How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is asking for the community’s help in locating a runaway teenager.
Vanessa Loansarrow, 16, was last seen in Nice on Friday, police said.
She is described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Police said she was last seen wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt and blue jeans in the Nice area.
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Vanessa Loansarrow, please contact the Lakeport Police Department at 707-263-5491, send the agency a private Facebook message or send an anonymous message from your cellphone by texting the words TIPLAKEPORT followed by your message to 888777.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday night the Clearlake City Council voted to take applications to fill a council seat vacated earlier this month.
On Feb. 1, Councilman Russell Perdock resigned in order to apply for the city’s police chief job, as Lake County News has reported.
The discussion on filling Perdock’s vacant seat during the Thursday night meeting began at the 1:10:14 mark in the video above.
City Manager Greg Folsom told the council that Perdock’s term is set to expire in November.
He said the government code requires that within 60 days the council has to call a special election or appoint a new member.
The special election would take place in November at the same time as the regular election would, he explained.
“You essentially have two options,” Folsom said.
Folsom said they could leave the seat vacant until November or appoint a new councilmember. The latter is the route the council has taken with other recent vacancies.
If the council chose to seek applicants, Folsom said the city could release an application on Friday, with the deadline set for March 15.
On March 19, an ad hoc committee composed of the mayor, vice mayor and planning commission chair would review the applications, interview applicants and suggest up to three individuals for appointment, Folsom said.
Folsom said the council would be expected to select an appointee at its March 22 meeting.
There was no public comment on the matter, and with no further discussion Councilman Phil Harris moved to approve a resolution to pursue the appointment process.
Councilman Nick Bennett seconded the motion and the council approved it 4-0.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors last week received an update on the effort to collect insurance to cover the state’s debris removal operations for the Valley fire.
The fund collection process for the Valley Fire Debris Insurance Collection Project is being carried out by county staff but the funds aren’t kept by the county; instead, the funds are being paid to the state, as CalRecycle headed up the Valley fire debris program.
Only those community members whose insurance covered debris removal are being asked to pay. Those who don’t have coverage are asked to submit certifications of noncoverage, county officials said.
County Administrative Office staffer Marcy Harrison updated the board on the insurance collection process at the Feb. 13 meeting.
As of Feb. 13, Harrison said the county had received 509 payments totaling approximately $9,767,178. That was an increase of 133 payments totaling $4,208,949 since her January report.
“That’s in part due to a very very large settlement process we finally competed with AAA,” Harrison said. “They came in and made mass payments and provided the documentation we needed so we were able to process those payments.”
She called getting those payments from a larger insurer “a major milestone in this collection process.”
Regarding those without insurance coverage, Harrison said the county has received 297 certifications of noncoverage and have about 100 more to go.
In addition, about 467 of those who are insured have not paid, and Harrison said the county is reaching out directly to insurance companies to follow up on claims. Most of the companies are backlogged.
“So we’re way over halfway,” said Supervisor Rob Brown.
Harrison said yes.
She explained that other major carriers – including Farmers, State Farm, Hartford and Nationwide – are waiting on backup documentation about the cleanup which the county is working to get from CalRecycle.
Once that information is available, Harrison said they should see another influx of payments, as those carriers cover more than half of the accounts that still must be paid.
Harrison said she had visited Calaveras County the previous day, where that county has hired Tetra Tech to collect debris insurance money for the Butte fire.
The supervisors also had considered hiring Tetra Tech to collect the debris insurance funds for Lake County, a decision that was appealed to the board. County Administrative Officer Carol Hutchinson said the county staff instead is doing the work in-house at a greatly reduced cost compared to the more than $1 million it would have paid the firm.
Board members thanked staff for their work on the project.
Huchingson told the board that the county still hasn’t received any information from the state about debris collection for the fires that followed the Valley fire.
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 fund collection process for the Valley Fire Debris Insurance Collection Project is being carried out by county staff but the funds aren’t kept by the county; instead, the funds are being paid to the state, as CalRecycle headed up the Valley fire debris program.
Only those community members whose insurance covered debris removal are being asked to pay. Those who don’t have coverage are asked to submit certifications of noncoverage, county officials said.
County Administrative Office staffer Marcy Harrison updated the board on the insurance collection process at the Feb. 13 meeting.
As of Feb. 13, Harrison said the county had received 509 payments totaling approximately $9,767,178. That was an increase of 133 payments totaling $4,208,949 since her January report.
“That’s in part due to a very very large settlement process we finally competed with AAA,” Harrison said. “They came in and made mass payments and provided the documentation we needed so we were able to process those payments.”
She called getting those payments from a larger insurer “a major milestone in this collection process.”
Regarding those without insurance coverage, Harrison said the county has received 297 certifications of noncoverage and have about 100 more to go.
In addition, about 467 of those who are insured have not paid, and Harrison said the county is reaching out directly to insurance companies to follow up on claims. Most of the companies are backlogged.
“So we’re way over halfway,” said Supervisor Rob Brown.
Harrison said yes.
She explained that other major carriers – including Farmers, State Farm, Hartford and Nationwide – are waiting on backup documentation about the cleanup which the county is working to get from CalRecycle.
Once that information is available, Harrison said they should see another influx of payments, as those carriers cover more than half of the accounts that still must be paid.
Harrison said she had visited Calaveras County the previous day, where that county has hired Tetra Tech to collect debris insurance money for the Butte fire.
The supervisors also had considered hiring Tetra Tech to collect the debris insurance funds for Lake County, a decision that was appealed to the board. County Administrative Officer Carol Hutchinson said the county staff instead is doing the work in-house at a greatly reduced cost compared to the more than $1 million it would have paid the firm.
Board members thanked staff for their work on the project.
Huchingson told the board that the county still hasn’t received any information from the state about debris collection for the fires that followed the Valley fire.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64 legalizing recreational cannabis.
California residents are now seeing the migration of North America’s largest cannabis market into the light of a regulated and legal system estimated to be worth an approximate $7 billion annually.
State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood will hold a first-of-its-kind hearing next week in Ukiah to discuss the “First 60 Days of Prop 64.”
This will be one of the largest and most comprehensive events of its kind since the initiative went into effect earlier this year.
“Preparing for the implementation of Prop 64 was a massive undertaking for the state of California and local communities, and we have been committed to a transparent process,” McGuire said. “As we all know, the state has been ‘building the plane while it’s flying’ with the implementation of Prop 64 which is why Assemblymember Wood and I have made it a priority to bring all of the state agency, local government and business leaders together in Ukiah to provide an in-depth briefing to the North Coast.”
The hearing will be an official joint meeting of the Committee on Governance and Finance, chaired by McGuire and will be held at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 1.
“We need to make sure that regulations for smaller cannabis farms are reasonable and attainable,” said Wood. “Without that, I am concerned that these farmers, who are an important part of the North Coast economy, won’t have an incentive to comply and may return to an underground economy that could adversely affect public safety and the environment.”
On March 1, the committee will hear testimony from leaders of state and local agencies, as well as the cannabis industry.
Committee members will first hear from Mendocino County Supervisor Dan Hamburg and Ukiah Mayor Kevin Doble with welcoming remarks, after which witnesses will testify in three panels:
– State agency Leaders, including Lori Ajax, Chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control (lead agency for the State of California on all; Nicholas Maduros, executive director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (responsible for all cannabis related taxes), and Richard Parrott, director, CalCannabis Licensing with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
– Local officials from Mendocino, Humboldt, and Sonoma counties will discuss the challenges and potential opportunities ahead for local governments related to legal recreational cannabis.
– CEOs and executives from CannaCraft, FlowKana, and the California Growers Association will also be presenting on the panel “The Green Gold Rush: Will it Pan Out for California Businesses?”
The two committees consider the most significant legislation that sets the rules for California’s cannabis industry, affects local regulation of recreational cannabis, or changes its taxation.
The hearing follows up on two previous Governance and Finance Committee’s hearings: “California Cannabis in a Turbulent Time,” held last February, and “Preparing for California’s Green Gold Rush – Implementing Proposition 64 Taxes,” which took place in July.
These hearings can be viewed online on the California State Senate’s Web site, http://senate.ca.gov/media-archive?page=1.
California residents are now seeing the migration of North America’s largest cannabis market into the light of a regulated and legal system estimated to be worth an approximate $7 billion annually.
State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood will hold a first-of-its-kind hearing next week in Ukiah to discuss the “First 60 Days of Prop 64.”
This will be one of the largest and most comprehensive events of its kind since the initiative went into effect earlier this year.
“Preparing for the implementation of Prop 64 was a massive undertaking for the state of California and local communities, and we have been committed to a transparent process,” McGuire said. “As we all know, the state has been ‘building the plane while it’s flying’ with the implementation of Prop 64 which is why Assemblymember Wood and I have made it a priority to bring all of the state agency, local government and business leaders together in Ukiah to provide an in-depth briefing to the North Coast.”
The hearing will be an official joint meeting of the Committee on Governance and Finance, chaired by McGuire and will be held at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 1.
“We need to make sure that regulations for smaller cannabis farms are reasonable and attainable,” said Wood. “Without that, I am concerned that these farmers, who are an important part of the North Coast economy, won’t have an incentive to comply and may return to an underground economy that could adversely affect public safety and the environment.”
On March 1, the committee will hear testimony from leaders of state and local agencies, as well as the cannabis industry.
Committee members will first hear from Mendocino County Supervisor Dan Hamburg and Ukiah Mayor Kevin Doble with welcoming remarks, after which witnesses will testify in three panels:
– State agency Leaders, including Lori Ajax, Chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control (lead agency for the State of California on all; Nicholas Maduros, executive director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (responsible for all cannabis related taxes), and Richard Parrott, director, CalCannabis Licensing with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
– Local officials from Mendocino, Humboldt, and Sonoma counties will discuss the challenges and potential opportunities ahead for local governments related to legal recreational cannabis.
– CEOs and executives from CannaCraft, FlowKana, and the California Growers Association will also be presenting on the panel “The Green Gold Rush: Will it Pan Out for California Businesses?”
The two committees consider the most significant legislation that sets the rules for California’s cannabis industry, affects local regulation of recreational cannabis, or changes its taxation.
The hearing follows up on two previous Governance and Finance Committee’s hearings: “California Cannabis in a Turbulent Time,” held last February, and “Preparing for California’s Green Gold Rush – Implementing Proposition 64 Taxes,” which took place in July.
These hearings can be viewed online on the California State Senate’s Web site, http://senate.ca.gov/media-archive?page=1.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – USDA Rural Development California State Director Kim Dolbow Vann on Thursday announced a new Web page featuring resources to help rural communities respond to the opioid crisis.
“The opioid crisis has had a significant impact particularly on our rural communities, and California has seen firsthand the effects of this deadly epidemic,” Vann said. “As I continue engaging with California’s rural leaders on strategies to combat opioid abuse and improve rural prosperity, this new webpage will be another great resource in our mission.”
The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that more than 63,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. More than half of those deaths involved opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin.
USDA is playing an important role to help rural communities address this national problem at the local level through program investment, strategic partnerships and best practice implementation.
In April, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities.
In January, Secretary Perdue presented the task force’s findings to President Trump, which included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America.
In the area of quality of life, the task force included a recommendation to modernize health care access. The report highlighted the importance of telemedicine in enhancing access to primary care and specialty providers.
The task force also found that improved access to mental and behavioral health care, particularly prevention, treatment and recovery resources, is vital to addressing the opioid crisis and other substance misuse in rural communities.
“The opioid crisis has had a significant impact particularly on our rural communities, and California has seen firsthand the effects of this deadly epidemic,” Vann said. “As I continue engaging with California’s rural leaders on strategies to combat opioid abuse and improve rural prosperity, this new webpage will be another great resource in our mission.”
The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that more than 63,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. More than half of those deaths involved opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin.
USDA is playing an important role to help rural communities address this national problem at the local level through program investment, strategic partnerships and best practice implementation.
In April, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities.
In January, Secretary Perdue presented the task force’s findings to President Trump, which included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America.
In the area of quality of life, the task force included a recommendation to modernize health care access. The report highlighted the importance of telemedicine in enhancing access to primary care and specialty providers.
The task force also found that improved access to mental and behavioral health care, particularly prevention, treatment and recovery resources, is vital to addressing the opioid crisis and other substance misuse in rural communities.
Rural Prosperity Report by LakeCoNews on Scribd
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday announced that he is establishing a Bureau of Environmental Justice within the Environment Section at the California Department of Justice.
The bureau’s mission will be to protect people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public health hazards. This will be accomplished through oversight, investigation, and enforcement of the law.
The bureau’s attorneys will work primarily with attorneys in the Environment Section handling environmental enforcement matters on behalf of Attorney General Becerra. They will also coordinate with and utilize the expertise of other sections within the Attorney General’s Office, as needed.
“Today is a special day. The harsh reality is that some communities in California – particularly low-income communities and communities of color – continue to bear the brunt of pollution from industrial development, poor land use decisions, transportation, and trade corridors. Meeting the needs of these communities requires our focused attention. That’s why I’m establishing the Bureau of Environmental Justice,” said Becerra. “To all who advocate for environmental justice, the California Department of Justice will work with you and fight for a clean, safe and healthy environment. We have a moral and legal responsibility to do so.”
“Far too many disadvantaged Californian communities, like those in my district, have been rendered vulnerable due to disproportionate impacts of pollution, contamination, and other egregious environmental violations. I commend the Attorney General’s leadership and I am proud to put forward legislation to extend resources into this critical new Environmental Justice Bureau,” said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. “Justice should not be reserved for communities who can afford to investigate and litigate parties that break the law. The launch of this bureau along with the introduction of AB 2636 is the first step of empowering environmentally disenfranchised areas with tools to take charge of their own destiny with the means to significantly improve their public health and overall prosperity.”
"We commend Attorney General Becerra for this unprecedented commitment and effort to prioritize enforcement actions and legal protections for communities that have borne unconscionable health and safety impacts from polluting industries and sources,” said Gladys Limón, executive director of California Environmental Justice Alliance. “The establishment of the new Bureau of Environmental Justice is a significant step in providing the necessary level of protection for those communities at greatest risk from those impacts and that have for too long been neglected. We look forward to working with the Bureau to ensure that its promise for these communities is realized.”
"Far too many families in California suffer from both poverty and pollution – in fact, they usually go hand in hand. That’s why the Dream Corps and Green For All applaud Attorney General Becerra for his leadership in fighting for families and creating the Environmental Justice Bureau,” said Vien Truong, CEO of Dream Corps and director of Green For All. “Families across the state will breathe a sigh of relief with the promise of justice and accountability for polluters.”
The bureau will use the law enforcement powers of the Attorney General’s Office to identify and pursue matters affecting communities on the frontlines of the pollution battle.
In addition, the bureau will work with stakeholders from all sides, along with local and state agencies, to address enforcement objectives.
The bureau’s oversight and enforcement work will focus on:
– Ensuring compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and land use planning laws;
– Remediating contaminated drinking water;
– Eliminating or reducing exposure to lead and other toxins in the environment and consumer products;
– Challenging the federal government’s actions that repeal or reduce public health and environmental protections; and
– Penalizing and preventing illegal discharges to air and water from facilities located in communities already burdened disproportionately with pollution.
Since taking office, Attorney General Becerra has made protecting the environment a top priority. Of the nearly 30 lawsuits he has filed at the federal level, almost half have been aimed at ensuring that children can breathe clean air and drink clean water. Attorney General Becerra has not lost an environmental lawsuit to date.
Among his many efforts, he has joined, through an amicus brief, the City of Oakland’s efforts to prohibit for health and safety reasons the storage and handling of coal and petroleum coke at one of its port terminals; filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its decision to repeal regulations governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of oil and gas wells drilled on federal and Native American tribal lands; challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ove! r its decision to suspend the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which would protect California’s lakes, rivers, and streams from pollutants; submitted a 30-page comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on due process violations, lack of fairness, and ethical lapses that arise from Administrator Scott Pruitt’s involvement in the proposed rulemaking to repeal the Clean Power Plan; and called on the Administration to immediately withdraw its proposal to open California’s coast to new offshore drilling.
The bureau’s mission will be to protect people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public health hazards. This will be accomplished through oversight, investigation, and enforcement of the law.
The bureau’s attorneys will work primarily with attorneys in the Environment Section handling environmental enforcement matters on behalf of Attorney General Becerra. They will also coordinate with and utilize the expertise of other sections within the Attorney General’s Office, as needed.
“Today is a special day. The harsh reality is that some communities in California – particularly low-income communities and communities of color – continue to bear the brunt of pollution from industrial development, poor land use decisions, transportation, and trade corridors. Meeting the needs of these communities requires our focused attention. That’s why I’m establishing the Bureau of Environmental Justice,” said Becerra. “To all who advocate for environmental justice, the California Department of Justice will work with you and fight for a clean, safe and healthy environment. We have a moral and legal responsibility to do so.”
“Far too many disadvantaged Californian communities, like those in my district, have been rendered vulnerable due to disproportionate impacts of pollution, contamination, and other egregious environmental violations. I commend the Attorney General’s leadership and I am proud to put forward legislation to extend resources into this critical new Environmental Justice Bureau,” said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. “Justice should not be reserved for communities who can afford to investigate and litigate parties that break the law. The launch of this bureau along with the introduction of AB 2636 is the first step of empowering environmentally disenfranchised areas with tools to take charge of their own destiny with the means to significantly improve their public health and overall prosperity.”
"We commend Attorney General Becerra for this unprecedented commitment and effort to prioritize enforcement actions and legal protections for communities that have borne unconscionable health and safety impacts from polluting industries and sources,” said Gladys Limón, executive director of California Environmental Justice Alliance. “The establishment of the new Bureau of Environmental Justice is a significant step in providing the necessary level of protection for those communities at greatest risk from those impacts and that have for too long been neglected. We look forward to working with the Bureau to ensure that its promise for these communities is realized.”
"Far too many families in California suffer from both poverty and pollution – in fact, they usually go hand in hand. That’s why the Dream Corps and Green For All applaud Attorney General Becerra for his leadership in fighting for families and creating the Environmental Justice Bureau,” said Vien Truong, CEO of Dream Corps and director of Green For All. “Families across the state will breathe a sigh of relief with the promise of justice and accountability for polluters.”
The bureau will use the law enforcement powers of the Attorney General’s Office to identify and pursue matters affecting communities on the frontlines of the pollution battle.
In addition, the bureau will work with stakeholders from all sides, along with local and state agencies, to address enforcement objectives.
The bureau’s oversight and enforcement work will focus on:
– Ensuring compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and land use planning laws;
– Remediating contaminated drinking water;
– Eliminating or reducing exposure to lead and other toxins in the environment and consumer products;
– Challenging the federal government’s actions that repeal or reduce public health and environmental protections; and
– Penalizing and preventing illegal discharges to air and water from facilities located in communities already burdened disproportionately with pollution.
Since taking office, Attorney General Becerra has made protecting the environment a top priority. Of the nearly 30 lawsuits he has filed at the federal level, almost half have been aimed at ensuring that children can breathe clean air and drink clean water. Attorney General Becerra has not lost an environmental lawsuit to date.
Among his many efforts, he has joined, through an amicus brief, the City of Oakland’s efforts to prohibit for health and safety reasons the storage and handling of coal and petroleum coke at one of its port terminals; filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its decision to repeal regulations governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of oil and gas wells drilled on federal and Native American tribal lands; challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ove! r its decision to suspend the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which would protect California’s lakes, rivers, and streams from pollutants; submitted a 30-page comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on due process violations, lack of fairness, and ethical lapses that arise from Administrator Scott Pruitt’s involvement in the proposed rulemaking to repeal the Clean Power Plan; and called on the Administration to immediately withdraw its proposal to open California’s coast to new offshore drilling.