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CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) will host the Lake County Social Services and Wellness Fair on Monday, Aug. 4, in Clearlake Oaks.
The free public event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, 15900 E. Highway 20.
At the event, more than two dozen government and nonprofit agencies will be on hand to help residents learn what resources are available to help them.
Services available to seniors, families, children, veterans and jobseekers will be highlighted.
A Facebook page for the event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/705467562858170/ .
For more information, contact Garamendi's office at 530-753-5301 or email
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport is reminding residents that it will host its second annual National Night Out on Tuesday, August 5.
The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Natural High School site, located at 800 N. Main St.
Special events will include a youth game area and a raffle for two children’s bikes with helmets. In order to eligible for the bike raffle, kids will need to check in at the Lakeport Police Drug Education Booth.
Citizens are encouraged to take this opportunity to meet and greet city council members, city staff and local public safety personnel, as well as McGruff the Crime Dog and Chipper from the California Highway Patrol.
The Lakeport Kiwanis will be grilling hot dogs which will be available to the first 200 people who attend the event.
The city of Lakeport also will provide watermelon and Lake County News will supply cold bottled water.
The city would like to thank the following sponsors for their contributions to this event: Grocery Outlet, providing hot dogs, buns and condiments; Lake County News, event advertising and bottled water; Pak ‘N Mail, donation of two beautiful banners to publicize National Night Out this year and in years to come; St. Mary Immaculate Church, use of tables and chairs for the event; Main Street Bicycles, generous discount on bicycle helmets; and UCC Rentals, discount on popcorn machine.
The California Highway Patrol is seeking accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., or CALEA, for its communications operations.
“The communication centers are the front lines of public safety and service, our dispatchers working in these facilities are fielding the vast majority of wireless 9-1-1 calls in the state,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The accreditation process for our communications unit is another excellent opportunity for the public to provide feedback about our operations as we continue to promote transparency and accountability while striving to improve our organization.”
Participation in the CALEA accreditation program is a voluntary process, yet a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence.
To obtain initial accreditation, agencies are required to undergo a thorough assessment process.
Verification by an assessment team from other states will ensure the CHP meets the commission’s state-of-the-art standards.
As part of its bid for accreditation, members of the public are invited to offer comments to the CALEA assessment team via telephone.
A public call-in period will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Members of the public wishing to comment may call 916-843-3325, during this time period.
Comments should be limited to the department’s ability to comply with CALEA standards and focus on its communications functions.
A copy of the standards will be made available at the CHP Headquarters, 601 North 7th St., Sacramento, CA 95811.
Persons wishing to offer written comments about the CHP’s ability to meet the accreditation standards may write to CALEA, at 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainsville, VA 20155.
Accreditation of CHP’s public safety communications function follows the department’s accreditation in November 2010 and reaccreditation in 2013.
In addition, last year, the CHP Academy became the first accredited state police training academy in the nation.
Established in 1979, CALEA’s accreditation program improves the delivery of public safety services and recognizes professional excellence.
For more information about CALEA, visit http://www.calea.org .
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Officials have issued a boil water notice for parts of Clearlake Oaks following a water main break.
The California Department of Public Health, the Lake County Health Department and Clearlake Oaks County Water District on Tuesday advised residents on or near Orchard Shores Sub Division, Lake Village Estates, Jenson Road, Sulphur Bank Rd, Elem Indian Colony and 13537 E. Highway 20 to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution.
Officials caution residents in those areas not to drink the water without boiling it first.
Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute and let it cool before using, or use bottled water, the notice urged. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
An alternative method of disinfection the district suggested for residents who are not able to boil their water is to use fresh, unscented, liquid household bleach.
To do so, add eight drops (or one-eighth of a teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of clear water or 16 drops (or one-quarter teaspoon) per gallon of cloudy water, mix thoroughly, and allow it to stand for 30 minutes before using.
A chlorine-like taste and odor will result from this disinfection procedure and is an indication that adequate disinfection has taken place.
Water disinfection tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Officials said they will inform residents when tests show that water is safe to drink and boiling water is no longer necessary.
The problem is anticipated to be resolved within 48 hours, officials said.
For additional information, the district can be reached at 707-998-3322 or at http://www.clocwd.org/ .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In another indicator of an improving economy, new data released this month show that foreclosures are continuing to edge down in Lake County, California and across the nation.
Irvine-based RealtyTrac issued its midyear foreclosure report, which showed that there were 613,874 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – in the first half of 2014, which the company said is a 19-percent decrease from the previous six months and down 23 percent from the first half of 2013.
One of the report's key findings: June had 107,194 foreclosures, down 2 percent from the previous month and down 16 percent from a year ago. That's the lowest level since July 2006, before the housing price bubble burst.
“Nationwide foreclosure activity in June reached an important milestone, dropping to levels not seen since before the housing price bubble burst in August 2006,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Over the next six to nine months nationwide foreclosure numbers should start to flat line at consistent historically normal levels.
Blomquist said that there are still “concerning trends” in some states and local markets that indicate those areas are still facing impacts from the lingering foreclosure problem.
However, he added that foreclosures “are no longer a widespread contagion threatening to derail the housing market’s return to full health.”
In Lake County, the high foreclosure activity of the last several years has given way to lower numbers with fewer spikes.
Going back to July 2006, Lake County had an eight-year low of three foreclosure actions in December 2006, and a peak of 386 in April 2009, according to data provided to Lake County News by RealtyTrac.
Last month, foreclosures in Lake County numbered 75, down from 136 the previous June and an improvement compared to this year's peak of 120 in March.
The lowest foreclosure numbers in Lake County since the housing bubble burst were recorded in January 2013, when 43 foreclosure actions were reported, according to the statistics.
Lake County's numbers continue to slowly trend downward, but are still averaging more than three times the foreclosures reported monthly in 2006, the data showed.
Regarding foreclosures across California, RealtyTrac's report showed that bank repossessions were up by 18 percent over the previous June. Eleven other states also showed an increase in the year-over comparison for bank repossessions.
At the same time, California was among 17 states where the average time to foreclose decreased from a year ago. Among that group, Minnesota was down by 20 percent; Texas and Maryland both declined by 17 percent; Georgia, 11 percent; New York, 10 percent; and California, 7 percent.
RealtyTrac reported that nine states recorded overall foreclosure activity increases in the first half of 2014 compared to a year ago, including New Jersey, up 54 percent; Maryland, 18 percent; Iowa, 10 percent; Massachusetts, 4 percent; and Connecticut, 4 percent.
States with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2014 were Florida, with one in 74 housing units with a foreclosure filing; Maryland, one in 107; Illinois, one in 123; New Jersey, one in 134; and Nevada, one in 138, RealtyTrac's report showed.
RealtyTrac also reported that the foreclosure process has continued to lengthen nationwide. Those properties foreclosed on in the second quarter of this year were in the process an average of 577 days, up 10 percent from 526 days in the second quarter of 2013.
More details about nationwide foreclosure statistics and trends are available at http://www.realtytrac.com/statsandtrends/foreclosuretrends/ .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Charges have been filed against a Lakeport couple arrested last week for felony unlawful corporal injury to a child.
Charles Anthony Dougherty, 31, and Jennifer Lynn Elsa, 32, were arrested last Thursday for allegedly striking and injuring Dougherty's 5-year-old daughter on the evening of July 4, as Lake County News has reported.
The Lakeport Police Department, whose officers took the couple into custody, reported late Monday night that the District Attorney's Office has filed charges against Dougherty and Elsa.
The felony charges against them include willfully and unlawfully inflicting cruel and inhuman corporal punishment and injury, resulting in a traumatic condition, upon a child, police said.
Additionally, Dougherty was charged with one count of “under circumstances and conditions other than those likely to produce great bodily harm and death, willfully and unlawfully inflicting on a child of 5 years, unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering and injure, cause and permit said child to suffer,” the Lakeport Police Department reported.
The agency thanked its officers and the District Attorney's Office staff for their work on this investigation.
Dougherty and Elsa remained in custody on Monday day, with bail for each set at $75,000, jail records indicated.