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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Economic Development Corp. is encouraging community members to participate in a study to help improve Internet speeds.

The California Public Utilities Commission collects Internet service provider, or ISP, data voluntarily on an annual basis.

This data collection requires ISPs to identify the census blocks in which they provide residential and business Internet service and the maximum speeds offered in each block.

ISPs can also identify the census blocks that are near enough to their networks that they could provide service within 10 days of a request for service.

According to the 2010 census, there are 5,164 census blocks in Lake County, and each census block has between zero to 226 households or zero to 567 people.

The problem is, if an ISP serves just one home or business in a census block, that entire census block is reported to have service at the highest speed that ISP offers.

The Lake County broadband map was produced by the Upstate California Connect Consortium and validated by the CPUC with information provided from ISPs as of Dec. 31, 2016.

The false impression is that almost all of the populated areas of Lake County are served with high speed broadband Internet. This is not true.

There are many residents and businesses in the green areas that cannot receive service from “fixed wireline” – cable and DSL over phone lines, which is supposed to be the fastest and most reliable – Internet providers.

The CPUC needs more information, and that’s why the Lake County Economic Development Corp. is asking for the community’s help.

CalSPEED, a computer program released by the CPUC, empowers end-users with a professional-level, industry-standard testing tool to measure the quality and speed of their fixed internet connection and validate actual broadband experience of Lake County residents.

The end user can then compare the CalSPEED results with their current broadband plan.

CalSPEED conducts a two-phase test including initial testing and results validation in order to ensure statistically significant measurements.

The first two metrics measure Internet usage experience, while the second two measure the voice quality of voice over IP technologies – which many homes and businesses here rely on.

CalSPEED tests upload speed, download speed, message delay (latency), and message delay variation (jitter), and reports these results each time the user runs a test – without tracking your information – to a public repository at the CPUC.

The CalSPEED results are mapped on the California interactive broadband map (www.broadbandmap.ca.gov) and are utilized by the CPUC and the Upstate California
Connect Consortium (www.upcalbroadband.org) to better understand the broadband landscape.

CalSPEED results from Lake County residences and businesses can uncover and document areas with poor Internet service.

To use the application, go to www.upcalbroadband.org click on the “Get CalSPEED” link, and download the application to your desktop.

In addition to CalSPEED for the desktop, the CPUC in partnership with California State University, Chico and California State University, Monterey Bay is looking for volunteers to take part in the first statewide effort to collect quality measurements utilizing the new CalSPEED Home Measurement Device.

If you would like to participate in the study, go to www.calspeed.org/signup to learn more.

For more information call the Lake County Economic Development Corp. at 707-279-1540, Extension 101.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Authorities are investigating a Wednesday morning incident in which an officer fired at – but did not appear to have hit – a vehicle that attempted to run him over.

Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department said the situation that led to the shooting began at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.

A Clearlake Police officer – whose name currently is being withheld – was on foot patrol in the area of Mint Street and Oregon Avenue looking for stolen vehicles and attempting to contact two subjects walking into the wooded area, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said the officer, who was wearing a distinct patrol uniform, was walking on a narrow trail when a previously reported stolen vehicle backed out of the brush and onto the trail in front of him.  

The vehicle rapidly accelerated at the officer, who was only a short distance away. Fearing for his safety, the officer fired his handgun at the vehicle while he was running to get out of the path of the vehicle, Hobbs said.

The officer jumped out of the vehicle's path just before it was about to hit him. Hobbs said the vehicle fled the area, but was later located abandoned in a vacant lot.  

At this time, it does not appear the driver of the vehicle was shot, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said the officer sustained an injury to his shoulder as a result of landing on the ground, when he jumped out of the vehicles way. The officer was later treated and released from the hospital.

Based on Clearlake Police alerts to the community, people in the surrounding areas were told to shelter in place for about an hour as additional law enforcement was responding to the scene a short time later. Pomo School also was reported to have been placed on a short-term lockdown.

The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the Lake County District Attorney’s Office. This case is still under investigation, and further details are not available to be released at this time, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said the officer involved in this incident has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation per department protocol.


Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Sgt. Hobbs at the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251 or the Lake County District Attorney’s Office at 707-263-2251.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Lake County and other parts of Northern California due to an incoming storm system expected to bring snow to higher elevations.

The advisory is in effect through Thursday evening for areas above 2,500 feet, where accumulations of 4 to 6 inches are expected.

Forecasters said a Pacific storm will bring periods of moderate to heavy snow and gusty wind into Friday in Northern California’s higher elevations.

The heaviest snow and strongest wind expected into early Thursday morning and again late Thursday afternoon and evening.

In Lake County, the mountain areas north of Upper Lake are forecast for snow due to the storm.

The rest of Lake County is expected to see rain through Thursday night, with a break during the day on Friday and chances of more rain on Saturday before the rain lets up and conditions clear into the middle of next week, based on the forecast.

Temperatures this week are expected to range from the high 30s at night into the high 50s during the day, with light winds forecast through Friday.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new report from the Lake County Association of Realtors shows that 2017 topped 2016 both in terms of median property sale prices and the number of single-family homes that sold.

The 2017 median sales price was $242,000 topping the 2016 median sales price of $235,000 by 3.0 percent, the report said.

The association said the number of single-family homes sold in 2017 was 929 versus 861 in 2016, accounting for a 7.9-percent increase.

LCAOR President Melissa Chapman said 2017 was a solid year for real estate sales in Lake County

“While prices increased they did so at a moderate pace, helping to keep Lake County an affordable place to call home,” she said.

Lake County financing characteristics showed some changes between 2017 and 2016.

Cash financing dropped from being used in 30 percent of the deals to 25 percent. Conversely loan financing rose from being used in 62 percent of the 2016 transactions to 70 percent in 2017, according to the report.

The report also showed that distressed sales fell from 10.5 percent in 2016 to 6.9 percent in 2017.

Preliminarily, the California Association of Realtors, or CAR, reported that 423,760 single family residences sold statewide in 2017, up 1.4 percent over 2016’s pace of 417,720 homes.

The 2017 statewide median was $537,860 up 6.9 percent over the 2016 median of $503,143.

Mortgage rates edged higher in December as 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 3.95 percent in December, up from 3.92 percent in November and from 4.2 percent in December 2016, according to Freddie Mac.

The five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate also ticked higher in December to an average of 3.39 percent from 3.24 percent in November and from 3.23 percent in December 2016.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Lake County – 2017
Median price: $242,000
Median days to sell: 43
Units sold: 929

Lake County – 2016
Median price: $235,000
Median days to sell: 79
Units sold: 861
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week will consider purchasing an apartment building as part of project spending that’s required for redevelopment bonds.

The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

City Manager Greg Folsom is taking to the council the proposed purchase of an apartment building at 14141 Lakeshore Drive, which will use $855,000 in Series B bond funds.

Folsom’s report explains that the city recently completed a refunding of the 2006 redevelopment bonds and needs to spend that money on projects.

He said Series B redevelopment bonds are restricted to low and moderate income housing-related spending.

The city has $3 million in the funds to spend and after looking at several projects, the Lakeshore Boulevard apartment complex purchase was settled on as the best option, according to Folsom’s report.

The negotiated purchase price is $850,000, plus $5,000 in closing costs. Folsom said the property will generate $70,000 a year in gross rent, which is an 8-percent annual return on investment. “The revenues generated from this property will go into the general fund.”

Thursday’s meeting also includes a public hearing to confirm assessments of administrative penalties for failure to abate public nuisances on properties located at 4054 Lansing Ave., 14170 Konocti St., 14541 Lakeshore Drive, 3634 Redwood St., 6352 James St., 3786 Oak Ave., 15890 20th Ave. and 16216 34th Ave.

In other business, staff is asking the council to consider creating an ad hoc committee for the city’s animal control department as a way to make outreach to the community.

“Creating an animal control ad hoc committee may help in the dissemination of information regarding challenges faced by the animal control unit and current and planned improvements that will help to address many of the concerns of the public,” said Folsom in his report to the council.

Folsom said ad hoc committee members would have input on the design of the new animal control facilities, adoption policies and procedures, as well as other areas.

Also on Thursday’s agenda, staff will give the council an update on the Sulphur fire recovery process, review and consider the submittal of the recognized obligation payments schedule for fiscal year 2018-19 for periods A (July to December) and B (January to June), and staff will seek direction regarding refunding all, or a portion of, assessments collected by the city from a county held tax defaulted sale of property.

Items on the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers; minutes of the council meetings on Sept. 28, Oct. 5, Oct. 12, Oct. 18 and Oct. 26; minutes of the Dec. 13 Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting; report on the Clearlake Marketing Committee’s mission statement and goals; and consideration of Resolution No. 2018-05, authorizing submittal of application to Parks and Recreation.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The work to finalize the cleanup of the property destroyed in the Sulphur fire is nearly complete, according to a report given to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Among its items of business on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved the continuation of proclamation of a local emergency due to the Sulphur fire.

During the Tuesday morning meeting, Lake County Health Services Department staff were joined by representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers to update the board on the Sulphur fire debris cleanup project.

“All the properties have been cleaned of debris,” said Lake County Environmental Health Director Jesse Kang.

He said 91 properties were cleared of toxic materials and three properties in the city of Clearlake are being abated. The timeline for having those properties abated wasn’t known on Tuesday.

Col. Eric McFadden, South Pacific Division deputy commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers – which is responsible for the debris cleanup for the Sulphur fire – was on hand to give the board a report.

He said more than 55,000 tons of debris and 155 parcels have been cleaned in less than two and a half months, which “is no small feat.”

Of those, 103 parcels have been cleared for rebuilding. McFadden said soil sampling and rescrapes to remove materials are going on as needed.

He called the cleanup a huge milestone, and one which required citizen involvement.

McFadden said the Army Corps is continuing to work with property owners on unresolved issues. He asked that if people still have issues, that they call the agency.

“We’re very proud to be able to help Lake County through this process,” he said.

The board also heard from FEMA that more than $650,000 has been disbursed to survivors, with about 520 applicants seeking the funding.

The Small Business Administration has approved $540,000 in home and biz loans. Regarding temporary housing, they have seven requests for housing and of those five have been housed.

Supervisor Jeff Smith – who lost his Clearlake home in the Sulphur fire – lauded the US Army Corps for its work and said they handled his property well.

While there were some bumps in the road, “To have it all cleaned up the way it is today is unbelievable in a short period of time,” he said.

Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy said staff was reluctant to pull the Sulphur fire’s emergency proclamation until the last three properties are abated.

The board also continued proclamations of declarations of local emergencies due to the Rocky, Jerusalem, Valley and Clayton fires, and the atmospheric river storm.

County staffer Marcy Harrison gave the board the latest information on the Valley Fire Debris Insurance Collection Project.

Harrison said that so far $5,558,000 has been collected for the project, which is collecting payments from property owners who participated in the state-led Valley cleanup and who had insurance coverage for debris removal. The funds are not being kept by the county but will be paid to the state. Those who didn’t have insurance coverage are not required to pay.

Altogether, there have been 376 payments made, and 25 of them since last month, for a total of $405,000, said Harrison.

They also are working to get certification of noncoverage from about 75 property owners, she said.

About 10 property owners have asked for a payment schedule to pay for the debris collection. Harrison said the board approved giving impacted property owners who need more time to pay up to two years.

A main item of business on Tuesday was a public hearing to consider extending Ordinance No. 3070, an urgency ordinance allowing temporary and limited registration of certain commercial cannabis cultivation licenses with the state.

While the board approved the extension to allow cannabis growers to go through the state licensing process while the county’s commercial cannabis ordinance is finalized, supervisors heard from a number of growers who expressed their frustration at a county process they found confusing and conflicting with the state’s process.

In other business on Tuesday, the board approved an amended agreement between the county of Lake and North Coast Opportunities for Valley fire and Sulphur fire survivor stable housing assistance, held a public hearing on a resolution amending the master fee schedule for departmental services rendered by the county, considered the Section 8 Administrative Plan for Fiscal Years 17/18 and 18/19 and approved the civil rights certification for Housing and Urban Development.

The board also held an initial discussion on a proposal to require cell tower lessees to provide reciprocity for all cell carriers utilizing county cell towers in order to enhance the local emergency notification system.

The supervisors reappointed Jim Burton, Denise Loustalot and Heather McFadden to the East Region 3 Town Hall, and Karen Graf to the Lower Lake Cemetery District and appointed two new members, Carla Ritz and Tara Walsh, to the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health board.

The board also approved resolutions establishing alternate office hours for the offices of the Assessor-Recorder from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 and for the Treasurer-Tax Collector for the period from Jan. 1 through June 30.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Pacific Gas and Electric Co. reported that it has pruned or cut down more than 30,000 hazard trees in fire-impacted communities in Northern California to reduce wildfire and public safety risk.

Approximately 4,100 of those trees are in Mendocino and Lake counties; PG&E said that number breaks down to 4,000 in Mendocino County and 100 in Lake County.

The company will haul away larger wood that it has cut down near its power lines in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties at no cost to property owners. If the wood qualifies, customers must request the wood removal service. The opt-in program ends February 28.

“We are committed to helping our customers recover from the devastating wildfires last fall. We’re offering this wood removal service to reduce wildfire risk created by hazard trees piling up, and to help ensure that customers can safely enjoy their property,” said Carl Schoenhofer,  senior manager of PG&E’s Humboldt Division, which includes Mendocino and Lake counties.

PG&E said it has completed about 96 percent of the work to cut down hazard trees near its power lines in wildfire-impacted communities to help ensure public safety and protect its electric and gas infrastructure.

Work to haul away the larger wood began several weeks ago in Napa and Sonoma counties, and will begin in Mendocino County later this month.

Customers who would like to opt-in to the Wildfire Wood Management Program can call 1-800-743-5000. The program closes on Feb. 28.

In order to qualify, the wood to be removed must be:

– Easily accessible by equipment or machinery;
– Larger than four inches in diameter and six feet in length; and
– Within 50 feet of a permanent structure or have the ability to impede traffic or roll into roads, road drainage structures or watercourses.

Wood and debris that is less than 4 inches in diameter does not qualify for this program. As with its normal practice, PG&E will clean up debris it cuts either by chipping or lopping and spreading according to forestry industry best practices.

PG&E contractors will haul away and dispose of the wood. The wood being removed from fire-impacted areas is generally not commercially viable. PG&E’s contractors will determine any potential end-uses.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Four dogs are awaiting adoption at Clearlake Animal Control this week.

The dogs, all adults, are Magnolia, Robbie, Special and Tater.

To meet the animals, call Clearlake Animal Control at 707-994-8201 and speak to Marcia at Extension 103 or call Extension 118, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or leave a message at any other time.

Below are this week's available pets.

“Magnolia.” Courtesy photo.

‘Magnolia’

“Magnolia” has a short brown and white coat.

Shelter staff said she loves walks.

“Robbie.” Courtesy photo.

‘Robbie’

“Robbie” is a young and happy-go-lucky mix – possibly Labrador Retriever and Rottweiler.

He walks well on a leash and makes friends with other dogs.

Robbie is vaccinated and will be neutered prior to adoption.

“Special.” Courtesy photo.
‘Special’

“Special” is a year-and-a-half-old Rottweiler and pit bull mix.

He has lived with small dogs, likes children, isn’t a barker and doesn’t appear to both with cats. He’s also sweet.

“Tater.” Courtesy photo.

‘Tater’

“Tater” is a lovable fellow who already is neutered and vaccinated, and is heartworm negative.

Shelter staff said Tater likes being with people and ignores other dogs.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The state’s latest report on unemployment put Lake County’s jobless number up slightly as the rest of California saw a record low jobless rate.

The Employment Development Department said Lake County’s unemployment rate in December was 5.6 percent, up from a revised 5.3 percent in November 2017, and below the year-ago estimate of 6.7 percent.

Lake County’s November and December unemployment rates in 2017 are the lowest for those months in 27 years of Employment Development Department data.

California’s overall unemployment rate in December was 4.3 percent, down from 4.6 percent in November, as the state’s employers added 52,700 nonfarm payroll jobs. In December 2016, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent.

The Employment Development Department said California has now gained a total of 2,793,800 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010.

The state’s December jobless rate establishes a new record low in a data series dating back to the beginning of 1976, according to the Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,100 California households.  

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said the December unemployment rate was unchanged for a third month at 4.1 percent, with the national employers adding 148,000 nonfarm payroll jobs. The December 2016 federal unemployment rate was 4.7 percent.

The Employment Development Department report said nonfarm payroll jobs in California totaled 16,980,400 in December, a net gain of 52,700 jobs from November. This followed a revised gain of 53,700 jobs in November.

Those numbers are based on a survey of 71,000 businesses to measure jobs in the economy that is larger and less variable statistically than the survey used for the unemployment rate. The yearover change, December 2016 to December 2017, shows an increase of 342,500 jobs, up 2.1 percent.

The federal household survey, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed Californians over the month and the year. It estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in December was 18,548,000, an increase of 39,000 from November, and up 383,000 from the employment total in December of last year, based on the report.

The number of unemployed Californians was 839,000 in December, down by 46,000 over the month, and down by 160,000 compared with December of last year, the report said.

In Lake County, the total farm employment category was up by 3.3 percent in December but down by 0.2 percent for total nonfarm.

The county’s transportation, warehousing and utilities subcategory showed the largest positive growth, 1.9 percent, followed by two categories at 0.7 percent – government and trade, transportation and utilities.

Lake County’s December unemployment rate earned it a No. 34 rating out of the state’s 58 counties.

Rankings for neighboring counties are as follows: Colusa, 17.3 percent, No. 57; Glenn, 6.8 percent, No. 43; Mendocino, 4.2 percent, No. 23; Napa, 3.6 percent, No. 13; Sonoma, 2.8 percent, No. 5; and Yolo, 4.6 percent, No. 29.

In related data, the EDD reported that there were 351,959 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the December survey week, compared with
256,961 in November and 367,944 in December of last year.

At the same time, new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 45,447 in December, compared with 36,177 in November and 52,953 in December of last year.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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On Thursday Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. delivered his 16th – and final – State of the State address asserting that the “bolder path is still our way forward” on climate change, infrastructure investment, health care, education and criminal justice.

In his remarks, the governor pointed to a number of far-reaching, bipartisan measures passed in recent years – from pension and workers' compensation reform to the Water Bond, Rainy Day Fund and the Cap-and-Trade Program – that demonstrate “some American governments can actually get things done.”

Gov. Brown also recognized the efforts of firefighters, first responders and volunteers who “answered the call to help their fellow neighbors” this year and the “profound and growing challenge” of extreme weather and fires in California.

Citing “endless new weapons systems, growing antagonism among nations, the poison in our politics, climate change” and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists “Doomsday Clock” moving 30 seconds closer to catastrophe, the governor warned that “our world, our way of life, our system of governance” are all at “immediate and genuine risk” and called “for courage, for imagination and for generous dialogue” from Californians.

Below is the text of his address as prepared for delivery.

2018 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS


Good morning. As our Constitution requires, I’m here to report on the condition of our state.

Simply put, California is prospering. While it faces its share of difficulties, we should never forget the bounty and endless opportunities bestowed on this special place -- or the distance we have all traveled together these last few years.

It is now hard to visualize – or even remember – the hardships, the bankruptcies and the home foreclosures so many experienced during the Great Recession. Unemployment was above 12 percent and 1.3 million Californians lost their jobs.

The deficit was $27 billion in 2011. The New York Times called us: “The Coast of Dystopia.” The Wall Street Journal saw: “The Great California Exodus.” The Economist of London pronounced us: “The Ungovernable State.” And the Business Insider simply said: “California is Doomed.”

Even today, you will find critics who claim that the California dream is dead. But I am used to that. Back in my first term, a prestigious report told us that California had the worst business climate in America. In point of fact, personal income in 1975, my first year as governor, was $154 billion. Today it has grown to $2.4 trillion. In just the last eight years alone, California’s personal income has grown $845 billion and 2.8 million new jobs have been created. Very few places in the world can match that record.

That is one of the reasons why confidence in the work that you are doing has risen so high. It contrasts sharply with the abysmal approval ratings given to the United States Congress. Certainly our on-time budgets are well received, thanks in large part to the lowering of the two-thirds vote to a simple majority to pass the budget.

But public confidence has also been inspired by your passing – with both Republican and Democratic votes:

– Pension reform;
– Workers’ Compensation reform;
– The Water Bond;
– The Rainy Day Fund; and
– The Cap-and-Trade Program.

All are big and very important to our future. And their passage demonstrates that some American governments can actually get things done – even in the face of deepening partisan division.

The recent fires and mudslides show us how much we are affected by natural disasters and how we can rise to the occasion – at the local level, at the state level and with major help from the federal government. I want to especially thank all of the firefighters, first responders and volunteers. They answered the call to help their fellow neighbors. Here we see an example of people working together irrespective of party.

The president himself has given California substantial assistance and the congressional leadership is now sponsoring legislation to help California, as well as the other states that have suffered major disasters – Texas, Florida and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

In this regard, we should never forget our dependency on the natural environment and the fundamental challenges it presents to the way we live. We can’t fight nature. We have to learn how to get along with her.

And that is not so easy. For thousands of years this land now called California supported no more than 300,000 people. Today, 40 million people live here and their sheer impact on the soils, the forests and the entire ecosystem has no long-term precedent. That’s why we have to innovate constantly and create all manner of shelter, machines and creative technologies. That will continue, but only with ever greater public and private investment.

The devastating forest fires and the mudslides are a profound and growing challenge. Eight of the state’s most destructive fires have occurred in the last five years. Last year’s Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties was the largest in recorded history. The mudslides that followed were among the most lethal the state has ever encountered. In 2017, we had the highest average summer temperatures in recorded history. Over the last 40 years, California’s fire season has increased 78 days – and in some places it is nearly year-round.

So we have to be ready with the necessary firefighting capability and communication systems to warn residents of impending danger. We also have to manage our forests -- and soils -- more intelligently.

Toward that end, I will convene a task force composed of scientists and knowledgeable forest practitioners to review thoroughly the way our forests are managed and suggest ways to reduce the threat of devastating fires. They will also consider how California can increase resiliency and carbon storage capacity. Trees in California should absorb CO2, not generate huge amounts of black carbon and greenhouse gas as they do today when forest fires rage across the land.

Despite what is widely believed by some of the most powerful people in Washington, the science of climate change is not in doubt. The national academies of science of every major country in the world – including Russia and China – have all endorsed the mainstream view that human caused greenhouse gases are trapping heat in the oceans and in the atmosphere and that action must be taken to avert catastrophic changes in our weather systems. All nations agree except one and that is solely because of one man: our current president.

Here in California, we follow a different path. Enlightened by top scientists at the University of California, Stanford and Caltech, among others, our state has led the way:

– Building and appliance efficiency standards;
– Renewable electricity --reaching 50 percent in just a few years;
– A powerful low-carbon fuel standard; Incentives for zero-emission vehicles;
– Ambitious policies to reduce short-lived climate pollutants like methane and black carbon;
– A UN-sponsored climate summit this September in San Francisco; and
– The nation’s only functioning cap-and-trade system.

I will shortly provide an expenditure plan for the revenues that the cap-and-trade auctions have generated. Your renewing this program on a bipartisan basis was a major achievement and will ensure that we will have substantial sums to invest in communities all across the state -- both urban and agricultural.

The goal is to make our neighborhoods and farms healthier, our vehicles cleaner – zero emission the sooner the better – and all our technologies increasingly lowering their carbon output. To meet our ambitious goals, we will need five million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030. Think of all the jobs that will create and how much cleaner our air will be.

When you passed cap-and-trade legislation, you also passed a far-reaching air pollution measure that for the first time focuses on pollutants that disproportionately affect specific neighborhoods. Instead of just measuring pollutants over vast swaths of land, regulators will zero in on those communities which are particularly disadvantaged by trains, trucks or factories.

Along with clean air, clean water is a fundamental good that must be protected and made available on a sustainable basis. When droughts occur, conservation measures become imperative. In recent years, you have passed historic legislation to manage California’s groundwater, which local governments are now implementing.

In addition, you passed – and more than two-thirds of voters approved – a water bond that invests in safe drinking water, conservation and storage. As a result, we will soon begin expending funds on some of the storage we’ve needed for decades.

As the climate changes and more water arrives as rain instead of snow, it is crucial that we are able to capture the overflow in a timely and responsible way. That, together with recycling and rainwater recapture will put us in the best position to use water wisely and in the most efficient way possible. We are also restoring the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds to protect water supplies and improve California’s iconic salmon runs.

Finally, we have the California Waterfix, a long studied and carefully designed project to modernize our broken water system. I am convinced that it will conserve water, protect the fish and the habitat in the Delta and ensure the delivery of badly needed water to the millions of people who depend on California’s aqueducts. Local water districts – in both the North and South – are providing the leadership and the financing because they know it is vital for their communities, and for the whole state. That is true, and that is the reason why I have persisted.

Our economy, the sixth largest in the world, depends on mobility, which only a modern and efficient transportation system provides. The vote on the gas tax was not easy but it was essential, given the vast network of roads and bridges on which California depends and the estimated $67 billion in deferred maintenance on our infrastructure. Tens of millions of cars and trucks travel over 330 billion miles a year.

The funds that SB 1 makes available are absolutely necessary if we are going to maintain our roads and transit systems in good repair. Twenty-five other states have raised gas taxes. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called for a federal gas tax because the highway trust fund is nearly broke.

Government does what individuals can’t do, like build roads and bridges and support local bus and light rail systems. This is our common endeavor by which we pool our resources through the public sector and improve all of our lives. Fighting a gas tax may appear to be good politics, but it isn’t. I will do everything in my power to defeat any repeal effort that may make it to the ballot.

Since I have talked about tunnels and transportation, I will bring up one more item of infrastructure: high-speed rail. I make no bones about it. I like trains and I like high-speed trains even better. So did the voters in 2008 when they approved the bond. Look, 11 other countries have high-speed trains. They are now taken for granted all over Europe, in Japan and in China. President Reagan himself said in Japan on Nov. 11, 1983: “The State of California is planning to build a rapid speed train that is adapted from your highly successful bullet train.” Yes, we were, and now we are actually building it.

Like any big project, there are obstacles. There were for the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, for the Golden Gate Bridge and for the Panama Canal. But build it they did and build it we will – America’s first high-speed rail system. One link between San Jose and San Francisco – an electrified Caltrain – is financed and ready to go. Another billion, with matching funds, will be invested in Los Angeles to improve Union Station as a major transportation hub and fix the Anaheim corridor.

The next step is completing the Valley segment and getting an operating system connected to San Jose. Yes, it costs lots of money but it is still cheaper and more convenient than expanding airports and building new freeways to meet the growing demand. It will be fast, quiet and powered by renewable electricity and last for a hundred years.

Already, more than 1,500 construction workers are on the job at 17 sites and hundreds of California businesses are providing services, generating thousands of job years of employment. As the global economy puts more Americans out of work and lowers wages, infrastructure projects like this will be a key source of well-paid California jobs.

Difficulties challenge us but they can’t discourage or stop us. Whether it’s roads or trains or dams or renewable energy installations or zero-emission cars, California is setting the pace for America. Yes, there are critics, there are lawsuits and there are countless obstacles. But California was built on dreams and perseverance and the bolder path is still our way forward.

In addition to infrastructure and physical investments, California spends huge sums for services which affect people directly such as education, health care and our criminal justice system.  

In education, after seeing 30,000 teachers laid off, spending has dramatically recovered, increasing by $4,600 per student – $31 billion overall. We will also be able to completely fund the Local Control Funding Formula, which directs more money to those schools with the greatest challenges. For decades, school districts had widely disparate funding until the Serrano v. Priest decision mandated equal funding for all children. Now with our current formula, the most disadvantaged districts will get substantially more – not just equal funding.

Importantly, this year’s budget proposes to link spending with the local accountability plans so that parents can see how the additional spending supports English learners and students from low-income families. It is no secret that kids from more privileged backgrounds generally do better on standardized tests. But the answer is not more micro-management with intrusive state laws. Learning takes place in the classroom and that’s why our first job is to support teachers and give them the training and the freedom to teach as they know best.

With respect to higher education, it is clear just how much of our prosperity depends on the intellectual contributions of our institutions of higher learning. National leaders come from all over the world to visit California’s most innovative companies, companies that are filled with highly educated and creative men and women – many of whom graduated from our public colleges and universities.

Although there is always a struggle for funds, I want to point out that since 2011, the state has increased its annual support of higher education by $5.8 billion, that is:

– $1.2 billion for UC;
– $1.6 billion for CSU;
– $2.4 billion for the community colleges; and
– $623 million in additional financial aid.

Even with so many of our students attending college, there are still 2.5 million Californians between 25 and 34 who are in the workforce but lack a postsecondary degree or certificate. These men and women often go out of state or pay high tuition at for-profit institutions to improve their skills and employability. For this group, I want to create the California Online College so these overlooked Californians can get the training they need – conveniently and at very low cost.

When it comes to health care, California has boldly embraced the Affordable Care Act by enrolling five million more people into our Medi-Cal program and 1.3 million into the California health exchange, Covered California.

These are far-reaching moves but are largely dependent on tens of billions of federal dollars that would have been taken away by the Congress had the effort to “repeal and replace” succeeded. Thank God for John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. Along with the Democrats, they prevailed and protected health care for tens of millions of Americans.

Finally, I want to say something about public safety. Nothing is more fundamental than an abiding sense on the part of people that they can enjoy their lives, safe and secure, free from crime. Good neighborhoods, good schools and good jobs all contribute to healthy and safe communities. But still there is crime. Lots of it and, in many cases, quite serious.

To combat crime, among other things, California has created an extensive prison system that has changed quite substantially and grown over the decades. In fact, it grew so fast and became so crowded that the United States Supreme Court issued an unprecedented order requiring drastic changes.

To give you a sense of the magnitude of the problem, here are some of the facts:

– In 1970, California imprisoned 125 persons per 100,000. That number now stands at 331.
– The corrections budget then was about 3 percent of the General Fund. Now it’s 8.9 percent — about $12 billion.
– Yet, last year, the number of reported felonies was actually lower than it was in 1970.
– In 1965, the California Penal Code had about 234,000 words. Today that number has grown to 1.2 million. By comparison, the Ten Commandments run just under 300 words -- and the Ten Commandments, there are still ten.
– In California, there are more than 5,000 separate criminal provisions specifying what is criminal, what the penalties should be, what enhancements should be added and what credits might be earned.

Much of this has changed and churned over the decades as the legislature has enacted endless new crime laws and the voters have approved one ballot measure after another, usually but not always, adding ever more time in prison.

My plea is relatively straightforward: take time to understand how our system of crime and punishment has evolved, how other states and countries have devised their prison systems and what changes might we now make. I urge that instead of enacting new laws because of horrible crimes and lurid headlines, you consider the overall system and what it might need and what truly protects public safety.

Certainly, we need more mental health and drug treatment programs and better training and education. Those we are getting, but more is needed, particularly hope. When a human being gets a 20-or 40-year sentence, as tens of thousands do, incentives to reform weaken and hopelessness and violence take over, making prison gang influence all the more powerful. That is why recent measures are so vital which allow the possibility of earlier parole and milestone credits for those who turn their lives around.

Equally important are the correctional officers who walk the halls and put their lives on the line in direct contact with all manner of inmate. Their job is to keep the place safe, never an easy task, and to create an atmosphere of respect and order – and foster a spirit of rehabilitation whenever possible. There are thousands of others who work in the prisons who also deserve our support.

It is all out of sight, but profoundly important because most inmates will be returning to their communities and we want them to be as reformed and rehabilitated as possible.

For the rest, there is much we can do together before this year ends.

These are truly exciting times, full of possibilities but also full of danger. Just this morning, the preeminent science and security board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to catastrophe. It is now 2 minutes to midnight, as close as it was at the height of the Cold War in 1953.

Our world, our way of life, our system of governance – all are at immediate and genuine risk. Endless new weapons systems, growing antagonism among nations, the poison in our politics, climate change.

All of this calls out for courage, for imagination and for generous dialogue. In recent days, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in cities across America to participate in the Women’s March. At the same time, activists championed the cause in our nation’s capital of those young people we call the Dreamers. In all this, California was in the forefront, showing the way.

But there is much more to do. All of us – whatever our party or philosophy – have a role to play in defending and advancing our democracy. Our forebears set the example. As you may know my own great grandfather, August Schuckman, in 1849 sailed to America on a ship named Perseverance. He persisted against all the odds and made it to Sacramento three years later.

And, yes, we too will persist against storms and turmoil, obstacles great and small. The spirit of democracy never dies. It’s alive in this chamber, in the hearts of Californians and in people throughout the land.

Let this be a great year – for California, for our nation, and for our future.

Thank you.
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The Anderson Marsh Ranch House in Lower Lake, Calif. Courtesy photo.


LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association has announced that free public tours of the historic ranch house at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park will resume in 2018 and will be scheduled after many of the monthly guided nature walks.  

Tours of the ranch house were temporarily suspended after the August 2016 Clayton fire burned onto the park property and the contents of the ranch house were evacuated to keep them safe.  

AMIA reached an agreement with State Parks to do the cleaning of the inside of the house that was necessary before the furnishings and other historic artifacts could be safely returned to the ranch house.  

Now that the ranch house has been cleaned, AMIA has agreed to assume responsibility for the ongoing cleaning of the structure.  

“Resources to clean and maintain the ranch house were not available due to the underfunding of the State Parks system in the California budget,” said AMIA Treasurer Henry Bornstein. “AMIA felt it was vital to step up and take responsibility for the cleaning of the ranch house so that members of the public and students on school field trips can visit the ranch house and learn about the way life was for Lake County ranchers in the 19th and early 20th century.”

For information about ranch house tours, contact AMIA at 707-995-2658 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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LAKEPORT, Calif. –  Now having completed the first month of its homeless warming center, now in its third season in operation, the Lake County Ministerial Association offered an update this week on the services it has offered and the individuals it has helped.

The warming center is located at the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1111 Park Way, Lakeport.

The association said that the warming center, which opened Dec. 18, has so far served 52 individuals, including one family and five minors.  

The warming center, initially scheduled to open on Dec. 1, delayed its opening until it had sufficient funds available. The association said generous individuals and businesses stepped up to provide sufficient funding to open the doors and the center began operation on Dec. 18.  

Fundraising is ongoing to ensure the center can provide consistent operation through March 31, the association reported.

The center is open five days a week, Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. It is limited to 24 guests per night, per the terms of a major use permit provided by the county of Lake.

Through Jan. 15, the association said its highest number of guests on any one night has been 21.  

Of the 52 individuals served so far, several spend every night, others are eventually able to find permanent housing – although the critical shortage of affordable housing in the county makes that a very challenging endeavor, according to the association.

Many arrive cold, hungry, discouraged and out of plans. After a good night’s sleep, a hot shower, a nutritious dinner, and with clean clothes, the way forward, at least temporarily, becomes a little clearer, officials reported. The vast majority of the center’s guests are long-term Lake County residents.

The most unusual request for housing this season came through the LMA Facebook page:  
“I am here with few resources! My five and a half month old Bombay kittens are living in my vehicle with me. Can you house us for a spell?”

Within minutes, staff responded: “We would set up a large crate and welcome the kittens and their owner.” Thankfully, there were only two kittens who, despite the reputation of Bombay cats to cry and meow more than other cats, were extremely well-behaved and quiet. Eventually, they moved north after finding temporary respite at the warming center.

The Lake County Ministerial Association is dependent on, and extremely grateful to, the many generous and hardworking volunteers that supplement the small staff. Each week night, volunteers are covering check in, intake, dinner preparation and service, showers and laundry, as well as providing carry-out bags for breakfast.

Donations may be made through the warming center’s fiscal sponsor, Kelseyville United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 446, Kelseyville, CA 95453.  Please write ‘Warming Center’ on the memo line.  

Volunteer sign ups continue through www.SignupGenius.com.

You can reach staff through email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit the warming center’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LMAwarmingcenter.

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