LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A local teenager’s high school senior project came to fruition this week in the form of a donation meant to help children in need of comfort and support.

On Thursday Clear Lake High School senior Haley Garzoli presented 12 handmade blankets to Officer Kory Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office in Kelseyville.

The donation came about as a result of Garzoli’s senior project, which focused on child psychology.

In researching the topic she learned how traumatic events such as a vehicle accident can dramatically affect a child.

She learned that a blanket can be a very comforting thing in a time of crisis.

After learning how helpful a warm blanket can be, she set out to raise money to fund her project.

By soliciting donations, she was able to raise enough money to purchase the blanket material needed.

She handmade 12 “tie” blankets and presented them the Officer Reynolds with the hope that each patrol car would have a warm blanket available to give to a scared child.

The donated blankets will be used by the CHP to help the children it comes in contact with in traumatic situations.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Beginning this year, there will be two fairs in Lake County.

Lake County Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons said that the fairgrounds will begin hosting a Lake County Spring Fair this June.

“It's an idea that has been considered for several years, but this year everything seems to be coming together, said Persons.

The Lake County Spring Fair will take place Friday, June 14, through Sunday, June 16, at the fairgrounds in Lakeport, 401 Martin St.

That’s in addition to the 2013 Lake County Fair, which runs from Thursday, Aug. 29, through Sunday, Sept. 1.

Persons said the spring fair won’t be as large as the main fair event, but is expected to be an important new source of revenue, since the state has stopped providing funding for the Lake County Fair – and other fairs around the state – over the last few years.

He said 2011 was the last year that the state provided capital improvement funding for the fairgrounds. That year, the funding for improving the fairgrounds totaled $250,000.

The fair’s operating stipend, which fluctuated from year to year, was $172,000 in 2011, the final year the fair received those funds from the state, according to Persons.

Since then, the fair has had to pursue new revenue sources in order to maintain operations, he said.

Helping the Lake County Fair’s financial picture in 2012 was the fact that the fairgrounds served as a Cal Fire base camp for the August Wye Fire and the September Scotts Fire, both of which brought in unanticipated revenue, according to Persons.

Persons also was hired to manage the Dixon May Fair last year.

Those sources of revenue, plus careful management and cutbacks, allowed the fair not just to keep running but to pay off a nearly $120,000 loan for its solar collection systems in February, five years early, as Lake County News has reported.

Persons said the new spring fair’s major attractions will include three nights of grandstand activities and a carnival produced by Midway of Fun, which also provides the carnival for the Lake County Fair on Labor Day weekend.

Additional activities will include two stages of entertainment and three buildings of various exhibits, including a home and garden pavilion produced by Bicoastal Media, he said.
 
Persons said one of the main factors in deciding to go ahead with the event was the ability to attract a carnival.

In past years, no carnival operators had spring weekends available in their routes, but that was not the case in 2013, he explained.
 
Grandstand events are expected to include an open mud bog competition on Friday night, open tuff truck races on Saturday, and an invitational auto race on Sunday, Persons said. All grandstand activities will be produced by Lakeport Speedway.
 
In addition to the home and garden pavilion, other buildings will house a laser tag arcade and a variety of vocational education exhibits, Persons said. An exhibition of student artwork from Congressman Mike Thompson's annual art contest may also be on display.
 
Persons said a battle of the bands is planned for the main stage, with local musical artists featured on two stages throughout the weekend, and a variety of fair food and exhibits are expected.
 
The fair also is working on several aspects of a car show activity. “We know it's Father's Day weekend, and we're trying to put together an event which will appeal to dads and their families, providing activities that dad's can do with their kids. School will just be out, and it seems like a great way to kick off the summer,” Persons said.

Businesses interested in indoor exhibit space should contact Bicoastal Media at 707-263-6113 to inquire about space in the home and garden pavilion. Other food and exhibit space will be handled by the Lake County Fair.

For more information, contact the Lake County Fair at 707-263-6181 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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. – Spring has certainly been in the air – wildflowers are blooming, grasses are growing and trees are leafing out – and today more showers are forecast to return, which will continue to increase spring growth.

A small band of moderate rain showers are predicted to move through Lake County sometime early this morning, according to Western Weather Group Lake County.

After the daytime highs in the 70s seen over the past few days, forecasters say the showers will cool temperatures down into the upper 50s throughout most of the county today.

Moderate to heavy showers are forecast with this new storm front, bringing an additional one-quarter to one-half inch of rain Thursday.

However, clouds and slight chances for localized showers will remain in the forecast throughout the weekend as daytime highs climb back into the mid-60s, based on the forecast.

Overnight lows should remain in the mid- to low-40s as cloud cover will help keep daytime warming in place, forecasters said.

As the new week begins, forecast models show a chance for frost on Monday with snow a possibility on area mountains, but right now the models are leaning toward cooler and breezy weather early next week.

Email Terre Logsdon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter, @LakeCoNews.

UKIAH, Calif. – Fans of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction are invited to celebrate local writers and poets in a one-day festival Saturday, April 20.

“LitFest 2013” will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the new Library/Learning Center at Mendocino College, 1000 Hensley Creek Road.

LitFest will feature readings, talks and workshops for aspiring writers, students and fans of the written word led by more than a dozen contemporary authors and vendors such as Tenacity Press and McCaa Books will be present to sell books.

Admission to the event activities, including workshops, is free and the public is invited.

“I’m really excited by the line-up for this year’s event. There’s a little of something for all kinds of interests. Whether it is poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or publishing, there’s something that is engaging and fun to attend at LitFest,” said John Koetzner, head librarian at Mendocino College. “Cultural and literary events such as LitFest and our annual readers series enrich students’ lives and we invite everyone in the community to discover all the great ways the college contributes back to the community.”

Some of the workshop topics include “The Trouble with Villains,” “Writing Narrative Nonfiction,” “Stuck!” (a workshop about writer’s block), “Some Perspectives on Point of View,” “Poetry, Fiction & Memoir,” and more.

New to the event this year will be the Ukiah High School Slam Poetry Team, a workshop called Mendocino County Poets – featuring Melinda Clarke, Nancy Horrocks, Ginny Devries, Helen Falandes and Maluma – a food writing panel featuring Nicholas Petti as moderator for Margaret Fox, Heidi Dickerson and Tom Liden.

Additionally, there will be a reading by Ukiah Poet Laureate Dan Barth along with Michael Riedell, and workshops by Doris Eraldi, Natasha Yim, Jean Hegland, Armando Garcia-Davila, Waights Taylor Jr. and Carl Brush.

This year’s LitFest celebration will be the sixth time the festival takes place.

The first was in 2007 and made possible by funding from the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, Mendocino College Foundation, and the Friends of the Mendocino College Library along with a variety of community sponsors.

“We would like to get additional community sponsorship to help build it into an even bigger annual event,” said Koetzner.

It is recommended that individuals who want to attend the writing workshops sign up in advance by registering online at www.mendocino.edu/litfest . For additional information, call 707-468-3051.

Another feature is the ability to order a chipolte chicken salad wrap or grilled veggie with gruyere wrap in advance that will be prepared by the Culinary Arts program at the college, because there is no food service on the weekend. If one does not want to order a wrap, it is advised that attendees bring a lunch or snacks.

The Mendocino College Foundation and its affiliate organization, the Friends of the Mendocino College Library, plus several additional sponsors such as Schat’s Bakery Café, Village Books, The Book Juggler, Wine Country Artisans, and the Healdsburg Literary Guild are making it possible to hold the one-day festival this year.

For more information about LitFest 2013, call the Mendocino College Library at 707-468-3051 or visit www.mendocino.edu/litfest .

LUCERNE, Calif. – After passing a Thursday inspection, the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center’s appeal of the termination of its nutritional contract was confirmed, which will allow the center to continue to offer onsite meals and Meals on Wheels services to Northshore seniors.

On Feb. 28, the Area Agency on Aging of Lake and Mendocino Counties Board of Directors voted unanimously to terminate the center’s $66,000 annual contract after a state auditor concluded that its nutritional program was “high risk,” as Lake County News has reported.

After that action, a series of rapid changes were implemented at the center, including the March 4 hire of new Executive Director Rae Eby-Carl, who began the process of addressing the faults the Area Agency on Aging and the state had found with the center.

On March 28, exactly one month after the termination vote, the Area Agency on Aging Board voted to rescind the contract termination, as long as an inspection this week confirmed the changes.

AAA Program Coordinator Mike Parkinson inspected the facilities with AAA Director Janice Hubbell on Thursday.

“They have corrected all the health and safety issues that were related to the food/nutrition program,” Parkinson told Lake County News.

He said the center also put in place new policies and procedures to prevent similar problems from  happening again.

“We were satisfied that the corrections have been done,” he said.

Eby-Carl said that means that the center won’t lose its funding for providing Meals on Wheels services, and that it looks forward to continuing delivery of nutritious and delicious meals to homebound throughout the Northshore.

Parkinson said the center also is addressing its fiscal issues, adding, “I think it’s going to take a little longer” to address those.

The center has struggled with funding, and Parkinson said fundraising and changing the thrift store to generate more income are some of the steps being taken.

“All in all, I think they have done an excellent job, considering a month ago they were on the verge of having their contract terminated,” said Parkinson.

Had the contract termination not been rescinded, it would have taken place on Friday, Parkinson said. As it is, the center’s funding from the contract has not been interrupted.

Eby-Carl said the dining room at the center, located at 3985 Country Club Drive, offers lunches for an affordable fee to diners of all ages from the community from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The center also serves breakfast every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Menu selections include biscuits and gravy, omelets, French toast, pancakes and more with all the trimmings like bacon, sausage, juice and coffee.

“You can bring the whole family. It’s a great way to find out about volunteer opportunities and services,” said Eby-Carl.

Eby-Carl said the center is looking to expand services with more activities and encourages community groups to contact her or staff to make arrangements to use the facility for a very reasonable fee. The center’s thrift shop is open Monday through Saturday.

“We are looking forward to good times together,” she said.

Parkinson said he was impressed with what the center, its staff and volunteers have accomplished in 30 days.

“They really love their center,” he said.

For more information about the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, call 707-274-8779.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport has been awarded a $700,000 grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development HOME Investment Program.  

The HOME Grant proceeds will be available later this year and will be utilized by the city to fund first time homebuyer and owner-occupied rehabilitation programs for low-income residents of the city of Lakeport, according to City Manager Margaret Silveira.

This is the fourth housing program grant awarded to the city of Lakeport since 2007, totaling $2.7 million, Silveira reported.

To date, numerous Lakeport residents have been assisted by the city’s various low-income housing programs, Silveira said.

Interested local licensed and insured general contractors guaranteeing high quality workmanship are encouraged to call Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton at 707-263-5613, Extension 28, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive information about the requirements of the housing program and to bid on rehabilitation projects.  

Low-income households interested in the first time homebuyer program or low-income city of Lakeport residents interested in the owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program also are encouraged to contact Britton to be placed on the waiting list.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino County authorities have been conducting a search for a Fort Brag woman reported missing on Thursday.

Genevieve Kathryn Alexander, 30, was reported missing by her boyfriend shortly after 10:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Officials said the boyfriend reported that he last saw Alexander walking away from the couple's residence, located at the Pomo Campground, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Alexander is described as a white female adult, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. The sheriff’s office said she wearing a maroon fleece type of jacket, dark-colored pants and dark-colored tennis shoes at the time of her disappearance.

It was suspected at the time of Alexander's disappearance that she was having a delusional episode, according to the report.

A deputy sheriff conducted an immediate area search of the bluffs/beaches of Sunset Way, Belinda Point, Schoefer Lane and Pacific Way, which were identified as locations where Alexander frequented on occasion. The deputy was unable to locate Alexander, officials reported.

At 9 a.m. Friday Mendocino County Sheriff's Office investigators – with the aid of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team – initiated a further search for Alexander, the agency reported.

During the search it was learned that a resident who lived adjacent to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens at 18220 North Highway 1 had contacted a person trespassing on their property at 4 p.m. Thursday. The sheriff’s office said the person who was trespassing matched Alexander's physical and clothing description.

A Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team bloodhound began a scent search from the location of the trespass scene and ended behind the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens along the bluff line at a trailhead that lead downward toward the beach, officials reported.

While conducting a search of the beach a pair was pants was found floating in the ocean a short distance out from the beach, according to the agency’s report. When the pants were recovered they were identified as being the pants Alexander was wearing at the time of her disappearance.

A further search of this area was conducted by personnel from the United States Coast Guard – via boat and helicopter – and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team, officials said.

As of Friday evening officials said Alexander's current whereabouts were unknown and no further items of clothing had been recovered.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office thanked the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens for aiding in the search efforts along with the United States Coast Guard and the many volunteers of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue Team.

Anyone with any information relating to Alexander's disappearance or whereabouts is urged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office dispatch center at 707-463-4086.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Ukiah woman first reported missing by her son earlier this week has been found safe.

Elna Jean Koopman, 75, was found at a Vallejo hotel Tuesday, according to Lt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Koopman, said to be suffering from the early stages of dementia, was reported missing from her Kenwood Drive home on Monday by her son, Van Patten said.

As a result, a statewide “Silver Alert” – meant for missing and endangered adults – was issued, he said.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday Koopman's son contacted the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office to report he had tracked his mother’s credit card, Van Patten said.

Van Patten said the son learned the card was used in San Jose on Monday and it was thought Koopman might be trying to fly to Dallas, Texas.

The son recontacted the sheriff's office approximately two hours later and stated he had updated information that Koopman had used a credit card to rent a hotel room at the Comfort Inn in Vallejo, Van Patten said.

The son called the Comfort Inn and spoke with Koopman, who was indeed at the hotel. Van Patten said Koopman's son responded to Vallejo and was reunited with Koopman, who was in good health and spirits when he arrived.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Crescent City man accused of trying to rob two women at knifepoint in two Mendocino County shopping centers five days before last Christmas was found guilty Wednesday at a nonjury trial held in Department B of the Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah.

After hearing the available evidence, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke entered guilty verdicts against 50-year-old Robert Lee White – also known as Robert Stanley – for an attempted robbery in the second degree of Royleen Eriksen on Dec. 20, 2012, outside of Lucky’s in the Pear Tree Shopping Center, and a separate attempted robbery in the second degree of Patricia DeLapo minutes later outside of J.C. Penney’s.

White also was found guilty of attempting to forcibly dissuade a witness, Steve Eriksen, from seeking White’s arrest.

The court found true that White was armed with and used a knife in each of the above three crimes.

White was found not guilty of one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of elder abuse.  

The prosecutor handling the case was District Attorney David Eyster. White’s defense was directed by Deputy Public Defender Dan Haehl.

The court also found true that White had previously suffered four prior strike convictions:  

• Robbery, in 1999 in the Humboldt County Superior Court;
• Robbery, in 1999 in the Alameda County Superior Court;
• Criminal threats, in 1996 in the Del Norte County Superior Court; and
• Residential burglary with the personal use of a firearm, in 1982 in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Given the mandates of the Three Strikes law, Eyster noted that the combination of all guilty verdicts and findings expose White to a state prison commitment of 98 years to life.

Eyster expressed his appreciation to the Ukiah Police Department for its quick response and thorough investigation in December.  

He also thanked the victims for their willingness to come to court to provide necessary testimony, testimony that, according to Eyster, “makes sure that this very dangerous man will no longer victimize Christmas shoppers – or anybody else for that matter – now and in the future.”  

White is schedule for sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 17, before Judge Behnke, Eyster’s office reported.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has found the farthest supernova so far of the type used to measure cosmic distances. Supernova UDS10Wil, nicknamed SN Wilson after American President Woodrow Wilson, exploded more than 10 billion years ago.

SN Wilson belongs to a special class called Type Ia supernovae. These bright beacons are prized by astronomers because they provide a consistent level of brightness that can be used to measure the expansion of space. They also yield clues to the nature of dark energy, the mysterious force accelerating the rate of expansion.

“This new distance record holder opens a window into the early universe, offering important new insights into how these stars explode,” said David O. Jones of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., an astronomer and lead author on the paper detailing the discovery. “We can test theories about how reliable these detonations are for understanding the evolution of the universe and its expansion.”

The discovery was part of a three-year Hubble program, begun in 2010, to survey faraway Type Ia supernovae and determine whether they have changed during the 13.8 billion years since the explosive birth of the universe.

Astronomers took advantage of the sharpness and versatility of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to search for supernovae in near-infrared light and verify their distance with spectroscopy.

Leading the work is Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., and Johns Hopkins University.

Finding remote supernovae provides a powerful method to measure the universe’s accelerating expansion.

So far, Riess’s team has uncovered more than 100 supernovae of all types and distances, looking back in time from 2.4 billion years to more than 10 billion years.

Of those new discoveries, the team has identified eight Type Ia supernovae, including SN Wilson, that exploded more than 9 billion years ago.

“The Type Ia supernovae give us the most precise yardstick ever built, but we’re not quite sure if it always measures exactly a yard,” said team member Steve Rodney of Johns Hopkins University. “The more we understand these supernovae, the more precise our cosmic yardstick will become.”

Although SN Wilson is only 4 percent more distant than the previous record holder, it pushes roughly 350 million years farther back in time.

A separate team led by David Rubin of the U.S. Energy Department’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California announced the previous record just three months ago.

Astronomers still have much to learn about the nature of dark energy and how Type Ia supernovae explode.

By finding Type Ia supernovae so early in the universe, astronomers can distinguish between two competing explosion models.

In one model the explosion is caused by a merger between two white dwarfs. In another model, a white dwarf gradually feeds off its partner, a normal star, and explodes when it accretes too much mass.

The team’s preliminary evidence shows a sharp decline in the rate of Type Ia supernova blasts between roughly 7.5 billion years ago and more than 10 billion years ago.

The steep drop-off favors the merger of two white dwarfs because it predicts that most stars in the early universe are too young to become Type Ia supernovae.

“If supernovae were popcorn, the question is how long before they start popping?” Riess said. “You may have different theories about what is going on in the kernel. If you see when the first kernels popped and how often they popped, it tells you something important about the process of popping corn.”

Knowing the type of trigger for Type Ia supernovae also will show how quickly the universe enriched itself with heavier elements such as iron. These exploding stars produce about half of the iron in the universe, the raw material for building planets, and life.

The team’s results have been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., in Washington operates STScI.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new state health report shows that many of California’s counties are improving their health outcomes, while Lake County was rated worst in the state from overall death rates with poor health showings in other key health categories.

The California Department of Public Health released its “County Health Status Profiles 2013,” coauthored with the California Conference of Local Health Officers, in coordination with National Public Health Week, Apr. 1-7. It’s the 20th anniversary edition of the report, which the state began in 1993.

The report showed that California has achieved important national health goals for reducing deaths due to cancer, motor vehicle crashes, homicide and suicide, and in reducing the incidence of AIDS, gonorrhea and low-birthweight infants.

“These trends point to a healthier California,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health. “However, far too many Californians still struggle with chronic diseases related to diet, physical activity and smoking. We all have a stake in building a healthier California.”

Statewide, the new report points to declines in deaths due to heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and reduced incidence of tuberculosis, while identifying increases in deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease and an uptick in the incidence of chlamydia.

The 2013 profiles provides a snapshot of key public health indicators for each of California’s 58 counties and the state and compares them to goals established by the federal “Healthy People 2020 National Objectives.”

The report showed that 56 counties and California met the national goal for AIDS cases and female gonorrhea, with death rates declining for accidents, diabetes and influence/pneumonia.

While Lake was among the 56 counties meeting the goals for AIDS cases, it didn’t fare as well in the other categories.

For Lake County – the health issues of which recently were given low marks in the nationwide County Health Rankings – the new state report pointed to clear problems.

“It is hard to sugar coat our health data,” said Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.

Based on Tait’s analysis of the latest data, Lake County’s rates have worsened in the areas of death from all causes, for which it ranked last, or No. 58, in the state; as well as stroke (No. 57); chronic lower respiratory disease (No. 56); accidents (No. 57); chlamydia infections (No. 24) and low birthweight infants (No. 32).

Lake County was listed No. 54 for firearms-related deaths, infant mortality and prenatal care begun during the first trimester of pregnancy; No. 55 for coronary heart disease and deaths due to pneumonia and influenza, No. 56 for prostate cancer deaths, motor vehicle crashes and Hispanic infant mortality; No. 57, or next to last, for suicide rate, deaths due to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis; and No. 58 for drug-induced deaths and infant mortality for Asian/Pacific Islanders.

In several ratings areas, the report stated that rates were deemed unreliable due to too few data elements.

Tait pointed out that health issues are very much tied to lifestyle choices and behaviors. “Our smoking rates continue to be high and almost certainly factor strongly into cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease rates.”

While Tait said it’s painful to see where the county stands with respect to the data in the new report, she suggested there are important perspectives to consider, among them, trends for improvement.

Areas of improvement, said Tait, included rates for all cancer deaths (No. 52), lung cancer (No. 54), births to teen mothers (No. 47), adequate prenatal care (No. 51) and breastfeeding initiation (No. 39), Tait said.

Citing data from the California Cancer Registry, she said Lake County has experienced overall improvements in both invasive cancer incidence and overall cancer mortality in Lake County since 2005.

“What this may mean is that, even though we are seeing positive changes, we are not making them as fast as other counties in California,” she said.

She said the public health department recognizes that health tends to correlate with socioeconomic factors, “and we recognize that we have our challenges here in Lake County.”

Tait added, “I think it is important to realize that poor health choices are not simply a matter of poor decision-making. It is difficult for people to be motivated toward improving their health when they are struggling and discouraged.”

She explained that socioeconomic burdens are an explanation for poor health, but not an excuse.   “There are more hurdles to overcome in order to get motivated to practice healthier behaviors.”

Tait said Lake County has a strong sense of community, and she thinks it’s important for people to provide each other with the encouragement they need to be physically active, eat healthful foods, stop using tobacco and other drugs, and drive defensively.   

The Lake County Health Services Department is offering its own encouragement through the “Climb to the Peak of Health” effort, which offers small steps to take in reaching better health. The assessment brochure can be found at http://health.lakecountyca.gov/ .

The new report and the data it provides are expected to have an impact on the update of the Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment, which is now under way, as Lake County News has reported.

The document looks at Lake County’s specific health challenges and priorities. The original assessment, published in October 2010, drew heavily on that year’s county health profile.

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.

2013 County Health Status Profiles

Water leaders gathered Wednesday at California’s first Integrated Water Management Summit to hear top officials discuss their preferred approach to solving the state’s water and flood management problems.

The summit was hosted by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to address how to effectively manage limited water resources given the uncertainty caused by climate change, environmental regulations, flood risk, changing public preferences and unstable funding.  

Speakers included California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works Steve Stockton and U.S. Rep. Jim Costa.

“The water and flood management approaches that all of us have relied on for decades are no longer sustainable,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “DWR supports using an integrated approach to meeting the state's water, flood and ecosystem management challenges, and we encourage our local and regional partners to do the same.”

Integrated Water Management (IWM) is a framework for planning and implementation that incorporates objectives to improve public safety, foster environmental stewardship and support economic stability.

This approach requires planning from both short and long-term perspectives, across jurisdictional and watershed boundaries; and a willingness to move beyond traditional planning and implementation methods.

IWM is not a one-time activity, and requires unprecedented cooperation and alignment among public agencies, landowners, tribal entities, water purveyors, environmental organizations and other stakeholders. IWM calls for programs and projects that deliver multiple benefits worthy of the public’s investment.

The IWM approach promotes system resiliency to accommodate changing conditions, such as regional preferences, environmental needs, flood or drought events, and financing capabilities.

Last week’s snow-pack survey, which measured snowpack water content at 52 percent of normal, underscores the necessity of using an integrated approach to address California’s water supply and ecosystem restoration challenges.

Speakers also referenced the California’s Flood Future report, released Wednesday by DWR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a public review draft, as an example of why IWM is so important to California’s future.

The report points to the fact that 7 million California residents and $580 billion in assets – including homes, businesses and agriculture – are exposed to flood risk.

California has experienced several significant flood events on the heels of an extended drought, which points to the importance of wise long-term planning for effective flood management.

More information about the Integrated Water Management Summit is available at http://www.watereducation.org/doc.asp?id=2713&;parentID=849 . DWR plans to publish summit highlights in the next couple of months.