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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The court had issued an initial two-week closure that went into effect on March 18, as Lake County News has reported.
On March 18, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace issued a shelter in place order for Lake County that went into effect on March 19 and will remain in effect until at least April 10.
On March 19, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order ordering all Californians to stay at home.
Additionally, on March 23, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye issued a statewide order suspending all trials for 60 days. It is expected that the chief justice will issue additional statewide orders extending statutory timeframes.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate and Lake County Superior Court officials said it is apparent that the social distancing and limits on gatherings will remain in place beyond the court’s originally planned closure through April 1.
Court officials said they understand the delicate balance between public safety and the timely administration of justice.
Under Government Code Section 68115, the court has received an emergency order from the Chief Justice to extend statutory timeframes for the filing of papers and the conducting of judicial business for the period of April 2 through May 1. A copy of the order will be posted on the court website.
While the court provides an essential government service, in an effort to comply with the Public Health officer’s order and to protect court users and staff from the spread of COVID-19, the court will remain closed through May 1, 2020, except for services described below.
Beginning April 2 the court will be handling the following critical emergency matters:
– In-custody criminal arraignments;
– Juvenile detention hearings;
– Preliminary hearings in which time has not been waived;
– Ex-parte temporary domestic violence restraining orders;
– Ex-parte civil temporary restraining orders, including civil harassment, workplace violence, gun violence and elder abuse;
– Ex-parte emergency petitions for temporary conservatorship;
– Ex-parte emergency petitions for temporary guardianship;
– Ex-parte family code temporary emergency orders;
– Ex-parte emergency civil injunction temporary restraining orders;
– Ex-parte applications for orders based on stipulation.
Courtrooms
Pursuant to the order of the presiding judge, access to the fourth floor of the courthouse and the courtrooms is restricted to those persons who are required by law to be present for the court proceeding.
The parties, attorneys and witnesses subpoenaed to testify are permitted to attend. No other persons shall be permitted to attend absent a prior order of the court. A copy of the order is posted on the court website.
The Clearlake Branch Courthouse will not have any cases set and will be closed.
Trials and contested hearings
The court will not be conducting any trials or hearings during the closed period of April 2 through May 1.
The trials and hearings currently set to occur during the closed period will be rescheduled by the court to a date after May 1 and notice of the rescheduled date will be mailed to counsel or the self-represented party. This includes small claims, traffic and unlawful detainer court trials set to occur at the Clearlake Branch Courthouse during the closed period.
Current scheduled court dates
All regular court calendars and currently scheduled court dates for the period of April 2 through May 1 will be rescheduled by the court. Notice of the rescheduled date will be mailed to counsel or the self-represented party.
Temporary restraining orders/temporary emergency orders
A hearing involving any request for a restraining order set to be heard during the closed period will be rescheduled to a new hearing date after May 1.
Any temporary restraining order or temporary emergency order currently in effect and expiring during the closed period will be ordered extended and shall remain in effect to the rescheduled hearing date.
Department of Child Support Services
All child support hearings scheduled to be heard during the closed period will be reset for the hearing to occur on a date after May 1 and notice of the rescheduled date will be mailed by the court to counsel and parties.
Veterans court and drug court
All matters set to occur in veterans court and drug court during the closed period will be reset to be heard on a date after May 1 and notice of the rescheduled date will be mailed by the court to counsel and parties.
Court clerk’s offices
The court clerk’s offices will remain closed to the public. Court staff will be available by phone.
A drop-box for the emergency matters listed above will be available at both the Lakeport Courthouse (located in the first-floor lobby) and Clearlake Courthouse (accessed from outside the main door) between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Filings will be accepted by mail or drop-box.
Any temporary emergency order returned from a judge, will be available for pick up after 4 p.m.
All other filings will require a self-addressed stamped envelope if endorsed copies are desired.
Self-Help Center
The Self-Help Center will be closed to the public. Assistance will be provided by phone and email only. No in-person assistance will be provided.
Jurors
If you received a summons to appear for jury service between April 1 and May 1, you are not required to appear. You will be rescheduled and sent a new notice.
As the situation is quickly evolving, the courts will keep the public up to date at www.lake.courts.ca.gov .
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new nationwide forecast estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic could peak in California in late April and end in the United States in June if strong social distancing measures continue, but that in the meantime most of the country’s states could see their health care systems stretched to the limit.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent global health research organization at the University of Washington School of Medicine, produced the new forecast.
Calling COVID-19 “an extraordinary challenge to US health and the healthcare system,” the institute – or IHME – estimates that demand for ventilators and beds in US hospital intensive care units will far exceed capacity for COVID-19 patients as early as the second week of April.
The institute’s forecast also anticipates that deaths related to the current wave of COVID-19 in the US are likely to persist into July, even if people continue to protect themselves and their communities by strongly adhering to social distancing measures and by taking other precautions advised by public health officials.
IHME’s analysis, based on observed death rates, estimates that over the next four months in the US, approximately 81,000 people will die from the virus. Estimates range between 38,000 and 162,000 US deaths.
The forecast predicts that 41 states will need more ICU beds than they currently have available and that 11 states may need to increase their ICU beds by 50 percent or more to meet patient needs before the current wave of the pandemic ends, a point which is defined as fewer than 10 deaths per day nationwide. The end of the pandemic could occur toward the end of June.
“Our estimated trajectory of COVID-19 deaths assumes continued and uninterrupted vigilance by the general public, hospital and health workers, and government agencies,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray. “The trajectory of the pandemic will change – and dramatically for the worse – if people ease up on social distancing or relax with other precautions. We encourage everyone to adhere to those precautions to help save lives.”
Nationwide, COVID-19 deaths are forecast to peak at 2,271 per day on April 15. Hospital resource use is expected to peak that same day, with more than 224,000 hospital beds needed, more than 33,000 intensive care unit beds required and more than 26,000 ventilators in use.
In California, where a statewide stay at home order went into effect on March 19, IHME’s forecast estimates that deaths will peak at 100 per day on April 25 and remain there for several days before beginning to decline.
The forecast states that California has a total of 26,654 beds and 1,993 available intensive care beds.
Peak resource use in California will occur on April 26, based on IHME’s forecast, with 10,468 beds needed, and 1,564 ICU beds and 1,252 ventilators required to care for patients. Peak use will persist for several days before dropping off.
Total COVID-19 deaths in California projected through Aug. 4 are estimated to reach approximately 4,306, while total deaths overall are expected to top 6,100, according to IHME’s analysis.
California’s projected number of deaths ranks the state second nationwide, with New York expected to have more than 10,200 deaths overall. Rounding out the projected top five are Texas, 5,847; New Jersey, 4,109; and Michigan, 4,061.
The forecast does not offer an estimate of how many total COVID-19 cases each state could experience, and the analysis does not look at states on a county-by-county level.
As of Sunday night, a tally of reports from public health departments across California conducted by Lake County News put the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in California at approximately 6,345, with deaths numbering 132. The IHME analysis had forecast eight fewer deaths in California on Sunday.
As of the latest information available through the weekend, no positive cases of COVID-19 have so far been confirmed in Lake and nearly a dozen other counties, including Alpine, Del Norte, Lassen, Mariposa, Modoc, Plumas, Sierra, Tehama and Trinity, with Tuolumne reporting a case of a nonresident with the virus being treated in that county, according to those respective counties’ public health departments.
Lake County’s public schools closed on March 16 and Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace issued a countywide shelter in place order that went into effect on March 19, with an additional order days later closing Clear Lake, all county waterways and lodging facilities.
In Lake County, which has a large population of both seniors and veterans, there are a total of 50 hospital beds between Adventist Health Clear Lake Hospital and Sutter Lakeside Hospital, which are both under the “critical access” designation that limits them to 25 beds each.
Dr. Pace said last week that, with state waivers, Sutter Lakeside could increase to 50 beds and Adventist to about 40. Together, the hospitals have 11 ventilators available with access to five more.
Some Bay Area counties are reported to be considering extending their own shelter in place orders.
So far, Dr. Pace has not reported if he plans on extending Lake County’s stay in place order past its initial April 10 end date.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The board will meet virtually beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 31.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online on the county’s Facebook page or at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx . Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
Because the meeting will be held virtually, members of the public are asked to submit comments on items to
This week’s board meeting is deemed a special one as the board usually does not meet the fifth Tuesday of the month.
At 9:10 a.m., the board will get the latest update on COVID-19 from Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace.
In an untimed item, Supervisor Rob Brown is asking the board to consider sending a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom “suspend all legislation that has been recently introduced or been enacted over the last two years that would been seen as detrimental to many private enterprise jobs,” according to Brown’s memo to the board.
The letter, which can be seen below, asks that the governor “act swiftly to suspend all legislation that has been recently introduced or, has been enacted over the last two years that would be seen as detrimental to many private enterprise jobs. This legislation would include Assembly Bills 36, 40, 673,725, 5, 790, 882, 1332 and Senate Bills 37, 44, 135, 10, 246 and 567.”
It goes on to note, “Much of the workforce and business impacted by these legislative actions have actually been identified by the Governor as essential during this current crisis of COVID-19. Additionally, many local businesses may not qualify for benefits that are being made available to others by our Federal and State representatives.
The letter concludes, “The possibility of losing hundreds of thousands of jobs to the effects of COVID-19, is inevitable. To lose hundreds of thousands more, as a result of legislation that is under your control, is a potential disaster that is avoidable.”
In another untimed item, the board will consider recommended changes in the customary budget procedure for fiscal year 2020-21 recommended and final recommended budget, as well as proposed changes to the board’s annual meeting calendar for 2020.
Specifically, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson told the board in a memo for the meeting that her staff must make alternative plans for the coming fiscal year’s budget, with staffing resources “severely limited” due to COVID-19 disaster response.
“Staff met recently with the Auditor-Controller and with department heads to discuss solutions and determined that the best option will be to initiate the budget process by replicating the numbers from Adopted Budget for FY 2019/2020, as a starting point for FY 2020/2021,” Huchingson said.
Huchingson said her office, in conjunction with departments, will make minor adjustments, between April 13 and May 1.
Originally, the recommended budget hearings were calendared for June 10 and 11, with the final budget hearings set for Sept. 15, Huchingson reported.
She said that, due to the COVID-19 health emergency, staff is requesting to move those meetings to June 9 for the recommended budget hearings, with department heads to present their final budget presentations to the board on Sept. 23 and 24 during final recommended budget hearings.
The full agenda is below.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve postponement of performance evaluations of board-appointees due to the COVID-19 crisis.
5.2: Approve the continuation of local health emergency related to the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) as proclaimed by the Lake County Public Health officer.
5.3: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex fire incident (River and Ranch fires).
5.4: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Pawnee fire incident.
5.5: Approve continuation of a local emergency due to COVID-19.
5.6: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, approve Amendment No. 1 between Lake County Sanitation District and Brelje & Race Consulting Engineers in the amount of $48,000 and a total contract amount of $405,000 for the Anderson Springs Sewer Project; and authorize the chair to sign.
5.7: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, approve an exception to the Lake County Sewer Use Code Sec. 205, allowing APN No. 050-441-36 to remain on septic system until such time as the system is in need of repair or replacement, at which time the property owner will be required to connect to the public sewer at the owner's expense.
5.8: Request to waive 900-hour limit for extra help Field Technician II Daniella Cazares.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of a local health emergency and order prohibiting the endangerment of the community through the unsafe removal, transportation and disposal of fire debris for the Mendocino Complex fire.
6.3, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of Update on COVID-19.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of letter to Gov. Newsom asking to suspend legislation that would affect private enterprise jobs.
7.3: (a) Consideration of recommended changes in customary budget procedure for fiscal year 2020/2021 recommended and final recommended budget; and (b) consideration of changes to the board's annual meeting calendar for 2020.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: Health Services director.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Ltr_GovernorNewsom_03312020 by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
What can you do to protect your community – your family?
Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace, MD, MPH, wants community members to have the information they need to make the healthiest choices possible.
He also needs the community’s help. Keeping COVID-19 from gaining a foothold in Lake County is a team effort, and everyone needs to do their part.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, Dr. Pace will host a virtual town hall meeting live on the county of Lake Facebook page.
Public officials will answer questions and provide valuable updates. Health care and other community partners will be invited to participate as well.
Please send questions to
Whether or not the panelists are able to address every question in the live meeting, the public’s input will help guide future information sharing, and community participation is appreciated.
For those who are not Facebook members, video will also be available via the county’s Granicus feed.
Mediacom subscribers can additionally access the COVID-19 Town Hall via channel 8, Lake County PEG TV.
For Lake County-focused COVID-19 information, visit the Health Services Department’s website.
If you still have questions, send an email to