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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors will discuss an appeal of a bioenergy project, discuss preparations for the general election and hold a second hearing of an ordinance to enforce the county’s COVID-19 Public Health orders this week.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The supervisors will meet in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, for a hybrid meeting format which also will include the opportunity for community members to continue to participate virtually.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link at 9 a.m. The meeting ID is 930 6842 2167, password 196920.

To submit a written comment on any agenda item please visit https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the eComment feature linked to the meeting date. If a comment is submitted after the meeting begins, it may not be read during
the meeting but will become a part of the record.

At 9:01 a.m., Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace will give the board his COVID-19 update.

At 10:30 a.m., the board will hear an appeal of the Lake County Planning Commission’s decision to approve a major use permit and initial study for a small-scale bioenergy production facility at 7130 Red Hills Road, Kelseyville.

At 11:45 a.m., the board will get a report from Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez on the status of preparations for the Nov. 3 election, and consider a request for the use of the board chambers for election purposes on Election Day.

Also on Tuesday, the board is expected to hold a second and final reading of an ordinance to enforce COVID-19 Public Health orders through education and training and the imposition of administrative fines. The board approved the ordinance’s first reading in a 3-2 vote – with Rob Brown and Bruno Sabatier voting no – at last week’s meeting.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

5.1: Adopt resolution approving amended Agreement No. 18-0288 with the state of California Department of Food and Agricultural For reimbursement of commercial cannabis cultivation compliance inspections for fiscals years February 2019 through June 2021 in the amount of $7,000.

5.2: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 20-0270-009-SF with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to authorize the execution of the Light Brown Apple Moth Detection Trapping Program from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, in the amount of $2,714.

5.3: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 20-0286-000-SG with California Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the Bee Safe Program in the Amount of $4,178.56 for the period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021.

5.4: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 20-0067-000-SA with the state of California, Department of Food and Agriculture and authorize the execution of the Fuels, Lubricants, and Automotive Products Program agreement for the period of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, in the amount of $2,475.

5.5: Approve resolution of the Board of Directors, South Lake Fire Protection District, calling for a special election for the purpose of establishing a new appropriations limit.

5.6: Approve abandoned vehicle towing and disposal contracts for the following service vendors, (a) Jones Towing for an annual amount of $30,000 not to exceed $30,000 over a one year period, (b) Kelseyville Auto Salvage and Towing for an annual amount of $10,000 not to exceed $10,000 over a one year period and for a term from Aug. 19, 2020, to June 30, 2021, and authorize the chair to sign.

5.7: Approve Wildfire Smoke Protection Policy.

5.8: Adopt resolution approving an agreement between the state of California Department of Healthcare Services and County of Lake Health Services Department for the Medi-Cal County Inmate Program for Administrative Services and authorize the Health Services director to sign said agreement.

5.9: Adopt resolution rescinding prior rejection and accepting certain roadways for public use for the purpose of providing drinking water to the community of Alpine Meadows Subdivision, Cobb.

5.10: Approve award of bid for the Bartlett Springs Road at Cache Creek Bridge Rehabilitation Project, Bid No. 20-09, Federal Aid project No. BRLO-5914(092) to Techno Coatings Inc of Anaheim, California, in the amount of $685,000 and authorize the chair to sign.

5.11: Adopt resolution approving the addition of a .75 FTE position allocation for Budget Unit 8695, Special Districts.

5.12: Authorize the Lake County Watershed Protection District to sign and enter into an agreement with the Local Government Commission for independent contractor services through the AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellowship in the amount of $52,000 for two CivicSpark Fellows to develop and implement a Clear Lake Shoreline Assessment and Inventory.

TIMED ITEMS

6.1, 9:01 a.m.: Public input.

6.2, 9:02 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.

6.3, 10 a.m.: Presentation of an annual report on the activities of Lake County Resource Conservation District.

6.4, 10:30 a.m.: Appeal to Board of Supervisors, AB 20-01 of Major Use Permit (UP 19-05) and Initial Study (IS 19-09) (APN 009-021-07).

6.5, 11:30 a.m.: Consideration of letter to Senator McGuire and Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry regarding the vape tax proposal presently under consideration.

6.6, 11:45 a.m.: (a) Report on the status of preparations for the Nov. 3, 2020, election, and (b) request for the use of the board chambers for elections purposes on Nov. 3, 2020 .

UNTIMED ITEMS

7.2: Second reading, adopt ordinance of the county of Lake to provide for graduated levels of enforcement of public health orders through education and training and the imposition of administrative fines.

7.3: Consideration of the following appointment: Mental Health Board.

7.4: Consideration of request to waive competitive bidding requirements and authorization to issue a purchase order for the purchase of an Elgin street sweeper for county road maintenance to Sourcewell, in the amount of $276,715.30 and authorize the Chair to sign.

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 – Fire crews on the Mendocino National Forest are responding to several fires started by lightning after thunderstorms passed over the area early Sunday, with another fire in Glenn County also prompting evacuations.

Forest officials said a few fires are reported on the Grindstone Ranger District including one in the Snow Mountain Wilderness.

One fire has been reported on the Covelo Ranger District northeast of Covelo near Leech Lake.

Additional resources have been ordered to assist with the initial attack.

Forest officials said their primary wildfire response strategy for 2020 is aggressive initial attack and rapid containment to minimize the number of large wildfires.

In other fire news around the region, on Sunday morning officials ordered an evacuation at around 9 a.m. for the community of Fruto west of Willows in the area of Highway 162 and County Road 303 due to another lightning-caused fire.

That incident, the Elk fire, was reported to be 700 acres and 5-percent contained at around noon on Sunday.

The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office reported just before 1:30 p.m. that forward progress on the fire had been stopped, with evacuation orders lifted.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has seven dogs cleared for adoption this week.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Chihuahua, border collie, chow chow, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, pit bull and pug.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm for information on visiting or adopting.

“Tico” is a senior male Chihuahua-pug mix in kennel No. 2, ID No. 13864. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Tico’

“Tico” is a senior male Chihuahua-pug mix with a short black and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 2, ID No. 13864.

“Solito” is a male pit bull terrier in kennel No. 6, ID No. 13839. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Solito’

“Solito” is a male pit bull terrier with a black and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 6, ID No. 13839.

“Oso Panda” is a male border collie in kennel No. 7, ID No. 13840. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Oso Panda’

“Oso Panda” is a male border collie with a long black and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 7, ID No. 13840.

“Manotas” is a male German Shepherd-pit bull mix in kennel No. 8, ID No. 13841. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Manotas’

“Manotas” is a male German Shepherd-pit bull mix with a long black and brindle coat.

He is in kennel No. 8, ID No. 13841.

“Pina” is a young female pit bull terrier in kennel No. 9, ID No. 13842. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Pina’

“Pina” is a young female pit bull terrier with a short tan and brindle coat.

She is in kennel No. 9, ID No. 13842.

“Luna” is a female German Shepherd in kennel No. 10, ID No. 13843. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Luna’

“Luna” is a female German Shepherd with a medium-length black and tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 10, ID No. 13843.

This male chow chow is in kennel No. 33, ID No. 13795. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male chow chow

This male chow chow has a medium-length black coat.

He is in kennel No. 33, ID No. 13795.

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 City Council is set to consider approval of a site plan for the new Lakefront Park and discuss grants when it meets this week.

The meeting will take place via webinar beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18

The agenda can be found here.

To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 877-309-2074 or 213-929-4221. The access code is 348-108-827; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.

Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments prior to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

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

During public presentations, the council will meet new Lakeport Police Department trainee officers Aaron Hodges and Juan Altamirano.

Under council business, City Manager Kevin Ingram will present to the council the prepared site plan and amenity features designs for the proposed Lakefront Park, located at at 800 and 810 North Main St., and seek direction for staff to proceed in the development of engineered construction level design plans for the project.

In June, the city council authorized the city manager to contract with SSA Landscape Architects to aid the city in the planning, design, engineering and project management of the proposed Lakefront Park project, Ingram said in his written report for the meeting.

“Over the past several weeks the City and SSA have worked closely together to refine the proposed concept plan and develop a site plan with defined spaces and specific details regarding actual elements of the design, including space requirements, adjacencies, circulation, support spaces, access and egress, and landscape features,” Ingram said.

Following the approval of the site plan, Ingram said SSA will begin to develop engineered project plans to be utilized for the construction of the project. “Substantial changes to the project
design in the future will not be possible without significant costs and time delays to the overall project. It is anticipated that the environmental review for this project will be completed in the next couple of weeks and be presented to the Planning Commission for review and approval in September or October, Ingram said.

He also reported that engineered construction level plans are expected to be completed and the project put out to bid for construction by the end of the year.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Committee met last week to look at the plans, and Ingram explained that the project – funded by a $5.9 million state grant – has an ambitious timeline, with a requirement that it be completed and open to the public by June 2020.

In other business, Finance Director Nick Walker will ask for the council’s approval of a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign the statement of assurances and submit an application for State Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds for improvements at the Silveira Community Center.

If awarded, the city would enter into a contract with Bridges Construction and authorize the purchase of kitchen equipment from Sysco and to enter into a facilities use agreement for use of the kitchen at the center.

Also on Tuesday, the council will consider accepting the $20,000 donation from Lake County Public Educational and Governmental TV and approve a budget adjustment in the amount of $24,925 for the purchase and installation of upgraded audio/visual equipment in the council chambers.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the special council meeting on July 31 and the regular council meeting on Aug. 4; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the Mendocino Complex fire; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the February 2019 storms; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the October 2019 public safety power shutoff; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency for the COVID-19 public health emergency; adopt the proposed resolution updating the Cal OES designation of applicant’s agent for non-state agencies by designating the city manager, director of finance, and director of public works as city agents utilizing Cal OES Form 130; approval of a resolution rescinding Resolution 2763 (2020) and revising the master pay
schedule in conformance with California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Section 570.5.

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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First grade teacher Katie Barriga was able to purchase these student art supplies using money awarded by a Lake County Rural Arts Initiative Teacher Art Supply Grant. Barriga is a teacher at Coyote Valley Elementary School in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif. Photo courtesy of Katie Barriga.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Dozens of Lake County teachers are able to purchase needed student art supplies, thanks to the Teacher Art Supply Grants offered by the Lake County Rural Arts Initiative.

Forty grants have been awarded thus far and more will be given throughout the month of August.

During this time of distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students aren’t able to share classroom art supplies as usual and many families are unable to purchase them for the home.

Enter the Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, or LCRAI, which is offering $100 grants to Lake County teachers, enabling them to purchase basic art supplies for students such as crayons, construction paper, paint, and glue.

Art-related equipment purchases for the classroom and specialized project-based supplies are also funded by the grant.

This is the first time the Teachers Art Supply Grant has been offered by LCRAI. They hope to also offer grants in future years.

The grants are especially timely now that distance learning is in place in most Lake County schools, said LCRAI Board member and Arts in Schools Committee member Kim Lewis.

As of last week, they’d received 115 grant applications and were able to award 40 grants. Thanks to an anonymous donation of $1,500 and an ongoing fundraiser, they’re now able to fund more.

“We have received an overwhelming number of applications for the Teachers Art Supply Grant. We are hoping to raise more funds through our online and offline fundraising efforts, in hopes of awarding as many grants to teachers as we are able to. They are all so deserving,” said Lewis.

The Arts in Schools Committee is comprised of several board members who, along with LCRAI President Alicia Brisker, will vet and select grant recipients.

Any teacher serving transitional kindergarten through 12th grade students in a Lake County public or charter school (i.e., not privately funded) is eligible for a grant.

Grant applications are available on the LCRAI website and will be received throughout the month of August.

It’s their hope to fund each request received; however, that depends on the amount of money raised.

LCRAI was founded in February of 2018 by Lake County residents Martha Mincer and Connie Lemen-Kosla with the goal of making Lake County an arts and culture destination as a means to boost the local economy through tourism.

One such project, a mural trail, has been installed by five local artists. Murals are located in Kelseyville, Lakeport and Clearlake and the trail will be updated with more locations added in the future.

A second mission of LCRAI is integrating arts for children into the community and Lake County schools. Research shows that participation in the arts by children and teens raises self-esteem as well as their classroom grades in other subjects.

In the past, the LCRAI has sponsored a kids’ mural station at the Kelseyville Pear Festival and children’s craft activities at the holiday fair at the Twin Pines Casino in Middletown.

To learn more about the LCRAI, its mural trail or to apply for or donate to the Teacher Art Supply Grants, visit the group’s website or Facebook page.

The LCRAI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.

Esther Oertel is a writer and food columnist for Lake County News. She lives in Middletown, Calif.
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 crew members are seen seated in the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft during crew equipment interface training. From left to right are NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; and Mike Hopkins, Crew Dragon commander; and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist. Photo credit: SpaceX.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Oct. 23 for the first operational flight with astronauts of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will be the first of regular rotational missions to the space station following completion of NASA certification.

The mission will carry Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Shannon Walker, all of NASA, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, mission specialist Soichi Noguchi for a six-month science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory following launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Crew-1 will launch in late October to accommodate spacecraft traffic for the upcoming Soyuz crew rotation and best meet the needs of the International Space Station.

Launch will follow the arrival of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos aboard their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft and the departure of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner from the space station.

The launch timeframe also allows for a crew handover with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission next spring.

The Crew-1 mission is pending completion of data reviews and certification following NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight, which successfully launched NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station on May 30 and returned them safely home with a splashdown off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 2.

Demo-2 was the first crewed flight test of a commercially-owned and operated human space system.

NASA certification of SpaceX’s crew transportation system allows the agency to regularly fly astronauts to the space station, ending sole reliance on Russia for space station access.

For almost 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration to the Moon and Mars.

NASA is enabling economic growth in low-Earth orbit to open access to space to more people, more science, and more companies than ever before.
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A view of Doe fire from Rattlesnake rest stop FH7 on the Mendocino National Forest in Glenn County, California. Photo courtesy of the US Forest Service.

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Lightning sparked multiple new fires on the Mendocino National Forest after early morning thunderstorms moved across the area Sunday.

Fire managers have identified and staffed six fires. Additional resources have been ordered to assist.

The largest fire is the Doe fire located near Valley View Orchard approximately 35 miles northwest of Willows. in Glenn County.

Forest officials reported on Sunday evening that the Doe fire was estimated at 100 acres with an engine, two air tankers, one helicopter and an air attack assigned.

The other fires are scattered around the Grindstone Ranger District and range in size from half an acre to 15 acres, except for the Bean fire on the Covelo Ranger District which is estimated at five acres, officials said.

The forest’s primary wildfire response strategy for 2020 is aggressive initial attack and rapid containment to minimize the number of large wildfires.
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Kids and parents will find many free informational and entertainment options for children on the Lake County Library’s new “For Kids” webpage. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library continues to adapt to the ever-changing pandemic situation with new services and social distancing variations on existing ones.

The library has just expanded its website with a colorful page devoted to the library’s educational and recreational resources and activities for children.

On the library’s website, click on the “For Kids” link to see the full array of online services that require nothing more than a library card to access.

On hoopla you can activate kids mode by signing in and then clicking Kids. Hoopla has movies, television shows, music and audiobooks for kids.

On Libby or on the Overdrive website you can find kids’ content by clicking the Kids tab at the top. Libby by Overdrive has ebooks, audiobooks and special read-along books.

For children and teens the library also offers three online services ABCmouse, Britannica, and TeachingBooks.

ABCmouse.com is the leading and most comprehensive fun digital learning resource for children ages 2 through 8.

Britannica School and Britannica Escolar are both educational sites for students to use for homework help, projects, or learning at home or at the library.

TeachingBooks.net is a multimedia website that generates enthusiasm for books and reading with engaging author programs and K-12 book resources for children and teens.

Patrons can check out ABCmouse accounts for home use on their computers or devices. The award-winning ABCmouse.com curriculum, created by Age of Learning, Inc., is designed to help young children ages 2 through 8 and beyond build a strong foundation for future academic success.

ABCmouse.com is 100-percent educational, with more than 8,500 learning activities across all major subject areas-reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music. ABCmouse is one effective early learning resource that’s available for you to check out from the library and use with your children at home.

When you check out an ABCmouse account from the library with Bring Learning Home, you will get full access to ABCmouse from the convenience of your home or anywhere you have an internet connection. You will also have access to the Assessment Center, which allows you to track your child’s progress in key early literacy and math skills over time. Funding for the ABCmouse Bring Learning Home program was provided by Doug and Laurie Dohring of Bell Haven Resort.

Britannica School and Britannica Escolar are both educational sites for students to use for homework help, projects, or learning at home or at the library.

Britannica School is the go-to site for research – the core of any inquiry learning model – offering thousands of up-to-date, curated, and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended Web sites, and three separate databases. Britannica Escolar is the leading knowledge-building resource that is universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish.

Choose from two or three levels of learning – elementary, middle, and high school – for a wealth of unique content to explore. Select an article and adjust its complexity with a single click while maintaining the age-appropriate look – ideal for classes of students at multiple reading levels! Read-aloud functionality and a font size changer are just a few of the features specifically helpful for students with special needs.

Nonfiction, cross-curricular content in Britannica School is updated daily by the editorial team with new and revised articles and multimedia – at least 1,200 entries per month – to keep users informed and engaged. Britannica offers accurate, up-to-date content aligned to the common core and state standards.

Use handy how-to-conduct-research tools to build essential information literacy skills. Group together related content types for activities or projects using the easy-to-use Content Collector. For educators, review and adapt ready-made lessons on various subjects or create your own with the intuitive Lesson Plan Builder. Access to Britannica School and Escolar is provided by the California State Library.

TeachingBooks is a dynamic PreK-12 reading and library service that strives to deepen everyone's connections to the books they are reading. With 170,000+ engaging video, audio, and online resources, TeachingBooks brings to life the books that are enjoyed in your community. TeachingBooks is a database of resources for children's and young adult books and their authors and illustrators. Use TeachingBooks to search titles, authors and illustrators, and find resources to engage readers. The resource collection includes short movies, audiobook readings, book discussion guides, and more. Access to TeachingBooks.net is provided for Lake County Library by the California State Library in conjunction with Riverside COE.

In the pre-pandemic days library employees visited local schools to read picture books with younger children and to share with older children about library resources. With in-person visits no longer available, the library invites local teachers to request library visits to their virtual classrooms. Teachers can submit the requests through the link on the library’s For Kids page and an employee will contact them to make arrangements.

The library’s website gives information about library programs, services and policies. To speak to a library employee, call 707-263-8817.

Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.
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David Glenn Ford Jr., 25, of Clearlake, California, is charged with attempted murder and assault on a person with a firearm for a shooting that occurred late on Monday, August 10, 2020, in Clearlake. Lake County Jail photo.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man who posted bail after being arrested for a shooting earlier this week has been arrested again, with his bail raised at the request of prosecutors.

David Glenn Ford Jr., 25, was taken into custody again on Thursday, according to a report from Sgt. Ryan Peterson of the Clearlake Police Department.

Peterson said that at approximately midnight on Tuesday, officers responded to the 3200 block of Park Street for a report of a gunshot victim.

Based on the investigation it is believed that Ford, along with another person got into an argument with subjects near the 3300 block of 10th Street in Clearlake late on Monday night. Peterson said Ford and the other person then followed the subjects he was in an argument with to a residence in the 3200 block of Park Street, where the argument continued.

The resident of the home, a 54-year-old male, exited the house and confronted Ford. During this confrontation, Peterson said it is believed that Ford shot the resident and fled the scene with the other person whom he was with back to his residence on 10th Street.

Peterson said the shooting victim was transported to an out-of-county medical facility for treatment. As of this time, he is reported to be in stable condition.

Detectives from the Clearlake Police Department Investigations Bureau responded to the scene, Peterson said.

Peterson said detectives obtained a search warrant and during the execution of the search warrant, they ultimately arrested Ford on probable cause for attempted murder and assault on a person with a firearm.

He was booked into the Lake County Jail with his bail set at $250,000. Ford bailed from the Lake County Jail prior to any court proceedings, Peterson said.

After further review of the investigation, Peterson said the Lake County District Attorney’s Office requested a warrant for Ford’s arrest through the Lake County Superior Court with an increased bail set at $1,500,000.

On Thursday afternoon, Peterson said Clearlake Police officers located Ford in the area of Sixth Street in Clearlake, placed him under arrest for the warrant and booked him into the Lake County Jail.

As of Saturday, Ford remained in custody pending further court proceedings, which his booking sheet indicated will take place on Tuesday.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Leo Flores at 707-994-8251.
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The California Independent System Operator on Sunday issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, extending through Wednesday.

The Flex Alerts are in effect from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

A persistent, record-breaking heatwave in California and the western states is causing a strain on supplies, and consumers should be prepared for likely rolling outages during the late afternoons and early evenings through Wednesday.

There is not a sufficient amount of energy to meet the high amounts of demand during the heatwave, California ISO reported.

However, officials said consumers can actively help by shifting energy use to morning and nighttime hours and conserving as much energy as possible during the late afternoon and evening hours.

Consumer conservation can help lower demand and avoid further actions including outages, and lessen the duration of an outage.

Consumers are urged to lower energy use during the most critical time of the day, 3 to 10 p.m., when temperatures remain high and solar production is falling due to the sun setting.

Extended periods of heat also can cause generator equipment failures that can lead to more serious unplanned losses of power.

The ISO recognizes that reducing energy use during the hot time of the day is a hardship, especially for those working from home or with children schooling at home.

However, if a large number of consumers do their part in small ways, conservation can make a difference.

Between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., the ISO is urging consumers to:

– Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees, if health permits.
– Defer use of major appliances.
– Turn off unnecessary lights.
– Unplug unused electrical devices.
– Close blinds and drapes.
– Use fans when possible.
– Limit time the refrigerator door is open.

Consumers can also take steps to prepare for the Flex Alert by doing the following before 3 p.m.:

– “Pre-cool” their homes, or lower air conditioning thermostats to 72 degrees.
– Charge electric vehicles.
– Charge mobile devices and laptops.
– Run dishwashers, washing machines and other major appliances.
– Set pool pumps to run in the early morning or late at night.

For information on Flex Alerts, and to get more electricity conservation tips, visit the ISO’s Flex Alert website.
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Redlining maps, drawn by the Home Owners’ Loan Corp. in 1935, categorized neighborhoods in U.S. cities by the perceived security of mortgage loans, from green indicating the “best” investment to red indicating a “hazardous” investment. Public domain image.

Past discriminatory housing practices may play a role in perpetuating the significant disparities in infant and maternal health faced by people of color in the U.S., suggests a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

For decades, banks and other lenders used redlining maps to deny loans to people living in neighborhoods deemed too risky for investment.

These maps, first drawn in 1935 by the government-sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corp., or HOLC, shaded neighborhoods in one of four colors – from green representing the lowest risk to red representing the highest risk. These designations were based, in part, on the race and socioeconomic status of each neighborhood’s residents.

To investigate the link between historical redlining and infant and maternal health today, the team obtained birth outcome data for the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco between 2006 and 2015 and compared them to HOLC redlining maps.

They found that adverse birth outcomes – including premature births, low birth weight babies and babies who were small for their gestational age – occurred significantly more often in neighborhoods with worse HOLC ratings.

“Our results highlight how laws and policies that have been abolished can still assert health effects today,” said Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor of public health and of environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study, which appeared online this month in the journal PLOS ONE. “This suggests that if we want to target neighborhood-level interventions to improve the social and physical environments where kids are born and grow, neighborhoods that have faced historical forms of discrimination, like redlining, are important places to start.”

Non-Hispanic Black women living in the U.S. are one-and-a-half times more likely to give birth to premature babies than their white counterparts and are more than twice as likely to have babies with a low birth weight. Hispanic women face similar, though less dramatic, disparities, compared to non-Hispanic white women.

While the legacy of public and private disinvestment in redlined neighborhoods has led to well-documented disparities in income level, tree canopy coverage, air pollution and home values in these communities, the long-term health impacts of redlining are just now starting to be explored.

“Children born during the time of our study would be the great-great-grandchildren of those who were alive at the time of redlining, whose options of where to live would have been determined by redlining maps,” said study lead author Anthony Nardone, a medical student in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. “We chose to look at birth outcomes because of the stark inequities that exist across race in the U.S. today, inequities that we believe are a function of long-standing institutional racism, like historical redlining.”

Earlier work led by Nardone showed that residents of neighborhoods with the worst HOLC rating were more than twice as likely to visit the emergency room with asthma than residents of neighborhoods with the highest HOLC rating. And a recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health found a link between redlining and preterm births in New York City.

In the new study, the team found that neighborhoods with the two worst HOLC ratings – “definitely declining” and “hazardous” – had significantly worse birth outcomes than those with the best HOLC rating.

However, Los Angeles neighborhoods rated “hazardous” showed slightly better birth outcomes than those with the second-worst, or “definitely declining,” rating. In San Francisco and Oakland, neighborhoods with these two ratings showed similar birth outcomes.

This pattern might be attributed to the effects of gentrification on previously redlined neighborhoods, the authors surmised. They added that people in the hardest-hit neighborhoods may also rely more on community support networks, which can help combat the effects of disinvestment.

“We also saw different results by metropolitan area and slightly different results by maternal race,” Morello-Frosch said. “This suggests that maybe the underlying mechanisms of the effect of redlining differ by region and should be investigated further.”

Co-authors of the study include Joan A. Casey and Kara E. Rudolph of Columbia University; Deborah Karasek of the University of California, San Francsico; and Mahasin Mujahid of UC Berkeley.

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program (UG3OD023272 and UH3OD023272), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R00 ES027023 and P30 ES0090890), the UC Berkeley Superfund Research Program and a Postdoctoral Transdisciplinary Research Fellowship from the UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative.

Kara Manke writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.
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Isreel Otter Sloan, 18, of Clearlake, California, was arrested on Saturday, August 8, 2020, for shooting a man in the leg in an incident in Clearlake Oaks. Lake County Jail photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a young Clearlake man who is charged with shooting another man following an argument.

Isreel Otter Sloan, 18, of Clearlake was arrested several hours after the incident occurred on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 8, according to Lt. Rich Ward of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Ward said that at 12:44 a.m. Aug. 8, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 17000 block of Holly Way in Spring Valley, east of Clearlake Oaks, for a report of several subjects having a party where suspected gunfire was heard.

While en route, Central Dispatch advised deputies a gunshot victim was being transported in a white Honda to Adventist Health in Clearlake, Ward said.

Deputies located the white Honda and gunshot victim near the intersection of Highway 20 and Spring Valley Road. Ward said medics were on scene treating a male adult for a suspected gunshot wound to their leg.

The victim was transported by medics to Adventist Health and later transported via air ambulance to an out-of-county trauma center, he said.

Ward said deputies obtained statements from the driver of the Honda and victim. Deputies learned the shooting took place at a residence in the 2600 block of River View Road in Clearlake Oaks.

The son of the Honda driver and several of his friends arrived at the residence in a dark-colored Jeep. Ward said the victim was involved in an argument with the subjects in an attempt to get them to leave.

While walking back into the residence, the victim heard a single gunshot and was struck in the leg. Ward said the subjects in the Jeep fled the scene, damaging a wooden fence post near the front of the residence.

Deputies responded to the residence on River View Road and processed the scene. They obtained additional statements from residents and neighbors as well as potential identifying information regarding the subjects who fled in the dark-colored Jeep, Ward said.

He said the deputies obtained an address for one of the suspects in the 14000 block of Uhl Avenue in Clearlake.

Deputies responded to the Uhl Avenue address and located a blue-colored Jeep Cherokee associated with the residence. Ward said the deputies noticed damage to the Jeep and white paint transfer, which caused them to suspect the Jeep was involved in damaging the Clearlake Oaks address fence post where the victim was shot.

The residents advised deputies the individuals they were looking for were inside the basement of the home. Deputies located and spoke with several subjects who admitted being at the River View Road residence where the shooting occurred. They also admitted to leaving in the Jeep Cherokee, Ward said.

The deputies also located two firearms, one of which had the serial numbers removed, according to Ward’s report.

After speaking with several of the subjects and parties associated with the Jeep, deputies developed probable cause to arrest Sloan, Ward said.

Ward said Sloan was transported to the Hill Road Correctional Facility where he was booked for discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, willful discharge of a firearm in a negligent manner, assault with a firearm on a person, battery on a person causing serious bodily injury, changing, altering or removing serial numbers from a firearm and obstructing, and resisting or delaying a peace officer in the performance of their duties.

Sloan’s bail was set at $50,000 and he later was released, according to jail records.

This investigation is ongoing and the Lake County Sheriff’s encourages anyone with information pertaining to this case to contact Det. Sgt. John Gregore at Central Dispatch nonemergency line, 707-263-2690, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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