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Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS

Published: 31 May 2023

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Get ready for the Lake County Library's exciting summer reading challenge, starting on Thursday, June 1.

This year's theme invites all to "Find Your Voice!”

By participating in the library's summer reading program, children, teens and adults have a chance to win prizes, ranging from stickers and small toys for kids to a Kindle Fire tablet or local business gift cards.

Engaging in this program is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to challenge themselves to read more.

For students, reading during the summer break helps prevent learning loss and sets them up for a successful start to the next school year.

Reading for pleasure also builds vocabulary and literacy skills.

The library offers tailored programs for pre-K, kids, teens and adults. Even children who haven't yet mastered reading on their own can participate, with parents recording the books they read together.

Starting June 1, residents can register for the summer reading challenge on the Library's website or in person at the library.

Registration remains open until August 5, ensuring ample time for signing up.

Simply visit the library website at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and click on "Summer Reading" to get started.

Residents are also invited to visit their local branch in person to sign up. On Saturday, June 3, starting at 10:30 a.m., each library will host a Super Sign Up event complete with sidewalk chalk and fun.

Once registered, participants can dive into books and earn points by logging their reading progress either online or by visiting the library.

All types of reading material borrowed from the library counts, including eBooks, print books, audiobooks, magazines and comics.

To make summer reading even more enjoyable, the library offers enticing prizes. Adults and teens have a chance to win exciting rewards through a prize drawing at the end of the program. Kids can earn fun toys and stickers. The more points participants earn, the higher their chances of winning.

The prizes are generously provided by the Friends of the Lake County Library, a community nonprofit membership organization.

Upon reaching 1,000 points, participants will also have a book donated to the library in their name by the Friends of the Lake County Library. The book will bear their name, commemorating their reading achievement, and they will have the privilege of being the first person to check it out.

Don't miss out! Visit the Lake County Library website at http://library.lakecountyca.gov to discover more about this exciting summer reading challenge.

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Written by: Robert Samuels, University of California, Santa Barbara

Published: 31 May 2023

 

The United States is an increasingly polarized country when it comes to politics – but one thing that almost all people want is to live a long, healthy life.

More and more Americans are moving from Democratic-leaning blue states to Republican-voting red ones, and one of the effects of this change is that they are relocating to places with lower life expectancy.

Idaho, Montana and Florida, all red states, had the greatest population growth among U.S. states between 2020 and 2022. Meanwhile, New York and Illinois, both blue states, and Louisiana, a red state, suffered the biggest population losses. California, another blue state, has experienced significant recent population loss as well.

One key reason for this migration is the high cost of living in places like New York and California, compared with the lower cost of living in red states such as Georgia or Indiana.

I am a scholar who studies the intersection between politics, media and psychology. I think it is important to note that another trend, though, is that people are largely migrating to places with lower life expectancies.

Understanding demographics

There is a large difference in expected life spans for people living in certain states, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

For instance, people born in New York and California – two of the richest states in the country, which largely vote Democratic – have a life expectancy of 77.7 and 79 years, respectively. But people in Mississippi and Louisiana – two of the poorest states, which tend to vote Republican – live, on average, until they are 71.9 and 73.1 years old.

People who live in Republican-leaning states tend to have less money, worse health conditions, higher rates of gun-related deaths and lower levels of education than people living in Democratic states.

On average, people in red states have higher rates of poverty than residents of blue states.

Poverty is an indicator for life expectancies in the U.S. – the poorer someone is, the more likely to die younger.

But there are likely other issues at play in people in red states’ having lower life spans.

Health differences

Research in 2020 showed that Americans in blue states tend to live longer than people in red states, primarily because of state policies on everything from seat belt laws to abortion laws. That research also identified health policies as a major factor.

People in blue states also tend to have higher rates of health insurance than people in red states.

Moreover, when looking at the rates of people who are diagnosed with cancer in each state, it is clear that people in red states are generally less healthy than people in blue ones. Red-state residents are also more likely to die from heart disease than people in blue states.

But health rates vary greatly across racial and ethnic groups. Black and Hispanic people are far more likely than white and Asian people in the U.S. to not have access to quality affordable health care, regardless of their state of residence.

And Black people remain more likely than white people to have high blood pressure and to die from heart disease, among other health conditions.

Lower education levels

Another key factor in this life span trend is that people in red states have lower levels of education than people in blue states.

This matters, since some recent research has shown that education levels are the best predictor of a person’s life span for a variety of complex, interconnected reasons, including an increased likelihood that receiving a higher education will lead to a boost in income.

Experts also often consider race and ethnicity another major factor, in part because of structural inequalities facing people of color that may place access to quality affordable education out of reach, for example.

Lack of education may be the most direct reason for lower incomes and shorter lives – but it is not clear if attaining a higher level of education makes people wealthier, or if people who are born into wealth receive more and better education.

Are people moving to die young?

There are other reasons that factor into the complex question of life expectancy, and discrepancies in longevity across states.

One reason identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, is that there are more gun deaths – by homicide and suicide – in red states than blue states.

People are moving to different states in the U.S. for a variety of reasons – including, in some cases, political ideologies. While blue ZIP codes have been found to be getting bluer, red ones are becoming even more red.

But it is important to keep in mind that data on life spans and health are simply averages, and so there can be a high variation within particular locations.

Thee are people in red and blue states who defy these statistics – many people living long lives in poor red states, and people dying younger in rich blue ones.

Still, the overall trends are clear. People living in blue states – by and large – tend to live longer, healthier and wealthier lives.

Robert Samuels, Continuing Lecturer in Writing, University of California, Santa Barbara

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 30 May 2023

LAKEPORT, Calif. — A large fight that erupted at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Sunday night left one person with serious injuries, and authorities are asking for the community’s help in identifying the individuals responsible for the assault.

The brawl occurred during the second night of the Memorial Weekend Opener for the Lakeport Speedway, which is now under the management of a new promoter, Blair Aiken of B.A.D Racing.

Because the incident occurred on the fairgrounds, which is considered state property, the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office is leading the investigation into the fight.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News that his agency, along with California State Parks law enforcement officers and Lake County Sheriff’s deputies, responded with the CHP to the fight, which he said was “pretty much dispersed when we arrived.”

The CHP said its officers and the allied agencies responded to the fairgrounds at 9:46 p.m. Sunday on the report of a large fight occurring during the boat races.

When officers arrived, they identified one victim with serious injuries “stemming from a physical altercation involving several unknown assailants,” the report said.

The CHP identified the victim in the fight as Joseph Simpson Nelson, 58, of Ukiah.

Nelson was treated by emergency medical personnel on scene and then airlifted to Kaiser Hospital in Vacaville for further treatment, the CHP said.

Sgt. Josh Dye said Monday evening that the CHP had spoken to Nelson’s family and was working to get additional updates on his condition.

Based on the statements and evidence the CHP has obtained so far, officers determined that Nelson had been beaten about the head and face by several unknown assailants, resulting in serious bodily injury, according to the report.

Lake County Fair Chief Executive Officer Sheli Wright told Lake County News on Monday evening that, by that point, she had only gotten small pieces of information on the incident, and hadn’t yet received a report from CHP.

“I have lots of questions but do not have the answers yet,” Wright said.

“I can tell you the turnout was not something expected,” said Wright, adding that last year, under the former race promoter, they were lucky if there were 200 people in the stands.

Wright said the District Agricultural Association, the fair’s official name, hopes that Nelson is OK.

The CHP said Officer Johnson is investigating the felony battery incident.

The agency is asking for assistance from witnesses, as well as any available video of the incident.

Anyone who believes they have useful information or video associated with the incident is asked to call the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office at 707-279-0103.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.