LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Forecasters are predicting more rain and mountain snow and colder temperatures early this week, with the potential for more rain and snow late in the week.
The National Weather Service said a weather front moving across northwest California was responsible for the rain, snow in higher elevations and gusty winds on Sunday.
The National Weather Service’s observation stations reported the following 24-hour rainfall totals in inches through 1 a.m. Monday in Lake County:
– Bartlett Springs: 0.72. – Cache Creek near Lower Lake: 0.23. – County line (at Colusa side): 0.08. – Hidden Valley Lake: 0.50. – Kelseyville: 0.40. – Knoxville Creek: 0.26. – Lyons Valley (northwest of Lakeport): 0.30. – Soda Creek: 0.53. – Upper Lake: 0.44. – Whispering Pines: 0.52.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for areas including northern Lake County through 11 a.m. Monday due to the forecast for snow down to the 1,500-foot elevation level.
On Monday, rain is expected early, with the potential for light and isolated showers later in the day before conditions clear as a weather trough moves out of the North Coast and high pressure starts to build in, the National Weather Service said.
Winds of close to 20 miles per hour are forecast for Monday, with gusts of 23 miles per hour, forecasters said.
The forecast calls for chilly temperatures in Lake County and across the region on Monday night and into Tuesday, with the potential for a hard freeze. Tuesday night into Wednesday also will be cold.
The National Weather Service reported that, starting on Thursday, an upper level trough is expected to bring more rain and mountain snow to the area. Snowfall is expected to remain above 3,500 to 4,500 feet, with rainfall amounts looking to be modest.
A “generally wet pattern” is expected to continue through the weekend, the forecast said.
The specific Lake County forecast said chances of rain are in the forecast from Wednesday night through Sunday.
Daytime temperatures this week will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s, with nighttime temperatures down into the 30s.
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.
This young female domestic long hair cat is in cat room kennel No. 11, ID No. 14320. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic long hair
This young female domestic long hair cat has a gray and white coat and gold eyes.
She is in cat room kennel No. 11, ID No. 14320.
This male tuxedo cat is in cat room kennel No. 39, ID No. 14359. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male tuxedo cat
This male tuxedo cat has a short black and white coat and green eyes.
He is in cat room kennel No. 39, ID No. 14359.
“Buddy” is a male domestic short hair cat in cat room kennel No. 100, ID No. 14384. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Buddy’
“Buddy” is a male domestic short hair cat with a flame point and white coat and blue eyes.
He has been neutered.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 100, ID No. 14384.
“Fifty-Fifty” is a male orange tabby in cat room kennel No. 123, ID No. 14401. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Fifty-Fifty’
“Fifty-Fifty” is a male orange tabby with a short coat.
He has been neutered.
He is in cat room kennel No. 123, ID No. 14401.
“Boots” is a male domestic short hair cat in cat room kennel No. 135, ID No. 14400. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Boots’
“Boots” is a male domestic short hair cat with a black and white coat and green eyes.
He has been neutered.
He is in cat room kennel No. 135, ID No. 14400.
This male domestic short hair cat is in cat room kennel No. 142, ID No. 14386. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic short hair cat
This male domestic short hair cat has a black and white coat and green eyes.
He has been neutered.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 142, ID No. 14386.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has four dogs ready to be adopted this week.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of basset hound, border collie, boxer and pit bull.
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”).
This female boxer-pit bull mix is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 14356. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
Boxer-pit bull terrier mix
This female boxer-pit bull mix has a short red coat.
She is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 14356.
This young female border collie mix is in kennel No. 19, ID No. 14414. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female border collie mix
This young female border collie mix has a medium-length black and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. 14414.
This senior male pit bull terrier is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14392. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull terrier
This senior male pit bull terrier has a short tan and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14392.
“Molly” is a senior female basset hound in kennel No. 27, ID No. 14410. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Molly’
“Molly” is a senior female basset hound with a short tan and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 14410.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a public hearing on declaring a county-owned property as surplus as part of a land swap with the state that’s meant to acquire the Lakeport Armory for a new sheriff’s administrative headquarters.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 16, and will be available to the public virtually only. 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.
The meeting ID is 934 3430 2193, password 103183. The meeting also can be accessed via on tap mobile at +16699006833,,93434302193#,,,,*103183#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and passcode information above.
Chromebook devices are also available at the Lakeport and Clearlake Library branches, which will open early on Tuesday. Chromebooks can be checked out for three hours for use on the library premises and contactless pickup is available. The Lakeport Library Branch can be reached at 707-263-8817, and Clearlake at 707-994-5115.
WiFi is accessible in the parking lot of each County Library Branch, so residents can park at these locations to use WiFi on borrowed or personal devices, by connecting to the “Lake County Library” network (no password) anytime from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
While the board chambers remain closed, outdoor viewing and participation are also available during each meeting on the Third Street side of the courthouse building. 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 9:06 a.m., the board will get an update on COVID-19 from Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace.
At 9:15 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing to consider resolutions declaring county-owned real property at 15837 18th Ave. in Clearlake as surplus and authorizing the development and execution of a property exchange agreement with the state of California as part of the proposed real property exchange to acquire the Lakeport Armory property at 1431 Hoyt Ave.
In January, the board gave county staff the go-ahead to finalize the plan in collaboration with the state, as Lake County News has reported.
That was followed by the Clearlake Planning Commission and the Lake County Planning Commission separately adopting general plan conformity reports later in January.
In addition to giving the Lake County Sheriff’s Office a larger and more modern headquarters than it now has, the state would use the 15.5-acre property in Clearlake for an affordable housing development.
In other business, at 10:15 a.m., the board will present a proclamation declaring March as March for Meals Month, to be followed at 10:16 a.m. by a proclamation designating March as American Red Cross Month.
In an untimed item, the board will consider a $26,000 funding allocation to the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority.
Supervisors Moke Simon and Jessica Pyska, who are the Risk Reduction Authority chair and vice chair, respectively, wrote a memo to the board that explained that the authority, originally created in 2018, “was formed to support the entire Lake County community through the effective use of the authority of local governments, implement programs offering low-or no-cost risk reduction resources to the public, the development of funding to implement and maintain such programs, and to provide informational and educational resources to the public so that they are better able to assess and manage these risks.”
They said that in order to achieve its mission and priorities, the authority is seeking support to procure applicable grants and engage in additional fundraising activity, with the requested $26,000 to help provide initial funding for these services.
Going forward, they said, it’s the authority’s intent “that future funding for these services will be supported by those grants acquired in the first year.”
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt proclamation for March of Meals 2021.
5.2: Adopt proclamation designating March 2021 as American Red Cross Month.
5.3: Approve letter supporting SB59.
5.4: Approve letter of support to Sen. McGuire for Senate Bill 685 - Employment of Minors in Agricultural Packing Plants.
5.6: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings on March 2 and March 9.
5.7: Approve late travel claim for poll worker Lorelei Franco in the amount of $28.47 and authorize the auditor-controller to process payment.
5.8: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2021-17 establishing position allocations for fiscal year to conform to the mid-year recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2020-2021, revising salaries for Budget Unit 8695, Special Districts.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.
6.3, 9:15 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of resolution declaring county-owned real property as surplus and proposed real property exchange.
6.4, 10:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation for March of Meals 2021.
6.5, 10:16 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating March 2021 as American Red Cross Month.
6.6, 10:30 a.m.: Consideration of update from treasurer-tax collector on tax sale, investment advisor request for proposals and investment policy.
6.7, 10:50 a.m.: Consideration of (a) resolution regarding early activations for cannabis cultivation (b) new ad hoc committee to review, revise, and revamp the cannabis cultivation ordinance of Chapter 21, Article 27.13 (at).
6.8, 11:30 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of public hearing regarding the intent to vacate a roadway known as Arabian Lane (CR#148D) in the Hidden Valley Lake Area to March 23 at 9:45 a.m.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of $26,000 funding allocation to the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority.
7.3: Consideration of the following advisory board appointments: Audit Committee and Western Region Town Hall.
7.4: Consideration of resolution authorizing the Public Works director to sign the notice of completion for the Lampson Field Airport Runway 10-28 Asphalt Slurry Seal Rehabilitation Project. AIP No. 3-06-0117-019-2018; Bid No. 19-11.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Center for Biological Diversity v. County of Lake, et al.
8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): California Native Plant Society v. County of Lake, et al.
8.4: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9 (d)(2)(e)(3): Claim of Earthways Inc.
8.5: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation, existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section54956.9 (d)(1): Sabalone v. County of Lake.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two people were reported to have died in a head-on vehicle crash near Middletown late Saturday night.
The crash occurred on Highway 29 near the entrance to the Bar X Ranch north of Middletown shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol and radio reports.
The wreck involved what the CHP described as a white van and a black pickup truck.
Authorities arriving at the scene found the highway completely blocked, with major injuries to two people who were trapped in one of the vehicles.
An air ambulance was requested to land at the Middletown Fire Station, with the CHP’s H-32 helicopter responding from Napa County. Oher air ambulances said they couldn’t take the flight due to weather, based on radio reports.
Just after 11:30 p.m., one of the trapped patients was reported to have died and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was requested to send a coroner.
As firefighters continued to extricate the second patient, incident command asked Cal Fire Dispatch to notify Caltrans about the need for an extended closure of the highway.
The CHP helicopter had already landed at the fire station when, just before 12:10 a.m. Sunday, firefighters finished extricating the second patient and incident command confirmed the second death over the radio.
Incident command reported just before 1 a.m. that Caltrans would need light towers and heavy debris removal equipment to clear the highway.
At that point, incident command said work was expected to continue at the crash scene for several hours.
More information will be published as it becomes available.
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.
Look up to the night sky just before dawn, or after dusk, and you might see a faint column of light extending up from the horizon.
That luminous glow is the zodiacal light, or sunlight reflected toward Earth by a cloud of tiny dust particles orbiting the Sun.
Astronomers have long thought that the dust is brought into the inner solar system by a few of the asteroid and comet families that venture in from afar.
But now, a team of Juno scientists argues that Mars may be the culprit. They first published their finding online on Nov. 11, 2020, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, with a final peer-reviewed paper published on March 9, 2021.
An instrument aboard the Juno spacecraft serendipitously detected dust particles slamming into the spacecraft during its journey from Earth to Jupiter.
The impacts provided important clues to the origin and orbital evolution of the dust, resolving some mysterious variations of the zodiacal light.
Though their discovery has big implications, the scientists who spent years studying cosmic debris did not set out to do so. “I never thought we’d be looking for interplanetary dust,” said John Leif Jørgensen, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark.
Jørgensen designed the four star trackers that are part of Juno’s magnetometer investigation. These onboard cameras snap photos of the sky every quarter of a second to determine Juno’s orientation in space by recognizing star patterns in its images — an engineering task essential to the magnetometer’s accuracy.
But Jørgensen hoped his cameras might also catch sight of an undiscovered asteroid. So he programmed one camera to report things that appeared in multiple consecutive images but weren’t in the catalog of known celestial objects.
He didn’t expect to see much: Nearly all objects in the sky are accounted for in the star catalog. So when the camera started beaming down thousands of images of unidentifiable objects — streaks appearing then mysteriously disappearing — Jørgensen and his colleagues were baffled. “We were looking at the images and saying, ‘What could this be?’” he said.
An illustration shows NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it entered orbit of Jupiter on July 4, 2016, after traveling for nearly five years and more than 1.7 billion miles. Credits: NASA/JPL/SwRI. Jørgensen and his team considered many plausible and some implausible causes. There was the unnerving possibility that the star camera had caught a leaking fuel tank on Juno. “We thought, ‘Something is really wrong,’” Jørgensen said. “The images looked like someone was shaking a dusty tablecloth out their window.”
It wasn’t until the researchers calculated the apparent size and velocity of the objects in the images that they finally realized something: Dust grains had smashed into Juno at about 10,000 miles (or 16,000 kilometers) per hour, chipping off submillimeter pieces.
“Even though we’re talking about objects with only a tiny bit of mass, they pack a mean punch,” said Jack Connerney, Juno’s magnetometer investigation lead, and the mission’s deputy principal investigator, who’s based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
As it turned out, the spray of debris was coming from Juno’s expansive solar panels — the biggest and most sensitive unintended dust detector ever built.
“Each piece of debris we tracked records the impact of an interplanetary dust particle, allowing us to compile a distribution of dust along Juno’s path,” Connerney said. Juno launched in 2011. After a deep-space maneuver in the asteroid belt in 2012, it returned to the inner solar system for an Earth gravity assist in 2013, which catapulted the spacecraft towards Jupiter.
This visualization shows NASA’s Juno’s spacecraft on its five-year flight path to Jupiter, beginning with its launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2011.
Connerney and Jørgensen noticed that the majority of dust impacts were recorded between Earth and the asteroid belt, with gaps in the distribution related to the influence of Jupiter’s gravity. According to the scientists, this was a radical revelation.
Before now, scientists have been unable to measure the distribution of these dust particles in space. Dedicated dust detectors have had limited collection areas and thus limited sensitivity to a sparse population of dust. They mostly count the more abundant and much smaller dust particles from interstellar space. In comparison, Juno’s expansive solar panels have 1,000 times more collection area than most dust detectors.
Juno scientists determined that the dust cloud ends at Earth because Earth’s gravity sucks up all the dust that gets near it. “That’s the dust we see as zodiacal light,” Jørgensen said.
As for the outer edge, around 2 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun (1 AU is the distance between Earth and the Sun), it ends just beyond Mars. At that point, the scientists report, the influence of Jupiter’s gravity acts as a barrier, preventing dust particles from crossing from the inner solar system into deep space. This same phenomenon, known as orbital resonance, also works the other way, where it blocks dust originating in deep space from passing into the inner solar system.
The profound influence of the gravity barrier indicates that the dust particles are in a nearly circular orbit around the Sun, Jørgensen said. “And the only object we know of in almost circular orbit around 2 AU is Mars, so the natural thought is that Mars is a source of this dust,” he said.
This photo shows the zodiacal light as it appeared on March 1, 2021, in Skull Valley, Utah. The Pleiades star cluster is visible near the top of the light column. Mars is just below that. Credits: NASA/Bill Dunford. “The distribution of dust that we measure better be consistent with the variation of zodiacal light that has been observed,” Connerney said.
The researchers developed a computer model to predict the light reflected by the dust cloud, dispersed by gravitational interaction with Jupiter that scatters the dust into a thicker disk.
The scattering depends only on two quantities: the dust inclination to the ecliptic and its orbital eccentricity. When the researchers plugged in the orbital elements of Mars, the distribution accurately predicted the tell-tale signature of the variation of zodiacal light near the ecliptic.
“That is, in my view, a confirmation that we know exactly how these particles are orbiting in our solar system,” Connerney said, “and where they originate.”
While there is good evidence now that Mars, the dustiest planet we know of, is the source of the zodiacal light, Jørgensen and his colleagues cannot yet explain how the dust could have escaped the grip of Martian gravity. They hope other scientists will help them.
In the meantime, the researchers note that finding the true distribution and density of dust particles in the solar system will help engineers design spacecraft materials that can better withstand dust impacts. Knowing the precise distribution of dust may also guide the design of flight paths for future spacecraft in order to avoid the highest concentration of particles. Tiny particles traveling at such high velocities can gouge up to 1,000 times their mass from a spacecraft.
Juno’s solar arrays escaped harm because the solar cells are well protected against impact on the back — or dark — side of the array by the support structure.
Lonnie Shekhtman works for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council will be updated this week by the Public Health officer on the COVID-19 pandemic, will discuss goals for the coming fiscal year and consider approving a contract for a sewer main project.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 16.
The meeting will be by teleconference only. The city council chambers will not be open to the public.
The agenda can be found here and is published below.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799. The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; 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, March 16.
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.
On Tuesday, Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace will update the council on the COVID-19 situation in Lake County.
The council also will present a proclamation honoring Pace for his leadership during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Pace is stepping down from his position with the county effective April 16.
Under council business, City Manager Kevin Ingram will ask for the council’s approval of the top 12 priorities developed at the March 9 council workshop and presented in the staff report for inclusion in the 2021-22 draft budget.
The goals, shown on pages 22 and 23 of the agenda packet, are as follows:
1. Enhance the historic downtown and lakefront area through improving wayfinding signage downtown, rehabilitation of the Silveira Community Center to allow wider access by the community for events and programs, and support the efforts for the construction of the Lakefront Park.
2. Continue efforts outlined in the Hotel Feasibility Study and Lakeport Lakefront Revitalization Plan to attract a full service lodging facility with dining and conference amenities.
3. Development of a strategic plan for the creation of a City Parks & Recreation Department.
4. Amend city ordinances to permit cannabis retailers and other commercial cannabis activities.
5. Establish policies to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion.
6. Greater engagement with Lakeport Main Street Association roles and activities; increase the visibility of local businesses on social media; encourage ways to increase foot-traffic to downtown businesses and fill vacant storefronts.
7. Consider the adoption of a Property Maintenance Ordinance.
8. Maintain appropriate Staffing in Police Operations, Records and Evidence Divisions and Technology needs related to the same.
9. Develop and implement strategy to decrease Unfunded actual liabilities for pensions and other post-employment benefits.
10. Begin the construction of Lakefront Park.
11. Complete annexation of South Main Street.
12. Expand retail opportunities throughout the City with emphasis on clothing and general retail.
Also on Tuesday, Public Works Director Doug Grider will seek the council’s approval of a $725,000 construction contract to AFelix General Engineering Inc. dba WestPac Construction for the 2021 Sewer Main Rehabilitation Project.
On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances, minutes of the regular council meeting on March 2 and the special meeting on March 9; the Feb. 25 warrant register; and adoption of a resolution accepting construction of the Second Street Sidewalk Improvements, Bid 19-07 by Team Ghilotti Inc., and authorize the filing of the notice of completion.
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.
About 46 million Americans – 14% of the nation’s inhabitants – are currently classified as living in rural areas. That number could jump to 64 million – an increase of nearly 40% – without anyone moving into a new home. That could actually hurt small cities and rural communities across the country.
The main dividing line is between communities – which include both towns and cities and their surrounding counties – with more than 50,000 people and those with fewer than that number. Over the past 70 years, the number of areas with at least that many people has increased from 168 to 384 as small towns have grown into small cities. For example, from 1950 to 2010, the population of Lawrence, Kansas, grew from 23,351 to 87,643.
Under the current definition, Colbert County, Alabama – population 54,428 – is in the same category as Los Angeles County – population over 10 million. As the Trump administration ended, federal officials decided some more nuance would be useful in understanding American communities. They proposed to change the dividing line to populations of more than 100,000 – and the effort appears to be continuing under the Biden administration.
That change would effectively move everyone who lives in places with 50,000 to 100,000 from urban to rural life, because their cities, including San Luis Obispo, California, and Battle Creek, Michigan, will no longer be considered large enough to count as metropolitan.
Redefining rural
The government doesn’t specifically use this system to label places as “urban” or “rural.” Instead, there are three government categories – “metropolitan,” “micropolitan” and “outside a core based statistical area.” However, most government agencies, researchers, advocates and media outlets use these classifications to sort communities into two groups – equating “metropolitan” with “urban” and the other two categories together as “rural.”
Making the proposed change would mean 144 areas with populations between 50,000 and 100,000, and the 251 counties they occupy, would no longer be classified as “metropolitan,” but rather as “micropolitan” – and therefore effectively rural – including Flagstaff, Arizona, and Blacksburg, Virginia. The change would leave Wyoming without any metropolitan areas at all.
The Office of Management and Budget is accepting comments about this proposed change until March 19.
But if the homes and communities of 18 million more Americans are added to those rural statistics, the numbers could look better. That rosier picture – which would not be the result of any actual changes to Americans’ lives – could reduce public and political pressure to improve life in rural communities.
It’s also not clear whether 100,000 is the right boundary for urban living – or of there is an exact number at all. To people in major cities, a community of 80,000 like Santa Fe, New Mexico, may be more similar to the 22,000-person Roseburg, Oregon, than to Chicago or Miami. To a rancher on the Plains, with fewer than one person per square mile, though, Santa Fe may qualify as a “big city,” with chain stores, hospitals and government offices.
The change could make many small American cities, which would be newly identified as rural, ineligible for money to help community planning and public transit – even if they currently get that money.
Communities currently designated as rural may be hurt, too. If Congress and states don’t allocate more funds to serve the increased number of people classified as living in rural areas, the money that is available – like rural health grants – would be spread more thinly.
Lakeport City Councilwoman Mireya Turner. Photo courtesy of the city of Lakeport. LAKEPORT, Calif. – The National League of Cities has announced the election of Lakeport City Councilmember Mireya Turner to three committees within the organization that is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.
Turner is serving her second term on the Lakeport City Council. During her time on the council, she also has served as mayor.
“I am honored to serve on these committees, and am excited to take the rural, small city voice of Lakeport to the national table on these important issues,” Turner told Lake County News.
In addition to her efforts on behalf of the city of Lakeport, Turner is the planning manager for the city of Ukiah.
National League of Cities, or NLC, committees and councils bring together leaders from communities that are similar in size, type or another important characteristic.
Turner will represent the city of Lakeport and the Redwood Empire Division of the League.
“These appointments are a big deal for Lakeport to be represented at the national level by Councilmember Turner. We appreciate and applaud her engagement with the NLC’s advocacy efforts,” said City Manager Kevin Ingram.
The Community and Economic Development Committee is responsible for developing policy positions and leading NLC’s advocacy on issues involving housing, community and economic development, land use, recreation and parks, historic preservation and international competitiveness.
In addition, the committee leads efforts in support of federal grant programs that support these activities, including the Community Development Block Grant program.
Turner was elected to a one-year term, announced by NLC President Kathy Maness, councilmember for Lexington, South Carolina.
“Our member councils are the voices of what’s happening on the ground in our communities,” said Maness. “I am proud to have Mireya Turner join these committees on behalf of her residents and the region.”
The Race, Equity and Leadership, or REAL, Council provides a space for local elected officials to connect on building equitable communities.
The leadership of the REAL Council offers tangible insights and opportunities to apply a racial equity lens within cities and within each NLC leadership structure.
As a member of the Small Cities Council, or SCC, Turner will participate in sharing ideas and creative solutions to challenges affecting small cities.
Small cities – those with populations of 50,000 or less – make up 80 percent of NLC membership.
The SCC advocates on behalf of America’s cities and towns before Congress, with the administration and at home.
While natural disasters and economic recessions traditionally unleash an uptick in child abuse, a new study suggests that cases may have declined in the first months of the pandemic, compared with the same timeframe in previous years.
In the study, led by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, researchers tracked the number of pediatric inpatients ages 5 and under in 52 children’s hospitals nationwide for the first eight months of 2020.
They found a steep decline in the number of ER visits and hospital admissions, including those requiring treatment for physical abuse.
This started in mid-March around the time some states issued shelter-in-place orders – according to the study, which publishes March 1, 2021, in Pediatrics.
When the researchers looked at the proportion of patients whose abuse had resulted in admission to the ICU and other markers of severe injury, in the period from March 16 to Aug. 31, they found little difference between the same period for prior years.
“If the proportion of children diagnosed with more severe abusive injuries had increased during the pandemic, this would indicate that declines in physical abuse were driven by children with less severe abusive injuries not presenting for medical care or being missed by clinicians,” said first author Sunitha Kaiser, MD, a pediatric hospitalist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and associate professor in the UCSF departments of pediatrics, and epidemiology and biostatistics.
“Instead, we found the severity of injuries was similar to pre-pandemic levels, which suggests that physical abuse may have decreased similarly across the full spectrum of severity,” she said.
The researchers found that there was a lower percentage of physically abused infants needing ICU care during the pandemic period compared to the same timeframe in previous years: 15.4 percent versus 21.3 percent. The study found little difference between those timeframes in the proportion of abused children who had died in the hospital (about 2 percent), and the proportion of abused children admitted for abusive head trauma.
CARES, eviction protections may have prevented child abuse
While further studies may reveal different patterns, including the possibility that evidence of abuse may not be apparent for months to follow, Kaiser suggests that interventions such as financial stipends from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act and eviction protections may have alleviated adult stress, preventing spikes in violence toward children.
“Our take-home message is that policies that help reduce stress on families should continue to be prioritized to prevent unnecessary harms to children. Clinicians, teachers and caretakers should also continue to be very vigilant in suspecting and reporting potential abuse, because we know it is historically under-detected and under-reported.”
Other explanations for the study’s findings include failure by clinicians to identify abuse, a scenario that Kaiser says is less likely, because patient volumes had dropped during the pandemic enabling doctors to potentially dedicate more time to patients presenting with injuries of questionable causes.
A 2016 paper cited in the study found that the rate of abusive head trauma in children under 5 increased from 9.8 per 100,000 child years before 2007, to 15.6 per 100,000 child years during the recession of 2007 to 2009.
Co-Authors: Senior author is Henry T. Puls, MD, of Children’s Mercy Kansas City. A full list of co-authors is available online.
The Department of Water Resources has released the draft California’s Groundwater – Update 2020, containing information on the condition of the state’s groundwater, which is especially important as California faces a critically dry water year.
DWR encourages community members and water managers to review the publication and provide input.
“Water touches nearly every aspect of our lives. Groundwater provides drinking water to millions of Californians, sustains natural environments and farms, and helps support jobs,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “The information in California’s Groundwater – Update 2020 is vital to local water agencies and communities as they work on locally driven solutions for the long-term reliability of their groundwater.”
This version of California’s Groundwater provides a comprehensive look at statewide groundwater activities, compiling technical information and data from 2003 to 2020.
This bulletin recognizes the historic passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, in 2014 and builds a statewide framework to share new information and progress made by locals who are managing groundwater basins across the state.
It also highlights emerging topics such as water markets and the impacts of climate change on groundwater and summarizes groundwater information for each of the state’s 10 hydrologic regions.
The publication contains a Highlights overview section in English and Spanish, regional summaries and a detailed statewide report, which features current knowledge of groundwater resources including information on the location, characteristics, use, management status and conditions of the state’s groundwater. The publication also presents findings and recommendations that support the future management and protection of groundwater.
This information can help communities and local water managers work together to find unique ways to manage their groundwater basins for long-term reliability and support actions being implemented as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2020 California Water Resilience Portfolio.
California’s Groundwater is organized to share the growing body of groundwater data that is available now and will continue to be submitted by local agencies in the future as part of the implementation of SGMA. DWR is developing a companion California’s Groundwater web-based dashboard leveraging the California Natural Resources Agency Open Data Platform to improve the access and timeliness of statewide groundwater information, making it easily available for water managers and the public to use.
DWR will present an overview of California’s Groundwater at a public webinar meeting on March 30, 2021, at noon.
A 45-day public comment period is now open on the draft report and companion web content. All comments will be reviewed and will provide valuable feedback to DWR to improve the analysis, reporting and access to California’s groundwater information. Public comments can be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and will be accepted through April 26, 2021.
The final version of California’s Groundwater is expected to be released in summer 2021.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is inviting families across the state to participate in the fun and educational “Nature Bowl 2021: Family Challenge Edition.”
Nature Bowl has been an exciting science event for teams of third- through sixth-grade students for more than 35 years.
Last year saw the event canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, Nature Bowl has been reformatted for the times as a nature challenge to all California families with school-age students.
Just like the spring before us, it’s time for rejuvenation, time to emerge from winter hibernation, time to get outside and give your family a healthy dose of nature.
Your challenge is to work together as a family to compete in five nature-themed activities – and possibly win cool nature-related prizes.
Activity challenges:
– Nature relay: Take a scavenger hunt safari to see the natural world nearby. – Nature investigations: Discover native plants, animals in your backyard or neighborhood. – Bell ringers: Invent a fast-paced family game using Nature Bowl 2021 vocabulary. – Team problem solving: Decipher the events in 12 nature photographs. – Enviromercials: Create a 60-second ad on a current nature topic specific to California.
The Nature Bowl Family Challenge is open from March 15 through May 14.
Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at CDFW’s North Central Region to register and receive your electronic entry package with details, worksheets and resources.
