How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Mark your calendar for the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Family Birth Center 20th anniversary celebration.
The free, fun-filled day will include bounce houses, face painting, raffle prizes, and free food and giveaways for the families who attend.
The event will take place on Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sutter Lakeside Hospital, behind the Emergency Department.
The day will also include women’s health education from Family Birth Center obstetrician Dr. Derrick Barnes, and Family Nurse Practitioner Lorena Watson, both of whom practice at the Sutter Lakeside Community Clinic. Topics will include pregnancy planning, prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care. Community Clinic staff will be available to book appointments for attendees looking for a women’s health care provider.
“We’re looking forward to celebrating all of the families who have delivered here over the last two decades,” said Jackie Rad, RN-C, MSN, Family Birth Center manager. “We look forward to hosting the event so close to Mother’s Day.”
Event partners include MotherWise, Lake County Family Resource Center, Mother’s Instinct, the Lake County Library, and Partnership Health Plan.
The first 50 mothers who attend will receive a free gift bag, and every mother who attends will receive a free flower to commemorate Mother’s Day.
The Family Birth Center first opened in May of 1997, and has delivered nearly 6,000 babies since. The center boasts four private birthing suites, which include in-room sleeping accommodations for family members, private bathrooms with showers or shower-tubs, and room service with multiple meal options.
The Family Birth Center delivers over 300 babies a year, approximately half of all babies born in Lake County.
“We’re incredibly proud of the individualized care we offer to the mothers who deliver at Sutter Lakeside Hospital,” said Rad. “We can’t wait to see how the babies born at Sutter Lakeside have grown over the years. It will be a great day for everyone.”
For more information about the Family Birth Center, or about the event, please contact Jackie Rad at 707-262-5158, or at
Morgen E. Wells is Community Relations & Fund Development coordinator at Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
ANGWIN, Calif. – The Angwin Flea Market on Sunday, May 21, will raise funds for the Angwin Volunteer Fire Department.
The market will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 10 Angwin Plaza.
Come buy, sell, meet the firefighters, checkout helicopters and see the fire apparatus.
For more information visit www.angwinfire.com/fleamarket .
With a razor thin vote Thursday afternoon the Republican-controlled Congress finally was able to scramble together enough votes to begin their assault on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
In a photo op we should all remember, President Trump stood shoulder to shoulder with Ryan, McCarthy, Scalise and Tom Price to pat themselves on the back by rushing their recall and replacement bill to the US Senate without even waiting to hear how much it will end up costing taxpayers, a claim Speaker Ryan once accused Democrats of doing over the ACA.
Even Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham (S.C.) cautioned about this rush to govern. Nevertheless the historically low-rated president and Republican Congress have now joined at the hip and produced a bill, that if passed, would leave health care, under this bill, to the states to go through a “waiver” option that would be considered by Tom Price to decide what coverage and who will be approved for coverage, including those with pre-existing conditions.
“Oh don’t worry,” say some late-coming supportive Republicans to the bill, “we’ve added $8 billion dollars to cover these pre-existing conditions over time.”
Again, we don’t know if this is enough because Republicans have not waited for the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis. It breaks down to about $1 billion a year for the country. You think California alone could eat up that amount? I do.
What is now proposed are a return to “risk pools,” which have already been tried and proven to be ineffective and helped create the ACA.
Will the new “Trumpcare” be more affordable while establishing essential coverage like the ACA? Will 24 million Americans lose their current levels of coverage as has been indicated? Trump’s own standards include cheaper and better coverage for all. AARP, AMA, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and others are not convinced.
The ACA was an idea that started with Sen. Chafee (R R.I.) and the Heritage Foundation years ago, finding its first implementation in Gov. Mitt Romney’s state of Massachusetts. It required mandatory enrollment as an alternative to universal coverage.
Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, knowing she could not get universal coverage passed in congress, agreed with President Obama to use this Republican model of health care to get the ball rolling. It was always supposed to be a “starter” and not the final product.
Republicans have staked their ideology on its recall from the beginning, doing everything possible to hang a defeat upon Obama. It has taken a long time but now they have at least got the House of Representatives to recall. Will the US Senate also agree to this plan, reconfigure it, or reject it?
Who knows, but there should be some things we all agree upon, without lying to the American people. Does it cover everyone; is it a good health plan that has some essential coverage for all; is it more affordable that the ACA. If it does, that’s great!
If not remember all of those people in the Rose Garden patting themselves on the back who sold you a bogus deal. Who knew health care could be so difficult?
Tom Nixon lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – People Services Inc. is gearing up for its 43rd annual Chicken-Que, scheduled for Saturday, June 3, at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport.
The event, which takes place from 2 to 6 p.m., will feature food, music, children’s activities, a raffle, auction and door prizes.
Tickets are $10 each or four for $30. For ticket and event information, call 707-263-3810 or visit www.peopleservices.org .
“Come join us for fun, delicious food, and top-notch entertainment,” said People Services Executive Director Ilene Dumont. “The Chicken-Que is not just about chicken – the chicken is delicious, by the way. We’ll have meal alternatives, however, and we are planning a 50-50 raffle, a silent auction, and a door prize. There will also be a children’s activities area.”
Music will be provided by the LC Diamonds, known for its upbeat vintage tunes. “The Diamonds play a variety of dance songs – from rock and blues to rockabilly and surf – always entertaining!” said Dumont.
Chicken meals will include “tasty barbecued chicken, the best baked beans ever, salad and a roll,” said Dumont.
For those who prefer hamburgers or hot dogs, meals featuring those entrées will be available. “We also will have a special plate for our vegetarian friends,” Dumont said.
The annual event is a fundraiser for the nonprofit People Services, which for more than 40 years has served as the local community agency, providing the delivery of quality services for people with disabilities.
Sponsors for this year’s event include WestAmerica Bank, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Umpqua Bank, North Lake Medical Pharmacy, Mendocino Redwood Co. LLC, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Middletown Luncheon Club, Lakeport Kiwanis and the Lakeport Rotary.
For more information about People Services’ services and programs, visit www.peopleservices.org .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The next free household hazardous waste dropoff event will be held Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, at Quackenbush Mountain Recovery & Compost Facility, 16520 Davis Street adjacent to the Landfill, Clearlake.
From Highway 53 turn on to 40th Avenue, take a left on Moss Avene, follow the signs to the landfill on Davis Avenue.
Hours will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Households can bring up to 15 gallons of toxic items free of charge. Fees will be charged for amounts over 15 gallons.
Items that are accepted include paint, solvents, fuels, five-gallon propane tanks (empty), pool chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, batteries, fluorescent light tubes (up to 60 linear feet) and other toxic materials that cannot be put in the trash.
Items that cannot be accepted include televisions, computer monitors, ammunition, explosives, radioactive materials or infectious wastes.
To learn how and where to properly dispose these items, please visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us or contact the recycling hotline at 707-263-1980.
Household hazardous waste dropoff services are provided to Lake County residential households by the Integrated Waste Management Division of the Lake County Public Services Department and the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
Businesses also are welcome to use this convenient service to properly dispose of hazardous waste and protect our environment, however, businesses must pay for this county-funded service and first make an appointment. Business appointments can be made by calling Lake County Waste Solutions at 707-234-6400.
Beginning in June, ask about receiving a free puncture-proof sharps container at one of these events to use for free sharps disposal.
Free recycling options for residents and businesses:
· Recycled paint is available to both residents and businesses at Lake County Waste Solutions and South Lake Refuse and Recycling Center first-come, first-served basis in five gallon containers. Colors include tan, brown, gray and pink.
· Used motor oil and cooking oil can be dropped off by businesses and residents, at Lake County Waste Solutions, South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center, and the North Shore Fire Protection District station at 6257 Seventh Ave. in Lucerne. Visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us for more locations.
· Electronics (e-waste) can be dropped off at Lake County Waste Solutions and at South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center.
Lake County Waste Solutions
230 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport
888-718-4888 or 707-234-6400
Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
www.candswaste.com
South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center
16015 Davis St., Clearlake
Open daily, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
707-994-8614
www.southlakerefuse.com
The free Household Hazardous Waste drop off program is subsidized by the Lake County Public Services Department, Integrated Waste Management Division and CalRecycle as a public service to Lake County households.
For more information about recycling, reusing and reducing, visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us , call the recycling hotline at 707-263-1980 or like Lake County Public Services on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LCPublicServices?fref=ts .
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – “There’s something special about this place,” Stuart Wathall says, as he and I sit in his wood-paneled living room behind Main Street in the town of Locke. “Something that you feel the moment you walk in.”
For those like Wathall who now call Locke their permanent home, that feeling convinced them to first lay roots in this rural town. The sense of community and love for the history of the place has kept them here.
It certainly doesn’t take much time walking through the river town of Locke itself to intuitively understand what Wathall is saying.
The only surviving town in the United States built for the Chinese by the Chinese stands bent and half-sinking into the reclaimed peat bog of California’s central valley, just two and a half hours from Lake County.
This unincorporated town runs along the foot of the levee containing the Sacramento River. It is easily overlooked.
As you zip along River Road, which straddles the levee and provides stunning views of the now swollen river, the only hint of the town itself is a series of old building fronts. These clapboard and corrugated metal structures quickly pass out of view, even more quickly if you are being urged on by another car riding your tail.
The speed limit on this stretch of the road is 55 miles per hour, but commuters bypassing traffic on nearby I-5 tend to push that closer to 65 and are impatient with sightseers.
Suppress the urge to speed up and keep watch for the brown historical markers along the road that announce the location of the town and its significance as the last remaining rural Chinatown in the United States.
Modern-day Locke only houses between 70 and 80 permanent residents, many of whom live in the houses that stretch backwards from the foot of the levee and the town’s Main Street.
When it was created in 1915, most of the residents of Locke were Chinese farmworkers and merchants who had been burned out of nearby Walnut Grove following a fire that destroyed much of that town.
Starting in the 1970s, the new generation of the Chinese residents began to move away from the small farming town and those who remained passed away, leaving a bare remnant of the once flourishing community. Today, fewer than 10 Chinese residents harken back to this town’s oriental origins.
The Sacramento County Historical Society placed Locke on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, starting a decades-long interest in the historical importance of the small town. Efforts to preserve the dilapidated buildings quickly stalled, however.
“The Asian City Development Corporation, a Hong-Kong-based developer, bought the land under the town, about 70 acres [in 1977] with plans to develop houses and such,” explains Wathall, president of the Locke Foundation.
A nonprofit whose mission is to educate the public on the unique culture and heritage of the town, the Locke Foundation strives to preserve the town itself.
The foundation was created in 2004 when the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency purchased the land from the developer.
After subdividing it and selling it in parcels to homeowners and business operators, the town of Locke once again fell under private ownership.
Since then, the Locke Foundation has worked to revitalize the town, making it a tourist destination more in line with its historic importance. To be honest, it is a surprise that such an important part of our nation’s history is so little known.
Turning down Levee Road into the heart of Locke is an experience to be cherished, if a little disorienting.
Lining the street are weathered, clapboard-sided one and two-story buildings. Their corrugated-metal roofs, some coated in a thick layer of rust others pristinely clear, alternately absorb the California sun or reflect it back in shining brilliance.
Porches extend over the sidewalks below, their supporting posts framing the street. You have a sense of having seen this street before. Probably because you have—in historic photos of every rural town in America and in Hollywood westerns.
What distinguishes this vista from generic ones of western towns elsewhere are the ubiquitous symbols of this town’s Chinese heritage.
From Chinese characters on street signs and banners to pre-communist era Republic of China flags hanging on walls, there is no mistaking the culture that built this town.
If you happened to miss those, there are two large bronze busts of Confucius and Dr. Sun yat sen, founding member of the Republic of China, standing at the beginning of Main Street.
The fact that you literally have to descend into the town from the levee above only heightens the sense of dislocation for first time visitors.
In driving down from River Road, parking your car and stepping out onto Main Street, you have traveled back in time. Enjoy the sensation.
But don’t dally – there’s a lot to see in this small town.
Although it might look it at first glance, this isn’t a ghost town. Art galleries, a bookstore, a restaurant and a bar can be found along the short hundred-yard stretch of Main Street Locke. Three museums – the Locke Boarding House, the Chinese Association Museum and the Dai Loy Gambling House Museum – give visitors some context for the historic town.
Located in a former gambling hall, the Dai Loy museum treats visitors to a glimpse into the illicit world that Locke once inhabited.
Although founded by a few dozen farm working families, during prohibition this small, unincorporated town would swell in population to over a thousand as residents from Sacramento and nearby Stockton flocked to one of the town’s numerous gambling halls and brothels.
With mint-green wainscoting, tobacco-stained white walls and gaming tables strewn about, the main room of the Dai Loy museum preserves the gambling hall as it once was.
Walking through the large wood and iron-riveted doors, the sense of dislocation you felt on Main Street has disappeared, the world of 21st-century California long gone.
You are a young visitor to the thriving town of prohibition-era Locke looking for a good time. Will it be Pai Ngow or Fan Tan? How about just belly up to the bar, wrap yourself a cigarette (the tobacco sits in a carton, on the house), and enjoy the uproar of the crowd?
The swelling wooden floor alone breaks the illusion of vibrant life. After perennial flooding, the floorboards have warped and serve as a reminder that this piece of American history hangs onto life rather precariously.
All of the buildings on Main Street Locke, in fact, are in different states of disrepair. The Locke Foundation has its work cut out ahead of it.
Having said that, the foundation has made a lot of improvements in the relatively short time. A beautiful Chinese memorial garden and the impressive Locke Boarding House Museum at the beginning of Main Street are testimonials to the group’s dedication.
“Of course, Locke is more than its main street,” reminds Wathall.
Although you might feel shy about walking off the tourist path and back into the neighborhood of the town itself, locals encourage this exploration.
“We built a wood boardwalk that takes you from Main Street through our community to our garden and then on a nice hike through the wetlands [surrounding the town],” Wathall said.
Be sure to bring your bug spray if you choose to take this jaunt, as the mosquitos fly in thick clouds in all types of weather and at all times of day. A few bug bites are worth the walk, though, if only to remind yourself that people still live in this remarkable town.
Even for those people who happen to stumble on the place by pure chance, the allure of historic Locke is impossible to ignore. Take your time and get off the beaten track to explore this gem in the heart of California.
Beware, though, this place has a way of staying with you long after you leave it. A return visit is almost expected and like your first, each return to Locke will be an experience to be cherished.
“That’s the room I first rented when I moved to Locke,” Wathall says, pointing to a small, high-ceilinged room, positioned off the large kitchen.
He moved away from the town for a few years, but soon returned and eventually bought the house in which he first rented a small room. “Is it nostalgia that we feel in Locke? Whatever it is, when I got here, it felt like home.”
Getting there
Locke is located just 25 minutes south of Sacramento and if you start out from Lake County at 8 a.m. you can reach it by 10:30 a.m.
Several routes will take you to this historic river town. By road, the quickest is to take I-5 through Sacramento to the Twin Cities exit, turn right off the off-ramp and pass through the low-lying farmland until you hit the Sacramento River. Taking a left at this three-way stop will find you on River Road and, in no time at all, the town of Locke. A small parking lot is located at the end of Levee Road, just past the Boarding House as well as along Main Street itself.
If you’d like to take your boat to waters beyond Clear Lake, public docks at both Locke and Walnut Grove will allow you to stop off at these towns as you float down the river.
If you go
On May 20, the town of Locke will be holding its annual Asian Pacific Festival.
A daylong festival with traditional Chinese dancing, martial arts displays and food, this is the perfect day to explore the town and immerse yourself in the culture that created it.
This is a very popular festival, so if you choose to go that day, locals suggest you get there as early as you can to get prime parking.
Antone Pierucci is the former curator of the Lake County Museum and a freelance writer whose work has been featured in such magazines as Archaeology and Wild West as well as regional California newspapers.