CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has seven dogs this week tat are waiting for their new families.
The City of Clearlake Animal Association also is seeking fosters for the animals waiting to be adopted.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
The following dogs are available for adoption.
‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male Labrador retriever-American pit bull mix with a short charcoal and fawn coat.
He has been neutered.
‘Andy’
“Andy” is a male American pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 48995415.
‘Big Phil’
“Big Phil” is a 13-year-old male American pit bull terrier mix with a blue coat.
He is dog No. 49951647.
‘Chai’
“Chai” is a female Alaskan husky mix with a gray and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 49279552.
‘Colt’
“Colt” is a male Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a short rust and black coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49812106.
‘Snowball’
“Snowball” is a male American Staffordshire mix terrier with a white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49159168.
‘Terry’
“Terry” is a handsome male shepherd mix with a short brindle coat.
He gets along with other dogs, including small ones, and is discovering that he enjoys toys. He also likes water, playing fetch and keep away.
Staff said he is now getting some training to help him build confidence.
He is dog No. 48443693.
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. — As the nation observes Memorial Day and honors those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, travel to gatherings with family and friends will dramatically increase vehicles on roadways during the holiday weekend.
In an effort to make sure motorists obey the laws and reach their destinations safely, the California Highway Patrol will enact a maximum enforcement period, or MEP.
With seat belt safety the primary focus, the Memorial Day MEP will run from 6 p.m. Friday, May 27, to 11:59 p.m. Monday, May 30.
CHP officers will be patrolling throughout the state, monitoring the roadways for seat belt violations, distracted drivers, speeders, and anyone suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“Memorial Day should be a time for honoring our fallen heroes and spending time with loved ones,” said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray. “It should never be marked by tragedy caused by car crashes. Please buckle up, follow all traffic laws, and arrive at your destination safely.”
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of all vehicle occupants killed in crashes within CHP jurisdiction last Memorial Day were not wearing a seat belt. In all, 35 people died in crashes during the 78-hour MEP in California. Additionally, CHP officers made 979 arrests throughout the state for driving under the influence.
The CHP’s Memorial Day MEP coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ongoing “Click it or Ticket” seat belt campaign, which continues through June 5.
The CHP also reminds drivers to protect child passengers by placing them in age-appropriate child safety seats. Whether it is a harnessed safety seat or a booster, the law requires children under 8 be secured in the back seat. Infants and children under 2 should remain rear facing in their car seats.
To have a child safety seat technician properly install or check your child safety seat, please visit https://www.chp.ca.gov/find-an-office and schedule an appointment at your local CHP Area office.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. — The Lower Lake Community Action Group will help kick off the summer season in Lake County with its annual Lower Lake Daze Parade and Street Fair on Sunday, May 29.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Lower Lake.
The parade will take place beginning at 11 a.m., starting on Winchester Street and winding its way down Main Street.
There also will be live entertainment. Howard Reggie Dockens will perform an eclectic mix of funk, rock, jazz, R&B and hip hop from noon to 2 p.m.
Lilly Lauwers will be the Lower Lake Daze Princess, and will ride in a horse drawn carriage down Main Street.
There also will be more than 60 vendors lining Main Street with arts, crafts and food.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — A new mural honoring essential workers and their efforts during the pandemic has been completed in downtown Lakeport.
The mural is on the side of the Meals on Wheels Thrift Store at 120 N. Main St., facing First Street.
Artist Emma Wakefield said she started painting the mural on May 16.
She finished up the actual painting on Monday and put a protective covering over it on Tuesday.
It shows a child in bed asleep, holding a stuffed rabbit, and covered by a quilt with blocks showing farmworkers, teachers, police officers, construction workers, cooks, firefighters, postal workers, store clerks, doctors and other health workers, and utility workers.
In December, the Lake County Arts Council announced that it was planning to install the new mural in collaboration with the city of Lakeport, Lake County Rural Arts Initiative and the Lake Family Resource Center.
Wakefield was chosen in a competitive selection process that launched in the spring.
The Arts Council awarded $8,000 to cover Wakefield’s labor and materials.
Wakefield, who is from Loch Lomond, is a student at San Francisco State University, where she’s finishing her bachelor’s degree in studio art with a minor in education.
She has worked as a teaching assistant and art teacher in San Francisco, where she’s done other mural work. She’s also taken part in group exhibits in Lake County, at the Lake County Olive Festival and the Middletown Arts Center.
Her current work includes looking at the impacts of the COVID-19 shutdown and how it has created new habits and routines.
Wakefield’s goal is to return to Lake County and obtain her teaching certificate.
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.
In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March 28 executive order the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday adopted an emergency water conservation regulation that will ensure more aggressive conservation by local water agencies across the state.
“California is facing a drought crisis and every local water agency and Californian needs to step up on conservation efforts. I am hopeful the measures enacted by the State Water Board will lead to a reduction of water use across the state. These conservation measures are increasingly important as we enter the summer months. I’m asking all Californians to step up, because every single drop counts,” Newsom said.
The new regulation bans irrigating turf at commercial, industrial and institutional properties, such as grass in front of or next to large industrial or commercial buildings.
The ban does not include watering turf that is used for recreation or other community purposes, water used at residences or water to maintain trees.
The regulation also requires all urban water suppliers to implement conservation actions under level two of their water shortage contingency plans.
In March 2022, the state’s urban retail water suppliers reported average water use statewide that was nearly 19% greater than in March 2020, lowering the state’s cumulative water savings since July 2021 to 3.7%.
On Monday, Gov. Newsom convened leaders from the state’s largest urban water suppliers imploring them to take more aggressive action to combat drought.
“The severity of this drought requires all Californians to save water in every possible way,” said Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Board. “The regulation compels water systems and local authorities to implement a range of additional critical conservation measures as we enter the hot and dry summer months.”
Level two water shortage contingency plans are meant to address up to a 20% shortage of water supplies. In addition to implementing level two actions, the regulation requires urban water suppliers to fast-track supply and demand assessments to plan for potential extended dry conditions.
Level two actions often include things such as:
• Limiting outdoor irrigation to certain days or hours; • Increasing patrolling to identify water waste; • Enforcing water-use prohibitions; • Increasing communication about the importance of water conservation.
Some water suppliers already have imposed strong new restrictions on customers’ water use in accordance with their drought management plans.
However, about half of the state’s 436 water suppliers (both urban water retailers and wholesalers) have not yet activated level two, and 36 have not submitted drought plans.
The emergency regulation will require suppliers without drought plans to take certain conservation actions, such as conducting outreach to customers about conservation, restricting outdoor irrigation to two days a week and enforcing against wasteful water practices.
The approved regulation will be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law, or OAL, for approval, which typically occurs within 10 calendar days.
The ban on non-functional turf becomes effective upon OAL approval and the level two requirements for urban water suppliers are proposed to take effect on June 10, 2022.
The regulation will give suppliers new options to reduce water waste if they choose to use them. A violation of the non-functional turf irrigation provision, for example, would be an infraction and subject to a fine of up to $500.
People who see water waste should report it at www.savewater.ca.gov .
The State Water Board’s mission is to preserve, enhance and restore the quality of California’s water resources and drinking water for the protection of the environment, public health and all beneficial uses, and to ensure proper allocation and efficient use for present and future generations.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — Clear Lake State Park’s popular Junior Ranger Program is getting ready to launch for another summer.
The program begins on Memorial Day and continues until Labor Day.
It will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays at the park’s education pavilion. The program will not take place on days when the park hosts its “Story Walk” events.
The program is geared for 7- to 12-year-old children.
Participants will explore 12 different subject areas related to cultural and natural resources, via hands-on activities and guided hikes.
Junior Rangers will learn how to become stewards for the land in a fun and engaging environment, as well as how to appreciate and protect our California State Parks.
This summer’s programs are as follows:
• May 28: Safety and survival, and hiking preparedness. • June 4: Plant life. • June 18: Geology. • June 25: Water cycle. • July 2: Lake ecology. • July 16: Plant life. • July 23: Geology. • July 30: Safety and survival, and hiking preparedness. • Aug. 6: Water cycle. • Aug. 20: Weather and climate. • Aug. 27: History of Clear Lake State Park. • Sept. 3: Lake ecology.
For more information, call 707-279-1936.
Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.
Heading into summer, the outlook is pretty grim. The National Weather Service’s latest seasonal outlook, issued May 19, 2022, described drought persisting across most of the West and parts of the Great Plains.
As a climate scientist, I’ve watched how climate change is making drought conditions increasingly worse – particularly in the western and central U.S. The last two years have been more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 Celsius) warmer than normal in these regions. Large swaths of the Southwest have been even hotter, with temperatures more than 3 F (1.7 C) higher. Studies suggest the Southwest’s ongoing 20-year drought is the most severe in at least 1,200 years, based on how dry the soils are.
A hotter atmosphere sucks more moisture from the soil
A thristier atmosphere tends to extract more water out of the land. It exacerbates evaporative stress on the land, particularly when a region is experiencing below-normal precipitation. High evaporative stress can rapidly deplete soil moisture and lead to hotter temperatures, as the evaporative cooling effect is diminished. All this creates hydroclimatic stress for plants, causing restricted growth, drying and even death.
As a consequence of a warming climate, the U.S. Southwest has seen an 8% increase in this evaporative demand since the 1980s. This trend is generally happening across other parts of the country.
The thistier atmosphere is turning what would otherwise be near-normal or moderately dry conditions into droughts that are more severe or extreme. As the climate heats up further, the increasing atmospheric thirst will continue to intensify drought stress, with consequences for water availability, long-lasting and intense heat stress, and large-scale ecosystem transformation.
In addition to direct impacts of increasing temperatures on future droughts, these regions are also expected to see fewer storms and more days without precipitation. Climate models consistently project a poleward shift in the midlatitude storm tracks during this century as the planet heats up, which is expected to result in fewer storms in the southern tier of the country.
Expect flash droughts even in wetter areas
The changing nature of droughts is a concern even in parts of the U.S. that are expected to have a net increase in annual precipitation during the 21st century. In a hotter future, because of the high evaporative demand on the land, prolonged periods with weeks to months of below normal precipitation in these areas can lead to significant drought, even if the overall trend is for more precipitation.
Large parts of the northern Plains, for example, have seen precipitation increase by 10% or more in the last three decades. However, the region is not immune to severe drought conditions in a hotter climate.
Flash droughts are also emerging as a growing concern in the Northeast. In 2020, much of New England experienced an extreme hydrologic drought, with low stream flows and groundwater levels and widespread crop losses between May and September. Aided by very warm and dry atmospheric conditions, the drought developed very rapidly over that period from what had been above-normal wet conditions.
As humanity enters a hotter future, prolonged periods of weeks to months of below-normal precipitation are going to be of a greater concern almost everywhere.
Heading into unfamiliar territory
Other forms of droughts are also emerging.
Atmospheric heating is causing snow droughts as more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow and snow melts earlier. Shorter snow seasons and longer growing seasons because of warmer temperatures are changing the timing of ecological responses.
Land is greening up earlier and causing an earlier loss of water from the land surface through evapotranspiration – the loss of water from plants and soil. This could result in drier soils in the latter half of the growing season. As a result, parts of the central and western U.S. could see both increased greening and drying in the future that are seasonally separated across the growing season.
In a critical floor vote on Wednesday, state Senators voted 38-0 in support of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed CARE Court.
Newsom’s CARE Court coalition also continues to build momentum with the addition of key business organizations, which include the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Downtown Association and 21 local chambers of commerce from throughout the state. Collectively, these organizations represent thousands of California businesses.
Prior to Wednesday’s Senate floor vote, the CARE Court bill — SB 1338 by senators Tom Umberg and Susan Eggman — passed the Senate Appropriations committee in a 7-0 vote last week.
This means that CARE Court has been considered by three separate committees and has passed every single one without any opposing votes, and has now cleared the Senate with bipartisan support.
“With broad support from California’s state Senate, CARE Court is one step closer to becoming a reality in California,” said Gov. Newsom, “I am also grateful to have the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Downtown Association, and 21 local chambers of commerce join our ever-expanding CARE Court coalition, which includes a diverse group of supporters focused on tackling the challenge of severe mental illness that too often leaves individuals on our streets without hope.”
“The California Chamber of Commerce and our colleagues from throughout the state are pleased to support Governor Newsom and his vision to provide support for those suffering from severe mental illness and substance use disorders through the newly proposed CARE Court plan,” said Jennifer Barrera, president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. “CARE Court is a thoughtful, measured response to the tragedy of untreated mental illness impacting thousands of individuals. California employers have a clear stake in seeing the success of CARE Court as many business owners and their employees experience, first-hand, the impacts of inadequate policies that fail to address the needs of those individuals suffering on our streets and in our communities.”
“The establishment of CARE Court represents a new approach to early intervention and will help people get the support they deserve by addressing their underlying needs,” said Rena Leddy, president of the California Downtown Association. “We appreciate the governor’s leadership on this important issue, and we are pleased to support this legislation.”
This announcement expands the growing coalition of supporters which includes state and local officials, families, first responders, health care professionals, behavioral health providers, civil rights groups, faith leaders and business groups, all in strong support of CARE Court.
CARE Court provides Californians suffering with untreated schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders with community-based treatment, services, and housing, and is intended to serve as an upstream intervention for the most severely impaired Californians.
The bill voted on Wednesday reflects new additions to the CARE Court framework — particularly to strengthen the housing component of the CARE plan and to detail other key elements, like court process and data collection. These amendments were developed in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, which are ongoing.
CARE Court builds on Gov. Newsom’s $14.7 billion multi-year investment to provide 55,000 new housing units and treatment slots and more than $11 billion annually in community behavioral health services.
The governor’s approach focuses on quickly rehousing unsheltered individuals with behavioral health issues, all as new units come online, while also transforming Medi-Cal to provide more behavioral health services to people struggling the most.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The city of Clearlake has completed a property sale to a developer that plans to build a new apartment complex next to the location of a new sports and recreation center.
City Manager Alan Flora said the city’s sale of a five-acre parcel at 14795 Burns Valley Road to Danco Communities closed on Thursday, with the documents recorded on Monday.
He said the final sales price for the land was $1.5 million.
The project’s overall cost has been estimated at around $50 million.
Last May, the Clearlake City Council voted unanimously to approve an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Arcata-based Danco for an 84-unit apartment complex with mixed-income family units, as Lake County News has reported.
That led to the council voting unanimously at a special Dec. 16 meeting to approve the property sale to Danco.
Flora told Lake County News that the project as proposed remains “pretty much the same” as it was when proposed to the city last year, and will include about 80 units.
During Thursday’s Clearlake City Council meeting, Flora told council members that completing the property sale and transfer has “been quite a difficult place to get to,” primarily because of the involvement of the California Department of Housing and Community Development's involvement.
“Danco is very anxious to get started. We have their permits and everything ready to go. They expect to start construction on June 1,” Flora said, adding that they would be on site in just over a week.
“We’ll be excited to see that project move forward,” he said.
Mayor Dirk Slooten said he would like to see a groundbreaking ceremony held for the project. Flora said they’ve not talked about it but he would bring it up with Danco.
He estimated that Danco is at least a month if not six weeks behind when they wanted to start based on the timeline for tax credit funding, and those delays are raising concerns for the company about being able to get the project done on time.
City seeks grants for sports complex
The land the city sold to Danco for the apartment complex was part of a larger 31-acre parcel the city purchased in December 2021.
The city is currently working through the planning process for a new city sports and recreation complex and corporation yard that will be located within the remaining 26 acres of that parcel.
On Thursday Flora updated the council on the work staff has done to pursue grant funding for the sports complex.
He said the city applied for a little over $5 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its website said it invests “in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.”
Flora said the project didn’t receive an award from the Economic Development Administration, which had only $50 million available for the entire state. While officials said they liked the project, it didn’t make the final cut.
However, the city is pursuing other grant and government funding avenues.
At its April 7 meeting, the council approved an emergency item to submit by the deadline a request to Congressman Mike Thompson to include the sports complex among the projects he sends to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration for Community Project Funding.
Each member of Congress is allowed to submit up to 15 items for consideration. Two Lake County projects Thompson had submitted in the last round — $450,000 for the Lake County Kelseyville Sidewalk Project and $320,000 for the Lake County Full Circle Effluent Pipeline preliminary design report update — were funded when H.R. 2471, the Funding For The People bill, passed in March.
Regarding the latest list of projects, “He did select our project as one of them to move forward,” Flora said of Thompson.
Thompson’s office has requested additional information on the project and Flora said he hopes the city will hear something within the next few months.
Flora said another potential avenue of funding is through California State Parks, to which the city has applied for $3 million.
“They are analyzing the projects now,” he said. “We did get notification that they want to come out and look at the site and ask some questions.”
However, Flora cautioned that the visit doesn’t guarantee a grant award, explaining that they don’t always visit the projects they choose and they don’t always give notifications of a visit.
He said that was the case when state officials came to visit Highlands Park, which was done without telling the city about it.
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. — Following a day of closed session interviews with several candidates, the Board of Supervisors on Monday voted to give the county administrative officer’s job to the woman who has filled the position on an interim basis since the end of April.
A statement from the County Administrative Office said board members came out of closed session at 3:35 p.m. to announce that they had given the job to Susan Parker, who for the past three years has been assistant county administrative officer.
In a quote attributed to Board Chair EJ Crandell in the County Administrative Office’s statement on Parker’s hiring, Crandell said she had done a “truly outstanding job” in the nearly six weeks since she was appointed and that the board is “confident Susan will bring strong leadership for years to come.”
Crandell’s statement also said Parker “has 20 years of experience as a high level government executive and administrator, and she knows what needs to be done to continue to move Lake County forward.”
A request by Lake County News to know where the six candidates were from was not responded to by the Human Resources Division, part of the larger department Parker will now head, as of Monday night. The county did respond on Tuesday to say that, in fact, only five candidates had taken part and did not specify where they were from.
The county said Parker was hired as assistant county administrative officer three years ago “following a rigorous nationwide search,” adding, “Previous highly successful executive experiences in the states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado and North Carolina were a significant factor in that selection.”
The most recent of those “highly successful executive experiences” was in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, where Parker was town administrator from 2013 to 2018. In March 2018, the city council voted to terminate her.
Because in North Carolina reasons for firings even of public employees are kept private, more information on the causes of her termination were not made known publicly.
That October she filed a lawsuit against that city and one of the council members who had voted to fire her, claiming wrongful termination, defamation and emotional distress.
However, in February 2019, she dropped that lawsuit without prejudice, which gave her the option of refiling it. A month later, she came to work for Lake County.
Sources have told Lake County News that Parker was Huchingson’s hand-picked successor and that Parker herself had made that statement to numerous individuals and even groups.
Considering Huchingson’s control of the board, and her control of the Human Resources Department, it was believed to be a foregone conclusion that, despite the process the board agreed to in an effort to deal with “optics,” that Parker would nonetheless be appointed, and that’s what happened on Monday.
The county has a habit of hiring from within rather than going with qualified candidates from the outside, usually choosing longtime employees.
Just as Huchingson’s retirement was notable for its suddenness, Parker’s hiring is notable both for the short amount of time she’s been with the county as well as for its swiftness when compared to the two previous county administrative officer recruitments, which have taken up to a year to place a permanent candidate.
Kelly Cox, who served as county administrative officer for 32 years, announced his retirement in January 2012, to take place two months later. However, he agreed to remain in the job on an interim basis until his successor was hired.
He was followed by one of his own staff, Matt Perry, who took over as interim county administrative officer in June 2012 and was given the job on a permanent basis in December 2012.
In November 2015, Perry announced he planned to retire as of April 1, 2016. The process to recruit his successor began that same month and the board hired Huchingson, then the county’s longtime Social Services director, in February 2016, with her starting two months later.
Since Huchingson’s retirement announcement, it has taken only 67 days to fill her chair on a permanent basis with Parker.
Parker’s background in government
Parker pursued undergraduate studies in government and policy studies, graduating from Beloit College in 1994. She received a Master’s in Public Affairs and Public Administration from the Robert M. LaFollette Institute of Public Affairs, at the University of Wisconsin in 1997.
According to her resume, posted online, her job experience included two years as city administrator for Elroy, Wisconsin, with a population of 1,600 and a total budget of about $2.7 million.
She then moved to Reno, Nevada, where she worked as assistant to the city manager from 2000 to 2002. At that point the city had a population of more than 219,000 and a $264 million budget.
Parker remained with the city of Reno as animal control director from 2002 to 2003 and as emergency communication’s manager from 2003 to 2006.
In June 2006, she moved to Crested Butte, Colorado, then a city of 1,500 with a $10 million annual budget, to take the town manager job. She remained in that job for six and a half years.
Then, in September of 2012, the Crested Butte News reported that Parker and city staff delivered to the city council the “grim reality” for the 2013 budget. During that presentation, Parker told the council that the city was struggling to maintain the assets that they had.
Three months later, on Dec. 3, 2012, Parker resigned and didn’t attend that city’s council meeting later that day, when the resignation was accepted and an interim was appointed. No specific reason for her departure was given and the reporting indicated she left the city’s employment immediately.
She appeared the following year in Sunset Beach, a small North Carolina town with a population of about 3,500 and an annual budget of $6 million.
During her tenure there, she had to deal with recovery operations from 2016’s Hurricane Matthew.
She also was faulted by the local newspaper, the Brunswick Beacon, for a lack of transparency.
Case in point: In late 2016, the city’s interim police chief was the victim of a break-in during which two city-owned guns were stolen. A Feb. 3, 2017, opinion piece from the paper, criticized Parker for working to keep the matter under wraps.
“How can Sunset Beach citizens be expected to respect their government officials when those same officials not only try to hide town business from each other, but also from the people they are supposed to serve? They are to answer first to the people of Sunset Beach, who deserve better,” the paper said, going on to suggest that Parker and the town council “craft policies to remedy their continued lack of transparency.”
Parker’s departure from that city’s employ came 13 months later, after the council voted to terminate her.
After leaving Sunset Beach, Parker’s name began popping up in cities across the country as a finalist in city manager or administor’s searches taking place in 2018.
In May of that year, she was a finalist for town administrator of Manitou Springs, Colorado. Two months later, she was interviewing for the city manager’s job in Hood, River, Oregon. In November, she was being considered for the city manager's jobs in Cripple Creek, Colorado, and Helena, Montana.
She didn’t land any of those jobs. However, she was selected by the county of Lake and hired into the County Administrative Office as assistant county administrative officer on March 28, 2019.
Her tenure in Huchingson’s office crossed that of Pamela Nichols, who had been the county’s Human Resources director until the summer of 2019.
Nichols, who is Black, has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging wrongful termination, racial discrimination, infringement of her First Amendment rights to free speech and retaliation.
Huchingson fired Nichols on Aug. 30, 2019, in a meeting that court documents said Parker was part of, with Parker later being directed by Huchingson to supervise Nichols in packing her belongings.
When Nichols left to get more boxes, she returned to find Parker and county staff with 12 boxes of Nichols’ belongings stacked on the front steps of the county courthouse in Lakeport.
Nichols’ lawsuit, filed in July 2020, seeks unlimited damages.
Discovery in the case is due by July 1, with a motion hearing set for Sept. 23 in Oakland and a jury trial scheduled to begin on March 23, 2023, according to court documents.
Huchingson announced her resignation two days after a closed session update on the matter.
The case was discussed again in closed session on April 19 — 10 days before Huchingson’s departure — and is on Tuesday’s board agenda for another closed session discussion.
That process began with a five-day recruitment for internal candidates for the position on an interim basis which opened that day.
They also approved Human Resources Director Pam Samac’s proposal for an open recruitment that originally was to have begun on March 25 and continue until the job was filled, with a review of applicants after 15 to 20 days.
The board interviewed two candidates for the interim job on April 12 and appointed Parker as interim county administrative officer effective April 30.
Part of the recruitment plan that the board approved March 22 was potentially hiring a headhunting firm.
The board’s discussion referenced concerns about a potential conflict for Parker to oversee Human Resources while it carried out the recruitment for the county administrative officer’s job, which by that point she already had publicly confirmed that she intended to pursue on a permanent basis.
The board majority, with input from Samac — another of Huchingson’s hires, succeeding the ousted Nichols — took no action to separate Human Resources from the County Administrative Office. However the concern about the “optics” of how the hiring process was taking place was discussed, and County Counsel Anita Grant suggested the board establish very clear rules for Samac to follow.
Samac came back on May 10 with a proposal that she would coordinate the recruitment and confer directly with Board Chair EJ Crandell and that it wouldn’t be discussed with Parker except to notify her if she was a qualified candidate.
At that time, Samac reported that the recruitment was opened on March 28 with an initial cutoff date of April 18. The county ultimately received 14 applications with six qualified candidates.
She said Crandell told her he wanted to interview all candidates rather than having them narrowed by a committee that she had suggested convening.
On May 10 Samac wanted to set dates for interviews so they didn’t lose six qualified candidates by waiting too long. She suggested interviewing each of the candidates for an hour.
Samac said her office had sent a request for qualifications to 10 executive search firms, which had an April 21 deadline to respond. She said the county intended to begin the selection process for the executive search firm — “if needed” — once the first round of recruitment is completed.
However, the recruitment didn’t end up involving a headhunting firm and quickly moved forward to interviews.
At the May 10 meeting, the board also dismissed a suggestion by Sabatier to have a panel of community leaders give input as part of the hiring process.
At that time, the board set a special meeting for interviews that was to have taken place on May 27.
However, on Wednesday, the county issued a special meeting notice moving that interview meeting up to Monday, during which the supervisors would convene at 9 a.m. and begin interviews of the five qualified candidates, which resulted in Parker’s hire six and a half hours later.
In the new position, after previously only handling budgets of as much as $10 million, she will head a county with an annual budget that this year has totaled more than $306 million.
Parker also will now be faced with addressing budget challenges such as dropping cannabis tax revenues — which Huchingson and her staff relied upon heavily to justify approving $21 million in raises during the pandemic which largely benefited department heads like Huchingson — and the Nichols lawsuit.
County statement on Parker’s hiring
The following is the written statement issued by the county of Lake to Lake County News and other media outlets at 5:16 p.m. Monday. It is published in its entirety and is not edited.
Board of Supervisors Appoints Susan Parker Permanent County Administrative Officer
Parker Previously Appointed Interim CAO Tuesday, April 12, 2022
LAKE COUNTY, CA (May 23, 2022) — At 3:35pm Monday, May 23, the Lake County Board of Supervisors emerged from Closed Session to announce Susan Parker had been appointed permanent County Administrative Officer (CAO).
“Susan has done a truly outstanding job as Interim CAO,” enthuses Eddie Crandell, Chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors. “We are really excited she has agreed to take on the CAO role on a permanent basis, and confident Susan will bring strong leadership for years to come. She has 20 years of experience as a high level government executive and administrator, and she knows what needs to be done to continue to move Lake County forward.”
As previously reported, Parker was selected as Assistant CAO three years ago, following a rigorous nationwide search. Previous highly successful Executive experiences in the states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado and North Carolina were a significant factor in that selection.
A true leader who is not afraid to dig into complex topics, Parker has helmed many far-ranging efforts: transportation projects, including securing grant funding; housing projects, from concept through development; intensive emergency response, in the aftermath of 2016’s devastating Hurricane Matthew; Library expansions; and Tax Incentive programs.
Parker is an accomplished local government scholar and theorist, having earned a Master’s in Public Affairs and Public Administration from the Robert M. Lafollette Institute of Public Affairs, at the University of Wisconsin. Her undergraduate studies were likewise in Government and Policy Studies.
“During her time here, Susan has shown herself to be a highly effective collaborator,” affirms Crandell. “We look forward to more and more residents getting to know and work with Susan in this new capacity.”
“I am truly excited and honored to continue serving Lake County residents,” notes Parker. “Lake County is a very special place, and I am proud to call it home. It will be a privilege to partner with the Board to promote the well-being of every resident.”
Please join in congratulating Susan Parker on her permanent appointment!
This article has been updated to show that five not six candidates were interviewed, a fact the county revealed on Tuesday, after publication.
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.