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WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, Davis, Yuba City, Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, announced the introduction of H.R. 6319, the National Guard Pay Integrity Act.

The bill is meant to protect nearly 10,000 soldiers from attempts by the Department of Defense to reclaim the bonuses and incentives they were paid upon enlisting reenlisting during our nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“These brave men and women signed up to serve our country, and believed in return that the country would have their back. We need to have their backs too,” said Garamendi. “The Department of Defense has taken a necessary first step by stopping collection efforts, but that is far from enough. My legislation will solve the problem by eliminating these debts entirely for those who accepted bonuses in good faith.”

Congressman Garamendi’s comprehensive legislation will not only protect guardsmen from future collection efforts, but also allow any guardsman who has already paid back a bonus wholly or in part to obtain reimbursement.

It also includes measures to protect student loan payments that were made on guardsmen’s behalf as part of a recruitment or re-enlistment bonus, while excluding anyone who obtained a bonus through their own fraud or misrepresentation.

“Our veterans made tremendous sacrifices, and should not pay the price for mistakes made by recruiters. Congress should act as soon as possible to honor the promises we made,” Garamendi said.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Sherman (D-CA), DeFazio (D-OR) and McGovern (D-MA).

SACRAMENTO – The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office this week is recognizing and celebrating the second annual National Apprenticeship Week.

It runs Nov. 14 through 20 and is designed to provide the apprenticeship community the opportunity to recognize success stories of apprentices, businesses, labor, education and other entities that contribute to longstanding, successful and sustainable apprenticeship programs.

“Apprenticeships are a proven for training a strong workforce, through which one generation of skilled workers pass essential skills to another,” said Van Ton-Quinlivan, vice chancellor for workforce and economic development. “Our community colleges are proud to support tens of thousands of students every year through apprenticeships that put them on a fast track to well-paying, lifelong careers.”

More than 430,000 Americans participate in apprenticeship program each year across the country. With more than 70,000 registered apprentices in more than 300 occupations, California has the largest apprenticeship system in the country.

It is also one of the most diverse, serving a substantial number of woman, veterans and under-represented populations in every region of the state. And, apprenticeship programs will only continue to expand in California.

With the passage of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 state budgets, Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature have approved $30 million to develop new and innovative apprenticeship programs in regionally focused priority and emerging industry sectors, occupations and trades.

Many of the state’s existing programs are connected directly with California Community Colleges. The system has approximately 25,000 apprentices enrolled in more than 160 apprenticeship programs comprised of a total of 66 trades/crafts titles located on 39 campuses.

The Chancellor’s Office works in close collaboration with the California Labor Agency, Division of Apprenticeship Standards, California Workforce Investment Board, Employment Training Panel and Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to ensure the success, investment and growth of apprenticeship programs.

More on the California Community Colleges apprenticeship program can be found at: http://extranet.cccco.edu/Divisions/WorkforceandEconDev/PolicyAlignmentandOutreach/Apprenticeship.aspx .

Hundreds of events are under way across the nation this week to showcase apprenticeship programs. A full listing of National Apprenticeship Week events in California can be found at http://www.dir.ca.gov/das/National_Apprenticeship_Week.htm .

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.

For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ , https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges .

SACRAMENTO – Continuing California’s groundbreaking effort to better treat and prevent diseases through advanced computing, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and the University of California, San Francisco on Thursday announced six new projects have been selected for the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, or CIAPM.

“These grant winners will harness the power of advanced computing to better treat and prevent diseases,” said Gov. Brown.

Precision medicine aims to use data-driven tools and analysis to develop new diagnostics, therapies and insights into disease.

Last year, California became the first state in the nation to launch a precision medicine initiative when Gov. Brown announced the creation of CIAPM.

Through this program, California is developing demonstration projects that harness the power of advanced computing to better diagnose, treat and prevent disease for all Californians.

“What an exciting time to be a Californian,” said Atul Butte, director, Institute for Computational Health Sciences, Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF and Principal Investigator, California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine. “With these state resources, we are helping to launch six exciting projects in precision medicine, bringing together academics, physicians, small and large businesses, and patients. These projects cover individuals who are healthy and ill, from the youngest to the oldest, and make use of the latest mobile, imaging, wearable, and deep learning technologies, all to push the boundaries of what is possible in medicine.”

The six projects announced Thursday were selected following a rigorous assessment by a selection committee of nationally and internationally recognized experts in genomics, statistics, ethics, cancer, computation and other sciences.

More than 20 organizations from academia, private sector, patient advocate groups, hospital systems and entrepreneurs will be partnering to complete these projects, which will use research, clinical, environmental and population data to better diagnose, treat and prevent disease.

These projects include efforts to:

• Improve the early treatment of prostate cancer through a complex assessment of patient characteristics, cancer severity indicators and genomics.
• Help patients better manage chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and depression by gathering personal health data through their mobile phones.
• Speed the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, stroke or aneurysm by applying state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology to computed tomography scanning.
• Create a catalogue of DNA variants to better understand harmful mutations and better identify the causes of disease in children that suffer from difficult to diagnosis conditions.
• Combine several types of clinical data and real-time patient data in an interactive tool that patients with multiple sclerosis and doctors can use to better predict how the disease may develop over time and what can be done to improve outcomes.
• More quickly identify the early signs of cardiovascular disease by, among other activities, providing patients with specialized watches that transmit sleep, heart rate and other health data to their doctors.

UC Health and UCSF host CIAPM with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.

Each grant awardee is eligible for up to $1.2 million in grant funding, which will then be leveraged with other non-state funding sources to complete the projects.

In addition to developing demonstration projects, CIAPM is conducting an inventory of California’s vast technological and medical resources that make precision medicine possible.

The 2016 Budget Act includes approximately $10 million for the CIAPM.

For more information about the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, including further details on selected projects, visit: http://www.CIAPM.org .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and an opportunity to learn more about local hospice services and remember those who have benefited from them.

Everyone has a story. Hospice Services of Lake County understands that each story is as individual as the person involved.

Hospice takes an approach to serving individuals by honoring the desires of their patients while treating those people in their lives – their caregivers, families, friends and loved ones – in the respectful way they deserve.

In 1969 a love story began, and Jim Plank could not have had any idea he would be saying goodbye to the love of his life less than 47 years later. But he wouldn’t have to be facing the difficult tasks of taking care of his wife Pam without some help.

“I could call anytime – day or night – with questions, and Hospice was always available,” Jim Plank said, emphasizing his appreciation for the way Hospice provides a variety of services but always in a manner that respects the wishes of the patient and family.

Pam Plank had struggled with back pain for years but remained active even after finding out that a pain in her side was not associated with her back troubles. Instead, it was a result of a tumor on her kidney.

Doctors had to remove the kidney, said Jim. She was clear of cancer for about five years, but in 2012, while Jim was in New York helping at Ground Zero, he received a phone call. Pam’s cancer had metastasized.

It was not the diagnosis anyone had expected. Pam and Jim Plank were both active people, both involved in Red Cross’ disaster response activities.

Pam had been an advocate of the Lakeport Senior Center. She was a board member and ran the bingo games. She was involved in the operations of Meals on Wheels. She ran the annual holiday craft fair at the senior center. She continued with her activities, even while sick, said Jim.

It wasn’t until January of this year that Pam was ready to call Hospice. Johnathan, the admissions coordinator, met with the couple and asked to speak to Pam alone, said Jim. “He sat with us, talked with us, and presented no pressure.”

When the pair was ready, a Hospice team including Susan, a hospice nurse and case manager, and Sharon Weeks, a Hospice social worker, initiated care in the couple’s home.

“It meant everything” knowing that Hospice care was available if the help was needed, said Jim.

The help consisted of a variety of tasks from aides coming to the home to assist Jim with Pam’s care to helping to get her in and out of the house in a wheelchair for appointments.

The nurse came two or three times a week. She figured out the medications and helped with Pam’s pain management. They kept her comfortable. “All the nurses were fantastic,” said Jim.

The social worker contacted Pam and Jim a few times each month. She provided valuable information. Hospice contacted church friends for the couple, who then provided Jim with house cleaning assistance.

“When Pam passed in March, Hospice was called and took care of everything,” said Jim. They made the phone calls that were needed and took care of all details. Hospice’s services didn’t end there, however.

They are still here for the family, said Jim. Tears in his eyes, he said he still gets calls to check on him. Hospice representatives call to suggest counseling and support groups. Bereavement counseling is available, “but I’m not ready,” said Jim. “It’s just nice to know it’s available.”

One of the things Jim likes about Hospice, he noted, is that they allow individuals to make their own decisions; the end-of-life choices are up to the patient, and Hospice continues to be a valuable resource for the family.

Hospice Services of Lake County provides patient- and family-centered care ensuring the highest quality of life at the end-of-life wherever you call home. The specially-trained staff ensure that families receive the necessary support to allow that to happen.

Services include nursing care, symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support tailored to a patient’s needs and wishes. No patients are turned away if they do not have the means to pay for Hospice care.

Hospice invites you to learn how their compassionate team can assist you and your loved ones. They are happy to talk with you about the services that we provide and how they can help. Call them at 707-263-6222. Additional information is also available at www.lakecountyhospice.org .

Janine Smith-Citron is marketing and development coordinator for Hospice Services of Lake County, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The monthly “Know Lake County” series will present a program this month on local native archaeology.

The free program will feature Curtis Fair, US Forest Service archaeologist for the Grindstone District of Mendocino National Forest, from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Lakeport branch of Lake County Library, 1425 N. High St.

Fair will talk about Yuki archaeology, specifically the findings of the ethnographic Yuki village site of Drew Crossing located in Lake County.

The Yuki village site was a Passport in Time field project in July 2004 and processed in the laboratory in February 2005. More than 100 volunteers worked on this site.

Funding for the completion of the write-up came in part from the Lake County Resource Advisory Committee.

The program consists of a two panel poster and a power point presentation showing artifacts and housing styles during the two phases of occupation.

 The Know Lake County lectures feature speakers from a wide array of organizations and disciplines, each representing some aspect of Lake County.

For more information, visit the Lake County Library's Web site or Facebook page, or call the library at 707-263-8817.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Marvin Ellentuck, 90, died Oct. 29, 2016, at Clearlake after a brief illness.

Born July 3, 1926, in Los Angeles to Hyman Ellentuck and Edith Rose Rosenthal, Marvin was a World War II veteran. He entered the service on Nov. 15, 1944, at San Francisco, Calif., having completed his high school education, graduating from Commerce High School in 1944.

He completed Cavalry Basic Training at Fort Riley, Kansas, achieved a rifleman qualification, served with military occupation as a personnel clerk-typist, and was deployed overseas with the 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division at Luzon and Japan.

He received awards including the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant November 1946 at Camp Beale, Calif.

Marvin married Norma Ilene Pierson, daughter of Albert A. Pierson and Lorene E. Baldwin, in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 1961. Together, they had one child, who died as an infant in 1962.

Marvin worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. for approximately 15 years after the war from 1946 to 1961.

He was predeceased by his wife, Norma Pierson Ellentuck; infant daughter Ellentuck; step-daughter, Susan L. Bryant; brothers, PFC Lawrence Block, killed in action during World War II, and Bernard Block Barrett; and sisters, Selma Evelyn (Block) Schechtman Carparella and Ruth Riva (Block) Hand Haight.

He is survived by his adopted grandson and loving caregiver, Anthony Williams, and young great-grandson, Aiden Williams, both of Lake County, and a niece and great-niece in Texas.

Arrangements for cremation are being handled by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary in Lakeport, Calif.

For further information please contact Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary at 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .

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