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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – In the wake of its decision last week to release the district superintendent, the Middletown Unified School board held a special Monday evening meeting during which it decided to hire a retired superintendent to fill the job on an interim basis.
David Miller, who retired several years ago as superintendent in the Mendocino Unified School District, has been selected to fill the job while the district begins its search for a permanent successor to Superintendent Catherine Stone, according to Board President Sandy Tucker.
Stone’s four-year tenure with the district ended on Wednesday night after the board emerged from her closed session evaluation to announce they were releasing her from her contract, which runs until June, as Lake County News has reported.
Her contract requires the district to continue to pay her salary for the remainder of the term of the agreement, or for a period of 12 months, whichever period is shorter, if Stone is terminated without cause.
Stone will be paid for a year, according to her contract, Tucker said.
Tucker said the Monday evening special meeting had a 15-minute open session in addition to the hour-long closed session during which the interim superintendent’s hire was discussed.
“We were not able to vote to confirm the contract as it has to be agendized for open session,” she said.
The board has another special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday to vote on Miller’s contract, Tucker explained.
In addition to his work in Mendocino County, Miller previously worked at Konocti Unified and Harmony Unified School District. He and his wife, Linda – who formerly worked in Middletown Unified – live in Cobb, Tucker said.
Miller is expected to begin work on either Friday or Monday, depending on how long it takes for the results of Live Scan fingerprinting to be completed, Tucker said.
While Miller fills the interim superintendent role, Tucker said the district plans to move forward immediately with recruiting Stone’s successor.
Tucker said they plan to post the job as soon as possible. The district will handle the recruitment but will have the support of the Lake County Office of Education.
After the board released Stone last week, Heather Rantala, director of business services, began overseeing district operations until the interim superintendent is in place.
On Monday, Pacific Gas and Electric said it is considering a public safety power shutoff beginning on Wednesday afternoon in response to an incoming wind event.
Tucker said that if power goes out, Rantala will make the call as to whether or not school will close.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
David Miller, who retired several years ago as superintendent in the Mendocino Unified School District, has been selected to fill the job while the district begins its search for a permanent successor to Superintendent Catherine Stone, according to Board President Sandy Tucker.
Stone’s four-year tenure with the district ended on Wednesday night after the board emerged from her closed session evaluation to announce they were releasing her from her contract, which runs until June, as Lake County News has reported.
Her contract requires the district to continue to pay her salary for the remainder of the term of the agreement, or for a period of 12 months, whichever period is shorter, if Stone is terminated without cause.
Stone will be paid for a year, according to her contract, Tucker said.
Tucker said the Monday evening special meeting had a 15-minute open session in addition to the hour-long closed session during which the interim superintendent’s hire was discussed.
“We were not able to vote to confirm the contract as it has to be agendized for open session,” she said.
The board has another special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday to vote on Miller’s contract, Tucker explained.
In addition to his work in Mendocino County, Miller previously worked at Konocti Unified and Harmony Unified School District. He and his wife, Linda – who formerly worked in Middletown Unified – live in Cobb, Tucker said.
Miller is expected to begin work on either Friday or Monday, depending on how long it takes for the results of Live Scan fingerprinting to be completed, Tucker said.
While Miller fills the interim superintendent role, Tucker said the district plans to move forward immediately with recruiting Stone’s successor.
Tucker said they plan to post the job as soon as possible. The district will handle the recruitment but will have the support of the Lake County Office of Education.
After the board released Stone last week, Heather Rantala, director of business services, began overseeing district operations until the interim superintendent is in place.
On Monday, Pacific Gas and Electric said it is considering a public safety power shutoff beginning on Wednesday afternoon in response to an incoming wind event.
Tucker said that if power goes out, Rantala will make the call as to whether or not school will close.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week is set to award the bid for the improvements to Austin Park, a project city leaders believe will create an important and engaging centerpiece for the community.
The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
At the start of the meeting, the council will meet October’s adoptable dogs from Clearlake Animal Control.
On the agenda is the council’s consideration of awarding the bid for Austin Park’s improvements to R&R Pacific Construction in the amount of $2,036,802.50.
Staff also is asking the council to authorize City Manager Alan Flora to approve change orders up to 10 percent of the contract amount.
The project will be built on 10 acres east of Lakeshore Boulevard and west of Uhl Avenue.
It includes an outdoor concert stage, six individual shade structures, new lawn and expansion of the current lawn area, a new irrigation system, a children’s play area, a fenced dog park, new lighting throughout the park, new parking lots on both the north and south side which include parking lot lighting, drinking fountains, new park benches and picnic tables, enhanced walking paths and Americans with Disability Act accessibility, and rehabilitation of the basketball and tennis courts, according to Consulting City Engineer David Swartz’s report to the council.
Swartz had estimated the base bid for the project at $1,609,900, with a bid additive alternative – for the portion of the project’s improvements on the west side of Lakeshore Drive – at $231,100.
Swartz’s report explains that R&R Pacific Construction was the lowest of three bidders, with a base bid estimate of $2,716,072.50 and bid additive alternative of $333,485.00.
The second-highest bidder was CWS Construction Group Inc., $3,395,140.15 for the base bid and $459,157 for the bid additive alternative.
The highest bidder, Team Ghilotti Inc., estimated the base bid at $3,815,305.85 and the bid additive alternative at $516,599.
“The City was able to negotiate a small number of times to reduce the total contract amount with R&R Construction from $2.7 million to $2,036,802.50,” Swartz wrote in his report. “The City will be actively participating with construction of this project by contributing approximately $306,000 towards the purchase of materials and public works staff will provide some installation support of some elements as installing park lighting, planting new trees, erecting shade structures, etc.”
At this time there have not been enough funds identified to include the bid additive alternate portion of the project. “The City will pursue funding for this portion of the project at a later time, “ Swartz wrote.
Swartz said the city currently has available funding of $2.365 million for the project in addition to the $100,000 contribution of Adventist Health Clear Lake. “Other contributors have also been
identified that will be supporting the completion of this invaluable community asset and will be revealed in the near future.”
If the council approves the bid award, construction is set to begin by the end of October and is scheduled to be completed by May 15, 2020, Swartz said.
In other business, council members will consider approving the report of delinquent public nuisance abatement costs and their collection on the tax roll. As part of that item, the council will hear and consider any protests to the proposed action and adopt a resolution confirming costs totaling $45,000.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider approving Mayor Russ Cremer’s appointment of a council member – unspecified in the staff report – to the Clean Water Program Management Council.
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 September council meetings; and continuation of a local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action on Oct. 12, 2017.
The council will have a closed session regarding existing litigation with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. after the public portion of the meeting.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
At the start of the meeting, the council will meet October’s adoptable dogs from Clearlake Animal Control.
On the agenda is the council’s consideration of awarding the bid for Austin Park’s improvements to R&R Pacific Construction in the amount of $2,036,802.50.
Staff also is asking the council to authorize City Manager Alan Flora to approve change orders up to 10 percent of the contract amount.
The project will be built on 10 acres east of Lakeshore Boulevard and west of Uhl Avenue.
It includes an outdoor concert stage, six individual shade structures, new lawn and expansion of the current lawn area, a new irrigation system, a children’s play area, a fenced dog park, new lighting throughout the park, new parking lots on both the north and south side which include parking lot lighting, drinking fountains, new park benches and picnic tables, enhanced walking paths and Americans with Disability Act accessibility, and rehabilitation of the basketball and tennis courts, according to Consulting City Engineer David Swartz’s report to the council.
Swartz had estimated the base bid for the project at $1,609,900, with a bid additive alternative – for the portion of the project’s improvements on the west side of Lakeshore Drive – at $231,100.
Swartz’s report explains that R&R Pacific Construction was the lowest of three bidders, with a base bid estimate of $2,716,072.50 and bid additive alternative of $333,485.00.
The second-highest bidder was CWS Construction Group Inc., $3,395,140.15 for the base bid and $459,157 for the bid additive alternative.
The highest bidder, Team Ghilotti Inc., estimated the base bid at $3,815,305.85 and the bid additive alternative at $516,599.
“The City was able to negotiate a small number of times to reduce the total contract amount with R&R Construction from $2.7 million to $2,036,802.50,” Swartz wrote in his report. “The City will be actively participating with construction of this project by contributing approximately $306,000 towards the purchase of materials and public works staff will provide some installation support of some elements as installing park lighting, planting new trees, erecting shade structures, etc.”
At this time there have not been enough funds identified to include the bid additive alternate portion of the project. “The City will pursue funding for this portion of the project at a later time, “ Swartz wrote.
Swartz said the city currently has available funding of $2.365 million for the project in addition to the $100,000 contribution of Adventist Health Clear Lake. “Other contributors have also been
identified that will be supporting the completion of this invaluable community asset and will be revealed in the near future.”
If the council approves the bid award, construction is set to begin by the end of October and is scheduled to be completed by May 15, 2020, Swartz said.
In other business, council members will consider approving the report of delinquent public nuisance abatement costs and their collection on the tax roll. As part of that item, the council will hear and consider any protests to the proposed action and adopt a resolution confirming costs totaling $45,000.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider approving Mayor Russ Cremer’s appointment of a council member – unspecified in the staff report – to the Clean Water Program Management Council.
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 September council meetings; and continuation of a local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action on Oct. 12, 2017.
The council will have a closed session regarding existing litigation with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. after the public portion of the meeting.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
102419 Clearlake City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for Lake County and much of the rest of interior Northern California that will be in effect from 5 a.m. Wednesday through 4 p.m. Thursday.
The fire weather watch came as Pacific Gas and Electric said Monday it was looking at another public safety power shutoff on Wednesday and Thursday for Lake and 14 other counties, as Lake County News has reported.
A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur, the National Weather Service said.
The forecast said a weather system digging into the Great Basin region will create gusty north to east winds over portions of interior Northern California Wednesday and Thursday.
Those winds, combined with low daytime humidity and low overnight humidity is expected to lead to critical fire weather conditions for the northern Coastal Range and foothills, the Sacramento Valley, portions of the northern San Joaquin Valley, and the Northern Sierra Nevada and foothills below 7000 feet.
In the fire watch area, the National Weather Service predicts north to northeast winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour, with winds expected to be higher in canyons and exposed ridges.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The fire weather watch came as Pacific Gas and Electric said Monday it was looking at another public safety power shutoff on Wednesday and Thursday for Lake and 14 other counties, as Lake County News has reported.
A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur, the National Weather Service said.
The forecast said a weather system digging into the Great Basin region will create gusty north to east winds over portions of interior Northern California Wednesday and Thursday.
Those winds, combined with low daytime humidity and low overnight humidity is expected to lead to critical fire weather conditions for the northern Coastal Range and foothills, the Sacramento Valley, portions of the northern San Joaquin Valley, and the Northern Sierra Nevada and foothills below 7000 feet.
In the fire watch area, the National Weather Service predicts north to northeast winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour, with winds expected to be higher in canyons and exposed ridges.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death among teenagers, which is why the California Highway Patrol is continuing its partnership with Impact Teen Drivers, or ITD.
The traffic safety partners share the common goal of reducing the number of traffic collisions and teen traffic-related deaths in California.
Teenagers and motor vehicles can be a deadly combination. Young drivers are three times more likely than adults to be involved in a traffic collision due to distraction, and these crashes are 100-percent preventable.
Together, the CHP and ITD are using a grant-funded education program to have a positive impact on highway safety throughout California.
“Working with ITD, our goal is to change the behaviors of these inexperienced drivers by making them aware of the dangers and consequences of reckless and distracted driving,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley.
The Teen Distracted Drivers Education and Enforcement IX grant campaign will focus on classroom education, community events, and active enforcement to change the mindset of teens and their parents, and to decrease the number of teen distracted driving traffic collisions and fatalities.
This yearlong, statewide campaign began Oct. 1, 2019, and will continue through Sept. 30, 2020.
“We lose 11 teens every day to preventable car crashes in the United States. In California alone, we lose the equivalent of eight school buses each year to this deadly epidemic. It is time we stop thinking these are just sad accidents and, instead, empower ourselves and our newest drivers with the knowledge, attitude, and skills needed to make our roads safer for all Californians. It will take all of us to stop the number one killer of teens,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, executive director, ITD.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The traffic safety partners share the common goal of reducing the number of traffic collisions and teen traffic-related deaths in California.
Teenagers and motor vehicles can be a deadly combination. Young drivers are three times more likely than adults to be involved in a traffic collision due to distraction, and these crashes are 100-percent preventable.
Together, the CHP and ITD are using a grant-funded education program to have a positive impact on highway safety throughout California.
“Working with ITD, our goal is to change the behaviors of these inexperienced drivers by making them aware of the dangers and consequences of reckless and distracted driving,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley.
The Teen Distracted Drivers Education and Enforcement IX grant campaign will focus on classroom education, community events, and active enforcement to change the mindset of teens and their parents, and to decrease the number of teen distracted driving traffic collisions and fatalities.
This yearlong, statewide campaign began Oct. 1, 2019, and will continue through Sept. 30, 2020.
“We lose 11 teens every day to preventable car crashes in the United States. In California alone, we lose the equivalent of eight school buses each year to this deadly epidemic. It is time we stop thinking these are just sad accidents and, instead, empower ourselves and our newest drivers with the knowledge, attitude, and skills needed to make our roads safer for all Californians. It will take all of us to stop the number one killer of teens,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, executive director, ITD.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric on Monday evening offered additional details about a potential public safety power shutoff that could come midweek and impact a portion of Lake County.
PG&E is once again considering the measure due to a strong wind event the National Weather Service is forecasting will move into interior Northern California.
The company said it anticipates the shutoff could begin Wednesday afternoon and impact 209,000 customer accounts across 16 counties. That’s about a third of the customers whose power was cut earlier this month across 35 counties.
Unlike the last shutoff, which covered all of Lake County and 37,400 customer accounts, the one that’s proposed for this week is expected to impact approximately 1,895 customers in Cobb, Kelseyville, Loch Lomond, Middletown and Upper Lake, including 65 baseline customers, according to PG&E.
A detailed map of the shutoff area can be found here or viewed above.
In addition to Lake, the impacted counties and the number of customers are: Alpine, 200; Amador, 13,131; Butte, 23,452; Calaveras, 14,586; El Dorado, 39,786; Mendocino, 862; Napa, 9,623; Nevada, 37,098; Placer, 18,773; Plumas, 785; San Mateo, 6,462; Sierra, 1,160; Sonoma, 33,613; Sutter, 229; and Yuba, 7,474.
PG&E President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson told reporters in a Monday evening briefing that the company hadn’t yet decided on whether or not it would cut the power. That decision, Johnson said, is expected on Wednesday.
If the company moves forward with another shutoff, company officials said they will make notifications eight to 12 hours ahead of cutting power.
In the case of the North Bay, power could be cut starting at 2 p.m. Wednesday in order for deenergization to be complete by 5 p.m., the time the wind event is forecast to peak, company officials said.
PG&E said it activated its San Francisco-based emergency operations center on Sunday evening to monitor the weather event.
The forecast is showing the potential for strong and dry offshore wind gusts that may exceed 55 miles per hour late Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon for portions of the Sierra Foothills, and gusts of 35 to 45 miles per hour for some North Bay counties, with some localized areas expected to experience 55 mile per hour gusts.
The wind event this week is forecast to be much smaller than the one two weeks ago, in which PG&E said it has identified more than 100 instances of serious damage and hazard on its distribution and transmission lines .
On Monday afternoon, the company said it began a 48-hour advance notification to customers who may be impacted by a shutoff beginning late Wednesday evening.
Michael Lewis, senior vice president of PG&E Electric Operations, emphasized that shutoffs are a safety measure.
“The sole purpose of PSPS is to significantly reduce catastrophic wildfire risk to our customers and communities. We know that sustained winds above 45 mph are known to cause damage to the lower-voltage distribution system and winds above 50 mph are known to cause damage to higher-voltage transmission equipment,” Lewis said in a written statement released by the company.
Two weeks ago, PG&E’s Web site sustained traffic at approximately 250 times its previous peak load, company officials told the California Public Utilities Commission at a special Friday afternoon hearing in San Francisco.
As a result, PG&E said it has created a new Web site to take on higher traffic volumes. It will provide address lookup for affected customers, community resource center locations as they become available and other PSPS event-related information. Online services such as energy bill payment, will be unavailable until after power has been restored.
The company said it also has strengthened its contact call center to better handle phone calls, will open community resource centers in affected counties on Wednesday and is working to strengthen its coordination with government agencies, in particular counties, cities and tribal governments in its service area.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Less than two weeks after Lake County was included in a regionwide public safety power shutoff conducted by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in response to a weather event, the company said Monday that another shutoff could take place this week that would impact portions of Lake County.
PG&E said it is considering activating the public safety power shutoff, or PSPS, beginning at about noon on Wednesday in response to a potentially strong, hot and dry offshore wind event Wednesday and Thursday.
The main period of weather risk is forecast to last about 18 to 24 hours, from Wednesday evening through mid-day Thursday. PG&E said the dry, windy weather pattern is expected to unfold across the Northern Sierra, Sacramento Valley and the North Bay.
While PG&E has not yet officially called a public safety power shutoff, company spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said it is monitoring a potential shutoff area that includes Lake and 14 other counties: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Sutter and Yuba.
Those areas have been placed under a “PSPS Watch,” indicating that there is a “reasonable chance of executing a PSPS to reduce public safety risk in a given geographic zone due to a combination of adverse weather and dry fuel conditions,” the company reported.
“We expect the potential PSPS may affect up to 209,000 customers across the 15 counties,” Contreras told Lake County News.
That’s compared to the more than 735,000 customer accounts – and more than two million Californians – in 35 counties officials said were impacted two weeks ago.
In the previous event, more than 37,400 Lake County customer accounts – or, all of Lake County – were impacted.
However, Sheriff Brian Martin said Monday that this time it appears about 2,000 customer accounts will be impacted.
On Monday afternoon, the Lakeport Police Department reported that PG&E had told city officials that the city of Lakeport is not anticipated to be included in the outage area.
Like Martin, the city also reported that it had received information that the impact would be limited to about 2,000 customers.
A PG&E outage map that the city of Lakeport provided Monday afternoon – at which point it wasn’t posted on the PG&E Web site – showed that the proposed shutoff areas are in the south county around Cobb and Middletown, and one small area north of Upper Lake along Highway 20 at the Lake-Mendocino County border.
Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora also told Lake County News Monday afternoon that there is not expected to be any impact to the city of Clearlake, with Cobb and Middletown the main focus.
The company said it activated its emergency operations center in San Francisco at 6 p.m. Sunday to monitor the wind event.
Contreras said the company continues to suggest that customers prepare for outages that could last longer than 48 hours.
PG&E said it will provide updates several times a day in the lead up to the potential shutoff.
Email Elizabeth Larson at