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Most Lake County races too close to call; Measure U opposition leads race
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With only a small percentage of the thousands of ballots cast in Lake County counted, most races in Lake County on Wednesday remain too close to call even in an initial count.
By 4 a.m., initial counts of the county’s 48 precincts had been completed, putting the count at just under 21% of registered voters.
Based on past presidential elections in Lake County, voter turnout is expected to be over 70% when the final count is completed.
With the California Secretary of State’s Office reporting it must fully certify all races by Dec. 13 — with county elections offices to complete their work between Dec. 3 and 6 — it will be weeks before most races will be known definitively.
Early Wednesday, candidates in city council and school board races were separated by narrow margins with only fractions of the total votes counted.
At the elections office, thousands of ballots are waiting to be tallied during the official canvass period, which starts Wednesday.
One race that does appear to have a clearer potential outcome revolves around Measure U, the countywide advisory ballot measure that asks if the name of the town of Kelseyville should be renamed to Konocti.
Based on the early count of 48 county precincts, “no” votes totaled 5,429 or 71.99%, versus “yes” votes of 2,112, or 28.01%.
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CHP reports on fatal Monday crash involving bike and vehicle
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol released additional information about a crash that killed a Middletown bicyclist on Monday evening.The victim was a 73-year-old Middletown man whose name was not released in a Tuesday report pending the notification of next of kin.
The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office reported that it received a call at 5:08 p.m. Monday about a call about a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a bicyclist on Highway 175 south of Dry Creek Cutoff Road.
When CHP officers arrived at the scene, they determined that the crash victim was riding his bicycle on Dry Creek Cutoff Road, approaching Highway 175.
Richard Whalin, 60, of Yuba City, was driving a 2019 Ford F-350 dually truck, towing a 2018 Carson utility trailer, eastbound on SR-175, approaching Dry Creek Cutoff Rd.
For reasons that the CHP said are still under investigation, the bicyclist entered the roadway directly ahead of Whalin, who attempted to swerve to avoid hitting him.
The CHP said the vehicle and bike collided, resulting in the bicyclist sustaining major injuries.
South Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters attempted lifesaving measures but the man died of his injuries at the scene, the CHP said.
The CHP said the bicyclist was not wearing an approved bicycle helmet at the time of the collision.
Whalin was not injured due to the collision and remained on scene to cooperate with the investigation, the CHP said.
CHP Sgt. Joel Skeen established incident command. Caltrans, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and South Lake County Fire responded to the scene to provide assistance.
The CHP said traffic on Highway 175 was diverted onto Dry Creek Cutoff Road to facilitate the investigation.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected as factors in the crash, the CHP said.
Thompson reelected to House of Representatives seat
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — One of the races impacting Lake County that appeared to have a clear outcome on Tuesday night was that for the Fourth Congressional seat.
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) issued a statement late Tuesday thanking voters for their support in his reelection bid for Congress.
The Fourth Congressional District includes all of Lake and Napa counties, and parts of Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties.
Thompson was first elected to Congress in 1998.
“To the voters of the Fourth District: Thank you. It is the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of the community where I was born, grew up, and raised my own family. I am humbled and honored to have earned your trust to continue representing our community in Congress,” Thompson said.
“Know that I will work tirelessly in the upcoming Congress to ensure our community is the best place in the nation to raise a family, start a business, and retire with dignity,” Thompson added. “I remain committed to working across the aisle to find common ground and advance policies that bolster the middle class, lower the cost of housing and health care, address our climate crisis, and help keep our communities safe.”
Thompson easily topped Republican challenger John Munn by a two-to-one margin in the early returns posted by the California Secretary of State’s Office late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
With 100% of the 624 of precincts partially reporting as of 4 a.m., Thompson led with 120,621 votes to Munn’s 62.286, for a 65.9% to 34.1% margin.
Results in all races must be fully certified by Dec. 13, the California Secretary of State’s Office reported.
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Red flag warning in effect through Thursday; PG&E implements power shutoff in some areas
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Windy conditions have led to the National Weather Service issuing a red flag warning through Thursday and a limited-scope public power safety shutoff in parts of Lake County.The red flag warning remains in effect through 7 a.m. Thursday due to low humidity and northeast winds of up to 45 miles per hour with isolated gusts of up to 55 miles per hour along ridgetops and high terrain.
The National Weather Service said a red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures that can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
Daytime temperatures are expected to be in the low 60s and in the 40s at night this week, with chances of rain in the forecast for the weekend.
Due to the red flag conditions, PG&E said it planned to conduct a public power safety shutoff to as many as 22,000 customers across 17 counties, including 1,168 Lake County customers, through Thursday morning.
In Lake County, those customers are primarily in more remote areas east of Clearlake Oaks as well as east of Lower Lake and near Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest.
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