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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Forecasters said parts of Lake County could see patchy frost on Wednesday morning, with sunny conditions throughout most of the day. Northeast winds of up to 15 miles per hour, with gusts into the 20s, are possible.
Thursday, Christmas Eve, will be partly sunny.
Temperatures on both days are anticipated to be in the 50s during the day and into the low 30s at night.
On Friday, Christmas Day, the forecast said rain is likely between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., with showers after 4 p.m. and light winds of up to 9 miles per hour in the morning.
Rainfall totals on Christmas are estimated to be between half an inch and an inch, total, for the precipitation during the day and at night.
Temperatures on Christmas are expected to be in the high 40s during the daytime and in the high 30s at night.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for chances of showers to continue from Saturday through Monday, and temperatures ranging from the low 30s at night to the high 49s during the day.
Conditions are expected to clear on Tuesday, when the forecast calls for mostly sunny conditions but cold daytime temperatures in the 40s.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The California Employment Development Department’s newest report on unemployment puts Lake County’s November jobless rate at 7.3 percent – the same as it was in March, just before local and statewide lockdowns went into effect.
That’s down from 7.4 percent in October but up markedly from the 4.8 percent reported in November 2019, according to EDD data.
On the statewide level, California’s unemployment rate dropped 0.8 percent to 8.2 percent in November as the state’s employers added 57,100 jobs.
The California unemployment rate in November was down from 9 percent in October 2020 but up from 3.9 percent from November of last year, the EDD said.
The state’s November unemployment rate also was the lowest since the 5.5 percent reported in March.
On the nationwide level, employment numbers also are recovering. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national jobless rate was 6.7 percent in November, down from 6.9 percent in October but up from the 3.5 percent reported the previous November.
Like the local and state situations, November was the best month nationwide for employment since March, when a 4.4 percent jobless rate was reported.
Lake County’s civilian labor force numbered 26,620 individuals in November, with 2,080 individuals unemployed, compared to a civilian labor force of 27,400 in October, when 2,200 people were reported to be without jobs.
State data showed that industry sectors that showed job growth in Lake County in November included leisure and hospitality, 12.9 percent; trade, transportation and utilities, 8.2 percent; professional and business services, 1.6 percent; government, 0.7 percent; and service providing, 0.3 percent.
Total farm jobs were down by 35.1 percent in November, but up by 26 percent in a year-over comparison, the state said. Other local industries showing year-over growth included professional and business services, 8.5 percent; federal government, 6.3 percent; and trade, transportation and utilities, 0.3 percent.
In November, Lake County ranked No. 35 out of the state’s 58 counties for its jobless rate.
Lake’s neighboring counties’ jobless rates and ranks in the latest report are Colusa, 10.8 percent, No. 57; Glenn and Napa tied at No. 16 with 6 percent; Sonoma, 5.5 percent, No. 8; and Yolo, 5.8 percent, No. 12.
Over the course of several months, some of the state’s rural counties had the lowest unemployment in California. Lassen, for example, held the No. 1 spot for the lowest jobless rate from May through October.
However, in November, Lassen was pushed out of the top spot by Marin County, which historically has among the lowest unemployment rates statewide but which saw its rate climb due to the business impacts of COVID-19.
Marin’s November rate was 4.7 percent, with Sierra County ranking No. 2 with 5 percent, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties tying for No. 3 with 5.1 percent, and Placer ranking No. 5 with 5.2 percent. Lassen fell to No. 6, with 5.3 percent.
The highest unemployment was reported in Imperial County, which reported 16.4 percent and ranked No. 58. The rest of the five counties with the highest jobless rates included Colusa, No. 57, 10.8 percent; Los Angeles, No. 56, 10.6 percent; Tulare, No. 55, 9.8 percent; and Kern, No. 54, 9.4 percent.
The statewide employment situation
The EDD reported that California has now regained approximately 46 percent of the 2,615,800 nonfarm jobs that were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April. November marks the sixth straight month the unemployment rate fell below the all-time unemployment rate high of 16.4 percent set in April and May of this year.
California payroll jobs totaled 16,191,400 in November 2020, up 57,100 from October 2020 but down 1,336,700 from November of last year, the EDD said.
The state said the number of Californians with jobs in October was 17,347,000, a decrease of 141,500 jobs from October’s total of 17,488,500, and down 1,386,900 from the employment total in November of last year.
The number of unemployed Californians was 1,542,100 in November, a decrease of 186,000 over the month, and up by 788,400 in comparison to November of last year, the EDD reported.
The EDD’s newest report said that nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in November: Leisure and hospitality, up 27,800; trade, transportation and utilities, 19,700; professional and business services, 12,900; education and health services, 8,500; financial activities, 2,300; information, 900; manufacturing, 600; other services, 300; and mining and logging, 100.
Two sectors reported job losses: construction, which lost 5,800 jobs, and government, which for the third straight month posted the largest industry job decline, losing 10,200 jobs in November.
The EDD also reported that there were 1,278,200 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the November 2020 sample week. That compares to 1,650,946 people in October 2020 and 293,595 people in November 2019.
Concurrently, the state said 168,998 initial claims were processed in the November 2020 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 16,347 claims from October 2020, and a year-over increase of 119,552 claims from November 2019.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s two members of Congress voted on Monday to pass an end-of-year funding package that includes coronavirus relief and an omnibus spending bill that funds the federal government through Sept. 30, 2021.
Congressmen John Garamendi (D-CA) and Mike Thompson (CA-05) cast their aye votes for the omnibus and coronavirus relief bill, H.R. 133.
Both houses of Congress passed the package – which includes $900 billion in coronavirus relief and economic stimulus – on Monday. It next moves to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
It contains billions of dollars for health care efforts, including $55 million for the Food and Drug Administration to continue working on vaccines and therapies to fight COVID-19 and $73 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts to support public health, to research vaccines and therapies, diagnostic testing and contact regarding coronavirus, while also addressing substance abuse prevention and treatment services, and child care support.
Another $8.75 billion will go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support federal, state, local, territorial and tribal public health agencies to distribute, administer, monitor, and track coronavirus vaccination to ensure broad-based distribution, access and vaccine coverage.
For those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the package restores the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplement to all state and federal unemployment benefits at $300 per week, starting after Dec. 26 and ending March 14.
It also provides a refundable tax credit in the amount of $600 per eligible family member. The credit is $600 per taxpayer – $1,200 for married filing jointly – in addition to $600 per qualifying child. The credit phases out starting at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income – $112,500 for heads of household and $150,000 for married filing jointly – at a rate of $5 per $100 of additional income.
“I’m pleased that this much-needed relief will finally come to American families,” Garamendi said. “The House offered a strong pathway for additional COVID relief back in May when it passed the Heroes Act. I am relieved that the Senate has finally come to the negotiating table and agreed to a compromise that will advance bipartisan legislation to address every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garamendi said the bill will accelerate the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and includes funding to help stop the rapid spread of the virus.
In addition to the $600 direct payments to individuals and the extension to Unemployment Insurance payments for millions of Americans that the House fought to secure, Garamendi said there’s also $82 billion in funding to support the education system to help schools mitigate the transmission of the virus so we can safely reopen our classrooms.
The critical PPP forgivable loan program that has helped small businesses weather the coronavirus storm also receives an additional $284 billion in funding under this legislation, Garamendi said.
“This emergency relief is an important step forward. However, it must serve as an initial building block that we will expand upon to provide additional COVID-19 relief under the Biden-Harris Administration,” said Garamendi, adding he’ll continue working in a bipartisan manner to address the community’s needs during the pandemic.
Thompson said the bill was “far from perfect and it is not commensurate to the magnitude of this crisis.”
He added, “It’s not nearly enough funding and does not include enough relief for our health care systems that are overwhelmed or the families, workers and small businesses that are struggling financially. The package does not include funding for state and local governments or aid to our restaurant industry.
“However, the bill does offer some relief and so it’s an important step in helping our nation respond to and recover from this pandemic. It includes critical aid to speed up COVID-19 vaccination rollout, support for our schools, funding for our struggling small businesses, and a desperately needed extension of the expanded unemployment insurance. I view this package as a bridge to a bigger agreement that we must pass in the coming months,” Thompson said.
Thompson said he will work with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle and President-elect Joe Biden to get more coronavirus relief legislation passed as soon as we can in the 117th Congress.
The full text of the legislation – which is nearly 5,600 pages – is available here, while a 29-page summary is here.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County CARES Small Business Assistance Grant Program issued $1.3 million in grants to eligible small businesses.
The county of Lake partnered with Lake County Economic Development Corp. to provide much-needed financial relief to businesses at a key juncture of COVID-19 pandemic response.
"Local businesses are the backbone of our community,” said District 2 Supervisor and County CARES Act Ad Hoc Committee member Bruno Sabatier. “They offer so much to our communities; employment, support for programs and activities – many of the things we need to find comfort in our lives. COVID-19 has had a great impact on their financial stability, and we need to do what we can to provide the respite they need in these troubling times.”
COVID-19 has severely affected the hospitality industry.
“The hotel was closed for three months in the spring,” said Bernie Butcher of the Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Restaurant. “This grant from the Lake County Board of Supervisors will be extremely helpful in allowing us to retain staff and expand our services.”
“This grant is everything,” said Derick Fiske, owner of Middletown’s Perry’s Deli, another grant recipient. “It has helped keep our dream of running a small business in our hometown alive. We couldn’t be more proud to be part of Lake County. Thank you!"
Lake County Economic Development Corp. shared the county’s vision to bring relief to a broad set of pandemic-affected businesses, and administered the program with support from Economic Development and Finance Corp. of Ukiah.
“This grant program has helped bridge a funding gap for many small businesses,” said LCEDC President Stephanie Ashworth. “However, the work is not done, and we all have a part to play. Continue to support your neighborhood businesses, by using local pick-up services and home delivery. Shop local even when you shop online, and continue to visit Lake County businesses that can safely provide in-person services.”
“The Small Business Assistance Grant Program brought a breath of fresh air, and we must continue to find ways to help businesses endure the pandemic,” said Sabatier. “Keeping our communities safe and supporting Lake County’s business community are among our board's top priorities."
More resources for small businesses and a link to sign up for alerts regarding the state’s upcoming $500 million Small Business Relief Grant opportunity can be found at https://business.ca.gov/coronavirus-2019/.
