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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Law enforcement and first responders will take place in a Thursday exercise/drill simulating a hazardous material accident and exposure.

The exercise will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the city of Clearlake and in north Lakeport, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Brooks said there will be an increase in the presence of law enforcement, fire department and emergency medical services in the following locations:

– Highway 53 and 18th Avenue in Clearlake (old airport site);
– Sutter Lakeside Hospital, on Hill Road in Lakeport;
– St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake on 18th Avenue;
– and in the area of Lakeshore and Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

There are no road closures planned at this time and the drill should not interfere with the public, Brooks said.
 
Brooks said the following organizations will be participating in the exercise/drill: United States Air Force, California National Guard 95th Civil Support Team, Lake County Sheriff’s Office/Office of Emergency Services, Lake County Public Health, Lake County Fire Protection District, Radiological Assistance Region 7, Lake Transit, Department of Energy, St. Helena Hospital, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Clearlake Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Northshore Fire Protection District, Cal-Fire, South Lake County Fire Protection District and California Office of Emergency Services.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley reported that the last day to register to vote in the June 7 presidential primary election is May 23.

A completed voter registration form must be either personally delivered to the Registrar of Voters Office – located in Room 209 at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport – on or before May 23; or, postmarked on or before May 23 and received by mail by the Registrar of Voters Office.

Pursuant to Section 2101 of the California Elections Code: "A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election".

Fridley also advised new Lake County residents and registered voters who have moved to a new address, changed their mailing address within the county, or changed their name that you need to
register or reregister to vote by May 23.

May 23 also is the deadline for voters who want to change or select a political party for the June 7 presidential primary election, Fridley said.

For those voters who lost their homes in last year's wildland fires, Fridley said that if homeowners plan on rebuilding their homes on the same property in the future, they may continue to use their pre-fire residence address for this election and upcoming elections until they can return to their home.

Fridley said residents may register to vote at the Registrar of Voters Office in Lakeport or register to vote online by visiting http://registertovote.ca.gov/ .

Registration forms are also available at most local post offices, libraries, city offices and chamber of commerce offices.

For more information, contact the Registrar of Voters Office at telephone 707-263-2372.

AccuWeather reports a s a strong El Niño fades, the weather across the country will slowly change. In much of the eastern United States, a hot summer is in store.

Rain and thunderstorms will dominate the pattern in the central and southern Plains, while the opposite occurs in California and the Northwest, and scarce rainfall leads to severe drought conditions.

Northeast, mid-Atlantic: Heat to come on strong in early summer

Heat will come on strong in June for the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, including in New York City, Boston, and Hartford, Connecticut. However, severe weather in July could turn the warm pattern on its head.

“July is a tricky month where there may be a few cooldowns from thunderstorms and back door fronts, but other than that I think June, July and August, you'll see your series of heat waves,” AccuWeather Expert Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said.
 
For the season as a whole, numerous 90-degree days will be recorded from Boston to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Late in the season, the intense heat will lead to increasingly dry conditions, which could boost the fire threat across the Northeast.

Southeast, Gulf Coast: Tropical threats may hold off until late summer

Heat will also extend down into the Southeast and Gulf Coast; however, humidity will be higher than in areas farther north.

The lingering effects of El Niño will limit the chances of early season tropical development, but activity will ramp up during the month of August.

“With a trend toward a La Niña pattern, along with warming waters and less wind shear over the Gulf of Mexico, this can lead to impacts anywhere on the Gulf Coast and including the east coast of Florida,” Pastelok said.

After heavy spring rainfall for the Gulf Coast, above-normal rain for the summer season may lead to bouts of flooding.

Hot, dry pattern to grip the Midwest and northern Plains

Dryness and heat will be another common theme in the Midwest and northern Plains states.

Heat will develop late spring and early summer across these areas and tighten its grip throughout the season.

“Actually we are seeing evidence of this in parts of the region already,” Pastelok said. “If the rest of the spring works out as planned, then these areas may fall into a drought with frequent heat waves during the summer.”

Indianapolis, Indiana, Chicago and Minneapolis could enter a minor to moderate drought, he said.

Southern Plains, Southwest: Rain, thunderstorms may keep summer temperatures down
 
While much of the country will endure above-normal temperatures this season, the southern Plains region may be the only exception.

Rainfall and thunderstorms will be frequent over this region, keeping temperatures at bay.

“Abnormally dry conditions already present in eastern New Mexico, the northern Texas Panhandle and southwestern Kansas are expected to persist, although there will be enough chances for rain to prevent conditions from deteriorating to widespread significant drought,” Pastelok said.

In the Southwest, a weaker monsoon season is forecast overall, despite a strong start in July. The pattern will quickly trail off in August, leading to normal to slightly above-normal precipitation.

Despite the rain, the risk for fires will be high due to increased wind.

El Niño's aid not enough for the West; Drought to rebuild across the region

Though the El Niño pattern brought much-needed rain to northern and central California, Southern California wasn't quite as lucky. Drought will remain in this area and intensify into the summer season.

“We have a long-term drought going on and we didn't get much rain in Southern California, so Los Angeles, Burbank, Riverside – they're still in drought conditions. They're going to feel the heat there,” Pastelok said.

Wildfires will also be a significant threat.

In the Northwest and much of central and northern California, El Niño led to a wetter-than-normal winter, but it fell short of what was needed to eliminate the drought.

“The Northwest and northern California are coming off a good winter and spring with rainfall and snowfall,” Pastelok said.

However, it wasn't enough to provide long-term relief.

Significant drought conditions may return in the middle and latter part of summer and may result in another year of rampant wildfires for northern California and the Northwest.
 
Alex Sosnowski is a senior meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Senior Center held a grand opening for its daily lunch program on Monday, May 2.

The event brought more than 40 local seniors who enjoyed the festivities and lunch.

Wendy Krieger joined the board of directors for the senior center and discovered the opportunity to host lunches for the senior community.

After months of planning, recruiting volunteers and reaching out to the community the grand opening was considered a huge success.

The board has looked into the lunch program before, but had difficulty finding volunteers to make it happen.

To continue its success the center is looking for more volunteers who can give a couple hours a week or more. Volunteers of all abilities and age are encouraged to get involved.

Lunches at 11:30 a.m. include salad bar, soup, entrée and beverage.

Seniors pay as you can with a suggestion of $5 and non seniors pay $6. The option for only soup and salad bar is pay as you can for seniors with a suggestion of $3 and non seniors pay $4.

The center opens at 9 a.m. with a free Tai Chi class for all ages and a pot of hot coffee.

For more information call the center at 707-279-2175.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Tuesday, May 10, and Wednesday, May 11, the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit of Cal Fire with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will be conducting crew readiness drills for the 2016 fire season.

Crews will be required to perform essential wildland firefighting skills such as fire line construction, a crew hike and fire shelter deployments. This is to evaluate their preparedness for the 2016 fire season.

“These drills are essential to gauge the readiness of the Unit Conservation Camp Crews for the upcoming Fire Season, and will qualify them for fire line assignments,” explained Unit Chief Shana Jones.

The drills will start each day at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Crew exercises will take place in the area of the 3000 block of Old Soda Springs Road, Napa. There is limited access to the drill site.

The public may see increased activity on Monticello Road and Soda Canyon Road with firefighting equipment.

UKIAH, Calif. – The annual Latino Student Retreat, sponsored by the Mendocino College Foundation, will take place on Friday, May 6.

The retreat will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts at the Ukiah Campus, 1000 Hensley Creek Road.

The purpose of the Latino Student Retreat is to promote social and cultural awareness to the high school students from Mendocino and Lake counties.

The highlights include motivational speeches, workshops, entertainment and lunch.

The event has increased in popularity since its inception 26 years ago, and it continues to draw well-known and excellent Latino role models as presenters from political, legal, business and artistic fields.

The theme for this year’s retreat is “Somos los Líderes del Mañana” (We are the Leaders of Tomorrow).

There will be two accomplished presenters: Dr. Juan Carlos Astorga, the keynote and workshop leader, and Erica Fernández-Zamora, workshop leader, who will be sharing their cultural, educational and leadership experiences.

Juan Carlos Astorga has more than 20 years of experience in higher education having worked at the public, private, and community college level. He is the dean of student engagement at Los Angeles Pierce College. Previously, he served as dean of specially funded programs for Los Angeles Southwest College; director of TRIO Programs at Mt. San Antonio College; and assistant dean of student affairs at U.C. San Diego Sixth College.

He earned his bachelor's degree from U.C. San Diego and his master’s degree at San Diego State University. He graduated from the Educational Doctorate Program in Higher Education with a specialization in Community College Leadership from CSU Fullerton. His research focus is on leadership, engagement, and academic success of undocumented students in the community college system.

His parents immigrated to the United States when he was 4 years old and he was in bilingual education classes while in elementary school. He is a son, a father, an uncle, a brother, a husband. To him, family is what matters.

Erica Fernández-Zamora immigrated to the U.S. from a small town in Michoacán, Mexico and came to live in Oxnard, Calif., where she participated in every migrant education program available.

At the age of 12 she began to learn how to help mobilize her community in a four-year battle that resulted in the political/legal defeat of a mining company’s desire to build an environmentally hazardous facility off the coast of Oxnard.

Since then, she has completed two bachelor degrees and an master's degree in policy, organization and leadership studies at Stanford. She works for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and investigates unfair labor practices.

The college anticipates more than 300 students from grades ninth to 12 will attend and be accompanied by their teachers, counselors and chaperones.

The schools planning to be in attendance are: Accelerated Achievement Academy, Anderson Valley, Clear Lake, Fort Bragg, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Middletown, Point Arena, Potter Valley, Redwood Academy South Valley, Ukiah and Willits.

For questions about the Latino Student Retreat, please call Monica Flores at 707-468-1008.