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LAKEPORT, Calif. — Authorities said they took a woman into custody last weekend for arson after she set a fire on a city-owned property.
Janis Lynn Martinez, 38, a transient from the Lakeport area, was taken into custody on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 28, the Lakeport Police Department reported.
At 9:15 a.m. that day, Lakeport Police, with the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Lakeport Fire Protection District, arrested Martinez for arson after witnesses identified her as having started a fire against the structure known as the old Natural High School.
The building is in the city’s parklands on North Main Street, and next to the new Lakefront Park development.
Authorities said Martinez is believed to have also started a nearby fire just minutes beforehand.
Both fires were extinguished before any significant damage resulted, officials said.
Martinez was booked into the Lake County Jail on a felony charge of arson of a structure, with bail set at $50,000. Jail records show that she also is being held on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing.
She remained in custody on Saturday, according to booking records.
Martinez is scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court on Sept. 27.
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California gained an average of 105,500 nonfarm jobs per month during the 15-month recovery from April 2020 to July 2021 — a level of job growth not seen since the current tracking method was introduced in 1990.
Before the pandemic, the largest monthly job gain on record was 98,500 in April 2016.
Growth has averaged over 111,000 jobs gained per month this year.
The department also analyzed thousands of job postings across California to identify the most in-demand occupations.
Registered nurses and general and operations managers top the list of high-skill occupations that are in demand — with just over 20,000 recent job postings for nurses and over 8,000 job postings for managers.
Truck driving has also seen steady growth with 8,400 job postings statewide. Demand for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks also remains strong with 4,400 job ads posted.
Retail salespersons, laborers, and freight and stock workers are among the entry-level jobs requiring a high school diploma or less that are in high demand.
California hit a peak unemployment rate of 16% (April 2020) during the pandemic, which was quickly followed by unemployment falling in every region of the state.
California’s recovery, which turned 15 months old in July 2021, has featured rapidly falling unemployment and robust job growth.
Leisure and hospitality posted the largest industry sector job gain from April 2020 to July 2021, adding 558,500 jobs.
Statewide, regional employment also strengthened, with every region showing year-over job gains as of July 2021.
Los Angeles had the largest year-over gain (242,800 jobs), followed by Orange (116,400) and Bay-Peninsula (98,600).
Millions of unemployed Americans are set to lose pandemic-related jobless benefits after Labor Day – just as surging cases of coronavirus slow the pace of hiring.
In all, an estimated 8.8 million people will stop receiving unemployment insurance beginning on Sept. 6, 2021. An additional 4.5 million will no longer get the extra US$300 a week the federal government has been providing to supplement state benefits.
But with the pandemic still raging thanks to the rise of the delta variant, particularly in Southern states, the expiration of these benefits seems ill-timed. While some claim that the aid is no longer needed and doing more harm than good, we believe that the data tell another story.
Benefits lost
Three federal programs created to support workers hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns expire on Sept. 6:
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The Pandemic Extended Unemployment Compensation program offers 13 additional weeks in state unemployment benefits. An estimated 3.3 million people who were getting benefits through this program are set to lose them.
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Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provides aid to gig workers and others not normally eligible for unemployment benefits. About 5.5 million people were receiving aid because of this program – including those who just joined the rolls in the second half of August.
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The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program supplements state benefits with an additional $300 in aid per week – down from $600 when it began in April 2020.
All told, the end of these programs may affect 35 million people when you include families of the unemployed.
Dropping aid didn’t boost jobs growth
Critics of these federal supplemental benefits claim they reward Americans for not working by offering more in aid than they’d get from a job. This is why many Republican governors opted to drop out of one or more of the federal programs in recent months.
“We see ‘Help Wanted’ signs everywhere,” Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little said on May 11, 2021. “We do not want people on unemployment. We want people working.”
But the data we have so far simply doesn’t back up these claims.
We compared employment growth in the 25 states that decided to drop the federal $300 supplement with those that kept it.
Total job creation in states that kept offering the federal supplement was 35% higher than in the ones that ended the program, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggesting the benefits aren’t keeping workers on the sidelines.
The same pattern holds for sectors of the economy hit hardest by COVID-19. Leisure and hospitality jobs, such as waitstaff and cooks, accounted for roughly 1 in 4 of all jobs lost in 2020. Hiring in those areas was 39% higher in July 2021 in states that kept the federal benefit.
This is consistent with a growing number of studies that show no correlation between the higher unemployment payments during the pandemic and lagging job growth.
We won’t know whether the trend continued until the state-by-state employment breakdown is released in mid-September. But for now, the evidence doesn’t support the claim that benefits keep folks at home.
Jobless Americans still need support
But we do know that people who want to work are still being prevented from doing so because of COVID-19.
The latest jobs report, released on Sept. 3, 2021, showed that 5.6 million people were unable to work in August because their employer closed or lost business because of the pandemic, up from 5.2 million in July.
That may help explain why companies hired only 235,000 in August – a third of what economists had expected. And there were no gains in leisure and hospitality, which pay some of the lowest wages of any industry.
As recently as late May, before the delta variant began causing caseloads to climb, pandemic-related unemployment claims were falling across all 50 states. Then, over June and July, claims spiked again as COVID-19 cases rippled across the country.
All this shows why all three programs are still so important.
The extended benefits give unemployed people more time to find a job while helping them cover basic expenses. Gig workers, like Uber drivers and other independent contractors, need unemployment benefits too, especially as 60% of them lost income during the pandemic and many continue to struggle as business activity remains subdued. These workers are also less likely to receive employer-sponsored benefits like health care.
And the $300 federal supplement is important because pre-pandemic state benefits – which are typically about $340 a week – replaced only 30% to 50% of lost earnings. Even with the supplement, for most people, it’s still less than what they were earning from their job.
Tough choices ahead
That’s why the expiring benefits mean so much to lower-income families, especially now that the Supreme Court has struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ban on evictions.
For many, losing the benefit could be the difference between choosing to pay for food or rent, or forgoing a doctor’s visit because of the high costs of health care.
But after the benefits expire on Labor Day, making ends meet and staying in their homes will be significantly harder for millions of American families.
[Over 110,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.]
Jeffrey Kucik, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Arizona and Don Leonard, Assistant Professor of Practice in City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
What's up for September? Moving fast in the cosmos with planet Mercury, and stars Arcturus and Altair.
You'll have to be quick to catch a glimpse of Mercury this month, as the innermost and fastest-moving planet — namesake of the fleet-footed, mythological messenger — appears low in the west for a short time following sunset.
But those with a clear view toward the horizon will be rewarded with some nice planetary groupings in the first week and a half of September.
You'll find Mercury just a few degrees above the western horizon about half an hour after the Sun sets, with much brighter Venus higher and slightly farther to the south. On the 9th and 10th look for the pair to be joined by the crescent Moon.
In between the two planets is the bright star Spica, which is actually two stars orbiting each other at a distance 3 times closer than Mercury orbits our Sun!
Mercury should be visible for you from mid-northern latitudes on south. The farther south you are, the longer Mercury will be above the horizon for you before it sets.
In addition to Spica, two other bright stars you can easily spot early in the evening in September are Arcturus and Altair.
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern sky. It owes this status largely to the fact that it's relatively closeby, at about 37 light years from our solar system.
You can find Arcturus in the west in the first couple of hours after it gets dark.
Look for the Big Dipper and follow its handle over toward the south about the width of an outstretched hand. It's easy to remember with the phrase "arc to Arcturus."
One interesting thing about Arcturus is that, compared to other stars, it's moving extremely fast with respect to our solar system. In fact, the discovery of the star's motion was a huge moment in astronomy. Before that, the positions of stars were thought to be fixed and unchanging. After Edmund Halley's discovery, the understanding that the stars move around as independent objects began to take hold.
After you've found orange-colored Arcturus, spin yourself toward the south-southeast to find Altair. You'll spy it hanging right above Saturn all month – in fact it's about as high above Saturn as Saturn is from the horizon.
Altair is a bright white-colored star, which makes for a nice color comparison with Arcturus and nearby Antares. At just 17 light years away, it's definitely one of the closest bright stars to our solar system.
One of the coolest things about Altair is that it rotates so fast that it's flattened into an oval shape. Since it's so closeby, astronomers have actually been able to image this fast-spinner's flattened shape directly.
So look for Altair and Arcturus in the September sky – two bright, nearby stars that, along with Mercury, each have their own spin on what it means to be fast.
You can catch up on all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at www.nasa.gov.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Most of the meeting, which ran over an hour, was devoted to discussing aspects of the Cache fire response and efforts to transition into recovery.
The 83-acre fire began on Aug. 18 in the area of Sixth Avenue at Cache Street, burning 56 homes and 81 outbuildings.
City Manager Alan Flora said the fire’s emergency shelter at the senior and community center on Bowers Avenue closed on Thursday.
All of those taking shelter at the facility — where evacuees were moved on Aug. 21 — have been moved to temporary accommodations, which Flora described as a “patchwork” of options.
He said North Coast Opportunities, or NCO, has been instrumental in placing people in a variety of programs, some of them short-term.
Flora said it’s been unexpectedly difficult to track everyone down and figure out what their needs are, and he said he believed they had 25 people — or, later in the meeting, clarified that 25 units including multiple family members — are in need of short-term housing.
While the city declared an emergency and the Board of Supervisors ratified local and health emergencies declared by the sheriff and Public Health officer, respectively, Flora said the state of California has yet to declare a disaster, although it has done so for other larger incidents. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for federal assistance for other incidents was approved by President Joe Biden.
Congressman John Garamendi and Mike Thompson have both sent letters to Newsom asking that the Cache fire be added into the state declaration and the request for federal assistance. Flora said he doesn’t know if it’s going to happen or not because of the incident’s smaller footprint.
However, he pointed out that the Cache fire’s damage was very concentrated. In addition to the structures destroyed, 158 vehicles were burned, which is more than were burned in the 2,200-acre Sulphur fire that burned in the city in October 2017, Flora said.
Flora said the city has submitted an initial damage assessment that is being reviewed by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, which has had a team in the city over the last few days.
Currently, the city is estimating the impact to private property and cleanup efforts and the city response will cost $14.5 million, of which $11 million is in cleanup and recovery costs. “That’s excluding the private property damage,” Flora said, noting the estimate will continue to be refined.
The state is looking at the damage estimate and will forward it up the chain, where it will be determined if it will be added to the state’s larger disaster declaration. In the meantime, Flora said the city will continue to be the squeaky wheel.
Cleanup work and challenges with water systems
Flora said the city barricaded some areas to keep it off limits to nonproperty owners, and the state conducted a household hazardous waste cleanup this week — removing batteries and fuel tanks. The cleanup was completed with the exception of one structure on a property north of Dam Road that was determined to be unsafe to occupy; the property will be cleared once the structure is taken down.
Flora said there also are challenges with water systems in the area.
The water system for the Cache Creek Mobile Home Park, which lost three homes and had one damaged, was destroyed and the Konocti County Water District installed a water connection last week. But Flora said it isn’t a long-term solution.
Flora said he found out on Wednesday that Creekside Mobile Home Park, where much of the damage occurred, also had its water line to the Lower Lake County Water Works district damaged. He said the district said it’s up to the property owner to repair, with the estimated cost in the range of a couple hundred thousand dollars. The property owner said he doesn’t have the money.
In the meantime, four mobile homes that were not damaged in that park could be occupied if they have water, and some are being lived in now, Flora said. He said Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has installed generators and temporary power there.
Flora said the city needs to make a decision about water supply as it may have to red-tag the homes, although they don’t want to displace more people.
He said it’s been frustrating, with more effort needed to resolve the situation both on the part of the water district and the property owner. Flora has spoken to the Konocti County Water District and that district is willing to try to help out.
The city also has sent portable toilets to the park and is taking out extra water left over from the evacuation shelter. Flora said the city will bring up the situation to state Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry to see if they can offer additional resources.
What’s getting more important every day, Flora said, is Environmental Health has determined there are toxic materials throughout the fire area, with a lot of ash and fire debris in Cache Creek currently.
“Presumably we have some rain coming sometime soon,” he said.
Cal OES has sent the California Conservation Corps out to install some mitigations, like wattles. A state water board representative was in Clearlake on Thursday to conduct planning, and the city has given the state room to store materials at its corporation yard, Flora said.
Councilman Russ Cremer asked if Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, which has the chief water rights to Clear Lake, is offering help.
“They’re certainly aware of it. No one is anxious to offer any help thus far, unfortunately,” Flora said.
Flora said the city was trying to estimate the cost to protect the watershed from debris in the case of a rain event. Without a state emergency declaration, he said it could cost $3 million, and they’re not seeing much sign of insurance from the property owner.
Working on options for housing, other assistance
The next priority is the overall private property cleanup and rebuilding effort, Flora said.
“Again, that’s going to be a challenge, because the vast majority of folks were not insured. So unless there is state and federal assistance, it’s going to be very difficult to see significant cleanup,” he said.
The council also added an emergency item on Thursday approving an agreement with NCO for short-term housing for Cache fire survivors.
“We have indications that there will be some level of state assistance for short-term housing assistance, whether we get a state declaration or not,” said Flora.
He said Cal OES has some philanthropic connections and will be able to piece some things together.
Fire survivors have been getting some short-term assistance — some for up to five days — that Flora said is going to run out.
He recommended the city use $100,000 from its low and moderate income housing fund, which should provide about 30 days worth of housing for those who need it. That is meant to help bridge the gap until other options can be put together.
Flora said NCO is interested in helping to administer this program and in working with the city on more permanent medium- and long-term housing options.
The council voted unanimously to approve the agreement with NCO.
Cremer reported during the meeting that the Lake Area Rotary Club Association has so far raised $39,000 for Cache fire recovery and is working on allocating $30,000 in gift cards for survivors.
Also on Thursday, the council discussed the state redistricting process and making a request to be kept together with the rest of Lake County — the county is currently split — as well as Napa and Sonoma counties, and presented a proclamation declaring September 2021 as Senior Center Month.
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In a unanimous vote at its Aug. 17 meeting, the Lakeport City Council approved a resolution declaring its intention to adopt increased water and sewer rates over a five-year period, 2022 to 2026.
Finance Director and Assistant City Manager Nick Walker said they are only allowed to set the utility rates on a five-year basis.
City officials said the last utility rate study for Lakeport was completed in 2012, and utility rates have not increased since 2017.
The council also has set a public hearing on the new rates for Oct. 19 and directed staff to provide notice to ratepayers pursuant to Proposition 218, which sets the requirements for notifications and how to protest.
The council also accepted a resolution establishing guidelines for the submission and tabulation of protests in connection with rate hearings conducted pursuant to the California Constitution.
The city hired Willdan Financial Services to do the rate study. The firm gave an initial presentation on the utility increase study on May 4, at which time the council gave the go-ahead to complete the final study.
Walker told the council that staff had worked closely with the consultant to prepare a study that meets the regulatory requirements.
Daryll Parker and Michael Cronin of Willdan attended the meeting via Zoom to explain the study and their proposal.
Their presentation and information about the study has been posted here on the city of Lakeport’s website.
“It’s been awhile since you’ve had a rate study,” said Parker, explaining the city hasn’t looked at its rates in nine years.
If the city keeps to the status quo and makes no changes, Parker said it won’t be able to meet its debt service requirements and would have no cash for operations and capital.
Because the city hasn’t changed its rates in some time, the rates would have larger increases at the beginning of the five-year increase, which is from 2022 to 2026.
While the rates are not as much as they want, “they’re going in the right direction,” Parker said.
Based on bill comparisons created by the study, an average single-family residential water customer — all of whom are billed at the ⅝ by ¾ inch service charge rate — with a monthly flow of 800 cubic feet has an existing bill of $53.09, which would rise to $61.48 in the first year, and to $71.49 by the fifth year in 2026.
For sewer, in the first year that same customer, with the same monthly water flow, would see their bill increase from $74.25 to $79.50, and to $86.05 by year five.
The combined bills for that average customer would rise from $$127.34 to $157.54 over five years, with the largest increase, $13.64, coming in the first year.
Assuming that proposed 10.71% increase, Willdan reported that Lakeport will remain in the middle of the pack when compared to water systems: Kelseyville, north Lakeport (operated by Lake County Special Districts), Cloverdale, Esparto, Ukiah, Willits, Hidden Valley Lake, Healdsburg, Calistoga and St. Helena.
Parker said the next steps include setting the October public hearing, mailing out the Proposition 218 notice, conducting the public hearing, and then adopting and implementing the new rates.
Councilman Michael Froio asked if COVID-19 and drought will have an impact on the rates.
“We don’t know yet,” said Parker, adding that it’s possible and it may need to be addressed in a few years based on what the city sees in its system.
Walker said the city’s calculations included base customers, not the proposed South Main Street annexation area, as they felt that would be presumptuous.
He said he didn’t see the drought creating more revenue due to seeing more conservation.
Froio asked if the city was seeing less revenue due to conservation. Walker said it was too early to tell, that the city has asked customers to voluntarily cut back 15% and he believes there may be more state requirements once the gubernatorial recall election is past.
City Manager Kevin Ingram said the city saw quite a bit of reduction in water use due to behavioral changes following the last rate increase in 2012 and the last drought in 2014. Since then the city hasn’t seen a significant growth in use as those behavioral changes have remained in place.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked about planned utility projects. Walker said they include work on the Scotts Creek wells; water main replacements on Armstrong Street, Lakeshore Drive, Lakeport Boulevard and Lupoyoma Circle; and equipment replacement; among other system upgrades.
Both Councilman Michael Green and Mayor Kenny Parlet agreed during the meeting that the council needs to have another rate study done at the end of the five-year rate increase period.
“Costs are just escalating at unbelievable rates,” and the city doesn’t need to wait nine, 10 or 11 years to study the rates again, Parlet said.
Mattina said the last time a rate study was done nine years ago it was very painful, and while it was put off, “It was time to get to it.” Now it’s not as painful, it’s doable and well done, she said.
Ingram said they can add future studies into the city’s capital expenditure program.
Froio made separate motions to accept the two resolutions, which the council approved 5-0.
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