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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – This week the Upper Lake Unified School District Board will consider approving job descriptions and contracts with firms for professional services, and hold a hearing on classified negotiations.
The board will meet for a 4 p.m. closed session before the regular public session at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, in the library/student center at Upper Lake High School, 675 Clover Valley Road.
Documents and background information for agenda items are available to the public at http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/ulusd/Board.nsf/Public .
On the agenda is a public hearing for the sunshine openers on the contract negotiations between the district and the Upper Lake Classified School Employees Association.
The board also will receive a special technology report from Ron Rosser and Sandy Coatney, and informational reports from Business Manager Sue Milhaupt and Superintendent Patrick Iaccino.
Under action and discussion items, the board will consider approving a resolution for workers' compensation coverage for volunteer personnel, and also will take up whether or not to approve contracts with School Innovations & Achievement and Caldwell Flores Winter Inc., the latter offering professional state aid services.
In other business, the board will review job descriptions for the positions of food services manager; building, grounds and maintenance supervisor; and technology director.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee this week will continue its work to prepare the city's economic development strategic plan.
The meeting will take place from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 13, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The main item on LEDAC's agenda is the working session on the Lakeport Economic Development Strategic Plan.
As part of preparing that final plan, LEDAC working groups have been reviewing documents including the city's former redevelopment agency five-year implementation plan; the 2016 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy; Lake County 2030 – A Blueprint for our Future (Lake County/City Area Planning Council); Lake County Economic Development & Marketing Strategic Plan, 2011-2013; and the Downtown Improvement Plan, Phase II.
Chair Wilda Shock said LEDAC members will hold the final discussion on those documents ahead of finalizing the plan.
In other business, there will be an update on the vacant commercial buildings and lands inventory, with an informational presentation on alternative design approaches.
There also will be time for citizen input.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members do not have to be Lakeport residents.
In addition to Shock, the membership includes Vice Chair Christine Hutt, Secretary Rebecca Southwick, and members Bill Eaton, Melissa Fulton, Pam Harpster, Chris King, George Linn, Taira St. John and Panette Talia.
Lakeport City Community Development Director Kevin Ingram and City Manager Margaret Silveira serve as ex-officio committee members.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LUCERNE, Calif. – The April tour of “The Castle,” which houses Marymount California University’s Lakeside Campus, is scheduled for Wednesday, April 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Anyone interested in a tour, information on MCU Lakeside bachelor’s degree programs, or general use of the facility is encouraged to drop in.
Reservations are not necessary. People are invited to bring friends who are also curious about the facility.
Future open house events are scheduled for May 4, June 15, July 13 and Aug. 9.
Prospective students are highly encouraged to stop by to tour and learn more about the degree programs and educational opportunities available.
The campus is located at 3700 Country Club Drive in Lucerne.
For more information, call Enrollment Coordinator Kathy Windrem at 310-303-7699 or visit www.marymountcalifornia.edu .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has seven dogs ready to join new families this week.
The dogs available include mixes of American Bulldog, boxer, coonhound, Doberman Pinscher, Labrador Retriever, pit bull, Rottweiler and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
To meet the dogs, contact Marcia Taylor, the animal control outreach technician, at 707-994-8201, Extension 103, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or contact Animal Control Officer Jenna Tuller at Extension 115 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. those same days.
Also follow Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook for the latest updates.
Below are this week's available dogs.
'Bailey'
“Bailey” is a 7-month-old male Labrador Retriever-pit bull mix who came in with two other female littermates.
Shelter staff said he would make a wonderful family member. He likes to play, gets along with cats and would be good with kids, and has that “Labrador personality.”
'Blacky'
“Blacky” is a male Doberman Pinscher and coonhound mix.
He is a favorite at the shelter. Staff said he a laid back kind of a guy and gets along with everyone – including cats and dogs.
He's also a bit of a goofball that loves to chase flies, which staff said is very entertaining to watch.
He's kind-hearted, and gentle easy to walk on a leash. He was already neutered when he came in so his adoption fee is only $40.
'Buster'
“Buster” is a 3-year-old male pit bull terrier mix.
He walks nicely on leash and has a mellow personality.
Shelter staff said he's good with cats and will make a good family member.
'Katie'
“Katie” is a young female Labrador Retriever and pit bull terrier mix.
Shelter staff said she is a kind girl who will be your best friend. She's a littermate to Bailey and Molly.
Katie would be great in all sorts of activities, from camping trips to going for a job or a walk.
'Molly'
“Molly” is a 7-month-old Labrador Retriever and Pit Bull mix, and a littermate to Bailey and Katie.
Shelter staff said she is very sweet, loves to play and will make a wonderful family addition. She must be seen to be appreciated.
'Mona'
“Mona” is a young female Rottweiler-boxer mix with a low-key personality.
She is already spayed.
Shelter staff said she walks well on a leash, and is good with children, cats and other dogs.
'Toby'
“Toby” is a mix of Staffordshire Bull Terrier and American Bulldog.
Shelter staff said he is strongly built but is an absolute love bug.
He gets along well with other dogs, and walks great on a leash.
Toby also is potty trained, vaccinated and very friendly, and ready to go to a new home.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
On average, California women employed full-time, year round are paid just 84 cents for every dollar paid to men – a yearly pay gap of $8,053.
That means, in total, women in California lose more than $39 billion every year, which is money that could strengthen the state economy and the financial security of California’s women and families, including the nearly 1,751,000 California households headed by women.
These are some of the findings of a new analysis conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families and released for Equal Pay Day on Tuesday.
The analysis spans all 50 states, all 435 congressional districts in the country, and the District of Columbia. It can be found at www.NationalPartnership.org/Gap .
The full set of findings for California, which can be seen below, include that, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men in California, African American women, Latinas and Asian women who work full time, year round are paid 63 cents, 43 cents and 72 cents, respectively.
“This analysis is a sobering reminder of the serious harm the wage gap causes women and families all across the country,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership. “At a time when women’s wages are so critical to the economic well-being of families, the country is counting on lawmakers to work together to advance the fair and family friendly workplace policies that would promote equal pay. There is no time to waste.”
According to the new analysis, if the gap between women’s and men’s wages in California were eliminated, each woman who holds a full-time, year-round job in the state could afford to buy food for 1.1 more years, pay for mortgage and utilities for four more months, or pay rent for more than six additional months.
Basic necessities like these would be particularly important for the 28 percent of California’s woman-headed households currently living below the poverty level.
California is not the only state with a wage gap. In fact, every state and 98 percent of the country’s congressional districts have one.
The National Partnership’s national analysis finds that the 10 states with the largest cents-on-the-dollar wage gaps in the country – from largest to smallest – are Louisiana, Utah, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, Montana and Michigan.
A ranking of all 50 states and the District of Columbia can be found at http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf .
Nationally, women who are employed full-time, year round are paid, on average, 79 cents for every dollar paid to men.
The gap is larger for African American women and Latinas who are paid 60 cents and 55 cents, respectively, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.
For Asian women in the United States, the gap is smaller but persists. On average, Asian women are paid 84 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, although some ethnic subgroups fare much worse.
“It is unacceptable that the wage gap has persisted, punishing the country’s women and families for decades,” Ness continued. “Some state lawmakers have taken steps to address the issue by passing legislation to combat discriminatory pay practices and provide other workplace supports. It is past time for federal lawmakers to do the same. We need Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is a common sense proposal that has languished for much too long.”
Currently before Congress, the Paycheck Fairness Act is meant to close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, help to break patterns of pay discrimination, and establish stronger workplace protections for women.
The National Partnership argues that the bill, along with other supportive policies – such as paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, minimum wage increases, fair scheduling and protections for pregnant workers – are what is needed to close the gap and should be top priorities for lawmakers.
The National Partnership’s analysis of the wage gap was released in advance of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday – which marks how far into the new year women must work in order to catch up with what men were paid the year before. The analysis uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – By now, most people in Lake County have seen the charred remains of Boggs Mountain Demonstration Forest being hauled off to saw mills for salvage after the devastation done by the Valley fire.
Along with the destroyed homes and properties, the county lost an invaluable recreation area – at least for a while.
The result has meant a challenging year for the high school mountain bike teams. It’s hard to train for races on trails when there are not many to ride and a wet winter hasn’t helped.
Despite this challenge, the Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School mountain bike teams are still going strong. In fact, they are excited to be racing alongside the newly formed Middletown High School team as well.
Our season opener was on March 6 at Fort Ord, a decommissioned US Army base turned National Monument just north of Monterey.
The NorCal league is so large – nearly 1,000 riders this year – it is split into two conferences competing over two days.
Saturday’s race encountered some serious wet weather but the rains ended and the skies parted for nearly perfect riding conditions for us on Sunday.
The sandy soils drain well providing well-packed and smooth trails. Riders raced two to five laps, or 10 to 25 miles. Each lap was 4.5 miles with 600 feet of climbing.
Although the teams had no one in the top five at Ft. Ord, standouts of the day included Kia Kohler (KHS-JV girls) who pulled off 12th out of 32.
Christian Lindsey and Justin Perez (KHS frosh boys) finished strong in the upper third of their field, managing to pull ahead despite starting at the rear of the pack of 63.
For a couple of the more experienced riders, it was a slower start.
Moving up to varsity means serious competition for Jeffrey Morton (CLHS), who realized how tough it is to crack into the top five, placing 12th of 25.
Two of the Clear Lake riders also were fighting the terrible flu that went around the county, one going to the hospital in Salinas with strep.
Other riders competing included Solano Dominguez and Gabe Wind (CLHS JV boys), Tanner Morton (CLHS Frosh boys), Zoë Cramer (CLHS Sophomore girls) and Edina Balazs (KHS JV girls).
Edina, a foreign exchange student from Hungary, was super pumped just to be a part of the excitement that is NorCal High School racing by completing the challenging race.
With race No. 1 complete, eyes were opened, new goals made, and sites set on the next race March 19 at Granite Bay State Park on Folsom Lake. Unfortunately, fewer local athletes competed at this event.
A 6.3-mile lap with 700 feet of climbing, Granite Bay is fast and flowy with granite outcroppings and a treacherous sand pit among oak trees and grasses.
Racing between two to four laps, the local girls started strong.
Kia Koher (KHS JV girls) moved up finishing ninth in her class and newcomer Rainey Vanoven (CLHS Frosh girl) finished 10th.
“It was so much fun,” said Rainey. “I can’t wait to do it again.”
Things changed as the freshman boys got out.
Justin Perez ended up dropping out of the race after a mechanical with his back tire and Christian Lindsey (KHS) broke his chain halfway through his last lap, running in the last two miles with his bike to finish 20th.
Fully recovered from the flu, Solano Dominguez (CLHS JV boys), made a big comeback finishing 11th out of a field of 71 and Gabe Wind (CLHS) finished 34th.
Jeffrey Morton stayed consistent in his four laps to maintain 12th position out of 30.
The young riders returned to action again on April 9 back at Fort Ord (moved from Vacaville). For full details about the NorCal league, visit their Website at www.norcalmtb.org .
Like the teams on Facebook at Lake County High School Mountain Bike Teams.
Tami Cramer is coach and team director for the Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School mountain bike teams.
