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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
July 30 town hall planned in Nice
NICE, Calif. – District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele will hold a town hall meeting in Nice on Thursday, July 30.
The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the former Sons of Italy Hall, 2817 Highway 20.
Topics on the agenda include the sale of Holiday Harbor, future use of Hinman Park, development of a new park, trash in the hills, Highway 20 traffic safety and topics from the floor.
This is an opportunity to provide input on important issues facing the community, discuss possible solutions to problems that impact quality of life and be informed of matters coming before the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
For more information contact Supervisor Steele at 707-295-6198.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Lake County Planning Commission to discuss Vector Control building project
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Planning Commission this week will consider a proposal by Lake County Vector Control to construct a new building as part of ongoing improvements to its Todd Road property.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 23, in the Board of Supervisors' chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The Vector Control project is timed for 9:05 a.m.
The commission will hold a hearing to consider the agency's use permit application and a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial study for the construction of a new 6,615-square-foot metal building to store vehicles, equipment and mosquito control products, and to house a fabrication and maintenance shop at its property at 610 Todd Road in Lakeport.
The property is zoned “SR-SC” – which means Suburban Reserve-Scenic – and is a legal nonconforming use based on Vector Control's continuous use of the property since 1962, according to Lake County Assistant Planner Mark Roberts.
Planning staff is recommending that the commission approve the mitigated negative declaration and the use permit application.
Vector Control District Manager and Research Director Jamie Scott said the plans for the Todd Road property have been in the works for several years.
She said the district has owned the 2.5-acre property since 1962. “The district purchased this to do Clear Lake gnat research,” she said.
That research no longer takes place there. Instead, the district in recent years redeveloped two ponds on the property to make them more suitable for raising mosquitofish, which it distributes to area residents to keep mosquitoes out of water features.
Previously, the ponds had been too steep. Now, they're easier for Vector Control staff to use, she said. A third pond that also was updated is used for water control.
The property no longer stores barges, which were donated to the county. Scott said the district's pesticide storage facility is located there.
The upgrades to the ponds were the first part of the Todd Road project; the second part is to replace an older building that was demolished. That's the project currently going to the commission, Scott said.
The upgrades will include the metal building and a new pesticide storage facility that will be big enough for a forklift to be driven into it, making the moving of pesticides easier and safer for employees, Scott said.
Scott said the Todd Road project is separate from the request Vector Control had taken to the city of Lakeport to make improvements at its administrative headquarters on Esplanade Street.
That project request by the district had followed one of the Vector Control Board's frequent reviews of its capital improvement plan, Scott said.
In January, the Lakeport Planning Commission recommended the Lakeport City Council approve general plan and rezoning changes sought by the district for its main location at 410 Main St. – where it has been located since 1954 – as well as its properties at 408 Esplanade St. and 35 C St.
The district wanted to merge the properties, amend the zoning designation from resort residential to public and civil uses in order to make the zoning consistent with adjoining district properties, and get a general plan designation to correct inconsistencies between the general plan and the three parcels’ zoning designations.
Those updates were in anticipation of future expansion plans that included removing an existing laboratory building and replacing it with a new one at 410 Esplanade, expanding and reconfiguring the existing shop and garage structure onto the 35 C. St. property, and replacing the steel garage and shop building located at 408 Esplanade with an enclosed garage for parking district vehicles.
Scott said the goal was to have facilities that better met Vector Control's needs, complied with modern standards and fit in with a neighborhood that has a variety of uses – from residential to commercial.
“The neighbors felt differently,” she said.
Faced with opposition to the proposal from the agency's neighbors, in April the council denied Vector Control's requests, as Lake County News has reported.
“We were disappointed by this and it's different than what we planned,” Scott said.
While the council was clear that Vector Control could continue its operations on Esplanade and C streets as a legal nonconforming use, Scott said it has limited the district's plans.
As for how it will move forward on needed updates to those current facilities – including replacing the HVAC units and making the lab space more workable – she said the Vector Control Board has to consider what steps to take next.
Scott said there aren't plans to move the district's operations to Todd Road, as neighbors had suggested to the council might be more appropriate.
She said the entire Todd Road site is built on fill, which limits the septic capacity and therefore means it can't be set up for a staff of 10 full-time employees – unless that area were to be annexed by the city and given sewer service, which Scott said she didn't anticipate happening.
If the Lake County Planning Commission approves Vector Control's Todd Road project proposal on Thursday, the next steps would involve the district acquiring the necessary permits, Roberts said.
“Our goal is to get it in by the end of the year,” said Scott, noting that Vector Control is ready to put the project out to bid.
She said the weather will have an impact on how fast the project can be completed. “We'll move it along as quickly as we're able to.”
The commission on Thursday also will consider a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial
study for a subdivision map that Damon Fanucchi is seeking or order to divide a 0.82-acre parcel at 15385 Stonefield Court in Middletown into two parcels. That item is timed for 9:15 a.m.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
072315 Lake County Vector Control project staff report
072315 Lake County Vector Control building plan
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Emergency drought proclamation extended again
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Faced with continuing drought conditions, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to continue a local emergency.
The board voted 4-0 to approve extending the emergency drought proclamation, with Supervisor Jim Comstock being absent from the meeting.
It's the 15th time the emergency declaration has been extended by the board since it was first passed in March 2014.
According to state law, the board must review the status of the emergency every 30 days.
Lake County Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe appeared before the board to request the proclamation's continuance.
In her written report to the board, Chilafoe explained, “The severity of this year’s drought became apparent as our community water systems, private wells and natural resources struggled to maintain adequate water supply, was complicated by the extreme effects of the lake’s algae, the County saw impacts to local agriculture and has brought about extreme fire danger county-wide.”
Her report explained that Lake County remains one of 55 California counties to be declared a primary natural disaster area due to drought damages and losses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
She said that declaration makes all qualified farm operators eligible for low interest emergency loans from the USDA's Farm Service Agency.
Chilafoe's written report also explained that continuing the proclamation assists the county in seeking funding specifically for drought relief purposes.
“We're still working with our impacted systems to ensure continuity and grant funding solutions for the many different types of drought problems that we're seeing here in Lake County,” Chilafoe told the board on Tuesday.
She said the county is working with the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District, which had its junior water rights curtailed under a state compliance order.
“They had a great supply of water but they lost the rights to use it,” she said. “We've been working with them to find a solution. They have no other sources of water.”
Chilafoe added that a solution may be close, which would allow the moratorium on development in Hidden Valley Lake to be lifted.
The county also is working with the Konocti County Water District in Clearlake to find a “patchwork of funding solutions” to cover the cost of their intake structure pump house and other improvements to ensure that the district has safe drinking water for the community it serves, Chilafoe said.
In addition, the county is assisting the Clearlake Oaks County Water District in finding funding for its infrastructure issues, according to Chilafoe.
Other efforts include continuing the drought task force first convened last summer to coordinate the county's efforts. Chilafoe said they also will support support anyone who comes forward with a dry well or other problems.
Supervisor Jim Steele asked about the criteria for no longer having an emergency in place, noting that there are indications that there may be a full rain year coming up.
“What's going to be your signal that we don't have a drought emergency?” he asked.
Chilafoe said that would hinge on a number of things, from resolving water rights issues to finding appropriate funding to address the needs of local systems.
“We're looking at about five systems right now that have a number of problems,” she said, noting that the county is looking not just at prevention of drought-related issues but also response.
Once those issues have been addressed, and depending on rainfall and weather projections, the county will reevaluate, Chilafoe said.
Board Chair Anthony Farrington said that, looking at the totality of circumstances, even if there is a wet year ahead, “We're playing catch up” for multiple dry years.
Chilafoe said that last year's snowpack was 27 percent of normal. She said it was estimated that the state needing 150 percent of normal to overcome drought conditions at that point.
Based on the current projections for an upcoming wet year, Chilafoe said it's anticipated that California would need two good years of rain to fully recharge its water supply.
“It's a continual evaluation,” she said.
The board then voted to continue the emergency proclamation.
Following the meeting, Chilafoe told Lake County News that the five districts she referenced during the meeting as having drought-related issues or projects under way are Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District and Konocti County Water District, with Lake County Special Districts in the midst of projects in its Paradise Valley, Mt. Hannah and Spring Valley systems.
“There are a few others but these have been our main focus,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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Saylor announces bid for Fourth District State Assembly seat
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor has launched his bid for the State Assembly.
Assemblyman Bill Dodd’s decision to seek election to the California State Senate creates an open seat to represent the Fourth Assembly District, which includes Lake and Napa counties, most of Yolo County, and part of Colusa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Saylor said he's running for the Assembly “to help all Californians thrive and work to make our state government make sense.”
He added, “Together the communities in Assembly District 4 are a major contributor to the global economy. I will work to build on our economic assets, steward our natural resources, invest in our future through infrastructure and education, support agriculture and food security, and strengthen our commitment to our most vulnerable populations.”
Saylor has a record of public service spanning 40 years, including as a local elected official for the past 20 years.
He joined the Yolo County Board of Supervisors in January 2011. He earlier served as mayor and city council member for the city of Davis from 2004 to 2010 and as a trustee of the Davis Joint Unified School District from 1995 to 2003.
Saylor currently chairs the six-county Sacramento Area Council of Governments and has previously chaired the Yolo Solano Air Quality Management District, First 5 Yolo Commission, and the Yolo County Natural Heritage Program.
His public service career includes the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office where he provided analyses and advice to the California State Legislature on health and social services programs as well as a variety of administrative roles in education, health care, strategic planning, construction and financial management.
Saylor has worked to build new schools, balance budgets, create partnerships, protect open space and bring new jobs to the area. “From improving local schools to tackling juvenile delinquency in California, I have been on the front lines. As a county supervisor, I have worked with leaders across the region on transportation planning, climate action, affordable housing, health care and mental health services, access to healthy food, transportation and improving our water supply. As a city council member, I helped launch economic development and innovation strategies.”
As a member of the statewide Cities, Counties, Schools Partnership Executive Committee, Saylor has worked on school community partnerships, food security, safe routes to school and other cross cutting issues.
Saylor has been a founder and active participant in Yolo Food Connect, a group focused on food security and planning for an inclusive food system, and Saving California Communities, a group focused on improving the alignment of public resources, responsibilities and accountability in government.
“I believe our best hope is to engage people in solving our own problems. Too often public dialogue has become polarized. I want to help bring balance and fairness to the public square,” said Saylor.
“I am proud of the work we have done together for our community, county and region. At each step along the way, I have gained valuable perspectives, worked hard to make a difference in the lives of people, and built long lasting partnerships. I look forward to continuing this work statewide,” said Saylor.
A lifelong Democrat, Saylor and his wife, Julie, moved to Davis in 1987 to raise their children, Aaron and Kate.
Republican Charlie Schaupp of Esparto also announced this week that he plans to run for the Fourth District Assembly seat.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports