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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s incumbent superintendent of schools won a second term on Tuesday while several uncontested county races were finalized with the primary vote.
Based on preliminary election results, Brock Falkenberg won reelection to the superintendent of schools job over opponent Patrick Iaccino, the retired Upper Lake schools superintendent.
With 70 of 70 county precincts reporting, along with an initial absentee count, Falkenberg’s preliminary vote count was 70.9 percent, or 4,886 ballots, to Iaccinio’s 28.6 percent, or 1,969 ballots. There also were 40 write-in ballots, accounting for an overall preliminary vote count of 0.6 percent.
The race results will remain preliminary until Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley finishes the official canvass and certifies the election results, which she has 30 days to do. At that point, the results will become final.
Other county races that were finalized on Tuesday because there were uncontested are for assessor-recorder, county clerk-auditor, sheriff-coroner and treasurer-tax collector.
Richard Ford and Brian Martin were elected to second terms as assessor-recorder and sheriff-coroner, respectively.
Cathy Saderlund, appointed by the Board of Supervisors in October 2011 to fill the seat after a retirement, ran uncontested for the second time in this year’s primary.
Incumbent Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen, like Saderlund, also was initially appointed by the Board of Supervisors to her job. Ringen took over the position in November 2013, running for the first time the following year. This is her second uncontested election.
Each of those uncontested candidates received about 98 percent of the vote, with a small number of write-in ballots cast in each of those races, based on the preliminary vote counts.
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.
Based on preliminary election results, Brock Falkenberg won reelection to the superintendent of schools job over opponent Patrick Iaccino, the retired Upper Lake schools superintendent.
With 70 of 70 county precincts reporting, along with an initial absentee count, Falkenberg’s preliminary vote count was 70.9 percent, or 4,886 ballots, to Iaccinio’s 28.6 percent, or 1,969 ballots. There also were 40 write-in ballots, accounting for an overall preliminary vote count of 0.6 percent.
The race results will remain preliminary until Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley finishes the official canvass and certifies the election results, which she has 30 days to do. At that point, the results will become final.
Other county races that were finalized on Tuesday because there were uncontested are for assessor-recorder, county clerk-auditor, sheriff-coroner and treasurer-tax collector.
Richard Ford and Brian Martin were elected to second terms as assessor-recorder and sheriff-coroner, respectively.
Cathy Saderlund, appointed by the Board of Supervisors in October 2011 to fill the seat after a retirement, ran uncontested for the second time in this year’s primary.
Incumbent Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen, like Saderlund, also was initially appointed by the Board of Supervisors to her job. Ringen took over the position in November 2013, running for the first time the following year. This is her second uncontested election.
Each of those uncontested candidates received about 98 percent of the vote, with a small number of write-in ballots cast in each of those races, based on the preliminary vote counts.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A general sales tax measure put before Lake County’s voters failed to receive a majority vote while one community’s specific tax for maintenance got resounding support, based on the preliminary vote county from Tuesday’s primary election.
Measure G, the 1.5-percent sales tax measure county leaders said was needed to address a shortfall in funding, received 38.3 percent, or 2,222 votes, in favor of it versus a 61.7-percent no vote that totaled 3,576 ballots, according to preliminary results.
With all 57 precincts reporting, the preliminary results indicated that the measure failed to get the majority it needed to go into effect.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in March to place the measure on the ballot.
Initial estimates expected it would raise $4.5 million a year for 10 years, at which point it would sunset.
County officials held visioning meetings in the five supervisorial districts in January and said that polling of residents in those meetings and in a followup phone poll had indicated majority support for a sales tax measure.
Measure G is the latest in a series of failed sales tax measures that the county has put before voters.
Measure S, a 0.5-percent sales tax for 10 years to benefit the health of Clear Lake, failed in November 2014.
That measure was voted down months after a similar lake tax measure, Measure L, failed in the June 2014 primary. It also would have instituted a 0.5-percent tax.
In November 2012, a half-cent sales tax aimed at helping Clear Lake, Measure E, also was defeated.
It was a different story for another measure on Tuesday’s ballot, Measure F, which preliminary results showed received the needed majority support from residents of the Butler-Keys Community Service District.
Measure F received a 69.2-percent yes vote, which was 18 ballots, versus eight no votes, which accounted for 30.8 percent of the preliminary vote tally.
Measure F institutes a special annual tax of $50 per year per single lot within the Butler-Keys Community Services District for a period of four years, beginning in the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Funds raised from the measure will be used to maintain streets within the community services district. The measure also calls for the district to establish an annual appropriations limit in the amount of $9,250 for four fiscal years.
The election’s results won’t become officials until Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley finishes the certification process, which she has 30 days to complete.
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.
Measure G, the 1.5-percent sales tax measure county leaders said was needed to address a shortfall in funding, received 38.3 percent, or 2,222 votes, in favor of it versus a 61.7-percent no vote that totaled 3,576 ballots, according to preliminary results.
With all 57 precincts reporting, the preliminary results indicated that the measure failed to get the majority it needed to go into effect.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in March to place the measure on the ballot.
Initial estimates expected it would raise $4.5 million a year for 10 years, at which point it would sunset.
County officials held visioning meetings in the five supervisorial districts in January and said that polling of residents in those meetings and in a followup phone poll had indicated majority support for a sales tax measure.
Measure G is the latest in a series of failed sales tax measures that the county has put before voters.
Measure S, a 0.5-percent sales tax for 10 years to benefit the health of Clear Lake, failed in November 2014.
That measure was voted down months after a similar lake tax measure, Measure L, failed in the June 2014 primary. It also would have instituted a 0.5-percent tax.
In November 2012, a half-cent sales tax aimed at helping Clear Lake, Measure E, also was defeated.
It was a different story for another measure on Tuesday’s ballot, Measure F, which preliminary results showed received the needed majority support from residents of the Butler-Keys Community Service District.
Measure F received a 69.2-percent yes vote, which was 18 ballots, versus eight no votes, which accounted for 30.8 percent of the preliminary vote tally.
Measure F institutes a special annual tax of $50 per year per single lot within the Butler-Keys Community Services District for a period of four years, beginning in the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Funds raised from the measure will be used to maintain streets within the community services district. The measure also calls for the district to establish an annual appropriations limit in the amount of $9,250 for four fiscal years.
The election’s results won’t become officials until Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley finishes the certification process, which she has 30 days to complete.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The state and federal elected officials who represent Lake County won easy victories in the Tuesday primary, with their elections not final until November.
With 717 of 963 precincts reporting early Wednesday, the results showed that State Sen. Mike McGuire won the primary race over fellow Democrat Veronica Jacobi.
McGuire’s preliminary count was 81,367 ballots, or 75.9 percent of the vote, compared to Jacobi’s 25,892 ballots, or 24.1 percent of the vote.
“Serving as state senator has been the honor of my life,” McGuire said Tuesday night. “I am so grateful to have this opportunity to work day in and day out on behalf of the hard working folks of the North Coast and I can’t say thank you enough to those who have brought us this far.”
He added, “Tomorrow, we’ll be back to work and focused on making even more investments in our kids and public schools, rebuilding stronger from the devastating fire storm, protecting our coast and environment, creating family-sustaining jobs and, together, stopping the Trump administration from reversing years of progress here in the Golden State.”
McGuire, still in his first term, now advances to the Nov. 6 general election.
Lake County’s member of the state Assembly, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, a Democrat from Winters, is running for her second term uncontested.
She has received 100 percent of the vote so far, with 39,232 votes cast for her. As of early Wednesday, 89.9 percent of precincts – 441 out of 457 – had reported in her race, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
That conflicts with the preliminary Lake County election tally, which showed Aguiar-Curry with 5,290 votes, or 94.1 percent, with 330 write-in ballots, accounting for 5.9 percent of the vote.
Lake County’s two members of the House of Representatives also appear headed for clear reelection victories.
With 90 percent of precinct reporting, Congressman Mike Thompson, a Democrat from St. Helena who represents the southern half of Lake County, received 79.1 percent of the vote with 66,621 ballots cast for him.
Challenging Thompson in the primary were Anthony Mills, no party preference, 7,843 ballots or 9.3 percent; Nils Palsson, no party preference, 6,884 ballots or 8.2 percent; and Green Party member Jason Kishineff, who received 2,887 votes, or 3.4 percent, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Democrat John Garamendi, who represents the northern portion of Lake County, received 53 percent of the vote, or 46,305 ballots cast in his favor, with 90 percent – 414 of 430 – precincts reporting, according to the Secretary of State’s Office’s preliminary count.
Garamendi’s challengers in the primary were Republican Charlie Schaupp and Democrat Kevin Puett.
The preliminary count showed that Schaupp received 37,466 votes, or 42.9 percent, while Puett received 3,662 votes, or 4.2 percent.
With 90 percent of precincts reporting, US Sen. Dianne Feinstein appears headed for a decisive primary victory, receiving 44 percent of the vote in a field crowded with challengers, including several from her own Democratic Party.
One of those challengers, Democrat Kevin De Leon, got the second-highest vote count, with 11.30 percent, according to the early count.
Like the other races, Feinstein’s will continue until the fall general election.
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.
With 717 of 963 precincts reporting early Wednesday, the results showed that State Sen. Mike McGuire won the primary race over fellow Democrat Veronica Jacobi.
McGuire’s preliminary count was 81,367 ballots, or 75.9 percent of the vote, compared to Jacobi’s 25,892 ballots, or 24.1 percent of the vote.
“Serving as state senator has been the honor of my life,” McGuire said Tuesday night. “I am so grateful to have this opportunity to work day in and day out on behalf of the hard working folks of the North Coast and I can’t say thank you enough to those who have brought us this far.”
He added, “Tomorrow, we’ll be back to work and focused on making even more investments in our kids and public schools, rebuilding stronger from the devastating fire storm, protecting our coast and environment, creating family-sustaining jobs and, together, stopping the Trump administration from reversing years of progress here in the Golden State.”
McGuire, still in his first term, now advances to the Nov. 6 general election.
Lake County’s member of the state Assembly, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, a Democrat from Winters, is running for her second term uncontested.
She has received 100 percent of the vote so far, with 39,232 votes cast for her. As of early Wednesday, 89.9 percent of precincts – 441 out of 457 – had reported in her race, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
That conflicts with the preliminary Lake County election tally, which showed Aguiar-Curry with 5,290 votes, or 94.1 percent, with 330 write-in ballots, accounting for 5.9 percent of the vote.
Lake County’s two members of the House of Representatives also appear headed for clear reelection victories.
With 90 percent of precinct reporting, Congressman Mike Thompson, a Democrat from St. Helena who represents the southern half of Lake County, received 79.1 percent of the vote with 66,621 ballots cast for him.
Challenging Thompson in the primary were Anthony Mills, no party preference, 7,843 ballots or 9.3 percent; Nils Palsson, no party preference, 6,884 ballots or 8.2 percent; and Green Party member Jason Kishineff, who received 2,887 votes, or 3.4 percent, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Democrat John Garamendi, who represents the northern portion of Lake County, received 53 percent of the vote, or 46,305 ballots cast in his favor, with 90 percent – 414 of 430 – precincts reporting, according to the Secretary of State’s Office’s preliminary count.
Garamendi’s challengers in the primary were Republican Charlie Schaupp and Democrat Kevin Puett.
The preliminary count showed that Schaupp received 37,466 votes, or 42.9 percent, while Puett received 3,662 votes, or 4.2 percent.
With 90 percent of precincts reporting, US Sen. Dianne Feinstein appears headed for a decisive primary victory, receiving 44 percent of the vote in a field crowded with challengers, including several from her own Democratic Party.
One of those challengers, Democrat Kevin De Leon, got the second-highest vote count, with 11.30 percent, according to the early count.
Like the other races, Feinstein’s will continue until the fall general election.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Election results direct from the county Registrar of Voters. These results will update as the Registrar updates.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – In response to the tragic loss of Hardester’s Market in Middletown, Blues Farm and the Middletown Art Center are teaming up to host a community fundraiser on Friday, June 8, to benefit Hardester’s employees.
The concert will take place from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at the Middletown Art Center, located at 21456 Highway 175 at the junctions of Highway 29 in Middletown.
Tickets are $10 and everyone is invited.
While some will continue to be employed by Hardester’s or find other jobs, there will be many who will need assistance until the Middletown store reopens.
This concert gives the community an opportunity to come together and help out, enjoy some music, and spend quality time with neighbors and friends.
“The folks at the Middletown Hardester’s always made us feel welcome and known when we shopped there,” said Blue’s Farm singer Dave Broida, a Middletown resident. “The store is already dearly missed. It was the heart of our small town and a consistent and reliable resource for all kinds of supplies and foods for all of us. They even stayed open during the devastating Valley fire.”
This past Memorial Day, May 28, the Middletown Hardester’s Market was consumed by fire.
About 100 employees’ jobs have been impacted. While the hardware section will reopen on a smaller scale and the store will be rebuilt, it will take some time for all employees to return to work.
With Broida, being the driving force behind making the benefit happen, it promises to be a great evening.
The Blues Farm is an All-American blues band that plays a unique brand of funky hip shakin' Lake County Blues with a healthy dose of Chicago, Memphis and Mississippi mixed in.
Come dance at the MAC to the rockin’ tunes of Dave Broida on harmonica and vocals, Mojo Larry Platz; guitar, Tall Paul; bass guitar and vocals & Steve Dubois; drums with special surprise guests.
After expenses, funds will be deposited into a community fund set up to support employees in need of assistance.
Join MAC on Friday and support the friendly and caring Hardester’s staff who will need help in the coming months.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With spring in full swing and the county’s agriculture and tourism industries ramping up, the latest report on unemployment shows more promising news on jobs for Lake County and for the state as a whole.
The California Employment Development Department’s report on the April rate put Lake County’s unemployment for that month at 5 percent, down from a revised 5.5 percent in March and the year-ago estimate of 5.7 percent.
The April unemployment rate is the second-lowest for Lake County since 1990; the lowest was the 4.8-percent rate reported for September, based on Employment Development Department records.
April also was a very good month for the whole state. The Employment Development Department said California’s unemployment rate fell from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent in April, a new record low in a series dating back to the beginning of 1976. In April 2017, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,100 California households.
Helping the April rate was the fact that the state’s employers added 39,300 nonfarm payroll jobs. State officials said California has also now gained a total of 2,908,100 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010.
The Employment Development Department said nonfarm payroll jobs in California totaled 17,097,700 in April, at net gain of 39,300 jobs from March, which saw a revised gain of 5,400 jobs, based on a survey of 71,000 California businesses that measures jobs in the economy. The year-over change, April 2017 to April 2018, showed an increase of 356,800 jobs, or 2.1 percent.
A federal household survey showed an increase in the number of employed Californians over the year, estimating that the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 18,543,000, a decrease of 9,000 from March, and up 245,000 from the employment total in April of last year.
The state said the number of unemployed Californians was 815,000 in April – down by 13,000 over the month, and down by 139,000 compared with April of last year.
Nationwide, unemployment in April dropped from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent, the lowest national unemployment rate since December of 2000, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In April the nation’s employers added 164,000 nonfarm payroll jobs.
In Lake County, jobs grew by 18 percent in the total farm category and 0.9 percent in the total nonfarm category, according to state statistics.
Under the total nonfarm category, top subcategories showing growth included state government, 11.1 percent; nondurable goods, 4.8 percent; mining, logging and construction, 4.2 percent; and other services, 3.6 percent.
Losses were recorded in information, -9.1 percent; durable goods, -7.1 percent; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, -1.8 percent.
Statewide, 10 of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 40,700 jobs in April, according to the report.
The Employment Development Department said construction reported the largest increase with a gain of 10,000 jobs, followed by professional and business services (up 8,500), and trade, transportation and utilities, (up 6,900 jobs).
Other industry sectors that gained jobs over the month were educational and health services (up 4,700), other services (up 3,800), financial activities (up 2,700), information (up 2,100), government (up 1,000), leisure and hospitality (up 900), and mining and logging (up 100), the state reported.
Only one industry sector reported job declines over the month, manufacturing posted a loss of 1,400 jobs in April, the report showed.
In a year-over-year comparison – April 2017 to April 2018 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 356,800 jobs, a 2.1-percent increase.
In a year-over comparison, the Employment Development Department said 10 of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 357,600 jobs.
The largest job gains were in educational and health services, up 83,500 jobs (a 3.2 percent increase), professional and business services, up 65,800 jobs (a 2.6 percent increase) and construction, up 59,500 jobs (a 7.4 percent increase), the state reported.
Other sectors that the Employment Development Department said added jobs over the year were leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities, government, information, manufacturing, financial activities and mining and logging.
Only one industry sector posted job declines over the year, other services, down a total of 800 jobs, according to the state.
In other employment-related business, the Employment Development Department said there were 390,362 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the April survey week. That compares with 403,184 in March and 388,142 in April of last year.
The agency said new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 40,848 in April, compared with 39,330 in March and 45,319 in April of last year.
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 California Employment Development Department’s report on the April rate put Lake County’s unemployment for that month at 5 percent, down from a revised 5.5 percent in March and the year-ago estimate of 5.7 percent.
The April unemployment rate is the second-lowest for Lake County since 1990; the lowest was the 4.8-percent rate reported for September, based on Employment Development Department records.
April also was a very good month for the whole state. The Employment Development Department said California’s unemployment rate fell from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent in April, a new record low in a series dating back to the beginning of 1976. In April 2017, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,100 California households.
Helping the April rate was the fact that the state’s employers added 39,300 nonfarm payroll jobs. State officials said California has also now gained a total of 2,908,100 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010.
The Employment Development Department said nonfarm payroll jobs in California totaled 17,097,700 in April, at net gain of 39,300 jobs from March, which saw a revised gain of 5,400 jobs, based on a survey of 71,000 California businesses that measures jobs in the economy. The year-over change, April 2017 to April 2018, showed an increase of 356,800 jobs, or 2.1 percent.
A federal household survey showed an increase in the number of employed Californians over the year, estimating that the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 18,543,000, a decrease of 9,000 from March, and up 245,000 from the employment total in April of last year.
The state said the number of unemployed Californians was 815,000 in April – down by 13,000 over the month, and down by 139,000 compared with April of last year.
Nationwide, unemployment in April dropped from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent, the lowest national unemployment rate since December of 2000, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In April the nation’s employers added 164,000 nonfarm payroll jobs.
In Lake County, jobs grew by 18 percent in the total farm category and 0.9 percent in the total nonfarm category, according to state statistics.
Under the total nonfarm category, top subcategories showing growth included state government, 11.1 percent; nondurable goods, 4.8 percent; mining, logging and construction, 4.2 percent; and other services, 3.6 percent.
Losses were recorded in information, -9.1 percent; durable goods, -7.1 percent; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, -1.8 percent.
Statewide, 10 of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 40,700 jobs in April, according to the report.
The Employment Development Department said construction reported the largest increase with a gain of 10,000 jobs, followed by professional and business services (up 8,500), and trade, transportation and utilities, (up 6,900 jobs).
Other industry sectors that gained jobs over the month were educational and health services (up 4,700), other services (up 3,800), financial activities (up 2,700), information (up 2,100), government (up 1,000), leisure and hospitality (up 900), and mining and logging (up 100), the state reported.
Only one industry sector reported job declines over the month, manufacturing posted a loss of 1,400 jobs in April, the report showed.
In a year-over-year comparison – April 2017 to April 2018 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 356,800 jobs, a 2.1-percent increase.
In a year-over comparison, the Employment Development Department said 10 of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 357,600 jobs.
The largest job gains were in educational and health services, up 83,500 jobs (a 3.2 percent increase), professional and business services, up 65,800 jobs (a 2.6 percent increase) and construction, up 59,500 jobs (a 7.4 percent increase), the state reported.
Other sectors that the Employment Development Department said added jobs over the year were leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities, government, information, manufacturing, financial activities and mining and logging.
Only one industry sector posted job declines over the year, other services, down a total of 800 jobs, according to the state.
In other employment-related business, the Employment Development Department said there were 390,362 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the April survey week. That compares with 403,184 in March and 388,142 in April of last year.
The agency said new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 40,848 in April, compared with 39,330 in March and 45,319 in April of last year.
Email Elizabeth Larson at