LAKE COUNTY – California Human Development, a nonprofit agency serving northern and central California, is seeking interested families for a First-Time Homebuyer assistance program.

The program is designed to help low and moderate income households, including those with special needs, to purchase a house and maintain an affordable mortgage.

It will be available to those who have not owned a home in the past three years with some exceptions, such as families that lost a house through divorce or those that currently own a severely substandard home.

This First-Time Homebuyer program can serve a limited number of clients.

Requests to be placed on the waiting list should be made by Aug. 20.

The California Human Development housing department has complete bilingual English/Spanish capacity and can provide information and assistance in person, by telephone, or by e-mail.

Please contact Clara Turner, Housing Development Specialist, at 707-521-4763 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

California Human Development is a fair housing provider.

LAKEPORT – This year started with a wet spring that transitioned quickly to a warm summer, conditions which create the perfect breeding ground for all types of insects.

Various types of flies are normally present in Lake County, and are out in abundance this year. Until the weather cools in the fall, problems with flies will only get worse, but there are things residents and business owners can do to help themselves.

Flies need moist, warm organic material in which to lay their eggs. Decaying fruit, vegetables, garden waste, kitchen waste, lawn clippings and other yard waste provide flies with perfect places to lay eggs, as do decaying tules, aquatic weeds, and algae mats.

Food waste dumpsters or garbage cans containing meat, out of date food items and table scraps are perfect as well, along with animal bedding and waste.

Humans are most commonly bothered by the adult stage of flies, however, the larval stage should be the prime target for control. Chemical pesticides must be applied directly to the fly, and therefore are of little use for large populations.

Elimination of larval habitat is the preferred method of pest fly suppression. By removing the material in which larvae develop, the life cycle of the fly can be broken. This prevents the production of the adult pests.

Egg-to-adult fly development requires as little as seven to 10 days. Once the female fly has mated, she may lay as many as 500 eggs.

All flies undergo metamorphosis with egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages of development. The female fly lays eggs in moist organic material where the larvae, or “maggots,” complete their development. When the maggots are ready to undergo the next step in their metamorphosis, they convert their larval skin into the puparium, a hardened shell within which the pupa develops.

The pupa then transforms into the adult fly, which emerges. Most flies don't travel very far over their normal life span of twenty to thirty days, usually less than one mile.

Flies are attracted to smells, and most traps cannot compete with garbage or other aromatic substances. Fly papers or ribbons are effective at eliminating a few flies.

Bug zappers should only be used indoors and not be visible from the outside. Bug zappers outdoors can attract more flies than they kill. They should also not be used near food preparation areas because they may result in food contamination with insect parts.

Garbage should be kept in containers with tight-fitting lids and garbage cans or dumpsters should be emptied twice a week to break the fly life-cycle, and disinfected at least once a week.

Chemical pesticides may be necessary for suppressing adult fly populations in some situations, but they are not a substitute for fly prevention through the elimination of breeding sites. Because flies can quickly develop resistance to insecticides in a few generations, pesticides should only be used as a last resort to obtain immediate control.

Pesticides are poisonous, so people should always read and carefully follow all precautions and safety recommendations given on the container label. All chemicals should be stored in the original labeled containers in a locked cabinet or shed, away from food or feeds, and out of the reach of children, unauthorized persons, pets and livestock.

Biological controls know as fly predators are available from a variety of sources and are used by numerous livestock producers and high traffic facilities in Lake County.

Fly predators are tiny insects that lay their eggs in the fly pupa, where they hatch and eat the developing flies, preventing them from becoming pests. Fly predators do not sting or bite, and they only travel a short distance. They are only interested in fly pupae, so they don't bother people or animals.

They can be purchased for less than $2 per thousand fly predators and can be delivered on a recurring basis via the U.S. Postal Service. They can be used outside any home or business, including restaurants, farms and ranches, horse facilities, and grocery stores. Fly predators are highly susceptible to chemical agents used to kill adult flies, so regular releases of the fly predators are recommended.

Lake County Fair uses fly predators from a California company called Spaulding Laboratories, but there are other companies as well. The fair uses as many as a half million fly predators in a year, usually receiving shipments of fifty thousand at a time for several weeks before and after the annual event on Labor Day weekend.

The fair works closely with Lake County Vector Control District on a chemical spray regimen, and times the release of fly predators around the chemical applications to try to keep as may fly predators alive for as long as possible.

No chemicals are applied at the fairgrounds during the week of the Lake County Fair due to the large number of people and food animals on the site, but all garbage, animal bedding, and waste is removed on a daily basis. Larger numbers of fly predators are also released during the event.

For more information about controlling the flies at your home or business, contact the Lake County Fair for an informational brochure, 70-263-6181, Lake County Vector Control District for more detailed information, 707-263-4770, or search for “fly predators” on the Internet.

LAKEPORT – Derek Funderburg, Life Scout from Boy Scout Troop 42, is working on his Eagle Project, which is to extend the flags to Lakeport Boulevard and Clear Lake Avenue by adding 45 new flags and poles.

A way in which Troop 42 honors those that protect the rights of citizens and the country is to post 40 flags on Main Street, and they have done this for well over 15 years on six national holidays.

The scope of the project is to drill 45 new holes and put a sleeve and a cap in each hole to accommodate the new flags.

In addition Funderburg is drilling out the old holes to allow for a sleeve and a cap for each hole.

He has already had the older flags cleaned by Lake County Cleaners who cleaned them at no cost as they have historically done for our community.

Funderburg chose this project as he would like to further honor those who serve and have served the country.

More flags will show more patriotism by the city and give his troop more of an opportunity to give back to those that do so much for the country.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $2,000. So far Funderburg has raised a total of $731.

Those that have graciously donated to his project are the Kiwanis, Delta Iota Tau, Skin Fitness, Peter Windrem, Kelly Mather, Piedmont Lumber, Lakeport Main Street Association and Lakeport Tire & Auto Service.

Doug Grider and the city of Lakeport also are providing support in accomplishing this project.

Funderburg’s hope is to have this project completed for posting of 85 flags on Labor Day.

Should you desire to help with this project, please make checks payable to Troop 42 and mail to Lakeport Tire & Auto Service, 1901 S. Main St., Lakeport, CA 95453, or stop in at that address.

LAKEPORT – The Lake County Department of Public Works reports that work on the Soda Bay Road/Mission Rancheria Road realignment project has begun.

Beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 4, Mission Rancheria Road will be subject to single-lane controlled traffic between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Up to 15-minute delays can be expected.

Starting Thursday, Aug. 5, Soda Bay Road from Big Valley Road to Stone Drive will be closed to through traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The closure will be in effect through August.

Through traffic will be detoured around Soda Bay Road at Stone Drive and Big Valley.

Local traffic and those traveling to Konocti Vista Casino will be allowed access down Soda Bay Road.

The public is urged to drive with caution in the area.

For more information call the Lake County Department of Public Works, 707-263-2341.

LAKE COUNTY – Transition Lake County invites interested individuals and families to their get-acquainted barbecue and potluck at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 3.

The gathering will be held in the little park behind the Kelseyville Senior Center on Third Street, just south of Main in Kelseyville.

Bring something to barbecue or your favorite dish to share.

Cool beverages, paper plates and plastic cups also would be very useful.

Transition Lake County is a new, fast-growing group that is allied with the Transition Towns Initiative (TTI).

The TTI is a global grassroots effort whose mission is to help towns all around the world transition from oil dependence to local resilience, to respond to Peak oil and climate change.

TLC’s goal is, let’s prepare now and have fun doing it. Let’s form community. Let’s figure out what we need and how we can meet those needs locally, without depending on big corporations, government or on rapidly diminishing resources. Let’s help each other out – we all have amazing knowledge, experience and gifts to share.

A lot of local folks seem to like these goals, because a lot of people are showing up as this grassroots effort is launched.

For more information, call 707-279-2957 or 208-420-7459.