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NOTICE OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION HEARING:
CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE’S REQUEST TO INCREASE RATES IN ITS
GENERAL RATE CASE APPLICATION NO. A.15-07-015
REDWOOD VALLEY - LUCERNE SERVICE AREA
August 25, 2016 • 1:00 & 6:00 p.m.
Lucerne Alpine Senior Center – Barnes Hall Room
3985 Country Club Drive
Lucerne, CA 95458
082516 California Public Utilities Commission Lucerne meeting notice by LakeCoNews on Scribd
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Dozens of children who lost their homes and most of their possessions in the Clayton fire found themselves at the heart of an outpouring of generosity on Wednesday, with tens of thousands of dollars raised from community organizations and residents to help purchase much-needed school clothes and supplies.
County Supervisor Rob Brown launched the fundraising effort earlier this week to benefit Konocti Unified School District students who were particularly hard hit by the fire, which burned nearly 4,000 acres and destroyed close to 200 homes.
In under two days Brown – working with community organizations and individuals – managed to raise close to $52,000 to help the children.
On Wednesday afternoon, dozens of the students and their families came to the Clearlake Walmart, where each of the children received a $400 gift card.
Brown was on hand to greet the families, along with members of the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, or LARCA; Lake County Rising; Redwood Credit Union; Konocti Unified administrative staff, including Superintendent Donna Becnel; and Walmart employees.
Both Brown and fellow Supervisor Jim Comstock gave a hug to a woman weeping with gratitude.
Comstock emerged from the encounter with tears in his eyes. He acknowledged the heartbreak of the situation, but then turned his focus to the community's generosity, nothing that what had been brought together was “amazing.”
Amazing was an apt description of what took place.
Beginning on Monday, as Lower Lake students were still preparing for a return to school delayed by more than a week due to the fire, Brown contacted district officials to ask if they could provide a list of students whose homes had been lost.
Bilalia Mubashshir, Konocti Unified's youth services coordinator and a Rotarian, quickly responded and began working with principals and teachers to assemble a list.
Mubashshir said they identified a total of 58 children whose homes had been destroyed. Brown added that the number includes children who are homeschooled.
Next, Brown began outreach to community groups, including LARCA, whose members Russ Cremer and Dirk Slooten estimate has raised more than $800,000 for last summer's wildland fires before setting to work to begin fundraising once again for Clayton fire relief.
Cremer said LARCA recently received more than $10,200 from within the six-county Rotary district that includes Lake County, with the district asking that the funds go to one group.
Those funds, he said, were pledged to Brown's fundraising effort.
In addition, Redwood Credit Union, also a major fundraiser for local wildland fire relief, pitched in $5,000, according to Meg Cadiz, assistant vice president for community programs, and Andy Ramos, senior vice president for membership experience, both of whom made the trip from Santa Rosa on Wednesday to be on hand for the gift card giveaway.
“We worked with a lot of these community partners through the Valley fire,” said Cadiz.
On Tuesday night, Brown had put out a request on Facebook, which Lake County News also shared via social media and its main Web site, asking for donations. Brown said he was overwhelmed with the response, with dozens of messages pledging assistance rolling in around the clock.
He estimated that when he arrived at the store on Wednesday, he had about $32,000 in hand, plus another $10,000 pledged.
Then, on Wednesday, Clearlake Walmart Manager Travis Peck said the company also was donating $10,000 to the effort.
The store, beginning last year, has been a hub for fire relief. It had been in the portion of Clearlake that was under a mandatory Clayton fire evacuation order, had stayed open Aug. 15 and 16 to provide water, Gatorade and other supplies to first responders, Peck said.
In addition to offering assistance for Brown's fundraiser, Peck said store employees are going to be volunteering with recovery effort, and are planning a community event next month.
For the families impacted by the fire, the Lake County Fair contributed free entry tickets for next month's fair and its Midway of Fun. Fair Chief Executive Officer Debbie Strickler and the fair's mascot, Barty the Pear, were on hand to give the tickets away.
Altogether, the result was that enough had been raised to pay for $400 gift cards for 77 children, Brown said. They were keeping the nearly 20 additional cards ready as they locate any other children in need.
The Martinez family – parents Mario and Guadalupe, sons Mario, 18, Jose, 16, and Aaron, 10, and 12-year-old daughter Isabelle – lost their home on Winchester Street behind Lower Lake High School.
The grateful family gathered to have their picture taken with Brown.
The younger Mario, a student at Lower Lake High School, said they were focusing on picking up the essentials in order to try to get life back to normal.
Asked what it was like to go back to school, he said, “It was pretty weird.”
The offer of help in the form of the gift cards, which he found out about on Tuesday from his principal, definitely made him feel better.
The family is now renting a home in Clearlake, he said.
“It's very hard, but we're getting through,” he said.
Mubashshir said that, so far, attendance in the district looks good, and they are still working to assess what the children will need going forward. In addition to clothes, she's heard there is a need for things like bedding.
As for meeting those needs, “We've found the gift cards are the best way to go,” Mubashshir said.
Mubashshir said they will be looking at long-term needs, which will become more evident in the weeks and months ahead.
As for Brown, who is serving as the county's co-recovery coordinator along with County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, shows no sign of slowing down in his fire relief efforts.
He said he'll continue to offer assistance in any way he can.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The investigation into the cause of a weekend fire at a senior apartment complex that claimed a woman's life and injured several others is still under way, while officials work to find temporary housing for the dozens of residents the incident displaced.
The fire at Lakeview Housing senior apartment complex, located at 525 Bevins St., occurred on Sunday evening, as Lake County News has reported.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said Wednesday that police were not yet ready to release the name of the woman who died in the fire, and were working to determine if her family had been notified before doing so.
Rasmussen said the woman's body was found in an elevator. Based on the investigation so far, authorities believe the woman had initially made it out of the building safely then, for a reason that's still not known, she went back inside.
“That's still under investigation,” Rasmussen said.
Additionally, there were four residents injured in the fire. Rasmussen said one woman who suffered burns was taken to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for treatment.
He said police had been in contact with the woman, who remains hospitalized but has been moved out of the burn unit.
Three other people were transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. Rasmussen said one of those individuals has since been released from the hospital. He didn't have specific updates on their conditions.
Rasmussen said Lakeport Police Det. Dale Stoebe is working with investigators from local fire districts on the investigation into the fire's cause.
One of the considerations is whether there is negligence and, if so, if it needs to be prosecuted. “That's part of the investigation that we're doing right now,” he said.
“We want to make sure that we do a very thorough investigation, particularly in light of the fact that there was a fatality,” said Rasmussen.
He said the last major fire in the city that affected homes was some 20 years ago, when a wildland fire in the area of Sixth Street and Central Park Avenue burned several residences.
The 36-unit Lakeview Housing complex is owned by the Ukiah-based Rural Communities Housing Development Corp., or RCHDC, which according to its Web site manages more than 1,000 units of multi-family low-income housing for both elderly and families in Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt counties.
Rasmussen and City Manager Margaret Silveira said the city is working with RCHDC to find shelter for the 32 residents who are still out of their apartments.
Rasmussen said that, initially, the city was told it would be a week before residents return home. However, that estimate has been extended to as many as three weeks due to the need to clean out smoke damage and rebuild portions of the complex that were destroyed by the fire.
He said the unit where the fire began was destroyed, and one next to it had significant damage. “The majority of them just need to be cleaned out,” and utilities safely restored, Rasmussen said.
RCHDC Chief Executive Officer Brad McDonald told Lake County News that the organization is meeting on Thursday with its insurance adjuster and the contractors who will be rebuilding and cleaning the facility, and so later this week he should have a better idea of what repairs will be necessary, as well as a timeline.
City officials said a number of the complex's displaced residents have been sheltered since Sunday at a shelter run by the Red Cross at the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has been used as an emergency shelter for the Clayton fire as well as during last year's wildland fire-fraught summer.
Rasmussen said that, on the night of the fire, there were 18 people staying there.
Since then, the number has dropped a little as residents have found some other places to stay temporarily with friends and family, said Silveira. She estimated the shelter's most recent census was 13.
She said she has been working with RCHDC to try to find other temporary housing – particularly, motels or hotels – for the seniors since the Red Cross plans to end its operations on Friday.
Trying to find enough accommodations in town before Friday – and for an extended period of time – is challenging, said Silveira, especially in light of upcoming weekend events.
Silveira said there also is a concern about not wanting to have to move the seniors from one place to another while they're waiting to return home.
She said the church has offered to allow the residents to stay beyond Friday, which would necessitate volunteers operating the facility.
“They've been very gracious,” Silveira said of the church.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NICE, Calif. – Firefighters quickly contained a late Wednesday night fire off Highway 20 that reports indicated may have been intentionally set.
The fire was reported just after 11 p.m. near The Harbor restaurant at 4561 E. Highway 20 in Nice, according to the initial dispatch.
Lake County Central Dispatch reported that several people had called to report seeing a subject who was believed to have set the fire leave the area.
Several deputies also responded to try to apprehend the person, although it was not clear if they located the individual.
Northshore Fire and Cal Fire units quickly arrived at the scene, with the California Highway Patrol asked to respond for traffic control, according to radio reports.
Reports from the scene said the fire burned half an acre of grass before it was fully contained just after 11:30 p.m., with an hour of mop up.
The Northshore Fire battalion chief on scene requested a Cal Fire investigator respond, reporting that there was a witness to the fire being started.
The California Highway Patrol reported that the highway was closed briefly while firefighters worked in the area.
The roadway was fully reopened just before 12:30 a.m. Thursday, and fire units reported clearing the scene shortly before 1 a.m.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Fair Foundation has elected Middletown natives Grant and Ross Hardester as the grand marshals for the 2016 Lake County Fair.
The Hardesters will lead the fair’s 5:30 p.m. kickoff parade and ribbon cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, beginning the “Party with the Animals.”
The Hardesters' roots go back five generation in Lake County with Ross and Grant’s parents being raised in Middletown.
John Irwin and Reed Hardester started a grocery business in Middletown in 1943. The original name was the "Corner Store.” The Hardester family bought out the Irwins in the 1970s.
Currently, Hardester’s Markets and Hardware have three locations in Southern Lake County – Middletown, Cobb and Hidden Valley. The stores employ 155 people from the local community.
Hardester’s Markets have a longstanding relationship with the Lake County Fair. Since the 1960s, the Hardesters have purchased animals every year from the annual Junior Livestock Auction, as well as supported the fair by selling the fair’s presale tickets to patrons at all their locations.
Grant Hardester has been a member of the Middletown Merchants Association, serving in various leadership roles and on the committee that established the Middletown Area Plan.
Ross Hardester has volunteered with the junior and high school rodeo for the past three years, the Boys Scouts of America, and coaches Little League.
Both of the men helped residents that suffered in last year’s Valley fire and continue supporting residents impacted by the recent Clayton fire.
The Valley fire of 2015 not only changed lives, it changed the business perspective of the Hardesters.
In the early hours of the Valley fire, PG&E delivered a generator providing power to ensure that the Middletown location could serve as a sanctuary to those remaining in the community, fire personnel and news media.
The store was the cornerstone of our community during the devastating fire. The Hardesters exemplified the best in people from our community. Phones rang constantly as the store became an
information center for those that wanted to know how they could help.
Because of the Hardesters, the word community became synonymous with kindness, compassion and
hope. The Hardesters found a positive – our community pulls together like family.
“We are honored to have them lead us this year at the annual Lake County Fair’s
parade,” said Fair Chief Executive Officer Debbie Strickler.
The fair kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 1, with a parade up Main Street, followed at 6 p.m. by the opening ceremonies at the main entrance. The fair ends Sept. 4.
The fair is one of Lake County’s favorite summertime events enjoyed by more than 35,000 people each year, featuring a variety of free entertainment, food, exhibits, carnival and livestock shows.
More information can be obtained at www.lakecountyfair.com .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The “Fiesta of the Horse” will be an opening-night attraction at the Lake County Fair on Thursday, Sept. 1.
The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the grandstands.
The third annual Fiesta of the Horse, part of Californios Days, took place in June.
Organizers say the fair appearance is an encore for those who missed the June event.
Come see the beautiful talented horses of Lake County strut their stuff, as their proud owners, riders and drivers share their love and passion for all things equine.
Attendance at Fiesta of the Horse included in fair admission.