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- Written by: EARLENE K. P. DOWELL
How can a culinary degree help an aspiring chef spice up future earnings?
The expected annual salary for a chef one year after culinary school is about $37,588, according to the Census Bureau’s Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes, or PSEO, Explorer tool. Salaries rise to $47,711 in five years and $52,941 10 years after culinary college.
With the holidays fast approaching and the popularity of reality television cooking shows, food is at the forefront of the country’s cultural landscape — and perhaps so is interest in prospective culinary careers.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released an infographic that features data on annual earnings of associate degree holders in the culinary, entertainment and personal services industries, using graduates from the Arapahoe Community College of Colorado as an example.
Details from the infographic were derived from the interactive tool, which allows prospective students and parents to search statistics on earnings and employment outcomes of graduates of select post-secondary institutions in the United States.
PSEO is an experimental data product that highlights employment and earnings outcomes for college and university graduates.
By matching university transcript data with a national database of jobs, PSEO traces graduate movements from postsecondary institution, degree level and degree major to employment by industry and geographic labor markets.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, employment in food preparation and service-related fields is expected to grow by 20% from 2020 to 2030, gaining about 2.3 million jobs over the next decade. Median annual pay for food preparation and serving-related occupations was $25,500 in May 2020.
Aspiring chefs can use the PSEO Explorer to find out which industry sector of employment Culinary, Entertainment, and Personal Services graduates are choosing. They can glean information on geographical dispersion, too.
Nearly 53% of culinary graduates from Arapaho Community College entered other service industries; about 13% went into health care and social assistance, and 6% went to manufacturing.
As of October 2021, the PSEO dataset includes 534 institutions from 17 states — Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The PSEO Explorer allows users to explore data previously reported in an America Counts Story.
Earlene K. P. Dowell is a program analyst in the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal-Employer Household Dynamic Program, Center for Economic Studies.
Editor’s note: For those seeking a culinary degree in Lake County, Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus has a well-known program led by Chef Robert Cabreros. Find out more here.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Pacific Gas and Electric reported that it is testing artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities in its growing network of high-definition cameras across Northern and Central California to see how it can enhance fire-watch and response capabilities.
The company said that this year, in collaboration with ALERTWildfire, it has installed 138 new HD cameras across high fire-threat districts, in accordance with its 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan.
Of those 138 cameras, 46 of them are included in the new artificial intelligence, or AI, testing program in partnership with Alchera and ALERTWildfire.
A similar pilot was conducted with Pano through participation in EPRI’s 2021 Incubatenergy Labs Challenge. PG&E began installing HD cameras in 2018, as part of its Community Wildfire Safety Program.
As of Oct. 31, 487 cameras are now in operation, 45 of them are in Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt counties. None of them are in the new AI test program.
In Lake County, 10 cameras have been installed. In 2019, cameras were installed on Mount Konocti, two each on Buckingham Peak, Cobb Mountain and Cow Mountain, with the most recent two cameras installed on Walker Ridge in January.
“Even with the two significant rainstorms in October and November, we are still in a historic drought and California, along with other western states, continue to experience an increase in wildfire risk and a longer wildfire season. We are using every new tool and technology at our disposal to improve situational awareness and intelligence to help mitigate and prevent wildfires, including this new AI capability,” said Sumeet Singh, PG&E chief risk officer. “Every bit of data and intelligence that comes to us could potentially save a life.”
PG&E said the pilot program is already demonstrating the AI’s potential to reduce fire size expansion.
On Aug. 4, PG&E’s Howell Mountain 1 camera located in Placer County and equipped with Alchera’s AI software, spotted smoke one minute before the actual fire dispatch and several minutes sooner than the manual movement of the camera. That smoke ended up becoming the River Fire. This is one example of many noted during both pilots confirming the value of early fire detection technology.
The expert staff in the company’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center, or WSOC, outside agencies and first responders use the fire-watch cameras to monitor, detect, assess for threats and respond to wildfires.
The AI test programs include PG&E determining a way to get the new data to the right people quickly and effectively. The quicker the data is received, the more rapidly first responders and PG&E can confirm fires and move the right resources to the right place.
“The software analyzes the video feed and if it thinks it sees smoke, we receive an alert via email and text, telling us it just detected smoke. Our analysts then pinpoint where the smoke is coming from and determine if it’s a car fire, dumpster fire, or even a vegetation fire. Based on the location, we can assess for threat to the public or PG&E facilities,” said Eric Sutphin, supervisor at PG&E’s WSOC who’s in charge of the camera installations. “The AI filters out a significant number of false positives, for example, ruling out dust, fog or haze.”
Sutphin explained that the recent installation of the AI test software with its machine-learning capabilities means the WSOC team is getting smarter over time with more experience and more data gathered.
“We know the cameras are doing well at spotting wisps of smoke from long distances. We plan to assess our initial implementation, continue to gather the data, and develop a plan for using this leading-edge technology on a more expanded basis,” he said.
The cameras provide 360-degree views with pan, tilt and zoom capabilities and can be viewed by anyone through the ALERTWildfire Network at www.alertwildfire.org.
By the end of 2022, the company plans to have approximately 600 cameras installed, providing an ability to see in real-time more than 90% of the high fire-risk areas it serves.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Starbucks, located next to Carl’s Junior on Dam Road Extension and next to the Walmart shopping center, was open for business on Monday.
Clearlake Mayor Dirk Slooten said the new store has 27 good-paying jobs.
“We’re really excited about it,” he said.
The work on the new coffee house broke ground in May. Originally reported as having a September opening date, City Manager Alan Flora said it encountered several delays.
Flora told Lake County News that the new Starbucks received its certificate of occupancy from the city earlier this month and had been training staff and going finalizing preparations since then.
Flora said that while there are many places in Clearlake that serve coffee, in addition to the Starbucks the city has just two other dedicated coffee shops: Sisters Coffeehouse, 14812 Olympic Drive, and Catfish Coffee at 14624 Lakeshore Drive.
Another coffee house project in the works is Mudslingers, approved by the planning commission earlier this year for a drive-thru and walk up coffee shop at 14760 Olympic Drive.
Flora said the city doesn’t have a firm date for when Mudslingers might open. Noting they are waiting on the city, he said the city’s plans for the first phase for the Burns Valley development are nearing completion and a bid will go out for the work.
Once that work is done — including installing the roadway, parking and utilities — Mudslingers will be cleared to build their store, Flora said.
Down the road, Marcel’s French Bakery & Cafe at 15090 Olympic Drive received planning commission approval in February for a new drive-thru in an existing building that previously housed a bakery.
Flora said Marcel’s is being held up by needing to complete certain requirements in the use permit conditions, primarily installation of curb gutter and sidewalk.
There also is the potential for other coffee house locations, Flora said.
“We have had some pretty serious talks with a couple of other national coffee brands, but nothing set in stone at this point,” Flora said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet in closed session at 5 p.m. to discuss existing litigation against the county and treasurer-tax collector, negotiations for property at 6452 Francisco and 6461 Manzanita, Melinda Wymer’s suit against the city and the city’s suit against Amerisourcebergen Drug Corp. before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
At the start of the public portion of the meeting, the council will announce its action from closed session, get a presentation on December’s adoptable dogs, present the 2021 Living the Lake Life photo contest winners and receive an update on the Hope Center.
The council is set to consider continuing to Jan. 6 a public hearing to consider a development agreement with Ogulin Canyon Holdings LLC to allow a cannabis Operation located at 2185 Ogulin Canyon Road, a property formerly owned by the city.
Under business, council members will consider an agreement between the city and Woodland Community College for the Clearlake Promise Program.
The program, spearheaded by Mayor Dirk Slooten, would set aside $55,000 for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic years “for the purpose of implementing a last dollar scholarship program” to pay the fees for qualified Clearlake residents who graduate from any high school within the city of Clearlake and attend any one of the three Woodland Community College campuses.
“The services will benefit the City of Clearlake and its residents by encouraging Clearlake residents graduating from high school to pursue a college education and to provide educational opportunities for students who may not otherwise be able to afford to continue their education,” the agreement notes.
The council also is set to get an update on the recovery effort for the August Cache fire.
The last action of the evening will be the appointment of the 2022 mayor and vice mayor. Slooten and Russ Perdock have served as mayor and vice mayor, respectively, for the past year.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; approval of temporary street closure for the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting; approval of a reimbursement agreement with Lake County for the Pyrethroid and Stormwater Monitoring Sampling Program; authorization of the agreement for vegetation abatement on city/RDA owned properties; authorization to approve the Cannabis Equity Program; adoption of resolution 2021-61 approving the application for Rural Recreation and Tourism Program Grant Funds of the Burns Valley Sports Complex Project; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Aug. 23, 2021, and ratified by council action on Sept. 16, 2021; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Aug. 18, 2021, and ratified by council action on Aug. 19, 2021; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; continuation of authorization to implement and utilize teleconference accessibility to conduct public meetings pursuant to Assembly Bill 361; Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting minutes of Oct. 13, 2021; approve the City Hall holiday closure; authorize city manager to enter into a contract with E4 Design for dry utility design services for the Burns Valley Development Project; authorize city manager to enter into a contract with E4 Design for dry utility design services for the Airport Property Development Project; approve proposed 2022 City Council meeting calendar.
Email Elizabeth Larson at