The Lakeport City Council is set to take up a pair of one-dollar-a-month lease deals Tuesday night that would hand two nonprofits long-term access to major city buildings, including the old Carnegie Library. CLERC wants to expand its lab work in the 107-year-old library by adding an environmental education center upstairs, and the Lake County Arts Council hopes to move its gallery into the Silveira Community Center while taking over event scheduling. Both leases would lock in exclusive use of the properties for the groups. The council will also juggle committee appointments, a draft update to the 2025 Building Code, a new agreement for the Westside Community Trail Park, and the introduction of their newest police officer, Kimberly Searcy.
Lake County has released its draft climate adaptation plan and wants the public to weigh in before December 19. The document lays out what the county is already doing, what’s still missing, and how local agencies hope to tackle wildfire, heat, drought and flooding risks going forward. Leaders say they need community input before locking anything in. Details and the survey link are posted on the Lake County 2050 project website.
Deputies say a Ukiah man pulled a weapon on another driver Saturday night and then slammed his car into the victim’s vehicle as he tried to get away. The suspect, 26-year-old Eloy Lopez Jr., ditched his car and sparked a shelter-in-place alert in a nearby neighborhood before deputies tracked him down on Tanya Lane. He’s now facing several charges, including felony assault with a deadly weapon, and investigators are still working the case.
Lake County’s East Region Town Hall meets Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks, with Zoom and YouTube streams for anyone watching from home. Code Enforcement’s Marcus Beltramo will give the main update, walking through enforcement issues around the area. The group also plans to cover project updates, land-use questions, cannabis rules, ongoing cleanup and infrastructure work, plus a report from Supervisor EJ Crandell.
Farmers in the Russian River Watershed say losing the Potter Valley Project could be disastrous, warning that once the dams come down, water could cost ten times more and threaten agriculture across the region. At a public meeting in Ukiah last week, county leaders and water officials walked residents through plans to keep some seasonal diversions going and look for new ways to store water as PG&E shuts down its old hydro plant. They say none of the options are simple or cheap, and communities should prepare for higher water costs and tighter conservation.
Starting today, California EV drivers lose their golden ticket into the carpool lanes, with CHP now enforcing full HOV rules after the federal program quietly expired in October. The sticker that once let Teslas and other electric cars zip past traffic won’t save anyone from a minimum $490 ticket anymore. More than half a million drivers statewide are affected, and lawmakers couldn’t convince Congress to renew the perk. EV owners say it’s going to make commutes longer and force some rude adjustments after years of cruising the fast lane alone.
Residents in Stockton are grieving after a mass shooting at a family gathering left four people dead, including three children. Faith leaders and community members held a prayer vigil Sunday as Mayor Christina Fugazi condemned the attack as gang-related and a “pure act of terrorism.” Sheriff’s officials say the victims included children ages 14, nine and eight, along with a 21-year-old, and eleven others were wounded. The suspect remains on the loose and the investigation is ongoing.
