and prevents crime. Nearly 20 states have passed bills to make DST permanent, and the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act to allow those laws to take effect – since any one state can’t move to DST unilaterally on dates different from the rest of the country.
If Congress ultimately passes the measure to turn all clocks forward permanently, I see five ways that Americans’ lives will improve.
1. Lives would be saved
Simply put, darkness kills – and darkness in the evening is far deadlier than darkness in the morning.
The evening rush hour is twice as fatal as the morning for various reasons. Far more people are on the road, more alcohol is in drivers’ bloodstreams, people are hurrying to get home and more children are enjoying outdoor, unsupervised play. Fatal vehicle-on-pedestrian crashes increase threefold when the sun goes down.
DST brings an extra hour of sunlight into the evening to mitigate those risks. Standard time has the opposite impact, by moving sunlight to the morning.
A metastudy reviewing all of the available research on the topic demonstrated that 343 lives per year could be saved by moving to year-round DST, primarily in reduced vehicle on pedestrian accidents. Mornings would be riskier, but afternoons/evenings would be far more safe.
2. Crime would decrease
Darkness is also a friend of crime. Moving sunlight into the evening has a far greater impact on crime prevention than it does in the morning. This is especially true for crimes by juveniles, which peak in the after-school and early evening hours.
Criminals prefer to do their work in the darkness of evening and night. Crime rates are 30% lower in the morning hours, even when those morning hours occur before sunrise, when it’s still dark.
Many people don’t know that the original justification for the creation of DST was to save energy – initially during World War I and II to prioritize energy for U.S. troops, and then later during the 1973 OPEC oil crisis. When the sun is out later in the evening, peak energy loads are reduced.
Having more sun in the evening requires not just less electricity to provide lighting, but reduces the amount of oil and gas required to heat homes and businesses, though it could increase cooling costs in the summer. DST resulted in 150,000 barrels of oil saved by the U.S. in 1973, which helped combat the effect of OPEC’s oil embargo.
Most people in our society are awake and using energy in the early evening when the sun sets. But a considerable portion of the population is still asleep at sunrise, resulting in significantly less demand for energy then.
This rationale motivated some in California to recommend permanent DST in the early 2000s, when the state experienced recurrent electricity shortages and rolling brownouts. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimated that the U.S. would have seen an energy savings of more than US$4 billion and a decrease of carbon emissions by 10.8 million metric tons if we had enacted permanent DST more than decade ago.
4. Avoiding clock switches improves sleep
Critics of DST are correct about one thing: The biannual clock switch is bad for health and welfare.
It wreaks havoc with people’s sleep cycles. Heart attacks increase 24% in the week after the U.S. “springs forward” in March. There’s even an uptick during the week when clocks “fall back.”
If that’s not bad enough, a study from 2000 shows that major financial market indexes NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ average negative returns on the Monday following both clock switches, presumably because of disrupted sleep cycles.
Critics of biannual clock switching sometimes use these points to argue in favor of permanent standard time. However, the same sleep benefits are available under year-round DST, too. Plus, standard time doesn’t offer the energy-saving, lifesaving or crime prevention effects of DST.
5. Recreation and commerce flourish in the sun
Recreation and commerce flourish in daylight and are hampered by evening darkness.
Americans are less willing to go out to shop in the dark, and it’s not very easy to catch a baseball in darkness either. These activities are far more prevalent in the early evening than they are in the early morning hours, so sunlight is not nearly so helpful then.
Not surprisingly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and organizations devoted to outdoor recreation favor extended DST. Brick-and-mortar stores, especially family-owned businesses, suffered during the pandemic. Having more daylight to shop helps to reverse the trend.
A note about the downsides of DST
It is important to note that some research highlights the downsides of DST.
But most circadian rhythm dysfunction is created by the biannual clock shift itself. Either permanent standard time or permanent DST solves that problem. Standard time may be better for circadian rhythms overall because the sun sets and rises earlier; however, people’s evening activities and routines are unlikely to change in response. Earlier sunsets won’t force people to go to bed earlier, as might have been the case 150 years ago before electricity. “Prime time” is 8 to 11 p.m., not 5 to 6 a.m., for a reason.
Further, Americans make decisions all the time that we know have health risks, like eating red meat instead of broccoli and drinking alcohol or soda instead of water. We do this because we enjoy the benefits of those products despite their risks. This is similar to sun exposure and later bedtimes; we enjoy and benefit from them even though we know they carry risks.
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To address another downside – early morning winter darkness – any switch to permanent DST could be coupled with efforts to move school start times later, as long advocated by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This would be a good idea for kids’ circadian rhythms and mental health, regardless of DST or standard time. Stepped-up child safety measures for darker mornings, such as crosswalk lighting and more crossing guards, would also help.
Time will tell whether the U.S. adopts permanent DST, but either way, we should consider all of its benefits versus all of the costs.
Each April, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, or NCADD, sponsors National Alcohol Awareness month, with the goal of encouraging public education surrounding alcohol use disorder.
Data collected by the California Highway Patrol shows that in 2021, 252 people were cited with a misdemeanor in Lake County for driving under the influence (DUI, 0.08% or greater Blood Alcohol Concentration). Of these DUI arrests, 123 involved traffic collisions. Tragically, 15 of these resulted in fatalities. In one of these fatal incidents, both drivers involved were intoxicated.
Hope Rising Lake County’s Community Health Dashboard shows that 15% of Lake County adults binge drink. Though our community is not immune from this public health crisis, community, resources and education can help combat this issue.
MedlinePlus, a resource maintained by the National Institutes of Health, notes alcohol use disorder is marked by intense cravings to drink, loss of control to manage consumption intake, and a low and irritable emotional state when not consuming alcohol.
Alcoholism can be treated with Naltrexone or Acamprosate, both of which reduce cravings. This information and more can be found in the Medication Assisted Treatment Toolkit for DUI Programs, a resource created by Harbage Consulting with support from the Department of Health Care Services.
Along with learning about the prevalence of alcohol use disorder in the community and available treatment options, another integral focus of Alcohol Awareness Month is checking in on our own dependence.
This April, designate an alcohol-free weekend
To do this, the NCADD recommends choosing a weekend in April to go entirely alcohol-free, from Friday through Monday.
Afterward, take some time to gauge the impacts the weekend had on your body and mind. Note any sweating, nausea, headaches, and/or trouble sleeping as these could indicate an unconscious dependence on alcohol and may require a closer look.
The line between casual consumption and alcohol dependence can blur when we are too close to it; an alcohol-free weekend allows for objective, honest self-reflection.
Lake County Behavioral Health Services is concerned that alcohol use disorder keeps many Lake County residents from reaching their full potential.
Help is available.
As the data demonstrate, harms can extend well beyond the personal; in many cases, taking care of ourselves is taking care of others.
For more information, please contact us at 707-994-7090 or 707-274-9101.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday received an update from staff and volunteers on the ongoing effort to move the Middle Creek Restoration Project toward completion.
The project to restore wetlands encompasses 1,650 acres near Upper Lake in the confluence of Middle and Scotts creeks, Clear Lake’s two largest tributaries, which Deputy Water Resources Director Marina Deligiannis said make up 50% of the Clear Lake watershed.
Deligiannis said those two tributaries provide 57% of the inflow and 71% of the phosphorus floating into Clear Lake.
She said the project is meant to reduce flood risk in Upper Lake — which will be aided by removing deteriorating levees — while also improving water quality and restoring habitat.
“This project has been going on for a very long time,” she said, going over a timeline that goes back decades, with the first public meeting about it having taken place in 1984.
One of the more recent developments in the effort was the establishment in 2016 of the Middle Creek Project Committee, which includes county staff, elected officials and volunteers.
Among that latter group is Dr. Harry Lyons, a retired biology professor who taught for many years at Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus. He’s long been known as an enthusiast of Clear Lake and its unique biology, and for his ability to share that knowledge and enthusiasm with his students and the community.
Peter Windrem, a well-known Kelseyville attorney who is now retired, is another of the volunteers. Raised in Lake County, Windrem is also a champion of the Clear Lake hitch, listed as endangered under California law and now the focus of a lawsuit seeking after a federal listing was denied during the last months of the Trump administration.
Both Lyons and Windrem were on hand with Deligiannis on Tuesday to update the board on the project.
Lyons discussed the project stakeholders, one of the most important being the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He said the Corps has $109 billion worth of civil projects in the queue; that’s 15 times their annual budget.
“They are efficient and they do an excellent job,” he said.
The committee is trying to make the project as attractive as possible so it’s competitive in terms of the Corp’s annual work plan, Lyons said.
Lyons said the committee has been in touch with federal representatives, so when Congress gets involved the funds will get allocated.
“It is a project where the work is useful regardless of when it finishes. As far as we’ve come can’t be undone,” he said, explaining that buying property and making cultural and biological studies are achievements that don’t go away. A feasibility study done on the project needs to be updated and supplemented.
“Just steel your patience with the knowledge that quite a bit of effort has already been made,” Lyons said.
Lyons also noted the work done by the county of Lake, as head of the watershed protection district, one of the nonfederal sponsors, and the California Department of Water Resources, which has been a source of money for land acquisition.
State Water Resources, through the efforts of Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, most recently gave the project $15 million in grant money. The agency also previously had given the county $12 million for the project. As the project moves forward, Lyons said the state gets reduced liability and a functioning wetland.
“We want the Corps to dance with us. We gotta look cute,” said Lyons, adding one way to do that is to have purchased all of the necessary property.
Lyons also emphasized the important role of the tribes, for whom the area is of historical and continuing importance. He said their input is needed in the feasibility study and construction phases so cultural resources are not damaged.
He said the long-running project is “at the end of the beginning.” They presented to the board a letter addressed to the Army Corps restating the county’s support for the project, which they asked the board to approve.
Lyons said Congressman Mike Thompson will keep pushing to get the project through, with the state’s two members of the U.S. Senate to be brought in at a later time.
“We’re very proud of the work that we have done and will continue to do for this project,” Windrem said of the Middle Creek Restoration Coalition, a group that came together in 2016.
At that time, Windrem said the project was essentially dead — the Army Corps had even written to the county to ask if it intended to move forward.
The coalition formed and continues to have a No. 1 objective of getting money for the project. “No money, no project,” Windrem said.
He said the coalition reached out to ask Aguiar-Curry to work with the state Department of Water Resources to get the $15 million for property acquisition.
The concern now is that the county needs to finish acquisition by a deadline that’s been pushed back to next year.
“We’re committed and thrilled about this project. We always have been,” Windrem said.
He said the project will restore the area and act as a filter, allowing phosphorus — which fields the blue-green algae that has been a particular challenge on the lake — to drop out of the water.
Deligiannis read the Middle Creek Project Committee vision, which is to have a completed project that protects persons and wildlife from flooding, restores natural habitat for fishes and wildlife, improves Clear Lake’s water quality, and creates a recreation area for the residents and visitors of clearlake.
She said the project has one current source of funds, the state Department of Water Resources’ Flood Corridor Program.
“We are really hitting the final hour now,” she said of the grant deadline, which has been extended until June 2023.
Board Chair EJ Crandell said the project is one of the “ideal remedies” to address Clear Lake’s nutrient load, which feeds algae.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said moving forward “is arduous,” explaining that the process has been slowed down a lot.
Supervisor Tina Scott asked about any holdups the project is facing. Deligiannis said they have 29 different parcels remaining, involving 17 parcel owners, that they are working to acquire. The grant is for willing sellers only.
Sabatier moved to approve the letter to the Army Corps, which the board passed unanimously.
The Middle Creek Project Committee meets every other month on Zoom. The next meeting is 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 6. More information, as well as past meeting videos, is available on the Lake County Department of Water Resources website.
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.
Michael and Violet Divine’s image, using the dragonfly to represent the Hope Center’s story of healing and renewal, was chosen for the mural.
In the mural, the dragonfly rises out of the muck and continues to evolve. The panels trace the life cycle of the dragonfly as it grows the eggs in the chaos on the left and follows its transition into the world and the light on the right side, leaving the river behind.
The Lake County Rural Arts Initiative has been working with organizations to facilitate murals as a part of their “arts destination for economic growth” goal for Lake County.
The Divines also created a bass mural at Redbud Park in Clearlake.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors this week will present several proclamations, get an update on the Middle Creek restoration project and discuss an amendment to an agreement for developing an affordable housing project in Nice.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 5, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 964 0432 9118, pass code 163767. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,96404329118#,,,,*163767#.
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 morning, the board will present proclamations for Alcohol Awareness Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month and Public Health Week.
At 10:30 a.m., the board will get an update from Water Resources staff on the next steps for the Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project, which is the effort to return part of the lake’s historic wetlands. The supervisors also will consider the 2022 non-federal sponsor letter of intent.
In an untimed item, the board, sitting as the Lake County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, will consider an amendment to the 2021 agreement to develop affordable housing on a property on Collier Avenue in Nice. The agreement is between the Lake County Housing Authority and the Rural Communities Housing Development Corp.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution amending Resolution 2022-22 authorizing the county administrative officer or designee on behalf of the Lake County Board of Supervisors to submit the Public Defense Grant Pilot Program proposal for funding and execute the grant agreement with the state of California, Board of State Community Corrections.
5.2: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the property exchange agreement between the county of lake and state of California to Include Exhibits C-1, D-1 and E-1 amending the property exchange agreement (APN 010-043-01) executed on Oct. 26, 2021, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.3: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2021-116 establishing position allocations for Fiscal Year 2021-2022, Budget Unit No. 1012, Administrative Office.
5.4: Approve budget transfer from BU 1781 — Special Projects Account 717.23-80 to BU 1451 — Registrar of Voters Account 714.61-60 and increase capital asset in the amount of $15,637 for leasehold improvements and authorize the chair to sign.
5.5: Approve Exhibit A of the Uniform and Clothing Purchase Policy.
5.6: Approve waiver of the 900 hour limitation for Animal Control employees Bryce Beavers, Collette Hall, Alexis Parra, Macie Bauman, Jennifer Jeffrey and Sydney Lawler.
5.7: Approve redaction contract with US Imaging in the amount of $63,725.15 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.8: Adopt proclamation designating the month of April 2022 as Alcohol Awareness Month in Lake County.
5.9: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Davis Guest Home for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services to add $53,000 to the original amount of $133,000 for a new contract maximum of $186,000 for fiscal year 2021-22 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.10: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Adventist Health St. Helena and Vallejo for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations for fiscal years 2020-21 & 2021-22 in the amount of $225,000 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.11: Approve Amendment No. 2 to the agreement between county of Lake and Manzanita House for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for fy 2021-22 for a new contract maximum of $194,150 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.12: Adopt proclamation designating the month of April 2022 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Lake County.
5.13: Approve Board of Supervisors meeting minutes for March 8, March 15 and March 22.
5.14: Appoint Supervisor E.J. Crandell as the 2022 member for the Law Library Board of Trustees.
5.15: Approve Health Services request to appoint Dr. Erik McLaughlin to serve on the Partnership HealthPlan Board of Commissioners and represent Lake County for a period of four years.
5.16: Adopt proclamation honoring Public Health Week, April 4 to 10.
5.17: a) Adopt resolution of intent to adopt a resolution for the vacation of an alley for public use in the area of Middletown; and b) waive the application fee of $1,120 due to the overall public benefit of the proposed vacation.
5.18: Adopt resolution expressing support for the Lower Lake Daze Parade and Street Fair, and temporarily authorizing a road closure, prohibiting parking and authorizing removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs.
5.19: a) Authorize the Sheriff's Office to submit an electronic application for a Hazard Mitigation Grant in the amount of $234,454 to the California Office of Emergency Services; and b) authorize the sheriff or his designee to sign the letter of commitment.
5.20: Adopt resolution authorizing the Special Districts administrator to sign the funding agreement, and any future amendments and requests for reimbursements, with the California State Department of Water Resources, on behalf of County Service Area No. 2 Spring Valley Water, for the water supply improvement project.
TIMED ITEMS
6.3, 9:07 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of April 2022 as Alcohol Awareness Month in Lake County.
6.4, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of April 2022 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Lake County.
6.5, 9:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation honoring Public Health Week, April 4 to 10.
6.6, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing on account and proposed assessment for 6146 Second Ave., Lucerne.
6.7, 10:30 a.m.: a) Presentation of the current status and next steps for the Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project; and b) consideration of the 2022 non-federal sponsor letter of intent and authorize the Lake County Board of Supervisors to sign.
UNTIMED ITEMS
Pet of the Week.
7.2: Consideration of resolution confirming the highest priority project for submittal to the Community Project Funding Program that Includes the Lakeport Armory Facility Repurposing Project.
7.3: Consideration of reforming the Internal County Comprehensive Drought Planning Workgroup to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 552.
7.4: Consideration of the following Advisory Board Appointments: Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and the Kelseyville Cemetery Board.
7.5: ERRATUM (Sitting as the Lake County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners), a) consideration of first amendment to the 2021 agreement to develop affordable housing by and between the Lake County Housing Authority and the Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation; and b) consideration of request for an audit.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: Special District administrator.
8.2: Public employee evaluation: Director of Child Support Services.
8.3: Employee Disciplinary Appeal (EDA 22-01) Pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54957.
8.4: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9 (d)(2),(e)(3) — Claim of California Highway Patrol.
8.5: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(1) — John, et al. v. Lake County, et al.
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.