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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The data covers 161,903 positions and a total of over $10.79 billion in 2023 wages with over $3 billion in health and retirement costs for 3,046 special districts.
Special districts are governmental entities created by residents of a local community to deliver specialized services.
Data for 2023 shows the top 10 districts by total wages are transportation, health care, water and fire districts. The top 10 individual salaries reported are all in health care districts.
In Lake County, there are 29 special districts with 407, $12,079,612 in pay and $3,843,539 in benefits.
Lake County’s top five special districts, ranked by pay and staffing, are as follows:
• Northshore Fire Protection District; 58 employees; total wages, $2,114,042; total retirement and health contributions, $507,068.
• Lake County Fire Protection District : 42 employees; total wages, $2,043,341; total retirement and health contributions, $813,434.
• Kelseyville Fire Protection District: 24 employees; total wages, $1,540,436; total retirement and health contributions, $474,081.
• Clearlake Oaks Water District: 24 employees; total wages, $1,404,528; total retirement and health contributions, $330,124.
• Lakeport Fire Protection District: 25 employees; total wages, $1,361,637; total retirement and health contributions, $574,975.
California law requires cities, counties and special districts to annually report compensation data to the State Controller.
The State Controller’s Office also maintains and publishes state and California State University salary data.
The Controller’s Office reported that 124 special districts either did not file or filed a report that was noncompliant.
Of those, one of the noncompliant districts is in Lake County: Konocti County Water District.
The Government Compensation in California site contains pay and benefit information on more than two million government jobs in California, as reported annually by each entity.
Users of the site can view compensation levels on maps and search by region; narrow results by name of the district or by job title; and export raw data or custom reports.
As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The CHP will initiate a statewide Maximum Enforcement Period, or MEP, beginning at 6:01 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, and continuing through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2.
During the holiday weekend, all available CHP officers will be on patrol to encourage safe driving and assist motorists.
“Everyone’s safety is our top priority, so make responsible choices. Drive sober, stay focused and help keep our roads safe for all who use them,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “Your decisions behind the wheel can save lives — yours and others.”
During last year’s Labor Day MEP, 38 people were killed in crashes throughout the state. Of note, nearly half of the vehicle occupants who were killed in a crash within CHP jurisdiction were not wearing a seat belt.
In addition, CHP officers statewide made 1,064 arrests for driving under the influence during the 78-hour holiday enforcement period.
Remember to keep yourself and others safe by designating a sober driver or using public transit.
If you see a driver who seems impaired, call 9-1-1 right away. Be prepared to give the dispatcher details about the vehicle, including license plate number, location and direction of travel. Your call could save a life.
The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of safety, service and security.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force has seized almost 4,638 pounds of fentanyl powder and more than 8.8 million pills containing fentanyl since January 2024.
These seizures are valued at nearly $40 million.
The task force helps local and federal partners take deadly fentanyl off the street, focusing on ports of entry along the southern border.
“California’s work to address illicit fentanyl entering into our state continues to produce strong results. We’ll continue to address the opioid epidemic by all means necessary – including by getting fentanyl off our streets and providing communities with access to the treatment and life-saving medications they need,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The task force focuses on gathering information to interdict illegal narcotics trafficking, utilizing air and ground assets to build criminal investigations, and supporting personnel at border ports of entry to stop illicit narcotics trafficking.
CalGuard members with the Counter Drug Taskforce are embedded in cross-government initiatives to combat transnational criminal organizations and the trafficking of illegal narcotics — like fentanyl.
In June, Newsom doubled down on the deployment of CalGuard involved in the task force by increasing the number of service members interdicting fentanyl and other drugs at U.S. ports of entry from 155 to nearly 400.
Last year, the governor increased the number of CalGuard service members deployed to interdict drugs at U.S. ports of entry along the border by approximately 50%.
The operations CalGuard supported resulted in the record seizure of 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in 2023 — a 1066% increase since 2021.
CalGuard’s coordinated drug interdiction efforts in the state are funded in part by California’s $30 million investment to expand CalGuard’s work to prevent drug trafficking by transnational criminal organizations. Fentanyl is primarily smuggled into the country by U.S. citizens through ports of entry.
This adds to the governor’s efforts to address fentanyl within California, including by cracking down on fentanyl in communities across the state, including San Francisco.
Addressing the opioid crisis
California is taking aggressive action to end the fentanyl and opioid crisis. The Governor’s Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis provides a comprehensive framework to deepen the impact of these investments, including aggressive steps to support overdose prevention efforts, hold the opioid pharmaceutical industry accountable, crack down on drug trafficking, and raise awareness about the dangers of opioids, including fentanyl.
The state launched opioids.ca.gov, a one-stop tool for Californians seeking resources for prevention and treatment, as well as information on how California is working to hold Big Pharma and drug traffickers accountable in this crisis.
This week, California launched the Facts Fight Fentanyl campaign to educate Californians on the dangers of fentanyl and how to prevent overdoses and deaths. This effort will provide critical information about fentanyl and life-saving tools such as naloxone.
As part of Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, over-the-counter CalRx-branded naloxone is now becoming available across the state. Through the Naloxone Distribution Project, CalRx-branded over-the-counter naloxone HCL nasal spray, 4 mg, will be available for free to eligible organizations through the state or for sale for $24 per twin-pack through Amneal.
In support of President Biden’s bilateral cooperation agreement with China on counternarcotics, the governor spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October about combating the transnational shipping of precursor chemicals used to create fentanyl.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) authored the measure, AB 81, that makes changes to placement of children in Indian child welfare cases.
“We, as Native Americans, are all too familiar with governmental removal of Indian children from their families. AB 81 is aimed at fortifying the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, established in 1978 because large numbers of children were being removed from tribal families and placed in non-Indian families, away from their relatives and culture,” said Ramos.
“This bill helps to ensure that every effort is made to keep California Native American children in their communities,” Ramos added. “Last year the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decades-old ICWA law and the rights of Native families and communities. AB 81 adds another layer of protection against the travesties that compelled ICWA’s creation and future challenges.”
The lawmaker, the first and only California Native American elected to the Legislature, noted that the battle to protect ICWA brought back memories of the U.S. boarding school era when Indian children were forcefully separated from their families as a means to erase their culture and coerce assimilation.
A recent Department of Interior report found that almost 1,000 Native students died at the schools and suffered physical and psychological abuse.
AB 81 strengthens protections for California Indian children in the welfare and institutions code by requiring clear notice of proceedings to parents, direct lineal ancestors and custodians of the child, and the right to court-appointed counsel in any removal, placement, or termination proceeding.
It also enshrines the states duty to consult with local federally and non-federally recognized tribes regarding the placement of native children in their custody.
“We appreciate the ongoing work of Assemblymember Ramos to address tribal matters in our state. We also want to thank the Legislature for recognizing the importance of strengthening the Indian Child Welfare Act in California, and the Governor’s office for working with us to advance this critical legislation. Morongo has worked for many years at the state and federal level to protect tribal children and families, including our efforts in helping secure last year’s decisive U.S. Supreme Court victory upholding ICWA. AB 81 advances the essential rights of tribal children and tribes in child welfare proceedings,” said Morongo Band of Mission Indians Tribal Chairman Charles Martin.
“The California Tribal Families Coalition is grateful to the California Legislature for advancing AB 81 to the governor’s desk, and to all the tribes and stakeholders who provided input and support to pass this crucial bill that will safeguard state statutes that protect tribal children and families with policies that are comprehensive, consistent, and clear,” said Co-Executive Director of the California Tribal Families Coalition Blair Kreuzer.
AB 81 is also supported by the Alliance for Children’s Rights, ACLU California Action, and Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
The governor has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.