MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – This week the Middletown Area Town Hall, or MATH, will discuss the proposal to form a 51st state and also look at a local vineyard development project.

MATH's meeting will take place in the activity room at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St., beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.

Meetings are open to the community.

Agenda items include the state of Jefferson, which proposes to take a number of Northern California counties – including Lake – plus some southern Oregon counties to form a new state.

The matter has been discussed by the Board of Supervisors, which also is said to be looking at further consideration of joining the movement.

There also will be a discussion of the 40-acre Wild Diamond Vineyard, located on Spruce Grove Road in Middletown.

In other MATH business, members will consider changing the regular meeting date in April from April 9 to April 10 in order to host new Assemblyman Bill Dodd, and discuss plans for a May 16 chili cook-off.

The group also will approve its Jan. 8 meeting minutes and discuss the March 12 meeting agenda.

The board of directors includes Chairman Fletcher Thornton, Vice Chair Claude Brown, Secretary Ken Gonzales, and members Charlotte Kubiak and Mike Tabacchi.

MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.

Meetings are subject to videotaping.

For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The sixth event of the Poet Laureate Reading Series takes place this Friday featuring the work of Lake County Poet Laureate Emeritus Russell Gonzaga.

The reading, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will take place at the Riviera Common Grounds Coffee House at 9736 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.

It also will feature guest poet Vicente Colacion and guest musician Kay Ashley.

The eight-month series is held on the second Friday of each month through April and showcases local poetry by presenting each of Lake County's eight poets laureate in sequence, along with a guest poet and musician.

Admission is free, with a $5 suggested donation.

The poet laureate is an official appointment by a government or conferring institution for the purpose of promoting poetry in that jurisdiction. These appointments occur from local to national levels.

In Lake County, the two-year position began in 1998 with the appointment of Jim Lyle.

In 2010, Russell Gonzaga was selected as the sixth poet laureate of Lake County

A Dervish, minister, writer, freelance journalist, editor, social justice activist, teacher, youth mentor and martial artist, Gonzaga was born in the Philippines and raised in Oakland/East Bay, where he was immersed in hip hop culture.

Gonzaga has worked with at-risk and underserved youth in some of the Bay Area’s most dynamic inner city arts education and community enrichment programs, including the Larkin Street Youth Project, the Family Revival Center, the Oakland Parks and Recreation, and the California Poets in the Schools program.

He served as the 2001 artist-in-residence for the San Francisco WritersCorps.

“In working with young people,” said Gonzaga, “it’s not my role to project my ethics or tell them what to do, but rather to show them their options and choices in life, and to make sure they are aware of the resources available to them.”

Gonzaga also served as a board member for the Kearney Street Workshop, the oldest Asian Pacific American multidisciplinary arts organization in the country.

In 2000, Gonzaga received a certificate of honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for his contributions to the community. Then-mayor Willie Brown declared May 10 official Russell Gonzaga Day in San Francisco.

Gonzaga represented San Francisco for three years at the National Poetry Slam Championships, and was a founding member of Youth Speaks, a Bay Area nonprofit organization that is part of the slam poetry movement.    

Slam poetry is a form of spoken poetry that often expresses a personal story and/or struggle. A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite their original work. These performances are then judged on a numeric scale by previously selected members of the audience.

Although slam poetry has not always been embraced by mainstream academia, it is often considered the voice of the marginalized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject manner.

Slam poetry became prominent in the Bay Area in the 1990s – with San Francisco hosting the first National Poetry Slam in Fort Mason – and has grown into an internationally recognized genre of spoken poetry.

Spoken and slam poetry is now utilized in classrooms across the country, effectively engaging and motivating young students to improve literacy skills, public speaking skills, self-confidence and community involvement.

Gonzaga currently mentors youth at the Reunion Resource Center in Middletown. He facilitates Elyseum, a weekly writer’s workshop, at Harbin Hot Springs in Middletown, where he is a resident. 

He continues to write, perform and advocate for social justice, sex positivity and gender equality issues.

Gonzaga is renowned for his explosive delivery of poetry that is provocative, introspective and political, and he unabashedly confronts issues of social oppression.

It’s not uncommon to hear local poets claim that no one wants to read after Gonzaga, because he’s such a hard act to follow.

Casey Carney is the current Lake County poet laureate.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The National Weather Service is reporting severe storms will hit the county and the rest of Northern California beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Monday, and local officials are urging county residents to be ready for the impact of heavy rain and wind.

The city of Lakeport's management, police and public works personnel have been meeting and preparing for the storm.

Staff is on standby to respond to any emergencies that the storm brings about.

Officials said that in the storm event of December, several street closures were in place. The city anticipates the same areas could be impacted in this storm event.

Areas of concern are Martin Street between Russell and South Forbes streets; Bevins Street between Bevins Court and Lakeport Boulevard; 10th Street from Forbes to Main streets; 16th and Hartley streets; 10th and Main streets; Lakeshore Boulevard and Lange Street; and Lange Street and Giselman Street.

Residents who experienced flooding during the last storm should take preventative measures, officials said.

Sand bags are available for purchase at local hardware stores such as Mendo-Mill (five free empty bags – while supplies last) and Kelseyville Lumber ($0.45 per bag empty, $2.98 pre-filled bags, $1 fill-your-own bags).

The public is encouraged to limit travel during the storm event.

If travel is necessary, the public is reminded not to bypass barricades, avoid areas of standing water and reduce speeds.

City officials said they will put out updates on the storm as additional information becomes available.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A big storm expected to pass over Northern California later this week has the potential to bring several inches of rain to Lake County, and local officials are urging county residents to be prepared.

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for Lake County and other parts of Northern California due to the storm, predicted to arrive on Thursday and continue until Monday.

Forecasters said another “atmospheric river” – described as a plume of concentrated moisture that is between 250 and 400 miles wide – is taking aim at Northern California.

The early December storm that dumped a lot of rain on Lake County and the rest of the region also was attributed to an atmospheric river, as Lake County News has reported.

This latest storm is expected to arrive over northwest California on Thursday, spreading east and southward by Friday, when the most rain is forecast across the lower elevations. Snow also is predicted at the 5,500-foot elevation level, rising to more than 7,000 feet over the weekend.

Forecasters said their models for precipitation are still variable in terms of amount, but this storm is expected to bring a “decent” amount of rain, with amounts estimated between 1 and 4 inches in the Sacramento Valley and 4 to 10 inches across the foothills and mountains.

Estimates for rainfall in much of Lake County averages at about 5 inches, with some of the mountain areas likely to get more, according to the detailed forecast. Updates will be posted as the storm track becomes clearer.

“That's a lot of rain for Lake County,” Lakeport Public Works Director Mark Brannigan told the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night, as he gave them an update on the forecast.

Brannigan said in the city of Lakeport extra staff will be on standby this week in case the predictions for storm impacts hold true. They've always been cleaning storm drains and have sandbags on hand.

He said they are urging people to be ready, “And we're going to be doing the same.”

The storm also is forecast to bring winds with it. In Lake County, wind gusts are anticipated to range from between 20 miles per hour in the Lakeport area to as much as 55 miles per hour on the Northshore on Thursday night, according to the forecast.

Temperatures for the rest of the week and into early next week around Lake County are forecast to drop into the low 40s at night and the high 60s during the daytime hours.

Most of California remains in severe drought conditions, according to the latest version of the US Drought Monitor, which estimates that more than 50.4 million people are impacted by drought conditions across the Western United States.

In Lake County, Clear Lake's level on Tuesday was just under 2.90 feet Rumsey, the special measurement for the lake.

While that's well above the 0.54 feet Rumsey measurement on Feb. 3, 2014, it's also about half of the lake's recorded level on Feb. 3, 2013, and close to the 2.94 feet Rumsey recorded on Feb. 3, 2012, according to US Geological Survey records.

Brannigan told the council Tuesday that, because of the low lake level, the impact from heavy rains should dissipate quickly, as it did the last time.

Due to the anticipated rain amounts and wind speed, area residents are urged to be prepared for the possibility of small stream flooding and power outages.

Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe said residents should have emergency supply kits ready and available in case of power outages, keep trees trimmed and yard debris to a minimum, protect areas vulnerable to flooding with sandbags, and by securing items such as lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants, or anything else that can be picked up by the wind and become a projectile.

Pacific Gas & Electric (“PG&E”) cautions residents that if you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and keep yourself and others away. Call 911 immediately to report the location of the downed line then 1-800-743-5002, PG&E's 24-Hour Emergency and Customer Service Line. Please keep away from flooded areas and downed trees, as these areas could be hiding an energized power line.

For additional storm, power outage and power line safety information, visit http://www.pge.com/en/safety/naturaldisaster/stormsoutagessafety/index.page .

The Lake County Office of Emergency Services Facebook page will post updates on storm conditions at https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyOES .

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council has approved the conceptual design of a veteran's housing project in the city.

The project involves the collaboration of multiple agencies including the county of Lake, which has donated 16 acres for use in the project.

“(The county) has been looking for something to do with that property and some funding has become available to possibly do some building there,” District 1 Supervisor Jeff Smith said.

The property is located at 15837 18th Ave., just east of St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.

The project would provide veterans with affordable housing options and include other functions such as a community center, as well as mental health and other services. It is not to serve as a homeless shelter.

The county will be working with Veterans Resource Centers of America, or VRCA, in developing the project.

The VRCA has extensive experience in similar projects and provided the council with a slideshow presentation late last month showcasing projects it has completed in other areas.

Bert McChesney of VRCA and Veterans Housing Development Corp. said the project would provide veterans with opportunities for affordable home ownership as well as lease options on apartments.

He said amenities would be identified and developed with the participation of the community.

“We have some ideas that we would have to work with (the city) and the county to develop,” McChesney said.

The project is anticipated to be funded through use of Proposition 41 Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014.

McChesney said funds will be sought in the second round of funding in early 2016.

The initial round of homeowner recruitment will come from Lake County with preference given to veterans, McChesney said.

Recruitment could extend out-of-county and to nonveteran participants after the needs of area veterans are satisfied.

According to City Manager Joan Phillipe, a project of this nature, funded by the resources identified, must be maintained for the intended purpose for a period of 55 years.

Frank Parker, president of the United Veterans Council – which includes the participation of every chartered veterans organization in Lake County – said years of effort has been exhausted in trying to get the state to recognize the rural veteran community.

“We have a heck of an opportunity here,” Parker said.

“What is happening here is historical. We have a rural county with a crying need,” Dean Gotham, president of the Vietnam Veterans Council, said. “We can show the rural counties of California that we can all take care of our veterans.”

All members of the council voiced their support of such a project.

“This is all aligning for a reason and we need to say 'what can we do,'” Vice Mayor Gina Fortino Dickson said. “Anytime we can help a group in the community, we are helping ourselves.”

In providing its approval for conceptual design, the city also agreed to waive any fees that may be associated with the preparation of any potential general plan or zoning code amendment. Phillipe said neither is likely to be required.

However, housing bond funds could cover such a cost as it would be an expenditure allowed because the project addresses low-income housing needs, she said.

Email Denise Rockenstein at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake Planning Commission will host a rescheduled workshop on the city's master parks plan that previously had been set to take place last month.

The meeting will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The commission, which sits jointly as the Clearlake Parks and Recreation Committee, will discuss the 95-page plan, which – among other things – catalogs park resources, and guides acquisition and development.

The plan was adopted in January 2003, and hasn't been reviewed much since then, according to City Manager Joan Phillipe.

Last year, the Clearlake City Council directed that the city's Parks and Recreation Committee be reestablished. Phillipe said the plan review will assist the commission in the work of getting that committing restarted.

The Clearlake Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Committee's membership is composed of Chairman Carl Webb, Vice Chair Cheryl Hutchinson, and commissioners Bill Perkins, Alvaro Valencia and Mike Vandiver.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Clearlake Master Parks Plan 2003-13