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Opinion
- Details
- Written by: Phil Smoley
Many Lake County residents are upset with last week's Press Democrat article (“Health report shows Lake County's death rate is twice the state average”) that claims that the death rate in Lake County is twice the state's average.
The implication being put forth is that people are dying in droves in Lake County due to lack of adequate health care, too many obese people, smoking, drinking, drugs, etc.
A superficial review of this article would scare anyone from considering moving here, and make those of us who live here to consider getting out quickly to save ourselves.
However, before anyone starts making moving plans, a more careful analysis of this article is in order.
Let me start with an example. Compare two hypothetical towns. One has the best health care in the world, the cleanest air and water, no crime, no drug abuse, safe roads. But every resident is over 85. The other town has smog, poor health care, high crime, drugs abuse, and bad roads, but every resident is under 25. Which one do you think might have the higher death rate?
Obviously, unless the second town's pathologies were so severe to create abnormally high mortality, most people would agree that the first town with nothing but very elderly people would have the higher death rate, in spite of all the benefits of living where they are.
With this in mind, consider the comparison of Lake County's death rate to that of the rest of the state.
The article itself states correctly that the percentage of residents in Lake County over the age of 65 is nearly 20 percent. But note that it does not mention the percentage of people in California over the age of 65. And what is that percentage? Less than 11 percent.
Thus, Lake County has nearly twice the percentage of people who are over 65, the group which has the highest death rate of any age group anywhere in the world!
Why the omission? Was it an intentional attempt to smear Lake County, or was it done innocently due to stupidity?
Either way, it portrayed Lake Country incorrectly and unfairly. Shame on the Press Democrat for allowing such a distortion to be run as reasoned fact.
Any high school statistician knows the writer of this article should have taken the time to adjust for the age factor prior to drawing such an overblown and inaccurate conclusion. Age adjusting a rate is a way to make fairer comparisons between groups with different age distributions.
Any fair-minded person realizes that a county with a higher percentage of elderly people would likely have a higher rate of death when compared to another county, region or state with a much younger population simply because an elderly population is more likely to die and suffer from poor health.
The Press Democrat owes the people of Lake County an apology and a retraction for this grossly negligent article.
Does Lake County have issues? Sure we do. But we have the cleanest air in the state, something the Press Democrat failed to mention, along with some of the best bass fishing in the world.
The question is, why do retirees disproportionately choose Lake County to enjoy their golden years instead of Sonoma County? Only 12.6 percent of Sonoma County is over 65, compared to nearly 20 percent for Lake County.
Why is Sonoma County's elderly percentage so small? Are they killing off their elderly? Is it such a bad place to live that as soon as they retire they get the heck out of there?
Sounds like a scandal. Maybe our local press should investigate that.
Phil Smoley is a Realtor. He lives in Lakeport, Calif.
- Details
- Written by: Heather Conlin
The Lake County Winery Association (LCWA) would like to express its sincere thanks to the following businesses and individuals who supported this year’s Wine Adventure weekend.
For event sponsorship, we send thanks to Twin Pine Casino & Hotel.
For donations to the raffle packages and prizes, our gratitude is expressed to Beaver Creek Winery, Blue Wing Saloon / Tallman Hotel, Brassfield Estate, Bullion Creek, Cache Creek Catering, Cache Creek Vineyards, Ceago Vinegarden, Chacewater Winery & Olive Mill, Disney Water Sports, Featherbed Railroad B&B, Finch Gardens B&B, Fore Family Vineyards, Robinson Lake Vineyard, Gregory Graham Vineyards, Herb Gura, Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Judy’s Junction Restaurant, Lake County Land Trust / Brad Barnwell, Lake County Wine Studio, Lakeport English Inn, Langtry Estate & Vineyards, Laujor Estate Winery, The Lodge at Blue Lakes, Moore Family Winery, Noggle Gardens, Noggle Vineyards & Winery, Olof Cellars, Park Place Restaurant, Pine Cone Cabin/ Lake County Vacation Rentals [Bill and Kim McCulloch], Red Lava Wines, Robledo Family Winery, Rosa d'Oro Vineyards, Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, Shannon Ridge, Shed Horn Cellars, Six Sigma Ranch and Vineyard, Sol Rouge Vineyard, Soper Reese Community Theatre, Steele Wines, Suite on Main Loft / Brian Fisher, Thorn Hill Vineyards, Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, Vigilance Winery & Vineyards, Wildhurst Vineyards,
We thank all of the 2013 participating Lake County Wineries. Without their commitment to LCWA and to the Lake County Wine Adventure, this event would not exist: Beaver Creek Vineyards & Winery, Bell Hill Vineyards, Brassfield Estate, Bullion Creek, Cache Creek Vineyards, Ceago Vinegarden, Chacewater Winery, Cougar’s Leap Winery, Don Angel Cellars, Fore Family Vineyards, Glamazon/Robinson Lake Vineyard, Gregory Graham Vineyards, Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Langtry Estate & Vineyards, Laujor Estate Winery, Moore Family Winery, Mt. Konocti Winery, Noggle Vineyards & Winery, Olof Cellars, Red Lava Wines, Robledo Family Winery, Rosa d’Oro, Shannon Ridge, Shed Horn Cellars, Six Sigma Ranch and Vineyards, Sol Rouge Vineyards & Winery, Steele Wines, Thorn Hill, Twin Pine Off The Vine, Vigilance Winery & Vineyards and Wildhurst Vineyards.
We would also like to express our appreciation to the 2013 Wine Adventure Chair, Cheryl Lucido and volunteers Valerie Ramirez, Susan Feiler and JoAnn Schwartz, and to the numerous volunteers who organize and orchestrate the Lake County Wine Adventure.
In closing, our final applause and encore goes to the wine adventure seekers – thank you for supporting this annual event with your attendance and the attendance of your family and friends from near and far.
LCWA is an all-volunteer organization promoting agritourism and awareness of Lake County as a premier and award-winning wine and winegrape producing region. For more information please visit us at www.lakecountywineries.org.
Heather Conlin is executive director of the Lake County Winery Association, based in Lake County, Calif.
- Details
- Written by: Kathy Windrem
The 17th annual Taste of Lakeport was a great success, thanks to the many people who participated in so many ways.
Over 600 people attended, local wineries and restaurants brought delicious samples, businesses stayed open to host guests, and many volunteers worked tirelessly to make this a memorable event.
The Taste of Lakeport is a major fundraiser for the Lakeport Main Street Association, which works on promoting a healthy and vibrant downtown Lakeport.
The support we have received at Taste of Lakeport is much appreciated and allows us to continue our many projects in Lakeport.
We especially wish to thank the city of Lakeport for their ongoing support of this and other events and activities of the Lakeport Main Street Association.
The city of Lakeport Public Works Department and the Lakeport Police Department both provided incredible help.
The wonderful music throughout the event was provided by Without A Net, Polecat Rodeo and LC Diamonds.
We wish to thank and acknowledge our sponsors:
AGM Property Management
Bruno’s Shop Smart
Clearlake Club
D&P Pools
Doni’s Occasion Station
Fidelity National Title
First American Title
Hillside Honda Yamaha
IE Truss
John H. Tomkins Tax Consultants
Konoctees
Konocti Realty
KWINE
KXBX 98.3 and Q106 & 105.9 FM
Dan Labelle
Lake County Fair
Lake County Record Bee
Lake Event Design
Lakeport Disposal
Mendo Lake Credit Union
Mendo Lake Family Life Magazine
No. Golden Gate Meat Company
North Lake Medical Pharmacy
People Services, Inc.
Riley’s Cab
Savings Bank of Mendocino County
Sutter Lakeside Hospital
Watershed Books
For all the help and support for Taste of Lakeport, the Lakeport Main Street Association is extremely grateful. It takes an entire community to put on such an event, and we thank each and every one who had a part.
Kathy Windrem is executive director of the Lakeport Main Street Association in Lakeport, Calif.
- Details
- Written by: Nelson Strasser
The government of the United States no longer has credibility with the people of the United States, and rightfully so. We have been deceived in the past.
Some of us remember the Gulf of Tonkin incident, manufactured by the United States to justify bombing North Vietnam. And, most of us remember the “weapons of mass destruction” that were not in Iraq. The government had lied to us again.
Now the president wants to bomb Syria. Allegedly, Syrian leader Assad has used chemical weapons on a Syrian village, killing a thousand people.
The president spoke of his moral outrage. Now, recall that a few months ago the Egyptian army seized the elected president, Mohammed Morsi, and imprisoned him. Crowds in sympathy with the president went to the streets to protest the military takeover. A thousand of the demonstrators were murdered.
Obama threatened to decrease the aid to the Egyptian military. Obama did not threaten to bomb Egypt.
So, we have to ask the question: Assuming Assad did use the chemical weapons, why are a thousand dead Syrians, killed by poison gas, any more of a moral outrage than a thousand Egyptians slaughtered by rifle fire?
President Obama applauded the French for supporting our impending attack, but in his trademark manner of dissembling by omission, he failed to mention that the British, our closest ally, declined to participate in an attack on Syria.
Obama, and his pet, Secretary of State John Kerry, spoke with passion about making an example of a regime that would defy international law and treaties by using chemical warfare.
And yet, when Saddam Hussein attacked Iran and used chemical weapons there was no moral outrage. A million people were killed in that war, but we did nothing to stop Saddam. We aided and encouraged him because Iran was our enemy (perhaps because the United States and Britain had overthrown the democratically elected head of Iran and installed the Shah).
Obama and Kerry spoke as if America had the moral high ground. And yet, they conveniently did not mention that America had used Agent Orange, white phosphorus and napalm against the Vietnamese.
How can one believe our leaders? Remember when Kerry returned from serving in Vietnam and testified against the war before the U.S. Senate?
He said, “We are asking Americans to think about that (dying because the president did not want to be the first president who was in office when America lost a war) because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”
To paraphrase an old idiom, “power corrupts; power has absolutely corrupted Secretary Kerry.”
So, Obama was up against it today. No one believes him anymore, and the people are not willing to enter a third war.
So, in a deft political move, he passes the buck to Congress. This is brilliant. If they say “no,” he is off the hook. He can say, “I must defer to the representatives of the people.” Then, he saves face when he does not bomb.
If Congress agrees with the president, and, attacking Syria turns out to be another disaster, he can say, “Hey, Congress debated and decided and agreed to the policy. In the democratic process, mistakes can be made.”
It seems that instead of “hope and change” we got the same old mendacity and hypocrisy.
Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.