Restaurants play an important part in the Lake County Economy and the Lake County Economic Development Corporation and the Lake County Chamber of Commerceare putting on a one-day training and networking event to support the food industry. The Food Industry Expo is planned for January 29th at the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College. It will be held in classrooms — and the kitchen. It will feature presentations from experts talking about their experiences, and sessions on hiring, specialty foods, and marketing. There’s a link with more info on our website [http://tinyurl.com/LCexpo2024]
Optimism about a bill in Congress that would cut taxes for wildfire victims. Congressman Mike Thompson is one of the sponsors of a bill that would exempt all wildfire relief payments from federal income taxes, as well as exempting taxes on legal fees, emotional distress, lost wages, and additional living expenses. Co-sponsor congressman Doug La Malfa, who also represents parts of Northern California, says the measure is essential for people who have had settlement money reduced by federal taxes. He says he is confident that Democrats and Republicans will come together and pass the bill soon, now that it has overwhelmingly cleared committees in both the Senate and House.
It’s been a year since California started issuing Feather Alerts for missing Native Americans and for the most part, backers say it has been a success. LakeCO News.com reports a legislative review of the law this week did find there is room for improvement. Assemblymember James C. Ramos, who sponsored the bill setting up the alerts says they work..but only if they are put out. He says the biggest challenge has been letting people know the messages exist, and making sure police and tribes are on the same page issuing them. Ramos says while California has the biggest indigenous population in the country, it also has one of the highest number of unsolved missing and murdered cases for Native people,
