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This colorful image, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, celebrates the Earth-orbiting observatory’s 28th anniversary of viewing the heavens, giving us a window seat to the universe’s extraordinary tapestry of stellar birth and destruction.
At the center of the photo, a monster young star 200,000 times brighter than our Sun is blasting powerful ultraviolet radiation and hurricane-like stellar winds, carving out a fantasy landscape of ridges, cavities, and mountains of gas and dust.
This mayhem is all happening at the heart of the Lagoon Nebula, a vast stellar nursery located 4,000 light-years away and visible in binoculars simply as a smudge of light with a bright core.
The giant star, called Herschel 36, is bursting out of its natal cocoon of material, unleashing blistering radiation and torrential stellar winds (streams of subatomic particles) that push dust away in curtain-like sheets. This action resembles the Sun bursting through the clouds at the end of an afternoon thunderstorm that showers sheets of rainfall.
Herschel 36’s violent activity has blasted holes in the bubble-shaped cloud, allowing astronomers to study this action-packed stellar breeding ground.
The hefty star is 32 times more massive than our Sun, and 40,000 degrees Kelvin. It is nearly nine times our Sun’s diameter. Herschel 36 is still very active because it is young by a star’s standards, only 1 million years old. Based on its mass, it will live for another 5 million years. In comparison, our smaller Sun is 5 billion years old and will live another 5 billion years.
This region epitomizes a typical, raucous stellar nursery full of birth and destruction. The clouds may look majestic and peaceful, but they are in a constant state of flux from the star’s torrent of searing radiation and high-speed particles from stellar winds. As the monster star throws off its natal cocoon of material with its powerful energy, it is suppressing star formation around it.
However, at the dark edges of this dynamic bubble-shaped ecosystem, stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. Dark, elephant-like “trunks” of material represent dense pieces of the cocoon that are resistant to erosion by the searing ultraviolet light and serve as incubators for fledgling stars. They are analogous to desert buttes that resist weather erosion.
The Hubble view shows off the bubble’s 3D structure. Dust pushed away from the star reveals the glowing oxygen gas (in blue) behind the blown-out cavity. Herschel 36’s brilliant light is illuminating the top of the cavity (in yellow). The reddish hue that dominates part of the region is glowing nitrogen. The dark purple areas represent a mixture of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
The image shows a region of the nebula measuring about 4 light-years across.
The observations were taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 between Feb. 12 and Feb. 18, 2018.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C.
The video below takes a trip through the Lagoon Nebula.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A proposed update to the county’s master fee schedule was the main item of business at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, with a cannabis program fee totaling more than $5,000 being the key item of discussion.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson and her staff presented a resolution amending the master fee schedule with regard to 14 different fees for the Administrative Office, Water Resources and the county’s new cannabis program.
Regarding the fiscal impact of those fees, Huchingson’s report said, “There will be a modest increase in revenue that will offset the cost of doing business for the County departments.”
The significant changes included a proposed new $5,073 cannabis program fee that is to be paid prior to any permit being issued; the striking of the $65-per-month boat slip rental fee the Administrative Office charged for Holiday Harbor, which the county has sold; the striking of a $10 flood zone check and the implementation of a new base flood elevation determination from Water Resources; a new $30 hunting permit and a new $50 permit fee for group activity/gathering at Highland Springs; a $60 permit and a $20 annual fee for regulatory buoys; and a $10 lake use fee per registered boat in for-profit fishing tournaments and boating events.
Deputy Administrative Office Steve Carter said Water Resources had wanted to adjust fees and create new fees, including the hunting permit at Highland Springs and annual fees on regulatory buoys.
However, Carter said interim Water Resources Director David Cowan wanted to take off the $10 lake use fee for boats in for-profit events and bring back updated department fees in July.
Supervisor Tina Scott said she also was concerned about the $50 fee for group events at Highland Springs.
Cowan said Scott had a good point. He said he had talked to staff about the fees and they didn’t know much about the boat fee, so he wanted to reevaluate it.
He agreed with Scott’s concerns about Highland Springs. Cowan said he believed the previous director, Phil Moy, was looking at a way to generate income from Highland Springs. “But perhaps there are other ways to get that.”
Board Chair Jim Steele said there also are cleanup costs for the park, and Cowan agreed, noting they have a new caretaker.
Supervisor Rob Brown suggested having a $100 deposit which would be returned if groups cleaned up after using the park.
“I know this may sound odd and come as a shock to some, but I question the hunting,” continued Brown, explaining that with equestrian activities, bicyclists and other outdoor activities going on, “it doesn’t necessarily mix” to have hunting taking place at Highland Springs.
“I share those same sentiments,” said Cowan, adding he would like to explore it.
Cowan said that when he found out they had hunting with hiking and equestrian activities he was concerned, and added that the department’s map that shows where hunting is allowed “is sorely lacking.”
Brown said he wanted to review it at some point, adding that the allowed activities should be consistent with what is done at Mount Konocti County Park.
As for the setting of the permit amounts, County Counsel Anita Grant explained, “The permit costs are supposed to represent the county’s out-of-pocket costs,” and can’t simply copy another county.
Huchingson told the board that the Water Resources fees were sourced by staff from the prior director, Moy, and she suggested the board have staff pull them and work with Cowan.
New cannabis fee intended to cover county costs; growers concerned
The item that proved to be the biggest concern for community members who spoke to the board related to the $5,073 cannabis fee.
Huchingson said that at the board’s March cannabis workshop, county finance staff gave the board a report on cannabis revenue projections, and at that time the proposal was to loan money from the general fund to frontload the cost of cannabis operations. She said the board gave staff direction to come back with a fee to frontload those costs.
Her written report said the fee would cover county expenses other than Community Development Department fees.
“The cannabis program services fee is to be collected prior to CDD issuing the minor or major use permit except early activation,” Huchingson’s written report explained, adding that the proposed fee does not include CDD staff since the current fee structure of $95 per hour covers all staff time.
However, the new cannabis fee does cover the additional accountant position, deputy sheriff position, services and supplies, and fixed asset needed to support county cannabis activities, according to Huchingson’s report.
Carter explained that the fee was built by taking that staffing into account for the rest of fiscal year 2017-18 and all of 2018-19, along with those services and supplies – including a fixed asset like a truck – and dividing it by the number of applicants to the state water board, which staff said totaled 88.
Huchingson said the fee would work if all 88 applicants come forward and get permitted. She said that number had increased by 22 since last month and could have increased more by Thursday, when the county’s cannabis ordinance went into effect.
As of Tuesday, only 32 of the 88 applicants to the state had stepped forward and asked for a preapplication conference, nine or 10 had been approved and others were working through the pipeline, she said.
Supervisor Jeff Smith asked if the program would have enough work for the county staff assigned to it. Huchingson said that it would at the start.
Steele asked about the black market, and Huchingson said there is an enforcement assumption for the deputy sheriff.
During public comment, Eric Sklar of Avalon Hot Springs asked if it was a one-time fee or if it was required annually. Huchingson said it would be one-time, upfront, but added that it would have to be looked at for fiscal year 2019-2020.
“There will be some fee in the future but we’re just not there yet,” she said.
Sklar said he supported the fee as it was stated.
Michael Green raised the issue of the item being more transparent on the agenda, and said he was concerned about lumping in enforcement against the black market with compliant growers. He said the county can’t ask compliant growers to pay for enforcement on illegal growers.
He also raised the issues of there being no differentiation in cost between small grows and big ones. “We’ve already lost most of our small growers,” he said, noting they’re getting hammered on planning and air quality fees, and now the $5,000 fee, which is putting a giant burden on small growers that larger growers don’t have.
Other growers at the meeting raised issue about the fee proposal in light of still other fees the county is charging, like $3,000 for self-certification and $150 for fingerprints, and with all of that they said they can’t even grow this year.
Some small growers said they were OK with paying the fees but questioned having more burdens added to them and whether the fee would help keep them safe. They said the barriers for them are being made so high that the black market in Lake County will continue.
Outgoing Community Development Director Bob Massarelli, who joined the discussion about midway through, said that the county had so far not issued any cannabis growing permits.
He said the first step in getting the permits is a preapplication process, and his staff had been having those meetings this week. Once those are complete, the applications have to go through a 180-day process that includes environmental reviews and approvals.
Massarelli asked if the fee would be refunded if a permit was denied, and Grant said yes, it would be, as the county is not supposed to be “unjustly enriched” in the issuing of a permit.
Middletown resident Tony Perkins said he wasn’t opposed to a fee, but suggested it should be on more of a sliding scale.
Scott asked if it had been proven that county staff would spend as much time with a small growers as a large grower.
Huchingson said she didn’t know how to the answer the question. They had the costs for the staff positions and 32 people in the process and “There are just so many moving parts to this.”
After taking a brief break, the board came back and resumed public comment, hearing more concerns about the fee from people who questioned whether it would cost that much to service the growers and who accused the county government of driving people out with its policies.
Returning to the podium, Green was one of those who questioned the staff time and the costs the county estimated it will incur.
“I don’t think staff has demonstrated a clear and convincing nexus that links the fees being requested with the actual services being provided,” said Green.
However, he added, “Let’s assume they did,” and suggested that collecting the fee is appropriate at the time the permit is issued, because the county isn’t incurring costs until then.
Huchingson suggested that the alternative was to collect the fee in two increments – the first half on April 19 or shortly thereafter and the rest at the time of permit issuance.
Steele said government is expensive. “We’re doing the best we can based on a brand new program.”
Supervisor Moke Simon said the county needed to do a tiered permit system. “Hopefully we can get it right in the future,” he said, promising growers they would improve it.
Brown said he had wanted to have a pilot program rather than opening up the permit program countywide. He said the result is the big growers are coming in and the small growers will pay the price, and it’s not fair. A pilot program, he suggested, would have made it more fair to small growers.
With regard to cannabis, “It’s a brave new world,” said Huchingson, explaining that other counties trying to establish regulations are all over the map cost-wise. Some have much higher fees; she said Sonoma County has conditional use permits that range between $15,000 and $17,000.
Ultimately, Huchingson said staff stood with what they proposed, and were not recommending a sliding scale or tiered approach.
Grant suggested the county require half of the cannabis fee be paid upon application with the remainder of any outstanding costs that are due, up to the maximum of the $5,073 fee, be paid upon the permit’s issuance.
Simon took that proposal and moved to approve the master fee schedule which Scott seconded. The board approved it 4-1, with Brown voting not.
Staff said the fee schedule adjustments went into effect on Tuesday following the board’s vote.
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.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson and her staff presented a resolution amending the master fee schedule with regard to 14 different fees for the Administrative Office, Water Resources and the county’s new cannabis program.
Regarding the fiscal impact of those fees, Huchingson’s report said, “There will be a modest increase in revenue that will offset the cost of doing business for the County departments.”
The significant changes included a proposed new $5,073 cannabis program fee that is to be paid prior to any permit being issued; the striking of the $65-per-month boat slip rental fee the Administrative Office charged for Holiday Harbor, which the county has sold; the striking of a $10 flood zone check and the implementation of a new base flood elevation determination from Water Resources; a new $30 hunting permit and a new $50 permit fee for group activity/gathering at Highland Springs; a $60 permit and a $20 annual fee for regulatory buoys; and a $10 lake use fee per registered boat in for-profit fishing tournaments and boating events.
Deputy Administrative Office Steve Carter said Water Resources had wanted to adjust fees and create new fees, including the hunting permit at Highland Springs and annual fees on regulatory buoys.
However, Carter said interim Water Resources Director David Cowan wanted to take off the $10 lake use fee for boats in for-profit events and bring back updated department fees in July.
Supervisor Tina Scott said she also was concerned about the $50 fee for group events at Highland Springs.
Cowan said Scott had a good point. He said he had talked to staff about the fees and they didn’t know much about the boat fee, so he wanted to reevaluate it.
He agreed with Scott’s concerns about Highland Springs. Cowan said he believed the previous director, Phil Moy, was looking at a way to generate income from Highland Springs. “But perhaps there are other ways to get that.”
Board Chair Jim Steele said there also are cleanup costs for the park, and Cowan agreed, noting they have a new caretaker.
Supervisor Rob Brown suggested having a $100 deposit which would be returned if groups cleaned up after using the park.
“I know this may sound odd and come as a shock to some, but I question the hunting,” continued Brown, explaining that with equestrian activities, bicyclists and other outdoor activities going on, “it doesn’t necessarily mix” to have hunting taking place at Highland Springs.
“I share those same sentiments,” said Cowan, adding he would like to explore it.
Cowan said that when he found out they had hunting with hiking and equestrian activities he was concerned, and added that the department’s map that shows where hunting is allowed “is sorely lacking.”
Brown said he wanted to review it at some point, adding that the allowed activities should be consistent with what is done at Mount Konocti County Park.
As for the setting of the permit amounts, County Counsel Anita Grant explained, “The permit costs are supposed to represent the county’s out-of-pocket costs,” and can’t simply copy another county.
Huchingson told the board that the Water Resources fees were sourced by staff from the prior director, Moy, and she suggested the board have staff pull them and work with Cowan.
New cannabis fee intended to cover county costs; growers concerned
The item that proved to be the biggest concern for community members who spoke to the board related to the $5,073 cannabis fee.
Huchingson said that at the board’s March cannabis workshop, county finance staff gave the board a report on cannabis revenue projections, and at that time the proposal was to loan money from the general fund to frontload the cost of cannabis operations. She said the board gave staff direction to come back with a fee to frontload those costs.
Her written report said the fee would cover county expenses other than Community Development Department fees.
“The cannabis program services fee is to be collected prior to CDD issuing the minor or major use permit except early activation,” Huchingson’s written report explained, adding that the proposed fee does not include CDD staff since the current fee structure of $95 per hour covers all staff time.
However, the new cannabis fee does cover the additional accountant position, deputy sheriff position, services and supplies, and fixed asset needed to support county cannabis activities, according to Huchingson’s report.
Carter explained that the fee was built by taking that staffing into account for the rest of fiscal year 2017-18 and all of 2018-19, along with those services and supplies – including a fixed asset like a truck – and dividing it by the number of applicants to the state water board, which staff said totaled 88.
Huchingson said the fee would work if all 88 applicants come forward and get permitted. She said that number had increased by 22 since last month and could have increased more by Thursday, when the county’s cannabis ordinance went into effect.
As of Tuesday, only 32 of the 88 applicants to the state had stepped forward and asked for a preapplication conference, nine or 10 had been approved and others were working through the pipeline, she said.
Supervisor Jeff Smith asked if the program would have enough work for the county staff assigned to it. Huchingson said that it would at the start.
Steele asked about the black market, and Huchingson said there is an enforcement assumption for the deputy sheriff.
During public comment, Eric Sklar of Avalon Hot Springs asked if it was a one-time fee or if it was required annually. Huchingson said it would be one-time, upfront, but added that it would have to be looked at for fiscal year 2019-2020.
“There will be some fee in the future but we’re just not there yet,” she said.
Sklar said he supported the fee as it was stated.
Michael Green raised the issue of the item being more transparent on the agenda, and said he was concerned about lumping in enforcement against the black market with compliant growers. He said the county can’t ask compliant growers to pay for enforcement on illegal growers.
He also raised the issues of there being no differentiation in cost between small grows and big ones. “We’ve already lost most of our small growers,” he said, noting they’re getting hammered on planning and air quality fees, and now the $5,000 fee, which is putting a giant burden on small growers that larger growers don’t have.
Other growers at the meeting raised issue about the fee proposal in light of still other fees the county is charging, like $3,000 for self-certification and $150 for fingerprints, and with all of that they said they can’t even grow this year.
Some small growers said they were OK with paying the fees but questioned having more burdens added to them and whether the fee would help keep them safe. They said the barriers for them are being made so high that the black market in Lake County will continue.
Outgoing Community Development Director Bob Massarelli, who joined the discussion about midway through, said that the county had so far not issued any cannabis growing permits.
He said the first step in getting the permits is a preapplication process, and his staff had been having those meetings this week. Once those are complete, the applications have to go through a 180-day process that includes environmental reviews and approvals.
Massarelli asked if the fee would be refunded if a permit was denied, and Grant said yes, it would be, as the county is not supposed to be “unjustly enriched” in the issuing of a permit.
Middletown resident Tony Perkins said he wasn’t opposed to a fee, but suggested it should be on more of a sliding scale.
Scott asked if it had been proven that county staff would spend as much time with a small growers as a large grower.
Huchingson said she didn’t know how to the answer the question. They had the costs for the staff positions and 32 people in the process and “There are just so many moving parts to this.”
After taking a brief break, the board came back and resumed public comment, hearing more concerns about the fee from people who questioned whether it would cost that much to service the growers and who accused the county government of driving people out with its policies.
Returning to the podium, Green was one of those who questioned the staff time and the costs the county estimated it will incur.
“I don’t think staff has demonstrated a clear and convincing nexus that links the fees being requested with the actual services being provided,” said Green.
However, he added, “Let’s assume they did,” and suggested that collecting the fee is appropriate at the time the permit is issued, because the county isn’t incurring costs until then.
Huchingson suggested that the alternative was to collect the fee in two increments – the first half on April 19 or shortly thereafter and the rest at the time of permit issuance.
Steele said government is expensive. “We’re doing the best we can based on a brand new program.”
Supervisor Moke Simon said the county needed to do a tiered permit system. “Hopefully we can get it right in the future,” he said, promising growers they would improve it.
Brown said he had wanted to have a pilot program rather than opening up the permit program countywide. He said the result is the big growers are coming in and the small growers will pay the price, and it’s not fair. A pilot program, he suggested, would have made it more fair to small growers.
With regard to cannabis, “It’s a brave new world,” said Huchingson, explaining that other counties trying to establish regulations are all over the map cost-wise. Some have much higher fees; she said Sonoma County has conditional use permits that range between $15,000 and $17,000.
Ultimately, Huchingson said staff stood with what they proposed, and were not recommending a sliding scale or tiered approach.
Grant suggested the county require half of the cannabis fee be paid upon application with the remainder of any outstanding costs that are due, up to the maximum of the $5,073 fee, be paid upon the permit’s issuance.
Simon took that proposal and moved to approve the master fee schedule which Scott seconded. The board approved it 4-1, with Brown voting not.
Staff said the fee schedule adjustments went into effect on Tuesday following the board’s vote.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Unified School District said that it’s looking for interested community members to apply for a vacant seat on its board of trustees.
Superintendent Dave McQueen announced that applications for the vacant seat will be available through April 30 at noon.
The seat the district is now seeking to fill had been held for many years by Dr. Peter Quartarolo, who died April 9, as Lake County News has reported.
Interested community members who live within the boundaries of the Kelseyville Unified School District and who are registered voters are welcome to apply for the vacancy.
Qualified candidates shall not be employees of the Kelseyville Unified School District.
The district said qualified candidates may schedule a time to meet with McQueen and receive an application at the district office, located at 4410 Konocti Road.
To schedule an appointment, please contact McQueen atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or his secretary, Tami Barker, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or call 707-279-1511.
All applications must be received no later than April 30 at noon.
Qualified candidates will be interviewed by the four current governing board members at a meeting scheduled for that purpose.
Anyone wanting to submit questions for the existing board members to consider during the interviewing process should do so by giving them to McQueen at the district office no later than noon on April 30.
Superintendent Dave McQueen announced that applications for the vacant seat will be available through April 30 at noon.
The seat the district is now seeking to fill had been held for many years by Dr. Peter Quartarolo, who died April 9, as Lake County News has reported.
Interested community members who live within the boundaries of the Kelseyville Unified School District and who are registered voters are welcome to apply for the vacancy.
Qualified candidates shall not be employees of the Kelseyville Unified School District.
The district said qualified candidates may schedule a time to meet with McQueen and receive an application at the district office, located at 4410 Konocti Road.
To schedule an appointment, please contact McQueen at
All applications must be received no later than April 30 at noon.
Qualified candidates will be interviewed by the four current governing board members at a meeting scheduled for that purpose.
Anyone wanting to submit questions for the existing board members to consider during the interviewing process should do so by giving them to McQueen at the district office no later than noon on April 30.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – March was a good month for local real estate, according to a new report.
The Lake County Association of Realtors reported that the March median sales price for single family residences increased by more than 19 percent when compared to the February median.
The March median was $279,500 and the February median $234,000. On a year-to-year basis, the increase was 33 percent over the March 2017 median of $210,000, LCAOR said.
Month to month, March’s sales of 66 residences exceeded the 51 February sales by more than 29 percent. LCAOR said March 2017 recorded 71 sales, making the number of March 2018 sales 7 percent less than the previous year.
“The market is starting to move into the busy season and the March activity supports that,” said LCAOR Melissa Chapman. “On April 21st several members and agencies are planning open houses and interested parties should check our website at www.lakecountyopenhouses.com to find out what is available for viewing.”
Inventory levels remained in the five-month range which means if no additional properties were put on the market it would take five months to sell the existing inventory at the current rate of sales.
This is significantly different from neighboring counties, with the California Association of Realtors reporting a 4.1 inventory level in Napa, and a 2.9 month level in Sonoma. The statewide inventory level was reported at 2.9 months.
Conventional loan financing was used in 53% of the transactions with FHA loans being used in 9.1 percent of the overall deals. Cash financing was used in 21.2 percent of the sales.
The California Association of Realtors reported existing, single-family home sales in California totaled 423,990 in March on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up 0.3 percent from February and up 1.6 percent from March 2017.
March’s statewide median home price was $564,830, up 8.1 percent from February and up 8.9 percent from March 2017.
Mortgage rates have been on the rise since breaking the 4.0-percent barrier in February. The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.44 percent in March, up from 4.33 percent in February and from 4.20 percent in March 2017, according to Freddie Mac.
The five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate also edged higher in March, to an average of 3.65 percent from 3.60 percent in February and from 3.21 percent in March 2017, Freddie Mac reported.
LAKE COUNTY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
March 2018
Median price: $279,500
Units sold: 66
Median days to sell: 42
February 2018
Median price: $234,000
Units sold: 51
Median days to sell: 37
March 2017
Median price: $210,000
Units sold: 71
Median days to sell: 57
The Lake County Association of Realtors reported that the March median sales price for single family residences increased by more than 19 percent when compared to the February median.
The March median was $279,500 and the February median $234,000. On a year-to-year basis, the increase was 33 percent over the March 2017 median of $210,000, LCAOR said.
Month to month, March’s sales of 66 residences exceeded the 51 February sales by more than 29 percent. LCAOR said March 2017 recorded 71 sales, making the number of March 2018 sales 7 percent less than the previous year.
“The market is starting to move into the busy season and the March activity supports that,” said LCAOR Melissa Chapman. “On April 21st several members and agencies are planning open houses and interested parties should check our website at www.lakecountyopenhouses.com to find out what is available for viewing.”
Inventory levels remained in the five-month range which means if no additional properties were put on the market it would take five months to sell the existing inventory at the current rate of sales.
This is significantly different from neighboring counties, with the California Association of Realtors reporting a 4.1 inventory level in Napa, and a 2.9 month level in Sonoma. The statewide inventory level was reported at 2.9 months.
Conventional loan financing was used in 53% of the transactions with FHA loans being used in 9.1 percent of the overall deals. Cash financing was used in 21.2 percent of the sales.
The California Association of Realtors reported existing, single-family home sales in California totaled 423,990 in March on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up 0.3 percent from February and up 1.6 percent from March 2017.
March’s statewide median home price was $564,830, up 8.1 percent from February and up 8.9 percent from March 2017.
Mortgage rates have been on the rise since breaking the 4.0-percent barrier in February. The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.44 percent in March, up from 4.33 percent in February and from 4.20 percent in March 2017, according to Freddie Mac.
The five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate also edged higher in March, to an average of 3.65 percent from 3.60 percent in February and from 3.21 percent in March 2017, Freddie Mac reported.
LAKE COUNTY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
March 2018
Median price: $279,500
Units sold: 66
Median days to sell: 42
February 2018
Median price: $234,000
Units sold: 51
Median days to sell: 37
March 2017
Median price: $210,000
Units sold: 71
Median days to sell: 57
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A forum for the two candidates in the District 2 supervisorial race is set for the evening of Monday, April 23.
The forum will take place beginning at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Joyce Overton and Bruno Sabatier, both current members of the Clearlake City Council, are vying for the seat held by Supervisor Jeff Smith, who is retiring.
The two candidates will answer a round of at least 10 questions in a timed, rotational format.
Community members may submit questions at the event or by emailing moderator Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The forum also will be recorded and posted online.
In the coming weeks, forums for the other local races on this year’s ballot also are planned.
A forum for Lake County superintendent of schools candidates Brock Falkenberg and Patrick Iaccino is set for Monday, April 30, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes, Lakeport.
Forum details also are being finalized for the judicial, District 3 and district attorney races, with an announcement of those events anticipated to be released next week.
This year’s forums are sponsored by the Lake County Bar Association, Lake County Economic Development Corp. and Lake County News.
The forum will take place beginning at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Joyce Overton and Bruno Sabatier, both current members of the Clearlake City Council, are vying for the seat held by Supervisor Jeff Smith, who is retiring.
The two candidates will answer a round of at least 10 questions in a timed, rotational format.
Community members may submit questions at the event or by emailing moderator Elizabeth Larson at
The forum also will be recorded and posted online.
In the coming weeks, forums for the other local races on this year’s ballot also are planned.
A forum for Lake County superintendent of schools candidates Brock Falkenberg and Patrick Iaccino is set for Monday, April 30, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes, Lakeport.
Forum details also are being finalized for the judicial, District 3 and district attorney races, with an announcement of those events anticipated to be released next week.
This year’s forums are sponsored by the Lake County Bar Association, Lake County Economic Development Corp. and Lake County News.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Library Park is slated to soon have new playground equipment thanks to a vote by the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday.
Public Works Director Doug Grider and one of his staffers, Ron Ladd, were on hand to present the request to authorize City Manager Margaret Silveira to sign the $74,687.19 purchase order and purchase agreement with Santa Rosa-based Ross Recreation Equipment.
He said the current structure – which was donated about 10 years ago – is made of an old Trex-type material. It has warped and twisted and started to come apart, and it’s starting to get hard to hold it together.
Additionally, the company that built it has gone out of business, and due to liability concerns other companies won’t sell parts. Grider said the result is that they can’t get replacement parts for it.
His memo to the council said that the new equipment was determined to be necessary “in order to meet safety requirements and the rising demand for children’s activities in Library Park.”
The play structure’s selection was taken to the Lakeport Parks and Recreation Commission, which reviewed six play structures presented from three vendors, according to Grider’s report.
“The commission looked at a number of factors in making their decision, these factors included suitability for Library Park, history of the manufacturer and their products, current and future availability of parts and support, quality and durability of the product and value versus cost,” he wrote.
Grider’s report noted that appropriations were approved for the playground equipment purchase in the current fiscal year budget from anticipated Measure Z sales tax revenues.
He said that in choosing the new structure, city staff made sure the materials used and the companies providing the equipment had long histories.
The selected company, Ross Recreation Equipment, is in Santa Rosa, where it has been for more than 25 years, Grider said.
In addition, he noted that the company is extremely responsive and the city gets orders for replacement parts promptly, which is important when trying to avoid shutting down a play structure.
The Landscape Structures PlayBooster model 107686-2-2 features minor additions to the original design. Ladd said it is for children ages 5 to 12.
Ladd said Public Works staff had worked hard on the project. “It’s been a long process to get what we have right now before you,” he said.
The project also will give the city an opportunity to improve accessibility routes to the playground equipment, with Ladd noting that codes have changed over the years.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked about the design, which includes a poster-type panel identifying various kinds of fish.
Ladd said it’s a nature design with lime green accents. Despite it being difficult to ask a manufacturer to change anything on such structures – which he said are designed down to the millimeter – Ladd said Ross Recreation Equipment really worked with the city on getting the right design.
Councilman George Spurr was concerned about a low-lying balance bar being a trip hazard.
Ladd said such features are good to have as they help children develop.
Grider added that there has been a shift in the playground industry and the government agencies overseeing it, which are lightening up on some of the risk assessments.
He said that children being exposed to cause and effect is part of development and learning, and if equipment is made too safe, children develop the mentality that they can do anything and not get injured. As a result, he said the regulatory agencies are now moving to allow for more risk in the equipment.
Mattina moved to approve the purchase, which was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Tim Barnes and passed by the council 5-0.
In other business, Mayor Mireya Turner presented a proclamation designating the week of April 15 to 21 as Volunteer Week to Lakeport Police Department volunteers; the council held a public hearing and voted to authorize Silveira to negotiate and execute an energy services contract with ENGIE Services for the performance of energy upgrades; and the council adopted the city’s Lakeport SB 1 Project List for fiscal year 2018-19 and directed staff to submit it to the California Transportation Commission.
The council also adopted a resolution accepting the Hotel Feasibility Study prepared for the city by HVS and approved an engineering services agreement with Quincy Engineering for an amount not to exceed $125,000 for the completion of engineering design services for a water main loop line connecting the South Main Street water main with the Parallel Drive water main.
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041718 Lakeport City Council meeting agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd