LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council will hold a public hearing on a utility delinquency list and consider approving an agreement for policing with the city of Clearlake this week.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. Masks are highly encouraged where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the city clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
On the Tuesday agenda is a public hearing to adopt the resolution to confirm and approve the utility billing delinquency list and the associated resolution and direct staff to submit the list to the county auditor-controller for inclusion on the property tax roll.
Under council business, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen will ask for the council’s approval to execute an agreement with the city of Clearlake for supplemental law enforcement services.
At its meeting two weeks ago, the Clearlake City Council approved the agreement, which will allow the two agencies to assist each other. In the near term, Clearlake Police officers can volunteer to help Lakeport Police, which is down several officer positions.
Also on Tuesday, the council will consider approving the designated temporary disabled parking on C and D streets, between South Forbes Street and the respective fairgrounds entrance gates from 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1, to midnight on Sunday, Sept. 4; discuss a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement for apportionment of Retirement Obligations of California Intergovernmental Risk Authority; and approve and authorize the city manager to execute a professional services agreement with Quincy Engineering Inc. for the Lakeport Blvd Project Study Report Equivalent.
On the consent agenda — items usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on July 19; confirm the continuing existence of a local emergency for the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency; receive and file the Community Development Department FY 2021-22 fourth quarter update; receive and file the minutes of the July 20, 2022 Measure Z Advisory Committee meeting.
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. — After a week of temperatures topping 100 degrees, this week Lake County is forecast to have cooler conditions.
The National Weather Service reported on top temperatures around the region recorded on Friday, which included Middletown at 103 degrees; Lower Lake at 104 degrees; Clearlake, Kelseyville and Hidden Valley Lake at 105 degrees; and Indian Valley Reservoir at 108 degrees.
However, some relief is in sight.
Forecasters said daytime temperatures this week will top out in the low 90s throughout Lake County, rising to the mid-90s by the weekend.
Nighttime temperatures will range from the low to mid 60s.
As temperatures cool in the new week, the forecast calls for relative humidity to rise.
While there have been concerns about thunderstorms across the region, the forecast did not include chances of storms for Lake County this week.
Calm winds, particularly in the afternoons and evenings, also are in this week’s forecast.
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. — An Oroville-based nonprofit that has been operating Lake County’s emergency COVID-19 shelter said it will cease operating the facility in September.
In a statement published on its website, the Elijah House Foundation said it will no longer operate the shelter at 1111 Whalen Way in Lakeport as of Sept. 4.
The shelter has been operating in the county’s former juvenile hall facility which Elijah House has been in negotiations with the county to purchase.
“The reason why Elijah House is pulling out is due to funding,” Behavioral Health Services Director Todd Metcalf told Lake County News.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors — as part of its consent agenda — approved a request from Metcalf to extend the use of the former juvenile hall facility for a temporary support shelter targeting Lake County's chronically homeless population through Sept. 30.
Metcalf’s report for the item explained that on July 20, 2020, the board approved a contract between Lake County Behavioral Health Services and Elijah House to fund continued COVID-19 homeless shelter operations at the old juvenile hall.
He said Elijah House is confident it can continue to run the shelter through Sept. 30, “however, due to funding constraints, operations may cease before then.”
He said Lake County’s Space Use Committee “has provided ongoing support for the use of the former juvenile hall facility on a temporary basis for the purpose of a homeless shelter.”
The Elijah House Foundation said in its online statement that it is talking with the Lake County Continuum of Care and other agencies that address homelessness in hopes of identifying a nonprofit willing to take over operations of the emergency shelter.
Metcalf said he’s met with a nonprofit which is potentially interested in taking over the shelter, with a follow-up meeting planned for Aug. 4.
Since the 32-bed shelter opened on July 27, 2020, Elijah House said it has served more than 400 individuals, offering meals, laundry service, showers and personal items, and providing case management to connect shelter residents with services.
Elijah House said it offered housing navigation to help clients gain permanent housing, and provided independent living training and job development with the Back2Work program.
The organization said its employees have helped more than 100 people find permanent housing, reconnected 41 people with families and helped 38 people gain employment.
All of the shelter’s 32 residents will be placed in alternate housing, which Elijah House said was managed through working with Lake County agencies and connecting clients with their families, and with the generosity of local philanthropists.
Elijah House said it will continue to offer housing navigation, case management, employment development through the Back2Work Program, general counseling and placement into sober living housing at its Lucerne location, 6110 East Highway 20, the site of the former Lake County visitor center.
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 COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread and uneven effects on U.S. workers, resulting in changes in employment, schedules and hours worked. That also meant changes in earnings and benefits.
Especially hard-hit were workers in food preparation and serving related occupations and in transportation. As recent studies have shown, lockdowns and other safety measures led to declines in full-time, year-round employment and increased unemployment.
While the impact of COVID-19 on jobs has yet to be fully explored, a recently released Census Bureau report can serve as a pre-pandemic benchmark for changes in job characteristics across occupation groups.
Here, 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data was used to highlight job characteristics for the two groups whose jobs and income would be among the most disrupted by the pandemic: food preparation and serving related occupations, and transportation occupations.
Food preparation and serving related occupations
In 2017, 5.4% of U.S. workers (about 8.3 million) were employed in food preparation and serving related occupations.
About 75% of workers across all occupations had standard, daytime schedules, compared with 47% of food preparation and serving related workers.
Those in the food prep and serving jobs were more likely to have nonstandard schedule arrangements. For instance, 39.8% had nonstandard but predictable work schedules such as regular evening or night shifts, rotating shifts or split shifts. But 13.3% had nonstandard, unpredictable work schedules.
The SIPP asks workers to select the main reason for their reported schedule arrangement from a list of involuntary or voluntary reasons like job requirement or childcare needs.
Workers in food preparation and serving related jobs were among the least likely of all occupation groups to report their schedule was a requirement of the job.
Even before the pandemic, those employed in food preparation and serving related occupations worked fewer hours on average than workers in other jobs. About half (49.1%) worked part-time or fewer than 35 hours per week.
While 59.5% of all workers worked between 35 and 50 hours a week in 2017, only 44.7% of food preparation and serving related workers did. And only 6.1% worked 50 hours or more — among the lowest of all other occupation groups.
High rates of part-time work likely contributed to lower median monthly income. For example, in 2017 median monthly earnings across all occupations was $3,236. Yet food preparation and serving related workers’ median monthly earnings of $1,590 were about half that amount.
The 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) also shows several jobs within the broader occupation group were among the lowest-paid. Among them: hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop; fast-food and counter workers; dishwashers; and dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers.
In the SIPP, workers can report multiple earnings types, sometimes in combination: 97.3% of food preparation and serving related workers earned a wage or salary, and 20.7% reported earnings from tips, an unpredictable source of income.
Earnings paid to employees are only one component of a worker’s total compensation. In addition, employers may offer nonwage benefits like paid leave, retirement plans, and health insurance.
Because the SIPP collects detailed information on individuals’ health insurance, it can be used to identify those who receive employer-provided health insurance.
Among workers with private health insurance coverage, 81.7% of those in food preparation and serving related occupations were covered by their own or another person’s employer-provided health insurance plan. The remaining 18.3% were covered by other sources of private health insurance such as a former employer, school, union or association or direct purchase.
However, most food preparation and serving related workers covered by employer-provided health insurance received coverage through the employer of another household member or relative. Only 43.8% were policyholders. In contrast, 72.4% of all workers in all occupations who were covered by employer-provided health insurance were policyholders.
Transportation occupations
Transportation occupations comprise a diverse group of jobs including bus drivers, truck drivers, aircraft pilots, flight attendants, and many others. In 2017, there were about 5.7 million transportation workers in the United States, accounting for 3.7% of the employed population.
Like food preparation and serving related workers, significantly fewer workers in transportation occupations had standard schedules compared with the broader workforce (55.8% v. 74.6%).
Other schedule arrangements were also common among transportation workers: 21.3% had a nonstandard, predictable schedule and 23.0% had a nonstandard, unpredictable work schedule. The share of transportation workers with nonstandard, predictable work schedules was not significantly different from the share with nonstandard, unpredictable schedules.
Most transportation workers (87.8%) indicated their schedule arrangement was a requirement of their job.
About 75% of workers in transportation occupations were employed full-time or 35 hours or more a week, which was not statistically different from the share of all full-time workers across all occupations.
And long hours were not uncommon among transportation workers: 29.6% reported working 50 hours or more a week compared to 17.1% of all workers.
Transportation workers’ median monthly earnings ($2,999) were lower than those for all workers. The majority (85.6%) of transportation workers also received their earnings from a wage or salary, and significantly fewer had earnings from commission (11%), tips (5%), overtime (7.9%) or bonuses (4.5%).
Among workers with private health insurance, a smaller share (80.9%) of transportation workers were covered by employer-sponsored plans than all workers (85.9%). About 19% were covered by other sources of private health insurance.
Yet a larger share were policyholders: 76.3% of transportation workers covered by employer-sponsored health insurance were policyholders, compared to 72.4% of all workers and 43.8% of food preparation and serving related workers.
What is the SIPP?
The Survey of Income and Program Participation is a nationally representative longitudinal survey administered by the U.S. Census Bureau that provides comprehensive information on the dynamics of income, employment, household composition and government program participation.
For more information about SIPP data quality, please visit the SIPP Technical Documentation page.
Clayton Gumber is a survey statistician in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division. Briana Sullivan is an economist in the Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has cats and kittens ready to be adopted this week.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm for information on visiting or adopting.
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Male domestic shorthair kitten
This male domestic shorthair kitten has an orange tabby coat with white markings.
He is in cat room kennel No. A1a, ID No. LCAC-A-3662.
Male domestic shorthair kitten
This male domestic shorthair kitten has a gray tabby coat with white markings.
He is in cat room kennel No. A1b, ID No. LCAC-A-3663.
‘Luna’
“Luna” is a female domestic shorthair kitten with a black and white tuxedo coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 10, ID No. LCAC-A-3745.
‘Mom’
“Mom” is a female domestic shorthair cat with a white coat and blue eyes.
She is in cat room kennel No. 21, LCAC-A-3635.
Female gray tabby
This 2-year-old female gray tabby has a short coat with white markings.
She is in cat room kennel No. 28, ID No. LCAC-A-3661.
Domestic shorthair kitten
This female domestic shorthair kitten has an all-black coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 84b, ID No. LCAC-A-3615.
Domestic shorthair kitten
This male domestic shorthair kitten has an all-black coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 84c, ID No. LCAC-A-3616.
‘Fudge’
“Fudge” is a young female domestic shorthair cat with a gray tabby coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. A139, ID No. LCAC-A-3700.
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. — Since 2015, nearly two-thirds of Lake County’s landmass has been burned by wildfire.
In response, groups throughout the county are taking urgent action to make our communities safer.
Collaboration and partnership among firefighters and other fire protection professionals, tribal, county and city governments, community-based organizations and agencies and others have prepared us to make meaningful progress.
One recent success story is Northshore Fire Protection District’s Fuels Management Crew.
Under the leadership of Chief Mike Ciancio, this group is already conducting fire suppression and fire prevention activities in areas of high priority throughout Lake County.
This work is possible, in part, thanks to a $662,000 donation from the Habematolel Tribe of Upper Lake.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors has committed to support remaining anticipated first-year costs, up to $538,000, of a total of $1.2 million.
Are you interested in joining this important team, and helping to reduce Lake County’s wildfire risk?
Email your completed application, resume and/or certificate(s) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., to apply.
You can also mail your application NFPD, PO Box 1199, Lucerne, CA 95458.
For more information, call Northshore Fire at 707-274-3100 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Zachary Lamb, University of California, Berkeley; Jason Spicer, University of Toronto, and Linda Shi, Cornell University
When you hear the words “trailer park” or “mobile home park,” what comes to mind? Crime? Poverty? Vulnerability to natural disasters? These negative images reflect the stigma, reinforced by popular culture, that many U.S. residents assign to manufactured home parks – the official name for these dwellings under federal standards adopted in 1976.
Over 20 million Americans live in manufactured housing – more than in public housing and federally subsidized rental housing combined. Yet many people, including urban planners and affordable housing researchers, see manufactured housing parks as problems. In contrast, we see them as part of the solution to housing crises.
We are urban planning scholars who study climate vulnerability, community economic development and equity in urban land use. Our research suggests that misguided stereotypes blind scholars and policymakers to the possibility that mobile homes can help address the affordable housing crisis and climate change. Here are some misperceptions about this widespread form of housing.
Stereotype 1: Manufactured housing is shoddy
Many people think manufactured homes are poorly built, even though these structures, unlike site-built houses, have had to meet federal safety standards since 1976. These safety standards have been periodically updated, often in response to disasters. Today, new well-installed factory-built homes are comparable to site-built homes when it comes to standing up to wind, fire and other disaster threats.
Compared to homes built on-site, manufactured housing costs half as much per square foot – partly because it’s easier, more predictable and cheaper to build homes in factories. Many quality problems associated with manufactured housing arise from home installation, park maintenance and infrastructure issues. No matter how well-built homes are, residents can suffer if they are installed on unstable foundations, or if park owners allow water, sewer or power utility infrastructure to crumble.
Stereotype 2: Manufactured housing parks are always exploitative
While many manufactured housing residents own their homes, they may not own the land the homes sit on. This can leave them at the mercy of predatory park owners and investors. Moving manufactured homes is difficult and expensive, despite the “mobile” label, so residents of manufactured home parks can’t easily relocate when park owners allow conditions to deteriorate, raise rents or evict residents.
The density of these communities, typically eight to 15 homes per acre, is often greater than nearby neighborhoods. In Houston, for example, many manufactured housing parks are located in suburban areas close to the central business district. If anything, local zoning in many cities limits the density of manufactured housing parks.
Stereotype 4: Manufactured housing parks are uniquely disconnected
Critics often assert that manufactured housing parks are disconnected from surrounding neighborhoods. In reality, this pattern applies to most U.S. residential neighborhoods built since World War II, including gated communities and cul-de-sacs. Residents of these communities value the privacy, safety and neighborhood cohesion their street patterns provide.
Biased local zoning regulations also frequently reinforce manufactured housing parks’ isolation by requiring them to be separated and hidden behind tall privacy fencing. Where fragmented street networks create problems for residents, like reduced walkability, they can be retrofitted by reconnecting streets.
The real challenges
While these stereotypes often don’t reflect reality, manufactured housing communities face real challenges.
Local governments and park owners often are eager to convert parks to what they describe as “higher and better uses,” which frequently means evicting residents for commercial development or more expensive housing. Private equity investors, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are buying up manufactured housing parks, which they view as reliably profitable investments. When owners redevelop parks, they can evict residents with little recourse.
Residents of manufactured home parks are also increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Biased zoning rules have forced many of these communities to locate on less desirable land, including flood-prone sites, industrial areas and highway fringes. In a 2021 review, we found that 22% of manufactured housing parks across nine states were located within current 100-year floodplains – zones with a 1% chance of flooding every year.
Manufactured housing is especially common in hurricane-prone regions like Florida, Louisiana and Texas. While updated building standards have substantially improved safety, increasingly ferocious storms still pose a real threat.
Aging manufactured home park infrastructure, including sewer, water and electricity systems, is highly vulnerable to extreme heat, wind, drought, flooding and wildfires. And since residents typically have lower incomes, they have fewer resources to respond when extreme events strike.
Manufactured housing, resilience and justice
With economic, political and technical support, evidence shows that manufactured housing can overcome these challenges.
To date, 20 states have adopted laws that help residents purchase the manufactured home parks where they live. These policies have helped ROC USA, a nonprofit social venture, create a network of over 280 cooperatively owned, limited-equity resident-owned communities that are home to over 18,000 households.
ROC USA provides low-cost loans to resident cooperatives to buy land and make needed capital improvements such as upgrading water, sewer and electric systems. Their network of regional housing experts then works with communities for at least a decade to develop and sustain their ability to manage their parks.
Over three decades, no ROC USA community has ever defaulted on a loan or sold their park. A growing number have adopted climate-responsive measures, such as building storm shelters and community centers, upgrading drainage infrastructure and providing emergency post-storm tree clearance and other forms of mutual aid. Other resident-owned communities are investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs for their residents.
Policymakers are paying attention. The Biden administration’s 2022 housing plan includes extensive support for manufactured housing parks.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for increasing state funding to preserve manufactured housing parks as affordable housing. The U.S. Department of Energy recently adopted more ambitious efficiency standards to reduce energy costs for residents of manufactured housing.
In our view, these efforts should be coupled with legislation that protects manufactured housing park tenants and expands the limited-equity ROC model. Governments could enact laws that offer tenants opportunities to purchase their rental units and provide subsidized loans and grants to resident cooperatives. Decades of experience shows that resident ownership can transform manufactured home parks from sites of stigma and vulnerability into stable and resilient communities.
As of July 16, 2022, people have only to press three digits, 988, to reach the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline when they need help during a mental health crisis.
Research suggests that the pandemic has exacerbated the impacts of loneliness. Additionally, people’s fear of missing out, also known as FOMO, hasn’t decreased even since in-person social gatherings became less frequent. But small daily actions – such as a short walk, break from social media or even a catnap – can add up to have an impact on mental health. Separately, counseling, therapy and medication prescribed by health care providers are effective treatments for those experiencing mental illness.
The Conversation U.S. gathered four essential reads that explore some daily habits and practices that have been shown to improve mental health. These are food for thought, not guidelines or medical advice, but reading these articles could be the first steps toward a healthier lifestyle.
“Several studies have shown that even a five-day or weeklong break from Facebook can lead to lower stress and higher life satisfaction,” she writes. “You can also cut back without going cold turkey: Using Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat just 10 minutes a day for three weeks resulted in lower loneliness and depression.”
2. Exercise is like medicine for the brain
Arash Javanbakht, associate professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University, shares the science behind the connection between exercise and mental well-being as well as his personal experience with the positive impacts of physical activity.
“Working out regularly really does change the brain biology, and it is not just ‘go walk and you will just feel better,’” he explains. “Regular exercise, especially cardio, does change the brain. Do not see it as all or none. It does not have to be a one-hour drive to and from the gym or biking trail for a one-hour workout vs. staying on the couch.
"I always say to my patients: ‘One more step is better than none, and three squats are better than no squats.’ When less motivated, or in the beginning, just be nice to yourself. Do as much as possible. Three minutes of dancing with your favorite music still counts.”
3. Think therapy is navel-gazing? Think again
People in need of therapy and counseling have long suffered from social stigma around mental illnesses, but these services are vital to protecting and improving our health.
“Decades of research show psychotherapy is effective for alleviating the most common forms of psychological suffering, such as anxiety and depression. But wellness is about more than reducing suffering,” writes Steven Sandage, professor of the psychology of religion and theology at the Boston University School of Theology. “Counseling informed by positive psychology can be effective in improving well-being and increasing such qualities as forgiveness, compassion and gratitude.”
4. Doing ‘nothing’
Though it may not always feel plausible or even comfortable, slowing down and allowing yourself a dedicated moment of rest can do wonders for mental well-being, especially when speed and efficiency seem to have become integral to our lives.
“In this 24/7, ‘always on’ age, the prospect of doing nothing might sound unrealistic and unreasonable. But it’s never been more important,” writes Simon Gottschalk, a professor of sociology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“To equate ‘doing nothing’ with nonproductivity betrays a shortsighted understanding of productivity,” he explains. “In fact, psychological research suggests that doing nothing is essential for creativity and innovation, and a person’s seeming inactivity might actually cultivate new insights, inventions or melodies.”
If you look at homes on real estate websites today, you’ll likely see risk ratings for flooding, hurricanes and even wildfires.
In theory, summarizing risk information like this should help homebuyers and renters make more informed housing choices. But surveys show it isn’t working that way, at least not yet. Housing developments and home sales are still expanding in flood- and wildfire-prone areas.
The problem isn’t necessarily that consumers are ignoring the numbers. In our view, as experts in hazards geography, it’s that the way risk information is being presented ignores long-established lessons from behavioral science.
These ratings tend to appear as a single number for each hazard and lack an intuitive interpretation. What does it mean to have a heat risk of 84 (“extreme”) with 52 hot days in 2050, or a flood risk of 10 (“extreme”)?
We believe that current and future hazard and climate risks can more effectively be translated as costs, savings and trade-offs.
We belong to a group of more than 20 interdisciplinary researchers at universities in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina who are trying to improve risk rating information. We’re currently testing an online tool for the Gulf Coast that provides residents with actionable resilience information. It is an early model of what residential risk reporting could look like.
Rather than just presenting a score, the tool offers information on the costs annually and over time that one can expect from each hazard, such as flooding or wind damage, and how the home’s census block compares with the local area, county and state. To capture the effects of sea-level rise, for example, we model the number of years it will take for a home to go from outside a high flood risk area to being inside.
Homebuyers’ psychological hurdles
The development of real estate-focused climate and hazard risk metrics, such as those offered by First Street Foundation and ClimateCheck, is a step in the right direction, going beyond government risk maps that provide risk data by county. The next step is to ground those numbers in behavioral science research.
The motivation hurdle is lower for people with past experience, those who are aware of the risks and receptive to this kind of information, and those who have the financial resources to choose safer communities.
For others, the hurdle can be much higher. They might struggle with common decision biases, such as oversimplifying the severity of the risk, which leads to either an overestimation or underestimation of the threat depending on the type of hazard, focusing on today rather than the future, or simply assuming nothing bad is going to happen. They might just follow what others do – which research finds is what most of us do when deciding on a home.
The combination of these decision biases causes residents to underestimate the risk and impacts from disasters and climate change. Most people then underprepare and don’t consider these risks in their housing choices.
Risk ratings could help overcome those biases by expressing risk information in relatable terms such as the number of assistance requests made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency after disasters, the rejection rate and the average FEMA funds received per applicant in the area.
Next step: Pull it all together in one location
Ideally, homebuyers and renters would have a one-stop shop for all of this risk information about a property. To be prepared for climate change, risk must become a factor in housing choices similar to square footage and number of bedrooms.
Currently, risk data is scattered. For example, people can learn about insurance costs by checking flood insurance rate maps, which outline the areas with a 1% or greater annual chance of flooding. Or they can ask an insurance agent to generate a Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report, which lists all flood insurance claims made on a property in the past five to seven years. A handful of states such as California require sellers to disclose the risk of natural hazards to the property.
In our view, the continuing influx of residents into high-risk areas, along with skyrocketing disaster losses, presents an urgent need to give prospective renters and buyers better information about the risks properties face.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With Lake County and the rest of California in the midst of a worsening drought, representatives of two water companies operating in the city of Clearlake have offered some insight into their operations and how they are continuing to ensure there is adequate water supply for their customers.
The Clearlake city administration invited the three companies that serve the city — Golden State Water Co., Konocti County Water District and Highlands Mutual Water Co. — to speak about the situation at the Clearlake City Council’s July 7 meeting.
Golden State and Konocti County Water each sent a representative to give the council an update.
The update begins at the 35 minute mark in the meeting video above.
“We are still in the midst of a drought,” City Manager Alan Flora told the council, explaining that Gov. Gavin Newsom had handed down state executive orders to address the drought conditions.
Those executive orders have a variety of impacts on water systems throughout the state, Flora said.
Unlike the city of Lakeport, which operates its own water and sewer system, Flora said Clearlake doesn’t control any utilities.
He said the water companies were invited to come and discuss their drought mitigation measures at the request of Mayor Dirk Slooten.
In response, Keith Ahart, superintendent for Golden State Water, and Frank Costner, Konocti County Water’s general manager, came to the meeting to give the council an update.
Golden State sees big conservation effort
Ahart said Golden State hit stage two of its contingency plan when the state’s executive order came out for mandatory stage two rationing. That applies to all customers in all service areas, not just Clearlake. In all, Golden State serves more than one million people in 80 communities across the state, according to its website.
That plan calls for a conservation target of 20%. Ahart said they’ve been monitoring production on a weekly basis to compare it to 2020. They’ve found that it’s down 37% to 43%, and he thanked customers for making that effort to conserve.
“Thank you for doing what you’re doing. Keep doing it,” he said.
Golden State is considered an urban water supplier, which is any service or territory with more than 3,000 connections, he said. While it doesn’t have that many in Clearlake, it has more than that across its larger service territory.
Ahart said the overarching goal of hitting stage two is to make customers think about how they’re using water and reduce use where possible. “Be smart about it and think about it.”
During the update, in answer to a question from Councilman David Claffey about supply, Ahart said the Lake would have to go to -10 feet Rumsey — the special measure used specifically for Clear Lake — for Golden State’s deepest wells to go dry.
“As far as supply goes, we’re safe,” said Ahart.
He said the state already has curtailed prospective water rights, so the company has to buy 100% of its water through its contract from Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, which owns the water rights to Clear Lake. If the state starts to curtail senior water rights, it may have an impact and require more conservation.
“Our customers conserve at a level that far exceeds what they're looking for at the state level,” Ahart said.
Claffey asked about the impacts of the low water level on treatment. Ahart explained that water quality suffers as the lake gets lower because it needs more treatment.
Councilman Russ Perdock asked if the increase in treatment costs, coupled with a reduction in water use, could trigger an additional rate hike.
Ahart said it’s possible. He said a water rate adjustment mechanism, or RAM, is a temporary surcharge given to companies to make up for the additional cost of an event — in this case, the drought.
Councilman Russ Cremer asked if the RAM is driven by the California Public Utilities Commission. Ahart said yes — everything in water is.
Konocti County Water District makes system improvements
Costner said Konocti County Water District serves Clearlake’s Avenues area, east of Highway 53.
In 2014, during the last drought, the district adopted a water conservation plan that it didn’t activate then.
However, in the summer of 2021, the district’s board of directors assessed the situation — including how low the lake level was then — and decided to activate the water conservation plan, Costner said.
He said they went to their plan’s level three, which requires a 35% mandatory reduction with no surcharges, limits or tiered rates.
“We were just wanting people to conserve water so the treatment plant could keep up with the treatment capacity,” Costner said, explaining that as the drought worsens, the treatment plant is impacted.
Last year, Konocti County Water’s customers conserved 14% compared to 2020 usage numbers, he said.
“This year the lake is even lower” — a foot lower — than it was in 2021. Costner said it’s the lowest it’s been in the 34 years he’s worked for the company.
There is one upside — the cooler weather this year has helped a lot with raw water quality. Costner said the lake quality also is a lot better.
In 2021, Costner said the district spent $85,000 above its budget on labor and chemical costs for treatment.
To avoid putting surcharges on customers, Costner said the district deferred maintenance on some equipment.
They also applied for a grant and received $657,000 to put new media in a filter and to install a booster pump at the raw water pump station to increase flow on a smaller line that goes further out into the lake.
That booster pump should be installed in the next month, and Costner said that will hopefully mean better water quality.
“We don’t know if this drought is going to end this winter,” said Costner, questioning what if it lasts another 10 years.
Usually after a drought the area gets major rainfall and flooding. “Until that time, we’re in pretty bad shape in Clear Lake as far as the raw water quality,” Costner said.
He said there is a lot of water in Clear Lake and everyone can lower their intakes. However, “Treating the water is very expensive.”
Along with that, Costner said equipment and supplies — chemicals, PVC pipe, gasoline and everything in general — has increased in cost a quarter to half to double the previous cost, “If you can even find it.”
Costner said Konocti County Water District is working on $15 million in infrastructure projects, 100% of which is covered by grants.
Those projects include the new intake line and new filter, a new tank at the treatment plant and a new raw water pump station. Costner said the district has been proactive and working on upgrades since 2014. The major projects are expected to be done by 2023.
Costner said the district also is working on interties with Highlands Water and is consolidating with the Cache Creek Mobile Home Park’s treatment plant, which was burned down in last year’s Cache fire.
That project includes putting an 8-inch water main down Dam Road with water hydrants. Costner said when it’s done all of Dam Road will have a new water line.
Costner said the company’s website features its water conservation plan which is “very robust.” Many water agencies around the lake have adopted their plan, he added.
Cremer asked if district water users are penalized for not reducing use enough. Costner said no, they’re not penalizing them for not making the 35% conservation number.
He said they are concerned about the high users, and while they could implement conservation pricing, which would increase the cost of water across the board.
However, at the same time, that drops the district’s income, which in turn impacts its projects. “We can only defer maintenance for so long.”
Costner said the 35% target set last year may have been a little aggressive, but they didn’t know how bad it was going to be.
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.
What's up for August? Grab your binoculars for planet viewing, the outlook for the Perseids, and flying with Cygnus the swan.
The morning planet parade we've been enjoying the past few months comes to an end in August, with Venus and Saturn making their exits on opposite sides of the sky. But that still leaves Mars and Jupiter high overhead to enjoy.
In fact, August begins with a close conjunction of the Red Planet and distant ice giant planet Uranus. Uranus can be difficult to find without a self-guided telescope, but it's an easy object for binoculars if you know where to look. And on the 1st, you'll find the tiny, bluish disc of Uranus just northwest of Mars in the morning sky. They'll easily fit within the same field of view through binoculars.
Moving on to the morning of the 15th, you'll find the Moon only a finger's width from Jupiter. Like Mars and Uranus, they'll make a great pairing through binoculars, and you'll also likely catch a glimpse of Jupiter's four largest moons.
The Moon then works its way eastward, to join Mars on Aug. 19. This is another nice pairing for binoculars, plus you'll find the pair super close to the Pleiades — you may even be able to fit them all into the same view.
Moving to the evening sky, Saturn is transitioning from a late night and early morning object to an all-night sight. It's rising as night falls in August. Look low in the east around 9 p.m. to find it as a steady, yellowish point of light. You'll find that the Ringed Planet rises a bit earlier each night over the course of the month.
Saturn's at opposition this month, meaning it's directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. It's around this time when the Ringed Planet appears its biggest and brightest for the year.
By the end of the month, you'll start to notice Jupiter rising around 9 p.m. to join Saturn.
This means Jupiter will be pulling double duty as an early evening object, appearing in the eastern sky, and an early morning one, appearing in the west.
The Perseid meteors are an annual event many of us skywatchers look forward to, as they often produce lots of shooting stars to enjoy. Unfortunately, this year all but the brightest Perseids will be washed out by a full moon on the peak night of Aug. 12.
So, this is probably not the year to make a special trip in order to see the Perseids, but, if you find yourself outside between midnight and dawn on Aug. 13th, don't forget to look up anyway. Because you never know – you might just catch one of the bright Perseid meteors that defies the glare of the Moon. And don't forget the occasional early Perseid can streak across the sky as much as a week beforehand.
You'll find the constellation Cygnus, the swan, flying high in the eastern sky after dark in August. Cygnus has an overall shape like a T or cross, and contains a star pattern sometimes called "the Northern Cross."
Cygnus is anchored by its brightest star, Deneb, which represents the swan's tail. Deneb is the northernmost of the three stars in the Summer Triangle, and it's visible even in bright city skies. On the other end of Cygnus from Deneb is double star Albireo, which is a stargazing favorite, as it shows beautiful blue and gold colors through even the most modest telescope.
Now, Cygnus lies right along the plane of the Milky Way, so it's dense with glittering stars and dark dust clouds, with lots of interest for telescope observers and astrophotographers to enjoy, including the North America Nebula, the Veil Nebula, and the Blinking Planetary Nebula. It also includes the open star clusters M29 and M39, which are visible with binoculars.
However you're observing the sky where you live, August is a great time to discover the constellation Cygnus, the graceful swan soaring across the dusty lanes of the Milky Way.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advance health care directives all appoint persons to act in a fiduciary (legal representative) capacity.
What do such appointments mean to the person(s) named to act? What happens if such persons fail or decline to act? Can the planning appoint alternative representatives?
A will nominates someone to act as executor upon the death of the testator (will maker). Many people think that their being named as executor makes them executor. Not so. A will only nominates someone to act as executor. A person named as executor does not have to accept the nomination in the will.
A petition to a court for a court order appointing an executor and letters testamentary signed by the appointed executor are necessary for the named person to become executor.
An executor is an officer of the court with fiduciary duties, authority and powers to act as personal representative of the decedent’s estate.
With a small estate it is not necessary to appoint an executor because alternative simplified approaches mean that probate is usually not necessary.
If a person declines or fails to accept the position of executor in a probate matter then an alternative person can request appointment. Persons nominated in the will as alternatives have priority but others can also petition to be appointed as executor too, if necessary.
A trust appoints someone to act as successor trustee upon the death or incapacity of the settlor. The appointment, however, is not effective unless and until the appointee accepts their appointment.
This is usually done by the successor trustee signing an acceptance of the trustee, but can also occur by the successor trustee taking action on behalf of the trust exercising their representative authority as successor trustee.
Of course, a person named as successor trustee does not have to accept the nomination. Once a person accepts to become trustee the person as trustee has an affirmative fiduciary duty to manage the assets and affairs of the trust. That is, the person cannot simply ignore their responsibilities (not perform) after they accept appointment as trustee.
If a person declines or fails to accept the position of successor trustee then an alternative person can step in. Persons nominated in the trust have priority. A trust may also provide a mechanism for the selection and appointment of alternative successor trustees. Otherwise, a court petition to appoint a successor trustee becomes necessary.
A power of attorney nominates a person to act as an agent (“attorney in fact”) to manage the finances, property, and legal affairs of the principal (signor of the power of attorney). An agent, similarly, has no affirmative duty to act as agent. However, once the agent first starts to act they become legally responsible for their actions.
An advance health care directive appoints a person to act as agent for healthcare decisions of the principal (signor of the AHCD). An agent under an AHCD has no affirmative duty to act as agent simply because they are named in the ACHD. However, once the agent acts as agent they become legally responsible for their actions.
If none of the persons nominated to act as agent under a person’s power of attorney or advance health care directive, as relevant, accept appointment then it is often necessary for a conservator of the person’s estate and/or person to be appointed by the court.
This entails a petition for appointment of a conservator which involves an investigation of the situation and persons involved.
It may also be contested by the person who is to be conserved (due to the lack of an alternative approach) or by family members who dispute the need for a conservatorship or the appointment of the person requesting appointment as conservator.
Before accepting their appointment, anyone nominated to act in any legal representative capacity, in any of the ways discussed above, should first consider whether they are ready to assume such responsibilities.
The foregoing is not legal advice. Anyone confronting the issue of protecting and preserving the assets of a decedent’s estate should seek appropriate legal and investment counsel before proceeding.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.