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The 21-bed Hope Center, located on 3400 Emerson Drive in a building purchased by Adventist Health, opened in November 2020.
Originally a project of the organization Hope Rising, a nonprofit for which Adventist Health Clear Lake served as the “backbone agency,” in April 2020 the Clearlake City Council approved a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with both Hope Rising and Adventist Health.
As part of that agreement, or MOU, the city contributed $500,000 in bond funds with requirements that it be operated for 15 years; that if the MOU is terminated prior to 15 years that the facility continues to be used for housing and support of the homeless and at-risk population in the Clearlake area and will not turn the property into an Adventist Health clinic or facility that solely benefits Adventist Health Clear Lake; that preference is given to homeless residents of Clearlake; and that Adventist Health Clear Lake and Hope Rising would take all responsibility for operations.
City Manager Alan Flora told the council that there were operational changes afoot leading to the request from Adventist Health for a change to the MOU.
Adventist Health officials asked to have removed language stating that, if the MOU ended before 15 years, that the organization “will not turn the property into an Adventist Health clinic or facility that solely benefits Adventist Health Clear Lake” and replaced with, “Adventist Health Clear Lake will ensure the Hope Center facility continues to be used for housing and support of the homeless and at-risk population in the Clearlake area.”
Colleen Assavapisitkul, president of Adventist Health Clear Lake, and Marilyn Wakefield, who manages grants and community programs for the hospital, asked the council to approve the changes.
They explained that California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, or CalAIM — which the state Department of Health Care Services said is seeking to leverage Medicaid to address challenges such as homelessness — is part of their plan for making the Hope Center sustainable. That will allow them to continue to run it as a transitional housing facility.
CalAIM will allow them to bill for the services offered at Hope Center, such as recuperative care, housing navigation and sustainability.
“These are things that we’ve already been doing, it’s just now we’ve been able to bill for them,” said Wakefield.
They assured the council that they don’t plan to turn Hope Center into a medical clinic.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton was doubtful. “What I can see in the future is that this is really going to become a medical facility, transitional housing, and that the homeless are going to be left out in the rain.”
Wakefield said that’s not their intention.
“It may not be your intention, but I’ll almost guarantee you that will be what happens,” said Overton.
Referring to Restoration House, another housing facility that Adventist Health operates in Lower Lake, Overton said, “We have a house in Lower Lake already, why do we need to turn this one into basically the same thing?”
Assavapisitkul said the two facilities are not the same thing. She said Restoration House is for someone who needs assisted care, while Hope Center is designed as a transitional center for homeless people with wraparound care and services.
Wakefield said Adventist Health also signed a 15-year agreement with Partnership Health Plan when it gave money for Hope Center, and that agreement required that it would be kept as transitional housing for 15 years. They are now three years into that commitment.
During the discussion, Wakefield explained that a countywide care management system, funded through a grant with Lake County Behavioral Health, determines who gets priority for placement for housing based on criteria such as how much trauma and individuals has been through in the past two years, how long they have been homeless, if they have minor children and if they suffer from mental illness.
The council unanimously approved the contract amendment.
Last Thursday the council also approved interim policies and procedures manual for tribal
consultation, heard presentations on Shakespeare at the Lake 2023 and the Clearlake Police Department Safety Education Loan Forgiveness Program, and offered proclamations declaring May as Military Appreciation Month and May 7 to May 13 as Public Service Appreciation Week.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has dozens of dogs deserving of homes this week.
The shelter’s website lists 46 dogs waiting for adoption.
The dogs that are available for adoption include “Bubba,” a male mixed breed with a short black coat.
There also is “Red,” a male German shepherd mix with a short red coat.
The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email
This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
“To survive in today’s economy, it is critically important to have fast, reliable broadband,” Sen. Dodd said. “The problem is, broadband isn’t yet deployed adequately or equitably in many areas of our state. My proposal ensures the state can effectively partner with internet service providers to lease state properties for deployment of broadband infrastructure.”
Under existing law, the state Department of General Services is limited in its ability to execute leases of state-owned real property that could be used to support statewide broadband development.
Such development could support digital equity, especially in underserved communities, Dodd’s office reported.
Senate Bill 387 would give General Services more flexibility in setting lease terms, creating incentives for broadband providers to invest in much-needed infrastructure improvements.
Also, it would allow the department to execute leases on behalf of other state departments such as Caltrans, Parks and Recreation and Fish and Wildlife, with their consent.
“With this bill, the state can use its property to generate revenue while enticing providers to expand their offerings,” Sen. Dodd said. “It will fill in unserved zones and help get high-speed data to those who need it for work, school and home life.”
SB 387 was approved Monday by the full Senate on a 35-0 vote. It heads next to the Assembly.
Dodd represents the Third Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties.
In the past two decades, children have become more obese and have developed obesity at a younger age. A 2020 report found that 14.7 million children and adolescents in the U.S. live with obesity.
Because obesity is a known risk factor for serious health problems, its rapid increase during the COVID-19 pandemic raised alarms.
Without intervention, many obese adolescents will remain obese as adults. Even before adulthood, some children will have serious health problems beginning in their preteen years.
To address these issues, in early 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its first new obesity management guidelines in 15 years.
I am a pediatric gastroenterologist who sees children in the largest public hospital in California, and I have witnessed a clear trend over the last two decades. Early in my practice, I only occasionally saw a child with a complication of obesity; now I see multiple referrals each month. Some of these children have severe obesity and several health complications that require multiple specialists.
These observations prompted my reporting for the California Health Equity Fellowship at the University of Southern California.
It’s important to note that not all children who carry extra weight are unhealthy. But evidence supports that obesity, especially severe obesity, requires further assessment.
How obesity is measured
The World Health Organization defines obesity as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.”
Measuring fat composition requires specialized equipment that is not available in a regular doctor’s office. Therefore most clinicians use body measurements to screen for obesity.
One method is body mass index, or BMI, a calculation based on a child’s height and weight compared to age- and sex-matched peers. BMI doesn’t measure body fat, but when BMI is high, it correlates with total body fat.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child qualifies as overweight at a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile. Obese is defined as a BMI above the 95th percentile. Other screens for obesity include waist circumference and skin-fold thickness, but these methods are less common.
Because many children exceeded the limits of existing growth charts, in 2022 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention introduced extended growth charts for severe obesity. Severe obesity occurs when a child reaches the 120th percentile or has a BMI over 35. For instance, a 6-year-old boy who is 48 inches tall and is 110 pounds would meet criteria for severe obesity because his BMI is 139th percentile.
Severe obesity carries a heightened risk of liver disease, cardiovascular disease and metabolic problems such as diabetes. As of 2016, almost 8% of children ages 2 to 19 had severe obesity.
Other health problems associated with severe obesity include obstructive sleep apnea, bone and joint problems that can cause early arthritis, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Many of these problems occur together.
How obesity affects the liver
The liver disease associated with obesity is called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. To store excess dietary fat and sugar, the liver’s cells fill with fat. Excess carbohydrates in particular get processed into substances similar to the breakdown products of alcohols. Under the microscope, a pediatric fatty liver looks similar to a liver with alcohol damage.
Occasionally children with fatty liver are not obese; however, the greatest risk factor for fatty liver is obesity. At the same BMI, Hispanic and Asian children are more susceptible to fatty liver disease than Black and white children. Weight reduction or reducing the consumption of fructose, a naturally occurring sugar and common food additive – even without significant weight loss – improves fatty liver.
Fatty liver is the most common chronic liver disease in children and adults. In Southern California, pediatric fatty liver doubled from 2009 to 2018. The disease can progress rapidly in children, and some will have liver scarring after only a few years.
Although few children currently require liver transplants for fatty liver, it is the most rapidly increasing reason for transplantation in young adults. Fatty liver is the second-most common reason for liver transplantation in the U.S., and it will be the leading cause in the future.
Links between obesity and diabetes
Fatty liver is implicated in metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that cluster together and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
In a telephone interview, Dr. Barry Reiner, a pediatric endocrinologist, voiced his concerns to me about obesity and diabetes.
“When I started my practice, I had never heard of type 2 diabetes in children,” says Reiner. “Now, depending on which part of the U.S., between a quarter and a third of new cases of diabetes are type 2.”
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease previously called juvenile-onset diabetes. Conversely, type 2 diabetes was historically considered an adult disease.
However, type 2 diabetes is increasing in children, and obesity is the major risk factor. While both types of diabetes have genetic and lifestyle influences, type 2 is more modifiable through diet and exercise.
By 2060, the number of people under 20 with type 2 diabetes will increase by 700%. Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander and Native American/Alaska Native children will have more type 2 diabetes diagnoses than white children.
“The seriousness of type 2 diabetes in children is underestimated,” says Reiner. He added that many people express a misconception that type 2 diabetes is a mild, slow-moving disease.
Reiner pointed to an important study showing that type 2 diabetes acquired in childhood can rapidly progress. As early as 10 to 12 years after their childhood diagnosis, patients developed nerve damage, kidney problems and vision damage. By 15 years after diagnosis, at an average age of 27, almost 70% of the patients had high blood pressure.
Most patients had more than one complication. Although rare, a few patients experienced heart attacks and strokes. When people with childhood onset diabetes became pregnant, 24% delivered premature infants, over double the rate in the general population.
Heart health
Cardiovascular changes associated with obesity and severe obesity can also increase a child’s lifetime chance of heart attacks and strokes. Carrying extra weight at 6 to 7 years old can result in higher blood pressure, cholesterol and artery stiffness by 11 to 12 years of age. Obesity changes the structure of the heart, making the muscle thicken and expand.
Although still uncommon, more people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are having strokes and heart attacks than a few decades ago. Although many factors may contribute to heart attack and stroke, obesity adds to that risk.
Talk about being healthy, not focusing on weight
Venus Kalami, a registered dietitian, spoke with me about the environmental and societal influences on childhood obesity.
“Food, diet, lifestyle and weight are often a proxy for something greater going on in someone’s life,” says Kalami.
Factors beyond a child’s control, including depression, access to healthy food and walkable neighborhoods, contribute to obesity.
Parents may wonder how to help children without introducing shame or blame. First, conversations about weight and food should be age appropriate.
“A 6-year-old does not need to be thinking about their weight,” says Kalami. She adds that even preteens and teenagers should not be focusing on their weight, though they likely already are.
Even “good-natured” teasing is harmful. Avoid diet talk, and instead discuss health. Kalami recommends that adults explain how healthy habits can improve mood, focus or kids’ performance in a favorite activity.
“A 12-year-old isn’t always going to know what is healthy,” Kalami said. “Help them pick what’s available and make the best choice, which may not be the perfect choice.”
Any weight talk, either criticism or compliments for weight loss, may backfire, she adds. Praising a child for their weight loss can reinforce a negative cycle of disordered eating. Instead, cheer the child’s better health and good choices.
Dr. Muneeza Mirza, a pediatrician, recommends that parents model healthful behavior.
“Changes should be made for the whole family,” says Mirza. “It shouldn’t be considered a punishment for that kid.”
Christine Nguyen, 2023 California Health Equity Fellow, University of Southern California
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Large crowds are expected for the annual family-oriented fishing derby known near and far as the biggest derby of its kind west of the Mississippi.
“There’s still time to sign up online and receive an early sign-up discount of $10,” said Derby Committee Chair Dennis Locke. “Apply by 11 p.m. on May 18 for the discount.”
Fees are $50 for early registrants; $60 for those registering after the deadline. The entry fee for kids (15 years and under) is $10.
Derby fishing starts at noon on May 19 and ends at noon on May 21 with an awards ceremony where prizes this year total $10,000.
Another $2,500 in prizes and merchandise, including three cash bonuses of $200, $100, and $50 will be awarded.
In the adult category, prizes range from $5,000 for first place to $40 for 20th place.
For children, the derby offers two categories of prizes for 10-year-olds and under and 11– 15-year-olds.
The prizes for both categories range from $100, 1st place to $10, 5th place.
Association President, Alvaro Valencia, encourages everyone to drop by during the derby to say hello to old friends and meet new ones.
“Come by to purchase raffle tickets, t-shirts and on the last day enjoy the awards ceremony with food, drinks and camaraderie,” he said.
Onsite registration and fish weigh-ins will again be at the Northshore Fire District Station in the Oaks at 12655 East Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks.
Online entries are being accepted at www.clearlakeoaks.org/derby where more information can also be found.
Information is also available on the Derby Facebook Page, Catfish Derby In the Oaks, or by calling Derby headquarters at 707-596-0248.
The annual derby is a fundraiser sponsored annually by the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association.
All proceeds go back into the community, supporting education and sports in our school as well as other community needs.
At its last regular meeting in April, the board had directed the letter of no confidence regarding Health Services Director Jonathan Portney be brought back for this week’s meeting.
In his report to the board at the start of the meeting at headquarters Station 50, Lakeport Fire Chief Patrick Reitz noted having meetings with other local officials, but no communication at all from Portney.
At that point, he said he wanted to pull the no confidence letter from consideration, as he was not yet ready to bring it forward.
Reitz told Lake County News after the meeting that the completed letter may come back at a future meeting.
He has become one of the most outspoken critics of Portney, who he clashed with over performance issues and public statements Portney has made about the Lakeport Fire Protection District, statements which Reitz has faulted for inaccuracy.
Email Elizabeth Larson at