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COBB, Calif. – Friends and family have organized a weekend fundraiser to benefit a local woman injured on the job.
The fundraiser for Courtney Kowalkowski will be held beginning at 3 p.m. – and continuing late into the evening – on Saturday, April 11.
It will be held at Jellystone RV Park and Camp Resort, 14117 Bottle Rock Road in Cobb.
Tickets for ages 12 and up cost $20 presale and can be purchased at Cobb Mountain Texaco, The Brick Oven and the Village Pub, or by calling Bonnie at 707-928-5833. At the door, tickets cost $25 per person.
Ticket prices for children ages 12 and under are $10, with children under 3 able to attend for free.
There will be a live auction and barbecue, and music by local bands, including CAM, the Prather Brothers and John Jennings.
All proceeds will go to help Kowalkowski and her family. She was injured in an industrial accident at work on Feb. 25 and is now undergoing a strenuous course of rehabilitation.
A Go Fund Me account also has been set up for her at http://www.gofundme.com/osah5w .
As of Tuesday, $5,755 of the $40,000 goal had been raised.
Kowalkowski's crushed vertebrae and badly damaged spinal cord have resulted in her needing to use a wheelchair. Family members said some of the funds will be used to purchase a specialized wheelchair for her.
With April snow measured at its lowest level on record, the State Water Resources Control Board announced that Californians in cities and towns reduced their water consumption by just 2.8 percent in February.
This dismal conservation rate is the lowest monthly figure since the State Water Board began tracking the data in July 2014.
Tuesday's announcement comes just days after the State Water Board delivered a second notice to water rights holders – including those with senior water rights – of coming curtailments of their surface water supplies.
“Today’s announced February results are very disturbing and provides even more support for the Governor’s call for an immediate 25 percent mandatory reduction in urban water use statewide,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. “I know many communities in the state stepped up since last summer and dramatically conserved water. But not enough communities in the state have saved enough water. Beginning today, to assure their own water security as well as help others, communities should restrict outdoor irrigation to the bare minimum. If we dramatically stop watering out-of-doors, we should be able to reduce water use by 25 percent or more in the next several months since an average of 50 percent of urban water use is used outdoors.”
In the most recent survey of more than 400 urban water retailers, the amount of water saved by the state’s large urban water agency customers statewide declined from 8 percent in January to approximately 2.8 percent in February, in same month water use comparisons of 2015 to 2013.
The year 2013 serves as a baseline to determine water savings statewide since the 2014 emergency water conservation regulations have been in effect.
On April 1, Gov. Brown issued an executive order mandating a 25 percent reduction in water use for all urban water users.
The State Water Board expects to consider on May 5 an emergency water conservation regulation that requires a mandatory 25 percent reduction in urban water use statewide beginning the month following board adoption.
That regulation will use a sliding scale, so that communities that have been conserving water will have lower mandates than those that haven’t conserved this past year and/or over the last decade since the last major drought.
On March 17, the State Water Board adopted an expanded emergency conservation regulation to safeguard the state’s remaining water supplies as California enters a fourth consecutive dry year.
On Tuesday, board members discussed the importance of the State Water Board having measures in place by June, following the governor’s latest executive order, to assist water districts and their customers to ensure water conservation remains a priority for all Californians.
“In this extremely serious situation, the governor is calling for immediate reductions. Californians need to step up now – especially those who have not been doing their share,” said Marcus. “We are in a drought like we've not seen before, and we all need to step up like never before.”
Water conservation efforts decline
Monthly residential water savings statewide were just 2.8 percent in February compared with February 2013. That is down from the 8 percent water savings in January compared with January 2013.
Broken down by hydrologic region, the results show that some parts of the state saved much less water than in any month since reporting began last summer. In some areas water use increased, rather than declined. A few hydrologic regions sustained significant water conservation in February.
From June 2014 through February 2015, more than 148 billion gallons of water have been saved compared with the same period in 2013 – enough to supply 1.99 million California residents for a year.
The decline in water savings by one of the most populated regions of the state did impact the statewide average for February.
The South Coast hydrologic region actually increased its water use in February as compared to the February 2013 baseline. This increase had a considerable impact on the statewide average because 56 percent of all residential water customers in the state are in the South Coast hydrologic region.
The report also found that in February, 96 percent of the water agencies reporting had instituted mandatory outdoor water use restrictions.
Outdoor water use restrictions are a key requirement for urban water suppliers under the emergency water conservation regulation because outdoor watering accounts for as much as 80 percent of urban water use in some areas.
In addition to the conservation data, the State Water Board also discussed the reported residential gallons per-capita per day (R-GPCD) for February. The discussion focused on estimated daily water use by residential customers for more than 400 urban water agencies statewide.
The statewide R-GPCD average for February was 76.7 gallons per person per day, a slight increase from January when the statewide average use was 73.1 gallons per person per day.
At the low end, the San Francisco Bay hydrologic region averaged 57.9 gallons per person per day. On the high end, the Colorado River hydrologic region averaged 165.6 gallons per person per day. A handful of suppliers have reached R-GPCD levels below 45.
State Water Board staff continues to study this trend in an effort to understand what is driving the reduction in water use in some hydrologic regions but not others.
The water use reports are a requirement of the emergency water conservation regulation adopted by the State Water Board in July 2014 and renewed in March and are provided to the board monthly by urban water suppliers.
The governor’s executive order last week directs the State Water Board to collect this information on a permanent basis.
Examples of some communities with the respective R-GPCD averages for February 2015 in various hydrologic areas (in parenthesis) include: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (San Francisco Bay) with 44 R-GPCD; City of Santa Cruz (Central Coast) with 44 R-GPCD; California-American Water Company Monterey District (Central Coast) 52 R-GPCD; City of Santa Rosa (North Coast) with 52 R-GPCD; City of Stockton (San Joaquin River) with 56 R-GPCD; City of San Diego (South Coast), with 59 R-GPCD; San Jose Water Company (San Francisco Bay), with 59 R-GPCD; City of Fresno (Tulare Lake), with 60 R-GPCD; City of Sacramento (Sacramento River) with 62 R-GPCD; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (South Coast), with 69 R-GPCD; City of Riverside (South Coast), with 74 R-GPCD; Sacramento County Water Agency (Sacramento River), with 81 R-GPCD, and California Water Services Company, Bakersfield (Tulare Lake) with 99 R-GPCD).
ACCUWEATHER GLOBAL WEATHER CENTER – AccuWeather reports rain and mountain snow returning to California early this week is a welcome sight but will do little to ease the historic drought gripping the state.
The storm pushed across California through Tuesday night, spreading rain across the state as well as delivering much-needed snow to the Sierra Nevada.
This comes just days after California Gov. Jerry Brown announced the first-ever statewide mandatory water restrictions in an effort to reduce water usage due to the drought.
Unfortunately, an end to those water restrictions will not come with this storm. As AccuWeather.com Western Weather Expert Ken Clark stated, “The rain and snow early this week is too little, too late for any drought relief.”
“With such a severe deficit of rain and snow over the past four years, the amount of rain and snow from this one storm will have virtually no effect on the seriousness of the current drought.”
For much of the winter and early spring, storms have tracked north of California with only a small number of storms tracking far enough south to bring rain to the Golden State. The storm early this week was one of those latter storms.
“For many locations in central and Southern California, this will be the first measurable precipitation they have had since early March,” said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Michael Doll.
While doing little for drought relief, the rain will bring some short-term benefits, including the snow forecast to fall over the mountains.
“Parts of the northern Sierra Range will likely receive over a foot of snow,” said Doll. “For the ski resorts that are still open, this will offer an opportunity to extend the ski season a while longer.”
Unfortunately, the pattern of wet weather across California is not expected to last for long.
Much of the precipitation associated with the early week storm will depart the region on Wednesday as the storm tracks into the Plains.
This will leave behind dry and sunny weather for Thursday and Friday with dry conditions persisting into the weekend.
Prospects for rain returning this weekend have diminished as latest indications keep the much-needed wet weather offshore.
A look at the drought
The drought in California has been gradually escalating in severity over the last four years and is now at its worst level yet.
“It is no secret that the historic drought continues in California,” said Clark. “For the fourth year in a row, rain and snowfall has been far below normal.”
“At no time has the Sierra snowpack seen so little snow on April 1 as this year,” added Clark.
On April 1, California Gov. Jerry Brown announced the mandatory restrictions in an effort to reduce water usage by 25 percent.
According to a report from the California Department of Water Resources, “Water conservation must become a way of life during the worst drought in most Californians' lifetimes.”
The order is an escalation of Brown's January 2014 request that Californians voluntarily reduce their water usage by 20 percent.
However, this order did leave out one of the most important aspects of the drought: agriculture.
As much as 80 percent of water use in California is used for farming, according to Clark.
This could lead to higher prices at the supermarket to compensate for the higher cost of watering crops across California. A hike in food prices may be felt all across the country since California agriculture produces many of the fruits, vegetables and nuts in the United States.
The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor classifies nearly the entire state of California is in a drought.
The report, which was released on April 2, 2015, classifies 93 percent of California in a severe drought and 41 percent of California in an exceptional drought, the highest level of drought classification.
The Palmer Index, another way of analyzing drought conditions, also classifies much of the state of being in an extreme drought.
California is not the only state in the West experiencing a drought. The extreme drought conditions over much of California also extend into portions of Nevada and Oregon.
In total, the U.S. Drought Monitor states that more than 52 million people are being affected by drought conditions across the West.
Many more storms are required to put a significant dent in the historic drought.
Unfortunately, the clock is ticking before the dry season settles in across the West.
Brian Lada is a meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The closing event of the Lake County Poet Laureate Reading Series, featuring current Poet Laureate Casey Carney, is this Friday, April 10.
The reading will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the House of Living Rhythm, 100 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
The evening will include guest poets Sam Flot and Aimé Graves, and guest musicians Kay Ashley, Clare Hedin and Jason K. Norris.
Admission is free, with a $5 suggested donation. Refreshments will be provided.
Presented by Andrea Williams, and hosted by JoAnn Saccato, the series has showcased the lineage of poetry in Lake County through presenting each of its eight poets laureate, in monthly readings, to a devoted audience of poetry and writing enthusiasts.
There also will be a community forum and mixer, with time to network and connect on future poetry collaborations and events.
The event is occurring at the one year mark of Carney's two-year term.
She encourages poets, writers, and visual and performing artists interested in collaboration to attend the event.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Assemblyman Bill Dodd’s resolution urging President Barack Obama to create the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument passed the Senate on Monday and is on its way to the president’s desk.
The establishment of the Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a national monument would help safeguard the area, enhance visitation, and provide an economic boost to the surrounding communities.
“The passage of this resolution sends a clear message to the President that the protection of this unique wilderness is important to both our region and our entire state,” said Dodd. “Preserving the region’s natural splendor for future generations is critical, and I want to thank all of those who have been working so hard towards that goal.”
Congressman Mike Thompson, along with a broad coalition of environmental and outdoor recreation groups, hundreds of local businesses and local governments have been working to conserve the area for a number of years.
The region’s other legislative representatives – Sen. Lois Wolk and Sen. Mike McGuire, and Assemblyman Jim Wood – also joined Dodd in supporting the resolution, which passed the legislature with bipartisan support.
“California contains some of the most beautiful landscapes in the entire country, and the Berryessa Snow Mountain region is one of those gems that needs to be protected,” said Sara Husby-Good, executive director of Tuleyome, a group that has advocated for the protections. “Assemblymember Dodd’s resolution marks the first time our state has formally urged the President to create a national monument, which is a powerful call for action.”
The Berryessa Snow Mountain region includes some 350,000 acres of existing public lands in close proximity to the Bay Area and Sacramento, making it easily accessible for millions of Californians.
Each year tens of millions of Californians participate in outdoor recreation, supporting over 700,000 jobs.
A study commissioned by the Winters Chamber of Commerce projects the national monument designation would result in $50 million of new economic activity for the region over five years.
“The Senate’s vote to approve AJR 4 serves as yet another show of the widespread support that the Berryessa Snow Mountain Monument proposal has not just among regional stakeholders, but across the entire state. With local officials, the governor, and now the legislature behind him, President Obama should act quickly to designate the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument,” said Congressman Thompson.
Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or portions of Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano, and Colusa counties. You can learn more about the district at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a storm warning for northern Lake County as another spring storm approaches Northern California.
The warning went into effect at 8 p.m. Monday and is in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Forecasters said an unusually cold spring storm is set to begin impacting the Coastal Range and areas farther north beginning Monday night and early Tuesday.
The storm is expected to bring snow “significant snowfall” – between 5 and 10 inches – to Northern California's mountains overnight and continuing on into Tuesday and Wednesday. Elevations above 3,500 feet are the areas expected to be most affected.
The forecast for areas north of Upper Lake calls for rain Monday night and wind gusts of up to 20 miles per hour, with snow and rain showers expected on Tuesday after 11 a.m., along with the possibility of thunder.
Showers in that area are expected to continue through Tuesday night, clearing on Wednesday, with no chances of rain to return before Saturday, based on the forecast.
Temperatures at night will be in the high 30s, with daytime temperatures into the mid 40s, forecasters said.
Throughout the rest of Lake County, rain also is expected from Monday night through Tuesday night. Totals overnight Monday and into early Tuesday are anticipated to be between half an inch and three quarters of an inch for the entire county, even the higher elevations under the storm warning.
On Tuesday, daytime rain totals are expected to be between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, with less than a tenth of an inch on Tuesday night, when thunderstorms also are possible, according to the forecast.
From Wednesday on, weather is expected to clear. Although cloudy skies are forecast toward week's end, forecasters don't so far predict any other rain for Lake County this week.
Throughout Lake County, wind gusts of up to 24 miles per hour are expected during the storm, with nighttime temperatures ranging from the low 30s and daytime temperatures into the low 70s starting early next week.
Additional updates on the forecast will be posted as they become available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at