How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
Mendocino County Sheriff Matthew Kendall, in corroboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will be hosting a Facebook Live announcement on his agency’s Facebook page on Friday, Feb. 5, at 11:30 a.m.
This virtual event is being held regarding the disappearance of Khadijah Britton of the Round Valley Indian Tribes.
Britton disappeared three years ago in Covelo and the investigation remains active and unsolved.
Sheriff Matthew Kendall and Scott Schelble, assistant special agent in charge of Violent Crime in the San Francisco Division of the FBI, will be present during this virtual livestream event to provide updates on the status of the ongoing investigation.
As time permits, the sheriff’s office intends to answer questions from the Facebook livestream chat.
Anyone interested in watching this Facebook livestream event can do so by visiting the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page here.
This event is being held in a virtual format to comply with current COVID-19 regulations, local public health orders, and social distancing protocols. Due to these circumstances, members from the public and press will not be able to attend this event in person.
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Despite recent winter storms that brought heavy rain and snow to parts of the state, California’s snowpack is continuing to lag, according to a new state report.
The Department of Water Resources conducted the second manual snow survey of the season at Phillips Station on Wednesday.
The manual survey recorded 63 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent, or SWE, of 17 inches, which is 93 percent of average for this location.
The SWE measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast.
“The recent blast of winter weather was a welcome sight, but it was not enough to offset this winter’s dry start,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “While there is still a chance we will see additional storms in the coming weeks, the Department and other state agencies are preparing for the potential for a second consecutive year of dry conditions.”
Statewide snow survey measurements reflect those dry conditions. Measurements from DWR’s electronic snow survey stations indicate that statewide the snowpack’s SWE is 12.5 inches, or 70 percent of the Feb. 3 average, and 45 percent of the April 1 average.
April 1 is typically when California’s snowpack is the deepest and has the highest SWE.
Fall 2020 was extremely dry, especially in the Sierra Nevada, and follows last year’s below-average snow and precipitation.
Separately, in the Mendocino National Forest, DWR’s California Data Exchange Center also reported new snow levels.
Measurements taken on Tuesday at Anthony Peak showed a snow depth of 28 inches and water content of 9.5 percent, with density of 34 percent. That’s the first measure taken this year, and compared to February 2020, it’s up by 2 inches but density is down by 4 percent.
With only a couple months remaining in California’s traditional wet season, Californians should look at ways to reduce water use at home. Each individual act of conservation makes a difference over time.
Visit www.SaveOurWater.com to learn easy ways to save water every day.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
For several months last year, the board had been using a “hybrid” meeting model that included virtual access and a limited number of people in its chambers at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.
However, due to the holiday COVID-19 case surge, the board voted at its Jan. 5 meeting to close the chambers as it had earlier in the pandemic and review the closure on a weekly basis until case numbers dropped.
Earlier in the Tuesday meeting, during his weekly report, Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace told the board that case numbers are now dropping and the situation is improving.
However, the board in its discussion on the chambers closure supported continuing to stay closed to in-person participation by community members.
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said he’s concerned about people having the necessary Internet access, noting recent power outages.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska said that while the county’s numbers are improving, the county’s case rate is still far above where it was in November.
At that time the county was in the red tier, the second-highest in the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. At the end of November, the county moved in the most restrictive tier, purple, where it has remained since.
Pyska said she didn’t think it was time to move forward with reopening the chambers and she wanted to wait a few more weeks to see how numbers improve and vaccinations progress.
If the new COVID-19 variant pops up, Pyska said they will need to take that into consideration.
The California Department of Public Health reported earlier this month that one variant, 452R, already has been confirmed in Lake County, as Lake County News has reported.
The county is offering different ways that community members can access the board meetings if they don’t have Internet access.
County staffers have placed screens inside the courthouse, located at 255 N. Forbes St., that can be viewed outside of the building. A microphone is available for public input.
The board’s videographer, Sam Euston, said there were no viewers on Tuesday but there had been two people watching the video the previous week.
The Clearlake and Lakeport branches of the Lake County Library are offering Google Chromebooks for checkout for those who need access to view the meetings.
The Chromebooks can be checked out for three hours for use on the library premises, and contactless pickup is available.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson told the board that County Librarian Christopher Veach reported that, so far, no one has shown up to use a Chromebook for that purpose.
Each of the four county libraries also has wifi accessible in their parking lots. Members of the public can park at these locations to use wifi on borrowed or personal devices, by connecting to the “Lake County Library” network – no password is needed – anytime from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The board reached consensus to keep the current virtual meeting protocols in place until further notice.
The matter will be brought back for review again next week.
Ways to watch the board meetings
For the public at large, the meetings can be watched on Lake County PEGTV (Mediacom Channel 8) and on the county’s Facebook page.
The county posts its agenda and livestreams the meetings at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Once the meetings are completed, the full videos usually are posted on that site by the following day.
The meeting agendas on the county website include information for how to access the meetings via Zoom. The access codes tend to change weekly so to participate, check the latest agenda, which typically is posted on the Friday before the meeting.
For more information on the Chromebook borrowing program, contact the Lakeport Library Branch at 707-263-8817 or the Redbud Library in Clearlake at 707-994-5115, or visit the library’s website.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
As part of the hearing, Community Development Director Jenni Byers presented to the council the report on rounds two and three for the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – or CDBG-CV – program.
Under the program’s auspices, the city is eligible to apply for $241,394 which, if it receives the money, it must spend within 24 months.
The city can use the funds for several permitted activity areas: public services, public facility and infrastructure improvement, public facility acquisition, housing assistance, business assistance and microenterprise assistance.
The city conducted an online survey that was active through Tuesday at 3 p.m. Byers said they had 55 respondents who weighed in on uses for the funds.
In the survey responses, which can be found here, 50.9 percent of participants said they or someone in their immediate family had been affected financially by COVID-19.
Of those who were impacted, 34.5 percent said they had experienced reduced work hours, 20.7 percent said their place of employment closed or they were laid off, 17.2 percent said they were sick or cared for a sick family member and 6.9 percent saw increased work hours or a new job, with other responses including being unable to work because of being at home for distance learning and experiencing decreased business revenue.
Survey respondents showed the most support, 38.9 percent, for using grant funds for business assistance, followed by public services – specifically, rental assistance – and microenterprise assistance for businesses with five or fewer employees.
Byers said staff met after receiving the comments and considered the responses.
Staff’s recommendation to the council was to pursue $191,394 be allocated towards economic development activities, she said.
Another $50,000 would go for public facilities and infrastructure, in particular, installing a new HVAC system at the Silveira Community Center on N. Main Street, which has been a COVID-19 testing site and which could soon be used for a vaccination site as well, Byers said.
She said Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 91 to provide rental assistance for up to 12 months, so staff decided not to duplicate that effort.
Councilman Michael Green was concerned that SB 91 doesn’t offer enough help and wanted to consider giving assistance directly to city residents.
Councilman Michael Froio wanted to know who would set up the criteria for who would receive the assistance.
Byers said the city has a baseline program for business loans that it could use. However, she asked for direction from the council on what its members wanted staff to bring back in the final resolution necessary to pursue the funds.
City Attorney David Ruderman told Froio, “It’s important to understand that this is the council's decision.”
Ruderman said that the council was to listen to the public input but, in the end, it was the council’s decision as to what areas of the community this money can be most useful for based on the criteria in the grant, which is very limited.
Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Mattina thanked staff for doing a good job with the grant, noting the money could go a long way.
“I do think our businesses really need it,” said Mattina, adding that they also need to keep the community center going.
Councilwoman Mireya Turner said she also supported staff’s recommendation for how to use the grant funds. Turner said having COVID-19 testing at the Silveira Center is a great asset, and it would be great to have a vaccination hub there as well.
Byers said the city will apply for the funding in two separate grant rounds.
The first, for the public facilities funds, is due after the next meeting in two weeks. The economic development grant is due March 5.
She asked for the council’s authorization for staff to make two applications, one for the $50,000 in public facility funds and the $191,394 for economic development.
Turner moved to approve pursuing the two funding allocations and directed staff to proceed with the applications for the improvements to the Silveira Center and the economic development funds.
Mattina seconded and the council approved the motion 5-0.
The council on Tuesday also received a report on the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake.
Email Elizabeth Larson at