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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – California agencies combating the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels remind boaters to remain cautious over the three-day Memorial Day weekend.
Quagga and zebra mussels are invasive freshwater mussels native to Europe and Asia. They multiply quickly, encrust watercraft and infrastructure, alter water quality and the aquatic food web and ultimately impact native and sport fish communities.
These mussels spread from one waterbody to another by attaching to watercraft, equipment and nearly anything that has been in an infested waterbody.
Invisible to the naked eye, microscopic juveniles are spread from infested waterbodies by water that is entrapped in boat engines, ballasts, bilges, live-wells and buckets.
Quagga mussels have infested 33 waterways in Southern California and zebra mussels have infested two waterways in San Benito County.
To prevent the spread of these mussels and other aquatic invasive species, people launching vessels at any waterbody are subject to watercraft inspections and are strongly encouraged to clean, drain and dry their motorized and non-motorized boats, including personal watercraft, and any equipment that contacts the water before and after use.
"While enjoying this long holiday weekend outdoors experiencing the great variety of recreational opportunities that California has to offer, we ask everyone to please continue their vital, long-standing practice of helping us slow the spread of invasive mussels," said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Planning Branch Chief Rick Macedo.
Take the following steps both before traveling to and before leaving a waterbody to prevent spreading invasive mussels, improve the efficiency of your inspection experience and safeguard California waterways:
– CLEAN: Inspect exposed surfaces and remove all plants and organisms;
– DRAIN: All water, including water contained in lower outboard units, live-wells and bait buckets; and
– DRY: Allow the watercraft to thoroughly dry between launches. Watercraft should be kept dry for at least five days in warm weather and up to 30 days in cool weather.
CDFW has developed a brief video, shown above, demonstrating the ease of implementing the clean, drain and dry prevention method.
In addition, a detailed guide to cleaning vessels of invasive mussels is available on the CDFW's webpage. Additional information is available on the Division of Boating and Waterways Web site and the Department of Water Resources Web site.
Travelers are also advised to be prepared for inspections at California Department of Food and Agriculture Border Protection Stations. Over the past 10 years, more than 1.45 million watercraft entering California have been inspected at the Border Protection Stations.
Inspections, which can also be conducted by CDFW and California State Parks, include a check of boats and personal watercraft, as well as trailers and all onboard items. Contaminated vessels and equipment are subject to decontamination, rejection, quarantine or impoundment.
Quagga and zebra mussels can attach to and damage virtually any submerged surface.
They can:
– Ruin a boat engine by blocking the cooling system and causing it to overheat;
– Jam a boat's steering equipment, putting occupants and others at risk;
– Require frequent scraping and repainting of boat hulls;
– Colonize all underwater substrates such as boat ramps, docks, lines and other underwater surfaces, causing them to require constant cleaning;
– Impose large expenses to owners.
A multi-agency effort that includes CDFW, DBW, CDFA and DWR has been leading an outreach campaign to alert the public to the quagga and zebra mussel threats.
A toll-free hotline, 866-440-9530, is available for those seeking information on quagga or zebra mussels.
COBB, Calif. – Cobb resident Jessica Pyska this week became the first candidate to officially throw her hat into the ring for the 2020 supervisorial elections.
The Lake County native said she will run for the District 5 seat, currently held by Rob Brown. Brown has indicated he will not seek reelection.
District 5 includes Kelseyville, the Clear Lake Rivieras, Buckingham, Loch Lomond and parts of Cobb Mountain area.
The primary election will be held on March 3, 2020, and the general election on Nov. 3, 2020.
In 2016, Pyska was one of the founders of the Cobb Area Council, or CAC, focusing on proactive recovery after the Valley fire, where she and her family lost their home.
In her current role as Economic Development Committee Chair of the CAC, Pyska works closely with Lake County supervisors and department heads to build a sustainable community through
restoration, rebuilding and reshaping, and to ease the burdens of communities working through long-term recovery, while supporting and revitalizing local businesses.
Pyska is co-owner of JP Consulting, a web and mobile app development consulting firm. She works part-time designing curriculum and teaching weekly classes for kindergarten through sixth grade students at Cobb Mountain Elementary School with a focus on gardening, nutrition, cooking, science, art, math and environmental education, and helps to raise the funds to support the program.
Since 2014 she has served on the board of the Friends of Cobb Mountain, a group dedicated to protecting the natural beauty of the Cobb Mountain area, and she coordinated the Valley Fire Rebuild Expo in 2016, where $30,000 in gift cards were handed out to those who had lost their homes. She also worked in the local wine industry for seven years and enjoys making wine at home.
Pyska has volunteered to help disaster survivors through the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity New Orleans. She is currently a leader of Junior Girl Scout troop No. 10463.
She has deep roots in Lake County. She was born at the old Lakeside Hospital and raised on Cobb Mountain with her two brothers and sister. She attended Minnie Cannon Elementary, then Cobb Elementary when it opened in 1985. She graduated from Middletown High School in 1994.
Her father, John Jennings, worked in the steam fields for more than 30 years before retiring from Calpine in 2005. Her mother, Karen Jennings, worked in the Middletown School District, then served on the school board for two terms in the 1990s.
After graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz, Pyska moved to San Francisco, joining a commercial real estate corporation.
She met and married Joel Pyska and they chose to move back to Lake County in 2005 to start their family. Their children, Camille and Asher, attend Cobb Mountain Elementary School.
Pyska said she looks forward to meeting with residents of District 5 to deepen her understanding of their vision, needs and priorities so she can better represent them.
She said she has already received enthusiastic support and commitments from those who know of her plans, as they believe in her strength and determination.
Pyska believes her personal journey through the fire recovery and rebuilding process makes her uniquely qualified to assist Lake County in building a solid future prioritizing economic vitality and advancing a high standard of disaster prevention and preparedness while preserving the things everyone loves most about the community.
She may be contacted at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – After a long, wet winter, and a change in management, Northern California Racing Association is ready to begin the 2019 auto racing season this Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. at the Lakeport Speedway.
Saturday's activities will begin with race cars joining in the Memorial Day parade at 11 a.m.
Then the modifieds, bombers, jammers and legends cars will return to the track to get ready for the action on the one-quarter mile paved oval at the Lake County Fairgrounds, located at 401 Martin St.
The evening will conclude with the ever-popular “Fiberglass 500” boat races, in which boats are dragged around the wet race track, trying to dislodge their competitor's boat.
The winners will be chosen by the race fans after the checkered flag is thrown.
Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 11, with children age 5 and younger welcome to attend for free.
NCRA began running auto races at the Lakeport Speedway in 1966.
For more information on the 2019 racing season, visit NCRA – Lakeport Speedway on Facebook or call the business office at 707-274-1662.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday, the city of Clearlake continued the annual tradition of raising the large American flag in Austin Park, which is donated each year by the Park Study Club.
Members of the Park Study Club, Clearlake Police Department and Public Works Department, Mayor Russ Cremer, and Council Member Phil Harris were present, along with the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team to properly raise the 600-square-foot flag.
“The Park Study Club has been generous enough to continue donating the American flag for Austin Park year after year. The raising of Lake County’s largest flag is always an awe-inspiring sight,” said Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With summer around the corner, Memorial Day weekend traffic will likely increase on California roadways.
In the interest of traffic safety, the California Highway Patrol will conduct a maximum enforcement period, or MEP.
Seat belt usage is the focus of the Memorial Day MEP, which will run from 6 p.m. on Friday, May 24, to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 27.
During the MEP, CHP officers will be out in force throughout California looking for traffic safety violations and making efforts to educate motorists to ensure a safe holiday.
Officers will also be watching carefully for distracted drivers and those who are impaired by drugs or alcohol.
“One of the simplest things a person can do to stay safe is to buckle up,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley. “Not only does the law require vehicle occupants to wear a seat belt, but it helps protect against injury or death.”
Nearly half – 46 percent – of all vehicle occupants killed in collisions within CHP jurisdiction last Memorial Day weekend were unrestrained.
In all, 37 people died in crashes during the 78-hour holiday enforcement effort in California. Additionally, CHP officers made 1,060 arrests in California for driving under the influence.
Motorists are also reminded to protect child passengers by placing them in age-appropriate restraint devices, whether a safety seat or booster seat.
The law requires that children under age eight ride in the back seat and that children under age two are secured in a rear-facing child passenger safety seat.
In addition to the MEP, the CHP will take part in the nationwide “Click It or Ticket” campaign led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, that will emphasize seat belt use from May 20-June 2.
According to NHTSA, in 2017 there were more than 10,000 unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationwide.
In the interest of traffic safety, the California Highway Patrol will conduct a maximum enforcement period, or MEP.
Seat belt usage is the focus of the Memorial Day MEP, which will run from 6 p.m. on Friday, May 24, to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 27.
During the MEP, CHP officers will be out in force throughout California looking for traffic safety violations and making efforts to educate motorists to ensure a safe holiday.
Officers will also be watching carefully for distracted drivers and those who are impaired by drugs or alcohol.
“One of the simplest things a person can do to stay safe is to buckle up,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley. “Not only does the law require vehicle occupants to wear a seat belt, but it helps protect against injury or death.”
Nearly half – 46 percent – of all vehicle occupants killed in collisions within CHP jurisdiction last Memorial Day weekend were unrestrained.
In all, 37 people died in crashes during the 78-hour holiday enforcement effort in California. Additionally, CHP officers made 1,060 arrests in California for driving under the influence.
Motorists are also reminded to protect child passengers by placing them in age-appropriate restraint devices, whether a safety seat or booster seat.
The law requires that children under age eight ride in the back seat and that children under age two are secured in a rear-facing child passenger safety seat.
In addition to the MEP, the CHP will take part in the nationwide “Click It or Ticket” campaign led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, that will emphasize seat belt use from May 20-June 2.
According to NHTSA, in 2017 there were more than 10,000 unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationwide.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Planning Commission this week is set to hold a public hearing on a cell tower project that has raised concerns in the Middletown community.
The planning commission will meet Thursday, May 23, in the Board of Supervisors chambers in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m., with the cell tower discussion timed for 1 p.m. The agenda, staff reports and application for the project can be found here.
Cellco Partnership, on behalf of Verizon Wireless, is seeking a minor use permit for colocation of telecommunication equipment on an existing 60-foot-tall lattice tower at 21347 Highway 175, owned by Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. and operated by AT&T and Mobility.
There would be nine antennas mounted on the tower, with ground equipment to be enclosed within a 160-square-foot small equipment shed.
The company also is seeking a variance to allow a reduction from the required 20-foot-wide access easement to the existing 10-foot-wide access easement and a reduction from the required 50-foot setback from property lines to the existing setbacks which are less than 5 feet, based on the application.
The findings required for requesting the variance include “special circumstances” that include size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, such that “the strict application of the development standards” would deprive it of “privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and under identical zone classifications.”
Complete Wireless Consulting Inc. of Sacramento hand-delivered the application package on behalf of Verizon Wireless in September.
“Verizon Wireless is seeking to improve communications services to residences, businesses, public services, and area travelers in Middletown and greater Lake County, California. Verizon maintains a strong customer base in Middletown and strives to improve coverage for both existing and potential customers,” the project support statement explains.
The document says that the proposed facility is needed to improve coverage by closing “a significant gap in coverage and offloading existing facilities nearby.”
“The improved wireless service will benefit residents, local businesses, tourists, commuters, and public safety communications systems in the County of Lake, including police, fire, and medical services,” the document explains.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has voiced support for the project. In an August letter – written a month before the application was submitted – Undersheriff Chris Macedo said he was expressing “our support for the continued placement of cell sites throughout Lake County. Public Safety agencies now rely heavily on wireless communications in the county, and we have noticed that cell & data speeds in many areas of the county are far below reliable standards, and in some areas, nearly non-existent.”
As has been common for local cell facility projects, community concerns have arisen. So far, numerous community members have submitted letters outlining concerns with the project’s location close to homes and health risks.
Many of them are citing 5G technology as a concern. However, Lake County Senior Planner Mark Roberts referred to a May 1 email from the applicant which stated, “there is no 5G plan for the site as currently designed.” That email is page 6 in Attachment 2 of the agenda packet.
Roberts also told Lake County News that, so far, the county hasn’t received any applications for 5G projects.
One of the community members who has led opposition to the project is Rosemary Cordova, who owns two homes on an adjacent property.
In particular, Cordova raised issue with the fact that the facility is only 43 inches from her property line. She quoted county regulations that require a 100-foot setback from a residential property line.
As such, the case is precedent setting, said Cordova. Today it’s her backyard. “It’s your backyard tomorrow.”
All neighboring properties are legally inhabited residences, said Cordova.
She has two homes on one property – one a rental that burned in the Valley fire and she rebuilt, and her own residence, which was damaged in the Valley fire and subsequently repaired.
Cordova, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said she first heard about the project from Lisa Kaplan, director of the Middletown Art Center and a former member of the Middletown Area Town Hall board, last year. She was told later by Community Development Department staff that the project was withdrawn, but Kaplan alerted her to it being brought back in April, before legal notifications went to residents.
She said she contacted Roberts, who emailed her the application documents and gave her five days to get a response back to him for inclusion in the staff report.
“It was a steep learning curve. It still is a steep learning curve,” she said, due to the amount of information she’s had to read and understand.
Cordova has met with County Counsel Anita Grant and asked her to weigh in on the matter. She’s also met and talked to an attorney with a law firm that works on opposing such projects and has sent letters to decision makers.
“It’s a very lonely process,” she said.
Based on her research, she continues to raise issues with the project, such as questioning why there is no structural engineer’s report for the project. She said it’s her understanding that it can’t be considered a colocation project without one.
Due to its closeness to homes, she’s concerned about what happens if something falls off the tower.
Cordova said she’s invested and reinvested in Middletown. “I plan on living here the rest of my life. I’m deeply invested in staying here,” she said.
However, she has a 16-year-old son, and she said she can’t live underneath the project based on what she now knows.
Cordova said the variance is a test case for every setback in the county, and that today it’s her neighborhood, but it will be other neighborhoods next.
“That’s why it makes a difference to every single person in the county,” she said.
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 planning commission will meet Thursday, May 23, in the Board of Supervisors chambers in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m., with the cell tower discussion timed for 1 p.m. The agenda, staff reports and application for the project can be found here.
Cellco Partnership, on behalf of Verizon Wireless, is seeking a minor use permit for colocation of telecommunication equipment on an existing 60-foot-tall lattice tower at 21347 Highway 175, owned by Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. and operated by AT&T and Mobility.
There would be nine antennas mounted on the tower, with ground equipment to be enclosed within a 160-square-foot small equipment shed.
The company also is seeking a variance to allow a reduction from the required 20-foot-wide access easement to the existing 10-foot-wide access easement and a reduction from the required 50-foot setback from property lines to the existing setbacks which are less than 5 feet, based on the application.
The findings required for requesting the variance include “special circumstances” that include size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, such that “the strict application of the development standards” would deprive it of “privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and under identical zone classifications.”
Complete Wireless Consulting Inc. of Sacramento hand-delivered the application package on behalf of Verizon Wireless in September.
“Verizon Wireless is seeking to improve communications services to residences, businesses, public services, and area travelers in Middletown and greater Lake County, California. Verizon maintains a strong customer base in Middletown and strives to improve coverage for both existing and potential customers,” the project support statement explains.
The document says that the proposed facility is needed to improve coverage by closing “a significant gap in coverage and offloading existing facilities nearby.”
“The improved wireless service will benefit residents, local businesses, tourists, commuters, and public safety communications systems in the County of Lake, including police, fire, and medical services,” the document explains.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has voiced support for the project. In an August letter – written a month before the application was submitted – Undersheriff Chris Macedo said he was expressing “our support for the continued placement of cell sites throughout Lake County. Public Safety agencies now rely heavily on wireless communications in the county, and we have noticed that cell & data speeds in many areas of the county are far below reliable standards, and in some areas, nearly non-existent.”
As has been common for local cell facility projects, community concerns have arisen. So far, numerous community members have submitted letters outlining concerns with the project’s location close to homes and health risks.
Many of them are citing 5G technology as a concern. However, Lake County Senior Planner Mark Roberts referred to a May 1 email from the applicant which stated, “there is no 5G plan for the site as currently designed.” That email is page 6 in Attachment 2 of the agenda packet.
Roberts also told Lake County News that, so far, the county hasn’t received any applications for 5G projects.
One of the community members who has led opposition to the project is Rosemary Cordova, who owns two homes on an adjacent property.
In particular, Cordova raised issue with the fact that the facility is only 43 inches from her property line. She quoted county regulations that require a 100-foot setback from a residential property line.
As such, the case is precedent setting, said Cordova. Today it’s her backyard. “It’s your backyard tomorrow.”
All neighboring properties are legally inhabited residences, said Cordova.
She has two homes on one property – one a rental that burned in the Valley fire and she rebuilt, and her own residence, which was damaged in the Valley fire and subsequently repaired.
Cordova, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said she first heard about the project from Lisa Kaplan, director of the Middletown Art Center and a former member of the Middletown Area Town Hall board, last year. She was told later by Community Development Department staff that the project was withdrawn, but Kaplan alerted her to it being brought back in April, before legal notifications went to residents.
She said she contacted Roberts, who emailed her the application documents and gave her five days to get a response back to him for inclusion in the staff report.
“It was a steep learning curve. It still is a steep learning curve,” she said, due to the amount of information she’s had to read and understand.
Cordova has met with County Counsel Anita Grant and asked her to weigh in on the matter. She’s also met and talked to an attorney with a law firm that works on opposing such projects and has sent letters to decision makers.
“It’s a very lonely process,” she said.
Based on her research, she continues to raise issues with the project, such as questioning why there is no structural engineer’s report for the project. She said it’s her understanding that it can’t be considered a colocation project without one.
Due to its closeness to homes, she’s concerned about what happens if something falls off the tower.
Cordova said she’s invested and reinvested in Middletown. “I plan on living here the rest of my life. I’m deeply invested in staying here,” she said.
However, she has a 16-year-old son, and she said she can’t live underneath the project based on what she now knows.
Cordova said the variance is a test case for every setback in the county, and that today it’s her neighborhood, but it will be other neighborhoods next.
“That’s why it makes a difference to every single person in the county,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at