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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The commission will meet virtually beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 22.
The agenda can be found here.
Submit comments and questions in writing for commission consideration by sending them to
Community members also can participate via Zoom.
To give the planning commission adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit written comments prior to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 22.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the Youtube channels for the city of Clearlake or Lake County PEG TV.
On Tuesday, the commission will be asked to consider the appeal of Jamie Fielden, who is seeking an administrative use permit to exceed the total allowed square footage for an accessory structure on property located at 3006 Old Highway 53 and a finding that it’s exempt from environmental review.
Fielden is proposing to install a 3,000-square-foot prefabricated garage for personal storage purposes only.
The staff report explained that a public hearing was held on April 26 and, “based on significant concerns from neighboring property owners and lack of corresponding participation from the applicant – the application was denied.”
An appeal was filed on May 13, six days after the deadline for submission, staff reported.
In her appeal, Fielden said she did not receive the notice because it was sent to an incorrect address.
She said the garage will be used to store personal vehicles.
The commission’s members are Chair Kathryn Davis, Vice Chair Robert Coker and commissioners Lisa Wilson, Erin McCarrick and Fawn Williams.
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- Written by: Anna Pruitt, IUPUI and Jon Bergdoll, IUPUI
A flood of donations to support COVID-19 relief and racial justice efforts, coupled with stock market gains, led Americans to give a record US$471 billion to charity in 2020.
The total donated to charity rose 3.8% from the prior year in inflation-adjusted terms, according to the latest annual Giving USA report from the Giving USA Foundation, released in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI. In contrast, total charitable giving only grew 2.8% in 2019 – a year of economic expansion and stock gains, we have found.
As two of the lead researchers who produced this report, we observed that giving bucked historical trends in three ways. The total increased despite a recession; foundations’ giving surged; and gifts to a variety of nonprofits providing social services, supporting people in need and protecting civil rights grew the most.
1. A good year for giving during a recession
Typically, giving declines or stays flat during recessions.
One reason why giving rose in 2020, even though the economy contracted, was that stocks notched gains by the end of the year.
Economists have found that donors give more to charity when the stock market fares well. But stocks usually decline during recessions.
2. Foundations and individuals stepped up
Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began, many foundations pledged to increase their grantmaking. Based on our findings, it looks like they kept their word: Foundation giving rose 15.6% to a record $88.55 billion in 2020, after adjusting for the effects of inflation.
Strong stocks also bolstered giving by foundations, which support a wide array of charitable activities by making grants. They are required by law to annually give away 5% of the average value of their assets, often held in endowments. As their stocks and other holdings grow, that 5% gets larger too.
Stock gains may have also boosted giving by American households, the source of about two-thirds of all charitable dollars, which grew 1% to set another inflation-adjusted record of $324 billion.
In particular, America’s billionaires became an estimated $1.2 trillion richer in 2020.
While giving by the wealthiest Americans – especially novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott – often dominated the headlines, giving by individuals wasn’t limited to large-scale gifts. One report found that the total raised from gifts under $250 grew more than larger donations. Another study found that one-time online gifts to organizations that provided COVID-19 relief grew by 41%.
At the same time, corporate philanthropy, which our colleagues in the past have found to be closely linked to economic performance and the profits companies earn, actually fell 7.3%. While certain industries, such as technology, grew in 2020, many others, including travel, hospitality and transportation, experienced losses.
3. Uneven experiences for different kinds of nonprofits
In addition to addressing the coronavirus pandemic and the unemployment spike it caused, American individuals and foundations responded to calls regarding racial justice.
Food banks, homeless shelters, youth programs and other organizations that meet basic needs, collectively known as human services groups, received an outpouring of support in 2020. Those donations grew 8.4%, in inflation-adjusted dollars, to $65 billion. This additional giving responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic troubles it brought about, as well as broad calls for racial justice.
Giving to public-society benefit organizations grew the most, a 14.3% increase to $48 billion. This broad category includes the United Way and its local branches, which pool donations raised in workplaces, from corporations and other sources. It also includes donor-advised funds, accounts through which donors can direct gifts to charities, and community development financial institutions, private-sector financial operations that boost local borrowers. Civil rights and voting rights groups also fall into this category.
However, organizations that rely on in-person events and services – such as operas and museums, as well as charity walks, runs and other peer-to-peer fundraising events that raise money to fight diseases – overall fared worse in 2020 compared to 2019. That could help explain the 8.6% decline in giving to the arts, culture and humanities sector as well as why giving to health-related organizations fell by 4.2% amid the pandemic.
In addition, some large gifts that funded COVID-19 research, such as the W.M. Keck Foundation’s $6 million in donations to the University of Southern California, count as giving to education, not giving to health.
What’s more, all nine categories that we track received gifts slated for COVID-19 relief and racial justice causes.
We also feel it’s important to observe that more than half of all Americans responded to the upheaval of 2020 with an outpouring of generosity, which they expressed in many ways besides donating money to charities.
When physical distancing became essential, Americans went out of their way to buy meals-to-go to support local restaurants, paid their hairdressers when their salons were closed and volunteered either formally or by simply helping their neighbors out. In addition, many Americans gave directly to others through crowdfunding platforms and other apps, which are particularly popular for younger people and people of color. While our research focuses on giving to charities, these new habits may indicate a broader move toward generosity on the horizon.
Together with our colleagues, we will continue to investigate whether these new patterns will continue in 2021 and beyond.
[You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter.]
Anna Pruitt, Researcher and Managing Editor, Giving USA, IUPUI and Jon Bergdoll, Applied Statistician of Philanthropy, IUPUI
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A fast-moving vegetation fire in Clearlake is prompting evacuations as state and local firefighters attempt to stop it.
The fire in the area of Wilkinson and Dam Road was first reported shortly after 5 p.m. Monday.
Radio traffic indicated the fire began with a passenger car fire spreading into vegetation.
Dispatch reported receiving calls about multiple explosions in the area as well as downed power lines.
Initial reports from the scene put the fire’s size at about half an acre.
Incident command called for evacuations on Wilkinson from Dam Road to Eighth Avenue, with that area expanding as the incident has progressed.
The Clearlake Police Department reported that Dam Road at Lake Street has been closed because of the fire.
At 5:25 p.m., Cal Fire air attack reported the fire was two to three acres with a rapid rate of spread.
Other air resources, including tankers and a helicopter, are reported to be working at the scene.
Two nearby mobile home parks are being told to shelter in place.
Clearlake Police have requested an ambulance respond to Wilkinson and Dam Road to transport one patient.
Shortly before 6 p.m., incident command reported that the fire was seven to eight acres with a southwest wind on it, and is moving into the Avenues in the city with structures and vehicles actively threatened and the evacuation zone expanding.
There is short-range spotting and the high-tension power lines from the Kugelman to Highland substations are threatened, incident command said.
As of 6:03 p.m., power was reported to be out to 2,584 customers in an area stretching from Clearlake to Hidden Valley Lake. As of that time, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. had not confirmed that the outage was a direct result of the fire.
However, Sheriff Brian Martin later confirmed to Lake County News that PG&E had deenergized the lines due to the fire threat, with the fire just under the lines.
Just before 6:45 p.m., incident command reported the fire to be 15 acres, with multiple spot fires continuing.
At 7:16 p.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office sent out a Nixle alert reporting an evacuation advisory for the area north of 18th Avenue, east of Phillips Avenue, south of 32nd Avenue and west of the Clearlake city limits.
The sheriff’s office said an evacuation shelter has been set up at Kelseyville High School.
Incident command reported shortly after 8 p.m. that the fire was at 20 acres and 75-percent contained, with the spot fires mitigated and the winds reducing. Overall, incident command said things were going well and they were looking at beginning to release engines soon.
Sheriff Martin told Lake County News at 8:15 p.m. residents in the area were still evacuated and that his agency was working with the Clearlake Police Department on starting to get everyone home safely.
No one appeared to have been seriously injured during the incident, he said.
Martin said PG&E is anticipating getting power back on to all but about 20 customers by about 10 p.m.
About 15 minutes later, a Nixle alert was issued advising community members that the evacuation advisory for the following areas had been lifted as of 8:17 p.m.: north of 18th Avenue, east of Phillips Avenue, south of 32nd Avenue and west of the Clearlake city limits.
Radio traffic shortly after 10 p.m. indicated fire crews would remain on the scene through the night.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Westside Community Park Committee reported it’s making progress on its future horse park.
The committee recently completed the encroachment from State Highway 175 along with the entrance into the eight-acre site where the horse park will be located.
It is on the north side of the state highway just west of the intersection with Mathews Road outside of Lakeport.
Chair Dennis Rollins said this project was a collaborative effort.
Mike Lucchetti of Lucchetti Excavating approached the Westside Community Park Committee with an offer to provide labor and equipment for this project. Rollins said the committee eagerly accepted his very generous offer.
“This community has been supportive of our business and we would like to do this to help the community,” Lucchetti said.
The city of Lakeport Public Works Department under the leadership of Public Works Director Doug Grider and Foreman Jim Kennedy, provided additional labor and equipment when needed.
Bob Peters, owner of RB Peters in Lakeport, offered to haul asphalt to the site.
Granite Construction sold the asphalt at a significant discount to further assist with the completion of the horse park entrance.
Members of the Westside Community Park Committee volunteered to provide traffic control on the day of the paving.
“Even with the donations of labor and equipment as well as the discount on materials, this project still cost nearly $15,000,” said Rollins.
He added, “The committee raised these funds from its annual Grillin’ on the Green BBQ Cook Off and other donations from a generous community.”
Rollins said the Westside Community Park Committee is currently working on a grant application to fund the design and construction of the horse park.
Public support is always needed and appreciated. Donations can be mailed to Westside Community Park Committee, 1350 Berry St., Lakeport, CA 95453.