LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss plans for a new commercial building and review conditions for an existing business.

The commission will meet beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

On the agenda is an application for an architectural and design review for construction of an 11,026-square-foot commercial building on a vacant half-acre parcel located at 244 Peckham Court.

The one-story building, proposed by Market Street Development LLC of Roseville, would be a medical clinic consisting of a kidney dialysis center.

The commission also will review conditions of approval – specifically, removal of a cargo container – for the architectural and design review for Lakeport Napa Auto Parts.

In other business, the commission will get a list of current Planning Department pending approval as of March 9.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – In an effort to reduce the number of biting adult mosquitoes emerging this spring, the Lake County Vector Control District will be making an aerial treatment to the marshlands adjacent to the lake between Clear Lake State Park and Lakeport, parts of Anderson Marsh State Park, and a small section east of the Clear Lake Keys.

The treatment is expected to begin at 10 a.m. Friday, March 17, but may be rescheduled for Monday, March 20, if the weather prevents safe application.

If the application is canceled or rescheduled, that information will be posted on the district’s Web site, www.lcvcd.org .

The district’s winter mosquito surveillance program has detected large numbers of mosquito larvae in the marshlands along the perimeter of the lake that flooded as the lake rose due to the abundant rain this winter.

These mosquito larvae are an early-season floodwater species (Aedes increpitus) that hatch from eggs laid in the mud in previous years as the lake receded.

When winter rains flooded the eggs, the larvae hatched and began developing in the still, shallow water. As temperatures and day length increase in early spring, the Ae. increpitus mosquito larvae will pupate and then emerge as biting adults.

These mosquitoes are the aggressive biters experienced every spring by people living and recreating near this area.

The application will be made by a yellow, bi-winged crop duster flying at a low altitude over these marshy areas. Some of the marshy areas are near homes, and people may experience a brief noise nuisance from the plane.

The product applied will be VectoBac G, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats.

VectoBac is manufactured by Valent BioSciences, and is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).

This highly effective and economical microbial insecticide is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.

Bti is highly selective for the control of mosquito larvae in water and does not affect plants, animals, or beneficial insects that live in or drink the water.

The formulation is a biodegradable solid corncob granule coated with Bti. The Bti breaks down rapidly in nature so there is no persistence of the active ingredient. The use of a solid formulation reduces the possibility of drift onto adjacent property.

The Lake County Vector Control District makes every effort to use the safest product available to minimize any health concerns the public may have.

The VectoBac G label and the safety data sheet are available from the Lake County Vector Control District’s Web site or may be requested by calling 707-263-4770.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s unemployment rate rose in January, as did nationwide jobless numbers, while California’s unemployment rate went down.

The latest report from the California Employment Development Department said Lake County’s unemployment rate in January was 7.1 percent, up from 6.7 percent in December but down from the 7.9 percent reported in January 2016.

California’s jobless rate fell slightly to 5.1 percent in January, down from 5.2 percent in December and 5.7 percent the previous January.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said unemployment nationwide rose from 4.7 percent in December to to 4.8 percent in January. The January 2016 nationwide jobless rate was 4.9 percent.

The California Employment Development Department said the state’s employers added 9,700 nonfarm payroll jobs in January, and 330,500 jobs from January 2016 to January 2017. With those gains, California has gained a total of 2,465,100 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010.

A statewide survey of 58,000 California businesses found that nonfarm jobs in California totaled 16,647,600 in January. At the same time, a federal survey of 5,500 households estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in January was 18,176,000, an increase of 11,000 from December, and up 267,000 from the employment total in January of last year.

The number of unemployed Californians was 986,000 in January – down by 13,000 over the month, and down by 90,000 compared with January of last year, the state said.

Lake County’s civilian workforce in January numbered 29,520, compared to 27,330 in December and 28,790 in January 2016. The number of unemployed Lake County residents totaled 2,100 in January, 1,970 in December and 2,270 in January 2016, according to state data.

For the month, most industries in Lake County showed losses, but on a year-over comparison, all industries showed a 5.4-percent increase.

Top industry subcategories showing gains over the year included total farm, 30.8 percent; and goods producing, 20.5 percent, with significant gains in that industry’s subcategories of mining, logging and construction, 23.1 percent, and durable goods, 62.5 percent.

Statewide, seven of 11 industry sectors added a total of 42,700 jobs in January. Educational and health services posted the largest jobs increase, with a gain of 19,800 jobs, followed by professional and business services, with a gain of 12,500 jobs. Other sectors adding jobs over the month were manufacturing; information; financial activities; other services; and government.

Four industry sectors – mining and logging; construction; trade, transportation and utilities; and leisure and hospitality – reported job declines over the month, down a total of 33,000 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities posted the largest decrease over the month, down by 21,100 jobs, the state said.

In a year-over-year comparison – January 2016 to January 2017 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 330,500 jobs, a 2-percent increase, the Employment Development Department said.

Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 338,200 jobs year-over. The largest job gains on a numerical basis were in educational and health services, up 92,600 jobs, a 3.7-percent increase, and government, up 59,700 jobs, a 2.4-percent increase, the state reported.

Other sectors the state said added jobs over the year were construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

The Employment Development Department said two industry sectors – mining and logging, and manufacturing – posted job declines over the year, down a total of 7,700 jobs. Manufacturing employment fell by 4,800 jobs (down 0.4 percent), while mining and logging was down by 2,900 jobs (an 11.0 percent decrease).

Lake County’s January unemployment numbers ranked it No. 31 statewide, with San Mateo County registering the lowest, 2.9 percent, and the highest, 23.6 percent, was in Colusa County.

The Employment Development Department reported that there were 386,875 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the January survey week, compared with 367,944 in December and 410,293 in January of last year.

At the same time, new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 62,201 in January, compared with 52,953 in December and 53,682 in January of last year, the agency reported.

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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – After being closed for more than a month, Clear Lake State Park is reopening to day use and boating on Wednesday, but the recent flooding has necessitated repairs to campgrounds that could take months, with some facilities not expected to open until next spring.

On Feb. 9 the park was closed due to flooding of main park roads, campgrounds, cabins, boat launch, day use and restroom facilities, as Lake County News has reported.

With the waters now receding, Park Superintendent Bill Salata said the park will reopen for day use starting on Wednesday, with day use hours from sunrise to sunset.

However, Salata said campgrounds and cabins remain closed due to flooding and storm damage.

Clear Lake’s level continues to steadily recede. Early Wednesday, it was just under 8.4 feet Rumsey. Flood stage is 9 feet Rumsey.

Salata said the reopening of the campgrounds is still undetermined. That’s because park staffers haven’t been able to fully evaluate the erosion and facilities damage from the flooding due to some areas still being underwater.

He said the Cole Creek campground, which still has some standing water, along with Upper Bayview campground and Lower Bayview Campground are closed until June 1, due to needing to do repair work that requires digging up the roadway. Once the main park road is evaluated, those campgrounds can be reopened.

Kelsey Creek campground, which is still partially underwater, is expected to be closed until March 2018, he said, noting closures may be extended if additional damage is identified.

“We still have picnic tables floating, and we have about 50 trees down,” he said.

Those picnic tables, which range in weight from 500 to 800 pounds, are at the water’s edge in the Kelsey Slough. Salata said it is expected to take until the end of the summer to retrieve all of those picnic tables.

There also are crushed tables and lifted blacktop, and the need to assess the condition of the park’s sewer and fresh water system. He said that will require digging up parts of the roadway in order to access fresh water lateral lines.

There are concerns that driving through the park could further damage roads and infrastructure, he said.

Salata put the damage estimate to the park’s facilities in excess of $100,000. “I imagine that number is going to double.”

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He said park staff is now cutting down trees, trying to clean the roads and cleaning facilities for day use, which is a priority.

“The amount of work right now is overwhelming,” he said.

In order to complete repairs, Salata said State Parks has an interagency agreement with the California Conservation Corp which starts at the end of the month, and they’re working on an amendment with Cal Fire for use of its inmate crews to begin this month.

Salata, who has been at Clear Lake State Park for the last eight years, hasn’t seen this kind of damage previously during his tenure.

However, he said the facility was seriously damaged in the 1998 flood, when Clear Lake’s elevation topped 11.4 feet on the Rumsey gauge, nearly a food higher than its peak level in February. At that time, the park didn’t have gates to close and some of the other infrastructure it now has.

He said he’s added gates to keep the public safe and to allow for making closure when necessary.

Salata said Clear Lake State Park has about 200,000 visitors a year between Memorial Day and Labor Day. During the “shoulder season” last spring, they had 300 to 500 people people a day using the park thanks to the crappie fishing.

“Our numbers are higher than they have ever been in history, up until this winter,” Salata said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On the same day that the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the possible impacts of a new law to replace the Affordable Care Act, the California Senate and Congressman Mike Thompson, whose district represents a portion of Lake County, both separately demanded Congress abandon the new plan.

The Congressional Budget Office’s report, released Monday, estimated that 14 million people would lose their health coverage in the next year under the GOP’s repeal. That number would rise to 21 million in 2020 and 24 million by  2026.

The report showed that the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over the 2017 to 2026 period. Outlays would be reduced by a $1.2 trillion decrease in direct spending over the period, and revenues would be reduced by $883 billion.

On Monday afternoon, the California State Senate passed Senate Resolution 26, calling on Congress to reject the ACA repeal unless it’s replaced with a plan that ensures that not one American will lose coverage and that coverage will be more affordable and of higher quality for all Americans.

“I believe that our president is wrong – the Affordable Care Act is not failing, in fact it is succeeding wildly in California,” said Sen. Mike McGuire, whose district includes Lake County. “I proudly represent a rural part of California, and repealing the ACA will put the lives of rural California residents at risk. For example, a senior resident in a small, rural California county will have to pay several thousand dollars more per year out of her own pocket under ‘President Trump Care.’ This is unacceptable.”

California has experienced the largest percentage point decline in the uninsured rate of any state – a significant drop from 17.2 percent in 2013 to 7.1 percent in 2016, McGuire’s office reported.

On Monday, Congressman Thompson called the repeal effort “reckless” and demanded that his colleagues in Congress abandon the plan.

“The president and Republican leadership would rip health care away from hardworking families and seniors in order to give tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations,” Thompson said. “It’s extremely telling that the very first section in their bill does not address rising out-of-pocket costs, access to doctors, or any of the challenges real Americans face. Instead, it gives a big tax cut to insurance companies that pay their executives multimillion dollar salaries.”

Thompson added, “The CBO’s report makes it clear that gutting our health care system will not bring prices down or help more Americans afford insurance. Instead, it will snatch coverage away from those who need it the most.”

He said more Americans will be forced to go without health care – or rely on emergency services in a time of crisis. “If they can’t afford the bills, American taxpayers will have to pick up the costs – all so big businesses can get tax cuts on their bonuses. This isn’t health care. It’s wealth care.”

Thompson told reporters last week, on the day the new American Health Care Act was released, that he was concerned about the potential threats to the three million jobs created under the Affordable Care Act – 350,000 of them in California alone.

He said the new bill also weakens Medicare, and takes two years off the Medicare Trust Fund, which the Affordable Care Act extended.

The tax provisions in the American Health Care Act will be a windfall to some corporations and billionaires, while middle-income and lower-income Americans will be hit, Thompson said.

He also was worried about how quickly the bill could get through the House of Representatives, with Republican leadership wanting to have it voted out of the House by April. “The House looks like it’s going to blow this thing right through.”

Thompson said he doesn’t expect the bill will get the same open and transparent hearing process that the Affordable Care Act had. There are expected to be very few hearings on the bill, compared to the 79 held on the Affordable Care Act.

“That’s kind of a sad way to do business,” and deprives the American people of knowing what’s in the bill, Thompson said.

Thompson held four town hall meetings around his district on the bill. “There’s a lot of interest in this out in the communities,” he said, adding that he had to turn away hundreds of people due to space.

In Santa Rosa, he got a larger venue – the gym at Piner High School – and had 2,000 people show up.

“This is something that the American people care about,” he said.

On Wednesday, Thompson introduced an amendment at the Committee on Ways and Means to allow states to keep their existing health care system rather than repeal it, and provide states the option to retain their existing marketplaces, benefit protections, and cost sharing and premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. However, Republicans rejected the proposal.

In his written testimony to the Committee, Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California, said, “The Affordable Care Act is working and we at Covered California have built a sustainable and competitive marketplace. In addition to our 1.4 million consumers, approximately 900,000 Californians who do not get subsidies benefit from the lower rates, protections and the more consumer-centric competitive marketplace that we foster.”

On Monday, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones also weighed in the proposed legislation, which he called “Trumpcare.”
 
“The Congressional Budget Office analysis is further proof that the House GOP proposal to repeal the ACA and Trumpcare bill is bad for Californians and Americans. The CBO's independent, nonpartisan and objective analysis shows that the House GOP proposal will not even come close to delivering on their promises,” Jones said.
 
“The Affordable Care Act successfully provided 20 million previously uninsured Americans with health coverage. Because of the ACA, today more Americans have health insurance than at any time in our nation's history. However, under the House GOP proposal, that progress will be abandoned, and reversed,” he added.
 
Jones said the House GOP proposal caps federal Medicaid assistance to states and the tax credits available to working families and eliminates the cost-sharing assistance enjoyed by half of those getting a premium subsidy through Covered California.

He said it also raises the price of insurance for seniors and eliminates essential benefits requirements.

“This flawed proposal puts coverage out of reach for many who are currently insured, failing to deliver on President Trump's promise of 'insurance for everybody,’” Jones said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

c Bo American Healthcare Act by LakeCoNews on Scribd

AmericanHealthCareAct Budget by LakeCoNews on Scribd