LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday night, the Lakeport City Council voted unanimously to extend its contract with a retail recruitment firm and honored a city resident who spent nearly a decade serving on the Lakeport Planning Commission.

City Manager Kevin Ingram asked the council to approve an amendment to extend the professional services agreement with The Retail Coach, which the city hired in 2019 to assess the Lakeport area, assist with bringing new retailers to the city and work with existing businesses.

Ingram said the company was able to do analysis and baseline data that the city had been missing for years.

That analysis found that while Lakeport has a population of about 5,000 people, its daytime population – made up of visitors who come for reasons including employment, shopping and medical appointments – actually swells to 50,000.

That information was “a game changer,” as Ingram said it allowed the city to approach retailers that might otherwise have not considered the city because of its small population base.

The Retail Coach’s staff visited Lakeport to meet with local businesses. Ingram said one of the reasons the city hired the company is that it works with existing businesses in the community.

However, the work was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ingram said the Retail Coach’s proposal to the city included these eight phases:

1. Analyzing the market.
2. Determining retail opportunities.
3. Identifying development and redevelopment opportunities.
4. Identifying retailers and developers for recruitment.
5. Marketing and branding.
6. Recruiting retailers and developers.
7. Downtown revitalization.
8. Retail recruitment coaching.

The delays began after step five, Ingram said.

He said The Retail Coach put together a best fit retail list and started the process of soliciting new retailers but, due to COVID-19, no retailers wanted to take the step to locate here, although he added no one was saying no exactly.

The Retail Coach understood that 2020 was a “flop” year, and Ingram said they were gracious in negotiating an extension with the city that will pick up with 2021 being year two of the contract and reducing the contract price by $5,000 to $25,000.

While retail trade shows were canceled in 2020, The Retail Coach’s staff members were on the phone and working hard on behalf of the city, making sure retailers know Lakeport exists, he said.

Ingram said retailers are seeing the dynamics have changed and that it will be a tougher market.

The city’s main priority for The Retail Coach is filling the old Kmart building and then continuing to engage the city’s small businesses, Ingram said.

He said the company wants to come out and meet again with local retail businesses to help them identify some entrepreneurial openings in the city’s gap and opportunity analysis.

During the discussion, Ingram explained that the best fit retail list consists of businesses expanding in the region and those that have supply chains here.

Ingram also noted that the city has had conversations with The Retail Coach about what the retail industry will look like in the coming years and whether companies will expand or contract their space.

He said that one of the conclusions is that there have been big losers but also some really big winners. The companies that already were having trouble prior to COVID-19 have had continued problems and the pandemic is helping them out the door. On the other side, businesses utilizing new technologies have flourished.

There appears to be a trend for smaller footprints rather than giant big box store developments, Ingram said, which is a positive for Lakeport. However, retail companies pursuing smaller spaces are focusing more on entering urban areas instead of rural ones.

Ingram said the Retail Coach will work on showing retailers that Lakeport’s numbers are a sure bet, especially for things like clothing and home goods, which the city’s data shows offers good opportunities.

While there are certainly still challenges ahead, Ingram said there also is an optimistic forecast as well.

Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Mattina moved to approve the contract amendment, which was seconded by Councilman Michael Green and approved 5-0.

Council honors Wicks for service

The council took time on Tuesday to present a proclamation honoring Ken Wicks Jr., who left the Lakeport Planning Commission in December after nine and a half years of service – with about five of those years spent as commission chair.

The proclamation noted that Wicks was instrumental in the updating, review and implementation of the 2014 and 2020 Housing Element updates, adoption of the Forbes Creek Neighborhood Study, Eleventh Street Corridor Study, the Lakefront Revitalization Plan, as well as several zoning amendments such as the cannabis and telecommunication ordinances.

Wicks “provided a vast knowledge of construction project management that provided invaluable insight and perspective to project phasing and was a benefit to the decision-making process of
the Planning Commission,” the proclamation said.

Councilmembers Michael Froio and Michael Green both served on the commission with Wicks and lauded his service.

“He was always well prepared, professional, thoughtful and conscientious,” said Froio, adding that Wicks was the rudder that gently steered the planning commission and made sure it was doing what it was supposed to do.

Green said Wicks encouraged him to run for city council, and he credited Wicks with teaching him how to run a meeting, read staff reports and appreciate the general plan.

“You were a great asset to the city and I do appreciate the time I spent with you on the planning commission,” Green said.

George Spurr, who stepped down from the city council at the end of 2020, also served with Wicks on the planning commission, and thanked him for his help, noting the wealth of knowledge he has about the city.

“Enjoy this wonderful city knowing you were a big part of it,” said Spurr.

Ingram said that when he joined the city as Community Development director six years ago, they had some “doozy” projects that led to packed council chambers. During that time, Wicks kept the commission on the ball and in tune with their mission, while staying professional.

“You’re going to be missed,” Ingram said.

Mayor Kenny Parlet said Wicks knows the regulations. “I don’t think you will be easily replaced ever, at least not soon.”

Parlet said there are few people who have the decorum, experience, knowledge and class Wicks has.

Mattina also congratulated Wicks on his recent marriage. Wicks said he and his wife, Yvonne, are very happy.

Wicks thanked the councils past and present and the public for allowing him to serve. He said Lakeport is a great town with great people, and he was glad to do something to advance the city.

Also during Tuesday’s two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting, the council received the traffic safety biannual review and got the police statistics and training summary report for 2020 from Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

The council also voted to direct staff to initiate a text amendment to the zoning ordinance to address microenterprise home kitchen operations, which are allowed in a pilot program that continues through July.

As part of the vote, the council directed city staff to work with county staff so that the text amendment would be in effect if the county proposes to continue with a permanent program after the pilot program ends on July 1.

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

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A restoration project at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park is set to get underway this week with a prescribed burn.

California State Parks in cooperation with the Lake County Fire Protection District are planning the prescribed burn in the park on Saturday, Feb. 20, Weather permitting.

This effort will be carried out in cooperation with other partner agencies.

The burn is the first step in a new project that the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association will undertake, in cooperation with State Parks, to restore the park’s three-acre entrance meadow, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire.

AMIA has received a $9,026 grant from the California State Parks Foundation’s Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to conduct the work, as Lake County News reported this week.

State Parks said such burns are part of the prescribed fire program for vegetation management, hazardous fuel load reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and other ecological benefits.

This treatment will enhance the health of the park by removing diseased materials, restoring essential nutrients to the soil, and reducing the chance of a catastrophic wildfire.

In grassland and scrub areas, fire will be reintroduced as a component of the ecosystem on a rotational basis. The prescribed burns will also help in reducing dangerous fuel loads throughout wildland areas.

All burning depends on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions, such as weather or vegetation are not conducive for burning, the burns will be rescheduled.

Some public trails near the burn area will be closed the day of the burn. People traveling near the fire burn areas may see smoke from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the burn.

In the unlikely event you smell smoke, Lake County officials urge you to take precautions and use common sense to reduce any harmful health effects by limiting outdoor activities. Prescribed burns produce significantly less smoke than a wildfire does.

If you see or smell smoke in your surroundings, officials recommend avoiding strenuous outdoor activity and remaining indoors as much as possible. These precautions are especially important for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory and heart conditions.

Please use extreme caution while driving near prescribed fire operations due to fire personnel and equipment in the area.

California State Parks and Lake County Fire Protection District are adhering to the safety protocols set by public health officials and have made accommodations to limit exposure among first responders and field crews to protect staff from COVID-19 during prescribed burns.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The public is invited to submit comments on the proposed Plaskett-Keller August Complex Phase 1 project on the Mendocino National Forest.

This proposed project covers approximately 4,500 acres in the middle of the Forest about 15 miles from Covelo and 36 miles from Willows.

The proposed Plaskett-Keller project crosses multiple jurisdictional lines – ranger districts, counties and land ownership – and is an excellent area for partnerships and collaboration on land management. It also contains several campgrounds and major roads used frequently by the public and Forest Service employees.

The proposal includes post-fire recovery activities to remove fire-killed and fire-injured trees in order to improve employee and public safety, capture remaining economic value of dead trees, and reduce post-fire fuels to prevent the excessive accumulation of fuels.

The August Complex burned a total of 1,032,648 acres, including 612,634 acres on the Mendocino National Forest.

For post-fire recovery, forest resource specialists considered the rapid assessment conducted by the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests as a foundation to develop a three-phase approach for restoration.

Phase 1 will address time-sensitive safety concerns along roadways and campgrounds as well as economic recovery.

Phase 2 involves restoration activities such as reforestation, additional fuels reduction work, habitat enhancement, recreation site improvements, and more.

Phase 3 will focus on long-term recovery across the landscape using the Watershed Condition Framework approach.

A scoping letter with additional details and maps are available for download from the project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=59444.

The participation of interested persons, organizations, state and local governments, and tribes is encouraged throughout the process of developing this project.

Forest officials said their desire is to receive comments on the merits of the proposed action, as well as comments that address concerns.

Public questions and comments regarding this proposal are an integral part of the environmental analysis process. Comments will be used to identify issues and develop alternatives to the proposed action. To best assist the Forest Service in developing this project, comments should be as specific as possible.

Comments would be the most useful if they are received by Wednesday, March 17.

All comments, including source information, will become part of the public record, and therefore will be subject to release upon request.

How to comment: Comments may be submitted via email to comments-pacificsouthwest-mendocino@usda.gov (include “Plaskett-Keller” in the subject line); via mail to Mendocino National Forest: Attn: Plaskett-Keller. 825 N Humboldt Ave., Willows, CA 95988; or via facsimile to 530-934-7384.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association is among 15 state parks and park partners receiving grants to help restore fragile habitats, rebuild parks and create a climate-resilient state park system.  

The California State Parks Foundation is awarding $135,000 in grants from its new Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to help 15 parks – 10 of which are in the Northern California region – recover from devastating wildfires.

The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, or AMIA, will receive $9,026, with the grant term running for a year, beginning March 1, the foundation reported.

The grant will allow AMIA to partner with the Department of Parks and Recreation in restoring and rehabilitating the three-acre entrance meadow that first greets visitors to Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire, the association reported.

“AMIA is grateful for the financial support of CSPF that will allow this project to help protect the park’s historic ranch house and barn complex, as well as creating an opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of native plants in reducing the risk of wildfire,” said AMIA President Roberta Lyons.

The nonprofit California State Parks Foundation, which advocates for and supports California state parks, created the Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund in 2020, a record-setting year for wildfires in California.

“The 2020 California wildfires were horrifically destructive, and our beloved state parks have undergone devastating damage. There is a real need to restore fragile habitats and rebuild parks, while building climate resiliency to mitigate the impact of climate change,” said Rachel Norton, executive director of California State Parks Foundation.

The Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Grant opportunity includes $135,917 in grant funding that supports activities resulting in outcomes including assessment, restoration, preparedness and education.

AMIA, a nonprofit association cooperating with State Parks to support and promote educational and interpretive activities at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, said its project will begin with a prescribed burn at the park.

The project focuses on making the park more resilient to the ever-increasing wildfires that are being caused by climate change, as well as educating the public about what can be done to reduce the risk from wildfire, including the planting of native plants.

“The project will help create a defensible space around the park's historic ranch house and barns through the clearing of non-native species and overgrowth and the replanting of native grasses, shrubs, and trees,” said AMIA Grant Director Henry Bornstein. “At the end of the project, the entrance meadow will be restored to a more natural state and a native plant demonstration area will be created where visitors can compare the treated native entrance meadow to the adjacent untreated areas, and learn about the advantages of native plants in the control of wildfires.”

“State Parks and AMIA have continued to work together on projects which further enhance visitor experiences at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park,” said State Parks Northern Butte District Superintendent Matt Teague. “This project will provide an excellent opportunity to educate users of the park on the benefits of native habitat as it relates to wildfire intensity and management.”

In addition to Anderson Marsh, other grant winners are the California Native Plant Society for the Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park; California State Parks for Mount Diablo State Park; California State Parks, Bay Area District Natural Resource Management Program for Trione-Annadel State Park and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park; California State Parks, Sierra District for Ed Z'Berg Sugar Pine Point State Park; Gold Country Avian Studies for Big Basin Redwoods State Park; Sonoma Ecology Center for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park; South Yuba River Citizens League for South Yuba River State Park; Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods for Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve and Austin Creek State Recreation Area; Anahuak Youth Sports Association for Rio de Los Angeles State Park and Los Angeles State Historic Park, Bowtie Parcel; California State Parks/Poppy Reserve Mojave Desert Interpretive Association for Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park; California State Parks in partnership with Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association and Hills For Everyone for Chino Hills State Park; and Los Angeles Audubon Society for Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park and Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.

AMIA has received previous grants for projects from the California State Parks Foundation, including $5,000 in 2020 to repair the wooden boardwalk on Cache Creek Nature Trail; $3,000 in 2015 for purchasing interpretive equipment for nature walks, school field trips and senior tours; and $6,000 in 2014 for general operations.

For information about Anderson Marsh State Historic Park or AMIA, visit www.andersonmarsh.org or contact AMIA at either info@andersonmarsh.org or 707-995-2658.

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

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week will hold its midyear budget review, discuss a proposal for a memorial for COVID-19 victims, conduct a public hearing for grant funding, consider declaring some city-owned properties surplus and discuss committee appointments.

The council will meet for a budget workshop at 5 p.m. and the regular meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.

Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual 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.

The agenda can be found here.

Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at mswanson@clearlake.ca.us. You can also visit the city’s town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/327/forum_home. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.

To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments prior to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18.

Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.

During its workshop, the council will hold a midyear budget review for the time period through Dec. 31.

Andrew White, the city’s police chief and its interim finance director, said in his report to the council that, overall, “revenues are exceeding projections and we are cautiously optimistic that the trend will continue. The trend is primarily being driven by higher than expected sales tax revenue, fees and permits and fines related to code enforcement violations. There was also a significant one-time revenue from the settlement of litigation related to the Sulphur Fire.”

White added, “The higher-than-expected sales tax revenue is also benefitting the Measure V and Measure P special revenue funds. However, based on economic uncertainties, staff is only recommending conservative increases to revenues to cover additional expenses.”

White said it’s also important to remember that this year’s budget relied on fund balance and coming into the year, Measure P had a negative fund balance.

“Overall, expenses are on track with budgetary projections. There was a significant increase in
health insurance costs resulting in an over $50,000 increase to the employer share of said costs, though based on projected salary savings, a budget increase is not being proposed,” White wrote.

During the regular portion of the meeting, the council will consider a request from Councilwoman Joyce Overton to establish a memorial to COVID-19 victims in Austin Park.

Overton’s report to the council said that she is proposing a small cross with the name of each individual who died from the coronavirus to be placed within the fenced rose garden in Austin Park. The garden is maintained and used to honor local Soroptimists.

She said the memorial is currently proposed to be temporary, and would be funded by private donations.

The council also will meet one of February’s adoptable dogs before holding a public hearing to consider projects and authorize the application for funding through the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.

In other business, the council will consider declaring various small city-owned properties as surplus in order to offer them to the state Housing and Community Development Department for use in affordable housing in accordance with AB 1486.

Also on Thursday, the council will consider appointing a person to succeed Councilmember David Claffey on the Clearlake Marketing Committee. The two applicants are Susan Bloomquist and Kristina Nelson.

On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – are warrants; authorization for the city manager to execute a license agreement with Mudslingers Coffee for a drive-thru coffee Facility at 14760 Olympic Drive; the Lake County Vector Control District Board minutes for Dec. 9; minutes of the January meetings; consideration of a resolution rescinding Resolution No. 2009-51, establishing purchasing procedures; and rejection of all bids for the Austin Park Bus Stop and Promenade Project.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is continuing, for the time being, policies of limiting the county government’s in-person delivery of services to the public and a closure of its chambers during meetings because of COVID-19.

At its meeting last week – the board did not meet this week because of the Presidents Day holiday – the supervisors agreed to keep in place the resolution authorizing temporary reduction of in-person delivery of county services while increasing alternative methods for service delivery.

The board passed the resolution during a special meeting in January following an increase in COVID-19 cases.

The resolution has to be reviewed every 30 days, which the board did at its Feb. 9 meeting. At that time, the board took no action to change it, so the monthly reviews will continue until the board decides it’s safe to reopen.

It was noted during the discussion by County Administrative Office Carol Huchingson that so far very few county employees have been vaccinated against the virus.

That discussion was followed by the weekly review of the board’s decision to keep its chambers closed for in-person meetings.

Board members supported the chambers remaining closed for the time being. While new case numbers are dropping, supervisors didn’t want to change that trend by reopening too soon.

Supervisor Jessica Pyska said that when they do reopen the chambers, they need to look at ways to protect the staff that work in the room during the meetings and enforcing the masking ordinance needs to be part of that discussion.

Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said that, rather than having the chambers situation reviewed weekly, they should have a trigger to bring it back, such as the county dropping out of the purple tier on the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy and into the red tier, or when the county reaches a certain number of cases.

Supervisor Tina Scott agreed with the trigger, but noted that the state is revamping its tier system so they need to determine what that trigger might be.

Pyska also agreed to a trigger and then asked how to enforce masking in the chambers.

Sabatier said the county offers alternative models to access the meeting virtually so if the board chose to take a hard line and require masking – which he said he personally didn’t support doing – he would be willing to draw that hard line.

He suggested dropping into the red tier as a trigger to allowing the public back into the chamber.

Supervisor Moke Simon said the board has done a great job with the hybrid meeting models, and when reopening for public participation, he suggested they could rotate and have some board members present for the meetings with others on Zoom.

Sabatier said he didn’t want to force board members to be in the environment, adding he wanted to to have a place for members of the public to go to express themselves.

The board ultimately reached consensus to bring the chambers reopening matter back for discussion next after Lake County has dropped into the red tier or the state comes up with other guidelines, with the mask requirement to be included.

The next board meeting takes place virtually on Feb. 23.

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

About 8 percent of American adults reported they had received a COVID-19 vaccination and around half of adults who haven’t (51%) indicated they would definitely get a vaccine, while an additional 26 percent said they probably would, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.

The latest revision to Phase 3 of the Household Pulse Survey was implemented on Jan. 6 and included a new series of questions about COVID-19 vaccinations and attitudes toward the vaccines.

This article is based on analysis of Phase 3 data collected Jan. 6 through Jan. 18, a time period in which the Census Bureau sent invitations to 1,037,972 households and received a total of 68,348 responses.

This content was added in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Based on survey self-reports, these data may differ from other administrative information, particularly those collected during different time periods.

The new vaccination series asks respondents if they had received a COVID-19 vaccination. Those who had are then asked if they plan to receive all required doses.

Adults who have not been vaccinated are asked if they plan to get a vaccine once available. Respondents who express uncertainty are asked the reason(s) for their reluctance.

These data show:

– About 95 percent of the estimated 19 million who reported receiving a COVID-19 vaccination said they had received or plan to receive all required doses.
– Around half (51%) of the approximately 226 million adults yet to receive a vaccination said they “definitely” plan to receive it when available (Figure 1).
– An additional 26 percent of adults yet to be vaccinated reported they would “probably” get a vaccine once available, compared to approximately 14 percent who said they would “probably not,” and 10 percent who said they would “definitely not” get vaccinated. Overall, these results indicate that around a quarter of all unvaccinated adults will probably not, or will definitely not, receive a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available to them.



Age factors

During this initial collection period, the reported likelihood of eventually receiving a COVID-19 vaccination once available varied by age and older adults appear to be more certain they want to get vaccinated.

While about 71 percent of adults ages 65 and over reported they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available, around half (51%) of those ages 45 to 64 said the same (Figure 2).

Meanwhile, among those ages 30-44 and 18-29, only 41 percent indicated they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available (The percentages for these two youngest age groups were not statistically different.)



Racial differences

The reported likelihood of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination once available also varied by Hispanic origin and race (Figure 3).

About two-thirds of unvaccinated non-Hispanic Asian adults indicated they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available, compared to around 56 percent of non-Hispanic Whites.

In contrast, only about 47 percent of Hispanics, 37 percent of non-Hispanics of other races or two or more races, and 30 percent of non-Hispanic Blacks said they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available.



Health insurance coverage

Attitudes about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine also varied according to health insurance status. Those without insurance were less likely to say they would get vaccinated (Figure 4).

Among the unvaccinated, over half (56%) of insured adults and 34 percent of uninsured adults said they would “definitely” get a vaccine when available.

Respondents who indicated uncertainty about receiving a vaccination (49%) were also asked the reason(s) for their reluctance.

The most frequently selected answers included:

– Concern about possible side effects (51%) and plans to wait to see if the vaccines are safe (50%). The percentages for these two reasons were not statistically different.
– Feeling that other people might need the vaccine more right now (28%).

It should be noted that respondents could provide more than one response to this question.

All respondents were also asked whether they had received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis from a medical professional; around 14 percent indicated they had. As more Americans are vaccinated, Household Pulse Survey data will allow for meaningful analysis of demographic differences in vaccination rates and positive COVID-19 diagnoses. Additional information about the number of COVID-19 vaccines administered is available from the CDC.

The estimates in this analysis are based on survey self-reports from a specific time period and may not align with published counts generated from other sources.

For more information, data users are encouraged to explore the Household Pulse Survey tables, Technical Documentation and Public Use File microdata.

Thom File is a sociologist in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division. Abinash Mohanty is a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Monday afternoon that a missing south county boy has been found safe.

Austin Maloney, 12, was located nearly 24 hours after he had gone missing on Sunday afternoon.

He had last been seen in the area of Jerusalem Grade Road near Hidden Valley Lake, as Lake County News has reported.

Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the boy had left his house on Sunday after a disagreement with his family.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was notified of his disappearance on Sunday evening and activated its Search and Rescue team, which searched for the child overnight.

Other agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, also were reported to have assisted with the search, as had volunteers from the community.

Paulich said Austin was found safe in the Jerusalem Valley area and returned to his family.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its efforts to locate a boy whose family reported him missing on Sunday.

The sheriff’s office said 12-year-old Austin Maloney was last seen leaving a residence off of Jerusalem Grade at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Social media posts indicated he was last known to be in the area of Burnt Oak Road, Coons Flat and Jerusalem Grade Road northeast of Hidden Valley Lake.

At the time he was last seen, Austin was wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans, an orange beanie hat and sketchers shoes, officials said.

Austin is described as 5 feet 1 inch tall and 77 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Sgt. Aaron Clark told Lake County News on Sunday night that it’s believed Austin ran away.

The sheriff’s office and Lake County Search and Rescue received the report of the missing boy at 7:30 p.m. Sunday and quickly mobilized, as Lake County News has reported.

Radio traffic indicated the search continued through the night.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is asking community members with information about Austin’s whereabouts to contact Central Dispatch at 707-263-2690.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and its Search and Rescue teams began a search late Sunday night near Hidden Valley Lake that continued early Monday for a missing boy who is believed to have run away from home.

On Sunday night, Middletown resident Bo Darnell posted on Facebook that her 12-year-old son Austin had been missing since the afternoon.

He was reportedly last seen in the area of Burnt Oak Road, Coons Flat and Jerusalem Grade Road northeast of Hidden Valley Lake, according to social media posts.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Clark confirmed to Lake County News late Sunday night that authorities were searching for the boy.

Clark said the boy ran away from home at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

The family called law enforcement at about 7:30 p.m., Clark said.

He said Search and Rescue personnel were able to quickly mobilize just before 8 p.m.

The search on Sunday night included a large group of more than 20 participants who were working in rough terrain, Clark said.

Searchers were reported to be continuing their efforts to locate the boy early Monday in the midst of cold, rainy conditions.

Just after 2:10 a.m., the Northshore Fire Protection District Support Team was toned out to respond to the search site, according to radio traffic.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will honor a former planning commissioner and consider extending the contract with a company hired to recruit retailers to the city.

The council will meet in closed session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations before the public portions of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16.

The meeting will be by teleconference only. The city council chambers will not be open to the public.

The agenda can be found here.

To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799. The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.

Comments can be submitted by email to virtualhost@cityoflakeport.com. To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments prior to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.

The council on Tuesday will present a proclamation honoring Ken Wicks Jr. for his years of service to the city of Lakeport, including nearly a decade spent on the planning commission. His term ended in December, and last week he was commended by the commission for his work.

Under council business, City Manager Kevin Ingram will seek authorization to execute the first extension in the form of an amendment to the professional services agreement with The Retail Coach for retail strategies.

Ingram’s report to the council explained that the city hired the company in July 2019 to conduct an assessment of the Lakeport area “and provide targeted data sets and education opportunities focused on sustaining and enhancing existing businesses as well as recruiting new ones.”

He said the company’s proposal contained eight phases: Analyzing the market, determining retail opportunities, identifying development and redevelopment opportunities, identifying retailers and developers for recruitment, marketing and branding, recruiting retailers and developers, downtown revitalization and retail recruitment coaching.

The majority of the items in the first five phases were completed but the COVID-19 pandemic “severely limited The Retail Coach’s ability to begin recruitment, revitalization efforts and education opportunities,” Ingram wrote.

Ingram said the company agreed to “pause” the contract.

“As businesses seek to return to a degree of normalcy, City staff has begun conversations with The Retail Coach to work towards completion of the original proposal,” Ingram wrote in his report.

He said The Retail Coach has agreed to extend the contract at a reduced rate of $25,000 rather than $30,000.

The council also will hold the traffic safety biannual review in which it will discuss observed trends in received traffic safety-related complaints to the city.

Police Chief Brad Rasmussen also will give a police statistics and training summary report for 2020.

In other business, Community Development Director Jenni Byers will ask for approval for staff to initiate a text amendment to the zoning ordinance to address microenterprise home kitchen operations and work with county staff so that the text amendment would be in effect if the county proposes to continue with a permanent program after July 1.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances and minutes of the regular council meeting on Feb. 2.

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

We inaugurated our 46th president, Joseph Biden, on Jan. 20, but there are no places in the United States named Biden — at least not yet.

With Presidents' Day arriving on Feb. 15, just weeks after a presidential inauguration, we look at where our presidents were born and how many places in the United States carry their names. Places include counties, cities, towns and minor civil divisions.

George Washington, who took the oath on April 30, 1789, tops the list of presidential namesakes with at least 94 places that share his name.

Every other president, except for Dwight Eisenhower and our most recent – Biden, Donald Trump and Barack Obama — have places that share their names, too. (A ghost town named Trump in Colorado disappeared in the 1930s.)

Second on the list of places with presidential monikers is Abraham Lincoln (72), followed by Andrew Jackson (67) and Thomas Jefferson (62).

Five names show up twice because we had different presidents with the same last name: John Adams and John Quincy Adams; William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison; Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt; Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson; George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Adams, Roosevelt and Bush were related but there is one more name that appears twice but belongs to one man: Cleveland, as in Grover Cleveland, who was our 22nd and 24th president.

So, while Biden is the 46th president, he is the 45th person to be president.



Fun facts

Of the 45 men who have been or are president of the United States, a third (15) came from just two states: eight from Virginia and seven from Ohio.

Many presidents (29) were born in states that were colonies or former colonies. While there were 13 colonies, 15 states were former colonies because Maine was then part of Massachusetts and Vermont was part of New York.

The top five presidents with matching county names are: Washington (31), Jefferson (26), Jackson (24), Lincoln (24) and Madison (20). Of the 3,143 counties in the United States, 298 match presidential names.

Only eight presidents were born west of the Mississippi.

The president born farthest west? Barack Obama in Hawaii.

Even though we may think of Ronald Reagan as a Californian because he served as governor of that state, he was born in Illinois.

Richard Nixon, however, was born in California and is the only president from the West Coast.

Derick Moore is a senior communications specialist at the Census Bureau.


[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]