KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Come and enjoy spring in Clear Lake State Park on Saturday, May 21, with Billy Gear. 

The two-hour walk will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Visitor Center parking lot and will be a slow walk along Cole Creek, Kelsey Creek and Kelsey Creek Slough.

The walk will cover about one mile of paved road and established trails. Participants should wear sturdy shoes and bring binoculars, mosquito repellent and water. 

Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville. Entry into the park is free for those participating in the walk. 

Anyone having special needs should contact the Clear Lake State Park Sector Office Tuesday through Thursday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 707-279-2267. 

Help support the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association (CLSPIA) in its effort to bring educational and interpretive programs to the state park by becoming a member of CLSPIA. Go to www.clearlakestatepark.org for further information. 
 
For further information on California State Parks go to www.parks.ca.gov .

NOTICE OF PROPOSED MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION, MINOR USE PERMIT, & GRADING PERMIT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Community Development Director will consider approving two GRADING PERMITS for the grading of 131 acres for a new vineyard on two parcels with a combined acreage of 304 acres and the construction of a new 35 acre-foot agricultural pond and a MINOR USE PERMIT for a new 35 acre-foot agricultural pond; and will consider adoption of a mitigated negative declaration for this project based on Initial Study IS15–33.

The project applicant is Dwight Haldan; the project is located at 11450 Diener Road and 11660 Willow Springs Road, Kelseyville, CA, APNs 011-069-25 and 011-069-51.

The proposed minor use permit, grading permit, mitigated negative declaration, and all documents referenced in the proposed mitigated negative declaration are available for review at the Community Development Department, Lake County Courthouse, 255 North Forbes Street, Lakeport, CA. 

The review period for public comments on the proposed mitigated negative declaration will start on May 19, 2016 and end on June 10, 2016. 

The Planner processing this application is Peggy Barthel, (707) 263-2221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Community Development Director will consider approval of this project with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted to the Community Development Department by 5:00 P.M., June 10, 2016.

Should a timely request for hearing be filed, a public hearing will be held on June 15, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Lake County Courthouse. 


COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Scott DeLeon, Interim Director


By: ______________________________________
Danae Bowen, Office Assistant III

The city of Lakeport is playing Russian Roulette with our homes and schools.

This winter’s rains have produced a bumper crop of grass and weeds. The Valley fire has taught us the importance of defensible space to help protect against wildfires.

While Lakeport had an aggressive and effective weed abatement program on vacant lots during the 80s, 90’s and early 2,000’s, carried out by the city planner, the city now is spending millions on water meters, solar panels and out of county consultants and is ignoring the safety of our homes and schools.

We are less than two months from the Fourth of July and the fire season, and the east and southwest flanks of our schools are surrounded by tall weeds, and there is no visible weed abatement program. There are also many overgrown lots that abut homes.

The city could do its “normal” thing and hire an out-of-county consultant costing thousands of dollars telling it how to cut weeds, or it could look in its file cabinets and copy what it successfully did for the last three decades.

What we really need is a City Council that thinks about the basic needs of the people who live in Lakeport and quit spending millions of dollars on projects that give no perceptible benefit to the average homeowner.

Bob Bridges lives in Lakeport, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Almost everyone knows who Kid President is after his famous “Pep Talk” that encouraged the world to be more awesome.

This March, Kid President put out his first-ever press conference and he called for everyone around the world to make the world more awesome for children. One class at Lakeport Elementary responded.

Students discussed the ways that the world could be not-so awesome and brainstormed a variety of ways that they could change that.

Some students suggested that they work to provide medicine to children who might not be able to afford it.

Another student suggested that the class concentrate on making blankets for children who live in places where heating was an issue.

After a series of brainstorming and research sessions, Ms. Peart’s third graders decided that they wanted to raise money to donate to St. Jude’s Hospital by hosting a bake sale at the school’s Open House night, Thursday, May 19.

St. Jude’s Hospital is a place where children with cancer and their parents can receive treatment and support.

Parents are donating their time and talents to whip up some delightful treats.

So, if you’re in the neighborhood, swing on by Lakeport Elementary School, pick up a baked good, and contribute to a worthy cause.

Open House is Thursday, May 19 between 6:30 and 8 p.m.

If you’ve got the spirit of giving, but not a sweet tooth, visit https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/index.do to contribute in your own way.

Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, Davis, Yuba City, CA), the representative for 200 miles of the Sacramento River located in the Third Congressional District of California, introduced legislation this week that would modernize California’s water management policies and provide short-term and long-term solutions to alleviate California’s ongoing drought.

The legislation is specifically designed to align with Proposition 1, the water bond recently passed by California voters.

This will ensure that federal, state and local agencies will be able to fully coordinate on the implementation of the projects funded and authorized by the bill.

“This legislation will accomplish three vital tasks,” said Garamendi. “First, it will use the latest available science and real-time monitoring of endangered fish to assure their protection while maximizing water deliveries. The operational directives within the bill remain consistent with the Endangered Species Act and existing biological opinions. Second, it will provide short-term relief to the communities hit hardest by California’s ongoing drought. And third, it will fully fund the long-term infrastructure we need to maximize our efficiency and become more resilient to California’s drier climate.”

The bill already has support from a variety of stakeholders in local government and environmental advocacy.

“The bill includes proposals to promote regional water self-sufficiency by helping local agencies develop new water supplies and better manage existing supplies,” said David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association. “In addition to improved water supplies for cities, rural communities and farms, the bill also includes provisions to aid birds along the Pacific flyway and promote the recovery of endangered Sacramento Valley salmon runs.  We encourage Congress to include these measures in any final drought relief legislation.”

Mark Hennelly, vice president of Legislative Affairs and Public Advocacy for the California Waterfowl Association, said: “The bill provides real, and much needed, help to California’s national wildlife refuges and state wildlife management areas. The bill also provides relief to California’s farmers, without taking water away from migratory waterfowl.”

The language of the bill mirrors that of S. 2533, recently introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – With breaking news of another threatened humpback whale becoming entangled in lost or abandoned crab gear off the Northern California coast this week, legislation that will protect whales by removing this gear from the ocean is gaining focus and attention.

“There were a record number of whales entangled off the California Coast last year and the numbers are alarming in the first five months of 2016. We’re advancing this desperately needed legislation that would create the first statewide program to protect these majestic mammals,” North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire said. “It has become an all too common sight – whales washing up on our beaches or found struggling to disentangle themselves from old gear. There’s a simple solution, and we’re working closely with crab fishermen and ocean and marine mammal protection groups to get this bill signed into law.”

The Whale Protection & Crab Gear Retrieval Act, which was proactively initiated by California’s Dungeness crab fishermen, would create a regulatory program with incentives for fishermen to retrieve Dungeness crab fishing gear that would otherwise be lost in the ocean. It’s estimated that thousands of pots are lost every season and these pieces of gear could have hundreds of feet of rope attached to a locater buoy.

The lost gear has created marine debris and entanglement hazards for whales and other marine life, along with others in the crab and salmon fleets.

“In 2015, 61 whales were reported entangled off the West Coast, 57 in California alone. Humpbacks were the main species impacted. This is the highest total since the National Marine Fisheries Service started keeping records in 1982,” Sen. McGuire said. “In light of these concerning developments, we are working with the thousands of hard working men and women of California’s Dungeness Crab Fleet and environmental organizations from across the state to bring forward a lost fishing gear recovery program.”

Crab fishermen have taken the lead on this issue and many are already taking part in a limited basis pilot project that was initiated two years ago. Approximately 1,500 lost crab pots have been collected in that program. SB 1287 will build upon the successful pilot project by advancing a statewide solution to the growing problem.

Based on recommendations from the Dungeness Crab Task Force, SB 1287 will call on the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a retrieval program. One hundred percent of the program will be paid for by industry related fees, not the taxpayers.

Dungeness crab fishermen, who obtain a retrieval permit through this program, will collect old crab traps after the crab season has closed each year. Those fishermen will be paid a recovery bounty for each trap retrieved from the ocean.

The bill also establishes a fee to be paid by the fishing boat that lost or abandoned the crab trap(s). A crab fisherman who refuses to buy back their lost or abandoned crab trap(s) will not be able to get their vessel permit the next season.

The creation of a self-perpetuating program to recover fishing gear is a necessary action of the commercial Dungeness crab fishing industry to continue operating as a responsible, sustainable fishery.

“The Dungeness crab fishery is in the top tier of California’s commercial seafood catch and the entire industry has weathered a challenging few years, including the historic delay of this year’s Dungeness crab season,” Sen. McGuire said. “This gear retrieval program will be a great step forward in cleaning up our oceans and making a safer environment for the people who work the Pacific for their living and the whales and marine life who call the ocean home.”

A broad coalition of fishing and environmental groups are unified in supporting SB 1287 which will increase mariner safety while reducing marine debris and the potential for whale entanglement, including: Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Sierra Club, Californian’s Against Waste, California Coastkeeper Alliance, Earthjustice, Golden Gate Salmon Association, Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, The Marine Mammal Center, Trinidad Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Assn, Crescent City Fishermen’s Assn, Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Assn, the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Assn, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Surfrider and many more.

SB 1287 was approved in the Senate Natural Resources Committee and is in Senate Appropriations waiting final confirmation in the next week before heading to the full Senate for a vote.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Special Districts is soliciting sealed bids for the installation of 1” water meters and water service connections to fire-damaged parcels in CSA-7 (Bonanza Springs) and CSA-18 (Starview).

The work will include roadway trenching and underground piping installation.

This project will be completed using a FEMA grant for the benefit of CSA-7 (Bonanza Springs) and CSA-18 (Starview) water customers. 

Sealed bids will be received at the Purchasing Division of the Administrative Office, Room 113, County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, CA until 3 p.m., June 22, 2016.

For more information contact Scott Harter, Special Districts Deputy Administrator, at 707-263-0119 or visit the Lake County Web site at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Special_Districts/RFPs.htm .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A sell-out crowd enjoyed a beautiful spring day and entertainment at the second anniversary celebration of Middletown’s Gibson Museum and Cultural Center.

The event at the Middletown Mansion on Saturday, May 14, was headlined by two authentically portrayed skirmishes by the American Civil War Association.

A first in this area, the sham battles proved so well received that plans are underway to present a bigger and better reenactment next spring.

Historian Gene Paleno shared his collection of Lake County history and signed copies of his newly released book.

Barbara White took a break from her archeology duties with the U.S. Forest Service to amuse guests with the rigors of ladies’ dress in the 1860s.

Linda Lake, retired curator of Lake County museums, managed not to giggle while helping White wiggle into her corset.

Twice during the afternoon, musket and cannon smoke and thunder quelled the toe-tappin’ vintage music of David Neft, Don Coffin and Andi Skelton.

Scarlett O’Hara, played in the “drapery dress” (sans curtain rod) by Lori Cantrell of Hidden Valley Lake, waltzed on the green lawn and chatted with visitors. Her identical twin, Lisa Markell, had made a surprise visit from Indiana to help Lori create the flavor of the 1860s.

The bevy of Union and Confederate uniforms were the highlight of the day, a poignant reminder of the battles the nation has waged (and continues to wage) over states’ rights and the equality of all. They also were a reminder that May has long been the month to honor the veterans who fought in these battles.

Gibson Museum volunteers wish to send heartfelt thanks to all who helped make this event happen, as the proceeds will underwrite funding of museum operations for many months.

For further information, see www.thegibsonmuseum.com or write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .