This story has been updated.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Firefighters have stopped a fire that burned several structures in a Clearlake Oaks neighborhood.

The fire was first reported shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday in the area of Second and Hoover streets.

Radio traffic stated that authorities had received multiple 911 calls about the fire and associated explosions.

Incident command requested deputies respond to assist with dispersing a large crowd and to help with evacuating a two-block radius.

Over the radio, Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta also requested aircraft and an immediate need strike team, reporting that there were spot fires moving through the community.

There also are reports of multiple downed fire lines throughout the fire area.

Sapeta estimated that four structures were on fire, reporting minutes later another structure was starting to catch fire.

Additional fire units are being requested from the Williams area.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m., radio traffic indicated the area from Hoover to Butler had been evacuated.

Scene reports stated the fire had been held to a total of four structures.

Shortly after 7 p.m., air resources reported that the threat to the wildland fire had been stopped.

By 7:15 p.m., the fire’s advance was stopped, with incident command reporting that it had been contained to the block of origin.

Scanner traffic also indicated that at least two firefighters were being treated for heat-related illness.

Due to the amount of water that’s been drawn from the Clearlake Oaks County Water District, Northshore Fire Chief Mike Ciancio reported over the air that the district is low and he requested three water tenders to respond.

Ciancio also asked for Lake County Animal Care and Control to come to the scene due to multiple pets that were in the structures. “They’re running everywhere.”

Pacific Gas and Electric reported that 161 customers in Clearlake Oaks were out of power as of 7:05 p.m. The power was restored shortly before 8:30 p.m., About two hours ahead of the original estimate.

Red Cross has been requested to provide assistance to five adults, one child and at least a dozen pets — from birds to cats and dogs — from three family residences, according to radio reports.

The incident was terminated at 10:30 p.m., with the final units clearing.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

This story is being updated with new information.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Firefighters have stopped the forward progress of a wildland fire in Nice that prompted evacuations.

The fire, in the 2400 block of Lakeshore Boulevard at Stokes Avenue, was first reported shortly before 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fire officials arriving on scene reported that it was about two to three acres in size, with spots being pushed by the wind across Lakeshore Boulevard, where it’s threatening structures, including a sewer system utility building.

The wind was reported to be coming off of Clear Lake and pushing the fire toward Highway 20.

Evacuations were underway in the area at that time, fire officials reported.

Air tankers, a helicopter and air attack arrived on scene shortly after 2 p.m. and began to work the fire, based on radio traffic.

At 2:14 p.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued a Nixle alert for an evacuation order for residents south of Stokes Avenue to north of Clear Lake, east of the Nice-Lucerne Cut-off and west of Hammond Avenue.

At that point, a temporary evacuation point hadn’t been established, officials said.

Just after 2:30 p.m., incident command reported that forward progress had been stopped and the aircraft had been released, with evacuations to be lifted shortly.

Lakeshore Boulevard is to remain closed temporarily to all but residents, based on radio reports from the scene.

The fire was reported to be a total of four and a half acres.

Units were expected to remain on scene for a few more hours for mop up.

On Sunday evening around 6 p.m., as units were wrapping up, some were released to respond to a fire burning several structures in Clearlake Oaks at Second and Hoover.

There was no immediate information available on the cause of the Lakeshore Boulevard fire.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Thomas Jefferson said that coffee is the favorite drink of the civilized world, and we in this java loving nation have proven his point in spades.

Though coffee houses were wildly popular in continental Europe beginning in the early 1600s, it wasn’t until 1773 that the drink gained popularity here. It was the Boston Tea Party that turned the beverage tide, morphing us from a tea drinking nation to a coffee drinking one.

These days, over 80% of adult Americans consume coffee, and we drink more of it than any beverage other than water.

In 2016, a whooping 88.8 gallons of the beloved brew was guzzled per capita in the United States, and consumption has only grown since.

Compare that with the next highest category, carbonated beverages (including things like soda and sparkling water), which registered only 39.5 gallons per person, less than half of the coffee tally.

Its acclaim is worldwide, going far beyond our shores. Coffee is one of the most valuable legally traded commodities in the world, second only to crude oil.

If the proliferation of coffee businesses throughout our lovely county is any indication, we here in Lake County are consuming our fair share.

A complex espresso drink or a simple cup of Joe can be found in coffee shops in nearly every one of our communities, from Middletown to Upper Lake, some with drive-through service and others offering food beyond croissants and muffins.

I recently learned that an enterprising Lake County woman has begun a different sort of coffee business — a portable espresso cart — which I happened upon on a balmy June evening at the Friday night farmers’ market in Middletown.

As I strolled the shaded paths lined with vendors in Middletown Square (the large green lawn in front of the library and senior center complex), I discovered the “Kates Out the Bag” cart nestled near the end of the southernmost path. Intrigued, I ordered a honey-oat milk latte for myself and a fresh lemonade for a friend.

It was a treat to have such interesting potables options at the market.

One of the first things one notices about this cart is its feline theme. The name is a play on “the cat’s out of the bag” and the phrase “PURR-FECT COFFEE” graces the banner above the cart.

It turns out the purveyor, Katelyn Rubio, loves cats as much as she loves coffee and decided to combine her passions in this business.

Her custom blended coffees include names like Black Cat Decaf and Nine Lives Breakfast Blend. Other products are named after her two rescue cats, Freddy and Fannie.

Rubio, a Hidden Valley Lake resident, is a 2005 graduate of Middletown High School. She’s been hooked on the taste of coffee since the first time she was given a sip of it as a child.

While in college she honed her espresso pulling skills at the drive-through coffee hut (now Mugshots) at the Highway 29 Shell station near Hidden Valley Lake, as well as at the Mugshots outpost at Harbin Hot Springs near Middletown.

She fell in love with the technique of making coffee at those jobs — she feels it’s an art form. Learning how to make the perfect shot and steaming the milk just right was satisfying work. She also enjoyed interaction with customers and getting to know the regulars.

After forays into a couple of other careers (phlebotomy and office administration), she’s returned to her first love, coffee. She says it’s a great business for a mother with four children at home aged from 6 to 16.

The coffee she serves is custom roasted, with blends created and curated by her with assistance from the roasting company. The espresso she serves contains six different beans from around the world — Indonesia, Africa, and Central and South America.

Her espresso cart (as well as her packaged coffee blends) can be found at farmers’ markets in the county on Friday nights in Middletown and Tuesdays and Saturdays in Lakeport. She hopes to expand her business to include weddings and special events.

Kates Out the Bag Coffee Co. products can also be purchased online at www.katesoutthebag.com and the business can be found on Instagram. To book her cart for events, Rubio can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

It turns out that research has shown coffee to be beneficial in a variety of ways, so there are plenty of reasons to drink it aside from the taste.

Some obvious benefits are heightened energy, increased metabolism and improved workout performance. Other positive effects are more surprising.

According to what I’ve read, research has shown that:

Coffee is an antioxidant that has been proven to increase longevity and to reduce the risk of heart failure, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. It contains a variety of essential nutrients like riboflavin, pantothenic acid, manganese, potassium, magnesium and niacin.

It may also be an effective treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Studies showed that those who drank two or more cups of coffee a day had less liver damage than those who drank little or no coffee.

The chlorogenic acid found in coffee can aid in reducing blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, improving mood and reducing inflammation in the body. It also acts as an antimicrobial against a wide range of organisms.

Coffee contains substances that have heavy metal chelation properties, binding to heavy metals like lead, mercury or copper and extracting them from the body via the kidneys.

Other studies link coffee with improved brain function, including reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, and staving off depression.

Does this make you want to go make a cup of coffee as it does me?

Or we could eat our coffee. There are many ways to use it in cuisine.

Coffee’s roasted notes and its bitter, acidic qualities compliment sweet, bold, earthy or nutty ingredients, from desserts (think mocha brownies or espresso-laden tiramisu) to meats (like ham with red eye gravy or coffee rubs on beef or pork).

As to meats, coffee not only infuses flavor, it also has tenderizing qualities.

A specialty of the southern U.S. is ham with red-eye gravy, made simply by cooking ham in a skillet and then deglazing the pan with about ½ cup of boiling hot coffee. It should be simmered to reduce by half, which takes about five minutes. Butter or oil may be added to the pan to ensure there are enough drippings if the ham is lean.

Some add sugar, broth or a little extra butter to round out the intense and bitter coffee flavor, but this isn’t a traditional preparation.

I ran across an interesting recipe that includes marinating bite-sized pieces of chicken overnight in brewed espresso with pink peppercorns, cardamom and cinnamon, which shows that there can be a great deal of creativity when using coffee in the kitchen.

The flavors of roasted or grilled pork and beef can be enhanced with a rub that includes coffee. In addition to ground coffee, common ingredients include sugar (typically brown), coarse pepper, paprika and garlic in fresh or powder form.

Today’s recipe is for an all-purpose coffee rub which can be used on almost any protein as well as on most veggies. Unlike some rubs, it’s relatively low in salt and sugar, so there's no overpowering sweet or salty overtones.

Cayenne pepper can be added for some heat if desired, and the level of any of the spices can be adjusted according to your taste. This makes a generous amount and can be stored for quick use in a tightly sealed container. Be sure to store away from sunlight to prevent deterioration of flavors.

Enjoy!

All-purpose coffee rub

2 tablespoons each of:
Garlic powder
Ground coffee (medium grind)
Paprika
Onion powder or dried onion flakes
Ground cumin

1 tablespoon each of
Salt
Brown sugar

Combine all ingredients.

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper if heat is desired.

Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown, California.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Friendly banter abounded as the cast of the Lake County Theatre Co.’s production of “All’s Well That Ends Well” logged into their Zoom rehearsal.

Many of the actors reside here in Lake County, but several hail from out of state, including Virginia, New York and even Toronto.

Despite a physical separation of thousands of miles and multiple time zones, cast members joked around and connected with each other as if in the same room.

Pre-rehearsal conversation touched on diva cats, pro-wrestler theme songs, and outdated fashion trends.

The pros and cons of stiff celluloid collars were discussed at some length thanks to Ed Borg, a local actor who has been in all six of the Shakespeare at the Lake productions.

Altogether, the cast of 11 has more than 40 Shakespeare performances under its belt and some 200-plus years of collective acting experience and eight degrees in theater, including four Masters of Fine Arts degrees.

Their acting chops certainly showed during rehearsal as they worked their way through the pages of Shakespeare’s comedy.

Each performer breathed life into their role, giving depth and flavor to each character while still supporting each other.

At one point Ted Powers (zooming from Toronto), typed a message into the chat to Rose Kingfisher (zooming from Marin), complimenting her stellar entrances.

Since this was the first night off-book, actors patiently waited for each other as they searched for lines or confused one scene with a later one.

They encouraged one another through the process, always keeping the bigger picture of the entire play in mind, not just their individual performance.

The Lake County Theatre Co. and Mendocino College, the producers of the Shakespeare at the Lake project, look forward to putting on a live show again next summer.

In the meantime, they hope you will tune in to this fabulous online play, chock full of talent from all over North America.

Virtual performances will take place Friday, July 23, and Saturday, July 24, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, July 25, at 2 p.m.

Visit www.lctc.us to reserve your free tickets and to obtain all the log-in information.

This production is made possible with generous support from the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College and the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport.

 

Child care insecurity is a term we’ve come up with to describe limited or uncertain access to adequate child care.

It factors into many Americans’ decisions whether to even have a child. Parents – mothers especially – often weigh the cost of child care in their decision to return to work. And when a kid has a disability, there may not even be child care options that meet the family’s needs.

As researchers who study how policies and systems affect well-being and health, we argue that child care insecurity is a public health issue similar to food insecurity.

And just as with food insecurity, increasing access is necessary. However, access alone will not address the problem.

Why child care insecurity matters

Female caregivers in the U.S. have traditionally borne most of the burden of finding and managing child care and providing care directly. This results in stalled careers, higher stress and lower earnings.

When schools and child care facilities were forced to close or restrict access during the COVID-19 pandemic, millions more American parents and guardians – men and women alike – found themselves suddenly facing child care insecurity. This affected their well-being and mental health.

A group of health psychologists surveyed parents throughout the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 4% of the parents reported having high stress levels “before COVID-19.” But by May 2020, that share had ballooned to 22%.

Meanwhile, sociologists who surveyed and interviewed U.S. mothers in April and May of 2020 found that not having child care affected mothers’ interpersonal interactions – such as increased frustration with their children – and quality of life.

How common is it?

In January 2020, 26 million working caregivers in the U.S. “did not have an in-home care option” – whether a parent, grandparent or older sibling – for children 14 years and younger, according to a Rand Corp. analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

A World Bank Report from December 2020 estimated that globally, over 40% of all children who needed quality child care or preschool in 2018 did not have access to it. That’s nearly 350 million kids.

[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]

President Joe Biden has proposed some national policies to address child care insecurity in the U.S. – for example, limiting the percentage of income families need to spend on child care to 7% by providing subsidies to care providers. This would likely improve access.

However, child care insecurity is not always based on economic constraints. The quality of child care, location, hours and access for children with disabilities can all play a role as well.

The Conversation U.S. publishes short, accessible explanations of newsworthy subjects by academics in their areas of expertise.

Cassandra M. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Foods, Texas State University and Shailen Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Organization, Workforce, & Leadership Studies, Texas State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has a kennel filled with many breeds of dogs ready to be adopted.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of bloodhound, boxer, bulldog, Chihuahua, husky, pit bull, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, shepherd and terrier.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control website not listed are still “on hold”).

Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm for information on visiting or adopting.

The newest dogs are listed at the top.

Male bloodhound

This 1-year-old male bloodhound has a short black and tan coat.

He is in kennel No. 11, ID No. LCAC-A-1185.

‘Rocky’

“Rocky” is a 6-year-old male bulldog with a brown and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 16, ID No. LCAC-A-1122.

‘Happy’

“Happy” is a 3-year-old female pit bull mix with a short tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-562.

Male terrier

This 6-year-old male terrier has a short black coat.

He is in kennel No. 24, ID No. LCAC-A-1149.

‘Dash’

“Dash” is a 2-year-old female Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a short tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 15, ID No. LCAC-A-1183.

Male pit bull

This young male American pit bull has a short brown coat.

He is in kennel No. 18, ID No. LCAC-A-1028.

‘Hype’

“Hype” is a 5-year-old female boxer mix with a short red and white coat.

She is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-974.

‘Jim’

“Jim” is a 2-year-old pit bull terrier mix with a short black and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 23, ID No. LCAC-A-810.

‘Luna’

“Luna” is a 3-year-old female pit bull terrier mix with a short red coat.

She is in kennel No. 25, ID No. LCAC-A-1078.

‘Tinker’

“Tinker” is a 4-year-old Chihuahua with a short tan coat.

She is in kennel No. 26a, ID No. 1074.

Rottweiler-pit bull mix

This 1-year-old female Rottweiler-pit bull mix has a short black coat.

She has been spayed.

She is in kennel No. 27, ID No. LCAC-A-731.

‘Brutus’

“Brutus” is a 5-year-old male pit bull terrier with a short gray and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 28, ID No. LCAC-A-670.

Female pit bull terrier

This 4-year-old female pit bull terrier mix has a short white coat.

She is in kennel No. 29, ID No. LCAC-A-812.

‘Apollo’

“Apollo” is a 2-year-old male husky mix with a medium-length red and white coat and blue eyes.

He is in kennel No. 31, ID No. LCAC-A-783.

Male husky

This 2-year-old male husky has a medium-length red and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 32, ID No. LCAC-A-1024.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.