LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's unemployment picture had a slight improvement in August, according to the latest information from the California Employment Development Department.

The state's report on joblessness showed that Lake County's unemployment rate in August was 6.3 percent, down from the revised 6.5 percent in July and below the August 2015 estimate of 6.8 percent.

California's unemployment rate in August was 5.5 percent, holding steading from July and improved over the 6 percent recorded in August of last year. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.

Nationally, 151,000 jobs were added in August and unemployment was 4.9 percent, the third straight month at that rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The August 2015 nationwide unemployment rate was 5.1 percent.

Lake County's unemployment rate ranked it No. 34 amongst California's 58 counties. San Mateo County once again held onto the No. 1 spot, with 3.2 percent unemployment, while Imperial County came in at No. 58 with 23.8 percent.

In August, Lake County's “total farm” industry sector jumped by 43.7 percent – or 590 jobs – over July, but was still down by 4.4 percent compared to the previous August, according to state data.

Subcategories of the total nonfarm sector showed growth included goods producing and federal government jobs, while service producing and the overall government sector were down, with many other sectors remaining flat.

The Employment Development Department said that California's nonfarm payroll jobs increased 63,100 in August for a total gain of 2,347,800 since the economic expansion began in February 2010.  This followed a revised gain of 18,600 in July, down from a preliminary estimate of 36,400 jobs.

The report said jobs in California totaled 16,534,300, according to a survey of 58,000 of the state's businesses, which showed the number of jobs increased 378,000 from August 2015 to August 2016 (up 2.3 percent).

The federal survey of households that determines the unemployment rate showed an increase in the number of employed people, estimating the number of Californians holding jobs in August was 18,170,000, up 57,000 from July and up 354,000 from August of last year.

The number of people unemployed in California was 1,061,000 in August, up 12,000 from July, but down 85,000 from August of last year, the state said.

Statewide, on both a monthly and annual basis, industry sectors that gained jobs included government; professional and business services; scientific and technical services; trade, transportation and utilities; construction; information; financial activities; educational and health services; other services; and leisure and hospitality. Manufacturing and mining and logging posted losses, the state said.

The Employment Development Department also reported that 352,085 people were receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the August survey week, compared with 353,609 in July and 367,255 in August of last year.

The state said new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 39,095 in August compared with 42,923 in July and 43,332 in August of last year.

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.

UKIAH, Calif. – A guitarist from Lakeport won the eighth annual Rising Stars Music Competition held this weekend.

Travis Rinker won first place and the honor of being the top Mendo Lake Solo Artist at the eighth annual event, held Saturday on the Alex Thomas Plaza stage in Ukiah.

His band, Fog Realm, also took third place and top metal honors.

Pairing up with Ukiah Main Street’s End of Summer Show & Shine Classic Car Show, Rising Stars Music Competition musicians started performing at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Ranging from acoustic solo artists to full bands, musicians were placed in genre appropriate categories. Acts were judged individually by local music experts in the areas of talent, musicianship and audience interaction.

After each judge awarded their individual points, scores were added up and winners were presented with awards in solo, world rock, hip hop and metal categories.

First, second and third place overall along with People’s Choice were awarded at the end of the night after a featured performance by the 2013 first place artists, The Whitetrash Superstars.

Winning acts were:

• Mendo Lake Solo Artist: Travis Rinker.
• City of Light Recording and Sound World Rock Artists: The Johnny Young Band
• Max 93.5 Hip Hop Artist: Young Bengy.
• 94.5 Kwine Metal Artists: Fog Realm.

• First place: Travis Rinker.
• Second place: The Johnny Young Band.
• Third place: Fog Realm.
• People’s Choice: Dirty Rice.

Prizes for the winning acts included recording time at City of Light Recording and Sound, cash, gigs at Shanachie Pub, voice recording at K-Otic Studio, and dig! Music gift certificates.

Event coordinator Mary Chadwick is most proud of the fact that Rising Stars Music Competition is a positive event.

“The musicians perform and then stay to cheer on and support the other musicians,” said Chadwick. “They can be found standing in the audience enjoying their counterparts music and applauding their performances. I have even seen musicians loan each other equipment that has been forgotten. It is a competition and every act takes it seriously but they are also there to support the nonprofits, perform for the public and raise awareness of the talented musicians in our community.”

This year also saw the last year of sound engineering by sound-man Jef Brewer.

A mainstay behind the soundboard at most of the eight Rising Stars Competition, Brewer planted the music competition bug in his coordination of 2006’s Band Slam in Alex Thomas Plaza.

Brewer will stay involved in the local music scene in other ways but feels his “work is done” at this event as well as the popular Acoustic Café concert series at Parducci Winery.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said its officers arrested two people on Monday for heroin, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and illegal fireworks.

Cray Earl Hall, 30, of Hidden Valley Lake and 30-year-old Krystal Peng of Clearlake were arrested in the case, according to Sgt. Dominic Ramirez.

At 6:50 p.m. Monday the Clearlake Police Department received a report of people inside a red-tagged residence in the 16700 block of Cache Creek Lane, Ramirez said.

Ramirez said officers responded to the residence and contacted Hall and Peng inside of it. The two subsequently were arrested for being in the red-tagged residence.

A vehicle belonging to Hall and Peng was parked in the middle of the roadway, obstructing traffic in front of the property, Ramirez said.

Officers conducted an inventory search of the vehicle prior to having it towed for blocking the roadway. Ramirez said that during the inventory search, officers located two ounces of heroin, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a digital scale, packaging material, illegal fireworks and several items with Hall's and Peng’s names on them.

Hall and Peng were arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for possession of heroin for sales, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of fireworks without a permit, Ramirez said.

Jail records showed that bail was set at $25,000 for each, with both remaining in custody on Thursday.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – State assistance will once again be made available for fire cleanup in Lake County.

On Tuesday, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, state Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Bill Dodd announced that state funding will be provided under the California Disaster Assistance Act to fund debris cleanup and removal in the neighborhoods of the Clayton fire impact zone similar to what occurred following last year’s Valley fire.

The Clayton fire, the fourth devastating wildfire to hit Lake County in the last 14 months, burned nearly 4,000 acres and destroyed 299 structures, including 203 homes and eight commercial buildings.

Leading into Tuesday's announcement, assessments were completed over the last several weeks by the Office of Emergency Services, the State Department of Toxic Substance Control and local authorities in the impacted Lower Lake neighborhoods.

State-sanctioned debris removal teams will be advancing into Lake County in the next few weeks, officials said.

Sen. McGuire made it a priority – despite the fact the Clayton fire won’t likely be declared a federal disaster – to move assistance from the state for debris removal and cleanup into Lake County.

This desperately needed assistance will ensure the health and safety of local residents living near or in the areas devastated by the Clayton fire in the years to come.

“A staggering 22 percent of Lake County’s total land mass burned over the past 14 months, from the Rocky, Jerusalem, Valley and now the Clayton Fire,” Sen. McGuire said. “Lake County is already suffering from these devastating events and we are committed to working day and night to help the community recover and rebuild stronger than ever. Both CalOES and CalRecycle did amazing work after the Valley fire in Lake County – moving out millions of pounds of debris – and we are grateful to partner with them again to assist in Lower Lake.”

CalRecycle – the state agency responsible for debris cleanup and removal – will be coming in to begin work in the Lower Lake area in the coming weeks. Currently, the State Department of Toxic Substances Control is in the Lower Lake working remediation.

After the Valley fire, CalRecycle contracted debris removal crews to clear residential properties in record time.

With the damage left by the Clayton fire, CalRecycle will once again manage the debris removal and site cleanups.

“This is a huge benefit for our community – CalRecycle will be able to come in and remove the debris in a timely manner and that’s what we really need right now in order to expedite the rebuilding process,” Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown said. “We are grateful for the unwavering advocacy of Sen. McGuire and Assemblymember Dodd to get this agreement approved.”

Lake County officially requested assistance from the state for debris cleanup, which is estimated to cost more than $3 million in the Clayton fire impact zone.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Clear Lake Area California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.

The leading cause of death for Americans 15 to 19 years old is motor vehicle collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The CHP's goal is to reduce the death rate among young drivers as the result of these collisions.

“The CHP is committed to mitigating traffic collisions involving young, inexperienced drivers, because they are preventable,” said Lt. Hector Paredes, commander of the CHP's Clear Lake Area office. “Start Smart is an excellent program that promotes safe driving for young new drivers.”

The “Start Smart” program is aimed at helping newly licensed and future licensed teenage drivers understand the critical responsibilities of driving and to understand that accidents happen, but collisions are 100-percent preventable. 

The program is designed to provide an interactive safe driving awareness class which will illustrate how poor choices behind the wheel of a car can affect the lives of numerous people.

“Start Smart” also focuses on responsibilities of newly licensed drivers, responsibilities of parents or guardians and collision avoidance techniques.

Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Unified School District is forming a bond oversight committee for Measure U and is inviting community members to apply.

District voters approved Measure U, a $24 million general obligation bond to improve and upgrade school facilities, on June 7. The vote was 61.7 percent to 38.3 percent in favor of the bond.

Some of the projects that have been identified so far for bond funding include repair and replacement of leaking roofs, deteriorating plumbing systems, and outdated heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; updating inadequate electrical systems; and improving student access to computers and modern technology.

The district's Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee will review expenditures from construction activity associated with Measure U, and be responsible for ensuring that bond revenues are used properly and for informing the public of bond expenditures.

The district board invites all interested community members at least 18 years of age and living within the geographic boundary of the Kelseyville Unified School District to apply for service on the Bond Oversight Committee.

The bond oversight committee must have at least seven members. In addition to two members of the community at large, there must be at least one member from each of the following groups:

• One member who is active in a business organization representing the business community located within the school district.
• One member who is active in a senior citizen's organization.
• One member who is the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the school district.
• One member who is the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the school district and is active in a parent-teacher organization.
• One member who is active in a bona-fide taxpayer's organization.

The Bond Oversight Committee may not include any employee or official of the school district or any vendor, contractor or consultant of the school district.

Applications may be downloaded from the district’s Web site at www.kvusd.org or may be obtained at the Kelseyville Unified School District Office located at 4410 Konocti Road.

Applicants must have all application forms completed and given to Superintendent Dave McQueen at the Kelseyville Unified District by 4 p.m. Sept. 30.

Qualified applicants will be interviewed and chosen by the Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees on Oct. 4.

If you have any questions, need more information or help in obtaining an application, call the Kelseyville Unified School District Office at 707-279-1511.