CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – The Clearlake Oaks boat launch has now been deemed safe for public use after receding water levels and clearing of debris by county parks crews.
The following County boat launch facilities and parks remain closed:
– Lakeside County Park;
– Rodman Slough.
For more information contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-262-1618.
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
AND NOTICE OF PROPOSED MINOR USE PERMIT
BY THE LAKE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator of the County of Lake, State of California, will consider approving Minor Use Permit 17-02 with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 P.M., March 29, 2017 to the Community Development Department, Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, California. Should a timely request for hearing be filed, a public hearing will be held on April 5, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.
Minor Use Permit 17-02. Location: 2550 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport, APN 008-010-46. Owner: Bess Giannakakis. Project: In accordance with Lake County Code to remodel an existing structure operate a commercial kitchen for a catering business. Project planner: Byron Turner, (707) 263-2221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Copies of the application, environmental documents, all reference documents, and staff reports associated with each project are available for review through the Community Development Department, Planning Division; Telephone (707) 263-2221.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Robert Massarelli, Director
By: ____________________________________
Byron Turner, Principal Planner
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission this week will meet to discuss updating city ordinances regarding marijuana cultivation and dispensaries.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The commission will separately consider updates to two current city ordinances in light of changes to state law.
City Manager Greg Folsom’s report on the proposed updates to the city’s marijuana cultivation ordinance said that it’s suggested that individuals who wish to grow marijuana get a $250-per-year permit issued by the city.
Folsom said that annual cost would cover the cost of permitting and inspections to make sure sites are compliant.
Similarly, the dispensary ordinance updates would require a permit, as well as a background check and site inspection, he said.
The fee for the dispensaries permit would be equivalent to a business license, Folsom said.
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.
032117 Clearlake Planning Commission agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A local animal rescue organization is asking for the community’s help in keeping it on the road in order to save more pets.
Since 2004, Orphan Dog – led by Karen Schaver of Lakeport – has saved the lives of thousands of dogs.
The group takes in dogs from shelters in Lake and several other counties, as well as those surrendered directly to it by individuals.
Another of its initiatives, “Fix Lake County,” involves raising funds for spay and neuter clinics for the pets of low-income county residents.
But its latest fundraising effort is one of more immediate need: Schaver said they’re aiming to raise $30,000 for a new transport van.
The group’s current vehicle – which has more than 160,000 miles on it – has recently required thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs, leading the rescue to decide a replacement is in order, she said.
Schaver drives the vehicle thousands of miles each year, from trips around the county to pick up animals, to outreach for spay and neuter services, to transporting pets to out-of-county adoption events.
That current van has rescued more than 1,200 dogs and taken another 1,000 dogs to be donated, has traveled more than four counties on a weekly basis and through five states, Orphan Dog reported.
New and reliable transport also is needed as Orphan Dog has upcoming spay and neuter clinics that it has organized, with a major event planned for two days in June. If that event goes well, Schaver hopes to hold another in October.
After posting about the need for a new van on her organization’s Facebook page this weekend, Schaver received an outpouring of support – from good ideas for fundraising and looking for a new vehicle, to donations.
By Monday evening the organization reported that it had raised more than $5,800, and was just a few hundred dollars short of meeting a goal that would earn it a $2,000 match.
On the Orphan Dog Facebook page, Schaver thanked supporters for giving her group hope during a challenging situation.
The group still has a long way to go in securing its new van, and is asking community members to help them keep moving forward toward that goal.
To donate or to learn more about Orphan Dog, its mission and available animals, visit http://www.orphandog.org/ and follow it on Facebook.
Donations can be made on the organization’s Web site via PayPal or by sending a check to Orphan Dog, P.O. Box 662, Lakeport, CA 95453.
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.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The eclectic gift shop 2 Women Traders will celebrate its reopening in a new location on Friday, March 24.
The celebration will take place from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at the reopened shop, 21130 A Calistoga St.
The shop's owners, Rita Caroni and Dayle Marshall, invite community members to stop in and say hello.
There will be refreshments and a drawing for gifts.
For more information call 2 Women Traders at 707-987-3870 or visit https://ispiritual.com/2womentraders .
On Sunday, Gov. Jerry Brown requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to aid with repairs to the damaged Oroville Dam spillway and to bolster state and local recovery efforts following February storms that caused major flooding, levee breaches, the evacuation of residents, power outages and extensive damage to roads and bridges across California.
Gov. Brown also issued an emergency proclamation adding Contra Costa and Solano counties to the 48 other counties – among them, Lake – included in his March 7, 2017, State of Emergency due to storms in February.
Sunday’s request follows three other separate Presidential Major Disaster Declaration requests – granted last month and last week – to support the response efforts for the situation at the Oroville Dam, impacts of the early January storm system and impacts of the late January storm system.
In addition, Gov. Brown has issued emergency declarations connected to storms in December, early January and late January, and the Oroville Dam.
Last month, Gov. Brown announced a four-point plan to bolster dam safety and flood protection statewide.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services also has previously requested assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration for individuals in Colusa, Lake, Lassen, Plumas, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, where the localized flooding from the February storms caused damage to more than 200 homes and businesses.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Anna Fiorina Hess will talk about her family’s World War II experiences in a free program on Saturday, March 25.
The program will begin at 2 p.m. at the Lakeport branch of Lake County Library, located at 1425 N. High Street.
Californians are aware of the relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II, but a less well-known event in Britain forced Italians residing there into internment as enemy aliens.
Scotland residents Andy and Kathy Bertellotti and their toddler daughter Aida, now termed “enemy aliens,” were sent to internment, where their daughter Anna was born.
Other relatives still in Italy faced the horrors of war directly. Andy’s brother Tommy joined the Resistenza in Italy and their teen-aged sister Bruna became a refugee with their parents. Bruna narrowly escaped death in the massacre at Sant’ Anna.
Hess has complied those experiences into a historical novel, “Born in Internment,” which she will have available for purchase in conjunction with her talk.
She describes her book this way: “Woven amongst the pain are wee Anna’s stories of playing in the rubble of war, a love story and the companionship of a black man and a white man. From the ashes of war arise love, resilience and a cautious peace.”
Light refreshments will be served. For more information please call the library at 707-263-8817.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .
Jan Cook works at the Lake County Library.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – “Ohooo, I hates gophers!”
It’s kind of fun to say if you say it like Elmer Fudd. However, in truth, I don’t really hate gophers, just the damage they do, and they can do a heap of damage.
Deep, loamy soil, like those here in Scotts Valley, where the densities are greater than 12 per acre at any given time, are prime gopher territory.
Even if your soils aren’t deep and loamy, gophers still move in and when they do, it’s a disaster for your garden.
Scientists say they are great for the environment. They aerate the soil. Did you know that one pocket gopher can churn up to one ton of soil a year? This brings new seeds to the surface which aids in plant diversity. Their mounds cover vegetation which then breaks down, providing fertility. When they go about doing their underground business, nests and such, they provide deep soil fertilization.
OK, fair enough, gophers can be beneficial. But, they are also industrious little rototillers, voracious and destructive, gnawing off saplings, up-ending flower pots, leaving unsightly mounds in the lawn, undermining sidewalks, burrowing up ground covers, and consuming everything else!
A quick search on the internet shows a plethora of ways to rid your garden of them. There are many kinds of poisons, deterrents, mechanical traps, gas bombs, raised beds and underground baskets that bar them from roots. However, none of these work 100 percent.
The last four years during my daily trips to the garden have left me crying over what’s gone, and that has been about of 80 percent of what I’ve planted.
But recently, when the flooding sent gophers to the high ground I was forced to look at what was left. That gave me an idea for a different strategy. I’m going to plant things that gophers don’t prefer.
There are plants that gophers won’t eat because they are toxic, like Narcissus. Others have a disagreeable taste, but that doesn’t mean they won't eat them if they are hungry enough, like rosemary. Then there are those they eat but enough small surface roots survive to keep the plant going, like Mexican heather.
Below is a list of plants that gophers tend to leave alone. This list is a combination of plants that our friend Kate Frey noted to be gopher resistant and plants I have added from my own experience. I’ve organized them into gardening categories.
I’d also love to know what plants you are finding resistant. Let me know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Gopher resistant plants
Low ground covers
Periwinkle, (Vinca major* and minor)
Wild strawberry (Frageria virginiana)
Wild strawberry (Frageria chiloensis)
Mock strawberry (Duchesnia indica)
Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
Creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans)
Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbagoides)
*Vinca major is highly invasive and on our list of plants to avoid.
Vines
Creeping wire vine (Muehlenbergia axillaris); can also be a ground cover.
Bulbs
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
Voodoo lily (Dranunculus vulgaris)
Shrubs
Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii and lindleyana)
Rock rose (Cistus spp.)
California lilac (Ceanothus spp.)
California fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
Heavenly bamboo, (Nandina domestica); gophers may tunnel up and gnaw off the small stalks
Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium)
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.)
Coyote bush (Baccharis spp.)
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
Mock orange (Philadelphus spp.)
Native currants (Ribes spp.)
Flowers
Flag iris. (Iris versicolor)
Native iris (Iris douglasiana)
Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
Red hot poker (Kniphofia spp.)
Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
Mexican primrose (Oenothera speciosa); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolia); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
California buckwheat (Erigonum spp.)
Swamp flower (Helianthus angustifolius)
Cora bells (Heuchera spp.)
Mexican feather bush (Gaura lindheimeri)
Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa)
Herbs
Rosemary (Rosmarinus vulgaris); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
Spearmint (Mentha spicata); also makes a good ground cover
Peppermint (Mentha x piperita); also makes a good ground cover
Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium); also makes a good ground cover
Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
Catnip (Nepeta cataria); where gophers are dense, it may be consumed
Oregano (Origanum vulgaris)
Trees
Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
Grasses
Sedges (Carex Spp.)
Rushes (Juncus spp.)
Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens)
Native grasses
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Five cats are Lake County Animal Care and Control are ready for new homes this week.
The cats available this week include four females and one male, including two black cats, a tortie, a gray cat and a gray tabby.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
For those looking for a barn cat to keep the rodents at bay, be sure to ask about the barn cat adoption program. Feral barn cats are adopted out for $1 each, which includes altering, ear notching and vaccines.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Shelter_Animal_Search.htm .
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Female domestic short hair
This female domestic short hair has a gray tabby coat.
She’s in kennel No. 26, ID No. 7089.
Female domestic short hair
This female domestic short hair has a gray coat.
She’s in cat room No. 47, ID No. 7088.
Tortie point
This female domestic short hair mix has tortie mix markings and blues eyes.
She’s in cat room kennel No. 63, ID No. 7103.
‘Buffy’
“Buffy” is a domestic long hair cat with an all-black coat and green eyes.
She’s in cat room kennel No. 119, ID No. 7075.
‘Peanut’
“Peanut” is a male domestic short hair mix with an all-black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 131, ID No. 7074.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
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 wet and windy late-winter storm system is moving over Northern California, and it’s expected to bring with it at least a few inches of rain before another weather system arrives later this week.
The National Weather Service said the first of the storm systems, which arrived on Monday, is expected to extend through Wednesday.
The storm could bring with it thunderstorms on Tuesday afternoon, as well as hail, with rain decreasing on Wednesday, when the specific forecast calls for a break in the rain in Lake County through to Thursday night.
Forecasters predict that the next storm system will moves across Northern California beginning on Friday, bringing with it the potential for wetter and colder conditions, along with wind, into Monday.
The forecast calls for wind gusts on Tuesday as high as 25 miles per hour. Rainfall amounts are expected to total up to an inch and a half through Wednesday.
After a stretch of warmer temperatures, Lake County is expected to see the temperatures drop through early next week, with nighttime temperatures dropping into the high 30s and daytime temperatures into the low 50s.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Native American Empowerment Day scheduled for this Friday, March 24, at the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College has been postponed.
A new date will be announced as soon as it can be scheduled.
The college apologized for the inconvenience.
A front porch is very much like a stage, and this poem by Marilyn Nelson is like watching a little play. The poet, who has published books of poetry and prose for young and old alike, lives in Connecticut and her most recent book is My Seneca Village (Namelos, 2015).
Daughters 1900
Five daughters, in the slant light on the porch,
are bickering. The eldest has come home
with new truths she can hardly wait to teach.
She lectures them: the younger daughters search
the sky, elbow each other's ribs, and groan.
Five daughters, in the slant light on the porch
and blue-sprigged dresses, like a stand of birch
saplings whose leaves are going yellow-brown
with new truths. They can hardly wait to teach,
themselves, to be called "Ma'am," to march
high-heeled across the hanging bridge to town.
Five daughters. In the slant light on the porch
Pomp lowers his paper for a while, to watch
the beauties he's begotten with his Ann:
these new truths they can hardly wait to teach.
The eldest sniffs, "A lady doesn't scratch."
The third snorts back, "Knock, knock: nobody home."
The fourth concedes, "Well, maybe not in church . . . "
Five daughters in the slant light on the porch.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited submissions. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©1990 by Marilyn Nelson, “Daughters 1900,” from The Homeplace, (Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1990). Poem reprinted by permission of Marilyn Nelson and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2017 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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