How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKEPORT, Calif. — Mendocino College and the Lake County Theatre Co. are presenting the eighth annual Shakespeare at the Lake production on Saturday, July 29, and Sunday, July 30, in Lakeport’s Library Park and on Friday, Aug. 4, through Sunday, Aug. 6, in Clearlake’s Austin Park.
This year’s play, “Measure for Measure,” begins at 7 p.m. each day, preceded by Renaissance music from Faire Measure, a string quartet of local musicians.
The free performances are made possible through generous support from businesses, community organizations and individuals who support live theater in Lake County.
Additional presenters include the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, and the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport.
Director John Tomlinson and producer Laura Barnes have worked with students enrolled in Mendocino College acting and stage production classes to craft an edited version of one of Shakespeare’s dark comedies, exploring themes of power (and its abuse), justice (or injustice), and mercy (or lack thereof).
Sex, religion and mistaken identity — a Shakespearean tradition — are also sprinkled in, for good measure.
Audiences will be transported to the Renaissance era with the captivating allure of traditional Shakespearean costumes and live music.
Sponsorships are being provided by the Lake County Friends, the Law Office of Judy Conard, Clear Lake Chamber, Rotary Club of Clearlake, Rotary Club of Lakeport, Green Heron Dispensary, Lakeport Main Street Association, Lower Lake Community Action Group, Community First Credit Union, Steve and Carol Schepper, Clear Lake Campground, Harry and Roberta Lyons, Wilda Shock and the Kiwanis Club of Lakeport.
Additional supporters include Education Leadership Solutions, Monica Flores, Susie LaPointe, Pat and Lori McGuire, and Gillian Parrillo and Pierre Cutler.
Tax-deductible contributions are being accepted to provide scholarships for the student actors and stipends for the technicians providing scenic design, costumes, sound and lighting, plus rehearsal and set-building rental space.
Donations payable to Mendocino College may be directed to Mendocino College Lake Center, 2565 Parallel Drive, Lakeport CA 95453.
Seating at each performance is first-come, first-served. Bring your own comfortable chairs or blankets for the grass.
Local food and beverage vendors will be available before show time and during intermission. Shakespeare swag will be offered to purchase as a souvenir.
Come out and support live theater in your community.
This year’s play, “Measure for Measure,” begins at 7 p.m. each day, preceded by Renaissance music from Faire Measure, a string quartet of local musicians.
The free performances are made possible through generous support from businesses, community organizations and individuals who support live theater in Lake County.
Additional presenters include the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, and the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport.
Director John Tomlinson and producer Laura Barnes have worked with students enrolled in Mendocino College acting and stage production classes to craft an edited version of one of Shakespeare’s dark comedies, exploring themes of power (and its abuse), justice (or injustice), and mercy (or lack thereof).
Sex, religion and mistaken identity — a Shakespearean tradition — are also sprinkled in, for good measure.
Audiences will be transported to the Renaissance era with the captivating allure of traditional Shakespearean costumes and live music.
Sponsorships are being provided by the Lake County Friends, the Law Office of Judy Conard, Clear Lake Chamber, Rotary Club of Clearlake, Rotary Club of Lakeport, Green Heron Dispensary, Lakeport Main Street Association, Lower Lake Community Action Group, Community First Credit Union, Steve and Carol Schepper, Clear Lake Campground, Harry and Roberta Lyons, Wilda Shock and the Kiwanis Club of Lakeport.
Additional supporters include Education Leadership Solutions, Monica Flores, Susie LaPointe, Pat and Lori McGuire, and Gillian Parrillo and Pierre Cutler.
Tax-deductible contributions are being accepted to provide scholarships for the student actors and stipends for the technicians providing scenic design, costumes, sound and lighting, plus rehearsal and set-building rental space.
Donations payable to Mendocino College may be directed to Mendocino College Lake Center, 2565 Parallel Drive, Lakeport CA 95453.
Seating at each performance is first-come, first-served. Bring your own comfortable chairs or blankets for the grass.
Local food and beverage vendors will be available before show time and during intermission. Shakespeare swag will be offered to purchase as a souvenir.
Come out and support live theater in your community.
On Thursday, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) introduced a revised version of their bipartisan legislation that would shield thousands of fire victims from taxation on compensation received in the aftermath of a wildfire.
This protection would cover payments made from the Fire Victim Trust, a $13.5 billion wildfire settlement for nearly 70,000 victims of the 2018 Camp Fire, 2017 North Bay Wildfires and the 2015 Butte Fire.
“Wildfire survivors should not have to pay taxes on compensation to which they’re entitled,” said Thompson. “I have worked closely with Rep. LaMalfa, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Ways and Means Committee and Congressional leadership to ensure that we swiftly pass legislation protecting survivors from taxation. The revised bill I introduced today with Rep. LaMalfa is a retroactive approach that protects our communities — and this tax relief remains my top priority in Congress. I am optimistic Congress will pass our bill.”
“Camp Fire survivors have waited long enough to have tax clarity. I believe that these changes will make this essential legislation easier to incorporate into a larger disaster relief or tax package. This initiative has been a top priority and it has gathered broad bipartisan support. Congress must be timely and enact this bill into law to get wildfire survivors the financial certainty they need,” said LaMalfa.
Earlier this year, Congressmen Thompson and LaMalfa introduced H.R. 176, a similar version of this legislation which was designed only to cover the Fire Victim Trust claimants.
The bill introduced Thursday has been expanded to remove requirements that limited payments to settlement trust funds, thereby expanding protection to anyone receiving disaster aid payments to reimburse wildfire-related losses.
The updated language also represents bipartisan agreements between the House and Senate committees that oversee tax policy.
Last year, Thompson and LaMalfa were nearly able to secure passage through inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding package, before all tax-related provisions were removed by the Senate.
Text of the bill can be found here.
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
This protection would cover payments made from the Fire Victim Trust, a $13.5 billion wildfire settlement for nearly 70,000 victims of the 2018 Camp Fire, 2017 North Bay Wildfires and the 2015 Butte Fire.
“Wildfire survivors should not have to pay taxes on compensation to which they’re entitled,” said Thompson. “I have worked closely with Rep. LaMalfa, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Ways and Means Committee and Congressional leadership to ensure that we swiftly pass legislation protecting survivors from taxation. The revised bill I introduced today with Rep. LaMalfa is a retroactive approach that protects our communities — and this tax relief remains my top priority in Congress. I am optimistic Congress will pass our bill.”
“Camp Fire survivors have waited long enough to have tax clarity. I believe that these changes will make this essential legislation easier to incorporate into a larger disaster relief or tax package. This initiative has been a top priority and it has gathered broad bipartisan support. Congress must be timely and enact this bill into law to get wildfire survivors the financial certainty they need,” said LaMalfa.
Earlier this year, Congressmen Thompson and LaMalfa introduced H.R. 176, a similar version of this legislation which was designed only to cover the Fire Victim Trust claimants.
The bill introduced Thursday has been expanded to remove requirements that limited payments to settlement trust funds, thereby expanding protection to anyone receiving disaster aid payments to reimburse wildfire-related losses.
The updated language also represents bipartisan agreements between the House and Senate committees that oversee tax policy.
Last year, Thompson and LaMalfa were nearly able to secure passage through inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding package, before all tax-related provisions were removed by the Senate.
Text of the bill can be found here.
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
The Bureau of Land Management has awarded agreements with Cal Fire, Caltrans and the California Conservation Corps, to increase restoration work, fuels reduction and forest health projects on BLM-managed public lands in California.
The three cooperative agreements are being funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as BIL.
Within the next five years, the Department of the Interior will receive $1.5 billion in BIL funding to invest in wildfire preparedness, fuels management, post-fire restoration and fire science — with BLM California receiving more than $15 million to date.
From that amount, the BLM will provide $800,000 of BIL funding to our partner agencies to complete the restoration work near important infrastructure such as roads, recreation areas and private homes.
These agreements were made through the Good Neighbor Authority, which enables the BLM to collaborate with state agencies to complete projects on BLM-managed lands statewide.
“We are excited to partner with Cal Fire, Caltrans and the California Conservation Corps on important projects on BLM-managed public lands throughout California,” said BLM California State Director Karen Mouritsen. “These agreements will result in better coordination for activities to reduce fuels that feed wildfires, protect wildlife habitat, improve forest health, and restore important watersheds.”
The BLM has used BIL funding for diverse projects throughout the state and will continue to add funding from other sources like appropriated, in-kind partnerships or donated funds, for restoration.
The BLM is excited to improve upon cross-jurisdictional coordination with partners for landscape-scale restoration. Good Neighbor Authority projects have a five-year project period and a lifetime funding cap of $12.8 million.
The California Conservation Corps agreement allows up to $4.2 million of funding to be added for restoration work. Activities will include adding fuel breaks, planting, post-fire burned area rehabilitation, prescribed fire, proactive forest and range restoration to improve wildlife habitat and livestock forage, noxious weed and invasive species treatments and wildland-urban interface fuels reduction.
The California Department of Transportation agreement allows up to $4.2 million of funding to be added to the agreement. In partnership with Caltrans, the goals of this project are to scale up forest management, reduce wildfire hazards, and enhance wildlife habitats on BLM-managed public lands near highways.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection agreement allows up to $4.5 million of funding to be added to the agreement. This project focuses on ecological resilience on BLM-managed lands.
The restoration work includes treating insect and disease-infested trees, reducing hazardous fuels, and other activities to restore and improve forest, rangeland, and watershed health, including fish and wildlife habitat.
For more information about the BLM’s restoration efforts under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, visit www.blm.gov/infrastructure.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — While California’s unemployment rate showed a small uptick in June, Lake County’s jobless rate ticked down as the county moved further into its economically critical summer agricultural season.
The California Employment Development Department’s new jobless report for June showed that Lake County’s unemployment rate for last month was 5.5%, down from 5.6% in May and 4.6% in June 2022.
California’s overall unemployment rate was 4.6%, up from 4.5% in May and 3.9% in June 2022.
The number of Californians employed in June was 18,554,300, an increase of 7,900 persons from May’s total of 18,546,400 and up 42,200 from the employment total in June.
At the same time, the number of unemployed Californians was 889,100 in June, an increase of 5,700 over the month and up 143,300 in comparison to June 2022.
Over the past year, California has gained 397,400 nonfarm jobs, which averages out to 33,117 jobs per month. California’s June nonfarm job gain was 5.6 percent of the national job gain of 209,000, the Employment Development Department reported.
On the national level, unemployment in June was 3.6%, in May it was 3.7% and also was 3.6% in June of last year.
In Lake County, total farm jobs were down by 7.4% in June, while total nonfarm jobs rose by 0.6%.
Among Lake County’s job subcategories, the top five for increases in a month-over comparison were information, 12.5%; leisure and hospitality, 6%; transportation, warehousing and utilities, 5.5%; state government, 5%; and nondurable goods, 3.7%.
Decreases from May to June in Lake County occurred in wholesale trade, 15.4%; retail trade, 1.3%; trade, transportation and utilities, 0.7%; and private education and health services, 0.6%.
Lake County’s unemployment rate ranked it No. 38 of California’s 55 counties.
Lake’s neighboring county jobless rates and ranks were: Colusa, 12.2%, No. 57; Glenn, 6.5%, No. 46; Mendocino, 4.6%, No. 23; Napa, 3.5%, No. 4; Sonoma, tied at 3.7%, No. 7; and Yolo, 4.8%, No. 27.
In related data that figures into the state’s unemployment rate, the Employment Development Department said there were 384,841 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the June 2023 sample week. That compares to 391,004 people in May and 296,570 people in June 2022.
Concurrently, 43,455 initial claims were processed in the June 2023 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 918 claims from May, but a year-over increase of 88,271 claims from June 2022, the report said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office has welcomed to its ranks one of the newest officers to graduate from the CHP Academy.
Officer Cameron Ramsey was among the 101 officers who graduated from the CHP Academy in West Sacramento on June 30.
At the ceremony, Ramsey and his fellow cadets officially became officers and were sworn in after 26 weeks of intense training.
Ramsey is now among the more than 6,550 sworn CHP officers across California. The CHP is the largest state police agency in the United States.
Officer Ramsey’s class is joining the CHP in the midst of a campaign to put 1,000 new officers on the road.
The Clear Lake Area office reported that Ramsey is from Redwood Valley and the son of a CHP officer who works in the Ukiah Area office.
While the academy is behind him, there is more education ahead.
He is set to receive extensive in-field training with experienced officers for approximately four months and later be on his own, the Clear Lake Area office reported.
“Lake County is a unique area and different than large metropolitan areas. It will challenge this officer’s skills,” the office said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is inviting the community to its National Night Out event next week.
The event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, on the Austin Park splash pad, 14077 Lakeshore Drive.
The agency said Nationl Night Out is “ night to unite.”
It will feature free food, giveaways, raffle prizes, fun on the splash pad and family fun for all.
North Bay Animal Services will also be on hand with dogs available for adoption.
Grab a towel and bring the family down to cool off.
“This is an evening you won’t want to miss,” the department said.
The event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, on the Austin Park splash pad, 14077 Lakeshore Drive.
The agency said Nationl Night Out is “ night to unite.”
It will feature free food, giveaways, raffle prizes, fun on the splash pad and family fun for all.
North Bay Animal Services will also be on hand with dogs available for adoption.
Grab a towel and bring the family down to cool off.
“This is an evening you won’t want to miss,” the department said.