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Ty’s Blues & Food, located at 6445 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville, is owned by none other than bassist/guitarist Robert Watson, who was the music director at the Konocti Blues Cafe when it was a showcase for blues/gospel diva Bettie Mae Fikes.
The entertainment starts Friday night with Bettie Mae Fikes & The BMF Band.
Watson, who held the music director post in the Soul Generals, James Brown's touring band before he passed, always presented a rotating cast of world class blues, jazz fusion and funk players at the KBC.
Indeed, Watson promises to deliver from an even richer roster of players including Fikes, Rodney Franklin, Elvin Bishop, Billy Johnson, Robert Reason, Lynn Bryant, Zakiya Hooker, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Chris Duarte, Alvon Johnson, Rusty Allen, Robert Gaviola, Ron Carson, Levi Lloyd and Twice As Good.
Executive Chef Seanny B, imported from the Bay Area, is on tap to serve a sumptuous array of entrees from the newly remodeled kitchen. Soul Food Chef Papa Soul will also be on hand to augment the menu with his soul food expertise.
Vegetarian and vegan master Fred Parker will present deliciously healthful entrees as well.
Dessert Specialist Carlotta Brandon’s sweet tooth wares will top it all off.
A full bar will be chaperoned by mixolist LaVonne Hipkiss, who will be working a full bar to satisfy thirst requirements.
Ty’s Blues & Foods will be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Dining reservations can be made by calling 707-278-7286.
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The city will review the proposals, select one or more, negotiate an agreement, and then grant a license(s) to operate the invasive species screening-business activities.
Business vendors will be required to screen boats entering the lake for compliance with the Lake County quagga mussel boat inspection program.
The county requires a boat inspection application fee of $10 and the business vendor/screening service will be entitled to $3 of each fee.
Invasive species screeners will be provided with training, official identification badges and informational paperwork.
Interested persons may submit proposals to operate business activities/screening operations at one or more of the above mentioned locations.
Anyone interested in submitting a proposal to operate a vending business/invasive species screening activity, is asked to submit a written proposal by 12 p.m. on July 8 to:
Margaret Silveira
Lakeport City Manager
225 Park St.
Lakeport, CA 95453
The proposal must include your name, address, a description of the type of business, a business operational plan including set-up needs, business storage needs, business signage plan, days and hours of operations, preferred boat ramp location, number of employees, your business experience, basic business financial plan and other pertinent information.
The city will use the following selection criteria in evaluating the proposals: The highest cost benefit to the city, the ability to perform, experience in vending or providing screening services, a good fit with park activities, the ability to provide insurance and hold the city harmless, a good reputation and good customer service skills.
Please call 707-263-5613 if you have questions regarding this solicitation.
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These new regulations also represent a concerted effort to significantly curb the common problem of underinsurance that many homeowners face.
The new regulations include provisions for laying out requirements applicable to replacement value and replacement cost estimates to create a more consistent, comprehensive and accurate replacement cost calculation; setting forth training standards for agents and brokers who sell homeowner's insurance; creating standards for real estate appraisers who estimate replacement cost for insurance purposes; requiring the application of certain standards when estimating replacement and construction costs; and establishing record keeping requirements.
"These regulations will go a long way toward ensuring that consumers who are victims of a disaster, such as a wildfire, are able to get the financial relief to rebuild their homes and their lives, while also dong much to ensure that homeowners are not underinsured," said Jones. "It's devastating enough to lose your house to a disaster, but not to receive adequate funds to replace it just adds insult to injury."
"We applaud the Department for taking action to stop the industry from underinsuring consumers when their home is damaged or destroyed in a natural disaster," said Bach. "After every wildfire in California, two-thirds of the people who lose a home face a second nightmare when they find out they don't have enough insurance to cover the loss."
Commissioner Jones also responded to a lawsuit recently filed by the industry that seeks to block the consumer-friendly regulations.
The suit was filed by the Personal Insurance Federation of California whose members are Farmers Insurance, Liberty Mutual Group, Progressive Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance Companies, Allstate Insurance, Mercury Insurance, and other insurers and by the Association of California Insurance Companies.
According to the complaint, the regulation restricts insurer "underwriting" and the Department of Insurance doesn't have that authority.
"Insurers have clearly missed the mark with this lawsuit and their argument simply has no merit," said Commissioner Jones. "The replacement cost regulation has nothing to do with underwriting. The industry is free to decide which customers to sell to and at what price, as long as they comply with the voter-approved initiative Proposition 103, make rate filings with the Department, and get them approved. This is just another attempt, in a long line of many, by the insurance industry to strip consumers of the protections they deserve."
He pointed out that, instead, the regulation addresses how insurance companies communicate with their customers when they're making a sale, ensuring that they give them complete and accurate information and not mislead them.
The suit also contends that the Department can't require companies to offer a complete replacement cost estimate, saying they are free to describe replacement cost in whatever way they choose.
According to Commissioner Jones and complaints filed with the Department, when policies are sold to customers there's been confusion about what a "replacement cost" estimate actually covers, and this regulation clears up that confusion. Insurance companies are not required to provide an estimate, but if they do, it must be complete and include certain components.
"It's appalling that insurance companies want to block these important consumer-friendly measures, which protect people when they are at their most vulnerable," Commissioner Jones explained. "Consumers are entitled to know at the outset what their replacement cost is so they can make informed decisions about their coverage. We will defend these regulations to ensure that members of the public receive full and fair disclosure from insurers about the products they are buying."
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WASHINGTON, DC – In keeping with President Obama's strategy to expand domestic oil and gas production safely and responsibly, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday released an interagency approach to address air quality issues associated with onshore oil and gas development on public lands.
A new memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishes a common process for the agencies to follow in analyzing the potential air quality impacts of proposed oil and gas activities on federally managed public lands.
The collaborative approach established in the MOU will increase efficiency, certainty and transparency in the process – benefiting industry, federal agencies, state, and tribes.
“This agreement is an important step forward for our nation's energy security,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes. “This agreement helps institutionalize the type of collaborative effort that created a path forward for the Greater Natural Buttes gas project in Utah and that encouraged the use of best practices and sensible air pollution control technologies. We want to build on lessons learned to establish clearer lines of communication and a predictable, common sense process for ensuring prompt and thorough reviews of proposed oil and gas projects.”
Previously, federal agencies responsible for land management and air quality reviews associated with oil and gas development made decisions based on individual agency protocols.
Agencies used different approaches when determining the adequacy of air quality analyses and mitigation; the stage in oil and gas activities – planning, leasing, or permitting – when air quality analyses should occur; and the appropriate thresholds and resource conditions to use as the starting point for analyzing impacts to visibility and other air quality related values (AQRVs). These differences often resulted in project delays.
To alleviate these delays and improve interagency coordination, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the USDA Forest Service worked to establish mutually acceptable procedures for conducting air quality analyses as part of the environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NEPA requires all federal agencies to evaluate and disclose the potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions in a public process.
“This agreement ensures we do not have to sacrifice clean air in our communities nor our protected public landscapes when oil and gas development occurs,” said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “This is a good example of what the President called for in his State of the Union address to find creative and innovative ways for government to work better together.”
“Today's agreement will align federal agencies so that oil and natural gas development in the United States is achieved in a way that also protects important environmental resources,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “Working with our federal partners, we are committed to delivering an environmental review process that is both transparent and comprehensive, supporting responsible domestic energy production on federal lands while ensuring environmental protection.”
Friday's agreement builds upon the best practices applied in a recent successful interagency collaboration on a major natural gas development project in Utah.
The Greater Natural Buttes Area Gas Development Project had been delayed, in part, over concerns about its potential impacts on air quality in the Uintah Basin, which has seen some of the highest winter time ozone levels in the nation.
Over the last several months, the BLM and EPA worked closely with the project proponent to develop a mitigation plan to significantly reduce the project's potential impacts, an important step forward for a project that could include up to 3,675 new gas wells over 10 years and produce more than 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The MOU outlines a number of steps the agencies will take to ensure that federal laws protecting air quality, human health, and the environment are balanced with the nation's energy needs.
The agreement provides for early interagency consultation throughout the NEPA process; common procedures for determining what type of air quality analyses are appropriate and when air modeling is necessary; specific provisions for analyzing and discussing impacts to air quality and for mitigating such impacts; and a dispute resolution process to facilitate timely resolution of differences among agencies.
For more information on the MOU: www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=251155.
To view the MOU: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=251152.
For more information about NEPA: http://epa.gov/compliance/nepa/index.html.