Goats at work in southern Lake County, California. Photo by Kathleen Scavone. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It's another quintessential storybook spring day, replete with green growth aplenty.
Grapevines are budding out, oaks and alders are starting their showy spring displays of living art in the form of catkins.
Catkins are the long, dangling male flowers which release pollen into the wind in order to wind-pollinate.
Along with the impressionistic haze of green in every shade imaginable now, are wildflowers in an incredible array of colors that are popping in patches of soil nearly everywhere.
With all of the lush bounty in orchards, valleys and woods, land managers of all ilk are putting elbow-grease into mowing and removing potentially flammable material.
You may have seen some of the “live lawnmowers” around the county in the form of goats or sheep corralled together munching and crunching on grass and shrubs.
These industrious creatures are helpful in reducing fuel loads to a manageable level.
Sheep are known to feed on herbaceous growth, while goats will consume woody material.
Some farmers have found that grazing on large tracts of the landscape is even more advantageous than simply mowing, and usually turns out to be quite cost-effective.
Demand for renting grazing goats is a growing business across California and the West, with homeowners, golf courses, government agencies and even some fire departments such as those in Ventura County making use of the goats' clearing abilities.
Thanks to the goats' voracious appetites they can chomp up to 12 pounds of vegetation per day, all while navigating those hard-to-reach places on hilly terrain.
Goats consume a wider variety of growth than do cattle, which prefer grasses and sedges.
A herd of 170 goats is recorded as consuming 2,000 pounds of green brush in a single day.
The strong animals are able to extend themselves up on their back legs and reach leaves and branches up to 7 feet high.
An added advantage goats present is that unlike us, they do not mind going into stands of poison oak, and they may be good at ridding the land of invasive species.
A disadvantage to running goats is that they are not allowed into areas where rare and endangered plants are known to thrive.
Running a goat-rental business takes some investment and planning strategies. Goat herds require livestock trailers, portable fencing and folks to attend to the goats and oversee them for safe-keeping.
Goats aren't said to solve every problem, but they are definitely a great tool in the kit that includes regular mowing, clearing and where deemed necessary, prescribed burns.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.”
There’s nothing like a snack on the other side of the fence. Photo by Kathleen Scavone.
Billions of years ago, the Martian surface could have supported microbial life as we know it. But did such life ever actually exist there?
NASA and its Mars 2020 mission hope to find out with the Perseverance rover, which launches to the Red Planet this summer.
Scientists have sought answers to astrobiological questions on Earth, studying regions similar enough to Mars to understand what the Red Planet's microscopic fossil record might look like. One research trip late last year involved fossilized microbes in the Australian Outback.
Earlier this year, seven mission scientists headed to a dry lakebed in Nevada as 150 worked with them remotely for the Rover Operations Activities for Science Team Training, aka the ROASTT.
Rather than bringing a car-sized rover, the seven field team members stood in for it. Wielding cameras and portable spectrometers during simulated operations spread out over a two-week period, they received instructions from the scientists located elsewhere, just as the rover will after it lands on Feb. 18, 2021.
Like all Mars rovers, Perseverance will be run by a distributed team of scientists and engineers — some located in the operations center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which leads the new mission, and some located at research institutions around the world. They will discuss where to go, which samples to study, and — for the first time — which rocks to collect in metal tubes for eventual return to Earth for deeper study.
The Nevada exercise not only helped team members practice what to look for with Perseverance; it helped them get used to working with one another and with the rover. The field site was also an opportunity for research: Besides simulating a rover, the field team members were studying the field site, providing insights that could help shape the search for past life on Mars.
If a cliffside seemed promising, scientists on conference lines around the globe debated whether the field team should "drive" closer; if a set of rocks appeared ideal for preserving fossils, they would order close-up images from the field team.
A ray-gun-like laser instrument mimicked Perseverance's rock-analyzing SuperCam; another handheld tool shot X-rays like the rover's Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry, or PIXL, will; a ground-penetrating radar was carted around in what looked like a jogger stroller to peer below the surface, mimicking the Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment, or RIMFAX.
The field team also had an important low-tech tool: a cheap broom used to sweep away their footprints, both to preserve the Martian feel of the landscape and to avoid providing the remote scientist a sense of scale in the rock images they were providing.
A patch of Mars in Nevada
Walker Lake is an ideal training ground for spotting ancient microscopic life. The lake once extended much farther than it does today; the parts of it that dried up tens of thousands of years ago are now studded with stromatolites — collections of fossilized microbes and sediment that have hardened into what often look like bulbous, moundlike growths. It remains to be seen whether Jezero Crater, Perseverance's landing site, has anything akin to stromatolites, but it, too, is an ancient lakebed.
Besides helping scientists think about biosignatures, or signs of ancient life, the training also demonstrated how working with Perseverance will take teamwork and careful coordination.
"It's especially important for scientists who are new to Mars rovers," said JPL scientist Raymond Francis, who led the field team. "It's a team effort, and everyone has to learn how their roles fit into the whole mission."
One rover, many decisions
Lisa Mayhew, a geochemist and geomicrobiologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, is one of those newcomers.
To study the relationship between water, rocks and microbial life in extreme environments, she's worked with deep-sea remotely operated vehicles, like the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Jason.
In places such as the Lost City, located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, she's watched Jason explore craggy mineral towers.
Microbes in and on these towers thrive by metabolizing energy-rich gases, like hydrogen and methane, produced from reactions between water and rock. Some scientists think life on Earth may have originated in such places.
Similarly to a Mars rover, Jason sends back images, and its robotic arms can be deployed to move rocks and take samples. But Mars is much farther away than the ocean floor. Only so many commands can be sent to Perseverance each day, and only so much data can be sent back.
That's why every rover mission has to balance the desire to deepen the team's understanding of one site with the need to sample the geologic diversity available down the road.
The Walker Lake exercise underscored for Mayhew just how many decisions go into managing a Mars rover. "While it's similar in many ways to operating and directing Jason, it's happening on a much larger scale and you're pretty clueless until you're actually planning a rover drive," she said. "You have to learn all the different software tools and understand the distinction between different roles."
At the end of the training, participating scientists said they had a much better idea of how a rover team works. What's more, the scientists had chosen a sample that was rich with biosignatures.
"The next time we do this will be on Mars," said JPL's Ken Williford, one of the mission's deputy project scientists. "We've got to get the right samples. Let's bring them back."
Perseverance is a robotic scientist weighing about 2,260 pounds (1,025 kilograms). The rover's mission will search for signs of past microbial life. It will characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
No matter what day Perseverance launches during its July 17 to Aug. 5 launch period, it will land at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.
Dennis Fordham. Courtesy photo. Certain urgent estate planning issues have arisen during the present COVID-19 health crisis.
These issues concern getting diagnosed by a physician, intubation and the use of Internet-based communication – such as Skype and Zoom – instead of in-person meetings.
Let’s discuss how they affect your power of attorney, advance health care directive and living trust.
If you are incapacitated, who will pay your bills and sign contracts on your behalf?
A broadly drafted power of attorney allows your agent to make decisions regarding your financial, legal and property affairs (excluding the trust) on your behalf.
Oftentimes, powers of attorney are drafted to become effective upon incapacity. Determining such incapacity usually involves one or more physician certificates of incapacity. This means an in person physician’s visit.
Nowadays, with social distancing, such consultations are difficult to arrange. Accordingly, if your power of attorney is effective upon incapacity you may wish to make it effective immediately (i.e., upon signing).
Similarly, with one’s living trust, transfer of control from an incapacitated settlor to the designated successor trustee often requires attaching one or more certificates of incapacity to an affidavit of successor trustee.
Appointing someone as a current co-trustee (now) and authorizing each co-trustee to act independently (without the other co-trustee’s involvement) avoids the certificate of incapacity.
Financial assets (other than retirement accounts) are oftentimes better managed inside of a trust; financial institutions are often wary of accepting powers of attorney.
You may consider either transferring bank accounts into your trust – and so avoid any problems with the bank not accepting the power of attorney – or request and complete the bank’s own in-house (propriety) power of attorney form.
With social distancing, the use of the Internet-based communication platforms, such as Zoom and Skype, is the new normal. You may wish to authorize third parties to accept the use of such internet based communications with any agent and/or trustee representing your interests. This would assist urgent health care decisions being made given that the agent is not able to be present to sign documents at the hospital.
Thus, a written, signed and dated authorization by you allowing third parties (hospitals, doctors, banks, etc.) to communicate and accept instructions from your agents by means of Skype and Zoom and, importantly, your agreeing to hold harmless from any liability such third parties, might enable your agents being able to act on your behalf over the Internet.
Existing advance health care directives do not contemplate COVID-19. That is, health care directives may expressly prohibit the use of any artificial means to keep you alive. That might prevent your being intubated – placed on a ventilator – even though that would help you to recover from a severe respiratory illness.
Accordingly, you may want to sign a new advanced health care directive, or at least to sign a written statement, that authorizes intubation in the case of severe respiratory illness; you may also consider placing a time limit on intubation.
Also, you may want to authorize the use of experimental drugs that might assist in the treatment of COVID-19.
Anyone wishing guidance to address any of the issues discussed above should consult an attorney. Attorneys are assisting clients over the phone and Internet.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has four dogs waiting to join their new families.
While the shelter has moved most of its dogs into foster, potential adopters can make appointments to meet and adopt available dogs.
The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.
“Lady.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Lady’
“Lady” is a female German Shepherd mix.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 3683.
“Princess.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Princess’
“Princess” is a female German Shepherd with a black and tan coat.
She has been spayed.
Princess is young and energetic. She previously lived around a smaller dog and has been around the office cat. She will benefit from training and attention.
She is dog No. 3669.
“Spud.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Spud’
“Spud” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier with a short brindle and white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 3733.
“Tyson.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Tyson’
“Tyson” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier with a short gray and white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 1863.
Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.
Hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s website.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Health officer on Friday evening released an updated health order that aligns the county with the state on the process to reopen after the nearly two-month-long shutdown due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued new orders that direct the state’s “Stage 2” response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Gary Pace said Friday that he issued a new order to align with Newsom’s action.
Pace said that, at the same time, the shelter in place order remains in effect. Previously, Lake County’s order extended through May 17, but Pace’s latest order aligns with the state’s, which has no specific end date.
Lake County’s new health order removes previous discrepancies between state and local orders and makes clarifications specific to Lake County, which Pace said include exemptions for people staying in hotels.
At the same time, because Pace said all confirmed infections in both Lake and Mendocino counties have originated from out-of-county contact with known positive cases, local hotels and vacation rentals will remain closed for nonessential stays.
Newsom’s Stage 2 allows some “low-risk” retail businesses to reopen with phone and online sales and curbside pickup, with the logistics and manufacturing sectors also allowed to resume, along with office-based businesses, personal services such as car washes, pet grooming, tanning facilities and landscape gardening, dine-in restaurants, and outdoor museums and open gallery spaces.
According to the state guidelines, those businesses and establishments must qualify to reopen upon certification that the county meets the California Department of Public Health’s criteria and implement the relevant industry guidelines.
Sector-specific guidance for businesses from the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Industrial Relations’ Cal/OSHA Division is available here.
In Lake County’s case, Pace said restaurants will remain closed for the time being, except for take-out.
Pace said that with the movement toward reopening now happening more rapidly, businesses should not wait to undertake planning efforts.
Resources for business owners, including a reopening plan template, social distancing protocols and business certification forms, are available at the county’s website.
As sectors are authorized to resume business activities, Pace said all reopening businesses must post the social distancing protocol checklist and business certification document provided by the county in a visible location near the entrance to all facilities.
He said there is an opportunity to open local businesses more quickly than the governor’s orders, and plans are being developed to facilitate that. Those proposals will be discussed at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
Since his last shelter in place order modifications, which included allowing people to fish and use nonmotorized boats on the lake, Pace said there has not been a rise in COVID-19 cases, so the county is going forward with opening the lake and other local waterways this weekend to local residents, consistent with state orders.
Pace said boat ramps will be open and quagga mussel program monitors will be in place.
He continued to urge people to follow social distancing practices, wear masks in public and practice good hygiene, and discouraged out-of-area residents from visiting Lake County yet.
Pace also said that people over the age of 65, or those who are otherwise vulnerable to severe complications of COVID-19 infection, need to continue to take precautions.
For more information, or if businesses want Public Health to review their reopening plan reviewed, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
This article has been clarified regarding the county shelter in place order aligning with the state’s.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
What astronomy highlights can you see in the sky in May 2020? Venus, Sirius and the Milky Way.
Many of us are staying home these days, and it's normal to feel kind of cooped up, yearning for wide-open spaces and more distant horizons.
If you find yourself feeling like that, this might be a good time to remember that we're IN space, cruising through the solar system on our pale blue dot, with a vast, three-dimensional universe all around us. And we have an outstanding view!
Now, we often tend to look at the sky as a curved dome above our heads - a sort of real-life version of a planetarium dome, covered in a carpet of stars. But remember, in reality, it's anything but flat. The night sky is the deepest, most open expanse of space you could possibly look into.
Here's a look at what you're seeing when gazing at the sky in May: Looking toward the west in the hour after sunset, here are the bright objects you'll most likely be able to see.
The closest of these objects is the planet Venus in our own solar system, at about 35 million miles from Earth. The next closest is the star Sirius. It's the brightest star in our sky, and also one of the most nearby, at about 9 light-years away.
Several other bright stars in the May early evening sky are a couple, to a few dozen, light-years away. Much farther out is the red giant star that forms the shoulder of Orion, Betelgeuse, at around 500 light-years from Earth.
And although you might not be able to see it, the faint band of the outer Milky Way stretches across the sky here. So when you're looking westward in May's early evening sky, think about how you're looking outward through the disk of our galaxy, toward its outer edges, thousands of light-years away.
You'll get a different perspective looking into the sky in the hour before sunrise. Facing south, the nearest objects are the Moon, at about 240,000 miles away, then Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, at hundreds of millions of miles.
The rapidly rotating star Altair and the star Fomalhaut, with its debris disk and orbiting planet, lie much farther away, at 17 and 25 light-years from Earth.
And the May morning sky also has its own very distant red giant star: Antares, at 554 light-years away.
And finally, across the background, visible under very dark skies is the Milky Way. Here, you're looking into the center of the Milky Way galaxy – densely packed with stars and a supermassive black hole, some 27,000 light-years from Earth.
The night sky that begins right above your own roof is really the shore of a deep cosmic ocean. Here's hoping this brings some comfort if you feel like you need a little space.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
With your free Lake County Library subscription to Creativebug.com you can learn how to make this colorful hand-sewn Double Wedding Ring quilt. Courtesy photo. LAKEPORT, Calif. – “You’re more creative than you think.”
Creativebug is your go-to resource for high-quality, on-trend arts and crafts instructional videos.
Free with your Lake County Library card you get on-demand access to our full library more than 1,000 art and craft classes for artists and makers of all levels.
With your library card, you’ll enjoy award-winning HD instructional videos on drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, crochet, quilting, baking and more.
Creativebug.com offers classes to appeal to all ages of creative people. All classes are taught by experts, with new classes added daily.
Creativebug delivers expert instruction and inspiration straight to your favorite device so you can learn at your own pace – anytime and anywhere. Benefits include downloadable patterns, templates and recipes, access to Creativebug’s community galleries and forum, and one class each month to keep forever.
Daily Practice videos are 5-10 minute creative exercises and projects designed to keep your creative skills sharp and your creativity inspired even when you only have a few minutes a day.
Join thousands of like-minded creatives taking a few minutes every day to experience the satisfaction and joy of exercising their creative muscles. Check out all the beautiful work by Creativebug members in the gallery and on Instagram #cbdrawaday
Creativebug.com is optimized for mobile and tablet, so it's easy to use and enjoy from all of your favorite devices. The Creativebug app is available via iTunes and Google Play. With the Creativebug App you can download your favorite class and take it on the go!
In the Double Wedding Ring Quilt class, quilter Tara Faughnan, known for her vibrant and harmonious use of color, shares her technique for hand-piecing a double wedding ring quilt block.
Faughnan begins by showing how to create your own arc templates that utilize small scraps of fabric.
She goes on to teach hand-sewing techniques for piecing and shares loads of information along the way about how colors interact. See how this centuries-old block pattern comes together to create a colorful quilt top with a fresh, modern twist.
With a library card, patrons can access the library’s array of digital services without the need to visit a local branch. If you need a library card, you can create an online card with the application form on the library website.
If you have a question about an existing library account, call 707-263-8817 and leave a message. Library staff will be available by phone during normal operating hours to assist with the digital resources.
The Lake County Library continues to offer services during the COVID-19 stay at home. If you want to keep up with library news, sign up for free weekly email updates on the library’s homepage.
Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that a Lake County Jail inmate who tested positive for COVID-19 appears to have been an isolated case.
On May 4, the sheriff’s office received testing results that confirmed that one inmate had tested positive after a specimen was collected on April 19, as Lake County News has reported.
It was Lake County’s eighth confirmed case of COVID-19.
The inmate was isolated and has since been tested again, on May 4 and 6. Lt. Corey Paulich said the results of those two latest tests were negative and the inmate is now considered recovered.
Paulich said that, since May 4, the sheriff’s office has been working cooperatively with Lake County Public Health to conduct contact tracing to identify staff and inmates who had close contact with the COVID-19 positive inmate.
Twenty inmates who had close contact have been tested and all had negative results, Paulich said.
“We continue to test jail staff and results that have been received so far have been negative,” Paulich said.
Paulich said that, at this time, it appears the positive case was an isolated one and did not lead to an outbreak or additional cases.
On March 12, the sheriff's office instituted and continues enhanced measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the jail.
Those measures include suspending jail programs and visitation, screening all staff prior to entry to the facility, placing inmates who are in custody for minor offenses on home detention, enhanced medical screening at booking, wearing of face masks by staff, designating bed spaces for isolation and quarantine, and comprehensive regular cleaning and disinfecting.
“We believe this played a significant role in the prevention of additional cases,” said Paulich.
Paulich said the sheriff’s office is working with the jail’s medical provider and Lake County Public Health to develop a plan for ongoing surveillance testing of staff and inmates. Any inmate with relevant symptomology will be tested and isolated until results are received.
He said the sheriff’s office also will be working with the medical provider and Public Health to remove the affected inmates from medical isolation per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations based on “symptom-based strategy.”
To learn more about all the steps being taken to keep everyone in our custody safe and healthy, visit www.lakesheriff.com and explore the Coronavirus 2019 response plan.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora, acting as the director of emergency services for the city of Clearlake, announced the reopening of Thompson Harbor at Redbud Park effective at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 9.
Friday’s announcement follows revisions to the Lake County Health officer’s order easing restrictions on access to Clear Lake for residents of Lake County.
The order does not apply to the Austin Park playground, basketball courts and skatepark, or the areas of Austin Park that are still currently under construction. These areas remain closed to the public.
No person shall enter any closed park or park area. No person shall remain in a closed park or closed area of a park after having been notified of the closure and having been requested to leave by any peace officer or other person so designated by the city manager or chief of police.
“The city is pleased to work cooperatively with the Public Health officer to provide additional recreation options for Lake County residents by reopening Thompson Harbor,” said Flora.
As a reminder, all motorized boats must exhibit the proper quagga mussel stickers and be currently registered, Flora said.
Lake County Water Resources ramp monitors will be at Thompson Harbor performing quagga inspections and selling resident stickers.
Everyone is asked to practice proper social distancing when launching boats.
“Please enjoy the great weather we are expecting this weekend in a safe and thoughtful manner,” Flora said.
People, some wearing masks, enjoy a walk in a park in Rome as Italy, the first nation to impose a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus, begins to reopen – slowly. Franco Origlia/Getty Images
It has been less than two months since the world scrambled to go into the “Great Lockdown” to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now, many countries are considering their exit strategies. Some have already eased up.
The push is largely economic. There is a lot scientists don’t yet understand about the novel coronavirus, and there is no known cure or vaccine. Many countries are still experiencing a rise in infections. But the lockdowns have played havoc with people’s livelihoods. Entire economies are in meltdown: The International Monetary Fund predicts the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Just as each nation chose a different route into lockdown, each is likely to choose its own exit path. I have launched a research initiative, “Imagining a Digital Economy for All 2030,” with a focus on the post-pandemic global economy. We have been studying the characteristics of 40 countries that help explain how governments and citizens have acted to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and their preparedness to take an economy online. Our analysis offers ways to gauge which countries are best prepared for a safe exit.
It seems clear that the safest idea is to reopen slowly, in phases, while remaining ready to reenter lockdown in case of new outbreaks. By looking at how well a nation managed the first wave of the pandemic, and how ready it is to work remotely by falling back onto the online economy, we now understand how prepared nations are to restart economic activity without triggering fresh rounds of public health disasters.
Public health and technology
Not every country is well equipped to ease itself out of a lockdown safely.
A nation’s ability to manage the outbreak relies on many factors: the willingness of governments to take decisive action; citizen compliance in staying home and social distancing; and capacity for adequate testing for the disease, including “contact tracing” – tracking down the people who have been in contact with those infected. Those characteristics are also key to managing future outbreaks.
In parallel, not every country is ready to shift much of its economic activity online. Around the world, not everyone has affordable, reliable internet service; or the jobs, devices and digital apps that would let them work productively from home; or ways to make payments and get public services online. In some countries – though not all – workers who can’t do their jobs remotely can reduce their in-person contact by using digital transactions, whether it is for carry-out food, e-commerce or receiving bailout checks and unemployment benefits.
Countries such as Germany, New Zealand and South Korea are strong in both disease-fighting and digital-economy preparedness. Their economic activity isn’t as dependent on in-person interactions, and authorities can respond quickly if loosened rules result in a spike in cases. In contrast, the U.S., Italy and Japan face different challenges before they can safely lift lockdowns.
Japanese residents enjoy a beach while wearing masks and staying apart from each other, as Japan’s emergency lockdown continues.Carl Court/Getty Images
The results are evident in the mortality rates in the U.S. and other, better-prepared countries: On May 5, the key statistic shows the U.S. death rate was more than three times that of Germany, nearly 200 times those in New Zealand and South Korea.
What made the difference?
The countries that more efficiently managed this first outbreak and its consequences capitalized on their public health preparation to get a grip on the infection quickly. Germany has a high volume of infections but low mortality. The country only knows this because it had tested extensively – at a rate of 21 people per 1,000, as compared with 9.8 per 1,000 in the U.S.
South Korea, while among the earliest countries affected, kept its mortality among the lowest in the world through widespread testing and deploying technology for widespread contact tracing. Infected individuals’ interactions were retraced using cellphone location data, surveillance camera footage and credit card records. Websites and apps offer details on infected people’s travel and exposure risks.
A thermal camera monitor shows the body temperatures of passengers as they wait in line before boarding airplanes at an airport in Seoul, South Korea.AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
Troubles for other nations, too
Italy initially underestimated the severity of its outbreak, but then imposed a strict lockdown with high citizen compliance and widespread testing and tracing. However, we found in our study that Italy is among the least prepared European Union members for a shift to a digital economy. Germany, New Zealand and South Korea all have higher levels of internet access and service, digital payments and public services, and employers ready to handle remote work.
Japan’s situation is particularly challenging because it eased up its restrictions too early and then had to impose an emergency to stem additional outbreaks. It is also relatively unprepared in digital terms because of a host of factors, ranging from peer pressure to come into the office, to security concerns, transactions that require a paper trail, often requiring official corporate seals, missing digital infrastructure and a continued aversion to digital payments.
Each of these countries is a wealthy, developed nation, so the differences are not due to affordability. Our research has found that preparedness requires not just funding but also farsighted, credible and transparent leadership and citizens’ trust in that leadership. The first leads to timely and firm decisions, and the second contributes to citizens’ willingness to cooperate with those decisions.
For instance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s background as a trained scientist gave her powerful credibility when facing a scientific crisis. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern clearly explained her “go early, go hard” approach to lockdown restrictions, and her citizens agreed. In South Korea, authorities controlled the virus through “decisive and transparent leadership based on data, not emotion.”
As governments seek their own exit pathways, and aim to strengthen areas where they are weak, there’s no way to be completely certain or fully prepared for what might happen next.
In our research, we’ve found one principle that governments might find useful to guide them through the uncertainty. It’s from a former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark: “Economies can recover; the dead can’t.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Around the nation, older adults make their marks every day as volunteers, employees, employers, parents, grandparents, mentors and advocates.
They offer their time, talents, and experience to the benefit of our communities.
For 57 years, Older Americans Month has been a special time to recognize these contributions.
Led by the Administration for Community Living each May, Older Americans Month highlights ways to help older Americans stay healthy and independent.
This year’s Older Americans Month theme, “Make Your Mark,” highlights older adults’ unique and lasting contributions to their communities.
Towards this goal, Community Care Management’s aging services programs help 286 older adults in Lake and Mendocino counties each month to thrive at their highest level of independence.
What’s more, nine of the agency’s 14 Multipurpose Senior Services and Senior Information & Assistance Program staff members coordinating these services are over the age of 60 themselves.
Older Americans Month Program Director Corinne Jones’ path to serving our community’s older adults is featured in the current edition of her alma mater USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s Vitality Magazine.
Community Care continues to make its mark on the lives of older adults, both as employer and service provider.
To learn more about available services, contact Senior Information & Assistance Monday through Friday at 707-468-5132, or visit www.SeniorResourceDirectory.org .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is already showing itself in major ways in county government expenditures and revenue streams, according to a report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
County Administrative Office staff along with Auditor-Controller/County Clerk Cathy Saderlund gave the board the update on the county’s COVID-19 disaster response expenses so far along with revenue expense concerns for the future during the board’s Tuesday afternoon session.
While counties everywhere are impacted by the pandemic, “There still is no county like Lake anywhere in the United States that has been impacted by disasters like we have year after year,” said County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, reciting the litany of disasters beginning with the Valley fire in 2015, and continuing through other wildland fires, floods, the public safety power shutoffs and now the pandemic.
She credited Saderlund for her guidance and coaching of county staff and helping to keep the county “still standing.” Saderlund is helping the county navigate the “tricky” process of filing claims for reimbursement to the government, Huchingson said.
Saderlund presented to the board representative costs that have been identified as COVID-19. “These costs change rapidly, as I’m sure you know.”
She acknowledged that, as Huchingson said, the COVID-19 pandemic is different from previous disasters.
There is a presidential declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic, and the county has been working through the multiple layers of funding mechanisms and the triggers coming from many state agencies, Saderlund said.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance funding is giving the county up to 75 percent reimbursement for response costs. Saderlund said that, other than one program, she doesn’t have confirmation from the California Office of Emergency Services that it will give an 18 percent reimbursement to the county to cover the other 25 percent.
She said the state has told her that it will not decide on reimbursements until the disaster is over, and it will be done on a county-by-county decision.
So far, the county has received two grants to address the homeless situation, including $79,511 to the Lake County Continuum of Care, which was advanced to the Hope Harbor warming shelter last month for around-the-clock operations. Another $73,152 is being administered by Lake County Behavioral Health.
Project Roomkey, which is providing funding to put homeless individuals into hotel rooms, requires extensive documentation. The state has offered the county $100,000 upfront to help cover its 25-percent portion, but Saderlund said they’ve received no funding to date.
The Restaurants Deliver Home Meals for Seniors Program is under consideration by local officials, but the county will have to pay for it upfront and seek reimbursement through grants. Saderlund said the county would have a 6-percent share if it can meet all of the reporting guidelines.
Saderlund said the Health Department has received or will soon receive three COVID-19 grants totaling $530,390 to cover salaries and benefits, equipment, supplies and indirect costs, supportive quarantine services and private nonprofit human services for emergency response.
Regarding the actual expenditures to date for COVID-19 response, which includes Public Health quarantine and isolation, Saderlund said that totals $249,147. For Project Roomkey, it’s $104,192. Total costs of resource supplies as of April 28, it’s $101,540.
The federally mandated paid leave, as of the county’s May 1 payroll, totals $284,077, she said. That’s 100-percent county cost, with no reimbursement.
Saderlund said the total transactions and encumbrances to date for COVID-19 are $738,957.
She also reported that of the 921 county employees on the May 1 payroll, 259 employees utilized the federally mandated leave. That accounts for 28 percent of the workforce and 5 percent of that total payroll amount.
Huchingson said that a rough estimate to provide masks to the public in county facilities – as required by board action approved earlier at that same meeting – is $48,000, which isn’t in Saderlund’s costs.
Social Services Director Crystal Markytan said the county has contracted with the Lamplighter Motel in Clearlake for rooms for high-risk homeless individuals under Project Roomkey. They have 15 rooms and now have 10 filled.
Staff reports on sales and property tax impacts
Huchingson said they’re also looking at long-term impacts to see how things develop. Her deputy, Stephen Carter, gave the board updates on key areas of concern, including sales and property tax revenue.
“Our general fund discretionary revenue is very reliant on sales tax collections,” said Huchingson.
Carter said the five-year average for the 1-percent sales tax is $2,726,000, the three-year average is $3,063,000, with $2,790,000 collected so far this fiscal year and two months still to go.
For the one-half percent sales tax that comes through Proposition 172, Carter said the five-year average is $3,032,000, the three-year average is $3,116,000 and year-to-date totals $2,612,000, with three months still not received.
Saderlund said the county’s general fund nondepartmental retail sales and use tax revenues are currently $409,000 under the estimate, with May and June remaining. Due to a delay in sales tax payments authorized by the governor, Saderlund said the county will face a cash flow issue.
Huchingson also discussed state “realignment” funding driven by state sales tax that is expected to “decrease significantly.” Those monies fund critical departments such as Public Health, Behavioral Health, a number of Social Services and public safety programs. The largest draw on the realignment funds is the In-Home Supportive Services program, one of the largest per-capita for a small county.
Until now, these programs have had sufficient funds to pay for these programs. If the revenues don’t come back, these programs would need to face cuts or look to the county’s general fund for support, said Huchingson.
“We’re aware of the concern,” said Markytan, who noted that there are so many things unknown at this time “that it is unsettling.”
Health Department Director Denise Pomeroy said they are monitoring the situation. She said funding has been coming down from the state to support pandemic response, and her department is not relying as much right now on realignment funding.
Another key revenue source for the county that Huchingson said is expected to be greatly impacted is transient occupancy tax, or bed tax, derived from hotels, motels and vacation rentals.
Carter said the five-year TOT average for the county is $595,500, the three-year average is $557,000, with year-to-date funding at $638,000, which Carter attributed to Tax Administrator Patrick Sullivan’s work to collect on vacation rentals.
Saderlund added of TOT funding, “It is pretty volatile and it does vary based on our collection efforts.”
Regarding property tax, an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom has allowed counties to consider economic hardship for struggling property owners, and the board previously adopted a resolution to allow a process to waive interest and penalties for those who can’t pay on time due to COVID-19 impacts.
Huchingson said property tax is the primary driver of the general fund revenues, and the impact of the waivers may delay general fund revenue. It makes up between 50 and 55 percent of discretionary revenues.
Carter said the general fund gets the bulk of property tax revenue, with other departments receiving a good-sized portion, including the library and road departments.
He said the five-year average is $24,264,000, the three-year average is $24,335,000, with $18,680,000 received so far this fiscal year.
Saderlund said that, because the county is in the Teeter Plan – which provides jurisdictions with 100-percent of assessed property tax value – the county’s property tax revenues won’t show a decrease because they are allocated on assessed value, not collections. However, she’s concerned that delayed payments will impact the Teeter Plan at some point.
For this fiscal year so far, secured collections are only 0.63 percent less than the same time last year. Saderlund said she will continue to watch it closely.
Huchingson said there also is the concern that another COVID-19 wave in the fall could impact December property tax payments.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he doesn’t think the impact has hit everyone yet. “I think we need to brace ourselves for the impact to happen in the third and the fourth quarter and hopefully we can lessen that blow as much as possible.”
He said he’s also concerned about the Teeter Fund and defaulted property tax sales that originally were scheduled for this spring. Saderlund said she shares his concerns.
Concern for Interest income, pension liabilities
Staff then moved to interest income, which Huchingson said is a smaller but still important revenue source.
Carter said general fund-based interest revenue is $481,500 on a five-year average, the three-year average is $686,800 and $262,500 has been collected so far this year.
Saderlund said the county’s third-quarter interest for the 2019-20 fiscal year is 30 percent less than the previous year. She didn’t yet have information for the fourth quarter, but she anticipated it would look as “dismal,” if not more so.
Huchingson said the primary expenditure area of greatest concern is pension liability. When the stock market dropped early on in the pandemic disaster, CalPERS was hit very hard. While there has been some leveling off since then, it hasn’t fully recovered.
“The economy is very unstable,” said Huchingson.
During the Great Recession of 2008, when CalPERS had lower-than-anticipated returns in the stock market, participating agencies like Lake County were required to pay increased contributions over several years to come, Huchingson explained.
While CalPERS has indicated it is making adjustments and doing what it can to stabilize and fortify investments, and they are encouraging participating agencies not to panic yet, “We just don’t have sufficient information to make a lot of projections for you,” Huchingson said.
Carter, who took part in a recent CalPERS workshop on this topic, told the board that it’s highly likely the county will have to pay increased contributions over a five-year period and then a 10- to 20-year catch up.
“We can only do that so many times, so that’s something we need to watch carefully,” Carter said.
Saderlund said that, with the interest market and huge dips in investments in the CalPERS portfolio, “We know that we’re going to be impacted with our rates. There’s just absolutely no doubt there, and it will probably be on the same scale as what we’ve seen the last time we saw this come up.”
Sabatier asked staff for a quarterly report on the county’s investments, which are handled through the tax collector’s office.
Huchingson also reported that the economic development discussions that the board has planned to have with department heads – an agreed-upon outcome from a board workshop held earlier this year – will start taking place in June.
She said economic development has been a board priority long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and those discussions had been planned to start in April. Now, they will start on June 16, following the board’s consideration of the recommended budget on June 9.
Supervisor Rob Brown said that the pandemic is completely different from other disasters. In those previous events, there had been funding available for the county to respond and start to recover. He warned that it won’t be that way with the pandemic.
There won’t be an offset of good that comes with the bad, Brown said. “This is going to be bad that comes with the bad, so we just need to be prepared for that.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
