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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, or LCRAI, has completed its sixth year of giving through the Teacher Art Grant Fund.
Thanks to the generous funding from the Lake County Wine Alliance, Lake County’s chapter of 100+Women Strong, individual and corporate donors, over 700 art grants totaling over $88,000 have been given directly to teachers.
The funds have been available to any teacher serving transitional kindergarten through 12th-grade students in a Lake County public or charter school.
Some teachers opt to purchase basic art supplies for students such as crayons, construction paper, paint and glue, while others use these funds for art-related equipment purchases for the classroom and specialized project-based supplies.
This year, the board has decided to focus on art integration in the schools with their full support of the grant program. LCRAI is integrating arts for children into the community and Lake County schools. Research shows that participation in the arts by children and teens raises self-esteem as well as their classroom grades in other subjects.
LCRAI is currently seeking partners and additional funding to continue this valuable mission serving the children and teachers of Lake County, California.
Lake County Rural Arts Initiative was founded in February 2018 with the goal of making Lake County an arts and culture destination.
Past works have included murals around Clear Lake, public art installations, and sponsorship of Teacher Art Grants.
The all-volunteer board works hard to ensure a near-zero overhead, meaning that the donations received go directly to providing as many art integration grants as possible.
To learn more about the LCRAI or to apply for or donate to the Teacher Art Supply Grants, visit the organization’s website or Facebook page. LCRAI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
As we near the end of 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday commemorated the last California Highway Patrol graduating class of the year with 137 cadets, who will be placed throughout the state to protect and serve communities.
This marks a huge achievement for the CHP, which graduated 780 cadets in 2025 alone. The CHP continues its efforts to recruit highly qualified individuals to protect the state’s community safety.
“I’m proud to see the young women and men stepping up to keep our communities safe. As we close out the year, California continues to make real progress — strengthening protections across the state while staying focused on the needs of the people we serve,” said Newsom.
“These cadets have been pushed to their limits and faced significant pressure, but despite all the hardships, they never gave up,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “Their determination to keep going, even when facing challenges, demonstrates their dedication to helping others and serving the people of California. The CHP proudly welcomes these new officers and looks forward to the remarkable achievements they will make throughout their decades of service.”
During their 26 weeks in the CHP Academy, cadets trained in vehicle code enforcement, crash and criminal investigations, emergency vehicle operations, and officer safety. The Academy’s curriculum also focuses on legal responsibilities, communication, ethics, and cultural awareness, in order to prepare cadets to serve California’s diverse population.
Earlier last week, the cadets took part in a 5-mile run as one of the last parts of their training. The new officers begin reporting to one of the CHP’s 102 Area offices across the state on December 15.
A growing force protecting Californians
The CHP’s recruitment initiatives over the past few years — including the launch in 2022 of the statewide “Join the CHP 1000” campaign and the “Cadets” web series — continue to drive strong interest in law enforcement careers.
Including Friday’s newly sworn members, the CHP has brought on more than 2,300 officers from January 2022 through December 2025.
From 2022 to 2024, applications increased by more than 52%.
The CHP is on track to receive more than 33,000 applications by the end of the year, continuing the upward trend.
• 2022: 16,077 applications.
• 2023: 19,590 applications.
• 2024: 25,477 applications.
Strong regional law enforcement partnerships
In August, Gov. Newsom announced the next phase of the state’s crime-fighting efforts — deploying new CHP crime suppression teams to work directly with local law enforcement in major cities and regions across the state — San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
CHP officers assigned to Crime Suppression Teams have already saturated high-crime areas, which as of this month has led to 1,446 arrests, 249 stolen vehicles recovered, and 63 illicit firearms seized since expanding these crime-fighting efforts. Additionally, K-9 teams have joined this crime protection effort to continue supporting CHP officers.
Crime reported to be down in California, again
California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety.
In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.
Given those investments and key partnerships with local law enforcement agencies statewide, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12% in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (25%) and San Francisco (21%).
Another data set released by the California Department of Justice found that nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024. California’s 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966.
In August 2024, Gov. Newsom signed into law what his office called the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. These bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries.
While California’s crime rate is reported to remain at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.
Join the CHP today
Enhancing public safety remains a top priority for the Governor and in November 2024 California successfully met its multi-year CHP recruitment goal of 1,000 new officers to the force.
The CHP continues to actively recruit dedicated individuals who are ready to make a difference in communities throughout California. A career with the CHP offers comprehensive training, competitive benefits, and opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
To learn more about joining the CHP, please visit here to take the first step towards a rewarding career in law enforcement.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — It’s another week at Lake County Animal Care and Control’s shelter, and they have dogs awaiting their new homes.
The dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of cattle dog, German shepherd, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull terrier, terrier and shepherd.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
Those animals shown on this page at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at 
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
The West Coast Health Alliance, or WCHA, said it strongly supports that hepatitis B vaccination continue to be routinely offered to all newborns, with the first dose of the vaccine given within 24 hours of birth for newborns weighing at least 2,000 grams (4 pounds, 7 ounces), followed by completion of the vaccine series.
This recommendation aligns with trusted national medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has voted to end the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination for all infants at birth — a strategy that has reduced pediatric hepatitis B infections in the United States by 99 percent.
The ACIP also voted that parents should consult their provider regarding blood tests following each dose of the vaccine series. There was no credible evidence presented to support either of these changes.
Delaying the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine and using blood tests to guide vaccination will lead to more children and adults developing preventable liver disease and liver cancer with no evidence of a safety benefit.
A review by the Vaccine Integrity Project found that the vaccine is safe regardless of when it is given, and there are no safety benefits to delaying the first dose. Delaying the first dose increases the risk of infection and jeopardizes completion of the full vaccine series, which is required for long-lasting protection.
Many with chronic hepatitis B do not know they are infected, and infants may unknowingly be infected by household and other contacts following birth. The birth dose acts as a critical safety net to protect newborns from infection. It is not known for how long and how strongly children are protected against hepatitis B infection if they don't receive a complete vaccine series.
The unproven recommendation to obtain blood tests to guide the number of hepatitis B shots will subject infants to painful and unnecessary blood draws, increase health care costs, delay immunization, and risks decreased protection against infection. Completion of the vaccine series has been shown to offer the best protection.
Importance of the hepatitis B ‘birth dose’ vaccine
Hepatitis B is a highly infectious virus that attacks the liver and can cause chronic liver disease, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. It spreads easily — even without visible blood or body fluids and can survive on surfaces for up to seven days.
Before the United States adopted a recommendation for universal infant hepatitis B vaccination in 1991, thousands of children were infected each year — both at birth and during childhood. Infants and young children are especially vulnerable: up to 90 percent of infants infected at birth develop chronic infection and 25 percent of infected children die prematurely from hepatitis-related disease.
The hepatitis B vaccine is effective, well tolerated, and decades of global data support its safety. WCHA said it should continue to be offered to all parents at birth.
Universal vaccination of newborns within 24 hours of birth, followed by completion of the vaccination series, is essential to protecting infants and young children, who are at greatest risk from complications from hepatitis B, WCHA reported.
The West Coast Health Alliance was formed to ensure that public health recommendations are guided by science, effectiveness and safety at a time when CDC leadership changes, reduced transparency and the compromise of key advisory panels have called into question the federal government’s capacity to address the nation’s public health challenges.
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