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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council approved equipment purchases to conduct road work, held a public hearing to confirm assessments on properties where public nuisances hadn’t been cleaned up and honored March as March for Meals Month.
One of the main items the council approved during the hour-long meeting was the proposed purchase of several pieces of road construction equipment totaling $530,000 from its Measure V road sales tax proceeds.
Staffer Adeline Brown presented the report on the purchases, which she said were necessary because of breakdowns of current city equipment. The Measure V Oversight Committee considered the equipment purchases at its meeting last month, she added.
The proposed purchases include a new roller, $70,000; new five yard gas dump truck, $80,000; new backhoe, $100,000; new trailer-vactor, $80,000; new/used boom truck, $60,000; and a newer used grader/loader, $140,000.
City Manager Greg Folsom asked the council to approve a waiver of the $20,000 limit on his purchasing authority for those equipment purchases.
With road construction equipment now so much in demand, Folsom said if the city has to wait to come back to the council to confirm a purchase it might miss out on an available construction vehicle. He added that he didn’t think that waiver would be needed often.
Also on the Thursday night meeting agenda was a public hearing to confirm assessments totaling $35,000 for failure to abate nuisances at 16188 28th Ave., 15576 33rd Ave., 4043 Arnold Ave., 14070 Konocti St., 4456 Hill Ave., 3180 Second St., 5350 Crawford Ave., 14321 Woodland Drive and 14331 Woodland Drive.
The council also agreed to support the March for Meals event by allowing it to use the city’s logo in its sponsorship documents, at no cost to the city. Councilwoman Joyce Overton, who is the Highlands Senior Center’s executive director, recused herself from the discussion.
In other business on Thursday, Mayor Bruno Sabatier presented a proclamation honoring former Councilman Russ Perdock for his service.
“I wish he hadn’t left us,” Sabatier said of Perdock’s decision to step down in February to pursue the city’s police chief job.
Perdock said it was an honor to serve and explained that he left because he believed he had another calling. He thanked everyone and looked forward to the community working together to move the city forward.
The council also presented a proclamation in honor of March for Meals Month and received the Highlands Senior Center’s annual report, which noted drops in donations.
A proposed contract award for the Austin Park design project was pulled by Folsom from Thursday’s agenda.
Folsom also reported to the council that the firm hired to conduct the search for the new police chief is starting the recruitment next week.
The process is expected to take place for six weeks; the council will hold the final interviews of top candidates on June 8, with the hiring to take place at some point after that, he said.
City Attorney Ryan Jones said there was no reportable action out of the council’s closed session, which was for the purpose of a regular performance evaluation of Folsom.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Teachers of the Year, state superintendent of schools issue letter on keeping guns out of classrooms
Torklakson and 60 California Teacher of the Year Award recipients signed the document.
Signatories included Alan Siegel, a teacher at Carle Continuation High School who won the statewide teaching award in 2005.
In the joint message, the group responded directly to President Donald Trump regarding his proposal to arm teachers to stop school shootings.
“We do not need guns in the classroom. We need more mental health services, smaller class sizes, more counselors, more nurses, and more training in how to effectively deal with students in crisis,” the letter said. “In addition, we must upgrade school safety procedures and cooperate closely with law enforcement to investigate threats.”
They also called on Trump to help enact policies “that will make our schools, our classrooms, and our students safe.”
The full letter is below.
Keep Guns Out of the Classroom: Allow Teachers to Teach
“As California Teachers of the Year and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, our focus is on our students, our classrooms, and education policy.“Now, however, we must talk about another topic: guns.
“We can no longer remain silent while students, teachers, and classified employees are slain on school campuses with assault weapons designed for combat. Since Columbine took place nearly 20 years ago, we have witnessed tragedy after tragedy with no significant changes in our national gun laws.
“The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14, 2018, took the lives of 14 students and three teachers while injuring dozens of others. It has fueled fear in classrooms across our nation.
“It was the latest terrible incident. We want to make it the last.
“There are many ways to reduce the chances of this happening again. But, President Trump, arming teachers is not one of them.
“We do not need guns in the classroom. We need more mental health services, smaller class sizes, more counselors, more nurses, and more training in how to effectively deal with students in crisis.
“In addition, we must upgrade school safety procedures and cooperate closely with law enforcement to investigate threats.
“Adding guns to the classroom would add fear and anxiety to what should be a safe learning environment. Teachers should focus on helping students, not marksmanship and police work. Students should never have to wonder where a gun is hidden or worry that a teacher might make a mistake and shoot them.
“Talk of arming teachers and putting more guns in the classroom distracts us from some of the root causes of school gun violence—the proliferation of assault-style weapons and inadequate mental health services.The AR-15, an assault weapon, is popular among gun enthusiasts. But is the right to a favorite gun worth the lives of our children when so many other guns are available for recreation and for self-defense? Clearly, it is not.
Military-style assault weapons should be banned. Pure and simple. Raising the age for purchasing these guns, while a step in the right direction, is inadequate.
We encourage more states and the nation as a whole, to follow California’s lead as the state with the strongest gun control laws. But even California needs to go further by banning AR-15s and other assault weapons.
The nation and other states should ban bump stocks, close gun registration loopholes, limit the ammunition capacity of high-powered rifles to 10 rounds, and institute universal background checks, especially for people with past or current mental health issues.
They should also follow California’s example by creating gun violence restraining orders, also known as Red Flag Laws, which allow immediate family members and police to ask a judge to remove guns and ammunition from a relative who poses a threat. States should also consider expanding the list of who can request gun restraining orders.
We join the brave student advocates from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in demanding stricter national gun laws. To show our support, many of us plan to attend the “March for Our Lives” events in cities around California on March 24, 2018, and in Washington, D.C.
The trauma, pain, and suffering for the survivors of mass shooting is terrible and lasts a lifetime. The loss of life is stunning. Dreams ended. Communities shattered. Columbine. Newtown. Parkland. So many of our students, parents, and educators are wondering who will be next.
Mr. President, we call on you to help enact policies that will make our schools, our classrooms, and our students safe. We dream of the time when schools are so safe that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the California Teachers of the Year do not have to talk about guns, but can focus entirely on education and teaching our children.
Signed,
Tom Torlakson
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
California Teachers of the Year:
Mary Allan, 2001
Mitch Bahr, 2016
Patricia Ann Baltz, 1993
Scott Bedley, 2014
Anne Marie Bergen, 2003
Carol Brouhle, 2002
Ginger Brown, 1998
Jaime Yumiko Brown, 2018
Shannan Brown, 2011
Amber Carrow/Kaura, 2010
Beth Cassford, 1994
Lewis Chappelear, 2008
Jenny Chien, 2017
Tom Collett, 2012
Sebastien P. DeClerck, 2013
Kirsten Farrell, 2018
Carole Firestone, 1997
Greg Gardiner, 2018
Mary E. Geer, 2002
Doug Green, 2016
Megan Gross, 2017
Michael Hayden, 2014
Shari Herout, 2012
Linda Horist, 2014
Dawn Imamoto-Yamaguchi, 2004
Alastair Inman, 2009
Daniel Jocz, 2016
James Jordan, 2003
Dennis Jory, 1993
Alex Kajitani, 2009
Kelly Kovacic, 2010
Kim Labinger, 2005
Isela Lieber, 2017
Kathy Marvin, 2010
Brian McDaniel, 2018
Rebecca Mieliwocki, 2012
Chris Mullin, 2003
Stan Murphy, 2005
Karen O'Connor, 2000
Erin Oxhorn-Gilpin, 2018
Jessica Pack, 2014
Helen Papadopoulos, 2007
Ann Park, 2016
Adele M. Prince, 2000
Tammy Reina, 2008
Martin Reisert, 2013
Charles Reynes, 2007
Zenaida Rosario, 2004
Erin Rosselli, 2015
Alan Siegel, 2005
Tim Smith, 2014
Dalynn Smith-Malek, 2001
Melanie Karaffa Tolan, 2010
Kami Tomberlain, 2000
Corrie Traynor, 2017
Verónica Vega, 2013
I’asha Warfield, 2012
Loredana Wicketts, 2009
Ray Williams, 2005
Valerie Ziegler, 2010
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Congressman John Garamendi will visit Lake County for a town hall meeting on the Northshore later this month.
The town hall will take place on Thursday, March 29, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Live Oak Senior Center, located at 12502 Foothill Boulevard in Clearlake Oaks.
Garamendi represents the Third Congressional District, which covers about two-thirds of Lake County.
The Clearlake Oaks event is part of a series of senior conversations and town halls throughout the Third District to focus on issues impacting local communities.
On March 29, Congressman Garamendi will hear from his constituents and deliver an update on the state of affairs in Washington.
He also will discuss the federal resources and support that’s available for fire disaster recovery throughout the Lake County community.
Caseworkers will be standing by to help constituents with their Social Security, Medicare and VA claims.
The town hall will take place on Thursday, March 29, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Live Oak Senior Center, located at 12502 Foothill Boulevard in Clearlake Oaks.
Garamendi represents the Third Congressional District, which covers about two-thirds of Lake County.
The Clearlake Oaks event is part of a series of senior conversations and town halls throughout the Third District to focus on issues impacting local communities.
On March 29, Congressman Garamendi will hear from his constituents and deliver an update on the state of affairs in Washington.
He also will discuss the federal resources and support that’s available for fire disaster recovery throughout the Lake County community.
Caseworkers will be standing by to help constituents with their Social Security, Medicare and VA claims.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg announced his plans to seek reelection.
Falkenberg, now in his first term, filed for reelection on Friday, March 2.
The county superintendent of schools works directly with school districts to provide support and guidance for their operations.
“It has been my honor to serve as the county superintendent over the last four years, and to give back to the community in which I raised my own children,” Falkenberg said. “The key to success in our schools is to continue to build strong working relationships with community agencies, business, and parents to support achievement and growth of the whole child.”
Falkenberg cites a series of accomplishments including working for and securing career technical education (vocational) funding for high schools, lobbying to continue teen employment opportunities in local pear sheds, securing funds to increase preschool reimbursement, establishing a local teacher preparation program, and supporting schools and the community through several wildfire disasters.
“My work is not finished,” said Falkenberg. “I intend to continue to improve school emergency readiness, secure ongoing funding for vocational training, and provide preschool access for all children in Lake County.
This fiscal year, Falkenberg has dedicated funds to begin the process of developing uniform emergency safety plans for all schools. Additionally, he will continue to support schools as they enhance their achievement levels.
Falkenberg is a parent of three boys, two of whom completed their entire education in Lake County public schools and are currently enrolled at UC Berkeley and Cal Poly Pomona. His youngest son is a sophomore at a local public high school.
Falkenberg is a retired veteran with 21 years of service in the US Army and California National Guard.
“Lake County graduates are excelling in college and making a difference in this nation. Working together, developing strong, lasting partnerships, will assure our schools continue to grow and thrive. Together we will continue to keep Lake County a fantastic place to raise a family,” he said.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave the final approvals needed to place a 1.5-percent sales tax measure before voters on the June 5 ballot.
The ordinance, which county staff proposed after relating the county government’s financial struggles to community members in a January series of visioning forums, will appear on the ballot as Measure “G,” according to Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley.
County staff have estimated that the tax, which would sunset after 10 years, would generate $4.5 million annually for the general fund.
County Counsel Anita Grant presented the final ordinance and resolution to the board during its Tuesday morning meeting.
She said the ordinance had received the go-ahead from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, formerly known as the Board of Equalization.
Changes Grant made to the ordinance included updating the document with the agency’s new name and adding an effective date in addition to an operative date.
“With those relatively minor changes, the ordinance would remain intact and ready to go,” she said.
She explained that if the board adopted the ordinance, it still would not go into effect unless voters approved the ballot measure in June.
Grant said the accompanying resolution to place the measure on the ballot had been reviewed by Fridley.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson asked the board to consider an updated version of the ballot question that added language stating that the funds generated also would be used for services for seniors and veterans.
The board accepted Huchingson’s changes to the ballot languages, with the revised ballot question to appear on the June ballot as follows under the heading, “County Measure ‘G’ – county of Lake’s recover from disaster – roads, safety, seniors, libraries”: “Shall the County Measure be adopted to add Article VII to Chapter 18 of the Lake County Code imposing a one and one-half percent (1.5%) transactions and use tax (sales tax) for a ten-year period, generating approximately $4.5 million annually, for unrestricted general revenue purposes to include roads, libraries, law enforcement, animal control, parks, museums, and services for seniors and veterans with all proceeds placed in the County’s General Fund?”
Grant told the board that parts of the ballot question’s language are dictated by state law.
During public comment, Cheryl Carr accused the county of not making any cuts before going for the sales tax.
In three separate votes, the board approved the ordinance, adopted the ballot question language and the resolution placing the measure on the June 5 ballot. Each vote was 4-0; Supervisor Jeff Smith was absent.
Fridley reported that arguments in favor or against Measure G must be typed and submitted to the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office no later than 5 p.m. Friday, March 16.
She said no argument shall exceed 300 words in length and no more than five signatures shall appear with any argument.
Fridley said that all arguments must be accompanied by the “Statement That Argument Is True And Correct” as required by Section 9600 of the CA Elections Code provided by the Registrar of Voters Office, stating the printed name and signature or printed names and signatures of the person or persons submitting it or, if submitted on behalf of an organization, the name of the organization and the printed name and signature of at least one of its principal officers.
The Registrar of Voters Office is located in Room 209 on the second floor of the Lake Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. Lakeport, telephone 707-263-2372.
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 ordinance, which county staff proposed after relating the county government’s financial struggles to community members in a January series of visioning forums, will appear on the ballot as Measure “G,” according to Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley.
County staff have estimated that the tax, which would sunset after 10 years, would generate $4.5 million annually for the general fund.
County Counsel Anita Grant presented the final ordinance and resolution to the board during its Tuesday morning meeting.
She said the ordinance had received the go-ahead from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, formerly known as the Board of Equalization.
Changes Grant made to the ordinance included updating the document with the agency’s new name and adding an effective date in addition to an operative date.
“With those relatively minor changes, the ordinance would remain intact and ready to go,” she said.
She explained that if the board adopted the ordinance, it still would not go into effect unless voters approved the ballot measure in June.
Grant said the accompanying resolution to place the measure on the ballot had been reviewed by Fridley.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson asked the board to consider an updated version of the ballot question that added language stating that the funds generated also would be used for services for seniors and veterans.
The board accepted Huchingson’s changes to the ballot languages, with the revised ballot question to appear on the June ballot as follows under the heading, “County Measure ‘G’ – county of Lake’s recover from disaster – roads, safety, seniors, libraries”: “Shall the County Measure be adopted to add Article VII to Chapter 18 of the Lake County Code imposing a one and one-half percent (1.5%) transactions and use tax (sales tax) for a ten-year period, generating approximately $4.5 million annually, for unrestricted general revenue purposes to include roads, libraries, law enforcement, animal control, parks, museums, and services for seniors and veterans with all proceeds placed in the County’s General Fund?”
Grant told the board that parts of the ballot question’s language are dictated by state law.
During public comment, Cheryl Carr accused the county of not making any cuts before going for the sales tax.
In three separate votes, the board approved the ordinance, adopted the ballot question language and the resolution placing the measure on the June 5 ballot. Each vote was 4-0; Supervisor Jeff Smith was absent.
Fridley reported that arguments in favor or against Measure G must be typed and submitted to the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office no later than 5 p.m. Friday, March 16.
She said no argument shall exceed 300 words in length and no more than five signatures shall appear with any argument.
Fridley said that all arguments must be accompanied by the “Statement That Argument Is True And Correct” as required by Section 9600 of the CA Elections Code provided by the Registrar of Voters Office, stating the printed name and signature or printed names and signatures of the person or persons submitting it or, if submitted on behalf of an organization, the name of the organization and the printed name and signature of at least one of its principal officers.
The Registrar of Voters Office is located in Room 209 on the second floor of the Lake Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. Lakeport, telephone 707-263-2372.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service said Pacific storm systems that arrived over Northern California on Wednesday night are expected to bring rain over the next several days.
The agency issued a special weather statement for Lake County and other parts of Northern California on Wednesday in response to the approaching storms.
The statement explained that several weather systems will bring periods of rain and mountain snow to interior Northern California through the weekend.
The forecast said none of the systems are strong storms, but could still bring some snow to higher elevations.
The National Weather Service said most of the precipitation will likely fall over the northern mountains through Friday, with amounts tapering off or ending to the south Thursday afternoon and Friday.
Saturday is forecast to be clear, with the Pacific storms expected to bring more moisture inland Saturday night and Sunday morning.
The specific Lake County forecast includes rain and light winds through Sunday night, when a slight break is forecast, and then more chances of rain into the middle of next week, the National Weather Service said.
Nighttime temperatures will dip into the high 30s this coming week, with daytime highs in the low 60s, according to the forecast.
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 agency issued a special weather statement for Lake County and other parts of Northern California on Wednesday in response to the approaching storms.
The statement explained that several weather systems will bring periods of rain and mountain snow to interior Northern California through the weekend.
The forecast said none of the systems are strong storms, but could still bring some snow to higher elevations.
The National Weather Service said most of the precipitation will likely fall over the northern mountains through Friday, with amounts tapering off or ending to the south Thursday afternoon and Friday.
Saturday is forecast to be clear, with the Pacific storms expected to bring more moisture inland Saturday night and Sunday morning.
The specific Lake County forecast includes rain and light winds through Sunday night, when a slight break is forecast, and then more chances of rain into the middle of next week, the National Weather Service said.
Nighttime temperatures will dip into the high 30s this coming week, with daytime highs in the low 60s, according to the forecast.
Email Elizabeth Larson at