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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week will swear in its newly elected members, select the new year’s leadership and consider approving a hiring and retention program.

The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3.

Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEG TV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom.

The agenda can be found here.

Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also visit the city’s town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/327/forum_home. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.

To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments prior to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3.

Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.

The meeting will include December’s adoptable dogs, a presentation by Retail Strategies and honors to be offered to outgoing Councilman Phil Harris.

The council will consider accepting the November election results and the prelude to administering the oath of office to the newly elected council members.

Based on preliminary election results – the final results were not available as of Tuesday night – incumbent Joyce Overton was returned for another term and David Claffey was elected to his first term. Both were on the ballot. The elections office has not reported on write-in candidates.

On Thursday, the council also will select the mayor and vice mayor for 2021.

The council will then move on to consider cosigning a letter that the Board of Supervisors sent to the governor regarding the state’s recent changes to COVID-19 restrictions.

The board sent a letter to the state on Nov. 17 raising issues with the new structure, which it said impacts rural counties more harshly, and asking the state to ease up.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Lake’s growing COVID-19 caseload landed it in the state’s most restrictive tier on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora’s report said that Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, who wrote the board's letter, suggested that both the city councils of Clearlake and Lakeport sign onto the letter. On Tuesday, the Lakeport City Council offered its support for the board’s letter but chose not to sign onto it due to the developments in the last two weeks.

In other business Thursday, the council will consider a resolution to implement a hiring bonus and referral program in an effort to fill city job vacancies. The council approved such a program for police officers in 2019.

On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – are warrant registers; minutes of the Oct. 14 Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting; minutes of the Oct. 15, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19 meetings; consideration of continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; consideration of continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action March 19, 2020; consideration of Resolution No. 2020-54, approving a temporary street closure for the annual Christmas Parade adopt resolution; second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 248-2020, an Amendment to Chapter 18 of the Clearlake Municipal Code repealing and replacing the zoning ordinance hold second reading, read it by title only, waive further reading and adopt ordinance; annual calendar of meetings for 2021; consideration of amendment No. 2 to employment agreement with chief of police; and City Hall holiday closure.

After the open portion of the meeting, the council will hold a closed session to discuss existing litigation, Jane Wang v. City of Clearlake, et al. and City of Clearlake v. County of Lake, a political subdivision of the State of California, Board of Supervisors of the County of Lake, a public body of the County of Lake, Barbara C. Ringen, in her official capacity as the Treasurer-Tax Collector of the County of Lake; and Does 1 through 30, inclusive; the claim of Bliss X LLC., Robert Glasner; and property negotiations with Robert Adelman for property at 2890 Old Highway 53.

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, @LakeCo
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Acting Mendocino National Forest Supervisor Lauren Johnson has issued Forest Order No. 08-20-15 for the August Complex and Ranch fires, which opens the burned areas except for some campgrounds and trails.

The new order is effective Dec. 1, 2020, until Nov. 1, 2021.

The road system and trails in the August Complex/Ranch fire areas have been evaluated, many hazards have been removed and a considerable amount of fire suppression damage has been repaired.

While many hazards have been removed, there is no way to make the fire area entirely safe from all hazards.

Some hazards that visitors may encounter when traveling in the fire area are fire weakened trees falling, limbs dropping, burned-out “stump holes” giving way under you, during wet weather, water or mud building up quickly and large rocks dislodging and rolling without warning.

“It is important to reopen access to public lands where we can,” Johnson said. “However, we need to keep some trails and campgrounds closed as they sustained damage that will take some time to repair. We want visitors to be careful and aware of their surroundings while traveling in the burned area.”

Forest Order 08-20-15, including the order, map and list of closed trails and facilities is posted on the forest website, https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd859571.pdf.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has five kittens ready to be adopted into new homes this week.

The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.

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

This male orange tabby kitten is in cat room kennel No. 1b, ID No. 14159. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male orange tabby kitten

This male orange tabby kitten has a short coat and gold eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 1b, ID No. 14159.

This male brown tabby kitten is in cat room kennel No. 1c, ID No. 14160. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male brown tabby kitten

This male brown tabby kitten has a short coat and gold eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 1c, ID No. 14160.

This female domestic short hair kitten is in cat room kennel No. 1f, ID No. 14163. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female domestic short hair

This female domestic short hair kitten has a black coat and gold eyes.

She is in cat room kennel No. 1f, ID No. 14163.

This male domestic short hair kitten is in cat room kennel No. 108, ID No. 14169. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male domestic short hair kitten

This male domestic short hair kitten has a gray and white coat and green eyes.

He is in cat room kennel No. 108, ID No. 14169.

“Coconut” is a male domestic medium hair kitten in cat room kennel No. 120, ID No. 14175. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Coconut’

“Coconut” is a male domestic medium hair kitten with a black coat.

He is in cat room kennel No. 120, ID No. 14175.

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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With California off to a dry start for the water year, the California Department of Water Resources on Tuesday announced an initial State Water Project allocation of 10 percent of requested supplies for the 2021 water year.

Initial allocations are based on conservative assumptions regarding hydrology and factors such as reservoir storage. Allocations are reviewed monthly and may change based on snowpack and runoff information. They are typically finalized by May.

“While we still have several months ahead of us, dry conditions persist,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “As communities throughout California prepare to support their environment and economies through times of extended dry periods, state agencies plan together to support those communities. Californians can help by always using water carefully, inside and outside their homes and businesses.”

DWR’s eight precipitation stations in Northern California recorded a record-low 0 percent of average rainfall in October and 53 percent in November.

Most of the state’s major reservoirs are lower than the historical average to date compared to a year ago. Lake Shasta, the federal Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir, is at 75 percent compared to 119 percent its historical average to date in 2019.

Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, holds 61 percent compared to 90 percent of its historical average to date in 2019.

San Luis Reservoir, a joint-use facility for the State Water Project and Central Valley Project, now holds 76 percent compared to 72 percent of its historical average to date in 2019.

The­­ 10 ­­­­percent initial allocation amounts to 422,848 acre-feet of water, distributed among the 29 long-term State Water Project contractors who serve more than 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.

Last year’s initial allocation was 10 percent, with a final allocation of 20 percent set in May.

Nearly all areas served by the State Water Project have sources of water other than the allocation, such as streams, groundwater, and local reservoirs.

DWR will conduct the season’s first snow survey at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada on December 30, 2020. On average, the snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California’s water needs as it melts in the spring and early summer.

For information on current water conditions at the state’s largest reservoirs and weather stations, visit the California Data Exchange Center website.
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The Opportunity Project, or TOP, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year with four tech development “sprints’’ running simultaneously to address challenges in the natural and built environment

Former Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent called the innovation program, led by the U.S. Census Bureau, “one of the most important accelerators in federal government.”

TOP is a key component of the Federal Data Strategy and the President’s Management Agenda, championed by Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley.

Through 12-week technology development sprints – a method to rapidly prototype digital products – government, technology and community collaborators team up to create digital products that use federal open data. The goal is to serve the public and solve some of our nation’s greatest challenges.

These sprints focus on far-ranging topics such as the natural environment, the built environment, a first-ever cohort of university student participants, and the inaugural implementation of The Opportunity Project’s TOPx Toolkit, piloted by the Department of State.

Challenges TOP tackled this year:

– Reducing plastic pollution in oceans.
– Helping the public understand the effects of transportation emissions on local air quality.
– Enabling aerial and geospatial data to aid agricultural decision-making.
– Developing effective and efficient markets for recycled materials.
– Tracking the impact of emergency and disaster funding.
– Assisting recently resettled refugees.
– Paving a path to economic self-sufficiency for low-income families.
– Facilitating sustainable rural economic development.
– Reimagining civics education for a new generation.

This year’s efforts were co-led by the U.S. departments of State, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Wilson Center, and USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

More than 35 tech teams are set to launch their products/digital solutions at our upcoming first-ever virtual Demo Week celebrating TOP’s five-year anniversary, including companies, universities, civic tech brigades and more.

What are some of the products being developed?

Esri, a pioneer in the world of GIS since 1969, has used data from the EPA, INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization), the Citizen Science portal and multiple national and international specialists to build an Esri Story Map

This interactive online narrative compiles tangible and novel data sets to energize public consciousness and provide new insights into the problem of ocean plastic pollution. It offers actions citizens and policymakers worldwide can take to solve the crisis.

Rutgers University’s Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA). A participant in the first-ever university sprint, IDEA has built “Better Air, Better Schools” – a website that uses EPA School Bus Rebate Program data to help teach students ages 7 to 10 about air pollution. The site demonstrates what students can do to reduce the harmful effects of idling and diesel emissions.

OPS1, a technology company dedicated to evolving organizational software, used federal open data, user advocate knowledge, and subject matter expertise to build the cloud-based EnVision application to help low-income families assess their strengths and weaknesses.

The app helps them identify support resources (service providers, mentors and coaches), set goals, create roadmaps, set up prompts to stay on track, and gain tangible rewards for increasing their economic self-sufficiency.

Center on Rural Innovation, or CORI, is a nonprofit dedicated to achieving economic success in rural America through partnership and strategy development. It used data from several sources including the Department of Education College Scorecard, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Census Bureau to build the Tech Talent tool.

The tool allows local development leaders and ecosystem builders to easily identify tech talent and employment in small communities.

These products created by technology teams are a small sample of the more than 35 tools that have been created through this innovative collaboration of federal agencies, tech leaders, nonprofits and advocacy groups from communities most affected by these challenges.

To date, more than 1,500 individuals, more than 30 federal agencies and hundreds of organizations have participated in The Opportunity Project, leading to more than 140 new open data digital tools, including apps, websites, mapping tools, data visualizations, games and more.

Want to see more?

Join in celebrating The Opportunity Project’s five-year anniversary at its first-ever virtual Demo Week, which takes place Dec. 9 to 11.

See the event schedule and build your own agenda here.

Want to get involved?

Sign up for emails to stay in the loop and learn more about upcoming sprints in 2021.

Lorena Molina-Irizarry is director of operations of Census Open Innovation Labs. Article courtesy of the US Census Bureau.
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Now there is a third possible vaccine for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has released data on what is now the third promising vaccine candidate against COVID-19 – and it has several advantages over those of its competitors, Pfizer and Moderna.

Last Monday, AstraZeneca released interim analysis of its phase 3 trial data of 23,000 volunteers from the U.K. and Brazil. These results show that the test vaccine is between 70% and 90% effective in stopping COVID-19, depending on the vaccine doses administered. Although less effective than the reported results from the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine candidates, this vaccine is still more effective than annual influenza vaccines that reduce the risk of flu by between 40% and 60%. Notably none of the vaccinated participants needed hospitalizations or reported severe disease.

Like most vaccine experts, I am intrigued by large differences in effectiveness between two tested dosages of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Until March, I was developing vaccine candidates against Zika and dengue. Now I am coordinating a large crowd-sourced international effort to better understand the scope and severity of COVID-19 in cancer patients. The COVID-19 vaccine trials generally exclude most people with a history of cancer, so I am eagerly awaiting vaccine efficacy data for this risk group when these vaccines become widely available.

Intriguing dose response

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was originally planned to be given in two full doses, four weeks apart, as injections in the upper arm. A third of the volunteers were injected with a dummy saline placebo.

One of the few details that AstraZeneca released is that of 131 cases of COVID-19, only 30 cases were detected among 11,636 who were given the vaccine; 101 cases occurred among the volunteers who got the placebo. That suggests that the vaccine is 70% effective overall.

However, an error in the early stages of the trial meant that some participants received only a half-dose in the first round. In the group of 2,741 volunteers who received a lower dose of the vaccine candidate followed a month later by a full booster dose, the efficacy was 90%, according to AstraZeneca. The efficacy was only 62% among the 8,895 volunteers who received both full doses.

It is not clear why the half-dose plus the full dose sequence of the vaccine performs better than two full doses. One explanation could be that since the vaccine is based on a common, although nonhuman, cold virus, the immune system probably attacks and destroys it when the first dose is too large.

It is also possible that progressively increasing the dose more closely mimics a natural coronavirus infection. Beginning with a lower first dose might be a better way of kicking the immune system into action; then a stronger, more effective immune response occurs after the second full booster dose. Despite enormous progress in human immunology, scientists still don’t understand the best strategies for inducing protective immunity.

These results are based on the evaluation of about one-third of volunteers who are expected to participate in this trial, which is ongoing in other parts of the world and will enroll up to 60,000 people.

AstraZeneca will now seek approval from the FDA to also evaluate the half-dose protocol in the ongoing U.S. trial. The current trial involves 30,000 participants and is evaluating only the two full-dose regimen. AstraZeneca’s trials in the U.S. were halted temporarily in early September after a study participant in the U.K. fell ill, but resumed in the U.K., Brazil, South Africa and Japan.

Genetic material encoding the spike protein, which enables to infect human cells, is inserted into a modified cold virus from chimps. This combination is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that was then injected into volunteers. The vaccine allows the muscle cells in the arm to manufacture the spike protein, which gives the body a preview of the virus and allows it to develop an immune response should the real virus strike. University of Oxford, CC BY-SA

A modified chimpanzee cold virus

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is another example of a new strategy being used to rapidly develop vaccines against the coronavirus that has already infected over 58 million people worldwide.

A vaccine works as a primer to train the immune system against a pathogen.

Conventional vaccines are made by weakened viruses or by purifying their disease-causing protein, such as the spike protein, which decorates the surface of a coronavirus. But these methods can take decades to develop new vaccines. Coinvented by the University of Oxford and its spinout company, Vaccitech, this vaccine uses different molecular tools to provide a preview of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the human body.

Instead of making weaker viruses, or delivering mRNA that encodes the spike protein, as Moderna and Pfizer did, the Oxford vaccine packs the DNA that codes for the spike protein in the shell of a genetically altered chimpanzee virus.

The original adenovirus causes common cold in chimpanzees and it rarely, if ever, infects humans. The virus is further modified to ensure that this chimp virus cannot grow in people. The AstraZeneca vaccine uses the modified virus as a vehicle to deliver the COVID-19-causing spike or S-protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Under the agreement with the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca is responsible for development, worldwide manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine.

This isn’t the first time that University of Oxford scientists have tried a vaccine using this harmless virus. Previously, it tested the concept against a closely related coronavirus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in animal studies. So this time, soon after the sequence of the novel SARS-CoV-2 became available, the Oxford scientists retooled the chimp virus for a vaccine that induced robust immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and rhesus macaques.

Not-so-frigid storage requirement

Despite a somewhat later arrival, with less than the effectiveness claimed by its competitors, AstraZeneca’s vaccine might be favored because it can be stored, transported and handled at standard refrigerated conditions of between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit for at least six months.

The competing mRNA vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech require ultracold temperatures for stability. So the AstraZeneca vaccine will be easier to use in normal clinics, especially in rural America and the developing world.

Another important advantage of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being tested in collaboration with a larger number of global sites, is that it should cost less because of AstraZeneca’s commitment to COVAX, a global initiative that aims to distribute low-cost vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer and Moderna have not joined the COVAX initiative, but AstraZeneca has agreed to make the vaccine on a not-for-profit basis for the duration of the pandemic.

Wait and watch

However, like all other candidate vaccines for COVID-19, AstraZeneca’s vaccine is also lacking in key details such as the breakdown in infections, the durability, or the efficacy in the different age groups of trial participants.

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

For all the vaccine candidates, we have only preliminary data from a small number of infections, and none of the groups developing the COVID-19 vaccine candidates has so far published complete data. So it is difficult to fully assess the differences between them.

We will have to wait for more follow-up and longer-term data to evaluate the effectiveness of all the COVID-19 vaccines in finally getting the COVID-19 pandemic under control.The Conversation

Sanjay Mishra, Project Coordinator & Staff Scientist, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

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

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An annual North Coast blood drive is back once again in December and January, making careful adaptations for COVID-19 as it seeks to keep hospitals supplied.

Vitalant, the nation’s second-largest community blood service provider, is hosting the 15th Annual Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge.

It’s partnering with 21 fire agencies across Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties for this year’s event.

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing major disruptions, Kim Walsh, Vitalant’s donor recruitment representative, said the Bucket Brigade is even more important this year.

Vitalant reported that surges in COVID-19 cases, wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters combined with the cancellation of blood drives at schools, businesses and community organizations have brought the blood supply to a critical level on a national level.

Walsh said Vitalant supports 45 Bay Area hospitals.

While they’ve been able to supply those hospitals with what they need, “We’re in need of donors,” Walsh said.

Walsh said they are doing things very differently in response to COVID-19.

“We have had to cancel 2,000 blood drives in the Bay Area,” said Walsh.

On the local level, they’ve also stopped mobile blood drives. Instead, Walsh said they’re looking for spaces of 2,000 square feet and above to allow for social distancing.

She said they are fortunate that the fire stations chose to continue with this year’s Bucket Brigade. “That’s been a huge, huge relief.”

The Bucket Brigade is a friendly competition to see which fire department can host the largest blood drive between December and January.

Vitalant said the Bucket Brigade idea comes from the Great London Fire of 1666 that found community members in “brigades” as they passed buckets of water from the city’s water supply to the blaze that endangered their town and community.

Vitalant Senior Director of Donor Recruitment Andrea Casson brought the participating North Coast fire departments together 15 years ago with the idea of “creating a modern Bucket Brigade that gathers our community in an effort to save lives through blood donations.”

Since 2006, fire departments participating in the Bucket Brigade Challenge have recruited more than 11,000 participants, Vitalant reported.

For Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties, Walsh said 80 percent of the mobile blood drives in December have been Bucket Brigade events.

Walsh said Lake County’s participating fire agencies – Lakeport Fire and South Lake County Fire – typically perform very well and are consistently among the top drives in the Bucket Brigade.

Last year, Lakeport had 65 donors and placed fourth out of 21 competitors, while South Lake County came in seventh with 56 donors, Walsh said.

Lakeport Fire’s blood drive won’t take place in the downtown station’s truck bay as in past years. Walsh said this year it will be held in the larger – and heated – Silveira Community Center across N. Main Street.

As a special thank you, blood donors will receive an annual event T-shirt.

To find a drive near you, see the complete list of Bucket Brigade blood drive events published below.

Appointments for the Bucket Brigade are encouraged. Visit www.vitalant.com and use the sponsor code, Middletown or Lakeport, for the Lake County blood drive where you wish to donate.

For your donation, please arrive well-hydrated and well-nourished, with a face mask and photo identification.

Besides the Bucket Brigade, Walsh said Vitalant is in Lake County once a month to collect blood donations.

To make an appointment, get eligibility information and to learn more about how Vitalant is adjusting to the pandemic, visit www.vitalant.org or call 877-258-4825.

15th Annual Bucket Brigade Blood Drive events

Lake County

Saturday, Dec. 5

South Lake County Fire Protection District
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Station 60, 21095 State Highway 175, Middletown

Saturday, Dec. 19

Lakeport Fire Protection District
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Silveira Community Center, 500 N. Main St.

Mendocino County

Tuesday, Dec. 1

Ukiah Valley Fire Authority
1:30 to 5:45 p.m.
Community center, 200 School St., Ukiah

Monday, Dec. 28

Fort Bragg and Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department
1 to 5:30 p.m.
Town Hall, 363 N. Main St., Fort Bragg

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Fort Bragg and Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Town Hall, 363 N. Main St., Fort Bragg

Wednesday, Jan. 13

Hopland Volunteer Fire Department
1 to 6 p.m.
Fire station, 21 Feliz Creek Road

Sonoma County

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Sebastopol Fire Department
1 to 6 p.m.
Fire station, 7425 Bodega Bay Ave.

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Graton Fire Protection District
1:30 to 6 p.m.
Fire station truck bay, 3750 Highway 116 North

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Forestville Fire Department
2 to 6:30 p.m.
Fire station: 6554 Mirabel Road

Sunday, Jan. 3

Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
SOMO Event Center, 1100 Valley House Drive

Wednesday, Jan. 6

Santa Rosa Fire Department
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Training center, 35 Stony Point Road

Saturday, Jan. 9

Healdsburg Fire Department
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Fire station, 601 Healdsburg Ave.

Thursday, Jan. 14

Sonoma County Fire District
1:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Rincon Valley Station Fire Station, 91 Middle Rincon Road, Santa Rosa

Friday, Jan. 15

Cloverdale Fire Protection District
1:30 to 6 p.m.
Fire station, 451 S. Cloverdale Blvd.

Wednesday, Jan. 20

Sonoma Valley Fire District
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Vintage House, 264 First St. East, Sonoma

Friday, Jan. 22

Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District
1:30 to 6:30 p.m.
District fire station, 20975 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville

Monday, Jan. 25

Wilmar and San Antonio Volunteer Fire Departments
1 to 6 p.m.
Wilmar Fire Station, 3825 Bodega Ave., Petaluma

Tuesday, Jan. 26

Petaluma Fire Department and Rancho Adobe Fire District
1 to 6 p.m.
Petaluma Elks Lodge, 2105 S. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma

Wednesday, Jan. 27

Petaluma Fire Department and Rancho Adobe Fire District
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Petaluma Elks Lodge, 2105 S. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma

Saturday, Jan. 30

Sonoma County Fire District – Windsor Station
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Huerta Gym, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy #200, Windsor

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will pay tribute to the retiring Special Districts administrator and honor Calpine for decades of power generation.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1.

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

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

To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link at 9 a.m. The meeting ID is 923 0801 0857, password 456759.

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 9:10 a.m., the board will present a proclamation commending Jan Coppinger for her 12 years of service to the county of Lake.

Coppinger has served as Special Districts administrator since 2016. Earlier this month, the board selected her deputy administrator, Scott Harter, to succeed her, as Lake County News has reported.

At 9:15 a.m., the board will present a proclamation honoring Calpine Corp. the Geysers for 60 years of power.

That will be followed at 9:20 a.m. by an update on COVID-19 from Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

5.1: Second reading of ordinance allowing microenterprise home kitchen operations with a pilot program.

5.2: Adopt proclamation for Calpine Corp. the Geysers for 60 years of power.

5.3: Adopt proclamation commending Jan Coppinger for her 12 years of service to the county of Lake.

5.4: Approve Amendment No. 1 to agreement for Sulphur, Pawnee and Mendocino Complex wildfires structural burn debris removal insurance cost recovery and invoicing in Lake County.

5.5: Approve amendment to the county of Lake Covid-19 Public Health Emergency Return to Work – Worksite Protection Protocol.

5.6: Approve amended agreement with California Department of Food and Agricultural Industrial Hemp Cultivation Agreement No. 20-0328-000-SA for a revision in terms and conditions.

5.7: Approve MOU between county of Lake and Lake County Resource Conservation District for management of goat’s rue in Lake County for FY 2020-2021 in the amount of $60,000.

5.8: Approve Agreement No. 20-0153 with the state of California, Department of Food and Agriculture and authorize the execution of post-consumer certification contract and contractor certification clause and signatures for insect trapping in the amount of $131,716.00 for activities in FY 20-22.

5.9: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, reappointment Cameron Reeves to the LCAQMD Hearing Board.

5.10: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake and Redwood Community Services Inc. for the Lake County WRAP Program, Foster Care Program and Intensive Services Foster Care Program for specialty mental health services for Fiscal Year 2020-21 and authorize the board chair to sign the amendment.

5.11: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings for Aug. 11, Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19.

5.12: Approve contract between the county of Lake Health Services Department and Sarah Katz for epidemiologist services in support of the Public Health COVID-19 crisis response for a term starting Nov. 1, 2020, through Nov. 17, 2022, not to exceed a maximum amount of $165,000, and authorize the board chair to sign.

5.13: Adopt resolution to amend the budget for FY 2020-2021 by appropriating unanticipated revenue for Public Health Services and authorize the Health Services Director to sign necessary documents to secure these funds.

5.14: (a) Approve the purchase of three livescan fingerprinting machines with DataWorks Plus and year two maintenance agreements in the amount of $52,111 and (b) authorize the sheriff or his designee to sign the purchase order.

5.15: Approve the Department of Boating and Waterways 2021/22 application for financial aid in the amount of $350,458.20; and authorize the sheriff to sign.

5.16: Approve designation of subrecipient’s agent resolution, authorizing County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson and Auditor-Controller Cathy Saderlund to provide to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services the assurances and agreements required.

5.17: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake on Behalf of CSA #20 Soda Bay Water System and Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District extending the agreement for an additional two-year term.

5.18: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake on Behalf of CSA #21 North Lakeport Water System and Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District extending the agreement for an additional two-year term.

5.19: Sitting as the Board of Directors for the Lake County Watershed Protection District, (a) waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of the goods or services, and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Monument Inc. for appraisal and acquisition services for the Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project and authorize the chair of the board of directors to sign the agreement.

5.20: Adopt resolution authorizing the Lake County Watershed Protection District to file a grant application for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Pre-Disaster and Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program for FY 2020/2021 Titled Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project: Parcel Acquisition.

TIMED ITEMS

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

6.2, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation commending Jan Coppinger for her 12 years of service to the county of Lake.

6.3, 9:15 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation for Calpine Corp. the Geysers for 60 years of power.

6.4, 9:20 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.

UNTIMED ITEMS

7.2: Consideration of advisory board appointment: Callayomi County Water District, Board of Directors.

CLOSED SESSION

8.1: Public employee evaluations: County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, Director of Child Support Services Gail Woodworth.

8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to Litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9(d)(2), (e)(3) – Claim of McQueen.

8.3: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9 (d)(4) – One potential case.

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 Saturday, state health officials moved Lake County into the most restrictive COVID-19 tier in response to a sharp increase in cases that includes a doubling in hospitalizations, while the county’s sheriff said he will not enforce the heightened restrictions.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said Lake County is now in the purple tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy after weeks of being in the red, or second most restrictive, tier.

Lake is now among 51 of 58 counties in the purple tier, representing 39.7 million people or 99.1 percent of California's population.

Pace did not give an update on the total number of cases in Lake County. The last time Public Health updated the numbers on its website was Wednesday, and on Saturday those numbers remained unchanged, with 886 cases and 19 deaths reported.

Across California, the caseload continues to climb. The Public Health departments of the state’s 58 counties reported a total of approximately 1,195,649 cases and 19,122 deaths as of Saturday night.

Impacting Lake County’s caseload is an outbreak that is continuing in the Lake County Jail, Pace said.

In addition, Pace said a large case cluster has emerged in the Native American community, “a variety of businesses are experiencing new cases, and we see continued spread in households and social settings. Many people had smaller gatherings in observance of Thanksgiving, and we expect a significant post-holiday elevation in numbers.”

Over the course of the week, Lake County’s hospitalizations have nearly doubled. Pace said 11 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19-related issues on Friday, which is about twice the number of hospitalizations the county has had in the last month.

Pace said eight of those patients have since been transferred to other counties.

“Our hospitals are maintaining now, and plans are in place if there are significant surges,” he said.

Epidemiologist Sarah Marikos is tracking COVID-19 case trends in Lake County, and has found that the positivity rate has tripled over the last three weeks, from 1.9 percent to 6.3 percent, Pace said. During the same period, the county’s daily case rate increased about 2.5 times, from 5 to 13 per 100,000.

In addition, since mid-October, there has been a steady increase in the weekly number of cases, from a low of 21 per week to 57 in mid-November. For the week of Nov. 22 to 28, there already are 39 known cases, Pace reported.

Regarding how people are becoming infected, Pace said Marikos has found that from Nov. 1 to 20, nearly 2 in 5 cases – or 39 percent – are believed to have resulted from community contact, and about 1 in 3 via household contact.

“Limiting community transmission is key to decreasing the overall number of cases, and it will reduce the number of people who become infected through household contact,” said Pace.

Marikos’ research has found that in November, about 80 percent of the known cases lived in the following places: Kelseyville (26 percent of cases), Clearlake (21 percent), Lakeport (20 percent), Clearlake Oaks (8 percent) and Hidden Valley Lake (5 percent).

Cases in November have increased among white, non-Hispanic individuals and Native Americans, and there has been a decrease in Latino cases, Pace reported.

Lake County now under increased restrictions; sheriff won’t enforce orders

Along with being moved into the most restrictive COVID-19 tier comes enhanced restrictions on businesses and social movement in Lake County that Pace said will go into effect on Sunday in an effort to slow the spread of this virus.

Among the restrictions, schools that were already open can remain open, while schools that have not yet opened need to remain closed until the county returns to the red tier. Pace said elementary schools can apply for a waiver that may allow reopening.

As for businesses, Pace said hair salons, personal care services and barbershops can remain open with modifications, and retail establishments can open indoors with modifications and a maximum capacity of 25 percent.

Restaurants cannot have indoor dining and must go to outdoor-only with modifications. Also required to move to outdoors-only activities are museums, places of worship, and gyms and fitness centers, Pace said.

Only outdoor private gatherings are permitted, with modifications, with a maximum of three households for a two-hour duration.

Pace said Lake County also will now be under the limited stay at home order issued by the state Public Health officer on Nov. 19.

That order requires that all gatherings with members of other households and all activities conducted outside the residence, lodging or temporary accommodation with members of other households cease between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. “except for those activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or required by law.” It doesn’t apply to the homeless.

The full order can be found here.

In response to the state’s action on Saturday, Sheriff Brian Martin – whose department for weeks has been working to control the jail outbreak – issued a statement on his Facebook page in which he said that Government Code Section 8627 authorizes the governor, during a state of emergency, to “promulgate, issue, and enforce such orders and regulations as are deemed necessary.”

Government Code Section 8567 states such orders “shall have the force and effect of law” and Section 8665 makes violation of such an order a misdemeanor, Martin said.

“However, section 26602 gives the sheriff the authority, but not the obligation to enforce such orders,” Martin noted.

“In accordance with the authority granted under section 26602, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office will not be determining compliance with, or enforcing compliance of any health or emergency orders related to curfews, staying at home, or other social gathering inside or outside the home, maximum occupancy, or mask mandates,” Martin said.

“Further, we will not dispatch deputies for these purposes; callers will be transferred or advised to contact the County Public Health Department, in accordance with Health and Safety Code section 101030. Of course, if there is potential criminal behavior or the potential for impacts to public or personal safety, we will continue to respond appropriately,” he said.

Martin concluded, “Please understand this applies only to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Other State, County, and City agencies may be actively enforcing these orders.”

Meanwhile, Pace is asking the community to take the coronavirus seriously. “It is spreading freely throughout the community now,” he said.

Pace added, “Stay home, wear masks, and be super careful. The next few months will be tough, but we will make it through this period a lot better off if we consider each other’s needs and vulnerabilities when we are thinking about going out and doing things with other people.”

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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Middletown Senior Center representatives with a $20,000 check from the county of Lake, California, funded by the CARES Act. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For many of the nearly one-quarter of Lake County residents aged 65 and above, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant simple things like acquiring food have required greater thought and planning.

Four Lake County Senior Centers have stepped up to meet unprecedented needs.

Staff and volunteers at the Lakeport Senior Center in Lakeport, California. Courtesy photo.

On Monday, Nov. 30, the county of Lake delivered checks totaling $96,582.28 to these four senior centers, located throughout the county:

· Lakeport Senior Center (provider of senior meal program services in the Lakeport, Kelseyville, Nice and Lucerne areas) was granted $28,687.59;

· Middletown Senior Center received $20,000;

· Live Oak Seniors Inc. (Clearlake Oaks), $17,287.31; and

· Highland Senior Services Center (Clearlake area) was awarded $30,607.38.

Staff and volunteers at the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, California. Courtesy photo.

“We are very grateful to the Lake County Board of Supervisors for their decision to share [the County’s] CARES Act funds with senior centers,” said Lake Family Resource Center and Lakeport Senior Center Executive Director, Lisa Morrow. “These funds will facilitate much-needed meal support for our most vulnerable community members during the COVID-19 health emergency.”

The need for Meals on Wheels Drivers has never been greater. If you can be available to help our Senior Centers deliver meals, please contact them today:

· Highlands Senior Center, 707-994-3051.

· Lakeport Senior Center, 707-279-0563.

· Live Oak Seniors Inc., 707-998-1950.

· Middletown Senior Center, 707-987-3113.


Live Oak Senior Center representatives with a $17,287.31 check from the county of Lake, California, funded by the CARES Act. Courtesy photo.
Posted On

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council is being asked this week to consider signing on to a letter sent earlier this month by the Board of Supervisors to Gov. Gavin Newsom or to author a separate letter regarding heightened restrictions in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases statewide.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1.

The meeting will be by teleconference only. The city council chambers will not be open to the public.

The agenda can be found here.

To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 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, Dec. 1.

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.

The main item on the agenda is the council’s consideration of cosigning or authoring a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom regarding the most recent changes to the COVID-19 shelter in place structure.

Those changes resulted in Lake County being moved into the purple or most restrictive tier on the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy on Saturday, as Lake County News has reported.

City Manager Kevin Ingram’s letter to the council cites the letter recently sent by the Board of Supervisors to Gov. Newsom requesting a restructuring of the tiered shelter-in-place orders and identifying the unique economic impact on small communities.

“Staff is presenting the City Council with the Board’s letter for consideration of co-signing this letter or authoring a different letter,” Ingram said.

The supervisors’ letter is on pages 123 and 124 of the agenda packet, published below.

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 Nov. 17; adoption of a resolution proclaiming the termination of the local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex fire; adoption of a resolution proclaiming the termination of the local emergency due to the February 2019 Atmospheric River Storm System; adoption of a resolution proclaiming the termination of the local emergency due to the October 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff; adoption of a resolution of the Lakeport City Council approving the CIRA joint powers agreement and bylaws and approving the REMIF fourth amended and restated joint powers agreement and bylaws; and approval of the Language Assistance Plan for the city of Lakeport and adoption of the proposed resolution.

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.

120120 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

Posted On

The gap in life expectancy between disadvantaged and privileged Americans has widened over the past half-decade, but so has the gap between the most affluent Americans and their peers in other prosperous nations, according to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley.

Even average residents of wealthy countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, such as Japan, were on par with or outliving affluent Americans in 2018, said UC Berkeley demographer Magali Barbieri, associate director of the Human Mortality Database and author of the report funded by the Society of Actuaries and published Nov. 17.

“Life expectancy for the most affluent American men was one year less than for the average Japanese man,” Barbieri said. “Meanwhile, the gap between average Japanese women and the most affluent American women reached nearly 3.5 years.”

Using U.S. Census and other national vital statistics data, Barbieri tracked mortality rates for residents in dozens of U.S. counties based on education, income, employment, occupation, housing costs and quality, and other socioeconomic characteristics. She calculated the average lifespans of men and women, separately, in all these counties for every year from 1999 to 2018.

Notably, Barbieri discovered that, in 2018, men in the most affluent U.S. category could expect to live at least seven years longer than those in the most disadvantaged U.S. group (80.5 vs. 73.2 years). For women, that gap was six years (84.9 vs. 79.9 years). The socioeconomic gap was particularly high for children and for adults between the ages of 40 and 60.

By comparison, the socioeconomic gap in life expectancy in 1999 amounted to 5.5 years for men and 3.4 years for women.

Although she did not factor in data for 2019 and 2020, which is still being collected, mortality rates in the U.S. and worldwide are projected to rise sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last century, life expectancy in the United States and other OECD nations has risen at a rate of three to four months per year.

But Barbieri found that, after 2010, life expectancy in the U.S. leveled off and then decreased from 2014 to 2017, going up slightly in 2018. The higher death toll, she said, is partly due to the opioid epidemic and unsuccessful efforts to control cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

While the most disadvantaged U.S. counties saw a rise in mortality between 2010 and 2014, the life expectancy of affluent Americans increased only slightly over that same period.

As for how the lifespan of Americans compares to that of other industrialized countries, Barbieri finds the U.S. is losing ground.

“Overall, Americans are lagging further and further behind in life expectancy, compared to similarly wealthy democratic countries where mortality has continued to decline at a relatively fast pace over the first two decades of the 21st century,” Barbieri said.

“Only the 10 percent of Americans in the most affluent U.S. counties can now expect to live as long as their peers in similarly wealthy nations,” she added. “And, when compared with Japan where the length of life is particularly long, and where progress has continued unabated, all socioeconomic categories of Americans are falling further and further behind.”

Yasmin Anwar writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.

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