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The group will meet at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The public is invited to attend.
Under old business, the group will get an update on $150,000 in funding and the approve of Fish and Wildlife permits to clear vegetation from Scotts Creek beginning at the Hendricks and Scotts Valley Road bridge and ending downstream from newly installed culvert to the Eickhoff bridge.
They also will discuss Lakeport’s South Main Annexation, which is on the November ballot for a small group of voters in the annexation area; the Multi-Tribal Fire Prevention Grant application to Cal Fire to support the Scotts Valley Firewise Community; and broadband coverage for Scotts Valley.
In new business, the group will discuss new use permits, and get updates on the Scotts Valley Groundwater Protection Committee, the Scotts Valley Firewise Committee and water trucks filling up from a well drawing from the Scotts Valley aquifer.
The group also may have from a Bureau of Land Management representative on the South Couth Mountain Management Area implementation update.
The group will next meet on Aug. 22.
Dr. Annette Lee, EdD, will now oversee the campus as the search for a new dean takes place.
She succeeds Dr. Cirilo Cortez, who was hired as dean of the Lake County Campus in July 2020.
Cortez left this spring to take a job as associate vice president of student affairs at California State University, Chico.
“I am excited to serve Woodland Community College and Lake County in this role,” Lee told Lake County News. “We have a lot of great energy on campus right now and I look forward to working with our staff, students, and community partners!”
Lee, who lives in Middletown, began teaching at the Lake County Campus in 2007.
From 2015 through 2018, Lee served as the executive dean of the Colusa and Lake County Campuses of Woodland Community College.
Since then, she has been a full-time faculty member in the Business and Management faculty.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The contract between the health care system and insurance company was due to expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
That situation left some local patients — particularly those who have the insurance through their employers — extremely concerned because of the potential for their insurance to no longer be accepted at Adventist Health facilities.
Kim Lewis, spokesperson for Adventist Health Clear Lake, told Lake County News on Monday that the two sides had agreed to the two-week extension.
“The extension will give us time to reach a potential agreement. We are optimistic that we will make progress to negotiate a higher reimbursement rate, allowing us to keep care local for our Anthem patients in the communities we serve,” Lewis said.
She said the new contract termination date is Aug. 1.
On Monday, Anthem Blue Cross released its own statement on the situation.
It said: “Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to an extension with Adventist Health so we may continue negotiating in good faith in an attempt to retain the health system in our care provider network. We believe our care providers should be reimbursed fairly, and that will continue to be reflected in our offers during these negotiations. These offers included reasonable increases that are in line with what other provider partners receive for the same services, which will help keep health care affordable for those we serve. Our hope is to reach an agreement with Adventist.”
Anthem Blue Cross spokesman Michael Bowman also told Lake County News, “Our hope is to reach an agreement with Adventist prior to the current contract expiring, but if our efforts continue to be rebuked, we will work closely with our members to ensure they have continued access to quality care from any one of the many care providers in our network, including Sutter in Lakeport.”
In June, Adventist Health sent a letter to patients, which also was posted on its website, explaining that its current contract with Anthem Blue Cross “is not sustainable, and we need to renegotiate our terms.”
The hospital’s letter continued, “As a not-for-profit, faith-inspired organization, we provide services in some of the poorest areas of California and throughout the past five years, have given away more than $276 million in charity care to those in need. Our commitment to the underserved has resulted in multiple years of negative operating financial performance. As a system, Adventist Health provides a hospital network across California and must have rate increases that support overall expenses that continue to exceed the reimbursement we receive.”
Adventist said Anthem Blue Cross “has continued for the past two years to enjoy record profits, even in this highly inflationary environment. While Anthem raised members’ premiums annually, they continue to pay Adventist Health substantially less than other hospital systems. Anthem is one of our lowest paying health plans, and we can’t continue to provide quality care for patients at significantly reduced rates.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, July 14, Anthem Blue Cross said it’s been negotiating in good faith in an attempt to retain Adventist Health in its care provider network. The company said it was due to have a meeting the next day, Friday, July 15.
“While we appreciate hospitals are facing labor, supply and other cost pressures, the reality is that employers across the country, including those we serve here in California, are facing those same pressures. We’ve offered increases that are in line with what other provider partners receive for the same services, which will help keep health care affordable for those we serve. We believe our care providers should be reimbursed fairly, and that has been reflected in our offers during these negotiations,” the statement said.
Adventist said it will continue to keep patients apprised of the situation in the coming days.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 21, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. Thursday, July 21.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
On Thursday, the council will meet one of the shelter’s adoptable dogs before holding a public hearing on adoption of Resolution No. 2022-48 approving the fiscal year 2022-23 fee schedule.
Under business, the council will consider a request from the owners of Lake Vista Farms to initiate a process to annex 300 acres at 2050 and 2122 Ogulin Canyon Road.
In May, the Board of Supervisors upheld an appeal by neighbors against the Lake Vista Farms cannabis project.
City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explained that the Lake Vista Farms project is no longer viable and the owners are analyzing other uses for the property, including cannabis, industrial and residential.
“The same owners have worked with the City on a few other projects within the City limits and at this point would prefer to work with the City on the development of the 2050 and 2122 Ogulin Canyon properties as well,” Flora wrote.
In other business, Police Chief Andrew White will ask for the council’s authorization to enter into an agreement with the city of Lakeport for either entity to provide supplemental law enforcement services.
White’s report said the proposal is in response to the Lakeport Police Department’s request for assistance from the Clearlake Police Department to cover patrol shifts due to temporary staffing challenges. “The Clearlake Police Department has sufficient staffing to provide this coverage on an overtime basis without negatively impacting coverage in Clearlake.”
The council also will consider a contract amendment to the state for additional funding for the Chelsea Investments/Clearlake Apartments project, and hold a first reading of an ordinance amending city code relating to appealing abatement orders to the city, with the second reading to take place Aug. 4.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; minutes of the June 8, 2022 Lake County Vector Control District Board Meeting; adoption of Development Agreement, DA 2022-01 for a commercial cannabis operation located at 2250 Ogulin Canyon Road, further described as Assessor Parcel Number 010-044-19; second reading of Ordinance No. 263-2022 amending Chapter 8, Section 8-6 of the Clearlake Municipal Code relating to traffic and parking regulations.
The council also will meet in closed session to discuss an ongoing lawsuit against the county of Lake and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen and an anticipated case of litigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Swelling grocery bills are pummeling the poorest – who spend over a quarter of their incomes on food
The cost of eggs and bread is soaring – a trend that’s particularly punishing for the poorest Americans.
Average food prices climbed an annualized rate of 10.4% in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 13, 2022. The gains were driven primarily by the cost of groceries, which jumped the most since the 1970s, by 12.2%. Overall inflation was up 9.1% from a year earlier.
These sharp increases have startled consumers, in large part because food costs had been rising moderately for decades.
While all Americans have seen their grocery bills swell, many may not fully appreciate the enormous burden that rising food costs pose for low-income households. The reason is simple: Poor families spend a much larger share of their income on food than the median household.
In 2020, the average middle-income American family spent roughly 12% of its earnings on food. In sharp contrast, poor households spent 27% on food that year.
What explains this enormous discrepancy? The answer begins with a dramatic change in spending patterns among American households during the 20th century, which I learned while researching shifts in commuting practices.
In the 1900s, the bare necessities of life, including food, were enormously expensive compared with today, leaving little room for spending on other goods or services for most Americans, according to a 2006 study by the Department of Labor. On average, American families spent over 40% of their income on food in 1901, 23% on housing and 14% on clothing.
But the relative cost of food and clothing decreased steadily over the next 100 years. By 2002, the two categories represented only 17.3% of a middle-class family’s expenditures and by 2020, the figure had fallen to 14.2%.
The sharp drop in the cost of food and clothing led to a massive reshuffling of family budgets over roughly the past century. As people reduced their spending on these items, they spent more on housing, transportation and insurance. As the country became wealthier, discretionary spending increased, too. Most Americans had more room in their budgets for eating out, televisions and entertainment.
This revolution in household spending largely excluded poor Americans, who continue to devote most of their income to feeding their families and other necessities like shelter. As a result, they are particularly vulnerable to spikes in food costs.
Low-income households devote more than twice as large a share of their budgets to food as middle-income households. As a result, food inflation is around twice as burdensome for families of limited means. But this actually understates the burden of high food costs on the poor because, unlike middle-class families, they have little discretionary spending they can pare back to free up funds for food.
American households are responding to soaring food inflation by eating out less frequently, buying generic brands and consuming less meat. For many, it may be the first time they’ve ever had to be so careful about what they spent on food.
Poor families, however, have long been forced to deploy these tactics to keep food expenditures in check.
An estimated 38 million Americans are food insecure, meaning that they have insufficient means to obtain sufficient food. The concern is, with food inflation rising at the rate it is, more families will face the prospect of being unsure where their next meal is coming from.
David Soll, Associate Professor of History and Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The agenda can be found here.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. Masks are highly encouraged where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to
On Tuesday, Public Works Superintendent Ron Ladd will present to the council a construction services agreement with Builder Solutions Inc.
The new park consists of approximately 6.9 acres at 800 and 801 N. Main St.
Ladd’s report said the city received two bids for the project, which were opened on July 12.
Builder Solutions Inc. was the lowest of two bids submitted at $4,399,381. The engineer’s estimate for the project was $4,237,401, Ladd said.
He said construction is estimated to start in early September and be complete mid-January 2023.
In February 2020 the city received a $5.9 million grant to purchase the land and build the park from the California Department of Parks and Recreation in January 2020 through Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018, as Lake County News has reported.
“After two years of design, the project is ready for construction,” Ladd wrote.
Ladd said the project includes construction of a basketball court, splash pad, skate park, concession building with restrooms, shade structures, picnic areas, fitness equipment, a pavilion, lighting, irrigation and landscaping.
The bids were opened July 12, 2022. Two bids were received for the project.
Also on Tuesday, the council will consider adopting a resolution setting the storm drainage special tax at twenty cents per square foot of area covered by the new structure and related impermeable surface.
On the consent agenda — items usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on June 21; adoption of a resolution authorizing continued remote teleconference meetings of the Lakeport City Council and its legislative bodies pursuant to Government Code section 54953(e); warrants; approve event application 2022-020, with staff recommendations, for the 2022 Konocti Challenge.
After the open portion of the meeting, the council will meet in closed session to discuss labor negotiations with the Lakeport Police Officers Association.
Email Elizabeth Larson at