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What’s more, the temperature departure from average was the highest monthly departure ever recorded without an El Niño present in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
January 2020 marked the 44th consecutive January and the 421st consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th-century average.
NOAA’s January global climate report found that the global land and ocean surface temperature was the highest on record at 2.05 degrees F (1.14 degrees C) above the 20th-century average. This surpassed the record set in January 2016 by 0.04 of a degree F (0.02 of a degree C).
The four warmest Januaries documented in the climate record have occurred since 2016; the 10 warmest have all occurred since 2002.
Breaking the month down by hemispheres, the Northern Hemisphere also had its warmest January on record, at 2.70 degrees F (1.50 degrees C) above average.
The Southern Hemisphere had a departure of 1.40 degrees F (0.78 of a degree C) above average – its second-warmest January on record after January 2016.
Mapping released with the report showed that it was the fifth-warmest January recorded for the contiguous 48 states, all of which had higher-than-average temperatures, while Alaska was colder.
More notable climate events in the January report:
– Lots of regional heat to go around. Record-warm temperatures were seen across parts of Scandinavia, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the central and western Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and Central and South America. No land or ocean areas had record-cold January temperatures.
– Polar sea ice coverage remained smaller than normal. Arctic sea ice extent (coverage) was 5.3 percent below the 1981-2010 average, tying with 2014 as the eighth-smallest January extent in the 42-year record. Antarctic sea ice coverage during January was 9.8 percent below the average and tied with January 2011 as the 10th smallest.
– Snow cover was lacking. Northern Hemisphere snow coverage was below the 1981-2010 average, having the 18th-smallest January snow cover in the 54-year record.
For a map of the world noting some of the most significant weather climate events that occurred during January 2020, visit here.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Middletown High School clinched top honors on Wednesday during the eighth annual Lake County Mock Trial Competition.
Middletown edged Upper Lake in the event, held at the Lake County Superior Court.
Middletown High now advances to the state finals in Los Angeles March 20 to 22.
During the Mock Trial, the teams take turns prosecuting and defending a fictional court case.
The Constitutional Rights Foundation, the organization that founded the Mock Trial, reported that this year’s case, “People v. Matsumoto,” concerns the trial of Bailey Matsumoto, the founder of a technology start-up that develops autonomous, or self-driving, trucks.
The fictional court case trial brief explains: “Bailey is charged with the murder of Bailey’s spouse, Taylor Matsumoto. The prosecution alleges that after Taylor’s son Michael died in a tragic accident using one of Bailey’s malfunctioning autonomous scooters, Taylor founded an organization called Parents Against Autonomous Driving (PAAD). Taylor’s involvement in PAAD began to financially impact Bailey’s autonomous truck company. The prosecution further argues that Bailey’s and Taylor’s relationship rapidly deteriorated. Just days before Taylor was set to testify in Washington, D.C., in support of a bill titled National Moratorium on Autonomous Technologies, Taylor was found dead, face down in Taylor’s bathtub. The prosecution claims that Bailey murdered Taylor with premeditation in order to prevent Taylor from testifying and to stop PAAD from succeeding.”
While the prosecution claimed that Bailey provided an already inebriated Taylor with alcohol, then hit Taylor on the head with a golf club – later found in Bailey’s car – causing Taylor to fall into the bathtub and drown, the defense argued that Taylor’s death was not a murder but was instead an unfortunate accident.
In the lead up to Wednesday’s county competition, both teams took part in a Mock Trial Scrimmage in mid-January against Mendocino County teams, according to Beth Hampson of the Lake County Office of Education.
On Wednesday, 35 students from Middletown and Upper Lake high schools participated.
Along the way, teachers and coaches have helped them prepare arguments and evidence, and practice their presentations for the county competition through Mock Trial classes at their schools, Hampson said.
For Middletown, teacher coach Lee Hoage and attorney coaches Jon Hopkins and Janina Hoskins have guided students, with teacher coaches Alex Stabiner and Anna Sabalone, and attorney coach Judy Conard helping the Upper Lake team.
Hampson said this year’s competition was made possible with the support of volunteer Judge J. David Markham, who heard the arguments, and volunteer attorney scorers Daniel Flesch, Megan Lankford and Kaly Rule.
Individual recognition was given to the following students for outstanding performances in the Mock Trial. They include:
– Outstanding Prosecution Pretrial Motion Attorney: Alana Sanchez, Upper Lake High School.
– Outstanding Defense Attorney: Erica Kinsel, Middletown High School.
– Outstanding Prosecution Attorney: Henry Fenk, Middletown High School.
– Outstanding Defense Witness: Jasmine Haro, Upper Lake High School.
– Outstanding Prosecution Witness: Richard Guaydacan, Upper Lake High School.
– Outstanding Clerk/Bailiff: Richard Perez, Upper Lake High School.
The Lake County Bar Association and Lake County Friends of Mendocino College are supporting Middletown High’s trip to Los Angeles for the state event.
Lake County’s Mock Trial competition is run in partnership with the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Superior Court of California, Lake County, and Lake County Office of Education.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest numbers from a countywide survey of people experiencing homelessness conducted last month shows an increase in the numbers.
The Point In Time Count, which took place on Jan. 27, counted 572 homeless individuals, according to the Lake County Continuum of Care.
That’s compared to 372 homeless individuals reported in 2019.
Other past PIT count numbers had the following totals, according to previous reports to Lake County News: 2018, 618 homeless; 2017, 450 homeless; 2016, 332 homeless; 2015, 170 homeless; 2014, full count not conducted; and 2013, 188 homeless.
Of the 572 individuals who were reported to be homeless in the January count, 295 were male, 199 were female and 20 refused to identify their gender or were reported as “other.”
In an age breakdown, 99 were older than 55 years of age, 316 were ages 25 to 55, 38 were age 18 to 24, and 29 were under age 18, the count found.
The oldest person the count found to be homeless was 94, a fact which Shannon Kimbell-Auth, Adventist Health Clear Lake’s manager for community integration, said was a finding that broke her heart. The youngest was 5 months old, based on the report.
Kimbell-Auth said the number of children reported as homeless is the lowest they have ever seen in doing the PIT counts and is not at all consistent with McKinny-Vento reporting from the school district.
The report did not give specific numbers for the various communities, but based on a graph the report included, the largest number of homeless, about 240, were reported in Clearlake, followed by 100 in Lakeport, more than 80 in Lucerne, more than 40 in Middletown, more than 30 each in Clearlake Oaks and Upper Lake, less than 20 each in Kelseyville and Nice, and less than 10 in Lower Lake.
The individuals included in the count reported living an average of nearly 18 years in Lake County. Those who said they had family in Lake County totaled 207, with 50 reported experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence, 82 had been served by foster care and 182 said they were homeless for the first time.
Kimbell-Auth said in past years the average length of time the individuals surveyed reported as having lived in Lake County was between 12 and 16 years.
“For the average time to be 18 years shows that while some of the homelessness is transitory, it is predominantly a homegrown problem,” she said. “Likewise 207 people reporting they have family here is startling.”
Forty-one people surveyed in the county reported they are veterans. Kimbell-Auth said that is good news for the purpose of pursuing vouchers through the HUD-VASH Program, which offers rental assistance for homeless veterans and their families with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs at its medical centers. Clearlake is home to a VA Clinic.
Of the 572 individuals counted, 130 reported ongoing health problems: diabetes, 25; heart disease, 22; cancer, nine.
Of those surveyed, 177 reported having been made homeless by one of Lake County’s wildland fires.
Out of that group, 107 identified specific fires responsible for their homelessness: Mendocino Complex, 38; Valley fire, 33; Sulphur fire, 18; Clayton fire, seven; Rocky/Jerusalem, six; Pawnee, one; other (Santa Rosa, Camp fire), four.
The count surveyors asked participants, “Where did you sleep last night?
They received the following answers:
– 348: A place not meant for habitation, which includes tents, cars, abandoned or red-tagged buildings, trailers or RVs without power or water, in a bush, etc.
– 10: Emergency voucher.
– 1: Hospital.
– 2: Halfway house.
– 3: Hotel, no voucher.
– 14: Transitional housing.
– 2: Host home.
– 70: Friends, temporary.
– 11: Friends, permanent.
– 42: Family, temporary.
– 2: Family, permanent.
– 6: Other.
The count’s numbers don’t match with another dataset provided by Partnership HealthPlan of California, which Kimbell-Auth had presented to the Clearlake City Council last month during its discussion of supporting the Hope Center project.
Partnership HealthPlan of California reported that 3,370 individuals who have its insurance and sought medical care in Lake County from January through November of 2019 identified their address as homeless, camping, living in a car or on the streets.
“The Partnership Health Plan numbers are so far greater than what we are able to capture tells me that the urgency to solve the lack of adequate affordable housing cannot be denied,” Kimbell-Auth said.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The Point In Time Count, which took place on Jan. 27, counted 572 homeless individuals, according to the Lake County Continuum of Care.
That’s compared to 372 homeless individuals reported in 2019.
Other past PIT count numbers had the following totals, according to previous reports to Lake County News: 2018, 618 homeless; 2017, 450 homeless; 2016, 332 homeless; 2015, 170 homeless; 2014, full count not conducted; and 2013, 188 homeless.
Of the 572 individuals who were reported to be homeless in the January count, 295 were male, 199 were female and 20 refused to identify their gender or were reported as “other.”
In an age breakdown, 99 were older than 55 years of age, 316 were ages 25 to 55, 38 were age 18 to 24, and 29 were under age 18, the count found.
The oldest person the count found to be homeless was 94, a fact which Shannon Kimbell-Auth, Adventist Health Clear Lake’s manager for community integration, said was a finding that broke her heart. The youngest was 5 months old, based on the report.
Kimbell-Auth said the number of children reported as homeless is the lowest they have ever seen in doing the PIT counts and is not at all consistent with McKinny-Vento reporting from the school district.
The report did not give specific numbers for the various communities, but based on a graph the report included, the largest number of homeless, about 240, were reported in Clearlake, followed by 100 in Lakeport, more than 80 in Lucerne, more than 40 in Middletown, more than 30 each in Clearlake Oaks and Upper Lake, less than 20 each in Kelseyville and Nice, and less than 10 in Lower Lake.
The individuals included in the count reported living an average of nearly 18 years in Lake County. Those who said they had family in Lake County totaled 207, with 50 reported experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence, 82 had been served by foster care and 182 said they were homeless for the first time.
Kimbell-Auth said in past years the average length of time the individuals surveyed reported as having lived in Lake County was between 12 and 16 years.
“For the average time to be 18 years shows that while some of the homelessness is transitory, it is predominantly a homegrown problem,” she said. “Likewise 207 people reporting they have family here is startling.”
Forty-one people surveyed in the county reported they are veterans. Kimbell-Auth said that is good news for the purpose of pursuing vouchers through the HUD-VASH Program, which offers rental assistance for homeless veterans and their families with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs at its medical centers. Clearlake is home to a VA Clinic.
Of the 572 individuals counted, 130 reported ongoing health problems: diabetes, 25; heart disease, 22; cancer, nine.
Of those surveyed, 177 reported having been made homeless by one of Lake County’s wildland fires.
Out of that group, 107 identified specific fires responsible for their homelessness: Mendocino Complex, 38; Valley fire, 33; Sulphur fire, 18; Clayton fire, seven; Rocky/Jerusalem, six; Pawnee, one; other (Santa Rosa, Camp fire), four.
The count surveyors asked participants, “Where did you sleep last night?
They received the following answers:
– 348: A place not meant for habitation, which includes tents, cars, abandoned or red-tagged buildings, trailers or RVs without power or water, in a bush, etc.
– 10: Emergency voucher.
– 1: Hospital.
– 2: Halfway house.
– 3: Hotel, no voucher.
– 14: Transitional housing.
– 2: Host home.
– 70: Friends, temporary.
– 11: Friends, permanent.
– 42: Family, temporary.
– 2: Family, permanent.
– 6: Other.
The count’s numbers don’t match with another dataset provided by Partnership HealthPlan of California, which Kimbell-Auth had presented to the Clearlake City Council last month during its discussion of supporting the Hope Center project.
Partnership HealthPlan of California reported that 3,370 individuals who have its insurance and sought medical care in Lake County from January through November of 2019 identified their address as homeless, camping, living in a car or on the streets.
“The Partnership Health Plan numbers are so far greater than what we are able to capture tells me that the urgency to solve the lack of adequate affordable housing cannot be denied,” Kimbell-Auth said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Glenhaven man was seriously injured Tuesday in a motorcycle crash on Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks.
Karl Pentz, 57, sustained major injuries in the wreck, which occurred just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said that Pentz was driving a red 2001 Harley Davidson motorcycle westbound on Highway 20, just west of Island Drive in Clearlake Oaks.
Pentz was within the westbound lane, traveling at an unknown speed, when his motorcycle crossed over the double yellow lines. The CHP said he crossed the eastbound lane of Highway 20 before the motorcycle ran into a raised brick and rock wall bordering the south road edge.
After hitting the wall, Pentz was thrown from the motorcycle and sustained major injuries, the CHP said.
The motorcycle continued sliding westbound on Highway 20 and came to rest within the westbound lane, according to the CHP report.
The CHP said Pentz, who was wearing a helmet, was life-flighted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected of being factors in the crash, the CHP said.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Karl Pentz, 57, sustained major injuries in the wreck, which occurred just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said that Pentz was driving a red 2001 Harley Davidson motorcycle westbound on Highway 20, just west of Island Drive in Clearlake Oaks.
Pentz was within the westbound lane, traveling at an unknown speed, when his motorcycle crossed over the double yellow lines. The CHP said he crossed the eastbound lane of Highway 20 before the motorcycle ran into a raised brick and rock wall bordering the south road edge.
After hitting the wall, Pentz was thrown from the motorcycle and sustained major injuries, the CHP said.
The motorcycle continued sliding westbound on Highway 20 and came to rest within the westbound lane, according to the CHP report.
The CHP said Pentz, who was wearing a helmet, was life-flighted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected of being factors in the crash, the CHP said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Safety Power Shutoff Committee invites community members to take part in a meeting next week that will include presentations from representatives from the California Public Utilities Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric.
The meeting will take place beginning at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in the Board of Supervisors chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Following PG&E’s repeated and overlapping public safety power shutoffs in the fall, the city councils for Clearlake and Lakeport and the county of Lake held a joint meeting to discuss their concerns, later submitting a letter to the CPUC about the impacts of the shutoffs on their communities.
Since then, local officials have shared county residents’ stories with PG&E’s leadership and state representatives.
The Lake County’s Public Safety Power Shutoff Committee also was formed, and it includes representatives from county and city governments.
At the Feb. 21 meeting, Aaron Johnson, PG&E’s vice president of customer energy solutions, will be present to provide an update on efforts toward long-term solutions, including plans to harden city centers, critical facilities, and schools against future PSPS events.
“I am encouraged PG&E has prioritized attending this meeting,” said County Administrative Officer Carol J. Huchingson. “Years of neglect of infrastructure maintenance and failure to adopt safety and grid management practices common in other states contributed to PSPS events becoming a necessity, and they cannot be an enduring norm.”
CPUC Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves, appointed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in December 2016, also will be present.
“In response to input from Lake County residents and others, the CPUC initiated an investigation into PG&E’s PSPS events on Nov. 13,” Huchingson said. “Californians demanded accountability, and we expect Commissioner Guzman Aceves will lend insight into how the CPUC’s oversight functions, and ongoing work to minimize use and ultimately eliminate the PSPS as a tool for our Public Utilities.”
Updates are expected from the offices of Lake County’s state representatives, as well.
County officials said public input is essential at this critical juncture.
“Truly, the management of PSPS events is among the most urgent state-level policy matters of our time, in that it affects the ability of every one of us to plan our lives,” said Huchingson. “The right players are going to be in the room, and I sincerely hope residents and business owners will fill the board chambers, and make their perspectives known.”
The meeting will take place beginning at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in the Board of Supervisors chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Following PG&E’s repeated and overlapping public safety power shutoffs in the fall, the city councils for Clearlake and Lakeport and the county of Lake held a joint meeting to discuss their concerns, later submitting a letter to the CPUC about the impacts of the shutoffs on their communities.
Since then, local officials have shared county residents’ stories with PG&E’s leadership and state representatives.
The Lake County’s Public Safety Power Shutoff Committee also was formed, and it includes representatives from county and city governments.
At the Feb. 21 meeting, Aaron Johnson, PG&E’s vice president of customer energy solutions, will be present to provide an update on efforts toward long-term solutions, including plans to harden city centers, critical facilities, and schools against future PSPS events.
“I am encouraged PG&E has prioritized attending this meeting,” said County Administrative Officer Carol J. Huchingson. “Years of neglect of infrastructure maintenance and failure to adopt safety and grid management practices common in other states contributed to PSPS events becoming a necessity, and they cannot be an enduring norm.”
CPUC Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves, appointed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in December 2016, also will be present.
“In response to input from Lake County residents and others, the CPUC initiated an investigation into PG&E’s PSPS events on Nov. 13,” Huchingson said. “Californians demanded accountability, and we expect Commissioner Guzman Aceves will lend insight into how the CPUC’s oversight functions, and ongoing work to minimize use and ultimately eliminate the PSPS as a tool for our Public Utilities.”
Updates are expected from the offices of Lake County’s state representatives, as well.
County officials said public input is essential at this critical juncture.
“Truly, the management of PSPS events is among the most urgent state-level policy matters of our time, in that it affects the ability of every one of us to plan our lives,” said Huchingson. “The right players are going to be in the room, and I sincerely hope residents and business owners will fill the board chambers, and make their perspectives known.”
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The woman who for the past two years has headed the Lake County Community Development Department has resigned.
On Tuesday, Michalyn DelValle tendered her resignation as Community Development Department director, according to county spokesman Matthew Rothstein.
Following the open portion of its weekly meeting, the Board of Supervisors had gone into closed session late Tuesday morning.
At that point, Chair Moke Simon said the items to be discussed included a performance evaluation of DelValle.
A closed session performance evaluation of DelValle also had been held at the board’s Feb. 3 meeting.
After Tuesday morning’s closed session, the board emerged to approve an extra item to take up the matter of the interim appointment of a Community Development Department director, according to County Counsel Anita Grant.
Once the extra item was approved, the board appointed Public Works Director Scott De Leon as the interim Community Development director, Grant said.
Rothstein said De Leon’s appointment as interim Community Development director takes effect on Wednesday.
Lake County News reached out to DelValle to seek comment, but she declined.
DelValle’s departure comes at a critical time for Community Development, which is overseeing a number of major development projects, such as the large resort development in Guenoc Valley, along with the ongoing efforts for fire-battered communities to rebuild.
Rising through the ranks
A Lake County native, DelValle had worked her way up through the ranks of the Community Development Department, where she had worked for more than 12 and a half years, according to her LinkedIn page.
DelValle, who has a bachelor’s degree in management, began with the county as a planner and later served as the department’s principal planner before she was appointed as Community Development’s interim director in April 2018, as Lake County News has reported.
In June 2018, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint her as Community Development director. At the same meeting, they had appointed David Cowan as Water Resources director, with county officials lauding both as “dynamic and collaborative leaders” and declaring a bright future for their departments.
During her two months as interim department head, the county credited DelValle with stepping “into a challenging situation, with understaffing and workload delays, and immediately began to take insightful and positive steps,” and bringing stability to her department.
She’d said at the time that there were opportunities “from small adjustments to improve the experience of our customers to substantive changes to our land use plans and zoning ordinances to create a more business-friendly environment.”
Since then, however, there had been reports of projects being stalled, protracted development project timelines, struggles for property owners trying to rebuild in the wake of the county’s numerous wildland fires as well as numerous staff departures in DelValle’s department.
On June 4, DelValle was evaluated in closed session on her annual appointment anniversary, as is standard practice, based on board meeting records.
Then, on Feb. 3, DelValle was scheduled for a closed-door performance evaluation with the board, followed by another on Tuesday.
If past practice is a guide, for the supervisors to have additional, off-schedule appointments of department heads indicates that they have issues with performance and, in some cases, are preparing to replace them.
DelValle was present during the board’s hour-long public session on Tuesday, giving input during the discussion of a resolution of intent to initiate a zoning ordinance amendment pertaining to industrial hemp.
In her last public comments as Community Development director, she had told the board that she was planning to send out a legal notice for the zoning ordinance amendment.
Following the closed session, she was said to have been escorted out of the courthouse on Tuesday morning, according to witness reports.
De Leon takes on additional duties
De Leon previously served as interim Community Development director before the hiring in 2016 of Bob Massarelli, who DelValle succeeded.
De Leon told Lake County News he had no notice of his being considered for the interim appointment prior to the board taking the action on Tuesday.
It will be another assignment added to De Leon’s already full plate.
When Cowan – hired as Water Resources director in June 2018, at the same time as DelValle’s appointment to Community Development director – left for a job in Texas in June, the board appointed De Leon as Water Resources’ interim director.
When De Leon was given the interim Water Resources director appointment in June, the board had indicated its intention to hold a full recruitment for the job. Online recruitment efforts show that the job was advertised with a mid-July deadline.
Then, in August, the board voted to reconsolidate Water Resources and Public Works, three years after it had voted to separate them.
De Leon said at the time that he planned to hire a Water Resources director to serve within the restructured department, but so far a hire of such a position hasn’t been reported and he continues to be listed as Water Resources director on the county website.
County officials so far haven’t indicated how they may proceed in choosing a new Community Development director.
The county has frequently promoted from within, as in DelValle’s case, and held full recruitments that have brought in candidates from other parts of the country, as with Massarelli.
Recently, the board also has discussed the consolidation of some departments – like the Treasurer-Tax Collector with the Auditor-Controller – in addition to taking action to rejoin Water Resources with Public Works in order to address staffing, leadership and succession planning.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
On Tuesday, Michalyn DelValle tendered her resignation as Community Development Department director, according to county spokesman Matthew Rothstein.
Following the open portion of its weekly meeting, the Board of Supervisors had gone into closed session late Tuesday morning.
At that point, Chair Moke Simon said the items to be discussed included a performance evaluation of DelValle.
A closed session performance evaluation of DelValle also had been held at the board’s Feb. 3 meeting.
After Tuesday morning’s closed session, the board emerged to approve an extra item to take up the matter of the interim appointment of a Community Development Department director, according to County Counsel Anita Grant.
Once the extra item was approved, the board appointed Public Works Director Scott De Leon as the interim Community Development director, Grant said.
Rothstein said De Leon’s appointment as interim Community Development director takes effect on Wednesday.
Lake County News reached out to DelValle to seek comment, but she declined.
DelValle’s departure comes at a critical time for Community Development, which is overseeing a number of major development projects, such as the large resort development in Guenoc Valley, along with the ongoing efforts for fire-battered communities to rebuild.
Rising through the ranks
A Lake County native, DelValle had worked her way up through the ranks of the Community Development Department, where she had worked for more than 12 and a half years, according to her LinkedIn page.
DelValle, who has a bachelor’s degree in management, began with the county as a planner and later served as the department’s principal planner before she was appointed as Community Development’s interim director in April 2018, as Lake County News has reported.
In June 2018, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint her as Community Development director. At the same meeting, they had appointed David Cowan as Water Resources director, with county officials lauding both as “dynamic and collaborative leaders” and declaring a bright future for their departments.
During her two months as interim department head, the county credited DelValle with stepping “into a challenging situation, with understaffing and workload delays, and immediately began to take insightful and positive steps,” and bringing stability to her department.
She’d said at the time that there were opportunities “from small adjustments to improve the experience of our customers to substantive changes to our land use plans and zoning ordinances to create a more business-friendly environment.”
Since then, however, there had been reports of projects being stalled, protracted development project timelines, struggles for property owners trying to rebuild in the wake of the county’s numerous wildland fires as well as numerous staff departures in DelValle’s department.
On June 4, DelValle was evaluated in closed session on her annual appointment anniversary, as is standard practice, based on board meeting records.
Then, on Feb. 3, DelValle was scheduled for a closed-door performance evaluation with the board, followed by another on Tuesday.
If past practice is a guide, for the supervisors to have additional, off-schedule appointments of department heads indicates that they have issues with performance and, in some cases, are preparing to replace them.
DelValle was present during the board’s hour-long public session on Tuesday, giving input during the discussion of a resolution of intent to initiate a zoning ordinance amendment pertaining to industrial hemp.
In her last public comments as Community Development director, she had told the board that she was planning to send out a legal notice for the zoning ordinance amendment.
Following the closed session, she was said to have been escorted out of the courthouse on Tuesday morning, according to witness reports.
De Leon takes on additional duties
De Leon previously served as interim Community Development director before the hiring in 2016 of Bob Massarelli, who DelValle succeeded.
De Leon told Lake County News he had no notice of his being considered for the interim appointment prior to the board taking the action on Tuesday.
It will be another assignment added to De Leon’s already full plate.
When Cowan – hired as Water Resources director in June 2018, at the same time as DelValle’s appointment to Community Development director – left for a job in Texas in June, the board appointed De Leon as Water Resources’ interim director.
When De Leon was given the interim Water Resources director appointment in June, the board had indicated its intention to hold a full recruitment for the job. Online recruitment efforts show that the job was advertised with a mid-July deadline.
Then, in August, the board voted to reconsolidate Water Resources and Public Works, three years after it had voted to separate them.
De Leon said at the time that he planned to hire a Water Resources director to serve within the restructured department, but so far a hire of such a position hasn’t been reported and he continues to be listed as Water Resources director on the county website.
County officials so far haven’t indicated how they may proceed in choosing a new Community Development director.
The county has frequently promoted from within, as in DelValle’s case, and held full recruitments that have brought in candidates from other parts of the country, as with Massarelli.
Recently, the board also has discussed the consolidation of some departments – like the Treasurer-Tax Collector with the Auditor-Controller – in addition to taking action to rejoin Water Resources with Public Works in order to address staffing, leadership and succession planning.
Email Elizabeth Larson at