On Thursday, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation for winegrape crop loss coverage.

The bill requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corp., or FCIC, to carry out research and implement a crop insurance product that covers losses due to smoke exposure.

“Winegrapes are essential to economies across our country, and states like California, Oregon, and Washington have been disproportionately exposed to wildfires leading to smoke exposure impacting our winegrapes,” said Thompson. “Researching the impact that smoke has on our winegrapes and other crops is essential in advancing solutions that will protect these key economic drivers from future natural disasters. Proud to work with Rep. Newhouse and Sen. Padilla to introduce legislation that strengthens crop insurance for winegrowers and helps fully capture the risks associated with growing in these smoke- and wildfire-prone states.”

“Washington state’s wine industry produces some of the best wine in the nation and we need to keep it that way. Right now, the industry faces billions of dollars in losses from wildfires and smoke exposure. I am proud to co-sponsor this critical legislation that will ensure our wine grape growers and producers get the necessary funding to be resilient and continue to produce high-quality wine,” said Newhouse.

“As climate change intensifies and wildfires become more frequent and extreme, we need to protect winegrape growers and consumers against the damage caused by prolonged smoke exposure. Winegrape growing regions are critical to our economy, especially in California. Growers, vintners, and consumers alike have a stake in the sustainability of winegrowing communities — these bills will help growers make informed decisions about harvesting and selling their crops,” said Padilla.

“Washington state is the second-largest wine producing state in the country, creating thousands of jobs and fueling tourism across the state,” said Senator Murray. “Washington is also seeing an alarming increase in wildfires year after year, which creates a serious smoke exposure problem for winegrape growers across the West Coast. Vineyards in Washington state and all the way down to California need a crop insurance policy for smoke-exposed winegrapes, rather than being forced to rely on ad-hoc disaster assistance from year to year — and that’s what this legislation will provide. I’m proud that research at Washington State University has played a leading role in studying the impacts of smoke exposure, and this bill takes a critical and needed step to protect our state’s vital wine industry.”

"The profound losses experienced by growers due to impacts of wildfire smoke underscore the pressing need for research and have highlighted the necessity for improvements to crop insurance to safeguard growers,” said Natalie Collins, President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers. “We commend Congressman Thompson for recognizing the long-lasting ramifications of wildfires on the winegrape industry, and for prioritizing solutions to ensure a more sustainable future for an industry that serves as a vital economic force," she said.

“The wildfires in 2020 were especially detrimental to our winegrape crop given the timing in the harvest season. Our farmers invest all year in growing the crop and when it cannot be harvested, It can be financially devastating. Crop insurance and support is crucial for the long term preservation of agriculture in these uncertain times,” said Karissa Kruse, President of Sonoma County Winegrowers.

Winegrapes exposed to smoke from wildfires can introduce compounds into the winemaking process that cause smoky, ash-like flavors and result in wines unfit for commercial sale. These off-aromas and flavors become more pronounced over time as wine ages. In 2020 alone, industry sources estimate between 165,000 and 325,000 tons of California winegrapes were lost due to actual or perceived smoke damage, and financial estimate place losses at over $600 million.

The legislation introduced by Reps. Thompson and Newhouse and Senators Padilla and Murray requires research and development of a crop insurance product that provides comprehensive coverage for smoke-impacted winegrape growers, and helps to mitigate future financial losses in these key regions of production.

Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has dozens of dogs ready for adoption.

Among the dogs available this week are “Ella,” a female Rottweiler mix with a short black and tan coat.

There also is “Ivy,” a female Labrador retriever mix with a short tan coat.

The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email info@northbayanimalservices.org, visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.

This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

 

Ocean temperatures have been off the charts since mid-March 2023, with the highest average levels in 40 years of satellite monitoring, and the impact is breaking through in disruptive ways around the world.

The sea of Japan is more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) warmer than average. The Indian monsoon, closely tied to conditions in the warm Indian Ocean, has been well below its expected strength.

Spain, France, England and the whole Scandinavian Peninsula are also seeing rainfall far below normal, likely connected to an extraordinary marine heat wave in the eastern North Atlantic. Sea surface temperatures there have been 1.8 to 5 F (1 to 3 C) above average from the coast of Africa all the way to Iceland.

So, what’s going on?

El Niño is partly to blame. This climate phenomenon, now developing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, is characterized by warm waters in the central and eastern Pacific, which generally weakens the trade winds in the tropics. This weakening of those winds can affect oceans and land around the world.

But there are other forces at work on ocean temperatures.

Underlying everything is global warming – the continuing rising trend of sea surface and land temperatures for the past several decades as human activities have increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

The world just came off three straight years of La Niña – El Niño’s opposite, characterized by cooler waters rising in the equatorial Pacific. La Niña has a cooling effect globally that helps keep global sea surface temperatures in check but can also mask global warming. With that cooling effect turned off, the heat is increasingly evident.

Arctic sea ice was also unusually low in May and early June, and it may play a role. Losing ice cover can increase water temperatures, because dark open water absorbs solar radiation that white ice had reflected back into space.

These influences are playing out in various ways around the world.

The effects of extraordinary Atlantic heat

In early June 2023, I visited the NORCE climate center in Bergen, Norway, for two weeks to meet with other ocean scientists. The warm waters and mild winds across the eastern North Atlantic brought a long stretch of sunny, warm weather in a month when more than 70% of days normally would have been downpours.

The whole agricultural sector of Norway is now bracing for a drought as bad as the one in 2018, when yield was 40% below normal. Our train from Bergen to Oslo had a two-hour delay because the brakes of one car overheated and the 90 F (32 C) temperatures approaching the capital were too high to allow them to cool down.

Many scientists have speculated on the causes of the eastern North Atlantic’s unusually high temperatures, and several studies are underway.

Weakened winds caused the Azores high, a semi-permanent high pressure system over the Atlantic that affects Europe’s weather, to be especially weak and brought less dust from the Sahara over the ocean during the spring, which may have increased the amount of solar radiation reaching the water. A decrease in human-produced aerosol emissions in Europe and in the United States over the past few years – which has succeeded in improving air quality – may also have reduced the cooling effect such aerosols have.

A weakened monsoon in South Asia

In the Indian Ocean, El Niño tends to cause a warming of the water in April and May that can dampen the crucial Indian monsoon.

That may be happening – the monsoon was much weaker than normal from mid-May to mid-June 2023. That can be a problem for a large part of South Asia, where most of the agriculture is still rain-fed and depends heavily on the summer monsoon.

The Indian Ocean also saw an intense, slow-moving cyclone in the Arabian Sea this year that deprived land of moisture and rainfall for weeks. Studies suggest storms can sit for longer over warmer waters, gaining strength and pulling moisture to their core, and that can deprive surrounding land masses of water, increasing the risk of droughts, wildfires and marine heat waves.

North American hurricane season up in the air

In the Atlantic, the weakening trade winds with El Niño tend to tamp down hurricane activity, but warm Atlantic temperatures can supercharge those storms. Whether the ocean heat, if it persists into fall, will override El Niño’s effects remains to be seen.

Risk of marine heat waves in South America

Marine heat waves can also have huge impacts on marine ecosystems, bleaching coral reefs and causing the death or movement of entire species. Coral-based ecosystems are nurseries for fish that provide food for 1 billion people around the world.

The reefs of the Galapagos Islands and those along the coastlines of Colombia, Panama and Ecuador are already at risk of severe bleaching and mortality from this year’s El Nino. Meanwhile, the Japan Sea and the eastern Mediterranean Sea are both losing their biodiversity to invasive species – giant jellyfish in Asia and lionfish in the Mediterranean – that can thrive in warmer waters.

These kinds of risks are increasing

Spring 2023 was exceptional, with several chaotic weather events accompanying the formation of El Niño and the exceptionally warmer temperatures in many parts of the world. At the same time, the warming of the oceans and atmosphere increase the chances for this kind of ocean warming.

To lower the risk, the world needs to reduce baseline warming by limiting excess greenhouse gas emissions, like fossil fuels, and move to a carbon-neutral planet. People will have to adapt to a warming climate in which extreme events are more likely and learn how to mitigate their impact.

Annalisa Bracco, Professor of Ocean and Climate Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — More than 400 people of all ages showed up to participate in a walking school bus event on May 31 hosted by Konocti Unified School District in partnership with the city of Clearlake and Blue Zones Project — Lake County.

Students and their families, KUSD teachers and staff, community members and elected leaders walked from Austin Park to Pomo Elementary School to highlight the need for walkable neighborhoods and to encourage federal funding for the effort.

“Sometimes we get so used to our surroundings, we forget we can change them,” KUSD Superintendent Becky Salato said. “We know health is important, and many of us grew up walking to school, but when parents look around and see how dangerous it would be for their kids to walk, they put them on a bus or drive them to school–even when they only live a few blocks away.”

To make the walking school bus event safe, the city of Clearlake closed one lane of Lakeshore Drive and provided traffic control, so no one had to dodge cars while they walked. Blue Zones Project — Lake County provided water and T-shirts.

Many community members provided moral support by walking alongside the kids, including Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora, Lake County Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, Clearlake City Council Member Dirk Slooten, Clearlake Chief of Police Tim Hobbs, Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Marc Hill, Adventist Health Director of Wellbeing Don Smith and Blue Zones Project — Lake County Director Jamey Gill.

Parents joined in to support their children, often pushing younger siblings in strollers. The festive mood created by kids talking and laughing together brought people outside to see what all the commotion was about.

Gill said, “Neighbors came out of their homes to see the parade. One woman shouted, ‘This day will go down in history.’ Another man brought his little kids outside to watch and wave.”

Blue Zones Project — Lake County Public Policy Advocate Greg Damron explained that by creating a “built environment” that encourages walking, especially safe routes to school, it is easier for people to develop healthy habits. With the current lack of sidewalks and proximity to busy traffic, most parents are not comfortable sending their children to school on foot.

Before the walking school bus crowd left Austin Park, Superintendent Salato asked students to raise their hands if they had ever walked to school. Fewer than 20 kids raised their hands.

She challenged them to use all their senses as they walked, to pay attention to what they saw, heard, smelled, and felt. When they arrived, she asked if their minds and bodies felt ready to learn.

“Do you feel more energized?!” she asked. “Yes!” they responded. She then asked who wanted to walk to school from now on, and all hands went up. This is when first graders started chanting, “We want sidewalks. We want sidewalks!”

Salato knows that creating a safe, walkable community cannot happen overnight, but that “it can and should happen.” She says she will continue to collaborate with local officials and Blue Zones Project partners to advocate for state and federal funding for sidewalks and other local health initiatives.

Blue Zones Projects across the nation support the Safe Routes to School movement that works to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school. Research confirms that students benefit from improved health and learning when they get physical exercise on the way to school. In Clearlake, however, those benefits must be measured against the risks of navigating unsafe routes.

The walking school bus event is only one example of the partnership between Konocti Unified and Blue Zones — Lake County.

KUSD is working toward becoming the first school district to be a Blue Zones Project Certified workplace and each school is working toward becoming a Blue Zones Approved school.

Damron shared his enthusiasm about the partnership, saying, “I have worked in community development for close to 30 years, and spent the last five years supporting public health in schools. In all that time, Becky Salato is the most progressive and innovative superintendent I have ever worked with. She is focused on moving the needle at all levels, from statewide advocacy to engaging students in the classroom. As a member of the Blue Zones Project team, I can tell you we are pretty well-funded and well-connected, and at times, we find ourselves trying to keep up with Becky.”

Next year, KUSD will continue to embrace the core tenants of the Blue Zones Project, including providing more opportunities for students and staff to exercise and increasing access to healthy food (some of which will be grown at school gardens).

Salato is also dedicated to tackling one of Lake County’s most intransigent problems: dependence on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Lake County has among the highest adult smoking rates in California, and vaping (using electronic devices to inhale nicotine and other substances) has reached epidemic proportions among students, with some starting as early as first grade.

Salato says she is encouraged by the turnout at the walking school bus event and that she will continue to work with community members to support children’s physical and emotional well-being, even when faced with the occasional naysayer.

One parent admitted that he was not sure how the walking school bus event would go.

“So close to the end of school when kids are tired and antsy, I wasn’t sure if there would be eye-rolling or if kids would get into it. Turns out, it was spectacular. Hundreds of kids were eager to participate and super energetic. I was stunned. What a tribute to the school district and city of Clearlake. This was epic,” he said.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — An Upper Lake man is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison for a brutal domestic violence case.

On June 14, Arturo Pedro Gutierrez, 62 , was sentenced for an extremely violent assault on his 53-year-old girlfriend, Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said.

On Aug. 19, 2022, Lake County Sheriff’s officers, as a result of a 911 call, responded to a residence at 6:30 a.m. between Lakeport and Upper Lake, and contacted the victim at the 911 caller’s residence, Hinchcliff said.

Hinchcliff said the victim was covered in bruises and had been severely beaten. Officers had the victim transported to the hospital.

Upon further investigation officers learned that the victim and Gutierrez had been in a relationship for one year, Hinchcliff said.

The previous night the victim had gone to Gutierrez’s residence on Bridge Arbor Road, according to Hinchcliff’s report. The victim said Gutierrez began drinking alcohol the night before and became angry. He grabbed her by the hair, and the victim began asking Gutierrez not to hurt her.

Gutierrez continued to grab her by the hair, began spitting on her, and physically restrained her. Gutierrez then hit her in the face and began hitting her all over her body, according to the investigation.

Hinchcliff said Gutierrez continued to grab her by her hair, continued beating her, and threatened to kill her and her daughter. Gutierrez then covered her mouth with his hand causing her to become dizzy and fear for her life. He also choked her several times.

At one point the victim escaped outside where Gutierrez followed her and tackled her to the ground. Hinchcliff said she was finally able to escape, but ended up outside in the dark in a field, suffering from blurry vision because of the assault. The victim eventually laid down in the field in the cold, wearing only underwear, and fell asleep until it got light the next morning.

A nearby neighbor said that morning he was awakened by the sound of the victim yelling for help outside his residence. The neighbor said the victim was obviously injured and scared and he took her inside and called 911.

The victim was covered with severe bruising all over her body and had a fracture underneath her right eye socket from the assault, Hinchcliff said.

The District Attorney’s Office charged Gutierrez with numerous felonies, including spousal abuse, assault, terrorist threats, false imprisonment and causing great bodily injury. Gutierrez was also charged with having two prior “strike” convictions — one in 1994 for attempted murder, and one in 2012 for kidnapping.

Gutierrez had spent numerous years in prison, approximately 20, because of his prior criminal history.

Senior Deputy District Attorney James Gandy was the assigned prosecutor for the case for the District Attorney’s Office, and Thomas Feimer was the public defender appointed to represent Gutierrez. David J. Markham was the presiding judge.

After an unsuccessful attempt to settle the case, it went to trial on April 19. On April 26, the jury returned with verdicts of guilty on all charges, and found the special allegation of committing great bodily injury to be true. The “strike” allegations were also found to be true by the judge, Hinchcliff said.

Prior to sentencing Gutierrez made a Marsden motion to have his attorney relieved and a new attorney appointed. That motion was denied by Judge Markham.

The sentencing took place on June 14. The victim was present, and the victim’s sister read a statement to the court from the victim.

Judge Markham, noting the seriousness of Gutierrez’s conduct, the violence involved, as well as the significant physical and emotional injuries inflicted on the victim, sentenced Gutierrez to 40 years to life.

“Hopefully the significant penalty imposed in this case will have some kind of deterrent effect on potential future spousal abusers. And, hopefully, it will convince and encourage future domestic violence victims to report domestic violence, and to cooperate with law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, in order to hold the abusers accountable for their conduct,” Hinchcliff said.

Multigenerational households — three or more generations under one roof — made up 4.7% of all U.S. households but 7.2% of family households in 2020, an increase from 2010.

Family households are those with at least one person related to the householder by birth, marriage or adoption.

There were 6.0 million U.S. multigenerational households in 2020, up from 5.1 million in 2010, according to 2020 Census data released recently.

Lake County, California, was in the highest quartile for multigenerational households.



Multigenerational households were not equally distributed across the nation and the map below (Figure 1) shows the percentage of all family households that were multigenerational in 2020 by county.

While 2020 Census data show that 7.2% of all family households were multigenerational nationwide, county level percentages are wide-ranging, from 0.5% to 31.0%.

Multigenerational households were more prevalent throughout the South, Puerto Rico and some western states. This is consistent with 2010 data that also showed a higher percentage of multigenerational households throughout the South and West.

In 2020, many counties in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, for example, had a high percentage of multigenerational households (Table 1). However, other states in the West like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, had many counties with a lower prevalence of multigenerational households. These households were also less common in the Midwest and Northeast.



Children living with grandparents

In 2020, 6.1 million or 8.4% of children under age 18 lived in their grandparents’ home (Figure 2), up from 5.8 million in 2010.

Counties in Puerto Rico and throughout states in the South and West tended to have a greater share of children living in their grandparents’ home while counties in the Midwest – particularly in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin – had a smaller share.

The five counties with the greatest shares of children living with their grandparents were predominantly in the West, and those with the smallest shares were all in the Midwest.

Chanell Washington, Thomas Gryn, Lydia Anderson and Rose M. Kreider are family demographers in the Fertility and Family Statistics Branch of the Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division.

 

The heat dome that descended upon the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021 met a population radically unprepared for it.

Almost two-thirds of households earning US$50,000 or less and 70% of rented houses in Washington’s King, Pierce and Snohomish counties had no air conditioning. In Spokane, nearly one-quarter of survey respondents didn’t have in-home air conditioning, and among those who did, 1 in 5 faced significant, often financial, barriers to using it.

Imagine having no way to cool your home as temperatures spiked to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), and 120 F (49 C) in some places. People in urban heat islands – areas with few trees and lots of asphalt and concrete that can absorb and radiate heat – saw temperatures as much as 14 F (7.8 C) higher than that.

Extreme heat disasters like this are becoming increasingly common in regions where high heat used to be rare. Blackouts during severe heat waves can also leave residents who believe they are protected because they have in home air conditioners at unexpected risk. To prepare, cities, neighborhoods, companies and individuals can take steps now that can reduce the harm.

In a new report, written with colleagues at universities and the Washington State Department of Health and released ahead of the two-year anniversary of the heat wave, we show how municipal planning agencies, parks departments, local health agencies, community-based organizations like churches and nonprofits, multiple state agencies, hospitals, public health professionals and emergency response personnel, as well as individuals and families, can play a vital role in reducing risk.

The 2021 heat dome was Washington’s deadliest weather disaster on record. It contributed to 441 deaths in the state between June 27 and July 3, our research shows. Medical systems were overwhelmed.

There are numerous ways to avoid this deadly of an outcome in the future. Many emerge from thinking about extreme heat as long-term risk reduction, not just short-term emergency response.

Designing environments for cooling

Greening the urban environment can reduce heat exposure and save lives. For example, planting trees and building shade structures where people are most exposed to heat can provide local relief from extreme temperatures. That includes providing shade at buildings without air conditioning and exposed public spaces, such as bus stops and parks.

Planting rooftops with vegetation, known as green roofs, or painting them white so they reflect heat rather than absorb it, can also lower roof temperatures by tens of degrees. Used widely, they can reduce an entire neighborhood’s heat island effect by several degrees.

Efforts like these, along with tree planting campaigns in public parks and rights of way, and ordinances requiring shade trees for parking lots and private development projects, can transform the urban heat landscape.

Reaching vulnerable people

When heat waves are coming, culturally nuanced outreach efforts focused on the most vulnerable populations – and involving sources they trust – can save lives.

Government heat advisories in traditional media like radio, newspapers, TV and the internet have been shown to have limited success in changing people’s behavior. In the 2022 Spokane survey, 88% of respondents indicated they were unlikely to leave their home during an extreme heat event to go to a cooling center, for example. The reasons varied, including misperception of personal risk, fear of leaving homes unoccupied, not wanting to leave pets behind and mistrust of government.

Culturally specific resources led by community-based organizations can get around the government trust issue and can be tailored to the local population.

That might mean opening cooling centers in churches or common community gathering places and launching heat awareness campaigns driven by trusted community messengers. New York City developed a door-to-door wellness check program that uses neighborhood volunteers to check on elderly and other at-risk residents.

Under this model, churches, libraries, community centers and community nonprofits take center stage, supported with resources from local and state governments. Baltimore developed more than a dozen “resiliency hubs” using this model to provide water, cooling, power for charging devices and other support.

Community-based organizations can also direct energy assistance to lower-income community members. In Spokane, one community organization created a “cooling fund” to provide portable air conditioners to those who cannot afford one.

Our report lays out many other strategies to achieve long-term heat risk reduction.

Landlords, employers and utilities have a role

Addressing extreme heat over the long term requires the participation of many other groups not tasked with protecting public health.

For example, landlords of multifamily housing and rental homes have an important role to play. After the 2021 heat wave, Oregon passed a law prohibiting landlords from restricting tenants’ ability to install window air conditioners.

Employers of people who work outdoors, or indoors in buildings without air conditioning, can protect workers by allowing more breaks, providing shade and water and adjusting work hours to avoid heat exposure – although concerns persist about rule enforcement and reduced pay.

Utilities can make a difference by ensuring the power stays on during high-demand periods, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods, and working with communities to reduce costs for vulnerable people that may prevent them from using air conditioning.

Ultimately, reducing extreme heat vulnerability through multiple strategies is crucial because lives are at stake.

Coordination is essential

Extreme heat waves are forecast to occur more frequently across the globe as greenhouse gas emissions continue to warm the climate. Between 1971 and 2021, Washington state experienced an average of three extreme heat days per year. By the 2050s, climate models project that will rise to between 17 and 30 extreme heat days per year – a fivefold increase.

In the end, saving lives from extreme heat is a complicated challenge requiring coordination across multiple levels of government, agencies and the civic and private sectors.

Some cities, including Phoenix, are experimenting with heat offices tasked with this coordination. But individuals have an important role to play as well.

In addition to knowing how to protect themselves, their loved ones and their neighbors, individuals can add their voices to the rising chorus calling on all levels of government and the private and civic sectors to take urgent steps to reduce heat risk.

Jason Vogel, Interim Director, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington and Brian G. Henning, Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies, Gonzaga University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A fire captain who lost his life last week in an off-duty motorcycle crash was officially brought home by his friends and colleagues on Tuesday morning.

Cal Fire Capt. Ronnie Boyd was honored with the procession, which over the course of more than two hours traveled from the Napa County Coroner’s Office, through the south county to Lower Lake.

Boyd, 51, a longtime Clearlake resident, died on June 11 following a solo-vehicle motorcycle crash in Napa County. His wife, Dena Boyd, 52, who was riding with him, died two days later of her injuries.

The couple’s many friends across the county and beyonds are remembering them for their contributions to the community.

Ronnie Boyd had been with Cal Fire for the last 20 years, having served as a volunteer firefighter with the Lakeshore Fire Department — later Lake County Fire — beginning in the late 1990s.

At the time of his death, he was a fire captain in Cal Fire’s Humboldt-Del Norte Unit.

Joining the procession were a host of fire and law enforcement agencies, including Cal Fire, Lake County Fire, South Lake County Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, Clearlake Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Those riding in the procession included dozens of motorcyclists.

In Middletown, community members came out to line the route, holding flags and signs.

Middletown High School teacher Patrick McFarlane brought his class to watch the procession as it passed through the town mid-morning.

McFarlane’s students held a banner honoring Boyd as they waited alongside Highway 29 in front of the high school.

When the procession arrived in Lower Lake shortly before noon, Main Street was closed down to allow the group to pass.

The Boyd family is expected to release details about memorial services in the coming days.

Gemini Garcia contributed to this report.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) on Tuesday weighed in on the announcement that President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom made regarding more than $600 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law being rolled out to communities throughout California and across the country for climate resilience projects.

“The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing our world today and it demands our immediate attention,” said Thompson. “Last Congress, we made significant strides towards taking on the climate crisis through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, we are seeing the direct impact of these laws through investments in climate and grid resilience programs in California and across our country. The successes of the last Congress are just a first step, and I am committed to continuing this progress so we can protect the planet for generations to come.

The funding announced by President Biden and Gov. Newsom is part of a first-ever Climate Resilience Regional Challenge to help coastal and Great Lakes communities, including tribal communities in those regions, become more resilient to extreme weather and other impacts of the climate crisis.

The funding will support innovative coastal resilience and adaptation solutions, such as building natural infrastructure, planning and preparing for community-led relocation, and protecting public access to coastal natural resources, that protect communities and ecosystems from sea level rise, tidal flooding, hurricanes and storm surge, among other severe climate impacts.

The challenge is part of the $2.6 billion in resilience funding for NOAA included in the Inflation Reduction Act.

In addition, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing $2.3 billion in states, territories, tribes and the District of Columbia over the next five years to bolster grid resilience across the country.

As part of this investment, California is set to receive $67.4 million in the coming days, with the ability to apply for additional funding in the future, to modernize its electric grid to reduce impacts from extreme weather, natural disasters, and wildfires, and to ensure the reliability of the state’s power sector.

On Monday, President Biden and Gov. Newsom visited the Baylands Nature Preserve, one of the largest tracts of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay.

The preserve is part of the Strategy to Advance Flood protection, Ecosystems and Recreation along the San Francisco Bay Project, a flood and sea-level resilience project that will protect almost 1,600 properties and will enable the restoration of approximately 600 acres of marsh from former salt ponds.

Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.

California State Parks has reopened the application period for the State Park peace officer cadet exams.

The department invites individuals to “Live the Parks Life” as rangers or lifeguards in the nation’s largest state park system.

The new deadline to apply is Monday, July 31.

Cadet academy graduates can serve the state as rangers and lifeguards to safeguard both visitors and the historical, cultural and natural resources found in 280 state park units.

Offices are located near beaches or waterways, or in deserts, parks, museums, historic parks and state vehicular recreation areas.

“I know firsthand how rewarding it is to be a ranger to not only ensure public safety, but to educate our visitors about the rich history and amazing state parks available here in California,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “We invite you to Live the Parks Life by applying to the State Park Peace Officer Cadet Academy.”

The minimum age to be a peace officer is 21 years old. Candidates are required to have a valid California driver’s license and have 60 units of college credits, with 21 units being general education.

The entire selection process for becoming a ranger or lifeguard takes approximately 15 months.

The first step in the selection/examination process is to mail, email or hand deliver an application during the open application period. The application is used to determine if the candidate meets the minimum qualifications for admission into the examination, which consists of the Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, Entry Level Law Enforcement Test Battery written exam.

This exam is used to admit the candidate into the next phases of the selection process, which include the physical agility test, background investigation, oral interview, and medical and psychological evaluations.

Successful applicants will be sent a notification to attend the eight-month-long POST-certified law enforcement academy.

The academy instruction prepares cadets physically, mentally and emotionally to enter the workforce as a state park peace officer ranger or lifeguard.

Rangers and lifeguards are sworn officers equipped with a firearm and badge. Cadets will learn how to conduct investigations, make physical arrests, use firearms and perform emergency responses.

Training also includes how to actively protect park resources, assist visitors and run interpretive programs.

Below are some frequently asked questions regarding the State Park Peace Officer Cadet Academy:

Do I have to carry a firearm to serve as a ranger or lifeguard?
Yes. Cadet training includes how to conduct investigations, make physical arrests, use firearms and perform emergency responses.

What is the age minimum and age maximum to apply?
Candidates must be at least 21 years of age to become a peace officer. State Park Peace Officer's mandatory retirement age is 65 years, but there is no maximum application age.

I have not completed two years of college yet. Can I still apply while I am still taking classes?
Candidates may be enrolled in college at the time of application but must have at least 21 units of general education credits satisfying general education curriculum standards with courses (which may include courses in natural science, social science, mathematics, language and humanities). By the time of appointment, a candidate must have completed 60 semester units of study at a state-accredited college or university. A degree in park administration, natural sciences, social sciences, law enforcement or a related field is desirable.

Where is the Cadet Academy located?
Most cadets attend training at Butte College Law Enforcement Academy (Butte County). However, the department may utilize several academy sites, including Mott Training Center at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, South Bay Regional Public Safety Academy at Fort Ord in Monterey, and the Ben Clark Law Enforcement Training facility in Riverside. It is at the department's discretion to determine an academy location for each class.

Do I get paid while at the academy?
Yes. Cadets earn a salary; currently, the monthly salary range is $3,930 to $5,300. Most cadets start at the low end of the range unless they are a current state employee with a salary within the range.

To hire a workforce reflective of California’s diverse population, California State Parks is committed to ensuring equal access and connecting all job seekers to opportunities through fair hiring and employment practices. For more information on the cadet exams, minimum qualifications, additional frequently asked questions and a timeline of the recruitment cycle, please visit LiveTheParksLife.com.

Please send questions regarding other employment opportunities at California State Parks to the Workforce Planning and Recruitment Office at recruiting@parks.ca.gov.

 

Millions of Americans struggle to afford healthy meals and nutritious food. Known as “food insecurity,” this problem was already rising when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits – previously called food stamps – were cut in 35 states this spring. SciLine interviewed Hilary Seligman, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, on rising grocery prices, the misconceptions about hunger in the U.S., and how food insecurity diminishes school and work performance.

Below are some highlights from the discussion. Answers have been edited.

What is food insecurity?

Hilary Seligman: Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the limited or uncertain access to enough food for a healthy life.

What are the trends in food insecurity rates?

Hilary Seligman: The most recent data suggests that about 1 in 10 households in the U.S. are food insecure. And this rate is even higher among certain groups, like Black and brown households and households with children.

What factors cause food insecurity?

Hilary Seligman: Food insecurity is an inability to access enough resources for your basic needs. So it’s not having sufficient money in the household to meet a food budget. And that may be because of disability, because of unemployment, because of inadequate educational opportunities, or all of these root causes.

How does inflation affect food insecurity rates?

Hilary Seligman: It’s clear that when food prices rise, households have to stretch a food budget even more. People have to make difficult choices about the kind of food they eat, and the amount of food they eat.

In many cases, when household budgets are stretched thin, people have to shift their purchases toward foods that are cheaper. And in the U.S., cheaper foods are almost always less healthy for you, more caloric and more deficient in vitamins and nutrients.

How does food insecurity affect people’s health?

Hilary Seligman: Over the last couple of decades, we’ve seen that food insecurity can have a profound impact on physical health and mental health, whether children, adults or older adults.

These cheaper foods tend to be really highly processed, nutritionally poor, shelf-stable foods. And we know these foods are bad for people’s health in the long term. They predispose people toward weight gain, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer.

We also know that when you live in a food-insecure household, it makes it difficult to afford other things that are good for your health. For example, it would make it more difficult to afford your copayment to see your primary care doctor, or your medications.

How does food insecurity affect success at work or school?

Hilary Seligman: We know that food insecurity is associated with poor academic performance among children.

Parents are probably really familiar with the way that their children behave when they’re hungry. And those same things happen in school environments when kids show up to school having not had the opportunity to eat a healthy breakfast.

The evidence is clear that food insecurity is associated with behavioral problems in school, absenteeism from school and poor academic performance. And this can have lifelong consequences for children.

A similar thing plays out with adults. Adults who are living in food-insecure households are less likely to be able to hold down a sufficient number of work hours to meet their household budget needs. They’re less likely to be able to devote a lot of hours to finding employment, because finding food takes a lot of time and a lot of energy.

Are there any common misconceptions about hunger?

Hilary Seligman: One of the misconceptions is that people who are experiencing food insecurity don’t want access to a healthier diet.

In many, many cases, if not most cases, the evidence is clear that people at all income levels often want access to a healthier diet. But in a household experiencing food insecurity, a healthier diet is simply out of reach financially.

Many people living in food-insecure households will tell you they perceive fruits and vegetables to be luxury items. They only splurge on fruits and vegetables when they have extra money in their budget. And so one of the things that we have to guard against is an assumption that people with lower incomes don’t want to eat a healthy diet.

What else works to reduce or eliminate food insecurity?

Hilary Seligman: The best solution for food insecurity is SNAP, which used to be called the food stamps program.

It is very, very clear that SNAP is enormously effective at supporting food security in U.S. households. And anything that reduces access to SNAP or makes it more difficult to enroll in SNAP is going to have the effect of increasing food insecurity rates in the United States.

An example of this would be the work requirements that will push people out of the SNAP program and likely increase food insecurity rates.

Things like earned income tax credits protect families against food insecurity. Emergency stimulus checks like we saw during the COVID pandemic also protect families.

Watch the full interview to hear more.

SciLine is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.

Hilary Seligman, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

On Monday, the state of California rolled out a first-of-its-kind approach to curbing the state’s catastrophic wildfire problem by providing new protections for prescribed fire and cultural burning practitioners.

The $20 million allocated for the “Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund Pilot” will cover losses in the rare instance that a prescribed or cultural burn escapes control.

State Sen. Bill Dodd authored the 2022 bill (Senate Bill 926) that made this fund possible, continuing his many years of leadership on wildfire and prescribed fire-related legislation. Dodd formerly represented Lake County in the State Assembly.

“Prescribed fire is a cost-effective way to minimize the scope and severity of wildfires,” said Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa. “It’s a tool that has been used for millennia by Native American tribes and one that will continue to play a big role in wildfire prevention. The rollout of this fund is a big step toward keeping California communities safe.”

The use of prescribed fire and cultural burning — sometimes collectively called “good” or “beneficial” fire — is a key component of wildfire risk management in California.

These projects reduce hazardous fuels, help restore ecological and cultural values, and make our communities safer and our ecosystems more resilient to wildfire.

However, lack of liability insurance for practitioners has been a major barrier to increasing the use of prescribed fire, even as firefighters, fire scientists, at-risk communities, and state, federal and tribal leaders call for more.

“The Prescribed Fire Claims Fund pilot project removes a significant barrier to obtaining insurance for potential damages from a prescribed fire or cultural burn conducted by a certified prescribed fire burn boss or a cultural fire practitioner,” said Cal Fire Director/Chief Joe Tyler. “As we continue to focus on increasing the resiliency of the state’s forests, creating a pathway for private burn bosses to have the significant protection this claims fund provides is a critical step toward reaching the goals of the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.”

The fund will provide up to $2 million in coverage for prescribed fire projects led by a qualified burn boss or cultural practitioner.

It is meant to demonstrate that prescribed fire, when carefully planned, resourced, and implemented, is a low-risk land management tool that mitigates the larger, more damaging risks of high-severity wildfires.

The fund is the first of its kind nationally and is the result of several years of collaboration by a diversity of partners working with Sen. Dodd’s Office, including the Nature Conservancy, Cal Fire, the University of California Cooperative Extension, the California Department of Insurance, tribal representatives and many others.

“Launching this program is a key step in scaling ecologically based forest management to reduce the risk of megafires. We appreciate Sen. Dodd’s leadership and the expedient work of Cal Fire and beneficial fire practitioners to develop this fund as the next fire season quickly approaches,” said Dan Porter, the Nature Conservancy’s Forest Program director.

The fund will also advance cultural burning, helping Indigenous Californians restore their connection to fire.

“Cultural burning is an essential practice to meet diverse objectives, including biodiversity stewardship, ecological health, and community safety. The availability of this pilot fund provides cultural fire practitioners a safeguard against financial risk in the unlikely event of an escaped burn. This is a significant incentive to support revitalization of burning traditions following the legacy of policies banning such practices,” said Don Hankins, professor of geography and planning at California State University, Chico, and co-founder of the Indigenous Stewardship Network.

This fund is part of a larger vision for restoring beneficial fire across California’s fire-adapted Ecosystems.

Last year, the state released its Strategic Plan for Expanding the Use of Beneficial Fire, which identified this claims fund as a priority.

The state has also rolled out a state-certified burn boss program, changed the liability standard for prescribed fire, and made investments in prescribed burn associations, agency staffing, and other related efforts.

“We are using every tool to protect Californians, including using prescribed fire to fight wildfires,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “The Prescribed Fire Claims fund will be critical to assisting our tribal groups, nonprofits and private landowners who are leading the way. This is an example of government being innovative and leading by example. The data that we get from the claims fund is going to be essential to our ongoing education with insurance companies to support insuring this important work.”

Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Fire Network Director for the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the recent momentum is unparalleled.

“Californians are desperate to have a better relationship with fire, and only with innovative approaches like this Claims Fund will we be able to unleash the good work that needs to happen,” said Quinn-Davidson. “It’s a challenging time to be working on fire in California, but also an incredibly inspiring time.”

More information about the Pilot Prescribed Fire Claims Fund can be found on the Cal Fire website, including frequently asked questions and an enrollment form for practitioners.