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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 23.
With the county moving into the red tier last week on the state’s COVID-19 Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the board will return to a hybrid meeting model that includes both Zoom and in-person participation by the public in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link at 9 a.m.
The meeting ID is 939 2613 1795, password 755349. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,93926131795#,,,,*755349# US.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and passcode information above.
To submit a written comment on any agenda item please visit https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the eComment feature linked to the meeting date. If a comment is submitted after the meeting begins, it may not be read during the meeting but will become a part of the record.
At 9:06 a.m., the board will get its weekly update on COVID-19 from Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace.
At 10:15 a.m., the county will present the Employee Service Awards.
At 10:30 a.m., the board will consider a report from the Lake County Tourism Improvement District on its activities over the past year and approve an agreement between the county of Lake and Visit Lake County California for the provision of administrative services in the amount of $78,000 from March 2, 2021 to June 30, 2021, and authorize the chair to sign.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson’s report to the board states that the board passed a resolution on June 19, 2018, declaring the intention to establish the Lake County Tourism Improvement District, or LCTID.
The LCTID Board is composed of lodging business owners, a representative from the county of Lake, the city of Clearlake and the city of Lakeport as well as other tourism representatives and was seated on Nov. 7, 2018, Huchingson said.
She said the official manager of the LCTID is Visit Lake County California, a 501(c)3 organization which acts as the owners’ association for the LCTID.
“With the establishment of the LCTID and its own revenue stream, County staff are no longer engaged in tourism marketing directly and funds previously used for direct services are now provided to the LCTID for marketing and destination tourism activities, which promote the local economy,” Huchingson said.
Huchingson asked for the board’s approval of the agreement, which authorizes the county to provide funds for the purpose of marketing Lake County.
“Historically, the funds for these services have been directed to multiple vendors. With the creation of the LCTID the funds can now be directed to one vendor (Visit Lake County California) which will be responsible for promoting Lake County as a tourist, meeting and event destination,” Huchingson said.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: (A) Approve the purchase of a Probewell Electric Meter; and (B) approve a budget transfer; and (c) authorize the ag commissioner/sealer to sign the purchase order.
5.2: Adopt resolution authorizing the agreement between the county of Lake and the Sierra Health Foundation: Center for Health Program Management Services for the period of Sept. 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, and authorize the Behavioral Health Services director to sign the agreement.
5.3: A) Authorize the district attorney/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order for $6,662.55 to L.C. Action Police Supply for eight Glock duty weapons; and B) approve budget transfer in Budget Unit 2110, District Attorney Department to Object Code 62-74, to purchase duty weapons for district attorney investigators.
5.4: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Management Connections for Temporary Staffing Support Services completed during Fiscal Year 2020-21 for a sum of $150,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the amendment.
5.5: Approve utility agreement between the county of Lake and Lower Lake County Waterworks District No. 1 for the relocation of a water main on the Clayton Creek Road at Clayton Creek Bridge Replacement Project; Bid No. 20-10; Federal Aid Project No: BRLO-5914(077).
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.
6.3, 9:45 a.m.: Public hearing, vacatIon of a roadway known as Arabian Lane (CR#148D) in the Hidden Valley Lake area.
6.4, 10:15 a.m.: Presentation of Employee Service Awards.
6.5, 10:30 a.m.: (a) Consideration of report from the Lake County Tourism Improvement District on its activities over the past year; and (b) approve agreement between the county of Lake and Visit Lake County California for the provision of administrative services in the amount of $78,000 from March 2, 2021 to June 30, 2021, and authorize the chair to sign.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9 (d)(2)(e)(3): Claim of Earthways Inc.
8.2: Public employee evaluation: Title, Health Services director.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Sean Coffey
Exits from California in 2020 largely mirrored historical patterns, while the biggest statewide change was a decrease in people moving into California.
Using a new dataset of quarterly credit bureau data, the research team analyzed where Californians from each county moved after the pandemic struck in March 2020.
“While a mass exodus from California clearly didn’t happen in 2020, the pandemic did change some historical patterns, for example, fewer people moved into the state to replace those who left,” explains author Natalie Holmes, a Research Fellow at the California Policy Lab and a graduate student at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. “At the county level, however, San Francisco is experiencing a unique and dramatic exodus, which is causing 50 percent or 100 percent increases in Bay Area in-migration for some counties in the Sierras.”
“Some folks seem to be worried about the tax implications of wealthy individuals leaving the state, but we don’t yet see any dramatic evidence that rich households are fleeing California en masse,” comments Evan White, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley. “Unfortunately, because the state relies heavily on income taxes on the uber-wealthy, the departure of even small numbers of wealthy people could negatively impact revenues if they aren’t replaced with new entrants.”
This is the first published analysis using a new dataset of quarterly credit and residency information that CPL will use to inform the state’s understanding of mobility, wildfire impacts, financial well-being and student loans.
The data shows that Lake County had 1,062 exits in Q4 of 2020, down by 2.5 percent over the prior year. At the same time, Lake County had 1,148 entrances, up by 1.4 percent over the same time period in 2019. The total share of the population that moved was 3.2 percent.
Fifteen counties had lower exit rates than Lake County, based on the data.
Among the key findings, the study discovered that the share of movers that leave the state has grown slightly since 2015, from 16 percent to 18 percent, a trend that continued in 2020 with no marked increase.
Historically, the number of people leaving California tracks the number of people entering California, but this pattern deviated in Q4 2020, when 267,000 people left the state and only 128,000 entered.
The research also found that there is no evidence that wealthy households are leaving the state en masse. Their rates of exit track trends in less wealthy areas.
Net exits from San Francisco from the end of March to the end of the year increased 649 percent as compared to the same period in 2019, from 5,200 net exits to 38,800.
Researchers also found that approximately two-thirds of people who moved out of San Francisco remained within the 11-county Bay Area economic region, and 80 percent remained in California.
Counties in the Sierra Nevada mountains and other parts of Northern California saw huge increases in entrances by former Bay Area residents, with 50 percent and in some cases 100 plus more in-migrants in 2020 as compared to 2019.
This analysis uses the University of California Consumer Credit Panel, or UC-CCP, a new dataset created through a partnership between the California Policy Lab, the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Student Loan Law Initiative.
The UC-CCP consists of data from Experian, and contains longitudinal information about adults with a credit history who have lived in California since 2004.
Data includes each person’s zip code of residence, as reported by creditors, and credit information at a quarterly frequency. We define moves as changes in zip codes from one quarter to the next.
The analysis is focused on reported moves – defined as the date when that move is reported to financial institutions and shows up in the dataset – which are expected to lag behind actual moves.
More information about methodology is included in the report.
Sean Coffey writes for the UC Berkeley News Center and the California Policy Lab.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm for information on visiting or adopting.
Male tuxedo cat
This male tuxedo cat has a short black and white coat and green eyes.
He is in cat room kennel No. 39, ID No. 14359.
Male domestic short hair
This young male domestic short hair cat has a black coat and gold eyes
He is in kennel No. 66, ID No. 14417.
‘Buddy’
“Buddy” is a male domestic short hair cat with a flame point and white coat and blue eyes.
He has been neutered.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 100, ID No. 14384.
Male domestic short hair cat
This male domestic short hair cat has a black and white coat and green eyes.
He has been neutered.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 142, ID No. 14386.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: ESTHER OERTEL
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – To celebrate peak season for artichokes, I thought it would be fun to begin today’s column with an ode to this delectable fare.
Oh, prickly globe of humble leaf
Grown on ocean cliffs so steep
You woo us with your inner heart
Your thorns shock fingers like a dart
We seek you for your tasty flesh
And love you when you’re on our dish
We dig through leaves for our reward,
That tender disc which thorns do guard
Oh, artichoke, how you please!
With oil, butter, or mayonnaise
We peel a leaf, we take a bite
(What’s left behind does look a sight!)
Oh, artichoke, you’re worth the time
It takes to eat your parts sublime
You make for us a mighty feast
With heart, and each and every leaf
Groaning aside, the artichoke is a vegetable worthy of an ode, don’t you think? It’s mysterious, after all, as well as metaphorical and unique.
As to mystery, who ate the first one? What prompted that curious soul to look past the thorns and discover tasty flesh inside?
Its prickly leaves and tender heart evoke endless metaphors:
You can’t judge a book by its cover.
Good things take time.
Life unfolds like the leaves of an artichoke.
One must dig deep for hidden treasure.
A thorny exterior belies a tender heart within.
Patience wins all.
And its uniqueness speaks for itself. There is no other vegetable quite like it.
Peak season for artichokes is from March to May, and almost 100 percent of the U.S. artichoke crop is cultivated in California, with Monterey County – specifically Castroville and surrounding areas – accounting for a whopping 75 percent of it. Apparently the moderate coastal clime of that area and its fog-shrouded fields bode well for its growth.
Not surprisingly, Castroville, which began hosting its artichoke festival in 1956, has been dubbed the artichoke capital of the world.
And the town has an additional, if lesser known, claim to fame: Marilyn Monroe, then a barely recognizable starlet, was crowned Castroville’s artichoke queen in 1948.
Artichoke plants are large, with spiny, arching, ferny leaves that spread to up to six feet in diameter and stalks that grow to about three or four feet in height.
Edible artichokes are officially known as globe artichokes, and there are a number of varieties in varying sizes and shades of green and purple.
The part we eat is actually an immature bud that develops in various sizes depending on which part of the stalk it resides. The largest artichokes grow at the top of the stalk, medium ones grow from side shoots, and “baby” (or petite) artichokes grow at the base of the stalk hidden in the leaves.
“Baby” artichokes are fully mature but of a smaller size. The fuzzy portion near the heart doesn’t develop on them, making them easier to prepare.
If the buds are allowed to mature, they flower into a violet, thistle-like bloom, appropriate for this member of the thistle group of the sunflower family.
Artichokes grow wild in southern Europe and northern Africa and were first developed for cultivation in Sicily, Italy. They were later cultivated by the African Moors near Granada, Spain in about 800 A.D.
It was Spanish settlers who brought them to California in the 1600s, but they didn’t achieve popularity here until more than three centuries later, in the 1920s.
They were mentioned in the literature of the Greeks and Romans as far back as 77 A.D. In fact, shortly before his death, Pliny the Elder, an oft-quoted Roman author and naturalist, said they were one of “earth’s monstrosities.” Clearly he wasn’t a fan.
Artichokes contain more than nine powerful antioxidants that contribute to our health in a diverse array of ways, from promoting cardiovascular health to inhibiting the growth of cancer cells to aiding in the regeneration of liver tissue.
They’re also full of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium.
The best artichokes are globes that are heavy for their size with tight leaves. Don’t choose those that are dry looking or turning brown. If leaves are open, it means the artichoke is past its prime.
Artichokes may be stored in your fridge in a plastic bag, unwashed, for up to four days.
Before using, wash artichokes well, and if homegrown, be sure to tap them upside down in the sink. This helps remove any critters that may have made the leaves their home.
Artichokes are most commonly steamed, but they can be boiled, grilled, or roasted. If using the latter two methods, I recommend parboiling them first to tenderize the leaves and then finishing on the grill or in the oven to infuse the rich, smoky flavor that these methods impart.
When steaming, the top half-inch or so may be cut off to remove prickly thorns and, for the same reason, the tips of each leaf may be trimmed with scissors. I often slice artichokes in half to reduce the cooking time. I clean out the fuzz near the heart before popping into the steamer.
Artichoke stems are tasty and needn’t be completely removed before cooking. A couple inches may be left intact and lightly peeled.
A garlic clove, bay leaf, or slice of lemon (even all three) may be added to the water that steams the artichokes to impart flavor.
Artichokes may be served cold or hot, and are often accompanied by mayonnaise (usually when served cold), melted butter, or garlic-infused olive oil. I especially love them with a sauce of mayonnaise, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and fresh dill.
In Italy and parts of France, raw artichoke hearts are shaved and tossed in salads with a vinaigrette dressing and shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
In Sicily, a mixture that includes bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, anchovies, and cheese is stuffed between the bracts (the official term for an artichoke’s leaves) and then baked in the oven.
Polish cooks braise artichoke hearts in white wine and garlic, while Moroccans bake them with lamb.
I have to say that the most unusual use of artichokes I’ve seen is in the Italian liqueur cynar. This bitter aperitif is made with 13 different plants, the most predominant being the artichoke.
Today’s recipe, cream of artichoke heart soup, is a spin on one by Giada De Laurentis of the Food Network. Its delicate flavor and creamy texture marry well with a salad of hearts of Romaine lettuce tossed in a simple vinaigrette.
If frozen artichoke hearts are unavailable, canned or home-cooked ones may be used. (Just be sure the canned variety is not marinated.) If you prefer not to use cream, plain yogurt may be substituted, or add an extra potato and forgo the dairy all together.
As to my ode, I may have broken some poetry etiquette through its creation. According to thinkquest.org, “An ode is a poem that is written for an occasion or on a particular subject. They are usually dignified and more serious as a form than other forms of poetry. Unfortunately, today's society has distinctly less respect for propriety, morality, and dignity. Modern odes include sarcastic poems about various subjects, including Velcro and vegetables. “
I hope you’ll forgive me. At least mine wasn’t sarcastic; I meant every word.
Cream of artichoke heart soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, white part only, washed well and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small potato, peeled and chopped
1 (8 or 10 ounces) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 cups stock of your choice
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ - ½ cup heavy cream
Heat olive oil in a heavy, large pot over medium heat.
Add the leeks and the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the artichokes, stock, salt, and pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Off heat, use a handheld immersion blender to puree the soup.
Add the cream to taste and blend again to combine.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed, and heat to serving temperature.
Makes about four servings.
Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown.