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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control is continuing to offer dogs for adoption during the countywide shelter in place order.

The agency said people can make appointments to come in and foster or adopt dogs.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

“Buddy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Buddy’

“Buddy” is a male spaniel mix with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 3667.

“Cha-Chi.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Cha-Chi’

“Cha-Chi” is a male Chihuahua with a short gold and white coat.

He is dog No. 3661.

“Duchess.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Duchess’

“Duchess” is a female Chihuahua puppy with a short tan coat.

She is dog No. 3618.

“Fable.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Fable’

“Fable” is a female husky with a smooth brown and buff coat.

She is dog No. 3044.

“Freckles.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Freckles’

“Freckles” is a female Australian Cattle Dog mix with a short red and white coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3668.

“Lucious.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Lucious’

“Lucious” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3690.

“Phoebe.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Phoebe’

“Phoebe” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix with a short black and white coat.

She is dog No. 3483.

“Princess.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Princess’

“Princess” is a female German Shepherd with a black and tan coat.

She has been spayed.

Princess is young and energetic. She previously lived around a smaller dog and has been around the office cat. She will benefit from training and attention.

She is dog No. 3669.

“Tucker.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Tucker’

“Tucker” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier puppy with a short white and gray coat.

He is dog No. 3717.

“Tyson.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Tyson’

“Tyson” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier with a short gray and white coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 1863.

“Woodrow.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Woodrow’

“Woodrow” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 3281.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

Hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email cweldon@clearlakepd.org to inquire about adoptions.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s website.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake Area Rotary Club Association, which in recent years has been a key fundraising organization to assist in Lake County’s fire recovery, said Wednesday that it’s changing its mission to help with emergency relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s starting off with a major donation to local senior centers.

The association, also known as LARCA, said its Fire Relief Fund is changing its focus and will become the LARCA COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.

As such, LARCA is donating $40,000 to the four senior centers in Lake County to help with the loss of income from their thrift stores and the increase in demand for home-delivered meals through the Meals on Wheels program.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake County’s senior center were serving approximately 500 Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors daily, in addition to several hundred more who dined at one of the four senior centers in Lake County.

With the closing of the centers’ dining rooms, daily home deliveries increased to approximately 800 the week of March 16th following state, county and city “shelter in place” mandates.

The Meals on Wheels program is expected to increase an additional 25 percent during the beginning of week two and ultimately could more than double over the coming weeks.

Senior centers exist on limited funding from the Area Agency on Aging and individual fundraising efforts. With the senior centers being closed due to COVID-19, these fundraising efforts have all but ceased while costs are increasing exponentially.

Since its inception in 2015, LARCA has raised more than $3,000,000 for fire relief efforts.

Through the volunteerism and support of our Rotary Clubs, LARCA’s members pride themselves on maintaining the funds with zero overhead. This means every penny donated has gone to relief efforts.

The LARCA COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund is now accepting donations to help seniors, our most vulnerable population, as well as small businesses to survive this unprecedented pandemic.

Donations can easily be made online or via mail-in check. LARCA is a 501(c)3 organization.

For online donations go to www.LARCA5130.org, or send your checks to LARCA, P.O. Box 2921, Clearlake, CA 95422.

The Lake Area Rotary Club Association thanks you in advance for your generous donations in helping our local seniors.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council has given the city manager the unanimous go-ahead to sign a letter of intent with a developer who wants to purchase the former Austin Resort property.

The council approved the letter of intent with Bailey Building and Loans LLC at its Thursday meeting.

City Manager Alan Flora said there are two properties that make up the 7.68-acre Austin Resort property on the lakefront across from City Hall. One is owned by the city, the second by the city redevelopment agency’s successor agency.

The proposed purchase price is $915,350.

The city has envisioned that the property would be developed as a hotel. Flora said the developer’s draft plans are for a lakefront resort, including a hotel, restaurant, marina and amphitheater.

Flora said there is a “relatively short time frame” of 90 days to negotiate the purchase agreement. The purchase agreement for the property owned by the successor agency would need to be approved by the countywide oversight committee.

Councilman Russ Perdock asked if staff has done due diligence to make sure the people proposing the project actually can do it. Flora said it’s always difficult to make sure that’s the case, but the city’s research indicates they have experience.

Flora, Mayor Russ Cremer and Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten met with the group, which includes a professional developer from Florida.

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity,” said Slooten, explaining that the group has experience with marina-type developments.

“The projects they have done in the past seem to be substantially bigger,” said Slooten.

He added, “It’s very exciting for the city of Clearlake.”

Councilwoman Joyce Overton was concerned about the fact that the letter listed the city’s responsibilities as including the building of a roundabout at the Olympic Drive and Lakeshore Drive intersection. She also raised issue with what might happen if the property sat undeveloped for a long period of time and pointed out that community members now frequently use the land.

Flora said there could be some funds available to help pay for the roundabout, and added that the developer is committed to maintaining public access to the property.

“We don’t want to miss the forest for the trees,” said Councilman Phil Harris, explaining that the property is more of a liability than anything to the city.

He said the city is looking at an opportunity to revitalize its downtown corridor, and the project could offer an ongoing stimulus for the community. “It really does change the entire face of our downtown corridor.”

Harris said he wanted to see a timeline for when construction would begin.

Flora said it will take some time to get the project started, noting the need for US Army Corps of Engineers permits. He said it’s also an opportunity zone project.

Slooten said the development agreement would outline the project, infrastructure and who would pay for it.

“That all comes in the next step. This is the first step,” he said, adding it’s a $20 million project.

Cremer said the project would definitely transform the city. “I see a very bright future for the city of Clearlake,” said Cremer, adding it will bring employment opportunities and dollars to Clearlake.

No public comment was offered and Slooten moved to authorize Flora to sign the proposed letter with Bailey Building and Loans. Perdock seconded and the council approved the letter of intent 5-0.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service, in response to the recent statewide shelter-in-place order issued by the governor of California, is joining the cause to aggressively reduce the spread of COVID-19 by closing developed recreation facilities on our National Forests statewide.

“Developed recreation sites” refers to designated recreational areas that facilitate public use.

Information on individual recreation sites and opportunities is available by calling the Mendocino National Forest at 530-934-3316 and leaving a message for prompt response.

Closures of developed recreation facilities are being put in place until at least April 30 in an attempt to avoid groups of people and promote social distancing, staying at least six feet apart.

While designated recreation sites will be closed, the general forest area including the extensive trail system will remain open and available to the public.

Hiking and walking outdoors are widely considered beneficial to maintaining one’s health. It is the intent of USDA Forest Service to maintain trail access to the extent practicable.

Please keep health, safety and the environment in mind when visiting National Forests. Your personal responsibility is critical to ensuring public safety and preventing further restrictions.

The Forest Services asks that people consider whether your personal participation in outdoor recreation at this time would pose an unnecessary risk to others as we all work together to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With more testing facilities coming online, the California Department of Public Health said Wednesday that the number of tests conducted statewide has more than doubled.

CDPH’s Wednesday report said that 66,800 tests have been conducted, numbers that reflect reports the state received from commercial and private labs and the 22 state and county health labs that are currently testing. At least 18,276 results have been received and another 48,600 are pending.

The state said the increase in testing numbers largely came from commercial, provider and academic labs that have increased testing capacity and are now reporting that data to the state. The biggest labs included in this count include Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford.

Those numbers were what had been reported to the state as of Tuesday. Monday’s numbers indicated 27,650 tests had been completed.

With more tests done, the numbers of confirmed cases also have risen.

By Wednesday night, based on Lake County News’ survey of county health departments statewide, there were 3,164 confirmed cases and 67 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in California.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace confirmed to Lake County News on Wednesday that no positive cases have been reported in Lake County so far.

In a Wednesday video, which can be seen above, Pace said about 35 tests have come back negative, with another 15 to 20 that are still pending.

For context, several of Lake’s neighboring counties have reported varying testing rates. Glenn has conducted four; Mendocino, 156; and Sonoma, 775.

Based on CDPH numbers, the majority of cases are in the age group of 18 to 49, followed by the 50 to 64 group and the over 65 group. More males than females are reported to have the virus.

Around the region, on Wednesday Humboldt County reported that its number of cases doubled, bringing the total to 10.

In Napa County, on Wednesday night officials there reported they had confirmed that county’s sixth case, a resident of the city of American Canyon who is hospitalized in another county.

Pace emphasized social distancing and said in his video that he’s seeing improvements in Lake County, with fewer people out and businesses closed.

“We really want to encourage people to keep doing this because it looks like it does really make a difference,” he said.

Pace said the community needs to be prepared for the situation to continue for a while. He urged people to stay at home, practice social distancing and wash their hands.

Anyone who is sick should isolate themselves from family members, especially those who are older or vulnerable with underlying health issues, Pace said.

In other developments reported on Wednesday, the state said Seton Medical Center in Daly City was to begin accepting up to 220 COVID-19 patients.

California is leasing the medical center for three months to expand the capacity of the health care delivery system to respond to ongoing and anticipated increases in COVID-19 cases that require medical care. Verity will operate Seton Medical Center on the state’s behalf.

“Today Seton Medical Center in Daly City started accepting COVID-19 patients on behalf of the state. California will continue to do our part to expand our capacity to respond to a potential surge in COVID-19 patients. It is also important that each and every Californian do their part by staying home and practicing social distancing. We can get through this together if we all do our part,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California also has a three-month lease agreement with St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. Officials said the state is readying the facility to begin providing care for up to 366 COVID-19 patients as soon as possible.

The state, in partnership with local officials, also reopened Community Hospital in Long Beach on Saturday and began accepting patients transferred from other hospitals in the area. The hospital has the capacity of 158 beds.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While public schools have been closed since March 16 in an effort to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in Lake County, educators remain hard at work.

“Dismissing students from school was not an easy decision, nor was it made lightly,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.

“Yet, the district superintendents in Lake County agreed that the threat of COVID-19 in our community was a large enough concern to warrant school dismissals,” he explained.

Lake County Health Officer, Dr. Gary Pace, agreed.

The decision was made to help “flatten the curve.” This is to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community so that the local health care facilities are not overwhelmed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children under the age of 18 can often be infected with the virus and show only mild symptoms. However, they can still pass the virus on to more vulnerable populations.

Falkenberg acknowledged that school dismissals are difficult. “We understand the challenging conditions that our families are currently facing.”

Lake County educators remain busy though as they adapt to this unique situation.

“Our Lake County teachers are to be commended,” said Falkenberg. “They are doing an amazing job.”

Teachers were given 24 hours’ notice to put together three weeks’ worth of school work for their students.

During the dismissals, many local teachers are calling students on the phone, connecting with them via the internet, or recording videos that they are sharing on social media to keep their students involved, engaged and educated.

“The district’s meal service programs should also be celebrated for their quick and organized response,” said Falkenberg.

School districts immediately begin supplying meals to all Lake County children. Students do not need to be enrolled to receive meals. They just need to be under the age of 18.

School districts have information on meal delivery times and locations on their websites or Facebook pages.

Learning from the fires of the past years, the Lake County Office of Education’s Healthy Start program, generously funded through the Redbud Health Care District, was prepared to act quickly when schools were dismissed.

Healthy Start provides services to the most vulnerable students, making sure they have basic necessities such as food, housing, and medical care.

“Schools are the center of our communities. Our most vulnerable students often lose stability when schools closed,” said Healthy Start Director Ana Santana.

“We immediately contacted the families that we are case managing, our foster youth, and our homeless students to answer any questions they might have, and let them know we are there for them,” added Santana.

Healthy Start is also funded by the Lake County Department of Social Services, First 5 Lake County and the Lake County Continuum of Care.

Falkenberg acknowledged students and their parents. “We thank you for your patience. We are all in this together.”

The Lake County Office of Education will continue to keep the community updated regarding education during this ever-changing situation.

For more information, please visit lakecoe.org or the Lake County Office of Education Facebook page.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s school district superintendents have made a unified decision to extend student dismissals from regular school attendance through May 1 to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, to the maximum extent.

The safety and wellness of students, school personnel and the community are the highest priorities, the superintendents said in a Thursday afternoon statement.

This guidance was based on consultation with Lake County Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace and Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.

School facilities may remain open to staff for the purposes of performing tasks deemed essential by the school district.

Students will continue to learn from home, and meals will continue to be provided for all children under 18. Check with your local school for details.

Previously, Lake County school districts had announced that they would suspend in-person classes at least through the Lake County health officer’s shelter in place order, which was set to end on April 10.

Then Gov. Gavin Newsom called for individuals to stay at home state-wide and prohibited mass gatherings of more than 10 people indefinitely.

Following this order, and in consultation with Lake County Public Health officer, schools are preparing to conduct distance learning through May 1.

LCOE and school district leaders will meet regularly to reassess the situation and determine next steps.

Should the governor’s order end before April 30, school districts will be flexible and consider resuming classes earlier.

“Our goal is to get students back into the classroom as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Falkenberg. “We understand the challenges to our students, families and community. Dismissals have become necessary to safeguard our community’s health and to “flatten the curve” to protect our local health care system from becoming overwhelmed.”

Above all, LCOE continues to recommend that everyone practices prevention and hygiene protocols, including:

– If you are sick for any reason, stay home. Call your doctor if you are concerned and/or your symptoms worsen.
– Symptoms to watch for include a fever over 100 degrees; respiratory illness such as cough or difficulty breathing.
– Wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds.
– Stay six feet or more away from strangers and those who are ill.
– Stop shaking hands with others to reduce the spread of germs.
– Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
– Sneeze and cough into a tissue or your sleeve; safely throw away used tissues.

School districts and the Lake County Office of Education will continue to work closely with local health officials during this health crisis.

Resources for schools and families related to COVID-19 can be found at the following websites.

Kelseyville Unified School District: www.kvusd.org
Konocti Unified School District: www.konoctiusd.org
Lake County International Charter School: www.lcics.org
Lake County Office of Education: www.lakecoe.org
Lakeport Unified School District: www.lakeport.k12.ca.us
Lucerne Elementary School District: www.lucerne.k12.ca.us
Middletown Unified School District: www.middletownusd.org
Upper Lake Unified School District: www.ulusd.org

For more information about the county response to COVID-19, visit http://health.co.lake.ca.us .
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On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that financial institutions will provide major financial relief for millions of Californians suffering financially as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Millions of California families will be able to take a sigh of relief,” said Gov. Newsom. “These new financial protections will provide relief to California families and serve as a model for the rest of the nation. I thank each of the financial institutions that will provide this relief to millions of Californians who have been hurt financially from COVID-19.”

Governor Newsom secured support from Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo and nearly 200 state-chartered banks, credit unions, and servicers to protect homeowners and consumers.

Under the governor’s proposal, Californians who are struggling with the COVID-19 crisis may be eligible for the following relief upon contacting their financial institution:

90-day grace period for mortgage payments

Financial institutions will offer, consistent with applicable guidelines, mortgage payment forbearances of up to 90 days to borrowers economically impacted by COVID-19. In addition, those institutions will:

– Provide borrowers a streamlined process to request a forbearance for COVID-19-related reasons, supported with available documentation;

– Confirm approval of and terms of forbearance program; and

– Provide borrowers the opportunity to request additional relief, as practicable, upon continued showing of hardship due to COVID-19.

No negative credit impacts resulting from relief

Financial institutions will not report derogatory tradelines (e.g., late payments) to credit reporting agencies, consistent with applicable guidelines, for borrowers taking advantage of COVID-19-related relief.

Moratorium on initiating foreclosure sales or evictions

For at least 60 days, financial institutions will not initiate foreclosure sales or evictions, consistent with applicable guidelines.

Relief from fees and charges

For at least 90 days, financial institutions will waive or refund at least the following for customers who have requested assistance:

– Mortgage-related late fees; and
– Other fees, including early CD withdrawals (subject to applicable federal regulations).

Loans held by a financial institution may be serviced by another company.

Please note that financial institutions and their servicers are experiencing high volumes of inquiries.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Thursday unanimously approved an urgency ordinance to protect residents of the unincorporated county against price gouging for rental housing and unlawful evictions during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

County Counsel Anita Grant presented the urgency ordinance, which required a four-fifths vote, to the board at the request of Supervisor Rob Brown.

Grant said the board has taken similar action during previous states of emergency in the county.

Brown said it’s also consistent with an order already put in place by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

He said it isn’t meant to allow people to not pay their rent, but rather is intended to protect people from getting kicked out of their homes because of the illness.

Grant said that, during the state of emergency, properties cannot be rented for more than the average rental price, defined in the ordinance as the price for the dwelling unit during the 30-day period immediately preceding the emergency.

She said it also prevents landlords from evicting someone and then charging a new tenant a greater amount for rent.

Violation of the urgency ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $20,000.

There was no public input on the ordinance, which Brown moved to approve and the board members joined in approving 5-0.

On Thursday the city of Clearlake enacted its own urgency ordinance, in effect until at least May 19, that imposes a moratorium on residential evictions for those impacted by COVID-19, as Lake County News has reported.

The city’s ordinance also doesn’t waive a tenant’s obligations to pay back rent but offers short-term protection from eviction due to the inability to pay rent. Tenants have up to 180 days after the ordinance’s March 19 implementation to pay their landlord all unpaid rent.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local agencies are mobilizing to create emergency housing options for Lake County residents who are experiencing homelessness and, as a result, are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace confirmed to Lake County News on Wednesday that there are still no positive cases of COVID-19 in Lake County.

The county has been under a shelter in place order issued by Pace that went into effect last Thursday, the same day that Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay at home order.

The Lake County order exempted the homeless because, officials said, they couldn’t require sheltering in place for individuals who don’t have housing options.

The latest “point-in-time” count of homeless individuals, conducted on Jan. 27, found 572 people experiencing homelessness in Lake County.

However, health care industry numbers presented to the Clearlake City Council in January from the leadership of the Hope Center project suggested that from January to November 2019 there were 3,370 unique patients who identified as homeless in Lake County.

Pace told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he’s concerned about homeless individuals and the particular challenges they face with avoiding the virus, noting they’re among the most vulnerable to the illness.

He pointed to the problems that could result if the virus gets into the homeless community, where there is no social distancing and less opportunity for handwashing, one of the key practices people are being told to follow to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes COVId-19.

Pace told the board that a “fair amount of energy” is now going into planning to protect the homeless population.

On Wednesday, Pace told Lake County News that several teams are working on how to address the homeless situation in the county during the COVID outbreak.

“While we continue to have no confirmed COVID cases in Lake at this point, the potential of an infection getting into the homeless camps is concerning,” he said.

Pastor Shannon Kimbell-Auth, Adventist Health’s manager for community integration, a committee member for the Lake County Continuum of Care and chair of the board for Hope Harbor Warming Center in Lakeport, echoed those concerns.

People keep asking about those experiencing homelessness and if they’re concerned about getting the virus, she said.

“The answer is, of course they’re concerned about getting the virus, but they have absolutely nowhere to obey the shelter in place rule,” Kimbell-Auth said.

However, that is changing.

Earlier this week, the state announced it was awarding $100 million in grants to counties, continuums of care and the state's 13 largest cities to help protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Lake County News has reported.

The Lake County Continuum of Care will receive $79,511.74, while the county of Lake has been awarded $73,152.92.

Pace said there are discussions underway about how best to direct those funds. “Other funding sources are also being actively explored, given the governor’s assurances that state monies will be coming to help with this issue.”

He added, “Some progress is being made, though, in that we are looking to locate some sites to be able to house folks without homes, should they become positive.”

Crystal Markytan, director of Lake County Social Services, said Wednesday that she didn’t yet have any retail details about the $73,000 awarded to the county of Lake, explaining, “many questions remain at the state level.”

Kimbell-Auth told Lake County News that the Continuum of Care held a meeting with Behavioral Health, Public Health and Social Services on Wednesday.

The immediate plan for the Continuum of Care is to expand the Hope Harbor warming center’s hours from nights during the week to around-the-clock, seven-day-a-week operation in order to allow homeless individuals to take refuge there during the shelter in place order, she said.

The $75,911 the Continuum of Care received in this first round of emergency funding is expected to cover the warming center’s operations until the first week of May, Kimbell-Auth said.

She said they anticipate having the warming center ready to convert to 24/7 operations by Monday. Once those around-the-clock operations start, they will stop offering bus tickets to clients in order to keep them there.

The center started out its season at New Hope Fellowship Church in Lakeport but has now moved to the former Record-Bee building at 2150 S. Main St.

There, Kimbell-Auth said they will be able to increase their numbers moderately.

Currently, the center has had 24 clients a night, 16 people in the building and eight others in their vehicles, she said.

Now, they will be increasing it to having 24 individuals inside – including three rooms set aside for families – and safe parking outside. Altogether, she said capacity will expand to 30 clients.

She said the warming center has been working with Public Health to implement strict social distancing protocol.

Kimbell-Auth said the warming center is going to be hiring staff to cover its expanded operations. She said they are looking for people already experienced and trained in providing services to the homeless, and are reaching out to agencies that have had to lay off staff due to the current crisis.

“That’s who we want to hire,” she said, explaining that they won’t have time to do all of the training that they’ve done in the past while they’re mobilizing.

She said she expects more emergency money from the state to be available. “This is changing every day.”

Hope Harbor was used for sheltering in place because it’s the only warming center currently set up and could help immediately, Kimbell-Auth said.

She said if more funds become available, that money would be used to set up a shelter in Clearlake.

Kimbell-Auth said there are also other agencies working on different outreach and projects to assist the homeless, including efforts by North Coast Opportunities and Adventist Health to make outreach to the homeless encampments in Clearlake, where they want to locate handwashing stations as a basic preventive measure.

Kimbell-Auth encouraged people who need shelter at the warming center to call first to ensure there is space.

The Hope Harbor Warming Center can be reached at 707-533-0522.

For more information visit the Hope Harbor Facebook page or its website, where donations also can be made online.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Health officer told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he believes additional actions that go beyond a countywide shelter in place order are necessary if the county wants to continue to stay ahead of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week Pace issued a countywide shelter in place order that went into effect on Thursday, hours ahead of a statewide stay at home order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom. On Sunday, Pace updated his order to add to it the closure of Clear Lake and local waterways, as well as lodging facilities for anyone outside of a list of essential workers

“We’re in a pretty unprecedented space right now,” Dr. Gary Pace told the board at the start of a lengthy discussion during the board’s Tuesday meeting.

“I think the local response is incredibly important right now,” said Pace.

While COVID-19 cases continue to be confirmed around the region, as of Tuesday Pace said there were no confirmed cases in Lake County. However, he added that the virus is likely in Lake County due to travel and at a low level that hasn’t been picked up yet in testing.

During the meeting, Pace said between 35 and 40 tests have been conducted locally, and those have all tested negative.

Those testing numbers have remained the same since last week, which has caused concern among community members, many of them commenting on Public Health’s Facebook page in the days since.

“We need better testing,” Pace told the board. “This is a national crisis and a national embarrassment, I think.”

He urged people not to get too focused on the testing, explaining that even if hundreds of tests were conducted and positive cases were confirmed, it wouldn’t change what the county needs to do. “I just hope it doesn’t distract us from some of the other discussions.”

The Sonoma County Public Health Lab and private companies are doing testing, and a new test that’s expected to be out by the end of March could yield results within 45 minutes, Pace said. Currently, testing turnaround can take up to a week, if a lab is even available.

He expected testing capabilities to change over the next two weeks. “It’s frustratingly slow.”

Pace said he has acquired 20 sampling kits for a surveillance strategy that includes sampling people who are mildly ill but don’t meet the more stringent criteria issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to which hospitals in Lake County are continuing to adhere.

Pace suggests taking more actions to protect the community

Pace asked the board to consider taking additional measures.

“If we really want to get in front of this, we probably need to do more,” which the county can decide to do before “the wave crashes here,” Pace said.

However, he said that will require a mobilization, and he estimated so far the county only has a “halfway buy-in” from the community. That’s why he said he wanted to discuss more actions with the board.

“In two weeks, it’ll be a different discussion,” he said.

Pace suggested the board consider taking additional steps, including controlling social movement as much as possible for a month through increased enforcement and compliance with the shelter in place order; determining which workers and services are truly essential; mobilizing additional staff to help Public Health; quarantining people who are sick in separate facilities that are yet to be identified; and surge planning with the county’s health care facilities.

He said that Lake County’s two hospitals, Sutter Lakeside and Adventist Health Clear Lake, are doing their own surge planning. Both are “critical access” hospitals that have a maximum of 25 beds each. However, with a state waiver, Sutter Lakeside can increase to 50 beds and Adventist to 40 beds. Pace said intensive care unit beds also can increase if necessary.

The two hospitals together now have a total of 11 ventilators, with access to five more, said Pace. He said ventilators – which need staffing and support – can’t be stockpiled beforehand but have to go to areas where they are most needed.

He said Social Services is working to get a location for homeless individuals who need a place to shelter.

Pace said the information he’s receiving about the situation supports keeping schools closed, and he said that, based on how other areas are handling the virus, if aggressive action is taken it still could take two to three months to bring things under control.

Pace’s suggestions were considered but they were not agendized for action on Tuesday.

County Counsel Anita Grant noted during the meeting that the Public Health officer may take any measure deemed necessary to protect public health during situations including war and states of emergency.

“Dr. Pace has considerable power in this circumstance to make those decisions himself,” she said.

Board members on Tuesday related their own concerns about the situation.

“We’re all getting calls. This is affecting everybody’s daily life, each and every one of us,” said Board Chair Moke Simon.

Simon said he felt the board needed to lock the county down for the next two to three weeks to try to stop the virus’ spread, adding he didn’t want to look back and wonder what would have happened if they had just listened.

He said he also got yelled at as he left his house to go to the meeting that morning, explaining that his elderly father has health conditions that make him vulnerable.

“I hope we are overreacting,” said Simon.

Supervisor Rob Brown said he’s concerned about local businesses, and warned of the shelter in place and resulting shutdowns, “It’s going to get old really quick,” and some businesses may reopen in spite of the order.

Brown also reported that he’s meeting on Thursday with members of the business community in order to come back to the board with recommendations about how to help that group.

Supervisor Bruno Sabatier told Pace he’s available to help him.

Sabatier said his family members who live in rural France have reported activity similar to that seen in Lake County in recent days – people migrating from the city.

More cases reported around the region

As Pace was giving his report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning, the Napa County Public Health Department confirmed its third local case of COVID-19. It had reported its first two cases on Sunday.

Then came an announcement from Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich that a third resident of Humboldt County had tested positive for COVID-19.

Frankovich said the individual had recently traveled internationally but not to a country that had been flagged as high risk.

“Really, there is no international travel that can be considered safe right now,” Frankovich said, adding that the individual was traveling with a group. Health officials are reaching out to all members of the group and conducting a comprehensive investigation of possible contacts.

Later on Tuesday, the county of Lake shuttered all county-owned parks as part of Pace’s shelter in place order. The cities of Clearlake and Lakeport have similarly closed their parks.

Then, on Tuesday night, Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan issued a revised shelter in place order which included a stricter list of essential businesses to align with the state stay at home order and closure of all parks within Mendocino County.

The revision came as Doohan confirmed the second case of COVID-19 in Mendocino County on Tuesday.

“This case is related to high-risk travel and it does not appear to indicate community spread,” said Doohan. “This person is on home isolation and does not pose a risk to the public and will be actively monitored by public health officials along with their primary healthcare provider.”

As for other counties surrounding Lake, as of Tuesday night Colusa and Glenn County reported that they have no confirmed cases, Yolo County had 10 confirmed cases and one death, and Sonoma County had 34 cases and one death.

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

To reduce the risks of COVID-19 in correctional settings, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday issued an executive order directing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation secretary to temporarily halt the intake and/or transfer of inmates and youth into the state’s 35 prisons and four youth correctional facilities.

Those inmates and youth will remain in county custody for the next 30 days. This period can be extended if needed.

This action builds on the state and local correctional and public safety leaders’ longstanding partnership, to protect public health and safety in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

The emergency authority is granted to the governor under the Emergency Services Act and to the CDCR Secretary under Cal Penal Code section 2900(b).

“The state of California is responding in real-time and fighting hard to deploy every resource to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and we are working with our public health experts, corrections system and our local sheriff’s departments to ensure proper protocols and procedures are in place to effectively limit risks in correctional facilities,” said Gov. Newsom.

Additionally, the executive order directs the Board of Parole Hearings to develop a process to conduct all scheduled parole suitability hearings through videoconferencing starting no later than April 13, 2020, and for the next 60 days.

That process would facilitate remote participation of those typically in attendance, including staff, parole board members, victims, families and their representatives, inmates, attorneys and others.

The order was issued to protect the health, safety and welfare of state inmates, youth, and staff following the recent confirmed COVID-19 cases in four separate state prisons affecting five correctional officers and one inmate.

A copy of the Governor’s executive order is below.



3.24.20-EO-N-36-20-text by LakeCoNews on Scribd

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