LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors heard an update from the organizers of Lake County’s annual Point in Time count, which is meant to gauge the number of homeless members of the community.

Jordan O’Halloran, chair of the Point in Time Count Committee, and Chris Taliaferro, chair of the Lake County Continuum of Care, spoke to the board about the count, set to take place on Jan. 27 around Lake County.

The Lake County Continuum of Care is a coalition of organizations working to end homelessness.

Taliaferro said the Continuum of Care has a new website where people can find out about the count and how to help.

On Jan. 24, volunteers will pack bags with donated items to hand out to those counted, Taliaferro said.

“The reason why the Point in Time count is important in this county is for affordable housing,” he said, explaining that the local homeless numbers don’t support a lot of the housing projects the group has been looking at doing.

As a result, they have focused on beefing up the count. This week, fliers will be going out to recruit volunteers. Taliaferro said he’ll also be coordinating with volunteers for count locations, with each location to have a person designated to answer questions.

In the next two weeks, the general fliers will be going out about the Point in Time count, with information on where the count will take place.

He said the next Point in Time count meeting will take place at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at Redwood Coast Services in Lakeport.

Taliaferro said there will be count locations in Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lucerne and Middletown.

He raised issues with law enforcement, explaining that a lot of people who are homeless get arrested. Before the last count, Taliaferro said law enforcement busted up some of the homeless camps, which made it harder to count the homeless.

The Continuum of Care is trying to do strategic planning so people can have a point of contact if they are in need, Taliaferro said.

Board of Supervisors Chair Tina Scott asked Taliaferro if the organization had reached out to law enforcement. He said they had.

Taliaferro also explained that the Continuum of Care is getting a system up and running for data collection, with that data expected to qualify them for more federal funding.

Supervisor Bruno Sabatier noted that the most recent Point in Time count was about 50 percent of the previous count. He asked if Taliaferro could explain that change.

Taliaferro said that during the last count, in addition to issues with law enforcement, it had been raining for the entire week leading up to the count. As a result, many homeless were leaving Lake County.

This will be the sixth Point in Time count done locally. Taliaferro said the numbers two years ago were inflated hugely because the Continuum of Care at that time had a new chair who wanted to do things differently, and counted people as homeless but didn’t have the necessary accompanying data.

Before that, the counts had been averaging 200 to 350 homeless per count. Two years ago, it jumped to 600. But in January, Taliaferro said the numbers were back down and in line with the past years. That required them to justify the change and, in the end, the larger number hurt them in their federal funding efforts.

Sabatier asked about count methodology. Taliaferro said they count everyone, including those at risk of homelessness, because different grants have different definitions for homelessness.

O’Halloran said that next month’s count will take place all day long, rather than just part of the day.

Supervisor Rob Brown said that he found out at a meeting last week that Caltrans is working to break up illegal encampments in its right of way and on adjacent properties, but is trying to carry out the process in a more compassionate way. He suggested the Continuum of Care should work with Caltrans and said he would get contact information for Caltrans.

Sabatier asked if the Point in Time count and the annual veterans stand down could be combined to help get more participation from homeless veterans.

Taliaferro said the Point in Time count is mandated to happen in January. They could look at moving the stand down, although that also is supposed to happen at certain times.

Scott asked about how many homeless veterans participated in the stand down this fall. Taliaferro said 52, down slightly from previous years when the fires led to more homeless veterans. Overall, 220 veterans attended the event.

Taliaferro told the board that items they will include in gift bags for people counted gift cards, hygiene items and clothing, as well as contact information for the Continuum of Care. However, on Tuesday he didn’t yet have central contact numbers for the organization, explaining that their strategic planning efforts for contact information are still under way.

He said he appreciated the Board of Supervisors wanting more information about the effort.

“Housing is one of the big things we’re working on and we have to make sure that this Point in Time count does better than it has in the past,” he said.

Scott thanked him for doing an amazing job running the Continuum of Care, noting that she’s seen an improvement over the past few years and she’s excited about the direction it’s going.

For more information about the Continuum of Care, including volunteering for the Point in Time count or donating for the gift bags, visit https://www.lakecoc.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has many dogs waiting for new homes this month.

The kennels also have many dogs that need to be reunited with their owners. To find the lost/found pet section, click here.

The following dogs are ready for adoption.

‘Blue’

“Blue” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

He has a short blue and white coat and has been neutered.

He is dog No. 2420.

‘Burke’

“Burke” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat with white markings.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 2628.

‘Charlotte’

“Charlotte” is a female Akita mix.

She is dog No. 3040.

‘Cow’

“Cow” is a female terrier mix with a short black and white coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 1230.

‘Fable’

“Fable” is a female Alaskan Malamute mix with a brown and buff coat.

She is dog No. 3044.

‘King’

“King” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short brindle coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 3034.

‘Linus’

“Linus” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3255.

‘Precious’

“Precious” is a female Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short black coat.

She is dog No. 3268.

‘Woodrow’

“Woodrow” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 3281.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

Hours of operation area noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s Web site.

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.

 

President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders agreed on a deal to pass a new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada that will update NAFTA.

Passing the new trade accord, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, would be a substantial win for both Trump – given it’s one of his campaign promises – and Democrats, who want to show they’re legislating even as they prepare to impeach the president.

So how is the USMCA different from the North American Free Trade Agreement, and why should you care?

Although the final revised text of the USMCA has not yet been released, the deal as detailed in May contains numerous tweaks from its predecessor, both big and small. As an agriculture economist who studies trade, I believe three changes are especially noteworthy.

Please pass the butter

Since 1994, the U.S. and Canada have dropped tariffs and other trade restrictions on most agricultural products. But there were a few exceptions, most notably dairy.

Dairy was a particularly problematic sticking point in year-long negotiations between the three countries. The U.S. and Canada both have long histories of protectionist policies, such as subsidizing dairy farmers and setting import quotas on milk. Canadian tariffs on some products can be as high as 300%.

The new USMCA begins to change that, representing a small but important win for both countries, especially the U.S.

Under the new accord, Canada will curb some of the ways it protects its dairy industry, such as allowing more American milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products to enter Canada duty-free, with reciprocal treatment for Canadian dairy exports to the U.S.

Made in North America

The new agreement also made big changes for auto manufacturers in hopes of ensuring more vehicles and parts are made in North America.

Starting as early as 2020, to qualify for zero tariffs when crossing borders, a car or truck must have 75% of its components manufactured in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico, up from 62.5% currently.

Even more noteworthy, negotiators agreed to a new requirement that 40% to 45% of a vehicle’s components must be made by workers earning at least US$16 per hour, which is about three times more than the average wage currently earned by Mexican auto workers.

This change is huge, particularly for low-paid workers in Mexico. But it may lead to challenges over the enforcement of labor laws and increase the cost of cars made in all three countries.

Keeping up with the times

Society has experienced significant technological changes since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Back then, the internet was still in its infancy, while smartphones and self-driving cars were barely imaginable.

That’s why modernization – updating rules and standards to keep up with the times – is a critical and positive update to the trade deal tying the North American continent together.

While NAFTA was the first trade treaty to include intellectual property protections, the high pace of innovation has made modernization of its provisions imperative.

The new agreement includes stronger protections for patents and trademarks in areas such as biotech, financial services and domain names – all of which have advanced considerably over the past quarter-century. It also contains new provisions governing the expansion of digital trade and investment in innovative products and services.

Separately, negotiators agreed to update labor and environmental standards, which were not central to the 1994 accord and are now typical in modern trade agreements. Examples include enforcing a minimum wage for autoworkers, stricter environmental standards for Mexican trucks and new rules on fishing to protect marine life.

Apart from the changes, there is one important thing about the original NAFTA that will stay, thanks to the insistence of Canada. Chapter 19 is the dispute settlement mechanism that allows countries to seek remedies for breaking the rules. It’s like “trade court” and makes it much easier to challenge another country’s policies.

Although Mexico’s Senate ratified the USMCA earlier this year, the deal still needed approval from Canada and the U.S. Congress. Democrats and labor unions insisted on revisions to the text to address enforcement of labor and environmental provisions and intellectual property protection. The newly revised text agreed to by Trump and the Democrats addresses these issues and is now ready for approval by all three countries.

All in all, I believe the new NAFTA is definitely a modern and updated version of its important predecessor, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture characterized as one of the most successful trade agreements in history.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on Oct. 2, 2018.

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Amanda M. Countryman, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, Colorado State University

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

PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Thursday filed an amended plan of reorganization with the bankruptcy court in its Chapter 11 cases.

The plan reflects PG&E’s settlements with all major groups of wildfire claimants and keeps PG&E on track to achieve regulatory approval and bankruptcy court confirmation in advance of the June 30, 2020, statutory deadline for participation in the state’s new wildfire fund.

The company said it believes its plan is confirmable, satisfies all requirements of Assembly Bill 1054 (AB 1054) and complies with the bankruptcy code.

“It is the product of extensive negotiations, treats all victims fairly, protects customers and employees, and will enable PG&E to emerge from Chapter 11 as a financially sound utility positioned to serve California for the long term,” the company said of the plan.

"Today’s filing brings us one step closer to successfully concluding PG&E’s Chapter 11 cases so that the wildfire victims can be compensated as quickly as possible. We appreciate the extensive work by many stakeholders that went into this plan, in particular the efforts of our state leaders to encourage all parties to work quickly to find common ground,” said CEO and President of PG&E Corp. Bill Johnson.

“We believe our plan is the best solution for all constituencies, and we look forward to bringing these complex proceedings to their conclusion. In the meantime, we continue to make meaningful changes and additional investments throughout the company to reduce the risk of wildfire and help us continue to deliver safe, reliable energy to our customers,” Johnson said.

The company is committed to working with all stakeholders to confirm support for the plan, to obtaining regulatory approval from the California Public Utilities Commission consistent with AB 1054, and to achieving confirmation of the plan by the bankruptcy court in advance of June 30, 2020.

PG&E said its plan prioritizes getting wildfire victims paid soonest by resolving outstanding litigation and eliminating the need for a Tubbs fire trial “and a costly and uncertain estimation process.” PG&E assumes its obligations to its employees and creditors without impairments, making sure all parties are treated fairly.

In its Thursday statement, PG&E said, “The plan put forward by the Ad Hoc Bondholders group (the Elliott plan) is a last-ditch effort to derail the wildfire victims’ settlements, and force costly, uncertain and protracted litigation. That plan would enrich those firms backing it by charging interest rates on debt that are both above market rate and higher than required by law, rather than putting those ratepayer dollars toward safety, reliability and clean energy investments.”

Last week, PG&E reached a settlement valued at approximately $13.5 billion to resolve all remaining wildfire claims, including individual claims, relating to the 2015 Butte fire, 2016 Ghost Ship fire, 2017 Northern California Wildfires (including the 2017 Tubbs fire), and the 2018 Camp fire pursuant to the terms of PG&E’s Plan.

PG&E’s said its plan has the support of the Official Committee of Tort Claimants and firms representing approximately 70 percent of wildfire victims.

PG&E previously reached settlements with two major groups of wildfire claim holders, including a $1 billion settlement with cities, counties, and other public entities – including the city of Clearlake and county of Lake – and an $11 billion agreement with insurance companies and other entities that have already paid insurance coverage for claims relating to the 2017 and 2018 wildfires.

On Thursday PG&E also resolved the disputed release provisions between the wildfire victims and insurance companies, which was a condition to the settlement with the wildfire victims.

PG&E’s said its plan would accomplish the following:

– Satisfy the requirements of AB 1054 and put PG&E on a path to help the state meet its clean energy goals and become the company that customers and communities expect and deserve;
– Compensate wildfire victims and certain limited public entities from a trust funded for their benefit in the amount of approximately $13.5 billion in accordance with the terms of the Tort Claimants Restructuring Support Agreement, which is subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court and other conditions;
– Compensate insurance subrogation claimants from a trust funded for their benefit in the amount of $11 billion in accordance with the terms of the subrogation claims settlement and restructuring support agreement, which is subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court and other conditions;
– Pay $1 billion in full settlement of the claims of certain public entities like cities and counties relating to the wildfires, as previously announced;
– Pay in full, with interest at the legal rate, all prepetition funded debt obligations, all prepetition trade claims and all prepetition employee-related claims;
– Assume all power purchase agreements and community choice aggregation servicing agreements;
– Assume all pension obligations, other employee obligations, and collective bargaining agreements with labor; and
– Provide for PG&E’s future participation in the state wildfire fund established by Assembly Bill 1054.

PG&E said its plan is fully financeable throughout the capital structure. This includes the over $12 billion of equity backstop commitments that the company received last week to support its plan.

PG&E's plan is subject to confirmation by the bankruptcy court in accordance with the provisions of the bankruptcy code.

The plan filed Thursday is available on the company’s website at http://investor.pgecorp.com/Chapter-11/default.aspx .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Nearly a year after she retired as Lake County’s registrar of voters, Diane Fridley on Tuesday was appointed by the Board of Supervisors as interim registrar.

The board came out of closed session on Tuesday afternoon, at which time the supervisors voted to appoint Fridley, Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein said.

Rothstein said the appointment became effective Wednesday, with Fridley to be paid at salary step eight.

Supervisor Simon moved the appointment, which was seconded by Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and approved unanimously, Rothstein said.

Fridley retired last December after more than 40 year working for Lake County.

Two months later, her longtime deputy, Maria Valadez – who had been appointed interim registrar after Fridley’s retirement but not offered the job on a permanent basis – left to take a job in Mendocino County.

Valadez had been viewed by many as Fridley’s successor, as she had spent nearly 30 years working in the elections office.

However, Valadez’s promotion had encountered resistance from County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, who last fall had attempted – unsuccessfully – to convince the board to change the educational requirements for the registrar to require a bachelor’s degree rather than experience, which would have disqualified Valadez and the rest of the registrar’s staff.

At that time, Huchingson also had proposed consolidating the elections office with the Auditor-Controller/County Clerk’s Office, which the board also had declined to do, thanks in part to Fridley’s input.

After Valadez’s departure, the board appointed Huchingson as interim registrar. The county then undertook a recruitment for registrar, the first round of which failed to find a candidate. A second recruitment led to the hiring of Catherine McMullen, who came from Portland, Oregon to Lake County – where she was raised – to take the job.

McMullen, who began as registrar on June 24, submitted her resignation letter on Nov. 7, in the midst of the official canvass for Northshore Fire’s Measure N sales tax. Originally, she was to leave on Nov. 22 but stayed until Dec. 2 to certify the election results, which showed the measure falling several points short of the needed supermajority of 66.7 percent.

In posts on her LinkedIn account, McMullen said the job as Lake County’s registrar of voters was to have been her dream job, “but instead has been a nightmare from day one.”

In a separate post, she said she and others experienced bullying in the county workplace.

Since McMullen announced her intention to leave, Huchingson once again proposed to the board that the Registrar of Voters Office be consolidated with the Auditor-Controller/County Clerk’s Office.

However, the board had directed that a recruitment begin for a new registrar, temporarily appointing Auditor-Controller/County Clerk Cathy Saderlund to be interim registrar from Dec. 3 to 10, as Lake County News has reported.

Board holds brief discussion ahead of closed session

Fridley was in the board chambers for a brief discussion on Tuesday morning, ahead of the closed session, that the supervisors held on the Registrar of Voters Office.

While Huchingson has led many of the past discussions on the registrar, on Tuesday, when Board Chair Tina Scott asked if she was leading them this time, Huchingson replied, “I don't have anything particular to offer.”

“I have something to offer,” said Supervisor Rob Brown, adding that he wanted to “cut right to the chase.”

He said they’ve discussed it and looked at all of the options available to them when it comes to structuring the elections office.

“I think the best option at this point, clearly, is leaving it a standalone,” he said.

Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he concurred.

Supervisor Moke Simon said there could be another discussion down the road, but that they needed to get through the upcoming election, a reference to the California Super Tuesday presidential primary that will take place at the start of March.

“I agree with that,” said Scott.

During public comment, Michael Green, who has worked for the elections office, said there are a lot of balls in the air and time is of the essence. He said one possible issue is the possible consolidation of the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office with the Auditor-Controller’s Office.

In that event, the County Clerk’s Office and the Registrar of Voters Office would need to be split off. Green said that’s an issue that can be taken up later, but for now more immediate needs include getting staff.

Green added that he supported keeping the elections office independent right now and having it report to the Board of Supervisors.

The supervisors asked if they needed to take any action, and County Counsel Anita Grant said that because the Registrar of Voters Office is now a standalone office, “You need do nothing except by consensus you’ve indicated you want to keep it that way.”

Sabatier, noting they had appointed Saderlund as interim registrar until Dec. 10, asked if they needed to take action. Grant said that was part of the item the board was to take up during closed session.

County officials so far haven’t reported on the anticipated timeline for recruiting a new registrar. The job isn’t currently listed on the web page for the county’s Human Resources Department, also headed by Huchingson.

CalPERS retirement rules allow for retirees like Fridley to work less than 960 hours on an annual basis without jeopardizing their retirement benefits.

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. – As the Lake County Sheriff’s Office continues to follow up on leads in the murder last month of a Lucerne man, the two men charged with the homicide are scheduled to return to court next month to enter pleas in the case.

Daniel Wayne Ford, 49, of Lakeport, and Michael Sean Shaffer, 35, of Upper Lake, were in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday to enter pleas, but didn’t do so, according to District Attorney Susan Krones.

The men were arrested on Nov. 23, the same day that authorities found the body of 70-year-old Nicky Dale Smith on the side of the road in the 4550 block of Scotts Valley Road near Lakeport, as Lake County News has reported.

Smith’s autopsy concluded that he died of blunt force trauma and gunshot wounds, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The charges so far filed against Ford and Shaffer indicate that it was Ford who used a flashlight to beat Smith and a handgun to shoot him.

Krones has charged both Ford and Shaffer with murder, attempted robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and a host of special allegations, including committing a murder during an attempted robbery, an attempted kidnapping and a carjacking, and inflicting great bodily injury on a person who was 70 years old.

Ford alone is charged with assault with a firearm, with a special allegation of using a handgun; assault with a deadly weapon, a flashlight; being a felon in possession of a firearm; and additional special allegations of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury and death, and personally using and firing a handgun.

Both men have previous felony convictions, Ford for reckless evading in Mendocino County in 2007, possession of methamphetamine for sale in Mendocino County in 2011 and for criminal threats in 2015 in Del Norte County, and Shaffer for assault with a deadly weapon in 2012 and for reckless evading in 2017, with both convictions in Lake County.

In a court appearance last month, Ford and Shaffer indicated they planned to hire their own attorneys and didn’t enter pleas then, either.

At the Tuesday hearing, Krones said Mitchell Hauptman and Edward Savin made special appearances on behalf of Ford and Shaffer, respectively, with both attorneys in the process of being hired.

“So they have not made general appearances yet,” Krones said of Ford and Shaffer.

Krones said they will return to court at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, in Department 3 for entering of pleas and appearance of counsel.

Both men remain in custody at the Lake County Jail on no-bail holds.

Krones said the sheriff’s office is continuing its investigation into the homicide, noting it’s still early in the case’s development.

Krones said there could be another potential suspect who was involved in the murder.

However, Krones said that the possibility of another suspect hasn’t so far exonerated either Ford or Shaffer.

“The sheriff’s office is still investigating all leads,” Krones said.

She declined to discuss a possible motive, explaining that it’s too early to say what it might be.

However, Krones added that Ford and Shaffer didn’t randomly pick up Smith; she stated in a previous interview that the men had prior contacts.

She also said she wasn’t at liberty to discuss whether or not Smith’s pickup had yet been located, deferring comment at this time to the sheriff’s office.

Paulich wasn’t available on Wednesday to offer further comment on the 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.