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Lake County's unemployment predictably rose during January, which is known as one of the slowest months for jobs in the county, where main industries are agriculture and tourism.
January's unemployment rate was up from 15.3 percent in January 2009 and a revised rate of 18.2 percent last December, according to the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
“I am not surprised at all,” District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock said Wednesday of the unemployment rate continuing to climb.
Added District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, “We're in the middle of a storm.”
In an effort to help the local economy, Comstock said the county is implementing measures like its local vendor preference, and Rushing added that they're doing everything they can to support local business.
The EDD's report on January's unemployment figures placed Lake at No. 50 of 58 counties.
Counties that had worse rates included Yuba, 20.4 percent; Sutter, 21 percent; San Benito, 21.1 percent; Merced, 21.7 percent; Plumas, 22.3 percent; Trinity, 25.8 percent; and Imperial, 27.3 percent.
The highest unemployment in the state was found in neighboring Colusa County, where 27.4 percent of its labor force is out of work, according to the report.
The lowest unemployment was found in Mono County, which registered an 8.1 percent unemployment rate.
California's overall unemployment rate was 13.2 percent, higher than was reported earlier this week.
In Lake County approximately 4,930 people of a workforce of 25,110 were out of work in January, compared to 4,510 people out of work in December, when the workforce numbered 24,740 people. The local workforce also was up slightly from the 24,920 workers reported the previous January.
A total of 12,370 jobs were reported across all industries in Lake County in January, down 5.3 percent from 13,060 in January 2009 and a 1.3-percent loss or 12,530 jobs in December, pointing to the impact of the job losses in neighboring counties and its impact on local residents who commute.
The largest job losses by percentage over the last year came in the category of “nonfarm” under the durable goods production subcategory, which lost 33.3 percent of its jobs, or 30 out of 90 jobs over the past year, based on the EDD's report.
Wholesale trade was down by 28.6 percent, or 60 jobs, over the past year, and leisure and hospitality jobs dropped by 23.5 percent, or 270 jobs.
Largest losses by numbers came in the subcategory of “total private” nonfarm industries, which lost 450 jobs.
Subcategories that showed job gains included government, which had an overall 1 percent gain; within that subcategory, the federal government showed job increases of 20 jobs locally, or 14.3 percent, from last year and 10 jobs or a 6.7-percent increase from December; followed by state government, with grew by 6.7 percent or 10 jobs from the previous year and had no changes from the previous month.
Local government added 20 jobs over the year but was down 40 jobs from December, the report added.
“Other services” also gained 10 jobs over the year, or 3.3 percent, but was down 10 jobs from December, for a 3.1 percent loss.
For Lake County's cities and towns, Clearlake Oaks had the highest unemployment rate, at 28.6 percent, while Upper Lake had the lowest, with 10.3 percent.
For other areas of the county the following unemployment rates were reported: Nice, 28 percent; city of Clearlake, 27.6 percent; Lucerne, 20.7 percent; Middletown and Kelseyville tied, each with 20 percent; city of Lakeport, 19 percent; Cobb, 17.6 percent; Lower Lake, 16.5 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 16.3 percent; and north Lakeport, 15.7 percent.
Lake's neighboring counties posted the following rates and state rankings: Glenn, 18 percent, No. 42; Mendocino, 12.7 percent, No. 19; Napa, 11.1 percent, No. 10; Sonoma, 11.3 percent, No. 11; and Yolo, 14.8 percent, No. 28.
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The Lake County Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit is seeking the missing Toyota pickup that reportedly belonged to Frank Maddox, who along with wife Yvette, was found dead by two motorists at the bottom of an embankment about six miles east of Lower Lake March 4.
Since the bodies were found, detectives have arrested a person of interest in the case of the deaths, 29-year-old Robby Alan Beasley, for an unrelated fugitive warrant out of the state of Maine, Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman said.
Bauman said Wednesday that the pickup officials are attempting to locate is believed to be possibly connected to the deaths of the Maddoxes.
The missing truck is described as a 1982 Toyota pickup, either tan, beige, or pale yellow in color, with a black camper shell, and primer paint that is exposed on the hood and roof areas.
Bauman said the truck has oversized tires with chrome and gold wheels, a chrome brush guard on the front, and had California license plates of 1MHV850.
During their investigation over the past weekend, detectives learned that the truck had been missing since the couple's disappearance in late January or early February, Bauman said.
Bauman said that investigators have since learned that a truck, believed to be the Toyota pickup in question, had been called in to the county Code Enforcement Division on Jan. 25 as an abandoned vehicle parked on Jerusalem Grade Road near Spruce Grove Road, near Hidden Valley Lake. Code Enforcement tagged the truck for abatement on Feb. 2 and took several photographs of it.
However, sometime between Feb. 2 and Feb. 18, the truck was moved by someone and had been seen parked several miles further north, on Spruce Grove Road near Noble Ranch Road on Feb. 18, and again on Feb. 23. Bauman said the truck has since left that location and its whereabouts are still unknown.
Meanwhile, as a result of the search warrants served at his residences on Saturday, Beasley has had additional local felony charges filed against him for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sales and maintaining a place for the unlawful sales of marijuana, according to Bauman's report.
Bauman said Beasley is now in custody with a $1,000,000 bail for those charges, however an additional no-bail warrant has also been signed by a magistrate in the state of Maine for additional probation violations.
Beasley remains a person of interest in the deaths of Frank and Yvette Maddox at the present time, Bauman said.
Anyone with information on the possible whereabouts, recent sightings, or recent drivers of the truck are asked to immediately contact the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200.
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THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HAS DOWNGRADED THIS QUAKE FROM 3.1 IN MAGNITUDE TO 3.0 IN MAGNITUDE.
THE GEYSERS – A 3.0-magnitude earthquake shook The Geysers area of southern Lake County Wednesday evening.
The temblor occurred at 5:06 p.m. at a depth of 1.1 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
Its epicenter was located at The Geysers, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, the US Geological Survey reported.
One shake report was filed from San Rafael, according to the agency.
The previous week, on March 4, a 3.4-magnitude earthquake occurred at 9:47 a.m. at a depth of seven-tenths of a mile, the US Geological Survey reported.
That quake was located two miles west northwest of Cobb, four miles northeast of The Geysers and six miles northwest of Anderson Springs.
The US Geological Survey received seven shake reports from seven zip codes, including reports from Kelseyville and Middletown.
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Nearly 12,000 constituents took part, breaking the previous record of 11,000, according to Thompson's staff.
The questions were on a wide variety of topics, ranging from health care to the federal debt to immigration, Thompson's office reported.
“Each time I hold one of these events, we have more and more participants,” said Congressman Thompson. “They are not a replacement for in-person town hall meetings, but they are a great way to hear from folks all across our district.”
He said the Monday event was a good chance for him to talk with constituents about important things like health care reform and jobs.
“It’s important that we had a chance to share our thoughts,” he said. “I wasn’t able to get to everyone, but I’ll be responding to all of the 131 voice mails that were left at the end of the call.”
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BRANSCOMB – A Branscomb man was arrested last week after he allegedly ran his vehicle into the front of a post office and store.
Dale Carbaugh, 49, was arrested on charges of attempted arson, vandalism, burglary and felonious threats on March 5, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
On March 4 Mendocino Sheriff's deputies responded to the area of the Branscomb Post Office regarding a subject who had hit the front of the store with a vehicle, Smallcomb said.
Upon arrival, deputies spoke with witnesses who advised that Carbaugh had run his vehicle into the front of the store, impacting the gasoline pump, according to the report.
Smallcomb said that, upon hitting the pump, Carbaugh exited his vehicle and pulled the fuel dispensing nozzle off of the pump and placed it in the post office building, hooking it on a crate in an apparent attempt to dispense gasoline inside the building.
Witnesses advised the emergency shutoff switch was disengaged and Carbaugh got back into his vehicle and drove it to another location near the store, Smallcomb said. The witnesses also told deputies that Carbaugh walked past the store a few minutes later and threw a small plastic bottle towards them advising he believed the devil was inside the post office.
Deputies searched the area for Carbaugh but couldn't find him, Smallcomb said.
On the following day, Smallcomb said sheriff's deputies received a call for service advising Carbaugh was at the home of a relative in Branscomb and was vandalizing a boat with a hatchet. Deputies responded to the scene and arrested Carbaugh for felony vandalism attempted arson and burglary.
Smallcomb said the deputies also investigated the incident which had occurred at the relative's home. They learned Carbaugh had been hiding in the woods the previous day in hopes of eluding law enforcement and had arrived at a relative's home, where he took a hatchet and destroyed an inflatable Zodiac type boat.
Following this vandalism Carbaugh threatened to commit similar acts of violence on his family members at the location, Smallcomb said.
Carbaugh also was arrested on charges of vandalism and felonious threats. Smallcomb said Carbaugh was transported and booked into the Mendocino County Jail, with bail set at $50,000.
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The list of 188 schools, released Monday, identifies 5 percent of those lowest achieving schools based on a series of criteria derived from state and federal law, officials reported.
The schools are listed in three sections – tier one, tier two and graduation rate only.
On the tier two list – which includes middle or high schools that are eligible to receive Title I funds based on demographics such as above-average poverty – included one Lake County school, Upper Lake Middle School in the Upper Lake Elementary School District.
The only other school listed in the North Coast region was Kawana Elementary in Sonoma County's Bellevue Union Elementary School District. Tier one schools are elementary, middle or high schools that, among other things, are identified as being in Program Improvement in the 2009-10 school year.
Kurt Herndon, superintendent for the Upper Lake Elementary School District, received a letter dated Feb. 22 from California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, a copy of which Herndon shared with Lake County News.
In the letter, O'Connell informed Herndon that the district may or may not have one or more schools on the list. Herndon later received a four-page explanation of the list and what it means.
“I'm in the awkward position of trying to explain something that doesn't make any sense,” said Herndon.
Herndon wrote a memorandum to his board of education to explain the situation, and also called board members.
Rachel Perry, director of the California Department of Education's academic accountability and awards division, said that identifying the 5 percent of persistently lowest-achieving schools in California is part of a multistep process that the state has to follow in accordance with three federal funding programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
Those programs are the Race to the Top, the School Improvement Grant and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Perry said.
In addition, SB X 51 – state legislation authored by Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) – added additional rules to help California compete in the Race to the Top, she explained.
The State Board of Education will discuss the preliminary list at its Thursday meeting, Perry said.
Perry said the US Department of Education allows states to apply for waivers of certain provisions of the federal law. She said California can apply for a waiver from having to identify lower performing schools before identifying the higher performing schools as required under the federal programs.
The State Board of Education will vote on seeking that waiver this Thursday, Perry said.
“If they vote to seek the waiver, the list will resort itself,” she said, with tier two schools like Upper Lake Middle School possibly being replaced by lower performing schools from tier one.
However, “There's still a second layer of review,” with Perry noting that the US Department of Education must approve the waivers, with the possibility that the agency could rule California doesn't qualify.
That makes it even more troubling for local districts because of the uncertainty, Perry said.
Herndon pointed out that Upper Lake Middle School isn't amongst the lowest 5 percent of schools when it comes to measures like the state's Academic Performance Index.
The school's 2009 API was 666, 12 points below its target score, according to state records. In 2008 the school scored 678, with a 2007 score of 672.
One of the reasons Upper Lake Middle School landed on the list was its failure to increase its API score by 50 or more points over the last three years. Perry explained that schools that didn't make that growth target were identified as low performers according to state law.
“We evaluate performance and progress,” she said.
Any schools that increased their API by more than 50 points or were at or above the state's API target of 800 points were removed from the state's analysis used to identify low performing schools, she said.
The California Department of Education reported that the schools identified as persistently lowest achieving must engage in a school intervention model as required by state and federal law.
Schools that make that final list of persistently lowest-achieving schools are required to implement one of four school intervention models: the turnaround model, which requires major school improvements that can include replacing the principal and adopting a new governance structure; a restart model, in which the school is converted or closed and reopened; the school closure model, in which the school is closed and students are enrolled in other, higher-achieving schools; and the transformation model, which also can include replacing the principal and increasing instructional time.
Herndon said the school already has worked on remedies to address performance, including the turnaround model.
Upper Lake Middle School currently has a new principal following the retirement of the previous principal, Herndon said.
“It just sounds so bad,” he said of the school's inclusion on the list.
Now that the school knows what to shoot for, he said it won't be on the list in the future.
Herndon is sure of one thing. “We are not in the bottom 5 percent of schools in California,” he said. “It's not that simple.”
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