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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The employment pictured continued to improve in Lake County, across California and the nation in March.
The California Employment Development Department’s latest report on joblessness showed that Lake County’s unemployment rate in March was 6.5 percent, down from 6.6 percent in February and the 7.3 percent reported in March 2016.
California’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent and the state’s employers added 19,300 nonfarm payroll jobs in March. The report stated that California’s unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in February and 5.6 percent in March 2016.
The U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 4.5 percent in March, down from 4.7 percent in February and 5.0 percent in March 2016, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employers nationwide added 98,000 nonfarm payroll jobs.
Lake County had a workforce composed of 27,540 individuals in March, as compared to 27,710 in February and 27,110 the previous March, according to state records.
The number of unemployed individuals in Lake County numbered 1,910 in March, down from 1,970 in February and 2,200 in March 2016, records showed.
With the exception of durable goods, government and educational services, most industry sectors in Lake County showed declines in comparisons between March and February. However, in year-over comparisons, job growth in most sectors continues to go up, with goods producing leading with 10.7 percent, followed by total farm, 6.7 percent; and private service providing, 4.1 percent.
Within Lake County, the following unemployment rates were reported for the various communities, from least to greatest: Cobb, 1.4 percent; Nice, 3.3 percent; North Lakeport, 3.4 percent; Middletown, 3.5 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 3.6 percent; city of Lakeport, 4.4 percent; Kelseyville, 4.5 percent; Upper Lake, 6.3 percent; Lucerne, 8 percent; city of Clearlake, 9.6 percent; Clearlake Oaks, 9.9 percent; and Lower Lake, 13.4 percent.
With March’s job gains, the state has gained a total of 2,507,400 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010, the Employment Development Department reported.
The report said nonfarm payroll jobs in California totaled 16,694,000 in March, a net gain of 19,300 jobs from February that followed a gain of 21,500 jobs in February.
Those numbers are determined by a survey of 58,000 California businesses that measures jobs in the economy. The year-over change, March 2016 to March 2017, showed an increase of 346,400 jobs, up 2.1 percent.
A federal survey of 5,500 California households that determines the unemployment rate showed an increase in the number of employed Californians over the month and the year. It estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in March was 18,227,000, an increase of 37,000 from February, and up 268,000 from the employment total in March of last year.
The number of unemployed Californians was 942,000 in March – down by 25,000 over the month, and down by 119,000 compared with March of last year, the state said.
The Employment Development Department said six of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 37,200 jobs in March.
Construction posted the largest jobs increase, with a gain of 18,900 jobs, followed by government, with a gain of 6,300 jobs. Other sectors that the state said added jobs over the month were manufacturing; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
Five industry sectors reported job declines over the month, down a total of 17,900 jobs. The report said that information posted the largest decrease over the month, down by 9,400 jobs, followed by trade, transportation and utilities, which fell by 4,200 jobs.
Other sectors losing jobs over the month were mining and logging; financial activities; and professional and business services, the report said.
In a year-over-year comparison – March 2016 to March 2017 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 346,400 jobs, a 2.1-percent increase, the Employment Development Department said.
Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 355,300 jobs year-over, the report showed. The largest job gains were in educational and health services, up 88,400 jobs, a 3.5-percent increase; leisure and hospitality, up 51,400 jobs, a 2.7-percent increase; and government, up 51,400 jobs, a 2.1-percent increase.
Other sectors adding jobs over the year were construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services, according to the report.
The Employment Development Department said two industry sectors – mining and logging, and manufacturing – posted job declines over the year, down a total of 8,900 jobs. Manufacturing employment fell by 6,500 jobs, down 0.5 percent, while mining and logging was down by 2,400 jobs, a 9.4-percent decrease.
In the latest report, the Employment Development Department also noted that 420,505 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the March survey week, compared with 405,196 in February and 420,502 in March of last year.
New claims for Unemployment Insurance were 42,786 in March, compared with 43,499 in February and 44,305 in March of last year, the department reported.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest report on Lake County’s real estate market show a big jump in overall sales in March, while sale prices rolled slightly back.
The Lake County Association of Realtors, or LCAOR, reported that the number of single family residence sales increased in March by 51 percent over February sales. In March there were 71 sales compared to 47 in February.
The March median sales price was $210,000 which was 6.67 percent less than the February median of $225,000, LCAOR said.
On a year-over-year basis, March 2017 sales were 15.5 percent lower than March 2016 sales, 71 versus 84, and the March 2017 median was 12.3 percent less than the March 2016 median, $210,000 versus $239,450, according to the report.
Statewide, March sales gained 4.0 percent over February sales and 6.9 percent over March 2016. The California Association of Realtors, or CAR, reported that there were 416,580 sales in March.
Pricing also increased statewide with the March reported median of $517,020 coming in at 8 percent above the February median and 6.8 percent over the March 2016 median, CAR reported.
“The slowing of price increases was welcome news for Lake County property buyers,” said LCAOR President Bobby Dutcher. “With statewide pricing on the rise it is hard to say how long our local pricing will buck the overall trend.”
Locally, cash-only financing accounted for 29.6 percent of the sales, which was up from 21.3 percent in February and close to the same in March 2016 when 28.6 percent of the transactions used cash financing.
Conventional loans were used 35.2 percent of the transactions and FHA loans accounted for another 16.9 percent of the financing.
Distressed sales made up nearly 10 percent of the sales with this percentage, continuing to be the “norm” for Lake County. During the great recession distressed sales accounted for up to 70 percent of the sales.
Mortgage rates have risen since last fall. The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 4.20 percent in March, up from 4.17 percent in February and up from 3.69 percent in March 2016, according to Freddie Mac.
The five-year, adjustable-rate mortgage interest rates dipped in March to an average of 3.21 percent, from 3.20 percent in February and 2.90 percent in March 2016.
LAKE COUNTY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
March 2017
Median price: $210,000
Median days to sell: 57
Units sold: 71
February 2017
Median price: $225,000
Median days to sell: 55
Units sold: 47
March 2016
Median price: $239,450
Median days to sell: 76
Units sold: 84
GRANITE BAY, Calif. – If one word could describe the fourth race for local high school mountain bikers it would be “epic.”
Defined as “impressive or remarkable,” this race will go down in the books as definitely unforgettable.
The Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown athletes who ventured to Granite Bay State Park on Saturday, April 8, experienced the full gamut of weather just short of snow.
Normally the 6-mile course with 450 feet of climbing per lap (riders race two to four laps) is smooth, flowy and fast course. This winter it had been served it a beating. The course was muddy and rough, riddled with water ruts and downed trees.
The girls’ races got off without a hitch under the ominous sky. As the girls came around for their second laps, you could see the evidence of the trail conditions. The mud was all over them and you could tell that many of them had crashed.
In fact Kelseyville High School junior varsity girls rider Hannah Warren actually locked bars with another girl right at the start and had crashed out.
“The mud was a good thing because it gave me a soft landing when I flipped over my handle bars,” said Clear Lake High sophomore Rainey Vanoven.
It wasn’t the best day for the girls.
Kia Kohler (KHS – JV girls) had her lowest placing of the season at 12th, Miranda Cramer (CLHS – frosh girls) 14th.
Vanoven managed to pull off another podium finish at fifth. “It was definitely tough test race to keep my spot on the podium,” she said. “The rain was OK but it was freezing at the beginning.”
By the time the freshman and sophomore boys began their race, the rain turned to a downpour. If the rain and cold wind weren’t enough, next came the hail.
Riders came around for their second lap wet and red from the hail pelting them, but with looks of determination and grit on their faces.
The JV and varsity boys race starts were delayed an hour and luckily conditions allowed them to begin. By this time, lap counts had been reduced, making finishing more possible.
Riders appeared to have accepted their wet fate and embraced it. Although one freshman rider had smashed his dérailleur on a rock and pulled out of the race, all the others finished.
Among the boys, the top finishers were Bron Falkenberg (CLHS – frosh) at 18th of 48 and Christian Lindsey (KHS – sophomore) 11th of 43 riders.
As stated in the league race report, finishers “came away from the race with a genuine sense of accomplishment and even heroism. The weekend served up an unbelievable amount of challenges, and our student-athletes and volunteers did what they always do: they stepped up to the plate and took the challenge head first.” Here, here, I concur.
Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown high school mountain bikers will return to race this Saturday, April 29, on their newly built course at Six Sigma Ranch and Winery at 13372 Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake.
Like all NorCal Cycling League races, they are free and open to spectators so come on out and cheer them on. Races begin at 9 a.m.
For more info, go to www.norcalmtb.org and look under “races.”
Tami Cramer is coach and team director for the Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School mountain bike teams.
SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Mike McGuire has introduced legislation that significantly restricts pharmaceutical companies from giving incentives and gifts to medical professionals – a practice that has been widespread in California and throughout the United States.
This practice has proven to result in medical professionals prescribing expensive and over-priced prescription drugs to their patients.
In recent years, California has begun to fall behind on safeguards relating to limiting pharma gifts and incentives.
Eight other states and the District of Columbia, along with California’s largest hospitals such as Kaiser, the University of California Medical Centers, and Stanford have implemented policies restricting or outright banning pharma gifts to doctors.
But, data shows that California physicians, in 2014, received the highest number of gifts and payments from pharmaceutical companies of any state – at $1.44 billion.
While the vast majority of physicians put the needs of their patients first, growing evidence clearly suggests that there is a direct correlation between gifts and incentives provided by the pharmaceutical industry and prescribing patterns of brand name drugs.
“This bill is all about protecting patients from overpriced prescriptions. Extensive research and exhaustive studies have shown there is a direct correlation between medical professionals who receive gifts and the prescription of expensive brand-name drugs,” Sen. McGuire said. “Throughout the state, large hospitals and medical centers have realized the importance of limiting gifts from the pharma industry to doctors – it’s time the State of California bans these types of gifts and incentives, which will put patients above profits.”
Recent studies from UCSF and Harvard link industry payments to physicians and prescribing rates.
Each year in the U.S., $73 billion is spent on brand name drugs for which an equivalent generic is available at a significantly lower cost. This has a big impact on taxpayers since Medicare pays for 1 in every 4 prescriptions in the United States.
Studies have shown the pharmaceutical industry spends over $20 billion in marketing every year in the United States. A majority of those marketing dollars are spent on promotions targeting medical professionals.
That interaction with the pharmaceutical industry is associated with negative consequences that includes unnecessary drug prescriptions, drug cost increases borne by the patient and less availability of generic drugs.
SB 790 gives California an opportunity to put patient care and drug affordability before corporate profits. The bill would significantly restrict the manufacturer of a prescribed product from offering or giving gifts and incentives such as travel and lodging, consulting fees and expensive meals and alcohol to health care providers.
The use of gifts is of significant concern to vulnerable populations. For example, medical professionals prescribing in California’s foster care system in recent years have received, on average, more than twice the amount in payments and incentives from drug companies when compared with the typical California doctor.
Sen. McGuire was successful in passing legislation last year creating protections for foster youth against the over-prescription of mind-numbing drugs.
During several hearings over the past two years, McGuire became increasingly aware that doctors prescribing in the foster care system were receiving a troubling number of gifts and payments. But the problem is larger than the foster care system, and statewide regulation is needed.
“The vast majority of medical professionals in California do their job well and put the needs of their patients first. But, the facts are clear. Current voluntary efforts are not enough to curb this growing trend and protect patients from overpriced prescriptions. SB 790 will restrict pharmaceutical gifts and help control drug costs,” McGuire said.
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
AND NOTICE OF PROPOSED MINOR USE PERMIT
BY THE LAKE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator of the County of Lake, State of California, will consider approving Minor Use Permit MUP 17-01 with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 P.M., May 3, 2017 to the Community Development Department, Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, California. Should a timely request for hearing be filed, a public hearing will be held on May 10, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.
Minor Use Permit MUP 17-01. Location: 8450 Scotts Valley Road, Lakeport, APN 003-037-04. Applicant: Lucas Kirkendall for Tammy Castro. Project: In accordance with Lake County Code to allow a 25% reduction of front setback for construction of a detached garage. Project planner: Mireya Turner, (707) 263-2221 or
Copies of the application, environmental documents, all reference documents, and staff reports associated with each project are available for review through the Community Development Department, Planning Division; Telephone (707) 263-2221.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Robert Massarelli, Director
By: ____________________________________
Michalyn DelValle, Principal Planner
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
AND NOTICE OF PROPOSED MINOR USE PERMIT
BY THE LAKE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator of the County of Lake, State of California, will consider approving Minor Use Permit MUP 17-08 with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 P.M., May 3, 2017 to the Community Development Department, Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, California. Should a timely request for hearing be filed, a public hearing will be held on May 10, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.
Minor Use Permit MUP 17-08. Location: 12900 Monte Vista Lane, Middletown, APN 013-011-65. Applicant: Sonnie Young. Project: In accordance with Lake County Code to allow the construction of a 1,350 square foot metal storage building. Project planner: Mireya Turner, (707) 263-2221 or
Copies of the application, environmental documents, all reference documents, and staff reports associated with each project are available for review through the Community Development Department, Planning Division; Telephone (707) 263-2221.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Robert Massarelli, Director
By: ____________________________________
Michalyn DelValle, Principal Planner