LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council has approved a contract that will allow the city’s police department to offer assistance to the understaffed Lakeport Police Department.
The council’s action at its meeting on Thursday, July 21, approved Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White entering into an agreement with Lakeport for supplemental law enforcement services.
White’s written report to the council noted that the Lakeport Police Department requested assistance from the Clearlake Police Department to cover patrol shifts due to temporary staffing challenges.
“The Clearlake Police Department has sufficient staffing to provide this coverage on an overtime basis without negatively impacting coverage in Clearlake,” White wrote.
He also noted, “While agencies routinely provide day-to-day mutual aid without compensation, in the proposed situation, it is appropriate for the receiving entity to compensate the entity providing the services.”
White said that rather than suggesting a one-way agreement, the agreement presented to the council permits either police to provide supplemental law enforcement services to the other. “This alleviates re-negotiating and approving in agreement should circumstances necessitate Lakeport providing law enforcement services to Clearlake.”
Chief White and Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presented the proposed contract to the council at its Thursday meeting.
Rasmussen said law enforcement hiring is very difficult, with a drastic decrease in people who want to go into the profession. He said that’s the case not just in Lake County but elsewhere.
“I’m currently in a situation where we're down numerous positions,” said Rasmussen.
Lakeport Police has 13 sworn positions, compared to Clearlake Police’s 25.
He said the week before the meeting he had hired three new people, but they won’t be ready for some time due to needing to go through recertification or police academies.
The Lakeport Police Department doesn’t intend to have Clearlake Police officers be the primary leads on investigations, especially major ones, in an effort to limit time they would have to be in court on those cases, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen asked for help beginning in August.
He said the two agencies have a long relationship of cooperation and joint training and they’re comfortable working together.
Det. Trevor Franklin, president of the Clearlake Police Officers Association, said the overwhelming response from his members was that they wanted to help Lakeport.
In response to concerns about burnout and overworking officers, Franklin emphasized that taking shifts in Lakeport will be voluntary for Clearlake’s officers.
City Attorney Ryan Jones said Clearlake’s officers will be covered by the city of Clearlake if they sustain any injuries.
Councilman David Claffey asked if Clearlake’s officers would use their own equipment.
White said they can use their own equipment or Lakeport’s. He said there is a reimbursement if Clearlake uses its cars.
However, he added that Lakeport has different police cars and Clearlake’s officers are interested in driving them.
City Manager Alan Flora said that if Clearlake starts purchasing Dodge Chargers and Chevy Tahoes — the types of vehicles the Lakeport Police Department has — they’ll know what happened.
Councilman Russe Cremer moved to approve the agreement. Vice Mayor Russ Perdock — who praised the two chiefs for their innovation during the discussion — seconded. The council approved the contract unanimously.
After the vote, Claffey asked if they could break out costs and expenses for the work of Clearlake’s officers. White said yes.
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.
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — Ongoing drought and warming conditions have prompted forest officials to issue stage 1 fire-use restrictions.
The restrictions went into effect on Monday, July 25.
The prohibitions outlined in Forest Order No. 08-22-06 are designed to minimize the chances of human-caused wildland fires and are in effect through the end of the 2022 fire season.
“The decision to move into fire restrictions is based on fuel moisture levels and predicted weather conditions,” said Fire Management Officer Curtis Coots. “We want to help protect undeveloped areas of the forest and our surrounding communities.”
“At this stage, the public can still enjoy a campfire or stove fire in designated fire-safe campgrounds or in Wilderness Areas so long as they have a valid California Campfire Permit,” Coots said.
Fire restrictions prohibit the following activities:
• Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire. • Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or within the designated recreation sites shown in Exhibit A of the forest order. • Operating an internal combustion engine, except on National Forest System roads or trails. • Welding, or operating an acetylene or other torch with an open flame. • Using an explosive. • Possessing, discharging or using any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic device.
Exemptions include:
• Persons with a permit from the Forest Service specifically exempting them from this order. • Persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are not exempt from the prohibitions listed in this order. However, persons with a valid California Campfire Permit may use portable stoves or lanterns using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel and may also build, maintain, attend or use a fire, campfire, or stove fire in the designated fire-safe recreation sites listed in Exhibit A, as well as in federally designated Wilderness Areas as shown on Exhibit B. • Any federal, state or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty. • Persons with a Special Use Permit from the Forest Service for a recreation residence on the Mendocino National Forest are exempt from prohibition numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 while they are at their recreation residence.
Similar restrictions are also in effect on neighboring public lands. Because restrictions can vary by jurisdiction, visitors should contact the area they plan to visit for specific fire restrictions and conditions.
The Mendocino National Forest consists of 913,306 acres along northern California’s coastal range. The forest is headquartered in Willows and maintains district offices in the communities of Covelo and Upper Lake. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino.
Taste of Lake County will return to downtown Lakeport, California, on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Taste of Lake County. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The 24th annual food and wine event, Taste of Lake County, will once again pair premium Lake County wines with gourmet food from local purveyors.
Taking place in Library Park on the shores of Clear Lake in Lakeport on Saturday, Aug. 20, the food, wine and artisan event runs from 5 to 8 p.m., with dancing under the stars following until 10 p.m.
Event tickets are $50 in advance, $60 at the door, and includes tasting tickets, food tickets and a souvenir wine glass. A $25 ticket is available for food tasting only.
An expected 14 wineries will offer tastes from fine wines either produced in Lake County or made from grapes grown in the county.
Approximately 10 local restaurateurs and caterers will provide tasty bites. To keep the fun going, music will play throughout the tasting. A great selection of Lake County artisans will display their crafts as well.
After 8 p.m., the party turns into a dance under the stars with music by the Funky Dozen.
Tickets are now on sale at the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, 875 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-5092; and the Lakeport Main Street Association’s website, www.lakeportmainstreet.com.
Proceeds from The Taste of Lakeport benefit the Lakeport Main Street Association and its work toward the continuing support of Lakeport businesses and community.
Major event sponsors include Lake County Tribal Health, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Guerrero Brothers Auto Body Repair and Management Connections.
For more information contact Lakeport Main Street Association at 707-263-8843, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday announced an agreement in principle on key financial terms with opioid manufacturer Teva.
The agreement would provide up to $4.25 billion to participating states and local governments to address the opioid crisis.
While Bonta’s office said critical details of the settlement remain the subject of ongoing negotiations, Teva disclosed the agreement Tuesday ahead of its earnings announcement Wednesday.
“This agreement is another major step toward addressing the opioid crisis and healing our communities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Nothing can undo the harm opioids makers like Teva have inflicted on families across the country or the lives lost to the opioid epidemic. But this agreement will provide much-needed relief for its victims and importantly, critical funds for overdose prevention and opioid addiction disorder treatment.”
Teva, an Israel-based drug manufacturer, makes Actiq and Fentora, which are branded fentanyl products for cancer pain, and a number of generic opioids including oxycodone. States alleged that Teva:
• Promoted potent, rapid-onset fentanyl products for use by non-cancer patients; • Deceptively marketed opioids by downplaying the risk of addiction and overstating their benefits, including encouraging the myth that signs of addiction are actually “pseudoaddiction” treated by prescribing more opioids; and • Failed to comply with suspicious order monitoring requirements along with its distributor, Anda.
The parties have agreed on the following financial terms:
• Teva will pay a maximum of $4.25 billion in monetary payments over 13 years. This figure includes amounts Teva has already agreed to pay under settlements with individual states, funds for participating states and local governments, and the $240 million of monetary payments in lieu of product described below. • As part of the financial term, Teva will provide up to $1.2 billion in generic naloxone (valued at Wholesale Acquisition Cost or WAC) over a 10-year period or $240 million of cash in lieu of product, at each state’s election. Naloxone is used to counteract overdoses. • The settlement will build on the existing framework that states and subdivisions have created through other recent opioid settlements.
A final settlement remains contingent on agreement on critical business practice changes and transparency requirements.
The negotiations are being led by the following states: California, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
While New York is among the 12 states that negotiated this proposed settlement framework, Teva and New York are still engaged in further negotiations.
I’ve studied finance and financial markets since the 1970s, and I have never seen the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy get such prominent news coverage as it has this past year.
And with good reason. What the Fed does has profound implications for companies, consumers and the U.S. economy, especially now as the U.S. central bank tries to tame the fastest jump in consumer prices in decades. In short, the Fed is jacking up interest rates in hopes that doing so slows the economy enough to bring down inflation.
The housing market is the sector most substantially influenced by interest rate changes, and as such, it’s a key indicator of whether the Fed’s plans are succeeding. To see why, I need only consider the experience of my son – or the many other Americans hunting for a new home at a time of rising interest rates.
What the Fed is doing
First, a little background.
The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates at the fastest pace in its 108-year history as part of its inflation battle. Today’s big policy steps are needed in part because the Fed and many others took awhile to understand what was causing the rise in inflation.
Unfortunately, that assumption proved wrong because it did not recognize how much government COVID-19 relief spendinghad stimulated what economists call “aggregate demand” – in other words, the total demand for goods and services produced in an economy. Put another way, consumer spending spurred by government aid created strong demand across the economy.
While the Fed can’t do much about the war or other supply-chain issues, it can address domestic aggregate demand. That’s where higher interest rates come in.
Higher borrowing costs choke off consumer demand for homes, cars and other goods and services that typically require a loan, while companies pare back their investments in factories and hiring, which should ease overall inflation.
The Fed began its most recent tightening policy in March 2022 with a 0.25 percentage point increase in its target interest rate, which acts as a benchmark for other borrowing costs in the U.S. and around the world. Since then, the central bank has raised its target rate twice more – by 0.5 percentage point in May and 0.75 percentage point in June.
The trick to reducing inflation is to choke off enough aggregate demand to tame inflation without driving the economy into recession. One of the main ways to see whether this is happening is to look at housing, which has always been particularly sensitive to rate changes and constitutes more than one-quarter of total U.S. wealth.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage hit 5.81% in June, the highest level since 2008 and up from less than 3% throughout most of 2021. The rate currently stands at 5.54%. On a $200,000 mortgage, a 5.54% rate translates into over $400 in extra interest costs every month compared with 3%.
Confronted with such an increase, some house hunters – like my son – have stepped back and reconsidered whether now is the right time to buy.
Housing starting to stall
In other words, higher mortgage rates lead individuals to invest less in housing. And the effect of falling demand doesn’t stop with the house. When people buy a new house, they also tend to purchase new furniture, lawn equipment, televisions and so on. And buying a used home often requires hiring contractors and others to remodel the kitchen or build a new closet in the kids’ room.
So if people are buying fewer homes, they also are purchasing less furniture, electronics and lawnmowers and have less need for electricians and plumbers.
The drop in demand for all these goods and services should take a meaningful bite out of inflation. While it’s still too early to say if this part of the Fed plan is working, we can already see the effects of rising mortgage rates in recent housing data.
At the same time, consumers and investors are beginning to anticipate less inflationary pressure in the next year or so.
What it means for homebuyers
So as the Fed prepares to hike benchmark rates again, what does all this mean for U.S. consumers, and especially my son and other people looking for a new home?
For one thing, don’t expect long-term interest rates, including for mortgages, to rise much, and certainly not by the same amount of the Fed’s interest rate hike.
Investors tend to factor expected Fed policy changes into its market rates. So unless there is a surprise from the Fed, like a full 1-point hike, long-term rates are unlikely to change much. And they may even begin to fall soon, either because inflation is subdued or the U.S. slips into recession.
And while it would be nice to know how tighter monetary policy – that is, higher interest rates – will affect today’s stratospheric house prices, this is hard to predict. The withdrawal of some buyers from the market should depress house prices by reducing demand, but sellers may also simply decide to delay selling rather than accept a lower price.
The challenge for would-be homebuyers like my son and his family is to find a seller who cannot hold their house off the market and to offer a lower price than the house would have attracted a few months ago to offset its higher financing cost. The more that happens, the more the Fed will know its rate hikes are working.
A boat propeller encrusted with zebra mussels. NPS/Flickr
The zebra mussel has been a poster child for invasive species ever since it unleashed economic and ecological havoc on the Great Lakes in the late 1980s. Yet despite intensive efforts to control it and its relative, the quagga mussel, these fingernail-sized mollusks are spreading through U.S. rivers, lakes and bays, clogging water supply pipes and altering food webs.
Now, the mussels threaten to reach the country’s last major uninfested freshwater zones to the west and north: the Columbia River Basin in Washington and Oregon, and the waterways of Alaska.
As an environmental historian, I study how people’s attitudes toward nonindigenousspecies have changed over time. Like many other aquatic aliens, zebra and quagga mussels spread to new bodies of water when people move them, either accidentally or deliberately. Human-built structures, such as canals, and debris can also help invaders bypass natural barriers.
In my view, reducing the damage from these outbreaks – and preventing them if possible – requires understanding that human activities are the root cause of costly biological invasions.
Zebra and quagga mussels have moved east, south and west from the Great Lakes into many other U.S. rivers and lakes.USGS
Past transoceanic invasions
European exploration of the Americas between the late 1400s and 1700s led to massive transfers of organisms, a process known as the Columbian exchange, named for Christopher Columbus. Many investors grew rich through shipping livestock and plantation crops across the oceans. Transatlantic travel also introduced microbes that caused infectious diseases, such as smallpox and measles, that killed millions of Native Americans who lacked immunity.
During the 19th century, European and North American colonizers established acclimatization societies to import desired species of foreign animals and plants to use for food, sport hunting or beautifying their environments. Many such efforts failed when the introduced species could not adapt to their new conditions and died off.
Others triggered legendary ecological disasters. For example, after the Victorian Acclimatisation Society released European rabbits in Australia in 1859, they multiplied rapidly. Feral rabbits and other introduced species like cats have destroyed millions of Australia’s native plants and animals.
Shipping has also accidentally spread alien species. Human-built canals made it easier to transport goods, but also provided new pathways for aquatic pests.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for example, Canada expanded the Welland Canal between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to allow large ships to bypass Niagara Falls. By 1921, these technological improvements enabled the sea lamprey, a parasitic fish, to move from Lake Ontario into the upper Great Lakes, where it is still a serious threat to commercial fisheries.
In 1959, the U.S. and Canada opened the St. Lawrence Seaway, a maritime network that connects the Atlantic with the Great Lakes. Ocean-going ships using the seaway brought along stowaway species in ballast water – tanks full of water, used to keep the ships stable at sea.
When ships reached their destinations and flushed out their ballast tanks, they released alien plants, crustaceans, worms, bacteria and other organisms into local waters. In a milestone 1985 study, Williams College biologist Jim Carlton described how ballast water discharges provided a powerful vehicle for biological invasions.
The Great Lakes mussel invasion
Zebra mussels are native to the Black and Caspian Seas. They are thought to have entered North America in the early 1980s and were formally identified in the Great Lakes in 1988, followed by quagga mussels in 1989.
Soon the striped bivalves were blanketing hard surfaces throughout the lakes and washing up on shorelines, cutting beachgoers’ feet. Zebra mussels clogged intake pipes at drinking water treatment plants, power stations, fire hydrants and nuclear reactors, dangerously reducing water pressure and requiring expensive remedies.
Mollusks are filter feeders that typically make water clearer. But zebra and quagga mussels filtered so much plankton from the water that they starved native mussels and fostered harmful algal blooms. The invaders also passed deadly type E botulism to fish-eating birds.
By the early 1990s, 139 alien species had become established in the Great Lakes, with almost one-third arriving after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened. Ship-related introductions, along with other pathways, such as aquaculture and aquarium and bait fish releases, transformed the Great Lakes into one of the world’s most invaded freshwater ecosystems.
Local officials grapple with a spreading infestation of zebra mussels in Lake Brownwood in central Texas.
Early policy responses
The U.S. began regulating ballast water management in 1990 but had trouble closing loopholes. For instance, vessels declaring that they had no pumpable ballast water on board did not have to empty and refill their ballast tanks in the middle of a voyage with clean ocean water. As a result, live freshwater organisms lurking in tank sediments could still be released in vulnerable ports.
Finally, after comprehensive studies, the U.S. and Canada in 2006 required ships to flush tanks containing residual sediment with seawater. A 2019 assessment found that only three new species became established in the Great Lakes from 2006-2018, none of them via ship ballast.
Now, however, other human activities are increasingly contributing to harmful freshwater introductions – and with shipping regulated, the main culprits are thousands of private boaters and anglers.
Stemming the westward spread
Zebra and quagga mussels are moving west and south from the Great Lakes, attached to private boats or carried in bilge water and bait buckets. They have been found in Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado and Montana.
If the mussels reach the Columbia River ecosystem, they will threaten native wildlife and irrigation pipelines and dams that are vital for agriculture and hydropower. Government officials, wildlife managers and scientists are working hard to prevent that from happening.
Public outreach is critical. Travelers who transport their boats without decontaminating them can transfer zebra and quagga mussels to inland rivers and lakes. The mussels can survive out of water in hot places for weeks, so it’s important for boaters and anglers to clean, drain and dry boating equipment and fishing gear.
Aquarium keepers can help stem the tide by disinfecting tanks and accessories in order to prevent accidental releases of live organisms into public waterways, and by being vigilant about their purchases. In 2021, zebra mussels were detected in imported moss balls sold as aquarium plants across the U.S. and Canada.
The U.S. Geological Survey maintains a website where people can report sightings of nonindigenous aquatic species, potentially spotting new infestations during the critical early phase before they become established.
Maintaining public support
Some of these efforts have shown encouraging results. Since 2008, Colorado has operated a rigorous boat inspection program that has kept zebra and quagga mussels out of state waters.
But prevention isn’t always popular. Officials closed the San Justo Reservoir in central California to the public in 2008 after zebra mussels were found there; residents argue that the closure has harmed the community and are lobbying the federal government to eradicate the mussels in order to reopen it for fishing.
Mitigating the destructive effects of invasive species is a complex mission that may not have an obvious endpoint. It requires scientific, technological and historical knowledge, political will and skill to persuade the public that everyone is part of the solution.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — For the second time in eight months, the United States Department of Interior has disapproved a proposed new tribal gaming compact between Middletown Rancheria and the state of California.
In a July 22 letter, Bryan Newland, assistant secretary for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, cited state overreach and continuing problems with the compact language that hadn’t been corrected since issues were first raised last year in a previous compact.
Class III gaming is defined as casino-style gambling. It does not include bingo and non-banked card games.
The Governor’s Office reported that not only had the Department of Interior refused to approve Middletown’s class III gaming compact, but that it had taken the same action — also for a second time — against a class III gaming compact sought by the Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria.
Newsom’s office said the compacts were disapproved “arbitrarily.”
“These compacts were carefully negotiated by the state and the tribes in compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, providing the tribes the economic benefits of gaming while mitigating impacts to local communities,” Newsom’s office said.
Middletown Rancheria Chairman Moke Simon, who also sits on the Lake County Board of Supervisors, called the Department of Interior’s disapproval of the compact “shocking” because he said the tribe had worked with Secretary Deb Haaland’s department to find “an agreeable middle ground” between the state and federal governments.
“When Gov. Newsom apologized recently to California Indian tribes for its historical mistreatment of tribes, I told him that actions will speak louder than words,” Simon said in a written statement. “Indeed, this new compact is Gov. Newsom’s actions to honor and respect the tribe and its sovereignty. While California has taken great steps forward, sadly, the betrayal we feel from Secretary Haaland is something we have come to expect from the federal government. The path forward is now paved with stones that will make it difficult to navigate our tribe’s future.”
Leo Sisco, chairman of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, said with the disapproval of his tribe’s compact, it will not have the resources to expand the Tachi Palace Casino, which he said would have created new living wage jobs and benefited an ailing local economy.
“The chilling effect this decision will have in Indian Country is immeasurable and the financial cost to our tribe will be irreparable,” Sisco said.
Middletown Rancheria has been operating under a compact negotiated in 1999.
In September, Newsom signed AB 957, a bill authored by Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield), which ratified a previous version of the tribal compact between the state and Middletown Rancheria.
Newland sent a letter dated Nov. 23 that disapproved that compact, citing numerous problems including provisions that he said Indian Affairs found to be “blatantly in violation” of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, or IGRA, and some that he said “seek to impose state control where it does not belong.”
The letter also said that Indian Affairs had repeatedly warned the state that definitions used for "gaming facility" and "project" cause the agency “significant concern because the Compact could be misconstrued to allow the State and its political subdivisions to regulate matters that are not directly related to gaming activities. These definitions are utilized throughout the Compact and result in the direct regulation of the Tribe and the Tribe's businesses and amenities that are ancillary to gaming activities.”
In March, Newsom’s office announced that he had signed new compacts with Middletown Rancheria and the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe.
A March statement from Newsom’s office explained that the new compacts’ terms “respect the parties’ interest in improving the quality of life of tribal members through a framework that generates revenue for governmental programs, fairly regulates gaming activities, affords meaningful patron and employee protections, and provides thorough environmental review for potential off-reservation impacts.”
Newsom’s office said the compacts were the result of a lengthy negotiation process, considered IGRA and federal court precedent, and included technical guidance, prior compact approvals, and secretarial procedures issued by the United States Department of the Interior.
“The compacts are intended to support tribal government investment in expanded tribal government services, local jurisdictions, and non-profit and civic organizations for improved fire and emergency medical services, law enforcement, public transit, education, housing, environmental protection, tourism and other service and infrastructure improvements. The compacts reflect a commitment by the Tribes to support the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund and the Tribal Nation Grant Fund so that the economic benefits of gaming extend to all tribal governments in California,” the statement said.
That version of Middletown’s compact said the tribe is entitled up to 1,200 gaming devices and can operate not more than two gaming facilities.
The original 1999 compact allowed the tribe to have 350 gaming devices and to apply for more.
The tribe currently operates Twin Pine Casino, which has a reported 500 gaming machines, plus a 60-room hotel.
Newland’s July 22 disapproval letter said the Department of Interior had issued “at least” four guidance letters to the state of California in the past decade “highlighting concern over the State's practice of asserting greater control over tribal land use decisions through class III gaming compacts.”
Despite the “consistent guidance and warning, the State has continued to insist that class III gaming compacts include more stringent and detailed land use regulations that are attenuated from the actual conduct of class III gaming on the casino floor,” Newland wrote.
The new 196-page compact states that Class III gaming can only take place on eligible Indian lands held in trust for the tribe that are located within the boundaries of the tribe’s reservation and certain trust lands.
“In the 2021 Disapproval we explained that tribes often develop businesses which are located near or adjacent to the gaming facility, co-branded and marketed with the gaming facility, and often comanaged by the tribe's business arm. We further explained that ‘[m]utually beneficial proximity, or even co-management alone is insufficient to establish a "direct connection" between the businesses and the class III gaming activity,’” Newland explained in the 12-page July 22 letter.
“As applied to the Tribe's casino-resort Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, the State's definition of Gaming Facility reaches from the very edge of the parking lots to all areas within the buildings including all hotel rooms. Further, this definition — standing alone — likely includes the tribally- owned and operated gas station. The Tribe's gas station, Uncle Buddies Pumps shares a parking lot with the casino and the fuel prices are listed on the casino's sign. In addition, the ambiguity in these definitions increases the potential that the State and municipal governments could impose certain land use requirements on the Tribe in the future,” the letter said.
Newland noted in his letter, “Tribal gaming has proven to be the most successful form of economic development in Indian country in the past century. Many Tribes have used gaming to lift entire communities out of crushing poverty and to develop sophisticated and dynamic governments that rival their state and local counterparts.”
He continued, “In creating the class III gaming compact, Congress effectively provided States with the keys to the gates of Indian gaming. Congress recognized this fact, which is why it also put numerous guardrails in place: the mandate to negotiate in good faith; remedial provisions that apply when a State refuses to negotiate a gaming compact in good faith; a prohibition on State taxation of tribal gaming; and strict limitations on the issues that can be addressed in a gaming compact. Congress also delegated responsibility to the Secretary of the Interior to ensure that each compact stays within these guardrails and complies with the law.”
Newland said he recognized “that the disapproval of a class III compact is a harsh remedy in circumstances like this, and that it is ultimately the Tribe that suffers the greatest consequences of a disapproval. Secretarial disapproval is a blunt instrument, but it is the only tool the Department has at its disposal to protect the balance Congress developed in IGRA. Secretarial disapproval helps to fulfill Congress' goal that Tribes should not have to sacrifice their inherent sovereignty in exchange for the proven benefits of Indian gaming.”
The new compact confers “expansive powers on the State and local governments to regulate the Tribe's activities and lands that are not directly related to the actual conduct of gaming,” Newland wrote. “There is nothing preventing the Tribe, the State, and local governments from negotiating different types of cooperative agreements that promote good governance amongst neighbors. But those agreements must be negotiated on a level playing field outside IGRA's class III compacting process.”
For those reasons, he said he was disapproving the compact.
“Despite the tribes’ efforts to meet with Interior and changes negotiated with the State of California to address concerns expressed by Interior, the Department chose to disregard the interests of the tribes and arbitrarily disapprove the compacts,” Newsom’s office said. “The disapprovals threaten the ability of these and other tribes to invest and maintain jobs in many of California’s economically disadvantaged communities. The State of California will continue working with Santa Rosa Rancheria and Middletown Rancheria to rectify this decision and avoid its negative impacts.”
The development comes as Simon has become the spokesman for Proposition 27, which would allow sports and other gambling through certified gaming tribes and corporate online betting companies, among them, FanDuel and DraftKings, who are helping to fund the measure. Proponents said it would provide funding for housing and services for the state’s homeless population.
A competing measure, Proposition 26, would legalize sports betting in-person at tribal casinos and some horse tracks. The money it raises would be spent based on the state government’s discretion.
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. — Health and tribal officials are reporting that, due to persistent drought and heat, they are finding unprecedented levels of cyanotoxins in some areas of Clear Lake.
For Lake County residents with individual water systems that draw water directly from the lake using a private intake, drinking water may become unsafe when high levels of toxins are present, Lake County Health Services reported.
Of particular concern are those with individual water systems who live around the Sulphur Bank Mine, and along the shore of Clear Lake’s Lower and Oaks Arms.
Similar to last year, potentially harmful concentrations of cyanotoxins have been identified in these areas of the lake.
Public health and water quality experts are concerned there may be impacts to the health of those using individual water systems, if they are not effectively filtering out these toxins.
There is no easy fix if you are getting your water in this way —boiling or putting chemicals in the lake or tap water does not eliminate the toxins.
Public water systems are able to effectively remove toxins, and will continue to provide tap water which has gone through a multifaceted treatment process. Even public water systems which draw water from Clear Lake as their raw water source continue to provide water that is safe for consumption, and continually monitored to maintain compliance with state water quality requirements.
Officials urge residents to contact their public water system if they would like more information.
Last year, in collaboration with local officials and the State Water Resources Control Board, Golden State Water Co. and Mt. Konocti Mutual Water Co. established filling stations to provide safe, drinkable water to affected community members.
This water continues to be available to meet very basic household needs such as drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, preparing food, mixing baby formula, making ice and giving water to pets. Those who choose to utilize these generously provided resources are asked to please limit consumption to 25 gallons per week per household.
Affected residents should bring their own clean containers that are meant for beverage storage to whichever location is most convenient:
• 10680 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake: provided by Golden State Water Co., 1-800-999-4033; • 4980 Hawaina Way, Kelseyville: provided by Mt. Konocti Mutual Water Co., 707-277-7466.
If you live outside of the areas specified, and you have an individual water system with a private intake that draws water directly from Clear Lake, it is important to maintain awareness of current water quality conditions and assess your risk. Recent monitoring data is available here: www.bvrancheria.com/clearlakecyanotoxins.
Big Valley EPA’s robust Cyanotoxin Monitoring Program collects samples from testing sites around Clear Lake at biweekly intervals during the summer months. They sampled 19 testing sites along Clear Lake’s shoreline on July 11 and received three samples from the lake’s interior testing sites, which were sampled by the Lake County Water Resources Department on July 6.
Microscopy conducted on these samples determined the dominant genus of cyanobacteria present was Microcystis sp. The chart below lists cyanotoxins and the cyanobacteria that produce them, along with potential health effects from exposure to the toxins.
At some levels of cyanotoxin concentration, it is safe to use water to wash hands and shower; at higher levels (>0.3 µg/L), these activities may be harmful to the health of vulnerable individuals.
Please be cautious when bathing infants and young children, as they may swallow water. Do not drink or use water from any appliance connected to your water supply lines. This includes the water and ice dispensers in your refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher.
For households getting their tap water from individual water systems with private intakes from Clear Lake (and who have not previously participated), testing for contaminants such as cyanotoxins, nitrates, coliform bacteria, and herbicides is available through Big Valley EPA’s Cal-WATCH program detailed here: www.cal-watch.org.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A small wildland fire in Clearlake on Saturday afternoon temporarily displaced some nearby residents.
The Park fire was first dispatched just before 1:15 p.m. Saturday in the area of 18th Avenue and Old Highway 53, across from Adventist Health Clear Lake.
Firefighters from Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire arrived on scene quickly and within about 20 minutes evacuations started in the Clear Lake Village area.
Cal Fire dispatched air attack and tankers which began to work in the area, where power lines also were reported to be down.
Air attack began to release the tankers from the scene at 2 p.m. and minutes later forward progress was reported to have been stopped. The estimated size was about five acres.
There were no reports of damaged structures.
Evacuations remained in place until just after 4 p.m., while a road closure on Old Highway 53 between Airport Road and Lakeview Way remained in effect, according to the Clearlake Police Department.
While residents were required to stay out of their homes, officials opened the city’s senior and community center on Bowers Avenue to provide them with services and a place to wait.
Information on a cause was not immediately available.
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.
Library materials are ready to be sent to a resident from the Lakeport Library. Photo credit Heather McIntosh. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — For residents who have a hard time getting to the library, checking out books and other materials is about to get a lot easier.
Starting this July, the Lake County Library is launching a "Books by Mail" service. This new service is for homebound residents in Lake County to get library books, CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks through the mail for free.
Lake County residents who have limited mobility can sign up over the phone by calling their local library branch, listed below, or sign up at the library website: http://library.lakecountyca.gov.
Once signed up, any book, DVD, CD or audiobook that a patron requests will be sent to their home in a library canvas mailbag through the US Postal Service. Patrons are only limited by what can fit in this mailbag.
Once the items are mailed, patrons have 28 days to enjoy them. When they are ready to return them they send the items in the same mailbag back through the postal service. The library provides a return mailing label for free.
Patrons of the library can request items by calling their local library and requesting items over the phone. Residents can also visit the library's online catalog and request items for free.
Books by Mail was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, IMLS Grant Number CAGML-248370-OMLS-21.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums.
They advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.
Their vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors will present a proclamation to a departing colleague and discuss early activation cannabis permits when it meets this week.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 26, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 940 3067 3213, pass code 307902. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,94030673213#,,,,*307902#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
At 10 a.m., the board will present a proclamation commending Supervisor Tina Scott, who is stepping down from the board effective July 31 to work as the food service and hospitality teacher at Clear Lake High School.
At 11 a.m., the board will discuss an interim urgency ordinance implementing a temporary moratorium on the issuance of early activation permits for commercial cannabis as well as a resolution of intention to initiate an amendment to the zoning ordinance relating to early activation.
On the board’s consent agenda, the supervisors will be asked to approve the extended use of the county juvenile hall facility for a temporary homeless support shelter through Sept. 30, 2022.
Behavioral Health Services Director Todd Metcalf said the current operator, Elijah House, expects to run the shelter through Sept. 30 but operations may cease before then.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt a proclamation commending Supervisor Tina Scott.
5.2: Adopt a proclamation commending Sherri Vannest for her commitment to public safety and the residents she serves with over 30 years of service.
5.3: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2022-69 establishing position allocations for fiscal year 2022-2023, Budget Unit No. 1012, Administrative Office.
5.4: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, approve memorandum of understanding by and between the county of Mendocino and the Lake County Air Quality Management District for air pollution control officer duties, effective Aug. 1, 2022.
5.5: Approve the extended use of county juvenile hall facility for a temporary support shelter targeting Lake County's chronically homeless population through Sept. 30, 2022.
5.6: Approve Board of Supervisors minutes for July 12, 2022.
5.7: Approve amendment two to agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc. for engineering services for Hill Road MP 7.75 landslide repair project, in Lake County in the amount not to exceed $125,000, for a revised total contract amount of $420,805.07 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.8: Approve amendment two to agreement between the county of Lake and Drake Haglan/ Dewberry Inc. for the Upper Wolf Creek Bridge at Wolf Creek Bridge Replacement Project in Lake County for an increase of $63,987 and an overall contract amount of $513,892 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.9: (a) Approve the master agreement between the county of Lake and Armstrong Consultants for consulting services related to Lampson Airfield, and (b) approve supplemental services agreement No. 1 and authorize the chair to sign the agreement.
5.10: a) Approve purchase of mandated client services described as after care services with Evolve Youth Services and authorize the director of Social Services or her designee to issue a purchase order in an amount not to exceed $34,000.
5.11: Second reading of ordinance adding Article XXIX To Chapter 2 of the Lake County Code establishing a military equipment use policy.
5.12: Sitting as the Board of Directors, Lake County Watershed Protection District, adopt resolution authorizing the Lake County Watershed Protection District to accept a California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention FY 2022/2023 grant for $399,780.00 and approve Water Resources director as signature authorization to execute agreement.
TIMED ITEMS
6.3, 9:15 a.m.: Public hearing regarding consideration/discussion of naming a certain existing unnamed road, Snow Road in Lower Lake.
6.4, 9:45 a.m.: Presentation, CDBG Grant Project and Program activities update.
6.5, 10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation commending Supervisor Tina Scott.
6.6, 10:10 a.m.: Presentation of resolution by the Board of Trustees of the Lake County Law Library.
6.7, 10:15 a.m.: CivicSpark Fellow presentation: The Clear Lake Shoreline Inventory Project and Shoreline Stewardship Program Development for the Lake County Water Resources Department.
6.8, 11 a.m.: Discussion and consideration of: a) an interim urgency ordinance implementing a temporary moratorium on the issuance of early activation permits for commercial cannabis; and b) a resolution of intention of the Lake County Board of Supervisors to initiate an amendment to the zoning ordinance relating to early activation.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of Middle Creek Project Committee appointment.
7.3: Consideration of Letter to CPUC Re: CPUC Fast Trip Regulations.
7.4: Consideration of the following Advisory Board Appointments: Resource Conservation District.
7.5: Consideration of review of planning services contract between the county of Lake and LACO.
7.6: ADDENDUM — Consideration of support letter for the California Water Service) Advanced Metering Infrastructure Installation. Northern California Project for the WaterSmart water Energy Efficiency Grant Application FY23cycle.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 549.56.9(d)(1) — Citizens for Environmental Protection and Responsible Planning, et al. v. County of Lake, et al.
8.2: Conference with legal counsel pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(2), (e)(3) — Claim of Hayes.
8.3: Conference with legal counsel pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(1) — City of Clearlake v. County of Lake. Et al.
8.4: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(2), (e)(5): One potential case.
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 four-day-long closure, the Sutter Lakeside Birth Center has reopened.
“As of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the obstetric bypass period ended and Sutter Lakeside Hospital is again able to provide obstetric services,” Sutter Health spokeswoman Monique Binkley Smith told Lake County News.
The hospital closed the birth center on Tuesday afternoon and went on “diversion” due to lack of an obstetrician, as Lake County News has reported.
While on diversion, Sutter Lakeside referred patients to Adventist Health Clear Lake — the only other facility in Lake County where babies can be delivered — as well as hospitals in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.
Hospital officials originally expected to reopen on the morning of Wednesday, July 27, at the latest.
The California Nurses Association criticized Sutter Lakeside for having relied on just two obstetric providers.
The hospital has so far not responded to requests from Lake County News to elaborate on what led to the lack of providers last week.
The birth center reportedly delivers around 300 babies a year, about half of all the babies born in Lake County on an annual basis.
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.
