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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall seated its new board members for the year on Thursday, also approving updated bylaws regarding election rules.

MATH, which just marked the 14th anniversary of its formation last month, held its first meeting of the year over Zoom on Thursday evening.

The group approved bylaws revisions allowing for nominations by proxy for those who can’t attend a meeting in person. The updated rules also call for seating board nominees rather than holding an election if the number of candidates doesn’t exceed the number of open seats.

MATH also received an update on the activities of the South Lake County Fire Council.

Toward the end of the meeting, the new board members were seated.

Paul Baker, who has served as secretary over the past year, along with previous MATH Board member Ken Gonzales and businesswoman Monica Rosenthal, were all nominated and accepted the nominations at the December meeting.

Gonzales will hold the seat representing Middletown proper while Baker and Rosenthal will be at-large members.

They join continuing MATH Board members Rosemary Córdova and Lisa Kaplan.

For the new year, Córdova will be chair, Rosenthal will be her co-chair and Kaplan will serve as secretary.

MATH will next meet on Feb. 11.

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. – Woodland Community College will be providing another round of COVID-19 Relief Grants to eligible students during the spring 2021 semester.

These grants will be made possible due to the approval of the Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021.

The funds will be offered as direct cash payments to students to provide economic relief to be applied for expenses such as enrollment fees, food, housing, healthcare, technology and childcare.

Students who are enrolled in six or more units during the spring 2021 semester will be eligible for the additional aid.

The grant amounts will range from $300 to $550 and will be automatically disbursed in February.

The spring semester starts on Monday, Jan. 25.

The college offered a similar grant program last year from resources provided by the CARES Act.

With these new federal stimulus funds, the college also plans to expand its emergency grant program to support students experiencing hardships related to education and housing.

The application to access additional COVID-19 relief emergency funds will be available to students throughout the spring 2021 semester.

“Our students have had a difficult time continuing their education during the pandemic because of the extra pressures associated with distance education and the costs to access technology. These additional resources will help alleviate some of the obstacles and increase financial availability to our student body to help with their educational attainment” said Woodland Community College College President Dr. Art Pimentel.

Students should visit the college’s website at http://wcc.yccd.edu or call the financial aid office at 707-995-7923 for additional information.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has eight dogs that are ready and waiting to be adopted by new families.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

‘Ben’

“Ben” is a male American Pit Bull terrier mix.

He has a short brindle coat.

He is dog No. 4454.

‘Breeze’

“Breeze” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 4445.

‘Bumble’

“Bumble” is a male Siberian Husky with a gray and black coat.

He is dog No. 4452.

‘Jerry’

“Jerry” is a male American Pit Bull terrier with a short brindle coat.

He is dog No. 4455.

‘Rudolph’

“Rudolph” is a male shepherd mix.

He has a short tan and black coat.

He is dog No. 4436.

‘Tinsle’

“Tinsle” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix puppy.

She has a short brindle and brown coat.

She is dog No. 4433.

‘Toby’

“Toby” is a male boxer mix.

He has a short tan and white coat.

He is dog No. 4389.

‘Yule’

“Yule” is a husky of undetermined gender with a black and white coat.

Yule is dog No. 4432.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County parents and high schoolers who are hoping to soon see a return to youth sporting activities are planning a Friday event that’s part of a statewide effort to bring attention to the issue.

The “Let Them Play CA” event will take place at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, in Courthouse Museum Park at N. Main and Third streets in downtown Lakeport.

Students and parents of all Lake County schools are welcomed.

Let Them Play CA is a group of parents, coaches and youth advocates organizing rallies in dozens of communities across the state this week.

Organizers are inviting community members to come and participate through a peaceful rally with signs and banners as they support their local youth sports teams.

They will encourage mask wearing and distancing, and will have extra masks on hand, said Gerard Fowler, a Lake County organizer.

He said the whole movement formed about two weeks ago, with the group now having more than 31,000 Facebook members. From there, an idea for a rally started with one member and is now being endorsed by the group.

“We literally started planning Monday,” he said Wednesday night.

Fowler said he’s planning on having speakers at the rally, including young people hoping to get back on the courts and the fields.

His son, Hayden, a wrestler and football player, is one of those who misses competition and is expected to share his thoughts at the Friday rally.

A roomful of young people had shown up to a Lakeport Unified School Board meeting in November to ask for the board to open in a hybrid, in-person schooling model earlier than January so students could return to classrooms and sports.

By the end of that month, however, Lake County’s COVID-19 caseload had caused the state to place it in the purple tier, the highest on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which led to greater restrictions, including preventing schools still in distance learning form opening for in-person instruction.

Through the pandemic so far, it’s been shown that COVID-19 affects children and teens differently than adults, which is one reason why there is a push to be able to reopen schools and sports.

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes, “While fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, can get sick from COVID-19, and can spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others.” Like adults, asymptomatic children, can still spread the virus, the agency noted.

Demographic data published by Lake County Public Health on Tuesday showed that of the more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases reported in the county to date, the smallest number of cases – 6 percent – have been in the age 15 to 19 bracket, while 9 percent have been in children age birth to 14, the group with the fourth-lowest number of cases.

As of Tuesday, based on guidelines through the state and the California Interscholastic Federation, for the widespread or purple tier, the school sports that are allowed include cross country, golf, skiing and snowboarding, swimming and diving, tennis and track and field.

Lake County would have to drop down two levels to the orange or moderate tier in order to have sports including football, soccer and volleyball.

The state’s full guidance on youth sports is here.

The CDC also has provided in-depth guidance for youth sports here.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission held its first meeting of the new year on Wednesday evening, with the three new commissioners taking their oaths, new officers elected for the coming year and a discussion of a county pilot program to allow for microenterprise home kitchen operations.

At the start of the hour-and-a-half-long virtual meeting, City Clerk/Administrative Services Director Kelly Buendia administered the oath of office to Scott Barnett, Kurt Combs and Nathan Maxman, who the Lakeport City Council appointed to three vacant commission seats in December.

They join Mark Mitchell and Jeff Warrenburg, now in their first terms.

Warrenburg nominated Mitchell as chair, with Maxman seconding. Combs nominated Warrenburg as vice chair. The commission voted unanimously to approve both of those nominations.

Both Buendia and Community Development Director Jenni Byers then gave a presentation on the commission’s duties and responsibilities, including the requirements of the Brown Act.

Also on Wednesday, the commission discussed the new pilot program for microenterprise home kitchen operations that the Board of Supervisors approved in November under the auspices of AB 626.

Microenterprise home kitchen operations are home-based businesses that may prepare a maximum of 30 meals per day or 60 meals a week, with annual sales not to exceed $50,000.

The pilot runs from Jan. 4 to June 30, allows up to two permits per month and a maximum of two per supervisorial district. Lake County Environmental Health is the lead agency, with Byers noting that a city business permit will be required, along with landlord permission, and zoning and minor use permits.

City staff explained that Lake County Environmental Health will handle the health-related issues and inspections while the city will follow up on conditions related to parking and other requirements.

Byers said that AB 626 requires a local health department to act as the lead agency, so if the county chooses not to continue with the program after the pilot time period ends, the city wouldn’t continue with it either.

Associate Planner Dan Chance said they have had a member of the public come in to ask about the program. That individual was interested in producing cupcakes, a food product covered under the cottage kitchen law, which the city already allows.

Under that law, Chance said the city has granted home occupation permits over the last few years for those who want to bake cookies or make cakes for sale from their homes.

Maxman asked what kind of timeline Byers anticipated should staff work on creating city rules to allow the operations in the city. Byers said they could have something in place by March or April.

Maxman said he was concerned about the city not having something in place, and Byers explained that if the city has no rules of its own, the county could permit such operations in the city limits. However, Chance added, he didn’t think the county would do that without city input.

“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel on anything,” said Byers, explaining that staff could look at the Lake County ordinance and utilize it. However, she said that based on the law, the city can’t have more restrictions in its ordinance than are included in the county’s.

Warrenberg moved to direct staff to prepare a minute order to initiate a text amendment to the Lakeport Zoning Ordinance to address microenterprise home kitchen operations and work with the county in order than the text amendment would be in effect prior to the end of the county pilot program.

Barnett seconded the motion, which the commission approved 5-0.

The commission will next meet on Feb. 10.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The two members of the House of Representatives who represent Lake County voted on Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time.

House Resolution 24 leveled one charge against Trump, “incitement of insurrection” for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Congressman John Garamendi (CA-03) and Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05) issued statements explaining their votes and the decisions behind them following the House vote of 232 to 197.

Both men also had voted on Tuesday to support the passage of House Resolution 21, urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, gather the Cabinet and remove the president from office.

The House of Representatives first impeached Trump in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, with both Garamendi and Thompson voting in support. The U.S. Senate would acquit Trump in February 2020.

Trump, a Republican, is the third U.S. president to be impeached.

The first was Andrew Johnson, a Democrat and vice president to President Abraham Lincoln, who the House of Representatives impeached in February 1868 for charges he violated the Tenure of Office Act for trying to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office without Senate approval.

Johnson was not convicted in the Senate following a nearly three-month trial. Each of the votes on the articles of impeachment fell short of the necessary two-thirds majority by just one vote.

He served only one term as president, but later was reelected to the U.S. Senate, where he had served before becoming Lincoln’s running mate in 1864.

The second president to be impeached was Bill Clinton, also a Democrat. The House impeached Clinton in December 1998 for perjury to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice, charges that had arisen because he had lied to cover his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was, at that time, in his second term as president.

The Senate acquitted Clinton on both charges in February 1999 following a trial that lasted more than a month.

The Senate is expected to consider Trump’s impeachment later this month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said senators aren’t expected to return until, at the earliest, Jan. 19, the day before President-elect Joe Biden is to be sworn in as the 46th president.

The article of impeachment can be found here.

The written statements from Garamendi and Thompson are published in their entirety below.

Rep. John Garamendi’s statement on impeachment of President Trump

“I rise today with great sadness and anger over the events that transpired on Jan. 6, and with a steadfast determination to ensure those who incited and committed the unconscionable acts on that day are brought to justice.

“Last week’s violent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, which has left at least six people dead and dozens injured, was a stain on our nation. The president’s blatantly false claims about election fraud, which were parroted by current administration officials and Members of the House and Senate, finally reached a tipping point last week when these bald-faced lies gave way to a violent assault on our Capitol. Even after 64 failed attempts in federal court to substantiate the baseless claims about election fraud, the president, his administration, and members of Congress continued to double down and use these mistruths to incite a mob that staged a bloody insurrection against the United States Government. They beat and murdered police officers, planted pipe bombs, brandished weapons, and left our nation shocked and in mourning.

“What does it mean, then, for America that a sitting President invited thousands of his most fervent supporters to Washington and incited them to commence a violent occupation of the world’s citadel of democracy – the United States Capitol?

“Without a proper check and proportional response to these events, we will be doomed to relive the same hell over and over again. In time, we will lose our democracy, our hallowed institutions, and irreparably tear at the very fabric of our nation. As elected leaders of this nation, we have a right, but more importantly, a moral obligation to respond to those who incited this riot in the strongest possible terms.

“Just as this Congress returned mere hours after this insurrection to certify the lawful results of the 2020 Presidential election, we stand here today prepared to take firm, decisive, and necessary action to restore our country from the heinous state it spiraled into on 1/6/2021.

“The president’s violent rhetoric and actions pose a significant threat to our nation. No president who invites thousands of his most devoted supporters to Washington and urges them to ‘fight’ his political enemies by committing a seditious attack on our Capitol should be allowed to remain in office. Our nation has endured and persevered through so much, and it will survive this president. But if we do not act and hold him accountable, then we will leave our nation vulnerable to a future demagogue. That brings us here on this somber day to carry out our sacred oath to defend and protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.

“Today, I voted to impeach President Donald Trump,” Garamendi said.

Thompson votes to impeach Trump, cites his attempt to incite attack on Capitol and decimate democracy

“Our institution of representative democracy is a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world and has been for nearly 250 years. Last week, the president changed that when he sent domestic terrorists to tear that beacon down. He put the lives of every person in the Capitol at risk, from those in the line of succession, to Members of Congress, to the employees and staff, to the Capitol Police officers. He incited a mob that wanted to hang the Vice President, kill the Speaker and take hostages. This is the most unconscionable thing I’ve ever seen.

“This attack, incited by the President, was an attempt to disrupt the Constitutional process to certify the vote of the Electoral College. Make no mistake, it was an attempt to overturn our presidential election and decimate democracy. This seditious act must have consequences. That’s why today I voted for the article of impeachment charging the president with inciting this grave attack. He must be held accountable. The Senate must swiftly convict and remove him from office.”

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.