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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has a huge new group of kittens and cats needing homes for the holidays.
The kittens and cats at the shelter that are shown on this page have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, or LCRAI, has completed its sixth year of giving through the Teacher Art Grant Fund.
Thanks to the generous funding from the Lake County Wine Alliance, Lake County’s chapter of 100+Women Strong, individual and corporate donors, over 700 art grants totaling over $88,000 have been given directly to teachers.
The funds have been available to any teacher serving transitional kindergarten through 12th-grade students in a Lake County public or charter school.
Some teachers opt to purchase basic art supplies for students such as crayons, construction paper, paint and glue, while others use these funds for art-related equipment purchases for the classroom and specialized project-based supplies.
This year, the board has decided to focus on art integration in the schools with their full support of the grant program. LCRAI is integrating arts for children into the community and Lake County schools. Research shows that participation in the arts by children and teens raises self-esteem as well as their classroom grades in other subjects.
LCRAI is currently seeking partners and additional funding to continue this valuable mission serving the children and teachers of Lake County, California.
Lake County Rural Arts Initiative was founded in February 2018 with the goal of making Lake County an arts and culture destination.
Past works have included murals around Clear Lake, public art installations, and sponsorship of Teacher Art Grants.
The all-volunteer board works hard to ensure a near-zero overhead, meaning that the donations received go directly to providing as many art integration grants as possible.
To learn more about the LCRAI or to apply for or donate to the Teacher Art Supply Grants, visit the organization’s website or Facebook page. LCRAI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
As we near the end of 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday commemorated the last California Highway Patrol graduating class of the year with 137 cadets, who will be placed throughout the state to protect and serve communities.
This marks a huge achievement for the CHP, which graduated 780 cadets in 2025 alone. The CHP continues its efforts to recruit highly qualified individuals to protect the state’s community safety.
“I’m proud to see the young women and men stepping up to keep our communities safe. As we close out the year, California continues to make real progress — strengthening protections across the state while staying focused on the needs of the people we serve,” said Newsom.
“These cadets have been pushed to their limits and faced significant pressure, but despite all the hardships, they never gave up,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “Their determination to keep going, even when facing challenges, demonstrates their dedication to helping others and serving the people of California. The CHP proudly welcomes these new officers and looks forward to the remarkable achievements they will make throughout their decades of service.”
During their 26 weeks in the CHP Academy, cadets trained in vehicle code enforcement, crash and criminal investigations, emergency vehicle operations, and officer safety. The Academy’s curriculum also focuses on legal responsibilities, communication, ethics, and cultural awareness, in order to prepare cadets to serve California’s diverse population.
Earlier last week, the cadets took part in a 5-mile run as one of the last parts of their training. The new officers begin reporting to one of the CHP’s 102 Area offices across the state on December 15.
A growing force protecting Californians
The CHP’s recruitment initiatives over the past few years — including the launch in 2022 of the statewide “Join the CHP 1000” campaign and the “Cadets” web series — continue to drive strong interest in law enforcement careers.
Including Friday’s newly sworn members, the CHP has brought on more than 2,300 officers from January 2022 through December 2025.
From 2022 to 2024, applications increased by more than 52%.
The CHP is on track to receive more than 33,000 applications by the end of the year, continuing the upward trend.
• 2022: 16,077 applications.
• 2023: 19,590 applications.
• 2024: 25,477 applications.
Strong regional law enforcement partnerships
In August, Gov. Newsom announced the next phase of the state’s crime-fighting efforts — deploying new CHP crime suppression teams to work directly with local law enforcement in major cities and regions across the state — San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
CHP officers assigned to Crime Suppression Teams have already saturated high-crime areas, which as of this month has led to 1,446 arrests, 249 stolen vehicles recovered, and 63 illicit firearms seized since expanding these crime-fighting efforts. Additionally, K-9 teams have joined this crime protection effort to continue supporting CHP officers.
Crime reported to be down in California, again
California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety.
In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.
Given those investments and key partnerships with local law enforcement agencies statewide, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12% in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (25%) and San Francisco (21%).
Another data set released by the California Department of Justice found that nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024. California’s 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966.
In August 2024, Gov. Newsom signed into law what his office called the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. These bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries.
While California’s crime rate is reported to remain at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.
Join the CHP today
Enhancing public safety remains a top priority for the Governor and in November 2024 California successfully met its multi-year CHP recruitment goal of 1,000 new officers to the force.
The CHP continues to actively recruit dedicated individuals who are ready to make a difference in communities throughout California. A career with the CHP offers comprehensive training, competitive benefits, and opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
To learn more about joining the CHP, please visit here to take the first step towards a rewarding career in law enforcement.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — It’s another week at Lake County Animal Care and Control’s shelter, and they have dogs awaiting their new homes.
The dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of cattle dog, German shepherd, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull terrier, terrier and shepherd.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
Those animals shown on this page at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at 
