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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
The meeting will take place at the Lucerne Hotel, 3700 Country Club Drive.
It also will be available via Zoom; the meeting ID is 932 6070 2591, pass code is 071816.
On the agenda is an update on the Lucerne Harbor, with the group asking for a specific date on the long-awaited harbor dredging, and an update on the management action plan.
Also on Thursday, LATH will hold a discussion about Elijah House, which formerly ran the county’s homeless shelter.
Members also will be asked to authorize the chair to make a complaint to the Lake County Grand Jury on behalf of the town hall regarding Elijah House, which is continuing to run a sober living environment in the town’s former visitor center.
The group also will talk about a request of the sheriff to have deputies regularly stop at Lucerne Harbor Park and Lucerne Alpine Park while on patrol, consider the approval of proposed bylaws and hold a discussion on a vacant board seat.
Other items include updates on the needle exchange, the latest from Cal Water and the Northshore Fire Protection District, discussion of a community cleanup initiative and a call for volunteers at the shoreline cleanup at the harbor.
- Details
- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
This is the first round of the California State Library’s $439 million Building Forward Library Improvement Grant Program — the largest investment in public library infrastructure in California history.
Lake County’s library system has received approximately $1,099,667 in this round of grants.
The Lakeport Library will receive $633,067; the Middletown Library has been allocated $193,533; Redbud Library, $254,467; and the Upper Lake Library, $18,600.
“Public libraries are the hearts of communities across the state and our hubs of learning, discovery, and oftentimes — safety,” said Newsom. “While states across the nation are banning books, California is awarding $254 million in grants for our historic public libraries — an investment to make books more accessible by repairing and modernizing libraries throughout the state.”
The 234 projects in this initial round of funding under the Building Forward Library Improvement Grant Program range from $14,300 to $10 million and include efforts to make libraries safer and more accessible, including their ability to be cooling centers for underserved communities.
The city of Porterville, whose only library was destroyed in a 2020 fire that took the lives of two firefighters, will receive $7.2 million.
“Libraries are hubs of community activity — they are a safe haven, an escape into the wonders of reading, a place to find a meal when you need one, to create, to vote, to enrich children, to learn a new skill, and so much more,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “Strengthening our libraries’ infrastructure — their ability to safely and effectively meet the needs of the community — is such a critical investment in the community members who rely on them.”
First priority for grants was given to the state’s least-resourced communities and projects that address long-delayed critical life and safety facility needs including seismic safety, heating and air system replacement, building security, and improved Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility.
“There are lots of reasons 24 million Californians have library cards. Local libraries are cornerstones of their communities and critical parts of California’s education system,” said California State Librarian Greg Lucas. “Strengthening public libraries strengthens California and helps make it easier for all Californians to get the information and assistance they need to succeed and thrive.”
- Details
- Written by: Lake County Vector Control
The application was made after weekly mosquito trapping and larval sampling showed an increase in the number of Culex mosquitoes in the area.
Five mosquito samples and one dead bird from the Clearlake Oaks area have tested positive for West Nile virus this year.
The district contracted with Leading Edge Aerial Technologies to use the 6-foot diameter drone to apply a microbial mosquito larvicide where the immature mosquitoes were developing.
They applied granular VectoMax FG, which is a bacterial mosquito larvicide that is OMRI-approved for use in organic crops and sensitive habitats. The drone can be seen taking off here.
“I’m excited that we can use drone technology to protect our community from mosquitoes and West Nile virus,” said Jamesina J. Scott, Ph.D., the district manager and research director of the Lake County Vector Control District. “The drone is precise, quiet, and efficient. We were able to treat mosquito sources that we literally could not access to treat any other way. The channels where the mosquitoes are developing are too shallow or weed-choked for our boats, but too deep, muddy, and uneven for us to access by foot, and we cannot use a helicopter or a plane to apply over a dense residential community like this.”
Leading Edge Aerial Technologies, or LEAT, is a company focused on unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, commonly referred to as drones. They have been inventing droplet analysis and aerial application technologies for over 35 years and have worked with the Federal Aviation Administration on aerial spraying via UAS since the beginning.
LEAT is licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration for aerial applications using UAS. These federal requirements include an FAA 137 Certificate, a UAS Certificate of Authorization waiver for the aircraft used and all pilots are licensed pilots both for manned and unmanned aircraft.
Leading Edge also is licensed with the California Department of Pesticide Regulations as a business. Prior to any pilot performing aerial applications in a county the company, pilots and equipment are registered with the county agricultural department.
“We have a great relationship with the residents and the Clearlake Keys Property Owners Association,” said Brad Hayes, vector control technician II at the Lake County Vector Control District. “They are appreciative of the mosquito control work we do, and invested in keeping the water in the Keys in good condition.”
Weekly trapping has shown a decline in mosquito numbers since the treatment. Countywide, seven mosquito samples, three sentinel chickens, and two dead birds have tested positive for West Nile virus this year, including five mosquito samples and one dead bird from the Clearlake Oaks area.
The positive mosquitoes were western encephalitis mosquitoes (Culex tarsalis), which is the main vector of West Nile virus to people.
The Lake County Vector Control District provides mosquito and vector control services to the community. Residents with questions or who would like help with a mosquito problem, including reporting a neglected pool or spa, or who have an in-ground yellowjacket nest on their property that they want treated, should contact the Lake County Vector Control District at 707-263-4770 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, or request service online anytime at https://www.lcvcd.org/request-service-d649036.
Residents are encouraged to report dead birds to identify potential West Nile virus activity. All dead bird reports from the public are critical in helping the district direct mosquito operations.
Report dead birds to the state’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-968-2473 (1-877-WNV-BIRD) or online at the California Department of Public Health's website.
For more information about the Lake County Vector Control District and its services, please visit www.LCVCD.org.
For information about West Nile virus, visit http://westnile.ca.gov/.
Information about mosquito repellents can be found on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. Masks are highly encouraged where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.
The agenda is available here.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here; the meeting ID is 814 1135 4347, pass code is 847985.
To join by phone, dial 1-669-444-9171; for one tap mobile, +16694449171,,81411354347#,,,,*847985#.
Comments can be submitted by email to
Please indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that are read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council before the meeting.
On the agenda is an application from Cory McCormick for a use permit to allow a short-term rental within an existing single-family dwelling located at 1976 Lakeshore Blvd.
The commission also will consider an architectural and design review and categorical exemption to allow a 2,500 square-foot two story laundromat and office building and a 563 square foot storage building located at 301 S. Main St.
Also on Wednesday, the commission and city staff will hold a study session regarding outdoor dining standards and community feedback in regard to the design standards.
The commission is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
Email Elizabeth Larson at