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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced his plan for learning and safe schools ahead of the 2020–2021 school year, as the California Department of Public Health issued a framework for when and how schools should reopen for in-person instruction.

“Learning is non-negotiable,” said Gov. Newsom. “The virus will be with us for a year or more, and school districts must provide meaningful instruction in the midst of this pandemic. In California, health data will determine when a school can be physically open – and when it must close – but learning should never stop. Students, staff, and parents all prefer in-classroom instruction, but only if it can be done safely.”

The governor’s plan centers on the following five key areas.

1. Safe in-person school based on local health data

The California Department of Public Health today issued updated schools guidance that includes using existing epidemiological metrics to determine if school districts can start in-person instruction.

CDPH currently uses six indicators to track the level of COVID-19 infection in each California county as well as the preparedness of the county health care system – data that includes the number of new infections per 100,000 residents, the test positivity rate, and the change in hospitalization rate, among others.

Any county that does not meet the state’s benchmarks is put on the County Monitoring List.

Schools located in counties that are on the Monitoring List must not physically open for in-person instruction until their county has come off the Monitoring List for 14 consecutive days.

Schools in counties that have not been on the Monitoring List for the prior 14 days may begin in-person instruction, following public health guidelines.

School community members – including parents, teachers, staff and students – can track daily data on whether and why their county is on the Monitoring List here.

There is a single exception. Local health officers may grant a waiver to allow elementary schools to reopen in-person instruction if the waiver is requested by the district superintendent, in consultation with labor, parents and community-based organizations.

When considering a waiver request, the local health officer must consider local data and consult with the California Department of Public Health.

The department also issued updated guidance for when schools must physically close and revert to distance learning because of COVID-19 infections.

Following a confirmed case of a student who was at school during his or her infectious period, other exposed students and staff should be quarantined for 14 days. The school should revert to distance learning when multiple cohorts have cases or 5 percent of students and staff test positive within a 14-day period. The district should revert to distance learning when 25 percent or more of its schools have been physically closed due to COVID-19 within 14 days.

Closure decisions should be made in consultation with local health officers. After 14 days, school districts may return to in-person instruction with the approval of the local public health officer.

2. Strong mask requirements for anyone in the school

In the updated guidance, all staff and students in third grade and above will be required to wear a mask or face covering. Students in second grade and below are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering. Students should be provided a face covering if they do not have one. The state has delivered over 18 million face coverings to schools to support them to reopen and ensure all students can participate in learning.

3. Physical distancing requirements & other adaptations

In the updated guidance, CDPH requires that all adults stay 6 feet from one another and 6 feet away from children, while students should maintain 6 feet of distance from one another as practicable. Anyone entering the school must do a health screen, and any student or staff exhibiting a fever or other symptoms will be immediately sent home. The guidance also provides that if anyone in a student or staff member’s household is sick, they too should stay home.

4. Regular testing and dedicated contact tracing for outbreaks at schools

The public health guidance recommends staff in every California school be tested for COVID-19 periodically based on local disease trends and as testing capacity allows. The governor also announced today that the state will provide resources and technical assistance for COVID-19 investigations in school settings.

5. Rigorous distance learning

Over the course of the pandemic, most schools will likely face physical closure at some point due to COVID-19. The Legislature and Gov. Newsom enacted a budget that provided $5.3 billion in additional funding to support learning, and set requirements to ensure schools provide rigorous and grade-appropriate instruction.

Under newly enacted state law, school districts are required to provide:

– Devices and connectivity so that every child can participate in distance learning.
– Daily live interaction for every child with teachers and other students.
– Class assignments that are challenging and equivalent to in-person instruction.
– Targeted supports and interventions for English learners and special education students.

The full guidance from the California Department of Public Health can be found here.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Cal Fire said Thursday that its investigation into the cause of the Kincade fire, which raged across Sonoma County and into southern Lake County in October, traced the origin to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equipment.

The Kincade fire started on Oct. 23, 2019, several hours after a public safety power shutoff was implemented across portions of the North Bay – including Lake and Sonoma counties – in response to a red flag warning for heavy winds.

It burned a total of 77,758 acres, destroyed 374 structures and caused four non-life-threatening injuries for first responders, Cal Fire reported. There were no deaths attributed to the fire.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, PG&E said it was aware of Cal Fire’s statement on its determination into the fire’s cause.

“At this time, we do not have access to Cal Fire’s investigative report or the evidence it has collected. We look forward to reviewing both at the appropriate time,” the company said.

North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire, whose district includes Lake and Sonoma counties, said Thursday, “PG&E has become too big and has failed us too many times,” referring to the San Bruno explosion, the massive wildfires of 2017 and 2018, the fall public safety power shutoffs and now the Kincade fire.

McGuire maintained that the company should be broken up.

The Kincade fire burned for two weeks, finally being fully contained on Nov. 6.

During the weeks it burned, it triggered massive evacuations across a wide swath of Sonoma County and also burned into the southwest portion of Lake County near Middletown, which resulted in an evacuation warning for the Cobb and Middletown areas.

Cal Fire said its investigators were immediately dispatched to the Kincade fire after it started and began working to determine the fire’s origin and cause of the fire.

Within days of the fire’s start, PG&E acknowledged making a report to the California Public Utilities Commission about a failed transmission line in The Geysers Geothermal Steamfield in the fire’s area of origin in Sonoma County the day after the fire started.

PG&E said that as part of the Oct. 23 public safety power shutoff, it had turned off the power to 27,837 customers in Sonoma County, including Geyserville and the surrounding area.

The company said it deenergized power distribution lines in those areas but that transmission lines in the same areas remained energized because the forecasted weather conditions weren’t expected to meet the sustained 55 miles per hour wind speeds required for shutoff under company protocol.

The transmission tower where the fallen line was found was 43 years old at the time and had been inspected four times over the previous two years, including an inspection earlier that year as part of PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Inspection Program, company officials said.

The company’s early reports also acknowledged that Cal Fire personnel reported to PG&E a broken jumper on the tower.

Following a “very meticulous and thorough investigation” that took place over the course of nine months, Cal Fire said it determined the fire was caused by electrical transmission lines located northeast of Geyserville and owned and operated by PG&E.

The brief Thursday statement from Cal Fire was general in nature and did not, specifically, mention the failed equipment PG&E had reported on in the fall, although it referred to the same area of origin.

Cal Fire said tinder-dry vegetation and strong winds combined with low humidity and warm temperatures contributed to extreme rates of fire spread. The fire burned 10,000 acres on its first night, according to an original Cal Fire report.

The Kincade fire investigative report has been forwarded to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, Cal Fire said.

PG&E said Thursday, “We want our customers and communities to know that safety is our most important responsibility and that we are working hard every day to reduce wildfire risk throughout our service area.”

The company pointed to its ongoing work to reduce wildfire risk through its Community Wildfire Safety Program, which is designed to address the growing threat of extreme weather and wildfires across PG&E’s service area.

Measures include ongoing and expanded efforts related to new grid technology, hardening of the electric system, enhanced vegetation management, and real-time monitoring and situational awareness tools such as high-definition cameras and hundreds of weather stations to better understand how severe weather can impact the system.

The news comes weeks after PG&E announced it had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and one month after the company pleaded guilty in Butte County Superior Court to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully starting a fire for the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise.

Cal Fire also previously found PG&E responsible for the 2015 Butte fire and the October 2017 North Bay fires, which included the Sulphur fire in Lake County. The North Bay fires reportedly remain the costliest series of wildland fires on record.

McGuire said that it’s time for Senate Bill 1312, to expedite desperately needed modernizations and safety measures to curb massive power shutoffs, to become law.

SB 1312 will expedite grid hardening and force PG&E to modernize and fix its system in four years rather than the 12 to 14 years it has proposed to state regulators, McGuire said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Public Health reported that Lake County’s COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise, while on Wednesday night the Mendocino County Health Department confirmed that county’s first death.

Lake County’s confirmed cases on Wednesday rose by 11 to a total of 133, according to the Public Health COVID-19 dashboard.

Of those 133 cases, 35 are active and 97 have recovered. Public Health has reported one death so far.

County Public Health departments were reporting a total of more than 352,000 cases and approximately 7,358 deaths statewide on Wednesday night.

Case totals for neighboring counties are Colusa, 140; Glenn, 190; Mendocino, 165; Napa, 561; Sonoma, 1979; and Yolo, 1023.

On Wednesday night, the Mendocino County Health Department reported that it was informed earlier in the day of that county’s first death caused by COVID-19.

George Chadwick, 80, Mendocino County’s 14th case who tested positive on May 15, died July 1 in a Marin County outpatient rehabilitation facility after being hospitalized at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital with COVID-19, officials said.

The Chadwick family publicly confirmed his death and the cause earlier this month but Mendocino County has awaited the official death certificate before reporting his death as being due to COVID-19.

Chadwick’s family received the death certificate first and informed Mendocino County that COVID-19 is listed as a cause of death, with Mendocino County to request the death certificate from Marin County on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday night, the Mendocino County Health Department reported six COVID-19 patients are hospitalized – two at Adventist Health Mendocino Coast Hospital, three at Howard Memorial Hospital and one at Adventist Health Ukiah Hospital. Officials said they also are handling an outbreak of five residents and two employees at Sherwood Oaks Skilled Nursing home in Fort Bragg.

Lake County reports daily variance metrics

As of Wednesday, two Lake County patients were hospitalized, a number which has dropped this week. Total hospitalizations to date stand at 10, Public Health said.

Tests conducted so far total 5,635. Of those, 5,502 have tested negative and 133 positive.

The California Department of Public Health said Wednesday that 5,793,276 tests have been conducted in California. This represents an increase of 118,321 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

Local health departments have reported 18,187 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 105 deaths statewide, officials said.

Based on daily variance metrics posted Wednesday, Lake County has had a case rate of 60.1 percent 100,000 for the previous 14 days, with a testing positivity rate of 4 percent, with daily testing averaging 147.6 tests.

Earlier this week, there were four patients hospitalized, which dropped to two, which accounts for a 50-percent decrease.

The county’s health care capacity shows that medical/surgical beds currently available total 22.9 percent, 25 percent of ICU beds are open, 75 percent of ventilators and only 50 percent of local hospitals have more than a 14-day suppl of the required personal protective equipment.days.

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.
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New arrest data released by the California Department of Justice shows that 2019 saw the lowest number of marijuana arrests since 1954, while at the same time racial disparities among those arrested showed an increase.

The data showed there were 1,181 felony marijuana arrests in California in 2019, down 27 percent from 2018 (1,617 arrests) and the lowest number since 1954.

Hispanics accounted for 493 or 41.7 percent of arrests; Blacks for 263 (22.3%) and Whites for 252 (21.3%).

Males were 87.9 percent of those arrested for felonies, and juvenile felony arrests numbered 91.

Misdemeanor marijuana arrests were down slightly in 2019. They numbered 3,769, versus 3,835 in 2018.

Hispanics were even more disproportionately arrested for misdemeanors, coming in at 1,869 or 49.6 percent of arrests, with Blacks accounting for 509 arrests (13.5%) and Whites 837 (22.2%).

Again males were most often arrested for marijuana misdemeanors (78.1%) with females arrested 21.9 percent of the time.

Juvenile misdemeanor arrests totaled 1,209 or 32 percent of the total.

In an analysis of the findings, California NORML said that, weighting the arrest data by population – using 2018 California Census data: 36.6 percent, non-Hispanic white, 5.8 percent Black and 39.3 percent Hispanic) – means that arrest disparities went up slightly for each race versus whites compared to the previous year.

Blacks were 4.47 times more likely than whites to be arrested for a marijuana crime in California in 2019, versus 4.05 times as often in 2018; for Latinx people the arrest disparity versus whites rose to 2.02 times in 2019 versus 1.66 times in 2018, NORML said.

A recent report by the ACLU found persistent racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests in all US states, including California, from the years 2010 to 2018.

In addition, NORML said two recent reports drilled down on arrest rates in cities and neighborhoods in California, finding arrest disparities between blacks and whites as high as 30 times, and large increases in police budgets in some cities due to local taxes collected from the sales of cannabis following the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana for adults in 2016.
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This article about the coronavirus red zone was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom based in Washington, DC.” Reprinted by permission of The Center for Public Integrity.


A document  prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force but not publicized suggests more than a dozen states should revert to more stringent protective measures, limiting social gatherings to 10 people or fewer, closing bars and gyms and asking residents to wear masks at all times.

The document, dated July 14 and obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, says 18 states are in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases, meaning they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week.

Eleven states are in the “red zone” for test positivity, meaning more than 10 percent of diagnostic test results came back positive.

It includes county-level data and reflects the insistence of the Trump administration that states and counties should take the lead in responding to the coronavirus. The document has been shared within the federal government but does not appear to be posted publicly.

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said he thought the information and recommendations were mostly good.

“The fact that it’s not public makes no sense to me,” Jha said Thursday. “Why are we hiding this information from the American people? This should be published and updated every day.”

Dr. Deborah Birx, a leader of the task force, referenced an earlier version of what appears to be the same report — which she said was updated weekly and sent to governors — in a press conference July 8 in which Vice President Mike Pence urged local leaders to open schools in the fall.

She said Arizona, California, Florida and Texas were among the states the task force was monitoring carefully and that “a series of other states” were also in the red zone and should consider limiting gatherings.

It’s clear some states are not following the task force’s advice. For instance, the document recommends that Georgia, in the red zone for both cases and test positivity, “mandate statewide wearing of cloth face coverings outside the home.” But Gov. Brian Kemp signed an order Wednesday banning localities from requiring masks.

The 18 states that are included in the red zone for cases in the document are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

The 11 states that are in the red zone for test positivity are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

In May, the World Health Organization recommended that governments make sure test positivity rates were at 5 percent or lower for 14 days before reopening. A COVID-19 tracker from Johns Hopkins University shows that 33 states were above that recommended positivity as of July 16.

“If the test positivity rate is above 10 percent, that means we’re not doing a good job mitigating the outbreak,” said Jessica Malaty Rivera, science communication lead at the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer organization launched by journalists from The Atlantic.

“Ideally we want the test positivity rate to be below 3 percent, because that shows that we’re suppressing COVID-19.”

The White House and Kemp did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – New COVID-19 case data released by the county shows several continuing trends and a change in one key indicator, and no new case growth in the county’s main population center.

Lake County Public Health released the latest demographics on Tuesday. The information is updated weekly.

The demographics breakdowns are based on a count of 122 cases, the total on Tuesday. When the last set of demographics data was released on July 6, the county had 96 cases.

This recent round of data shows several continuing trends.

Those include that the largest number of cases are in the 18 to 49 age group, with 75; followed by the 50 to 64 group, 23; birth to 17, 13; and 65 and above, 11.

In a week-over-week comparison, 13 new cases were reported in the 18 to 49 age group, six in 50 to 64, two in birth to 17, and five in age 65 and older.

Cases continue to be primarily sourced to close contacts to a known case, 64, followed by under investigation, 30; out of county contact to a known case or travel, 17; other/unknown, five; presumed occupational contact, four; and congregate living situation, in this case, the county jail, two.

Since the previous demographic posting, nine cases have been attributed to close contacts, 15 more are listed as under investigation, two more were due to out of county contacts or travel, while the numbers for other/unknown, presumed occupational contact and congregate living situations have remained unchanged.

The county does not provide case information by community but instead by supervisorial district.

District 2, covering most of the city of Clearlake and areas east, had a total of 42 cases; 28 were in District 3, the Northshore and Lake Pillsbury; 23 were in District 5, the greater Kelseyville area as well as Cobb and Loch Lomond; 21 were in District 4, the greater Lakeport area; and eight were in District 1, the south county communities of Middletown, Hidden Valley, Anderson Springs, Lower Lake and portions of Clearlake.

A comparison with the previous week’s data shows that no new cases had been confirmed in District 2 between July 6 and 14, and two cases previously reported as “unknown” have been assigned to the respective districts.

The resulting increases in case numbers for the districts over the week are District 5, 11; District 3, seven; District 4, seven; District 1, three.

A key case indicator that has changed and contradicts state trends is the gender breakdown.

The majority of cases statewide have been in males, and Lake County’s trends have followed that until this latest data set, with females just edging males, 62 to 60 cases, respectively.

Public Health said the next set of data will be released on Tuesday, July 21.

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.
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Comet NEOWISE. Credit: Bill Dunford.

Observers in the Northern Hemisphere are hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE as it zips through the inner solar system before it speeds away into the depths of space.

Discovered on March 27, 2020, by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, mission, Comet NEOWISE is putting on a dazzling display for skywatchers before it disappears, not to be seen again for another 6,800 years.

For those hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE before it’s gone, there are several observing opportunities over the coming days when it will become increasingly visible shortly after sunset in the northwest sky.

If you’re looking at the sky without the help of observation tools, Comet NEOWISE will likely look like a fuzzy star with a bit of a tail, so using binoculars or a small telescope is recommended to get the best views of this object.

For those hoping to see Comet Neowise for themselves, here’s what to do:

– Find a spot away from city lights with an unobstructed view of the sky;
– Just after sunset, look below the Big Dipper in the northwest sky;
– If you have them, bring binoculars or a small telescope to get the best views of this dazzling display.

Each night, the comet will continue rising increasingly higher above the northwestern horizon as illustrated in the below graphic.

Skychart showing the location of Comet C/2020 F3 just after sunset, July 15 through 23. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Want to learn more about Comet NEOWISE? Take a look at some of these resources:

Read these skywatching Tips from NASA: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/ ;

Learn these tips and trick on how to photograph comets and meteor showers: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/510/how-to-photograph-a-meteor-shower/ .

Take a look at these images of Comet NEOWISE captured by NASA missions:

Parker Solar Probe: http://feature/goddard/2020/nasa-s-parker-solar-probe-spies-newly-discovered-comet-neowise ;

ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13661 ;

Learn more about NASA’s (NEOWISE) mission that discovered Comet NEOWISE: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/comet-neowise-sizzles-as-it-slides-by-the-sun-providing-a-treat-for-observers ;

Brush up on comet science and learn how NASA studies these celestial objects: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/overview ;

View images of comet NEOWISE on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html ;

Learn more about comet science, how Comet NEOWISE was discovered, and how you can spot it in the sky in the episode of NASA Science Live below.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – How does the Lake County Library operate? What services does it offer? What would you like to know about the library?

A new library service, “Zoom with the Director,” will offer the public the chance to meet on Zoom with Library Director Christopher Veach on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 12:30 p.m.

“Come learn about library services, ask your questions about the library, and share your suggestions,” said Veach.

Veach will also highlight a different library service in a short presentation each month.

To register for Zoom with the Director, call Christopher Veach at 707-263-8816 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The library’s website gives information about library programs, services and policies.

To speak to a library employee, call 707-263-8817.

Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has three dogs available for adoption this week.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

“Bella.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female American Bully mix.

She has a short beige and tan coat.

She is dog No. 3537.

“Lady.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Lady’

“Lady” is a female German Shepherd mix.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3683.

“Wilbur.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Wilbur’

“Wilbur” is a male American Bully mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3999.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s website.

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.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Health officer has issued an update on COVID-19 cases and the effort to investigate their sources as the county moves into the fourth month of dealing with the pandemic.

On Thursday evening, Dr. Gary Pace said Lake County’s total COVID-19 cases had risen to 137 – a change of four over the previous day – with 36 cases active.

Pace said the case numbers continue to rise locally and throughout the state.

On Thursday night, there were more than 362,500 active cases and 7,480 deaths statewide, according to a tally of case totals published online by the state’s 58 county public health departments

Thursday night case totals for Lake’s neighboring counties were Colusa, 147; Glenn, 200; Mendocino, 177; Napa, 578; Sonoma, 2027; and Yolo, 1062.

“COVID-19 activity in Lake County, specifically, continues to be concerning, but the spread has been manageable, thus far,” Pace said.

Pace said that in Public Health’s contact investigations, key elements have emerged as significant sources of infections.

He said they have seen several cases where multiple people contracted COVID-19 at a social gathering with family and friends. During those events, people from multiple households interacted on a sustained basis.

“These types of events are very risky now that the virus is fairly widespread in the community,” Pace said.

If an individual who tests positive had close contact with another person – defined as within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more – Public Health is finding the second person's risk of becoming positive is much less when both people are wearing masks, Pace said.

Pace also reported that Public Health has observed that individuals who work in high public contact or social interaction environments are testing positive more frequently than other groups.

“We have not been able to confirm that they contracted the infection at work in all cases, but frequent social interaction and employment in front-line service industries appear to be strong risk factors,” Pace said.

Pace said when thinking about the risk associated with activities, “it is important to remember the strongest dividing line, from a public health and safety standpoint, is engaging in activities with people within your own household versus activities with people outside of your household.”

While people are tired of coping with the pandemic after four months, Pace said that cases are now increasing “and we are starting to enter a phase we have been worried about the whole time.”

He continued, “How destructive it will become really depends on our activity now as a community. We can find ways to continue to live our lives and enjoy the amazing natural beauty of Lake County, but do it in a safe way, where we limit risk to our neighbors, families and those vulnerable to severe complications.”

With cases rising, Public Health is particularly concerned about social gatherings where the COVID virus can spread quickly.

“Each time we document a positive case where the individual had recently been to a social gathering, there is risk we could be facing an outbreak,” he said.

Pace credited Public Health nurses, contact tracers, staff and clinical partners for doing “a truly outstanding job” of identifying potential pockets of spread early, and intervening with education and testing.

He said their insightful work has kept the exponential spread seen in other areas in the region and around the world at bay, but he added the community cannot grow complacent.

“Each spark of infection has the potential to grow, and the most severe outbreaks are fueled by simple things, like getting together in a home environment to mark achievements and family milestones without wearing face coverings,” Pace said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake is challenging the Lake County Civil Grand Jury’s conclusions in its recently released report regarding the city’s dispute with the county over the lack of tax-defaulted land sales.

The matter is scheduled to also be taken up as a discussion item at the council’s Thursday evening meeting.

In his memo to the city council on the item, City Manager Alan Flora said the grand jury’s June 29 report is requiring the city respond to its findings within 90 days, however, he added, “after review of the report it is apparent that a more swift response is warranted due to the many inaccuracies in the report.”

He said city staff is working with Mayor Russ Cremer and Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten on a response that the council will be able to review on Thursday.

Last year, the city began to ask the county to consider more frequent tax sales, pointing to thousands of tax-defaulted properties and millions of dollars of uncollected taxes.

In November, the city followed up by sending letters to agencies including the Board of Supervisors, California State Controller, California State Treasurer, California Board of Equalization and the California Attorney General’s Office asking for an investigation into the process and the performance of Lake County Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen.

The city also had asked the Lake County Civil Grand Jury in November to consider the matter.

The city reported that the grand jury initially responded in December, saying that it had “long been fully aware of the situation in the Lake County Treasurer/Tax Collector’s Office.”

The grand jury referenced its 2017 report, which had two findings – that the county has not held a tax sale since 2013 and that the then-proposed 2017 sale only included 3 percent of eligible properties.

The 2016-17 report included one recommendation, which was that “The County conduct a tax lien sale on an annual basis including properties form the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport.”

The grand jury at that time summarized the problems created from a lack of tax sales as primarily a strain on local revenues, less community investment, deterioration and blight, and a hampering of municipalities in providing services due to decreased revenues.

Since then, two tax sales have been held – in June 2017 and June 2018, according to county records. No tax sale was held in 2019 and this year’s sale was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those two tax sales in 2017 and 2018 are the only ones Ringen has held since taking office in 2013.

City seeks grand jury investigation

In January, Flora reported to the council that he had been in contact with the grand jury and it had indicated it was considering another investigation.

Earlier this year, the city also threatened the county with legal action if Ringen’s office didn’t make additional efforts to hold more sales.

In its report, which can be seen here, the grand jury outlines its investigation beginning on page 90.

“It is in the best interest of the entire county to bring clarity to the situation and a realistic look at the facts,” the grand jury report said.

The city of Clearlake, however, said the report didn’t do that. In a statement released in response to the report, the city said the report had “multiple conflicts with previous findings from the Grand Jury,” and it faulted the report for using data that contains “errors and misrepresentations.”

The grand jury said the facts and figures about tax default properties aren’t accurate and came from “a singular secondary source” that wasn’t properly vetted. That source isn’t named.

“The city would like the public to understand that in spite of what is reported by the Grand Jury we believe the information provided to the city is accurate and representative of the problem surrounding tax delinquent and defaulted property throughout Lake County,” said Cremer in a statement issued by the city.

He said the data for delinquent and defaulted properties within the city of Clearlake was provided directly to the city by the Tax Collector’s Office on Aug. 2, 2019. He said the county provided complete data on the delinquent and defaulted properties throughout Lake County on Jan. 13.

“We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the data provided by the county, however, if there is conflicting information within the county database related to tax-delinquent or defaulted properties, we would request that data be provided to the city,” Cremer said.

The grand jury went on to say that the city’s targeting of Ringen as “negligent,” “willfully failing to perform official functions,” and breaching breached fiduciary responsibilities “was inappropriate, lacked any real understanding of the on-going realities of management of that official’s office, and was made without any direct face-to-face contact to try to generate such understanding in the generation of such accusations.”

The report also addressed the Teeter Plan, designed in 1949 to allow counties to cover property tax payment delinquencies through existing fund reserves or short-term borrowing.

In addition, the grand jury referred to the “floated concept of a lawsuit to try to attain certain specific goals.”

“As of this writing, no formal action has been filed with the court. This concept has been advanced to the local media and into social media only. It has made a notable uptick in commentary – and concern – on both platforms. The basis of the concept is ~1,000 city of Clearlake properties to be put on the auction block by November or face the lawsuit. This goal is virtually impossible to achieve and would have limited effect,” the report said.

The report goes on to state, “The Grand Jury believes the elected officials in the City of Clearlake, after being presented with a concept, entered into this with the correct intentions of maximizing the potential funding available for their city. However, the incorrect numbers cited to them and the exaggerated effects of certain programs and possibilities created a belief in financial possibilities that could not, with proper vetting and understanding, be supported. A clearer understanding of the facts can allow them to refocus their talents and efforts into areas that can produce more tangible results across a wide swath of government responsibilities for the citizens that elected them.”

Among its findings, the grand jury found “a sizable ‘backlog’ of property tax default parcels for a number of years,” with that backlog stable at about 4,200 properties for some time but now growing at about 325 parcels a year; higher priority projects have been put ahead of the processing of default properties; and it would take two completely dedicated staff members to handle the year-to-year growth of the number of default parcels and reduce the backlog.

The report’s findings also claim that “Data was transferred from a staff position inside of the County Administration Office to a staff position inside of the City of Clearlake that was not properly vetted for accuracy, applicability to the over-riding issue, and not passed by the appropriate elected official ultimately responsible for that data.”

The grand jury report further states that “a group of elected city officials issued written ‘claims’ against a county-wide elected official and distributed these claims to multiple governmental groups (both inside of Lake County and in Sacramento.) It occurred that there was a ‘leakage’ of these claims to the local press and social media without performing a reasonable set of fact checking nor any sourcing of second and third party independent corroboration of the data and the assumptions upon which those claims were based.”

Regarding the vague allegations about “leakage” to the local press, the grand jury offered no evidence to back that claim.

In its recommendations, the grand jury said the County Administrative Office should “review and enact enhanced controls over data dissemination to departments not normally utilizing such data and to any non-county public or private entities,” and that two dedicated and trained staff members should be added to the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office to focus exclusively on the tax default auction process.

It also recommended that “All elected city officials and elected county officials should exercise extreme prudence in making disparaging claims (be they in public or to other governmental agencies) against the performance or motivations of any other elected official. If such claims are to be made, multiple/independent verifications of information/data supporting such claims should be fully explored.”

The grand jury concluded by suggesting a regular meeting between city and county officials. “The purpose of this meeting will be to bring matters of mutual concern to light and explore proactive and cooperative means of addressing these concerns.”

City disputes findings

Cremer said it was frustrating that the grand jury was not precise in discussing the sourcing of data the city has been relying on for its analysis, “which contrary to their statements was received directly from the county.”

He called it “increasingly perplexing” that the grand jury decided to eliminate properties without access, utilities, etc. from being included on its “tax default” list.

“No detailed information is provided on what methodology was used for this determination. The City understands that there are many ‘paper parcels’ in Lake County that have little value and may be difficult to sell, however, this does not remove the property owner’s obligation to pay taxes on the property, nor does it remove the County Tax Collector’s obligation to offer them at auction if considered in tax default status,” said Cremer.

“We are relying on accurate county data in determining the scope of the problem and working with the county on a mutually beneficial path forward,” said Slooten. “However, the grand jury’s report lacks any discussion around the statutory responsibility of the tax collector to sell tax defaulted properties within certain timelines.”

Slooten said it is one of the key responsibilities of the grand jury to determine if official duties are being lawfully carried out. “Accordingly, the data provided to the city reflect that 4,243 properties countywide have not met the obligation to be offered for sale consistent with state law.”

Cremer said the city intends to provide a detailed response to the grand jury report. He said that, through its website, the city will provide the public access to the raw data that was provided to the city from the county and further relied upon by the city in its analysis.

“This is not an issue that was conjured by the city, we believe it warrants more resources and commitment from both the tax collector and the Board of Supervisors in order to successfully solve this problem,” Cremer said.

He added, “The city of Clearlake has been and remains committed to actively participating in a real solution to Lake County’s tax default quagmire, the county just needs to take it more seriously.”

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.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday chose to continue meetings that allow for limited in-person participation by the public despite an increase in COVID-19 cases, while the county’s two cities plan to continue to do business virtually because of health concerns.

On June 30, after a three-month suspension of in-person board meetings, the supervisors returned to a remodeled board chambers to begin a “hybrid” version of its meetings.

The public can still watch online or participate via Zoom, however, small numbers of individuals are allowed to come into the chambers to give public comment or view the proceedings.

The chambers now include plexiglass cubicles around each of the fives supervisors’ seats on the dais and around staff seating area, with the seating in the audience removed and replaced by a maximum of 25 chairs that adhere to social distancing requirements.

Last week, the county also implemented a new eComment platform to take public comments.

On June 30, Lake County’s confirmed COVID-19 cases totaled 60. On Tuesday, they reached 122. In the weeks since, Lake County Public Health has also reported the first death of a county resident attributed to COVID-19.

Board Chair Moke Simon had asked last week that a discussion of the meeting procedures be placed on the Tuesday agenda.

He suggested that, in light of the rising cases, the meetings should be closed again to in-person participation out of concern that they had opened up too early.

Simon and Supervisor Tina Scott were not in the board chambers for the meeting, but both participated from their homes via Zoom.

On the dais in the chambers were Rob Brown, who was not wearing a mask because he said he can’t, and EJ Crandell and Bruno Sabatier, both of whom were masked. All of them were separated by the plexiglass dividers.

Simon said he wanted to be proactive instead of reactive, and citing the recent rise in COVID-19 numbers he suggested closing the meetings and reviewing the situation in 30 days.

Sabatier noted that the July 7 meeting and Tuesday’s meeting both had about half a dozen people in the audience, with a good-sized crowd still participating online. He said some people don’t have access to watch on the Internet.

“If it’s not safe for us, it’s not safe for our employees,” said Sabatier, noting that if it’s not safe for in-person meetings, they should go all the way and say no one should be there.

He said he thought the hybrid model is working fine.

Simon said his concern was that they can’t control where people who come into the meetings have been.

Brown said people should do whatever they’re comfortable with and leave the meetings in their current form as an option.

“I feel safe here,” he said, adding that not all employees have the opportunity to work at home.

Scott had previously attended one of the hybrid meetings in person but returned to participating from home.

“It was difficult for me to be in there and watch a screen across the room,” Scott said.

Like Brown and Sabatier, she felt the meeting format is working and that they can continue to monitor how they are working.

Crandell said he was good with either continuing the meetings or taking Simon’s suggestion.

The only public comment came from Lakeport resident Michael Green.

“This is just very unfortunate,” said Green, criticizing the board for “terrible messaging” and noncompliance with the health order, with half of them masked.

Green suggested they’re broadcasting noncompliance with state orders in their meetings while conceivably putting themselves at risk.

“You’re supposed to provide a safe meeting space and enforce social distancing and you can’t even enforce social distancing on the dais,” he said.

Neither Simon nor any of the other supervisors offered a motion, as the consensus was to continue the hybrid meetings.

City councils to continue virtual meetings

While the supervisors have allowed the public to be in the board chambers for meetings, the city councils of Clearlake and Lakeport are continuing to only allow public participation virtually because of health concerns.

The Clearlake City Council’s members have primarily been in the council chambers for meetings, with council members and staff sitting several feet apart and the chambers closed to the public.

The city has a new Open Town Hall page on its website so community members can submit comments and meetings are broadcast on the PEG TV Youtube page.

City Manager Alan Flora had reported previously that there were plans to begin allowing for limited public access to City Hall for the meetings beginning this week.

However, he told Lake County News on Tuesday, “We are going to walk back having the public at our meetings starting Thursday. We did notice a couple of appeal hearings and so we will be allowing them to come into the meeting after a screening process and with masking, social distancing etc. Otherwise we will be continuing with the remote public input process utilized over the past several months.”

The Lakeport City Council has not met in the chambers but continues to meet via the GoToMeeting platform, with the public allowed to call in or ask comments virtually.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said Tuesday that format will continue.

“We are not planning on having in-person attendance for the public at this time. We have discussed having in-person for the council members, which can be seated with social distancing. We are awaiting the arrival of technical equipment to make that possible,” Silveira said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.





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