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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, 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, Nov. 4.
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.
The council will get Thursday’s meeting started by meeting one of the adoptable dogs from Clearlake Animal Control.
On Thursday, Police Chief Andrew White will seek direction regarding regulation of a syringe services and drug smoking supply distribution program in the city.
The Board of Supervisors is also set to discuss the program on Tuesday.
In White’s report to the council, which begins on page 40 of the council packet published below, he explains that late last year his agency sought feedback on a proposed renewal of the program authorization for Community Outreach Matters, or COM, in the city by the California Department of Public Health, or CDPH.
“Concerns raised by the community included the impact on our neighborhoods, issues regarding the sites, our youth, and an increase in discarded needles despite the intent to be an ‘exchange,’” White wrote. “This feedback was shared with the CDPH along with a request for the applicant to better address the disposal issues, reduce the distribution sites and engage with service providers like The Hope Center.”
He said the city also asked CDPH whether an environmental impact report was done pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
White said COM ultimately was not reauthorized by CDPH and ceased operation in April.
“A recent change in state law exempted these programs from environmental review, however, during the legislative process, a provision to exempt the providing of these services from being deemed a public nuisance was removed from the final legislation,” he said.
White said last week he learned that Any Positive Change was conducting syringe exchange operations in the city of Clearlake and that its operation expanded to include the distribution of glass smoking pipes for drugs, including methamphetamine.
He said city staff contacted CDPH to inquire regarding the status of Any Positive Change with respect to the city and learned that it is not a state syringe services program, but operates under authorization granted by the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
He said the city obtained the 2008 enabling resolution for a needle exchange from the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
“The authorization refers specifically to a clean needle and syringe exchange program. The resolution requires an annual report regarding the status of the program, including statistics on blood-borne infections associated with needle sharing activity and an opportunity for public comment, including from law enforcement, so that potential adverse impacts on the public welfare are addressed and mitigated,” he wrote.
White said the last update was presented in March 2016, and it focused on the needle exchange as well as naloxone, which is now widely carried by law enforcement personnel in Lake County for responding to drug overdoses.
The state has expanded the supplies made available for syringe exchange programs to include “glass pipes, foil and copper wire filters, among other materials” as a harm reduction service, White said, noting these items support the smoking of methamphetamine, crack cocaine and heroin. Those supplies may help people avoid drug injection.
White said Any Positive Change reported to the city that it received a large number of pipes at the end of fiscal year 2020-21 from the California Clearinghouse. They’ve reported the number of syringes they changed has dropped roughly in half but have not provided data on reduction of communicable diseases.
He recently posted an update about the situation on the police department’s Facebook page that reached more than 41,000 people and received more than 600 comments.
“There were a variety of concerns raised as well as information provided from proponents of the program regarding a community benefit. Resoundingly, significant concerns were expressed, including feedback from persons who have recovered from addiction, regarding the harms this expansion can cause. Numerous comments indicated a desire for community members to be able to voice their concerns at a City Council or Board of Supervisors meeting,” White wrote.
White reported that the owner of the Clearlake property where Any Positive Change had been conducting its operations in the city recently severed that relationship.
He’s asking for direction from the council, with options including not taking any action; directing staff to prepare an ordinance regarding syringe distribution programs with respect to public nuisance provisions and land use, noting several cities across the state have enacted complete bans for the programs; enacting a moratorium to provide time for further study; or enacting a regulatory framework.
In other council business, staff will offer an update on the ongoing Cache fire recovery.
Council members also will hold interviews and consider appointing a new planning commissioner for a term ending in March 2025.
Planning Commission Chair Kathryn Davis resigned in September.
The city received three timely applications, with one of the applicants later withdrawing. The two candidates who remain up for consideration are Jim Scholz and Thomas Burnett.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider possible action to staff regarding the state redistricting process and an appointment to the vacant marketing committee seat.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; approval of a temporary road closure for the annual Christmas drive — thru dinner; authorization to execute an amendment to the agreement with Adams Ashby Group to increase the not to exceed contract amount to $150,000, extend the contract to July 2022, and to further define the scope of services to include additional assistance in managing the city’s Community Development Block Grant and other state and federally funded grants; 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 Aug. 18, 2021, and ratified by council action on Aug. 19, 2021; 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 Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; minutes of the October meetings; continuation of authorization to implement and utilize teleconference accessibility to conduct public meetings pursuant to Assembly Bill 361.
The council also will hold a closed session after the public portion of the meeting to discuss property negotiations for 6452 Francisco and 6461 Manzanita, and a lawsuit against the county of Lake and the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
110421 Clearlake City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The board has one vacancy which came about on Oct. 15 when Trustee LaTrease Walker tendered her immediate resignation to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
At a school board meeting on Oct. 13 during which community members confronted trustees about COVID-19 mandates, Walker — who was elected in 2018 — said she was resigning.
Walker’s term expires on Dec. 9, 2022.
The district reported that because the remainder of Walker’s term is longer than four months, protocol requires that the position be filled by election or provisional appointment. The board decided to make a provisional appointment to fill the seat.
An applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Middletown Unified School District Trustee Area 3, at least 18 years old and a registered voter in California.
The deadline to apply 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15. Candidates must submit a completed candidate information sheet to the district office at 20932 Big Canyon Road.
Applicants must be available for interviews with the board at a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17.
The district said the board expects to make the selection and seat the new board member that night.
To apply, get a candidate information sheet from the district office. For more information, contact superintendent’s assistant Janel Woodruff at 707-987-4100 or
A full description of board responsibilities and how to apply is here.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Rebecca Wolfson
Most of these project- and task-based work situations do not provide workers with job security, health and retirement benefits, or legal protections, yet little is known about how these working conditions affect workers’ health.
The California Labor Laboratory is a new initiative of UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and the California Department of Public Health to design and inform policies, programs and practices that advance worker well-being.
Funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the center will address the health of California workers in both traditional jobs and other employment arrangements, including gig workers, subcontractors, independent contractors, consultants, seasonal and temporary workers.
“The California Labor Lab is focused on understanding the implications for the health and welfare of workers even when workers are not afforded systematic protections that have come from traditional employment,” said Ed Yelin, Ph.D., the director of the new center and a professor with UCSF’s Institute of Health Policy Studies. “Alternative work arrangements have led to the diffusion of responsibility for the welfare of workers, with potentially harmful consequences for their health.”
The lab’s research includes a longitudinal study of 5,000 working-age Californians; an examination of gender and race/ethnicity disparities in working conditions in the service sector; and an education and prevention campaign to prevent silicosis, a lethal lung disease that afflicts an increasing number of stone industry workers who are exposed to silica dust.
In addition to researching the health impacts of alternative employment situations, the lab will develop interventions to help improve working conditions.
“Work has changed so much and it’s time to take an accounting of it, especially for these new forms of work,” said Cristina Banks, Ph.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces at UC Berkeley, who will serve as associate director of outreach for the lab.
Policy and regulatory changes will be necessary, but Banks said she will also explore forms of protection and empowerment such as worker cooperatives and associations, and tangible tools and solutions for employers.
The pandemic, which undermined the social support system, has spurred many workers to assert their needs. In some states gig workers are organizing themselves into cooperatives so they can get some of the same legal protections and benefits as permanent employees.
“Workers want more, they want better, they want respect,” Banks said. “Before the pandemic, we had people accepting the terms and conditions by which they worked.”
Banks said she’s optimistic about the situation these employees face.
“Healthy workplaces benefit employers and employees alike — by increasing productivity and supporting well-being,” she said, “The way we do business, the way we hire people, the way we treat people, our economic model of getting the most out of an individual per unit of time, is a well-worn path I’d like to erase.”
Participating organizations include UCSF’s Institute for Health Policy Studies, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and School of Dentistry; UC Berkeley’s Center for Occupational & Environmental Health, Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces, Labor Center, and Labor Occupational Health Program; the state of California Department of Public Health; and consultants from UCLA, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Public Policy, and PolicyLink.
Rebecca Wolfson works for the University of California, San Francisco.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
This year, this tremendous honor has been bestowed on the great state of California.
Affectionately known as “Sugar Bear,” the 84-foot white fir originated from the Six Rivers National Forest on the North Coast.
Sugar Bear is making its way across the state, visiting communities in all corners of the state, before it officially hits the road for our nation’s Capitol.
The US Capitol Tree will pull into the State Capitol this Wednesday where the state of California will host its official celebration of the US Capitol Christmas tree starting at noon. This festive event will be led by the North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire.
The event will be livestreamed at https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/video.
“We are proud to join with our tribal and federal partners to showcase the beauty of Northern California this Wednesday,” Sen. McGuire said. “We invite all Californians to take part in this festive event at the State Capitol or virtually to celebrate the US Capitol Christmas tree. We’ll be joined by some special guests including Santa Claus and Smokey Bear, there will be plenty of holiday cookies and of course — Christmas carols.”
California state officials will also be participating, including remarks by California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, Chairman John Elgin of the Lassic Band of the Wylacki-Wintoon Family Group will perform a blessing ceremony, Visit California’s President and CEO Caroline Beteta will provide remarks, students from both Del Norte and Humboldt County schools will present handmade ornaments and Sacramento State’s Vocal Jazz Choir will be on hand singing Christmas carols.
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