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The National Weather Service is forecasting that showers will continue through Wednesday, to be followed by an anticipated dry period from Thursday through the weekend.
The agency’s forecast said its models are showing that an “upper disturbance” – which is defined as a high-altitude area of rotating air – will move southeast across the region on Wednesday morning, bringing with it an associated cold front.
At that time, there could be gusty winds and “a short period of relatively intense precipitation,” based on this week’s forecast. Across the North Coast, those high-altitude cold air conditions could bring snow to elevations above 1,500 to 2,500 feet, particularly from northern Mendocino County northward.
Conditions are expected to include very cold morning lows on Thursday and valley fog and frost out to coast areas, but otherwise dry weather is probable during the second half of the week, the forecast said.
The specific Lake County forecast calls for rain during the day on Tuesday, as well as light winds into the low double digits, and daytime temperatures topping out in the low 50s.
On Tuesday night, conditions are forecast to be partly cloudy, with a low of about 32 degrees, with calm winds of about 7 miles per hour.
For Wednesday, daytime conditions also will see temperatures in the low 50s, light winds and up to a tenth of an inch of rain, according to the forecast.
On Wednesday night, patchy fog and frost are forecast with winds of above 10 miles per hour and lows down to about 30 degrees.
Patchy fog is expected early Thursday, with conditions expected to clear and become sunny for the day. Daytime temperatures will edge into the high 50s and nighttime lows will drop to close to 30 degrees.
Sunny and warmer conditions are forecast for Lake County from Friday through Monday, with daytime temperatures in the low 60s but chillier nighttime conditions, with temperatures into the low 30s.
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On Monday, McGuire and co-author Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva introduced SB 285, which would provide $45 million to Visit California to launch a strategic media and jobs recovery campaign to drive in-state travel to the businesses that have been hit so hard – our state’s renowned restaurants, hotels, and local destinations.
Visit California will multiply the value of the appropriation through newspapers and broadcast media, which have agreed to match the funds from the state.
“We all know the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of so many Californians – some of the hardest hit are those 600,000 employees who lost their hospitality jobs. While we see light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine, we must set our sights on rebuilding our economy and supporting those who need it most. This strategic infusion of funds will help get hundreds of thousands of Californians back to work and hospitality-based businesses opened safely,” McGuire said.
California’s travel and hospitality industry is one of the largest economic drivers for the state.
Before COVID-19, more than 1.2 million California workers earned their livelihoods in hospitality, and visitors spent $145 billion annually at California businesses, generating $12.3 billion in state and local tax revenues.
The coronavirus has had an especially devastating impact on California’s travel and tourism industry.
Since last March, more than half of those 1.2 million hospitality workers lost their jobs, California lost $78.8 billion in visitor spending, and thousands of businesses have struggled to keep their doors open, even if only virtually.
McGuire represents Lake County, for which travel and tourism also is a particularly important sector.
In the initial months of the pandemic, the industry saw more than a 30-percent drop in jobs. Since then, it’s slowly built back.
In the latest jobless report, the California Employment Development Department reported that there were 1,020 jobs in the Lake County tourism as of December, which is still 12.1 percent down from the previous December.
Since the first statewide shelter-in-place last spring, Sen. McGuire said he has been working with a broad coalition of advocates – including labor, tourism, hospitality, and local chambers of commerce – to address the incredible challenges they are facing and help get over 600,000 hard-working hospitality employees back to work safely and strategically.
This campaign, which would be launched when the California Department of Public Health declares it is appropriate to resume travel, would emphasize that it is safe to travel and how to travel safely.
This current proposal is modeled after a previous action by the state of California following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, McGuire’s office said.
“As the chair of the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media, I am proud to be co-authoring this legislation with Senator McGuire,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “I represent a district that hosts some of the prominent attractions that contribute significantly to our local and state economy, such as Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm and have seen the devastating domino effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our tourism industry. We need to establish a safe and responsible pathway to recovering one of the largest drivers of our state’s economy and more importantly, getting more than 600,000 Californians back to work.”
Sen. McGuire and Assemblymember Quirk-Silva have worked closely with a coalition of tourism industry advocates on this important next step.
“COVID-19 has hit the travel and tourism industry harder than any other. Prioritizing a one-time allocation to Visit California will ensure we stay competitive with other destinations once travel resumes, get workers back to their jobs, breathe life into our small businesses and communities, and ultimately help jump start a quick recovery of our economy,” said Barb Newton, president and CEO California Travel Association.
“The Teamsters represent thousands of California workers in tourism and hospitality who have been devastated by the pandemic. Our members in theme parks, rental car agencies, airlines, hotels, and countless other related industries have seen jobs, health benefits, and pensions reduced and eliminated. We applaud Senator McGuire’s effort to jump-start the recovery to make California once again a world-class travel destination,” said Rome Aloise, international vice president and joint Council 7 president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
With SB 285, the $45 million, one-time appropriation is projected to deliver $10.3 billion in revenue to California businesses and $865 million in additional state and local tax revenue.
The bill is co-authored by Senators Allen, Bradford, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Hurtado, Laird, Nielsen and Assemblymembers Bloom, Bigelow, Chiu, Cunningham, Davies, Christina Garcia, Grayson, Mullin, Nazarian, Santiago, Valladares and Wood.
This bi-partisan bill is supported by: UNITE HERE!, California Travel Association, California Teamsters Public Affairs Council, California Broadcast Association, California News Publishers Association, among many others.
Many of us will recall the American comedy film “Groundhog Day.”
Originally released in 1993, it stars the incomparable Bill Murray as Phil Conners, an insufferable Pittsburgh weatherman. A minor local celebrity who believes himself destined for much better things, he resents his piddling assignment to report on the Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
The plan is to return to Pittsburgh after the festivities. But when a blizzard shuts down the highway, Phil finds himself trapped in Punxsutawney. He wakes up the next day, only to discover that it’s not the next day at all. It’s Groundhog Day all over again.
For some reason he’s trapped in Feb. 2, forced to relive the same day over and over again.
“What if there is no tomorrow?” he asks at one point, adding: “There wasn’t one today.”
It is a question that will resonate with millions living in quarantine today – as people wake up every morning wondering if the day ahead will be any different from the 24 hours they have just endured.
But I have a more positive spin. As a scholar of communication and ethics, I argue that the lesson at the heart of the movie is that because we can never count on tomorrow, life must be lived fully in the present, not just for oneself, but also for others. Ultimately, “Groundhog Day” gives us a lesson in mindfulness.
Metaphor for mindlessness?
Phil was trapped in Groundhog Day, perhaps for hundreds of years. The original script said 10,000 years, though the director reportedly said it was 10. Either way, that’s a long time to wake up to the same song every morning.
Finally, Phil awakens, and it’s Feb. 3, that is, the next day.
I believe what brings about tomorrow for Phil is that he learns to practice mindfulness.
Phil’s repetitive existence can stand for a metaphor for mindlessness, for how we all get stuck in cycles of reactivity, addiction and habit. Locked in our routines, life can lose its luster.
It can quickly seem like nothing we do matters all that much. “What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” Phil asks two local guys at the bowling alley. “That about sums it up for me,” one of them responds.
Contemporary practices of mindfulness can trace their roots back to Buddhism. For Buddhists, the concept of reincarnation or rebirth is important. Many Buddhists believe that all living beings go through many births until they achieve salvation.
As a scholar, I believe the idea of rebirth is more complex than is often understood in popular culture.
Pali is the ancient sacred language of Theravada Buddhism. Scholar of Buddhism Stephen Batchelor notes that the ancient Pali language word “punabbhava,” often translated as “rebirth,” literally means “again-becoming,” or what we might think of as “repetitive existence.”
That’s Phil’s life, stuck in Groundhog Day. That’s what Phil is trying to escape, and what we are all trying to escape in COVID times – repetitive existence, a life stuck in one gear, frozen by habits and patterns that make every day feel the same, as though nothing matters.
Taking a moment – to respond
If Phil’s stuckness is a metaphor for mindlessness, Phil’s awakening, I argue, is a metaphor for mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of experiencing life as it is happening, squarely in the now, without immediately reacting to it or being carried away by it.
Mindfulness is a practice of getting to know ourselves and our conditioning a little better. Conditioning is an automatic pattern of reacting to the world. By stepping out of autopilot, pausing, and noticing, many of us can find that we are no longer captive to our conditioning. Consequently, we gain the space to make choices about how we want to respond to life.
That is what Phil does in the movie – he escapes repetitive existence by overcoming his initial conditioned, obnoxious, egotistical reactions to the world. At the beginning of the film, he calls himself the “talent” and berates the “hicks” who live in the small town. He is too good for Groundhog Day. He wants to escape Punxsutawney as fast as possible.
As the film continues, Phil accepts his situation and turns repetition into an opportunity for growth. He begins to find meaning in the place where he is trapped. He embraces life, fully, which also means that he notices his own suffering and the suffering of those around him.
Phil addresses his own suffering by pursuing his passions and developing his skills. He learns to play the piano and becomes an accomplished ice sculptor.
Initially, Phil felt nothing for those around him. People were objects to him, if he noticed them at all. By the end of the film, he feels compassion, which, according to the mindfulness teacher Rhonda Magee, means “the will to act to alleviate the suffering of others.” Mindfulness is a practice that draws us into the world, into service. Compassion is at the heart of a mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness in pandemic times
Mindfulness does not mean turning away from difficulty. It is a practice of meeting difficulty with compassion. Though Phil finally accepts that there might not be a tomorrow, nevertheless he acts to ensure that if tomorrow comes for himself and those around him, it will be better than today.
For example, Phil saves the lives of at least two people: a young boy who, before Phil’s intervention, falls out of a tree onto a hard sidewalk, and the town’s mayor, who, before Phil bursts in to give him the Heimlich, chokes on his lunch.
Phil’s mindful awareness of what is happening in the moment allows him to act for tomorrow without losing track of today. Phil’s mindfulness, and his compassion, drive the film’s central love story between Phil and Rita. At the beginning of the film, he was capable of loving only himself. By the end of the film, Phil has learned to love mindfully.
According to Thich Nhat Hanh, loving mindfully means that “you must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.” Phil has learned that love is not about manipulation or possession but about collaboration in making a shared life together.
To the best of his ability, Phil dedicates himself to alleviating the suffering of others in a present that is real and for a future that might not come. He does this in small acts of compassion like fixing a flat tire and more momentous acts like saving a life. This mindful dedication to the future in the face of uncertainty is, I argue, what allows him to wake up to a new day.
This is a good lesson for us all, stuck, as we are, in a perpetual pandemic Groundhog Day, and dreaming, as we are, of tomorrow.
[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]
Jeremy David Engels, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, and will be available to the public virtually only.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link at 9 a.m. The meeting ID is 994 2372 4048, password 971991. The meeting also can be accessed via on tap mobile at +16699006833,,99423724048#,,,,*971991# US (San Jose).
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and passcode information above.
To submit a written comment on any agenda item please visit https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the eComment feature linked to the meeting date. If a comment is submitted after the meeting begins, it may not be read during the meeting but will become a part of the record.
At 9:06 a.m., Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace will give the board an update on COVID-19.
At 9:10 a.m., the board will present a proclamation designating the month of February 2021 Black History Month and celebrating Martin Luther King's birthday.
At 9:15 a.m., the board will recognize the Lake County Office of the Auditor-Controller/County Clerk for its receipt of the Government Finance Officers Association and State Controller’s Office Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019.
At 9:20 a.m., the board will receive the annual report by the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake.
Among its untimed items, the board will have its weekly review of whether or not to keep its chambers closed to the public due to COVID-19.
Also in untimed items, the board will consider findings and recommendations of the Classification, Compensation Recruitment and Retention Committee regarding the application of the 2019 CPS-HR Classification and Total Compensation Study, which the board used late last year to begin rolling out millions of dollars in raises for county staff.
The board also will consider an agreement with Valley Oaks Land and Development Inc. for the sale of surplus county-owned property located at Arabian Lane in Hidden Valley Lake.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt proclamation designating the month of February 2021 Black History Month.
5.2: Approve letters of support for the governor’s Proposed Wildfire and Forest Resilience Expenditure Plan and authorize the chair to sign.
5.3: Approve letter of support for Middletown Art Center’s 2021 Local Impact Grant application and authorize the chair to sign.
5.4: Approve letter of support for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act’s EHCY Grant Program and authorize the chair to sign.
5.5: Approve correction to a typographical error contained in the 2021 Committee Assignment roster from the Board of Supervisors meeting held on Jan. 5, 2021.
5.6: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Adventist Health St. Helena and Adventist Health Vallejo for the Fiscal Year 2020-21 for a contract maximum of $75,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.7: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings Aug. 25, 2020; Oct. 20, 2020; Jan. 12, 2021; and Jan. 26, 2021.
5.8: a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and b) approve contract between county of Lake and Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc. for $28,000 per fiscal year from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.9: Approve contract between the county of Lake and Lake Family Resource Center for differential response services in the amount of $70,000 per fiscal year from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.10: Approve contract between county of Lake and Lake Family Resource Center for child abuse prevention and intervention services in the amount of $75,883 per fiscal year from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2024, and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.
6.3, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of February 2021 Black History Month and celebrating Martin Luther King's birthday.
6.4, 9:15 a.m.: Recognition of the Lake County Office of the Auditor-Controller/County Clerk for Government Finance Officers Association and State Controller’s Office Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019.
6.5, 9:20 a.m.: Consideration of annual report by the Blue Ribbon Committee.
6.6, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration to (a) waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; (b) approve agreement for provision of satellite imagery services by Planet Labs to the county of Lake, authorizing the chair to sign.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration and Approval of Classification, Compensation Recruitment and Retention Committee findings and recommendations arising from Departmental 2019 CPS-HR Classification and Total Compensation Study review requests.
7.3: Consideration of the following advisory board appointments: Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee, Animal Control Advisory Board.
7.4: Consideration of purchase agreement between the county of Lake and Valley Oaks Land and Development Inc. for surplus property located at Arabian Lane, Hidden Valley Lake.
7.5: Reconsideration of temporary closure of the Board of Supervisors chambers for in-person meetings.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9 (d)(2) (e)(3): - Claim of Earthways Foundation Inc.
8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9 (d)(1): Sabalone v. County of Lake.
8.3: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9 (d)(1): Flesch v. County of Lake, et al.
8.4: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9 (d)(1): Nichols v. County of Lake, et al.
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The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2.
The meeting will be by teleconference only. The city council chambers will not be open to the public.
The agenda can be found here.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here 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
Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.
On Tuesday, the council will receive an informational presentation from the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake.
The council’s main item of business during the meeting will be to hold a public hearing as part of the process for seeking funds through the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – or CDBG-CV – program.
The council is expected to approve two new funding allocation and direct staff to proceed with the preparation of a CDBG-CV rounds 2 and 3 program application for the recommended purpose.
In her report to the council, Community Development Director Jenni Byers explained that the purpose of the public hearing is to solicit ideas from the public and provide direction to city staff on potential programs to include in the city’s CDBG-CV application.
She said activities allowed under the grant are a response to COVID-19 impacts, including short-term subsistence payments for households at risk of eviction and/or homelessness and housing costs for those exiting homelessness, homeless shelter operations, and health and education support services; public facility and infrastructure improvements; public facility acquisition, including health care facilities, emergency shelters and housing for persons experiencing homelessness in response to COVID-19 impacts; housing assistance; business assistance to help businesses retain employees or, for those businesses restarting after mandated COVID-19 related shutdowns, adding employees; and microenterprise assistance for businesses impacted by COVID-19 with five or fewer employees, including the business owner.
Byers said the city held an online community meeting on Jan. 21 and also released a survey to organizations, individuals and businesses requesting their input for the funding’s use.
She said 57 people responded and provided input. “The majority of responses indicated a positive response to using the funds for Economic Development activities such as business assistance and microenterprise assistance (5 or fewer employees), followed by Public Service (specifically rental assistance) and finally Public Facility and Infrastructure with a COVID nexus.
The survey will remain open here until Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. and staff will provide a discussion of those responses, she said.
Byers said city staff has met and discussed the potential of utilizing CDBG-CV monies to provide business assistance and to replace the HVAC system at the Silveira Community Center where ongoing COVID-19 testing is occurring three days a week under a memorandum of understanding with the Lake County Health Department. The center may also be used as a vaccination site for the residents of Lakeport.
She said city staff recently learned of a program that the state will be implementing to provide rental assistance for up to 12 months. “Therefore, rather than duplicate efforts, staff would recommend residents utilize the state program as individuals would not be able to receive CDBG funds and the State funding.”
Byers said staff recommends that $191,394 be allocated towards economic development activities and the remaining $50,000 be allocated under public facilities and infrastructure to replace the failing HVAC system so that residents may continue to have a local site for COVID-19 testing.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development, which oversees the state CDBG program, has noted that CDBG-CV monies should be expended quickly to address COVID-19-related needs.
“A program to provide business assistance and install the HVAC can be achieved quickly and would be made available to various community organizations involved in combating the effects of COVID-19 in our local area,” Byers said.
On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular council meeting on Jan. 19; warrants; and receipt and filing of the draft minutes of the Measure Z Advisory Committee meeting on Jan. 20.
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The study surveyed American Indians and Alaska Natives across 46 states – representing 318 different tribal affiliations – to gather information ranging from individuals’ willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to the hurdles they face in accessing healthcare and resources.
“This data will be important to all organizations conducting COVID-19 vaccine education efforts,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of UIHI. “Native communities have unique challenges and needs that usually are not considered in public health campaigns.”
American Indian and Alaska Native people continue to be disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates are 3.5 and 1.8 times that of non-Hispanic Whites, respectively.
While there has been worry about vaccine participation in native communities, 75 percent of study participants claimed they would be willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, higher than the national average according to an Ipsos survey from October 2020, which indicates that 64 percent of the U.S. general population was willing to receive a vaccine.
“Willingness to receive a vaccine and hesitancy are not mutually exclusive,” said Echo-Hawk. “Fear and distrust of government and medical systems still exists in our community, which are hurdles that we have to overcome.”
Echo-Hawk hopes the report can start to create a better understanding of the unique perspectives of native people.
“The data indicates that most native people willing to be vaccinated feel it is their responsibility for the health of their community,” Echo-Hawk said. “This shows what motivates our community when it comes to decision-making.”
The report’s key findings include:
• 75 percent of participants were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• 74 percent of participants claimed that getting vaccinated is their responsibility to their community.
• 72 percent of participants wanted evidence that the vaccine is safe right now and in the long term.
• 39 percent of all participants reported difficulty traveling to their clinic for an appointment.
• Two-thirds of participants willing to get vaccinated were confident that COVID-19 vaccines were adequately tested for safety and effectiveness among Native people.
• 75 percent of participants willing to get vaccinated had concerns about potential side effects.
• 25 percent of participants were unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• 90 percent of participants unwilling to get vaccinated recognized COVID-19 as a serious disease.
• 89 percent of participants unwilling to get vaccinated had concerns about potential side effects.
Find the full report here.
The Urban Indian Health Institute is a public health authority and one of 12 tribal epidemiology centers in the country. It conducts research and evaluation, collects and analyzes data, and provides disease surveillance and resources to strengthen the health of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.