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State Controller Betty T. Yee has published the 2019 self-reported payroll data for the University of California and California Community College districts on the Government Compensation in California website.

The data cover 408,740 positions and a total of nearly $20.39 billion in 2019 wages.

Users of the site can view compensation levels on maps and search by region; narrow results by name of the entity or by job title; and export raw data or custom reports.

The newly published data were reported by 11 UC institutions (312,118 employees and $17.16 billion in wages) and 44 CCC districts (96,622 employees and $3.23 billion in wages).

The breakdown for the 11 UC institutions is as follows:

– University of California, Los Angeles: 67,632 employees; wages, $4,029,790,028; health and retirement contributions, $626,895,228.
– University of California, San Francisco: 34,167 employees; wages, $3,296,751,282; health and retirement contributions, $474,795,731.
– University of California, San Diego; 47,070 employees; wages, $2,636,228,727; health and retirement contributions, $453,059,955.
– University of California, Davis: 45,488 employees; wages, $2,519,966,364; health and retirement contributions, $462,541,591.
– University of California, Irvine: 30,326 employees; wages, $1,535,713,385; health and retirement contributions, $265,682,656.
– University of California, Berkeley: 35,449 employees; wages, $1,339,276,525; health and retirement contributions, $208,655,181.
– University of California, Santa Barbara: 17,974 employees; wages, $554,105,922; health and retirement contributions, $98,187,793.
– University of California, Riverside: 13,635 employees; wages, $476,546,526; health and retirement contributions, $80,352,057.
– University of California, Santa Cruz: 12,981 employees; wages, $387,730,007; health and retirement contributions, $74,367,492.
– University of California, Office of the President: 2,242 employees; wages, $221,726,496; health and retirement contributions, $37,013,038.
– University of California, Merced: 5,154 employees; wages, $157,879,575; health and retirement contributions, $30,105,228.

The top 10 largest community college districts are as follows:

– Los Rios Community College District: 8,466 employees; wages, $253,396,098; health and retirement contributions, $78,103,820.
– San Diego Community College District: 6,416 employees; wages, $228,228,139; health and retirement contributions, $72,442,239.
– Foothill-De Anza Community College District: employees, 4,114; wages, $152,567,755; health and retirement contributions, $37,605,641.
– South Orange County Community College District : employees, 3,777; wages, $150,165,096; health and retirement contributions, $47,570,830.
– Contra Costa Community College District: employees, 4,976; wages, $144,575,038; health and retirement contributions, $43,237,040.
– San Francisco Community College District : employees, 2,604; wages, $140,928,567; health and retirement contributions, $36,910,906.
– Rancho Santiago Community College District: employees, 3,801; wages, $140,184,249; health and retirement contributions, $40,625,717.
– Ventura County Community College District: employees, 2,964; wages, $114,429,965; health and retirement contributions, $38,492,132.
– Sonoma County Junior College District: employees, 3,163; wages, $101,164,568; health and retirement contributions, $28,428,741.
– Peralta Community College District 3: employees, 173; wages, $99,905,820; health and retirement contributions, $30,398,491.

Yuba Community College District, one of the two districts serving Lake County, is listed No. 31 of the 44 districts that have filed. It has 1,644 employees, $40,416,807 in wages and $6,388,814 in health and retirement contributions.

The Mendocino-Lake Community College District did not file.

California law requires cities, counties and special districts to annually report compensation data to the state controller. The state controller also maintains and publishes state and California State University salary data.

No such statutory requirement exists for UC, CCC, superior courts, fairs and expositions, First 5 commissions, or K-12 education providers; their reporting is voluntary.

A list of entities that did not file or filed incomplete reports is available here.

Since the website launched in 2010, it has registered more than 12 million pageviews. The site contains pay and benefits information on more than two million government jobs in California, as reported annually by each entity.

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Yee is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The controller has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds.
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Habitat for Humanity Lake County home recipient Quentin Bryant, along with his family, friends and Habitat staff. Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Lake County.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After delays created by COVID-19, fires and weather, on Sept. 26 Habitat for Humanity Lake County, along with friends and extended family, gathered to celebrate and welcome the Bryant family into their new home.

Guests were invited to share treats and tour the home and property and offer their well-wishes to Quentin Bryant and his daughter during a brief ceremony to present them the keys to their home.

“I’m just so grateful,” Bryant said. “I don’t know what else to say. All the hard work’s been worth it now, to give my daughter a home, her own room, a place to grow up. This wouldn’t have happened without Habitat’s help. I’m so thankful.”

Habitat for Humanity Lake County’s goal is to help qualified low-income families get into safe, decent, affordable housing.

To learn more about program qualifications and to receive a preapplication, visit the office at 15312 Lakeshore Dr. in Clearlake or call 707-994-1100, Extension 108.

Qualification is based on Lake County residency, household income, and household need.

Everyone is encouraged to apply.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County had two more residents die of COVID-19-related illness this week and more than a dozen new cases confirmed on Friday, with Public Health releasing data showing the racial breakdown of the county’s cases.

Lake County’s COVID-19 cases increased to 658 on Friday, up 17 over the previous day and 30 over the previous Friday, according to Lake County Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Public Health said 55 cases are active and being monitored, and two patients currently are hospitalized, bringing the total of all cases hospitalized to 40. Another 588 have recovered.

This week, two additional deaths have occurred, bringing the total to 15, Public Health reported.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said the 14th death was an individual older than age 65 who had a previous history of medical issues and was hospitalized at the time of death.

The 15th death, reported to Public Health on Friday, was an individual who was over age 60 and died following a lengthy COVID-related hospitalization, Pace said.

Statewide, county Public Health departments reported a total of 16,905 deaths as of Friday night, with more than 871,000 confirmed cases.

Lake’s neighboring counties reported the following total caseloads and deaths as of Friday: Colusa, 545 cases, six deaths; Glenn, 639 cases, three deaths; Mendocino, 1,080 cases, 21 deaths; Napa, 1,851 cases, 14 deaths; Sonoma, 8,717 cases, 129 deaths; and Yolo, 3,034 cases, 56 deaths.

The California Department of Public Health said Friday that local health departments have reported 41,984 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 194 deaths statewide.

The state also said that as of Friday there have been 16,621,956 tests conducted in California, an increase of 104,144 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

‘Significant disparities’ emerge

In his Friday report, Pace said directing additional resources to disadvantaged communities and essential front-line workers are critical in addressing the impacts of the virus.

“Despite our efforts, significant disparities have emerged. Those that live in crowded conditions, work in settings requiring close contact with people outside of their household, and those with little available paid sick time have been infected at higher rates,” he said.

He said moving to less restrictive tiers of the state’s COVID-19 framework and further invigorating the local economy will require targeted interventions. “Those at disproportionate risk need resources: additional testing, services, and education to help people stay off work and out of the public when they are infected.”

In response to new requirements from the state that case race and ethnicity data be reported, Pace said infection rates in Lake County are two to three times higher among the Latino or Hispanic population and two times greater in Native American communities as compared to the general population data.

He said 49.9 percent of Lake County’s cases have affected Latino or Hispanic individuals, and 6.2 percent of those infected have been Native American.

The latest American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau shows that Hispanics or Latinos make up 20 percent of the Lake County population – which numbers just above 64,000 residents – while Native Americans account for 5.2 percent.

“Regrettably, these groups are facing more problems with access to services and greater pressures to work, even when exposed to the virus,” Pace said. “The county of Lake’s Health Services Department is committed to acting on these disparities, and we submitted a plan to the state this week.”

The California Department of Public Health reported that Latinos have accounted for 61.1 percent of the state’s total cases and 48.6 percent of all deaths. African Americans account for 4.2 percent of cases and 7.5 percent of deaths, Native Americans or Alaska Natives account for 1.1 percent of cases and 0.7 percent of deaths. Whites make up 17.4 percent of cases and 30.1 percent of deaths.

Pace said the state has also encouraged local jurisdictions to regularly publish data regarding caseloads in groups with the highest rates of COVID-19 infection, and Pace said Public Health will start doing that next week.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is set to approve a resolution accepting unanticipated funds, including $463,702 from the federal government, for COVID-19 testing and epidemiological surveillance-related activities, including enhancing Public Health surveillance systems and COVID-19 crisis response.

“Directing resources where the need is greatest just makes sense, and we are grateful federal and state funding is available to support enhanced effort,” Pace said.

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 Lakeport Police Department will participate in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. as a drive-thru drop off on the west side of the police station at 2025 S. Main St.

Physical distancing and face masks will be required. Persons arriving at the event are directed to remain in their vehicles until directed by police staff.

The department said it will accept all over-the-counter or prescription medication in pill, tablet or capsule form including schedule II-V controlled and noncontrolled substances.

Pills need to be emptied out of their containers and placed in a plastic bag, not paper, so they can easily see the contents to make sure there is nothing in the bag they can't take.

They also will collect vape pens or other e-cigarette devices from individual consumers only after the batteries are removed from the devices. They stressed that they will not be responsible for removing the batteries from the devices.

Items that won’t be accepted are illegal drugs, needles, inhalers and aerosol cans.

“Since we started participating with the prescription Take Back Program in January of 2019, our agency has collected 557 pounds of prescription drugs, many of which were dangerous narcotics including opioids. This protects our community by keeping these drugs from being diverted to illegal use and keeps it out of our environment and water,” the department said in a report on the event.
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In the time of coronavirus, people with dementia and their caregivers need more support than ever. Westend61 via Getty Images

Deaths from dementia during the summer of 2020 are nearly 20% higher than the number of dementia-related deaths during that time in previous years, and experts don’t yet know why. An estimated 61,000 people have died from dementia, which is 11,000 more than usual within that period.

“There’s something wrong, there’s something going on and it needs to be sorted out,” Robert Anderson, chief of mortality statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent interview with Politico. “This is highly unusual.”

As a geriatrician, I find this statistic sad but not shocking. I care for dementia patients in my clinical practice. I see firsthand how the isolation caused by the pandemic has changed their lives, whether they’re home alone, living with a caregiver, or in a long-term care facility.

Caregivers as well as patients need support.
The stress on caregivers has increased during the pandemic. kate_sept2004 via Getty Images


Deciphering the statistics is a challenge. Hiding within them are many factors that have contributed to the deaths from dementia during the pandemic. Here are four of them.

Social isolation

Social distancing – or staying at least 6 feet apart, wearing a mask and avoiding crowds – is a proven way to decrease COVID-19 risk, especially from people with the infection but without symptoms. But social distancing is different from social isolation, which leads to a sense of disconnection from the community. Social isolation, which essentially is little or no contact with others, is the last thing seniors with dementia need. But it’s what many have received, as caregivers are forced to limit visits during the pandemic.

Social isolation is a risk for poor health outcomes, particularly as people age. And in the U.S., 28% of those over 65 (13.8 million) live alone. Socially isolated people have higher rates of not only dementia, but heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, cognitive decline and death.

Calling a dementia patient or caregiver is one way to help.
Giving a call to a dementia patient, or a caregiver, is one way to help. Westend61 via Getty Images


Caregiver burnout

On the best of days, caregiving for a family member with dementia is difficult. Watching the decline of a loved one is hard. Having to help them with things that are basic and personal makes it even harder. The commitment, 24 hours a day, offers little time for breaks. Often the caregiver, unsung and overlooked, is suffering.

And during COVID-19, caregivers have been isolated too. What help they had from the outside is now probably gone. Burnout becomes more likely. For dementia patients to get the best care, their caregivers also need care and support.

Decreased access to medical care

Throughout the U.S., hospitals and clinics have seen fewer people coming in. Many missed visits were for preventive care and treatment of chronic conditions. For dementia patients, accessing care may even be more problematic. Telemedicine, often an option for other patients, may not be manageable for those with dementia. Physicians and staff need to reach out to them. And agencies and volunteer groups are available in many communities to assist seniors who need access to technology.

Staying home

Because of COVID-19, some of my patients choose to stay home. They’ve decided a medical issue is not worth the risk of leaving the house. I also have patients living in facilities who choose to use the care available there instead of going to the hospital.

This is a good example of something we doctors call goal-concordant care: when doctors understand a patient’s health goals, and then provide them with the best they can within the scope of those goals.

Some advice

Dementia is a complex medical condition with no cure. But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done to make a patient’s life better, even during COVID-19. With each challenge there are ways to provide help and support, not just to those with dementia, but for those who care for them.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]

If you know someone with dementia, whether they live at home or in a facility, check in on them. Because in-person visits are not the safest option, you can call to see how they’re doing or if you can help. You don’t need the latest technology to connect; many with dementia may have challenges going online. Landlines and cellphones are just fine, allowing your elderly friend to hear a human voice. It does you good too: Building relationships with people who aren’t our age gives us insights and perspectives we may have never considered.

Also, check in on the caregiver; call to chat and, most important, listen. You don’t need to have the answers; just be supportive. If you are a caregiver, reach out to local agencies; many have easy-to-access virtual support groups.

And talk with loved ones about what you would want if you had dementia and couldn’t speak effectively for yourself. Your primary care doctor can help you think through these types of situations. Such conversations are uncomfortable, but necessary.The Conversation

Laurie Archbald-Pannone, Associate Professor Medicine, Geriatrics, University of Virginia

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

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The quick work of Mt. Konocti’s fire lookout volunteers and a large number of fire resources – including a passing strike team on its way home from the August Complex – led to the quick containment of a fire along Highway 20 on Friday.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Wink said the fire was dispatched at 11:42 a.m., just east of New Long Valley Road, east of Clearlake Oaks.

Wink credited the sharp-eyed volunteers of the Mt. Konocti Lookout for spotting the fire early on.

While the volunteers are no longer in the lookout tower due to safety issues, they continue to have a presence on the mountaintop to look for fires, he said.

And on Friday, “Their determination and hard work paid off,” Wink said.

That early report was particularly important because the fire was located in an area without cell phone service, said Wink.

Another fortunate factor: “Just by random coincidence there was a strike team of engines that were passing through the area of Highway 20,” Wink said.

Following the fire’s dispatch, Wink said a strike team of five engines from Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit happened to be traveling along Highway 20, on their way home from an assignment in Covelo, where they had been working on the north zone of the August Complex.

That group of firefighters, monitoring the radio traffic, stopped and joined the firefighting effort, which Wink said included a wildland dispatch of five Cal Fire engines and local fire agencies, as well as another five engines from Mendocino County fire districts that has been staged in the city of Clearlake due to the red flag conditions.

Wink said tankers and helicopters – including Copter 104 from Boggs Mountain, plus another copter that had been staged there due to the red flag warning – were part of the response.

All of them “pounced” on the fire, which Wink said burned in grass along the highway.

Although the fire had a northwest wind on it, “Luckily, it didn’t jump the highway,” Wink said.

The firefighters held the fire to three acres and contained it very quickly, he said.

Radio reports indicated Highway 20 was closed for a short time as firefighters were working in the area.

Wink said the fire started on private property.

“The property owner is cooperating with the investigation and it is not suspicious,” Wink said of the fire’s cause.

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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California Conservation Corps Corpsmembers from Ukiah wrap the Post Creek Guard Station in foil to protect the 1934 built structures from the August Complex fire in Northern California. Photo courtesy of the California Conservation Corps.


NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Dramatic fire-retardant drops and massive water douses from helicopters are often the images shown of fighting wildfires like the August Complex.

And while those firefighting tactics are indeed a critical part of getting containment around flames, there’s also the gritty, marathon-like work going on at basecamps and on fire lines that most people don’t get to see.

“Yeah 16-hour days. We wake up at the crack of dawn, before that even,” said Gabrielle Falaschi.

She’s one of hundreds of Corpsmembers in the California Conservation Corps who are either fighting fires or working the basecamps that deliver the support firefighters need to keep going.

“As soon as I finished orientation (at CCC’s Delta Center in Stockton, California) we were out here. This is about our third week here. It’s really great, working refir,” she said.

Refir is short for the task of storing and distributing everything needing refrigeration at basecamp, whether it’s food or first aid.

California Conservation Corps Corpsmembers and the U.S. Forest Service complete protecting the Post Creek Guard Station from the August Complex fire in Northern California. The buildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a wildfire lookout. Photo courtesy of the California Conservation Corps.

From sunup to beyond sundown, the CCC Corpsmembers are handling “refir,” chow lines, installing signage and fencing, and issuing firefighting gear like chainsaws, fire pants, hose nozzles – whatever it takes to get the firefighters rested, refueled and back to the fire lines.

“Which means sometimes we have people here that go to town to Walmarts and Rite Aids, to buy special stuff and things left at home”, said Corpsmember Angel Campos from Compton, California.

He joined the CCC nearly a year ago. The program enrolls 18- to 25-year-olds to gain work experience through responding to state emergencies, but mainly through working on environmentally focused projects like building hiking trails and restoring natural habitats.

Corpsmembers are paid a monthly stipend of $1,905 and can earn up to $8,000 in scholarships each year they are enrolled.

Some Corpsmembers enroll specifically to fight wildland fires. They train alongside Cal Fire and U.S Forest Service – responding to the front lines, including the August Complex fire where they hand-dig fire breaks and put out hot spots.

California Conservation Corps Ukiah Corpsmembers use hand tools to build containment lines around spreading flames on the northern edge of the August Complex fire in Northern California. Photo courtesy of the California Conservation Corps.

“It’s seriously tough work,” said CCC Conservationist Cedar Long.

She led her crew of 14 Corpsmembers from the CCC Ukiah Center in doing the grueling task of hiking out – on foot – miles of fire hose used by USFS crews as flames surged south of Highway 36 between Red Bluff and Dinsmore.

Her crew was also tasked with preserving the historic Post Creek Guard Station lookout cabin by doing what’s called a structure wrap – literally wrapping the building from baseboard to chimney in foil.

“These are 18- to 25-year-olds doing this work. It’s on-the-job training for the Corpsmembers and experience they will remember forever,” Long said, and experience that can lead to a career.

She added it’s work that doesn’t necessarily make the evening news but does make a huge impact on both the young Corpsmembers and local communities.

Back at the August Complex basecamp, Falaschi took a breather from her 16-hour day that she finds comfort in knowing it’s helping the fight against flames consuming wildland, property and sadly, lives.

“You’re doing it for yourself. You’re doing it for the firefighters. You’re doing it for the community. You’re doing it for California. We live here, you gotta make it a great place to be,” she said.

A California Conservation Corps Ukiah Corpsmember loads up with used fire hose before hiking the hose off the fire line in Northern California. Photo courtesy of the California Conservation Corps.
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Scientists created light curves using the high-resolution images of the sun to understand what a sunspot would look like on a distant star. They studied different layers of the sun from the visible surface to the outer atmosphere using 14 different wavelengths, including the six shown here (top left to right: photosphere, magnetic flux of the photosphere, ultraviolet 304 angstroms; bottom left to right: ultraviolet 171 angstroms, ultraviolet 131 angstroms, x-ray). Credits: NASA/SDO/JAXA/NAOJ/Hinode.


NASA’s extensive fleet of spacecraft allows scientists to study the sun extremely close-up – one of the agency’s spacecraft is even on its way to fly through the sun’s outer atmosphere. But sometimes taking a step back can provide new insight.

In a new study, scientists looked at sunspots – darkened patches on the sun caused by its magnetic field – at low resolution as if they were trillions of miles away. What resulted was a simulated view of distant stars, which can help us understand stellar activity and the conditions for life on planets orbiting other stars.

“We wanted to know what a sunspot region would look like if we couldn’t resolve it in an image,” said Shin Toriumi, lead author on the new study and scientist at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science at JAXA. “So, we used the solar data as if it came from a distant star to have a better connection between solar physics and stellar physics.”

Sunspots are often precursors to solar flares – intense outbursts of energy from the surface of the Sun – so monitoring sunspots is important to understanding why and how flares occur.

Additionally, understanding the frequency of flares on other stars is one of the keys to understanding their chance of harboring life.

Having a few flares may help build up complex molecules like RNA and DNA from simpler building blocks. But too many strong flares can strip entire atmospheres, rendering a planet uninhabitable.

To see what a sunspot and its effect on the solar atmosphere would look like on a distant star, the scientists started with high-resolution data of the sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and JAXA/NASA’s Hinode mission.

By adding up all the light in each image, the scientists converted the high-resolution images into single datapoints.

Stringing subsequent datapoints together, the scientists created plots of how the light changed as the sunspot passed across the sun’s rotating face. These plots, which scientists call light curves, showed what a passing sunspot on the sun would look like if it were many light-years away.

“The sun is our closest star. Using solar observing satellites, we can resolve signatures on the surface 100 miles wide,” said Vladimir Airapetian, co-author on the new study and astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “On other stars you might only get one pixel showing the entire surface, so we wanted to create a template to decode activity on other stars.”

The new study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, looked at simple cases where there is just one group of sunspots visible across the entire face of the sun. Even though NASA and JAXA missions have continually gathered observations of the sun for over a decade, these cases are quite rare.

Usually there are either several sunspots – such as during the solar maximum, which we are now moving toward – or none at all. In all the years of data, the scientists only found a handful of instances of just one isolated sunspot group.

Studying these events, the scientists found the light curves differed when they measured different wavelengths. In visible light, when a singular sunspot appears at the center of the sun, the sun is dimmer.

However, when the sunspot group is near the edge of the sun, it’s actually brighter due to faculae – bright magnetic features around sunspots – because, near the edge, the hot walls of their nearly vertical magnetic fields become increasingly visible.

The scientists also looked at the light curves in x-ray and ultraviolet light, which show the atmosphere above the sunspots. As the atmospheres above sunspots are magnetically heated, the scientists found brightening there at some wavelengths.

However, the scientists also unexpectedly discovered that the heating could also cause a dimming in the light coming from the lower temperature atmosphere. These findings may provide a tool to diagnose the environments of spots on the stars.

“So far we’ve done the best-case scenarios, where there’s only one sunspot visible,” Toriumi said. “Next we are planning on doing some numerical modeling to understand what happens if we have multiple sunspots.”

By studying stellar activity on young stars in particular, scientists can glean a view of what our young sun may have been like. This will help scientists understand how the young sun – which was overall more dim but active – impacted Venus, Earth and Mars in their early days. It could also help explain why life on Earth started four billion years ago, which some scientists speculate is linked to intense solar activity.

Studying young stars can also contribute to scientists’ understanding of what triggers superflares – those that are 10 to 1000 times stronger than the biggest seen on the sun in recent decades. Young stars are typically more active, with superflares happening almost daily. Whereas, on our more mature sun, they may only occur once in a thousand years or so.

Spotting young suns that are conducive to supporting habitable planets, helps scientists who focus on astrobiology, the study of the origin evolution, and distribution of life in the universe.

Several next-generation telescopes in production, which will be able to observe other stars in x-ray and ultraviolet wavelengths, could use the new results to decode observations of distant stars.

In turn, this will help identify those stars with appropriate levels of stellar activity for life – and that can then be followed up by observations from other upcoming high-resolution missions, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Mara Johnson-Groh works for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – In an effort to focus resources and respond to a challenge in recruitment, the Lakeport City Council has approved a plan for freezing two city committees and bringing forward new ad hoc committees to look at specific topics.

City Manager Kevin Ingram took the proposal to the council at its Oct. 6 meeting.

He said it’s the time of year to consider recruitment for the city’s committees and commissions. Over the past couple of years, the city has had trouble finding enough people to fill the seats and hasn’t had adequate agenda items for those who do serve.

As a result, Ingram was proposing a new option, which included freezing the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee and instead forming ad hoc committees to deal with specific issues.

Ingram also suggested that at the beginning of the year the council would hold joint meetings with its committees to help members understand their roles and the council's direction.

“I think what’s important here is that the commissions and committees work in a manner that is beneficial for the council and for the city,” said City Attorney David Ruderman, who told the council that any resulting Brown Act concerns from creating the new committees would be handled by staff.

Council members offered their support for the plan, with Councilwoman Stacey Mattina noting that she liked the potential for having less staff time going into managing city committees that don’t meet regularly.

Ingram said the proposal was only dealing with the Traffic Safety and Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee, as the Lakeport Planning Commission and Measure Z Advisory Committee have set roles, and the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee has a strategic plan.

He said if it doesn’t work, in a year the city can return to its previous approach.

Councilman Kenny Parlet said that, ultimately, issues come back to the council anyway, and if there are problems community members usually call the council members directly.

Councilwoman Mireya Turner said everyone is strapped for time, so it made sense to focus resources where there’s the most energy and where they can get things done.

Turner moved to direct staff to review council goals, return with proposals for new ad hoc committees, and freeze the Traffic Safety and Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee, which the council approved unanimously.

Ingram said he has talked to both the Traffic Safety and Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee about the proposal and believed that the members are looking forward to participating in the new ad hoc committees.

In other council action on Oct. 6, the council presented a proclamation to Sheri Young of Lake Family Resource Center designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, held a hearing and approved an ordinance to update the Lakeport Municipal Code’s emergency services chapter, made amendments to the fiscal year 2020-21 city budget and approved a resolution for approval that would authorize the city manager to submit an application for the Prop 68 Per Capita Program and execute any agreements necessary for the use of grant funds.

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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Simon Avery and Melinda Price grow a diversity of vegetables in the year-round market garden at Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, California.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On a recent afternoon I had the pleasure of visiting what I imagine is one of the most aptly named agricultural spaces in the world – Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville.

I sat under the shade of a spreading walnut tree with Melinda Price, who, along with her husband, Simon Avery, developed the only commercial organic saffron farm in North America.

With our chairs appropriately distanced, we sipped the house-made lavender lemonade sold at their farm stand and chatted about saffron, farming and making dreams come true.

Saffron, a spice derived from the purple Crocus sativus, is ounce for ounce the most expensive food in the world, rivaling the price of truffles, caviar and even gold.

Each bloom produces three red stigmas, also known as threads, apt since they look a bit like frayed filaments. These are harvested by hand, making saffron a deeply labor-intensive crop, leading to its steep price.

Five hundred thousand Crocus sativus corms are currently dormant at Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, California. Saffron will be harvested from the purple blooms which will break through the earth in October. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Blooms are picked before the sun hits them to preserve the integrity of the saffron. Once the flowers are collected, each thread is painstakingly plucked from their centers. The threads are then dried to be sold as saffron.

It’s backbreaking and time-consuming work but deeply satisfying to Price and Avery, who first began growing organic saffron in Lake County in 2017.

Saffron is beloved in cuisines around the world – from Europe to North Africa to Asia – and is particularly essential to the food of Iran, India and Morocco. It’s a crucial ingredient in some classic European dishes, where it’s been popular since Medieval times – think Spanish paella, French bouillabaisse or Swedish saffron buns.

Iran produces the bulk of the world’s saffron crop – a full 90 percent – and may well be the place of origin of the lovely saffron crocus; however, there are other contenders, namely Greece and Mesopotamia.

Though growers exist in other parts of the world, saffron is grown chiefly in the Mediterranean region in a belt from Spain in the west to Kashmir in the east. Spain and Kashmir both claim their saffron to be superior in quality to the mass amounts grown in Iran.

A Crocus sativus, also known as the saffron crocus, rises from the earth at Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, California. Photo courtesy of Peace and Plenty Farm.

California’s Mediterranean climate is ideal for growing saffron, a factor that contributed to Avery and Price’s decision to cultivate it in Lake County.

They had considered other specialty crops – mushrooms, wasabi, vanilla, hops – but none were exactly what they were looking for. For example, mushrooms would have them working inside rather than out, and hops require a lot of water, not the best choice for drought-ridden California.

When Avery heard about saffron farming via a National Public Radio broadcast, something clicked. The crop checked all their proverbial boxes.

Shortly afterward – and before they had purchased land – Price found herself on a plane to Vermont where she would attend a workshop on growing saffron. She returned from the conference with 7,500 crocus bulbs known as corms. They were committed.

This was in February of 2017, and by June they had purchased the former Gaddy Ranch in Kelseyville. Within three months they had planted all 7,500 corms.

Each purple crocus bloom at Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, California is harvested by hand before the sun hits it to preserve the integrity of the saffron crop. Photo courtesy of Peace and Plenty Farm.

There’s a quick turnaround between planting and harvesting with saffron. If corms are planted in early September, flowers can bloom as quickly as October. Their timing was perfect for a harvest in their first year.

It wasn’t easy. They contended with star thistle, which stood more than 6 feet tall in places. Gophers and voles destroyed many of their corms until Avery designed and installed a planting system to thwart them.

Their hard work has paid off. The 7,500 corms have grown to 500,000 and last year they harvested a full kilo of dried saffron.

In addition to saffron, the farm has a lush and productive market garden that provides vegetables for the year-round farm stand, and a cottage that is available for farm stays.

Eggs from their large flock of chickens, dry-farmed walnuts, flowers, and a variety of saffron-infused value-added products like honey and soap are also sold at the farm stand, which is open daily from 9 a.m. till dusk.

Melinda Price is in the farmstand which is open daily at Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, California. Photo by Esther Oertel.

As Price and I enjoyed the peace of the walnut orchard, Avery ambled by on a lawn mower. He stopped long enough to say hello and afterward I learned that his native England has a history of saffron farming.

The Essex town of Saffron Walden, whose coat of arms includes a saffron crocus, grew the crop in the 16th and 17th centuries. English saffron farmers in those times were known as croquers, a moniker derived from crocus.

Since ancient times, saffron has been used as a treatment for a variety of ailments. Modern studies reveal a high antioxidant content, with associated benefits stemming from that, not the least of which is reducing inflammation in the body.

Saffron enhances memory (studies reveal it can help Alzheimer’s patients) and is a mood improver. There is growing evidence that saffron may be a useful treatment addition for depression.

Saffron, which has a nuanced flavor with sweet floral and earthy notes, may be used to enhance a wide variety of foods, but pairs especially well with rice (think paella or saffron rice), seafood (think bouillabaisse), chicken (even chicken soup!), curries and baked goods.

A simple tea can be made by steeping a bit of saffron in warm water. Alternatively, let saffron soak in water overnight in the fridge for an iced version.

Price enjoys saffron steamed milk with her daily espresso, which I think would be utterly delightful with some buttery saffron shortbread.

Freshly cut flowers are available at the Peace and Plenty farmstead in Kelseyville, California. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Since its flavor is best released through heat, steeping saffron in hot (but not boiling) liquid as part of the cooking process is key. The liquid in your recipe, whether water, broth or wine, can be used for this.

Saffron may also be toasted in a pan and then crushed for addition to recipes; however, be aware that it burns easily, rendering it unusable.

A little goes a long way with saffron and the flavor is stronger in a dish the second day. Usually, a pinch, just a few threads, is all you need.

Protect saffron from light and moisture when storing it and be sure its container is clean and free from scent as saffron is known to easily absorb odors and flavors.

And finally, refrain from using wooden utensils when stirring your saffron-infused dish as its luscious flavor might be absorbed into the spoon.

If you wish to learn more about Peace and Plenty Farm, their online shop or farm stays, visit them at www.peaceplentyfarm.com.

Today’s recipe is for golden milk with saffron. Golden milk is a soothing drink infused with turmeric and other warm spices. I’ve adapted this version to include saffron.

In addition to being comforting and delicious, the turmeric, ginger and saffron help reduce inflammation in the body, making it a healthful treat.

Golden milk with saffron

Ingredients

1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
5 whole peppercorns
1-inch section unpeeled ginger root, roughly chopped
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
3 to 4 cardamom pods
2 threads saffron
1 cup coconut milk (or other milk of your choice)
1 teaspoon honey

Procedure

Add the coconut oil and all spices except saffron to a saucepan. Heat over low heat for two to three minutes until aromatic.

Add the milk and saffron to the saucepan and warm mixture over medium-low heat until hot and steaming but not boiling.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Pour strained milk into a cup, add the honey and enjoy!

Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown.
Techniques for efficient use of space are in place at the Peace and Plenty market garden in Kelseyville, California, such as the trellised cucumbers behind this okra blossom. Photo by Esther Oertel.
Posted On

The Scott Dam at Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, California. File photo/courtesy of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Congressman John Garamendi, who represents the northern half of Lake County, on Friday submitted a formal comment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission opposing the proposed removal of Scott Dam at Lake Pillsbury and demanding that Lake County have an equal seat at the table for determining the future of Potter Valley Project and the lake.

Garamendi, who served as the deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior in President Bill Clinton’s administration, said the proposal to remove the dam was issued over the objections of Lake County residents as part of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s divestment of the Potter Valley Hydropower Project.

“Lake County residents who have owned homes and property around Lake Pillsbury reservoir for decades have been shut out of planning for the future of the Potter Valley Project,” said Garamendi (D-CA). “Let me be clear: any decision-making for the Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury Reservoir must include representatives from Lake County. Anything short of that is simply unacceptable.”

He said he strongly opposes draining Lake Pillsbury by removing the Scott Dam. “The planning process will not be adequate until every community impacted by this project has a voice in the process I expect FERC to give Lake County and Lake Pillsbury residents a full and equal seat at the table during this process. I stand ready with Lake County to create a version of the Potter Valley Project that works for every community involved, including cost-effective fish passage at Scott Dam.”

“We are extremely pleased that Congressman Garamendi is standing up for Lake County, Lake Pillsbury recreation and wildlife, and Lake Pillsbury homeowners,” said Carol Cinquini of the Lake Pillsbury Alliance.

Lake County denied a seat at the table

The Scott Dam is part of the hydroelectric Potter Valley Project, owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which in May 2018 announced its intention to put the project up for auction.

North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman led an ad hoc committee promoting what it’s called a “two-basin solution” that includes decommissioning and removing the dam.

Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Sonoma County Water Agency, California Trout Inc., the county of Humboldt and Round Valley Indian Tribes, known as the “NOI Parties,” initiated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings to make a licensing proposal for the Potter Valley Project.

Lake Pillsbury sits within northern Lake County. As such, the county of Lake sought to be a part of the group but was denied membership, and county officials – including Supervisor EJ Crandell, who represents the Lake Pillsbury area – said Lake County’s concerns have been ignored or entirely dismissed.

In his letter to FERC, Garamendi said Lake County formally requested to join the NOI Parties, only to be rejected. “Apparently, the ‘notice of intent’ parties’ standing rules require approval of all current members before another party may join. CalTrout – a nongovernmental organization that will likely have no official role in the future governance of the Potter Valley Project under the to-be established regional entity – voted to block Lake County from joining its peer county governments (Mendocino, Sonoma, and Humboldt) as a ‘notice of intent’ party. This is not acceptable.”

CalTrout, earlier in 2019, had issued a report listing the Scott Dam as one of the five top dams in California that needed to be removed to benefit fish and habitat.

This past May, the NOI Parties filed a feasibility study in which they seek to gain control of the Potter Valley Project from PG&E. The plan included removing the Scott Dam and destroying Lake Pillsbury.

If the plan is approved, Lake County would have no operational control over the Potter Valley Project, including the Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury reservoir. “This is just not right or acceptable,” said Garamendi.

“The Two Basin Partnership’s vision for a balanced future for people and wildlife who depend on the Eel and Russian rivers does so at the expense of those most directly affected by their proposal to remove Scott Dam,” said Cinquini. “Water supply reliability for downstream users has not been assured. The size and quality of Eel River habitat upstream of Scott Dam has not been ground-truthed. All fish mitigation enhancements need to be seriously considered before concluding that dam removal is the only path forward.”

On behalf of the county, Crandell has argued that there are many other ways to ensure fish passage, and provide environmental benefits to communities along the Russian and Eel Rivers and those that live near Lake Pillsbury, most at a fraction of the cost, but none of those options were considered.

The Lake Pillsbury Alliance, Crandell and the county, and now Garamendi, also have pointed out that Lake Pillsbury has for many years been a critical source of water for firefighting efforts.

“The Lake Pillsbury reservoir has been a feature of Lake County since 1922 and provides essential firefighting capacity for one of the most fire-prone regions in California,” Garamendi continued. “Cal Fire made extensive use of Lake Pillsbury reservoir for firefighting during the devastating Mendocino Complex fire in 2018, and again during this year’s fire season.”

This summer, firefighters also have drawn on the lake to fight the massive August Complex – which is the largest wildland fire in California history, at more than 1,030,000 acres – which resulted in evacuation orders for the Lake Pillsbury basin last month.

Crandell told Lake County News on Friday that he initially had filled Garamendi in on the situation when the congressman visited the Middle Creek Restoration project in October 2019. They spoke again briefly about it at his office in DC.

Then, on Sept. 16, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce set up a virtual meeting with Garamendi, Crandell said.

Crandell said he, Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and members of the Lake Pillsbury Alliance were invited to speak with the Garamendi about their struggles with the two-basin solution and share the history of Lake County’s interests not being taken seriously in regard to Scott Dam and most of Lake Pillsbury.

“Because of that meeting we were able to fill him in on the intricacies of this project,” Crandell said.

More study needed

In his letter to FERC, Garamendi said that a 2018 study prepared for the Sonoma County Water Agency – one of the parties now seeking to remove the Scott Dam – found that providing volitional fish passage both upstream and downstream of the Scott and Cape Horn dams would cost less than $64 million.

“By contrast, decommissioning the Scott Dam, removing or otherwise mitigating 12 million cubic yards of sediment stored within Lake Pillsbury reservoir, and other proposed project changes are estimated to cost upwards of $400 million, according to the parties’ feasibility study report,” Garamendi said, noting those “critical issues” are not addressed by the initial study report filed with FERC on Sept. 15.

Garamendi also referenced a Sept. 29 public meeting on the initial study report prepared by the parties, where he said it was summarily announced that the technical studies and future planning documents for the integrated relicensing process would no longer include an assessment of fish passage improvements at Scott Dam other than removal of the dam.

“How can FERC or the parties accurately assess the impact of the proposed removal of Scott Dam on federally protected fish species without considering those benefits, if any, relative to other potential fish passage improvements at the dam?” Garamendi asked.

In his letter, which can be seen below, he went on to point out inaccuracies in a FERC scoping document, and argued, “At a minimum, further independent study is needed to justify that the benefits of removing the Scott Dam outweigh the substantial costs, rather than just assuming this to be the case as the parties’ FERC filings do.”

He said he stands ready to help secure federal funding to improve fish passage at the Scott Dam and reservoir operations at Lake Pillsbury.

“I am truly grateful for Congressman Garamendi writing a letter for Lake County and the Lake Pillsbury residents,” Crandell said.

How to get involved

Members of the public can submit comments regarding the removal of Scott Dam and draining of Lake Pillsbury reservoir by:

1) Registering with FERC’s online public comment portal.

2) Once registered, check your email inbox. In the email from FERC, there will be a link to submit a public comment.

3) Enter docket number P-77-298 (not 285 as previously reported) and click “search.”

4) Click the blue + on the right side of the table to select the docket.

5) Submit your comments in the comment box.

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.

20201016 Garamendi to FERC Disagreement on Potter Valley Project ILP by LakeCoNews on Scribd

Posted On

Perseverance's Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) uses radar waves to probe the ground, revealing the unexplored world that lies beneath the Martian surface. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/FFI.


After touching down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will scour Jezero Crater to help us understand its geologic history and search for signs of past microbial life.

But the six-wheeled robot won't be looking just at the surface of Mars: The rover will peer deep below it with a ground-penetrating radar called RIMFAX.

Unlike similar instruments aboard Mars orbiters, which study the planet from space, RIMFAX will be the first ground-penetrating radar set on the surface of Mars. This will give scientists much higher-resolution data than space-borne radars can provide while focusing on the specific areas that Perseverance will explore.

Taking a more focused look at this terrain will help the rover's team understand how features in Jezero Crater formed over time.

Short for Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment, RIMFAX can provide a highly detailed view of subsurface structures down to at least 30 feet underground. In doing so, the instrument will reveal hidden layers of geology and help find clues to past environments on Mars, especially those that may have provided the conditions necessary for supporting life.

"We take an image of the subsurface directly beneath the rover," said Svein-Erik Hamran, the instrument's principal investigator, with the University of Oslo in Norway. "We can do a 3D model of the subsurface – of the different layers – and determine the geological structures underneath."

While Mars is a frigid desert today, scientists suspect that microbes may have lived in Jezero during wetter times billions of years ago and that evidence of such ancient life may be preserved in sediments in the crater.

Information from RIMFAX will help pinpoint areas for deeper study by instruments on the rover that search for chemical, mineral, and textural clues found within rocks that may be signs of past microbial life.

Ultimately, the team will collect dozens of drill-core samples with Perseverance, seal them in tubes that will be deposited on the surface for return to Earth by future missions. That way, these first samples from another planet can be studied in laboratories with equipment too large to take to Mars.

A test model of the RIMFAX instrument – aboard the trailer behind the snow mobile – undergoes field testing in Svalbard, Norway. Credits: FFI.


Traveling back in time

Scientists believe the 28-mile-wide Jezero Crater formed when a large object collided with Mars, kicking up rocks from deep in the planet's crust. More than 3.5 billion years ago, river channels spilled into the crater, creating a lake that was home to a fan-shaped river delta.

Hamran hopes RIMFAX will shed light on how the delta formed. "This is not so easy, based on surface images only, because you have this dust covering everything, so you may not necessarily see all the changes in geology."

He and his science team will stack successive radar soundings to create a two-dimensional subsurface image of the crater floor. Eventually, data will be combined with images from a camera on the rover to create a 3D topographical image.

The instrument employs the same type of ground-penetrating radar used here on Earth to find buried utilities, underground caverns, and the like. In fact, Hamran uses it to study glaciers.

Tens of millions of miles away on Mars, however, he and his colleagues will be relying on Perseverance to do the work as it roams through Jezero Crater.

"We do some measurements while we are stationary," he said, "but most measurements will actually be gathered while the rover is driving."

More about the mission

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life.

The rover will characterize the planet's ancient climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with ESA (the European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 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.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

For more about Perseverance visit www.mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ and www.nasa.gov/perseverance.

Amanda Barnett works for NASA.
Highlighted in blue in this visualization, the RIMFAX instrument's antenna is externally mounted underneath the MMRTG (the rover’s nuclear battery) on the back of Perseverance. With the interactive tool Learn About Perseverance, you can get a closer look at Perseverance and its many features. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

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