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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Vice-Commander Kevin Kealey of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 88 of Lake County decided to repeat history from more than 100 years ago in observance of National Safe Boating Week.

Kealey had read about Mary Downen, a pioneer woman who in 1903 built a cabin on Mount Konocti which is still standing.

Downen lived alone so each day at 2 p.m., using a mirror, she would signal down to her daughter in Lakeport that she was OK and her daughter would signal back.

To prepare for this project, Kealey distributed a cord to which was attached a daylight signal mirror and whistle to the teacher and a class at Clearlake Creativity School and Pomo Elementary School.

The students learned about Mary Downen and Kealey gave a presentation on the use of the mirror using the reflection of the sun and the whistles to attract attention.

On May 25, Kealey with his son, Nash, a member of the Navy Seabees Reserve to assist him, helper Nikki and Flotilla Public Affairs Officer Dorothy De Lope, drove up Mount Konocti to set up the equipment needed adjacent to the fire watch tower located there.

They had with them a huge mirror and all necessary equipment to perform a Zoom presentation to the schools at scheduled times.

A demonstration was performed by holding up the huge mirror and reflecting it on the hillside toward the location of the first school. The students used their small signal mirrors to sight in on the reflection of the huge mirror.

The project was being recorded via Zoom and the youngsters could be seen and heard laughing, jumping up and down screaming “I can see it” on seeing the huge mirror’s reflection on the hillside. The project was then repeated for the next school at their scheduled time.

Following the reflection demonstrations, the students returned to their classroom to watch Kealey via Zoom as he walked around the mountain, describing and naming the several peaks.

He included a bit of the history of each peak and Mount Konocti as well as Clear Lake and Lake Thurston.

The object of this mirror project was to teach youngsters safety by wearing the signal mirror and whistle when walking or hiking in unfamiliar countryside and to use that equipment should they become lost.

It’s also important for them to attach the signal and whistle to their life jackets in case of a boating emergency that causes them to end up in the water.

Flotilla 88 has fitted and distributed free life jackets to youngsters up to 12 years old but because of COVID-19 restrictions the flotilla was unable to do this in 2020 and this year as well.

The Flotilla urges everyone to practice safe boating habits and to always wear life jackets.

Dorothy De Lope is public information officer for United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 88 of Lake County.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — What to do about wild pigs that have been causing damage at the city of Lakeport’s sewer property was a topic of discussion at the Lakeport City Council’s Tuesday evening meeting.

City staff went to the council with a proposal to enter into a contract with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife through its Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement, or SHARE, program to allow for hunts on a portion of the 700-acre City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property.

Ultimately, the council decided it wanted to further study the problem.

Utilities Superintendent Paul Harris told the council that wild pigs regularly roam the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property, or CLMSD, rooting up grass which decreases the feed for cattle at the site.

He said they’ve received complaints from neighboring properties and have been asked to mitigate the problem.

Fish and Wildlife staffers Victoria Barr and Joshua Bush attended the virtual meeting to discuss the SHARE program, which can contract with private landowners, government agencies and anyone else, Barr said.

“It really is just a public access program,” Barr said, explaining that all hunting regulations apply on participating properties, with landowners dictating the property rules.

Barr said there currently are 50 properties enrolled, including one city — Merced, the wastewater treatment plant for which has been in the program for seven years — along with the county of Colusa, some trust organizations but most being private landowners.

Bush, Fish and Wildlife’s unit biologist for Lake County, said that the wild or feral pig — known by the scientific name of Sus scrofa — is invasive to California.

“They cause lots of damage on private lands all throughout the state,” Bush said.

Their ancestors include domestic pigs brought to the state in the early 1700s and allowed to become feral and Eurasian wild boars brought to Monterey County for sport hunting in the 1920s, Bush said.

Today, Bush said wild boars and feral pig hybrids are found in 56 of 58 California counties.

Bush said they’re a game mammal and can be hunted year-round with a license and tags. Landowners can apply for depredation permits to remove pigs from their properties.

The US Department of Agriculture estimates wild pigs cause $1.5 billion of damage in the United States annually, Bush said in his report.

Surrounding private lands experience heavy depredation pressure on pasture, grazing land, landscaping and fencing. “They don’t respect property boundaries,” Bush said.

He said eradicating the pigs isn’t possible. Instead, Fish and Wildlife is looking for ways to mitigate damage and offer strategies to utilize the pigs as a resource.

Bush showed a picture of the Crazy Creek glider port in Middletown where a new golf course is being built. In one night, the pigs tore up all the new sod that had just been placed.

Fish and Wildlife staff met with city officials to discuss ensuring safety and a quality hunt with proposed measures including signage, procedures to sign in and out of the property, an informational flyer, and a requirement to use only archery or shotguns, not rifles, Bush said.

Councilwoman Stacey Mattina said immediate concerns from the public had included the use of firearms and hunters not being guided while on the property.

Barr said having a guide would be up to the city, but based on permit draws a maximum of four hunters would be on the property at any time.

Bush said that, for the success of the hunt, he suggested it be limited to shotguns and archery, not just archery.

“Pigs are pretty dangerous,” said Councilman Michael Froio, adding that allowing archery only could put hunters at a disadvantage.

Businessman and hunter Bobby Dutcher said if pigs are hunted for a few weeks, they’ll leave. He said the CLMSD property has been a safe haven for the pigs for years due to no hunting there.

“It’ll get better very quickly” if there is a guide and hunters out there trying to get rid of them, with Dutcher adding that the property should be hunted.

Bruce Brugler, who owns property to the west of the CLMSD property, said he’s a big supporter of the SHARE program but he did not support the plan with no guides. He said he also was not happy that the proposal came up before anyone had talked to him about it.

Like Dutcher, he said that if pigs are hunted in an area, they learn not to come around. “I just don’t think it is the right property for a SHARE program,” Brugler said.

Another neighbor, Michael Keithly, submitted a letter in which he also raised concerns about hunters coming onto his land and harming cattle. He said supervised guided hunts or youth hunts would be better.

In the end, the council didn’t move forward on the SHARE program proposal on Tuesday night.

Councilman Michael Green said the Fish and Wildlife proposal was sound. “CDFW brought a good plan to you tonight,” he told fellow council members.

The council as a whole took the neighbors’ concerns into account and reached consensus to direct staff to look at other options that could involve hunting.

Also on Tuesday, the council held a workshop on its 2021-22 fiscal year budget and discussed plans for the July 4 celebration and revisions to its classification system.

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.

An analysis of California public health data shows that workers in high-risk job sectors have accounted for a large portion of deaths during the pandemic.

California is getting a closer look at exactly how workers in high-risk industries across the state have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.

For the first time, UC Merced's Community and Labor Center, or CLC, has analyzed the increase in the number of pandemic-era deaths of working-age people.

The analysis of data from the California Department of Public Health finds that deaths among Californians aged 18 to 65 increased by 25% during the first 10 months of the pandemic.

The number of deaths was recorded as 58,184 in 2019 and that figure went up to 72,554 in 2020. Out of the 14,370 additional deaths, 12,500 of them (87%) were workers.

The research found that workers in 10 California industries experienced an over 30 percent increase in deaths during the same 10 months.

Those 10 job sectors, which are considered “high risk,” are identified as warehousing, agriculture, bars, food processing, wholesale trade, restaurants/food services, nursing care, landscaping, grocery and building services.

The state has identified key job sectors at high risk of COVID-19 spread, including agriculture, food processing (including meatpacking), grocery or retail, restaurants/food services and warehouse/logistics.

Warehouse workers had the highest statewide increase in pandemic-related deaths, listed at 57 percent.

Between March and December 2020, 334 more warehouse workers died than in the same period in 2019. Agriculture workers ranked second with 565 additional deaths.

Food-chain workers were the most affected as employees in food-supply chain industries made up four of the 10 California industries with the highest increase in deaths.

Exactly who are these workers in the top 10 industries with the highest pandemic-era death increases.

Many of these job sectors have traditionally had high rates of migrant workers — from food-chain industries, building services (including janitorial work) and landscaping to nursing care facilities.

A prior analysis found California's high-risk workers, compared with those in non-high-risk sectors, were far more likely to be immigrants, particularly non-citizens.

Prior research also suggested that these high-risk workers lived in households that were, on average, larger, more likely to have children and twice as likely to have multiple families living under the same roof.

California's high-risk workers also earned lower wages, as a whole, had lower home ownership rates and experienced higher rates of poverty.

With this analysis of increases in pandemic-era deaths in high-risk industries, proponents are hoping to call attention to worker deaths on an industry-level basis, as well as express the need for more education and employer compliance.

"The increased rate of pandemic-related deaths among high-risk workers indicates a vulnerable workforce and suggests the need for more worker education and enforcement of worker rights," CLC executive director Ana Padilla said. "Education and outreach to low-wage immigrant, non-citizen workers should emphasize their rights as workers, workplace health and safety hazards and protections. Access to the same worker benefits and resources that workers who are citizens receive is also critical for preventing the spread of COVID-19."

Furthermore, rights advocates are urging stronger enforcement of workplace laws throughout all job sectors.

"Public agencies regulating workplace health and safety should be adequately funded and staffed to ensure robust enforcement of workplace health and safety standards across all industries, particularly those continuing to pose a high risk of COVID-19 spread," CLC co-director and sociology professor Edward Flores said. "Agency staffing should also reflect the many languages spoken by workers in California's high-risk industries."

Juan Flores works for UC Merced.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Changes are on the way for a south county program that helps those in need during the holidays.

As of July 1, 2021, Spirit of the Season will be under the leadership of the Hidden Valley Community Church.

Paula Brown Oh and her spouse Scott Brown will be the new coordinators, said former coordinator Hedy Montoya.

After almost 20 years of helping to feed families at Christmas from the Middletown, Hidden Valley Lake and Cobb areas, and making sure children's wishes for a modest gift were fulfilled, it was time to offer the holiday program to another group.

As a grassroots program, always supported only by the donations of individuals, businesses and clubs, Spirit of the Season has been able to gather volunteers to give out turkeys and food boxes to more than 120 families every year or more than 450 individuals.

The Wish Tree portion of Spirit of the Season made sure specific gifts that children asked for were fulfilled primarily under the guidance of Sandy Tucker and her helpers, including Mary Ann Kenny and Laura Pimentel.

Other volunteers who made the program a success are Cynthia Tice and Paula Brown Oh, working with data collection and volunteers respectively.

Montoya offered special thanks to Lorrie Gray of the former Lake County Hunger Task Force and Tammy Alakszay of North Coast Opportunities. Wendy Gattoni has also volunteered her time to assist with community outreach, especially in the local south county schools.

Letters of gratitude have been sent to Spirit of the Season’s 2020 holiday season donors and especially to entities such as Scully Packing, Foods Etc., Perry's Deli, the Middletown Community Methodist Church, the First Baptist Church of Middletown and Hardester's Markets for their loyal support and donations over the many years, Montoya said.

“To the many volunteers, too many to mention who have handed out food boxes, helped with registration, tracked down a lost gift or went shopping, and so much more I am deeply grateful," Ms. Montoya continued. "I pray that our donors and our volunteers will continue to support Paula and Scott Brown in the coming year.”

Paula and Scott Brown can be reached at 707-953-3088.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County residents ventured out by the thousands to events over the Memorial Day weekend, a time that has traditionally been the official beginning of the summer season but this year also marks a return to a more familiar pattern of community life and celebration.

As the transition from full COVID-19 lockdown to reopening continues over the coming weeks, several celebrations that had been canceled last year were back, in modified form, this weekend.

In Lakeport, the Lakeport Main Street Association presented the Memorial Day parade on Saturday.

While the association had encouraged people to watch it online, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said it was a good turnout, with the crowd size in the hundreds.

“People were spread out well from Martin Street all the way to the end at Clearlake Avenue,” Rasmussen said, adding the event went well with no problems.

One of the changes this year was that there was no Kiwanis and 4-H breakfast before the parade, Rasmussen said.

In Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Daze event came back on Sunday with its parade but changed from a barbecue in the park to a street fair that stretched along the length of Main Street downtown.

It was a change that the event's organizers, members of the Lower Lake Community Action Group, hoped would offer more safety for the sake of social distancing, and community members who visited gave it their approval.

“I have never seen so many people there. We attend every year. I think everyone liked the change. I have only heard positive things about it,” said Clearlake resident Fawn Williams.

She added, “It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves.”

The warm three-day weekend culminated on Monday morning with the Middletown Cemetery District’s Memorial Day service, focusing on the sacrifice that’s at the core of the holiday.

Despite very hot weather — it was around 90 degrees at the time the ceremony started at 9 a.m. — mistress of ceremonies Linda Diehl-Darms said it drew a “wonderful turnout,” estimating between 60 and 75 people were in attendance.

“People are ready to get out,” said Diehl-Darms.

This year’s ceremony featured the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team, with the 4-H Club carrying out the flag ceremony, and Girl Scouts Troop No. 10403 and Daisy Troop No. 10917 assisting with wreaths, programs and flag placement on the 219 veterans’ graves at the cemetery on Butts Canyon Road.

Supervisor Moke Simon read the names the veterans buried at Middletown Rancheria, his predecessor on the board Jim Comstock read the names of the veterans buried in the Middletown Cemetery, Voris Brumfield gave the benediction, musicians David Neft and Kathleen Escude performed, and the Lions Club once again provided equipment and set up.

A special addition to this year’s ceremony was the dedication of headstones for three Civil War veterans, Hiram Cook, Phillip Maxwell and David Henry Thorne, who are interred at the cemetery. Dean Enderlin, past department commander of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Cindy Eddy, past department president of the Auxiliary for three Civil War veterans, performed the dedication.

Diehl-Darms said she heard good comments about the memorial. “It was a really good celebration.”

She said another major summertime event — Middletown Days — will return this year over Father’s Day weekend.

The Middletown Central Park Association will hold the 60th annual event June 18 to 20.

There will be a parade, barbecue, cornhole tournament, dancing, cowboy team races, mutton bustin’, cutest cowboy and girl contest, and more.

“It’s a packed weekend,” Diehl-Darms said.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council will honor a retiring police sergeant and consider development agreements with two cannabis operations when it meets this week.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 3, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The public may attend, however, the council chambers will have limited capacity and attendees must adhere to masking and social distancing mandates.

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.

The agenda can be found here.

Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also visit the city’s town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/327/forum_home. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.

To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 3.

At the start of the meeting, the council will present a proclamation commending Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph on His retirement.

The council also will get a presentation by Housing and Community Development on the RecoverCA Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program and offer a proclamation declaring June 2021 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

On Thursday, the council will hold public hearings to consider development agreements with two cannabis operations.

The first is with Akwaaba Inc., and the second is with Green Growth Solutions LLC.

Staff reports for the meeting explain that Akwaaba is proposing to modify its existing business operation involving a storefront cannabis dispensary located at 3995 Alvita Ave. (colloquially referred to as 14196 Lakeshore Drive) in order to engage in retail, cultivation, distribution and manufacturing.

Green Growth Solutions LLC is proposing a commercial cannabis operation located at 2560 Highway 53, on 15.37 acres of vacant, industrially zoned property on the east side of Highway 53.

City staff said the proposed operation would involve cultivation, processing and wholesale distribution from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There would be up to six employees at normal peak shifts with extra staff to accommodate the harvest season.

It also will include a 10,000-square-foot single-story prefabricated metal building for processing and distribution, a two-story prefabricated metal building for indoor cultivation and administrative uses totaling 40,000 square feet, and hybrid greenhouses for indoor cultivation totaling 36,000 square feet between two structures.

If approved, the two agreements will be set for second and final readings at the council's June 17 meeting.

Under business, council members will consider rejecting all bids for the demolition of all structures at 14525 Lakeshore Drive after having received only one valid bid.

On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are the award of a contract with ECORP for the Dam Road Roundabout Project in the amount of $63,175.968 and authorize the city manager to approve up to 10% for additional unforeseen contract amendments; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; consideration of Resolution No. 2021-28, approving a temporary road closure for the community block party; minutes of the May meetings; and warrants.

The council will meet in closed session following the public portion of the meeting to hold another conference in ongoing negotiations with the Clearlake Municipal Employees Association, Clearlake Police Officers Association and Clearlake Middle Management Association, and to discuss an existing case of litigation against the county of Lake, Board of Supervisors and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara C. Ringen.

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.