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Lake and Mendocino County veterans find many resources at the 2019 Veterans Stand Down held at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport, California. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lake County Vet Connect Volunteers will host the annual “Lake and Mendocino Stand Down and Resource Fair” on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport.

All veterans are welcome.

The event offers immediate intervention support to at-risk and homeless veterans.

Veterans must present an ID card or DD Form 214. Lunch will be provided at no cost to attendees.

Services and resources from over 35 organizations will be provided. Topics will include veterans’ services, housing and homeless assistance, employment, medical insurance counseling, advance care planning, behavioral health, employment assistance, Wounded Warriors and more.

Representatives from regional veterans’ services and many local organizations will be present to meet with veterans attending the Stand Down.

Legal Services of Northern California will be available to assist veterans with the “Clean Slate Project,” a program that focuses on helping people who have had contact with the criminal justice system successfully rejoin their communities. Appointments for consultation at the Veterans Stand Down can be made by calling 707-462-1417.

Today, “Stand Down” refers to a grassroots, community-based intervention program designed to help the nation’s homeless veterans “combat” life on the streets.

Homeless veterans are brought together in a single location and are provided access to the community resources needed to begin addressing their individual problems and start rebuilding their lives.

In the military, Stand Down afforded battle-weary soldiers the opportunity to renew their spirit, enjoy warm meals, receive medical and dental care, mail and receive letters, and enjoy the camaraderie of friends in a safe environment.

The Lake County Vet Connect volunteers ask the public to spread the word regarding the event so that local homeless or near-homeless veterans can be reached and may benefit from the assistance available.

“The Stand Down pulls a diverse group of agencies together to provide at-risk veterans with the resources and items they need to transition from being homeless which is a community benefit,” said committee member and volunteer Dave Waldschmitt.

The Stand Down event will follow protocols recommended by the County of Lake Public Health Department to reduce the spread of COVID. Masks are required and will be provided.

For more information, contact Bob Hopkins at 707-350-1411 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For updates, visit the Vet Connect Hookup Hub on Facebook.

Janine Smith-Citron is director of development for 
Hospice Services of Lake County.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Preliminary results from California’s gubernatorial recall election on Tuesday indicate that Gov. Gavin Newsom has escaped recall.

Statewide, as of 2:55 a.m. Wednesday, the Secretary of State’s Office said 100% of precincts statewide — 18,185 in all — were “partially reporting” since vote-by-mail, provisional and other ballots will continue to be processed for several weeks to come.

The preliminary statewide count showed the recall failing by a wide margin, with a 63.9% “no” vote and a 36.1% “yes” vote.

Ballots cast against the recall totaled 5,840,283 in the initial count, compared to 3,297,145 ballots in favor of removing Newsom from office.

In Lake County, the Registrar of Voters Office posted preliminary results for vote-by-mail and in-person voting for all 70 precincts shortly before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

A total of 9,372 ballots were cast, of which 37 were undervotes and two were overvotes, the elections office said.

Of those ballots, 8,816 were vote-by-mail, or absentee, and 517 were cast in the 22 polling places open across the county for the Tuesday special election.

Based on those preliminary results, Lake County voters rejected recalling Newsom with a 62.48% “no” vote, or 5,605 ballots cast, compared to a 37.52% “yes” vote, which accounted for 3,728 ballots.

Of the 46 alternate candidates on the ballot, Larry Elder received the most votes in Lake County’s preliminary results, with 1,907. The rest of the top 10 included John Cox, 495; Kevin Kiley, 317; Kevin Paffrath, 277; Patrick Kilpatrick, 269; Brandon M. Ross, 232; Kevin L. Faulconer, 196; Joel Ventresca, 145; Jacqueline McGowan, 142; and Caitlyn Jenner, 85.

Those counts are expected to change as more ballots come in.

The Secretary of State’s Office said mailed ballots had to be postmarked on or before Sept. 14, and must be received by the county elections office no later than Sept. 21 in order to be counted.

The Registrar of Voters Office reported that the official canvass will commence on Thursday, Sept. 16, at 9 a.m.

The Secretary of State’s Office said the results will be certified by Oct. 22.

The recall attempt of Newsom was the 55th filed against a governor of California since the actions were first taken in 1913, according to state records.

Only one governor — Democrat Gray Davis — has been successfully recalled since that time.

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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NORTH COAST, Calif. — The containment on a fire burning in Mendocino County since Sunday afternoon doubled on Tuesday.

Cal Fire said Tuesday night that the Hopkins fire near Calpella remained at 257 acres, with containment at 60%.

Two hundred structures remain threatened. Cal Fire reported the Damage Inspection Team has started evaluating the fire area to determine how many structures have been damaged or destroyed.

Mandatory evacuations are still in effect on Eastside Calpella Road from the 4800 block north to Cortina Place, Moore Street east of North State Street, Marina Drive, Black Oak Drive, Rubicon Court and the north end of Lake Ridge Road, north of the gate at 5780 Lake Ridge Road.

Cal Fire said firefighters on Tuesday continued to make progress, despite the higher temperatures and moderate wind conditions.

Resources assigned on Tuesday began to be rolled back, with 16 engines, six water tenders, one helicopter, seven hand crews and 223 personnel committed to the incident.

Fire resources will continue to support utility partners as they repair damaged infrastructure, Cal Fire 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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NORTH COAST, Calif. — Cal Fire said it has determined that a fire that started near Calpella on Sunday afternoon was the result of arson.

The Hopkins fire remained at 257 acres on Wednesday, with containment up to 95%.

The fire began at 2:15 p.m. Sunday in the area of East Hopkins and North State streets.

While Cal Fire’s Wednesday evening report gave arson as the cause, it did not give further details.

The agency said in a separate report that it had made an arrest, although it did not identify the individual.

Cal Fire said damage assessments found that 30 residences and 16 other structures had been destroyed, while four homes and another structure were damaged.

No injuries have been reported to civilians or firefighters.

On Wednesday, 16 engines, six water tenders, seven hand crews and 223 firefighting personnel remained assigned to the incident, Cal Fire said.

Evacuation orders have been canceled but Cal Fire said warnings remain in effect from State Street to the 5000 block of East Side Calpella Road, Road B to Redwood Valley, Lake Mendocino at Lake Ridge and Lake Mendocino Drive. Evacuation centers have been closed.

Cal Fire said fire personnel saw minimal smoldering on Wednesday, with the fire entering patrol status.

The agency said firefighters will remain at scene throughout the night, patrolling for hot spots, hazards and continuing mop-up.

Cal Fire said the Hopkins fire is expected to be fully contained on Saturday.

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 took on Tuesday the final step in developing the new fiscal year budget, approving the final adjusted budget in a unanimous vote.

The final recommended budget for the county and its special districts for fiscal year 2021-22 totals $319,386,115, down slightly from the adopted 2020-21 fiscal year budget of $322,362,410.

The board’s public hearing on the budget Tuesday morning was a matter of fine tuning, touching on some of the major adjustments made since the supervisors held June budget hearings and approved an initial budget of $307,498,431.

One of the large new sources of money coming into the county this year is through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Lake County is receiving $12.5 million from the act. The county has already received half of that amount already, with the final installment to come next spring, said County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson.

Just how those funds will be spent by the county of Lake was not revealed on Tuesday; Huchingson said an ad committee is actively working on plans to spend those funds and those recommendations will be presented to the board in October.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for Lake County,” said Huchingson, noting she hasn’t seen anything like this before during her tenure.

Huchingson said the funds can be used in a variety of ways, from pandemic response to infrastructure. One possible use might be broadband, although she said there is other money now coming forward for the long-awaited broadband expansion.

Deputy Administrative Officer Stephen Carter told the board that staff had made 365 changes made to the budget, mostly minor adjustments in numbers and funds.

He said the county had a high general fund balance carry-over — in part due to salary savings from the county’s high vacancy rate. Staff recommended placing $3.5 million of that carry-over into the reserves, putting the reserves at $12.5 million, or 25%.

Carter said several revenue streams came in during the 2020-21 fiscal year that were at the highest levels in the county’s history.

Those high-performing revenue sources included property tax, which came in just over $1.1 million higher than the previous year, for a 4.74% increase, he said.

Bradley-Burns sales tax, which comes from a law which provides for 1 ¼% of proceeds for cities and counties, brought in $4,414,350.19 for the 2021 fiscal year, which was an increase of $1,132,343.86 over fiscal year 2019-20, Carter reported.

Carter said Proposition 172 sales tax revenues, which come from a one-half percent sales tax that can be used for public safety, equaled $3,417,484.37 last fiscal year, an increase of $182,079.29 over the previous year.

Transient occupancy, or bed tax, came in at $1.9 million, an increase of more than $247,909.76 over 2019-20. When removing proceeds related to the county’s tourism improvement district, Carter said that revenue totaled $977,000, the highest it’s been since 2002, when Konocti Harbor Resort remained in operation.

One of the main changes discussed on Tuesday was a $100,000 increase to the Board of Supervisors’ budget unit to cover facilitation services for the community visioning forum process.

Another budget adjustment was for $306,275 the county received from the state to pay for the gubernatorial recall election on Tuesday.

Since the recommended budget was approved in June, Carter said nine requested positions were added: temporary property tax coordinator, Public Works service technician, business software analyst, deputy sheriff, sheriff’s public information officer, deputy sheriff sergeant, code enforcement officer, staff services analyst and Water Resources field maintenance technician.

The staff report to the board also noted that in anticipation of the supervisors completing implementation of the human resources classification and compensation study of October 2019, payroll cost adjustments will be budgeted at midyear.

“We have more money than the county has ever seen before,” said Board Chair Bruno Sabatier, noting that some of it is from the state and federal government due to COVID-19, along with the increased tax proceeds and cannabis tax funds.

Sabatier said the county is taking steps to look at big future projects, noting that they need to get to a five-year strategic plan. “I think we are on that path.”

“We haven’t had an opportunity like this before,” said Supervisor Moke Simon.

Simon said they want to strengthen the workforce and this budget is a step in that direction.

The board unanimously approved three separate motions — adoption of the final recommended budget resolution, adoption of a resolution establishing new classifications and amending the position allocation chart for fiscal year 2021-22, and the continuation of the informal hiring freeze for general fund departments, delegating authority to the county administrative officer to waive that hiring freeze as appropriate.

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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Lakeport Police Officer Aaron Hodges has been assigned to serve as Lakeport Unified School District’s school resource officer. Photo courtesy of the Lakeport Police Department.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Police Department said it is staffing a full-time school resource police officer on the campuses of the Lakeport Unified School District.

The new school resource officer, Aaron Hodges, began his assignment on Monday, the department said.

Hodges attended Lakeport schools and is a graduate of Clear Lake High School.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the school resource officer program is made possible by a funding partnership between the Lakeport Unified School Board and the Lakeport City Council.

“We appreciate the support and commitment of this program from the city and school district administrations and the school board and council members,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said all of the officials involved believe that placement of a police officer on the school grounds will greatly enhance the safety of all students, staff and visitors on the campuses.

“Additionally, as past experience has shown, we can assist students and have a positive impact on their learning environment and their lives,” Rasmussen said.

He encouraged anyone with questions about the program to contact the police or school district administrations.

Officer Hodges can be reached through the Clear Lake High School office at 707-262-3010.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council is seeking Clearlake residents to apply for vacant seats on the Planning Commission and Marketing Committee.

Planning commissioners hear and act upon land use matters and are advisory to the City Council on zoning regulations, the general plan and other land use issues.

Commissioners serve at the will of the City Council and are designated filers under the Fair Political Practices Commission and must file periodic statements of economic interest disclosing financial interests within the jurisdiction of the city.

The Marketing Committee takes an active role in recommending projects and programs for City
Council adoption.

Previous recommendations by the committee that were approved by the City Council include a new city seal, city motto, police department graphics and patches, banners, newspaper advertisements and a city photo contest.

Applications are available at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, on the city’s website or by emailing Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The City Council will consider applications and appointments during its Oct. 7 meeting.

The deadline for applications to be included in the City Council meeting packet is Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council will get an update this week on the Cache fire recovery, hear an appeal of a coffee shop project, consider continuing agreements for animal control services and award contracts for a major city road project.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, for a workshop on municode agenda management processes before the regular meeting convenes at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.

The agenda can be found here.

Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16.

On Thursday, the council will meet one of September's adoptable dogs, hold a swearing-in of new and promoted Clearlake Police Department employees and present a proclamation declaring Sept. 24 as Native American Day.

One of the main items of business on the council’s agenda is an update from staff on the Cache fire, which destroyed 138 structures and burned 83 acres on Aug. 18.

Also on the agenda is a public hearing for the council to consider an appeal filed by Diane Drake of Sisters Coffeehouse, 14812 Olympic Drive, regarding the approval of the Mudslingers drive-through and walk up coffee shop at 14760 Olympic Drive on the grounds that the proposed development would be detrimental to their business.

In other businesses, council members will consider awarding a $6.4 million contract for the Sulphur Fire Disaster Roadway Improvement Project to Argonaut Constructors and a $227,360 contract to Green Valley Consulting Engineers for inspection and materials testing for the Sulphur Fire road project.

Staff also will ask the council to consider approving the continuation of temporary, month to month agreements with North Bay Animal Services for animal control officer and kennel technician services.

The city and North Bay Animal Services first entered into the agreement in July. Staff is asking for the police chief to be authorized to continue month-to-month contract agreements
with North Bay Animal Services for the remainder of the fiscal year. The budgeted cost is $137,832.

In other business, the council will consider its response to the 2020-21 Lake County Civil Grand Jury report and discuss possible action regarding California's redistricting process.

On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; continuation of a local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Aug. 18, 2021, and ratified by council action on Aug. 19, 2021; minutes of the Aug. 11, 2021, Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting; and purchase of solar-powered lighting for the Austin Park Promenade.

Following the meeting, the council will have a closed session to discuss a lawsuit against the county of Lake and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen and a liability claim filed against the city by Benjamin Finneston.

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. — A new community event is set to be introduced next month.

The new Northshore Fall Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, on Main Street in Upper Lake.

The festival was the brainchild of Katie DeVries and Ben Guenther, the new owners of Upper Lake Grocery.

The event’s proceeds will benefit the newly formed Northshore Fire Fund, created to raise funds to assist the Northshore Fire Protection District.

There will be barbecue, a beer booth, live music, raffle items, vendor booths, a costume contest, and free arts and crafts fun for children.

To participate in this event or for more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-275-4018, or visit www.upperlake.org.
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New data show that the vast majority of California’s school districts are reporting that 95 to 100% of students are in-person.

This is in addition to California leading national trends when it comes to keeping schools open and keeping kids out of the hospital.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom visited a TK-8 school in Oakland as part of the effort to highlight the state’s efforts to safely open schools for full in-person instruction.

“We implemented the most robust school reopening and safety strategy in the entire country, and now California’s students are back in the classroom and schools are remaining open at nation-leading rates,” said Gov. Newsom. “It’s no coincidence that California is the first state to advance out of the CDC’s ‘high’ transmission category and has the lowest case rates in the entire country. The state’s efforts and resources have made schools among the safest places in our communities.”

The state’s new Student Supports & In-Person Dashboard provides data collected from school districts regarding how many students are back in classrooms.

Regarding the expanded educational opportunities and wellness services available for students, the data shows that the vast majority of districts have 95 to 100% percent of students in-person, and nearly 98% of schools are expanding mental health, after-school and tutoring programs.

Additionally, the new District 2021-22 Instruction Status Map provides a regional breakdown of student in-person rates, expanded educational opportunities and in-school outbreak-associated cases.

In Lake County, the map shows that Lakeport Unified, Lucerne Elementary Middletown Unified and Upper Lake Unified fall into the 95 to 100% category, while Kelseyville Unified is at 85 to 89% and Konocit Unified is at 90 to 94%.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data has shown that California is leading national trends for keeping kids out of the hospital.

As of Sept. 12, the national rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations for those aged 0 to 17 was three times the rate of California’s, while Florida’s rate was six times that of California.

Nationally, California is leading national trends in keeping schools open. According to the independent site Burbio that tracks nationwide school closures, roughly 1,900 to 2,000 school closures have occurred this year, with only nine in California — amounting to roughly 0.5% of total closures nationwide.

Through the winter, the governor championed urgent action to provide school funding to both accelerate school reopenings in the 2020-21 school year and expand student supports for the summer and 2021-22 school year.

AB 86 was enacted on March 5, 2021, with $4.6 billion (of $6.6 billion in total funding) dedicated to expanding student supports. Schools used those early funds to expand educational opportunities for the summer and the upcoming school year.

According to the summer data, 89% of school districts reporting offered new learning opportunities over the summer, including learning acceleration (e.g., high-dose tutoring), enrichment and mental health services.

Building on this funding, the Governor signed into law a historic $123.9 billion K-12 education package that represents a transformation of the state’s public schools over the next several years.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Water Resources will once again be taking part in the annual California Coastal Cleanup coming up this weekend.

Water Resources will be hosting seven cleanup sites from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 18.

Signups can be completed online here.

Daniella Cazares, the Water Resources staffer coordinating this year’s Coastal Cleanup, said the event switched its model to a month-long program but the designated date is Sept 18.

During the pandemic in 2020 most large scale cleanups were canceled. Cazare said people were asked to stay in their neighborhoods, use their own materials and use the data collection app that the California Coastal Commission uses for trash removal which is called Clean Swell.

The Coastal Commission gathered a lot of good data and wanted to pair “the clean on your own with your own tools model” with the “big events in communities model,” Cazares said.

“The public health guidelines will all be followed and we are trying to get as many people preregistered so we can stagger arrivals and departures. Everything is outdoors and each site has different zones so that groups and individuals can stay socially distant,” she said.

Cazares said there are seven sites with site check-in locations:

— Merritt Road Bridge in Kelseyville (Kelsey Creek clean up);
— Lower Lake Park (Seigler Creek clean up);
— Clear Lake Campground (Cache Creek);
— Davis Beach Rest Area, Lucerne (Clear Lake shoreline);
— Bridge Arbor North, Upper Lake (Middle Creek project area);
— Blue Lakes Village (Blue Lakes);
— Highland Springs Park proper (Highland Springs Reservoir).

When choosing the seven sites, Cazares said they used three different factors: They were sites selected from the Clean Water Program 2019 Trash implementation plan, they are in communities where Water Resources have recently received water complaints, and there is volunteer/stewardship interest.

At those check-ins locations, volunteers will sign a liability release, collect supplies for garbage pickup such as bags, gloves and data collection sheets, and get assigned a zone to work in.

Data can also be collected on the Clean Swell app; participants are encouraged to download it in advance.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. — Firefighters gained more ground on the Hopkins fire burning in Mendocino County on Monday.

The fire began Sunday afternoon at East Hopkins and North State streets in Calpella.

Cal Fire on Monday adjusted the size estimate down to 257 acres, with containment at 30%.

Resources that remain assigned to the incident include 26 engines, six water tenders, three helicopters, six hand crews, seven dozers and 309 personnel.

On Monday, firefighters continued to hold and improve control lines throughout the day. Cal Fire said the potential still existed for spots to become established outside of the control line due to wind and dry conditions.

The agency said firefighters are remaining at the scene to strengthen the depth on the containment lines, extinguish any interior hot spots and mitigate hazard trees.

On Monday, Cal Fire said 200 structures remained threatened, but so far there are no reports of any being destroyed or damaged.

Mandatory evacuations remained in effect on Monday night for Eastside Calpella Road from the 4800 block north to Cortina Place, Moore Street east of North State Street, Marina Drive, Black Oak Drive, Rubicon Court and the north end of Lake Ridge Road, north of the gate at 5780 Lake Ridge Road.

An evacuation center remains open at the Mendocino County Office of Education, 2240 Old River Road in Ukiah.

Authorities asked that all evacuation orders and warnings that remain in place be heeded for the safety of both the public and first responders’ safety.

Closures remain in effect on Lake Ridge Road, near the gate at 5780 Lake Ridge Road; 4801 East Side Calpella Road; Moore Street at North State Street; East Side Calpella Road at Cortina Place; and Highway 20 at Marina Drive.

Visit www.MendoReady.org for additional information to include the updated map for evacuation orders and warnings.

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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