The Clearlake City Council will consider appointment to one vacant seat on the Konocti Water District Board at the August 17th City Council meeting. To be considered, applicants must live within the Konocti Water District and be a registered voter. Interested applicants must fill out the Committee/Commission application on the Clearlake City Council webpage and return it to Melissa Swanson, Administrative Services Director/City Clerk via email or in person at the City’s temporary offices located at the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College by Wednesday, August 16th at 5pm.
The Bureau of Land Management is announcing its new approach to mitigate against high wildfire risk via fuel reduction projects across the state. The California State BLM Director signed the decision at the Capital yesterday for the Statewide Wildland-Urban Interface Fuels Treatment Programmatic Environmental Assessment. The decision will increase fuels reduction projects on 930,000 acres of public lands including in Lake County. Lake County News reports it would allow the work to begin within months. BLM will focus on areas of high fire risk and utilize mechanical cutting, controlled burns, herbicides and more on BLM lands. Cooperation between private landowners, the state and county governments and the US Forest Service will work together to identify areas they can work on almost immediately. Over 13,000 acres in Lake County are included in their scope.
A man convicted of domestic violence will serve a few weeks in jail and be on probation for three years and more. The Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office issued a release showing Hazzar Arafad Navarro Torres of Willits was found guilty after a jury trial earlier this week. The charges were brought after an incident in March where Torres was arrested and charged with inflicting corporal injury on his spouse. Torres is mandated to complete a year-long Domestic Violence Batter Intervention Program and stay sober. Torres was also ordered to stay away from his spouse, the victim.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors are considering a three year Mental Health Services Act Program, and agreed to six month updates with the Behavioral Health Department. During their meeting yesterday, the board continued to formalize the interview process for a Chief Public Defender and more. In a presentation by the Lake County Tourism Improvement District on their marketing report, the Executive Director went over how direct marketing, web traffic and public relations have been their focus. In the report, tourism revenue was down about 24 percent in 2022. Some Supervisors noticed a lack of diversity in the marketing according to Lake County News. North Coast Opportunities, that administers the New Digs housing program presented a report on past work to house people and about current eligible grants could help.
The Middletown Area Town Hall will meet tomorrow and get updates on a new committee on cannabis and on fire season resources. The meeting will be tomorrow at 7pm in the Middletown Community Meeting Room in the Library and is open to the public. Lake County News reports a Cal Fire Division Chief will talk about wildfire season to start the meeting. District 1 Supervisor Simon will then present his update on south county issues.
There is more news from the report of the Lake County Civil Grand Jury. The Record Bee reports officials, staff, students and parents were interviewed about bullying in schools. Their report shows officials note discipline is often undermined. The jury classifies bullying into different categories. Direct, indirect, cyberbullying and combinations can be harmful. Studies show 15 to 20 percent of students will experience bullying in their academic career. The jury notes students don’t feel safe and teachers don’t have enough authority or responsibility to deal with bullying. There is a need for more trained school resource officers and education. The jury worried that there are no metal detectors in Lake County Schools and made a high-importance recommendation to install them. They made recommendations that the schools make clear policies on student safety, authority and more in immediate responses.
Tribal and community leaders are reacting to President Biden’s work on the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Expansion to the National Monument. Many would like to see similar work under the Antiquities Act to expand Berryessa Snow Mountian National Monument. Lake County News reports local leaders would like to protect the eastern edge of the National Monument known as Molok Luyuk, or Condor Ridge. Conservation groups want to safeguard public lands sacred to local Tribes and preserve the cultural and natural landscapes. Advocates say the region has unique geology and plant and animal diversity that is critical to protect. Representatives Thompson and Garamendi along with Senators Padilla and Feinstein joined Tribal and community leaders in support of the expansion.
A new COVID variant is getting traction in the US. The Press Democrat reports EG 5 is the dominant strain and Sonoma County’s interim health officer says it does not cause more serious illness. Dr. Karen Smith says vaccine manufacturers are making the new vaccine to guard against the new strain and for the next few years, health officials will more than likely treat COVID like the annual flu vaccination.
Governor Newsom is directing the creation of California’s Hydrogen Market Development Strategy, calling on the Office of Business and Economic Development to build up the market. Lake County News reports the strategy may be similar to the Zero Emission Vehicle Market Development Strategy. The governor hopes it will help build a robust hydrogen market as a source of clean energy in the state. California is in competition to be a federally funded Hydrogen Hub, with $8 billion funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make at least four of those hubs in the country. The state’s Hydrogen Strategy is part of Newsom’s Infrastructure Strike Team to streamline renewable energy projects. The application for federal funds is being led and submitted by California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES.
The Lake County Land trust is announcing that Monitor Island off the shore of Clearlake P ark has been entrusted to them. The Record Bee reports the island was transferred to the Land Trust by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Land Trust plans to work with local tribes to manage and protect the island, which is culturally and historically significant to their communities. The group plans to continue to allow the public to visit the island saying they are committed to keeping Monitor Island accessible to everyone.
Advocates of a food prescription experiment want to expand access to fresh fruits and vegetables to everyone in the state. CalMatters reports helping with healthy foods can improve chronic conditions, like diabetes while lowering health care costs and reducing hunger. The Healthy Food RX Program aims to help improve lives for people with heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure and more. A study estimates that emphasizing healthy foods could save $100 billion in healthcare costs in Medicare and Medicaid patients. In California, a five year effort to reform MediCal was launched last year, called CalAim. The strategy targets whole person care and allows MediCal patients over a dozen community support services. Legislators are working on AB1644 that would require MediCal to cover food prescription programs. There are plans to reintroduce the bill next year.
PG&E is hosting a virtual town hall today for customers in the North Coast Region on an update of resources during wildfire season and updates on safety outages. The Ukiah Daily Journal reports the town hall for Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma counties will run from 5:30pm to 7pm. The utility plans to have a brief presentation on their latest efforts and policies and will have time available for residents to ask questions.
The Fort Bragg Finance and Administration Committee meeting is cancelled for today. The City announced the Public Works and Facilities Committee meeting for tomorrow has also been cancelled. Fort Bragg’s Mayor Norvell posted information in Mendocino News Plus’ Facebook page on the city’s dedication to youth. He writes that recently, the city allocated $140,000 to the Fort Bragg Unified Schools District to improve sports fields. The city also recently set aside funds to refurbish tennis courts and build up Pickleball courts. The mayor noted that just last month Prop 68 funds were awarded for the rehab of Bainbridge Park. The City Council is looking for proposals on work there including a playground renovation, camera systems, public art and more. Norvell says “Project Right Now” and the Police Chief’s CRU team have been working with youth along with projects in their Police Explorer program.
A zone deer season is getting underway this Saturday. Lake County’s deer herd is slowly declining. The growing coyote population and loss of habitat are part of the reason the deer population is going down. Lake County deer are all Columbian blacktail, a subspecies of the mule deer, but smaller, according to the Record Bee. Lake County is one of the most popular deer hunting zones in California and the blacktail are a species that takes patience and skill to successfully hunt. Department of Fish and Wildlilfe game wardens will be out enforcing licenses and deer tags. State law requires hunters use steel ammunition. The department is warning hunters to follow all state laws, including unloading your weapon when you’re driving and watching for private property signs.
