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- Written by: Lake County News reports
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said an elderly man died on Thursday night after he was hit by a vehicle on Lakeshore Drive.
Sgt. Ryan Peterson said officers responded to the report of a crash involving a pedestrian and a vehicle at approximately 9:13 p.m. Thursday in the 15000 block of Lakeshore Drive near Old Highway 53.
The pedestrian, a male in his 80s, was found in the roadway and transported by air ambulance to an out-of-county medical facility, Peterson said.
Peterson said the man later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by out-of-county medical staff.
The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was cooperative with the investigation, according to Peterson’s report.
Traffic Officer Michael Perreault responded to the scene and took over the investigation, Peterson said. The roadway was closed while the scene was reviewed and evidence was collected.
Peterson said preliminary indications are that the pedestrian was crossing the roadway outside of a crosswalk and was struck by a vehicle.
This case is pending further investigation and review for final determination and cause, he said.
The identity of the pedestrian is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. “Our thoughts are with his family in this difficult time,” Peterson said.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact Officer Perreault at 707-994-8251, Extension 519.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson said incumbent Joyce Overton and David Claffney, who serves on the city’s marketing committee, have qualified to run.
The seats up for election currently are held by Overton, who will be seeking a fifth term; Phil Harris; and Russel Perdock.
Harris had indicated he wasn’t planning to run and so didn’t file by the Aug. 7 deadline, which caused the deadline to be extended to 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Last week, City Manager Alan Flora told Lake County News that Perdock, along with Overton, had filed to seek reelection.
However, on Thursday Swanson reported that only Overton and Claffney had qualified for the November ballot.
She said Perdock failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify.
To qualify, council candidates have to be nominated by not less than 20 nor more than 30 registered voters.
The same thing happened with Lakeport City Council incumbent Tim Barnes, as Lake County News has reported.
However, while Lakeport’s council has four candidates for the general election, Clearlake is now short by one.
“This is very unusual. I have talked to many clerks today and no one I have talked to has had this happen,” Swanson told Lake County News. “It can be common to appoint members, but there are always enough members who file.”
Swanson suggested that the pandemic’s impacts on civic engagement – including the lack of meetings for many community groups – has created “a very different election process this year.”
The council will consider options for filling the seat when it holds a special meeting at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Swanson reported that pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10229, if there are not more candidates than offices to be elected then the council can either appoint those candidates who have been nominated, appoint an eligible voter who hasn’t been nominated or go forward with holding an election.
In August 2018, when the filing deadline had closed for the Lakeport City Council, only incumbents Stacey Mattina and Mireya Turner had filed to run. Since they were unopposed, the council decided to forgo the expense of an election and appointed them to fill the seats for another term, as Lake County News has reported.
The Clearlake City Council could take similar action this time, based on election code.
The lack of enough candidates comes despite a discussion brought forward by Harris at last week’s meeting to raise the council’s monthly stipend, which currently is $300.
Harris said the raise – which the council reached consensus to have staff bring back as an ordinance at its next regular meeting later this month – is meant to draw more people to serve on the council.
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Three seats for the Lakeport City Council are on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
Those seats are currently held by Tim Barnes, Kenny Parlet and George Spurr.
Spurr, currently the city’s mayor, did not file to run for election by the Aug. 7 deadline, which led to the filing deadline being extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Kelly Buendia told Lake County News that Barnes did file by the Aug. 7 deadline.
Candidates have to be nominated by not less than 20 nor more than 30 registered voters.
However, after the Registrar of Voters Office reviewed the signatures Barnes submitted, it was discovered that he did not have enough valid signatures to qualify, Buendia reported.
On Thursday, the city released the list of qualified candidates who will be on the fall ballot.
They include Parlet, Michael Froio, Michael Green and Nathan Maxman.
Froio is a general contractor who has served on the Lakeport Planning Commission since December 2016. In recent years he’s made significant efforts to clean up his neighborhood in the northern part of the city.
Green also serves on the Lakeport Planning Commission, appointed to a seat at the same time as Froio. He is a longtime cannabis advocate and consultant, and worked on a successful campaign for the county’s Measure C cannabis cultivation tax in 2016.
Maxman currently works as an auditor-appraiser for Mendocino County. He serves on the city’s Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, and has been a volunteer team leader with the Hope Harbor Warming Center and a volunteer with the Junior Giants program.
Both Green and Maxman made unsuccessful bids for council seats in the November 2016 election.
Parlet is a longtime resident and business owner in Lake County. He owns and operates Lakeview Supermarket and Deli in Lucerne. He’s seeking a third term this fall.
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Dr. Gary Pace reported on Thursday that Lake County was up to 267 COVID-19 cases, of which 37 are active – meaning they are being monitored by Public Health staff – and 227 recovered. There are no current hospitalizations and the county’s deaths remain at two, Pace said.
Pace said Lake County is not on the State’s County Monitoring List, and local residents enjoy a more open economy than 97 percent of Californians.
However, Pace said the increase in cases this week led to a state-reported peak 14-day average of 114 cases per 100,000 people. As of Thursday morning, the county’s average had returned to 70, well within the state’s threshold.
While the brief rise in cases over the monitoring threshold does not appear to be leading Lake County toward the watch list, Pace noted, “It is a good reminder of just how vulnerable we are to minor fluctuations that can lead to big changes.”
On Thursday night, Public Health departments statewide reported more than 602,000 cases and nearly 11,000 deaths.
Local health departments also have reported 27,493 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 142 deaths statewide.
Case counts for Lake County’s neighboring counties on Thursday night were as follows: Colusa, 401 cases, five deaths; Glenn, 404 cases, three deaths; Mendocino, 513 cases, 10 deaths; Napa, 1,170 cases, 11 deaths; Sonoma, 4,063 cases, 51 deaths; and Yolo, 1,927 cases, 45 deaths.
Lake County Public Health reported that 8,353 tests have been conducted. Statewide, the California Department of Public Health said Thursday that 9,445,493 tests have been conducted, an increase of 142,026 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.
Pace said Lake County residents have recently reported test result delays of seven to 10 days, with some receiving results upward of two weeks after testing. Modifications made by Quest Labs have decreased backlogs, and turnaround now averages five to seven days.
He said Verily testing remains available five days a week in Lake County. You can register for an appointment here.
Konocti Vista Casino reports on employee COVID-19 case
In related news, on Thursday Konocti Vista Casino and Resort in Lakeport said that it was informed on Monday that one of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
“As a precautionary measure, we immediately closed the property to focus on deep cleaning and contact tracing for guest, employee and community safety,” the casino management reported.
All available information and contact tracing indicate that the casino employee did not contract COVID-19 at Konocti Vista Casino and, until the positive result came back, was not symptomatic, casino officials said.
Once the individual’s test results were confirmed, health authorities and Konocti Vista Casino management advised the employee to immediately begin self-quarantine.
“In addition, contact tracing showed this employee had very limited contact with the public and other team members, but any employees that came in close contact, are being tested as an added precaution and won’t be returning to work until they receive a negative test result,” the casino said in its statement.
The casino suggested that any guest or employee who was in the facility from Aug. 1 to 9 should contact their doctor or medical professional if they feel fever, nausea, body aches or other flu-like symptoms.
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