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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
In December the California Department of Finance froze use of the Pooled Money Investment Account (PMIA) for general obligation bond-funded programs and projects, according to a report from the California Watershed Coalition.
The coalition estimates that the state's action has halted $660 million a month in loan servicing for bond-funded infrastructure projects, and resulted in lack of reimbursement for some projects and thousands of layoffs.
The particular bonds whose funds have been frozen include 13, 40, 50 and 84, said Greg Dills, watershed coordinator for the East Lake and West Lake Resource Conservation Districts.
There's also the matter of grants running out, specifically those that support the county's watershed groups and activities, said Dills.
He said he's not seen bond funds actually frozen before.
“California's credit rating is the worst in the nation,” he said, adding that nobody is buying bonds.
“Locally it's just devastating,” he said.
Two Proposition 50 grants the county has support three watershed assessments and the Clear Lake Basin Management Plan. Dills said his staff is in the 11th hour on the basin management plan, which they had planned to finish in June.
He said no one has been able to tell him if they'll be able to get an extension for completing the assessments and the plan, which he called “key documents for being able to get other funds to implement projects.”
Dills also recently received official notice from the state Department of Water Resources to stop work on an assessment grant.
Projects and funding build on one another, Dills said.
The Westlake District is very small, with only three staff members as it is, said Dills. Lack of funding going forward could impact the additional three to four staffers that do seasonal work for the district.
Pam Francis, deputy director of Lake County's Water Resources Division, said they're also feeling the impact of the state's actions.
She said the division has been working on Proposition 50 and 84 grants; those and another grant account for $56,000 in funding that the county may have to cover so far this year, an estimate which Francis said is “very conservative.”
Some of the money they've been awarded may not be able to be used by the sunset dates because of the state's actions, which means the county will lose those funds, said Francis.
The grant funding Water Resources receives goes to such projects as eradicating the invasive plant Arundo donax – the giant reed that resembles bamboo that is commonly seen around the county. The county received about $181,000 three years ago for that work. Francis said that grant is now coming to a close.
There also are Proposition 50 assessments, which are snapshots of what the county's three main watersheds look like, said Francis. “It's really just to collect everything we know about these three watersheds at this point in time.”
That work is meant to help in understanding the health of watersheds. Francis said a very important component in those assessments is completing the Clear Lake Basin Management Plan, because the lake can't be separated from the watersheds.
One department staffer works full-time on that grant, and Francis said they've managed to keep her working by covering her salary from the division's funds and not from a grant. The county may or may not be reimbursed for that.
Francis said Brent Siemer, head of the county's Department of Public Works – which includes Water Resources – made the decision that the assessment and the plan were important enough that work on them needed to continue.
The county also is applying for Proposition 84 funds to support an integrated regional water management plan which extends beyond the county's political boundaries, said Francis. It would cover Upper and Lower Cache Creek and Putah Creek, and is a cooperative effort with Yolo, Solano, Napa and Colusa counties.
The regional water management plan also is a project listed in a memorandum of understanding the county reached late last year with Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, said Francis.
“This is a big deal,” she said.
Receiving additional Proposition 84 funds are hinged on the plan being completed for the area and giving the state an idea of how the funds will be spent, said Francis.
Also hung up now are flood corridor grants covering the Middle Creek area. Francis said the county needs the grants to purchase properties from two separate owners who are in flood prone areas.
“The citizens of the state need to become a little more irate and give their legislators a piece of their mind,” said Francis, expressing her frustration over the state's budget crisis.
She added, “There are people losing their jobs out there just because these legislators are trying to posture.”
Francis said the county may have to make cuts in the future if the funds aren't restored.
“There's going to be a lot of financial pressure put on at some point in time,” she said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
MIDDLETOWN – Four teams, 45 excellent students and four coaches met Saturday in Middletown to compete for the honor of being this year's county Academic Decathlon champ. {sidebar id=120}
After the pencils were down and the brain dust had settled, Upper Lake High School – led this year by new coach Anna Sabalone – took the prize, with Lower Lake High right on their heels, along with Clear Lake and Middletown high schools.
Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck emphasized that all of the teams and students were winners, worthy competitors who deserved honors for the work they'd done – from months of preparatory study on the subject of Latin America, to the Saturday competition.
Saturday was the culmination of a lot of work, and was just the last step in the competition. Nancy Harby, Lower Lake High's coach, said the essay, speech and interview portions of the competition were held late last month.
That left yet another seven subjects for Saturday – language and literature, fine arts, social services, mathematics, music, economics and the Super Quiz.
The Super Quiz was the only portion of the competition open to the public. Close to 70 family and community members – in addition to the students, coaches and officials – crowded into the Middletown High School multipurpose room to see the quiz play out.
Over about 50 minutes, the student teams worked through 45 questions, with each student getting five questions that focused on evolutionary biology, the Super Quiz theme.
Genetics, alleles, neuropeptides, natural selection, the Galapagos finches studied by Charles Darwin, scientific techniques for tracking the age of the universe and more questions that would make a Jeopardy contestant flinch were read by Middletown Principal Bob Roderick. Roderick, the quiz's moderator, was given props for weathering through the tricky pronunciations of the names of evolutionary scientists and the complicated terminology.
First up in the Super Quiz were Varsity Division students, with grade point averages ranging from 2.99 GPA and below.
After the test proctors had tallied the results of the first 15 questions, Upper Lake led with seven points, followed by six for Clear Lake High and Lower Lake High, and five for Middletown.
Then came the Scholastic group (GPAs of 3.0 to 3.74) and another 15 questions which seemed to get harder and more technical with each round. The scoring update showed that Upper Lake still led, with 13 points, with Lower Lake at 12, and Clear Lake and Middletown with nine points each.
The Honors Division (GPAs of 3.75 to 4.0) was the last to sit down for the quiz. After that final round of 15 questions, Upper Lake and Lower Lake were tied with 17 points each, followed by a second tie between Middletown and Clear Lake, which each scored 14 points.
Then it was time to wait.
With the Super Quiz scores in hand it was up to the judges to tally the final results, a process which took about a half hour.
Students chatted, fretted, checked their cell phones and sent texts. Harby pointed to senior Emmalena Illia's nervously tapping foot as signs of the nerve-wracking wait. Illia said the competition seemed about as hard as her two previous visits to the Academic Decathlon.
Then Geck was back at the microphone, telling everyone it was time to announce the results, which had been delivered to him in sealed envelopes by Robin Totorica of the Lake County Office of Education.
Geck called up the principals of the four competing high schools – Patrick Iaccino of Upper Lake, Steve Gentry of Clear Lake, Bob Roderick of Middletown and Jeff Dixon of Lower Lake – to help with handing out the awards.
Before awarding the medals and trophies, Geck took a minute to respond to a question posed to him by a parent during the break.
The question had been about the future of the Academic Decathlon in light of the state's budget crisis.
Geck was frank. He told the roomful of proud parents and grandparents and their students that the realities of the state budget and thinning resources will make it harder for school district boards to sustain programs like the Academic Decathlon.
His suggestion: Let legislators know that the Academic Decathlon is valued and should continue.
Geck then moved to the happier news of the awards.
The following is the list of award-winning students.
Written essay
Bronze: Grace Evans, Honors, Middletown
Silver: Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake
Gold: William Oertel, Varsity, Middletown
Interview
Bronze (four-way tie): Marilou Montanez, Honors, Lower Lake; Joe Riggs, Scholastic, Lower Lake; Kevin Boyd, Scholastic, Lower Lake; Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Scholastic, Upper Lake
Silver: Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake; Emmalena Illia, Honors, Lower Lake
Gold: Alma Martinez, Varsity, Lower Lake
Speech, impromptu
Bronze: Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Scholastic, Upper Lake
Silver: Ryan Wilson, Scholastic, Lower Lake
Gold: Natasha Gibbs, Honors, Middletown
Language and Literature
Bronze: Ryan Wilson, Scholastic, Lower Lake
Silver: Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake
Gold: Joe Riggs, Scholastic, Lower Lake
Fine Arts
Bronze: Thonyoon Chao, Scholastic, Upper Lake
Silver (three-way tie): Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake; Stephanie Tregea, Scholastic, Upper Lake; Joe Riggs, Scholastic, Lower Lake
Gold: Emmalena Illia, Honors, Lower Lake
Social Science
Bronze: Garrett Schofield, Honors, Clear Lake
Silver: Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake
Gold: Joe Riggs, Scholastic, Lower Lake
Mathematics
Bronze (three-way tie): Nycole Copping, Honors, Clear Lake; Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Scholastic, Upper Lake; Thonyoon Chao, Scholastic, Upper Lake
Silver: Belarmino Garcia Jr., Honors, Upper Lake
Gold: Kyle Coleman, Honors, Upper Lake
Music
Bronze (tie): Desiree Quiett, Varsity, Middletown; Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Scholastic, Upper Lake
Silver: Belarmino Garcia Jr., Honors, Upper Lake
Gold (tie): Stephanie Tregea, Scholastic, Upper Lake; Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake
Economics
Bronze (three-way tie): Alma Martinez, Varsity, Lower Lake; Grace Evans, Honors, Middletown High; Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Scholastic, Upper Lake
Silver: Chae Carter, Varsity, Upper Lake
Gold (tie): Ben Mullin, Varsity, Upper Lake; Joe Riggs, Scholastic, Lower Lake
Varsity top scorer
Bronze: Brandon Rockwell, Lower Lake
Silver: William Oertel, Middletown
Gold: Ben Mullin, Upper Lake
Scholastic top scorer
Bronze: Kevin Boyd, Lower Lake
Silver: Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Upper Lake
Gold: Joe Riggs, Lower Lake
Honors top scorer
Bronze: Diego Bernardino, Clear Lake
Silver: Emmalena Illia, Lower Lake
Gold: Kyle Coleman, Upper Lake
Top scoring student from each school
Clear Lake High School: Diego Bernardino, Honors
Upper Lake High School: Ben Mullin, Varsity
Middletown High School: William Oertel, Varsity
Lower Lake High School: Joe Riggs, Scholastic
Super Quiz
Silver: Lower Lake High School
Gold: Upper Lake High School
Then it was time to announce the winner.
“We know that you're all working hard,” Geck said before making the announcement.
Winning the silver was Lower Lake, with Upper Lake taking the championship. Each of the teams received standing ovations.
The full point tallies for all the schools was not available from officials late Saturday.
Afterward, there were a lot of hugs, high fives and congratulations for the teams.
“We did it!” Sabalone and a student said to one another.
“They did fantastic,” she said of her students.
She called it a “nerve-wracking and exhilarating” experience that followed a grueling final week of preparation, with students arriving at school at 7 a.m., going through classes and then studying together until 9 p.m., with parents bringing in food to the evening study sessions.
Sabalone saw the competition from the coach's side this year. While a student at Upper Lake, she competed as an academic decathlete. She said at first she was less nervous than when she was a student competitor.
But she eventually ended up worrying about other things. “When it comes down to it I wonder, did I do enough?”
Looking ahead, she said two-thirds of her team is graduating this year, but she has a lot of students coming up through the ranks who are showing potential.
Regarding the budget concerns Geck referred to during the awards ceremony, Sabalone said she doesn't know if the budget will hurt the Academic Decathlon, but she plans to go on with the program “with or without a budget.”
When it comes to keeping Upper Lake's Academic Decathlon program going, “I plan on finding a way,” Sabalone said.
She said she's looking forward to the state competition and to the final point tally, so they know which areas need extra work.
The students have a three-day weekend to enjoy and then Sabalone is giving them a week off to rest up before they begin the furious month of preparation for the 30th annual California Academic Decathlon, which takes place March 13 through 16 in Sacramento.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
This family-friendly event invites everyone to count birds anywhere – backyards, parks or wilderness areas – to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the United States and Canada.
Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to expert birders. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or if you're truly inspired, you can count for as long as you like each day of the event.
As the count progresses, the Great Backyard Bird Count Web site is updated so that anyone with Internet access can see what is being reported here in Lake County or anywhere in the United States and Canada.
Located along the major bird migration route, the Pacific Flyway, Lake County is home to more than 300 species of birds, according to the Redbud Audubon Society, making spotting many different types of birds in your backyard easy.
For a family outing, you can watch birds at the Rodman Slough Park or join the Saturday morning guided bird and nature walks hosted by the Lake County Land Trust at the Rodman Slough Preserve.
The guided walk is free and begins at 8 a.m. in the summer and fall; 9 a.m. in the winter and spring. Walks begin at the Rodman House, at the corner of Westlake Road and the Nice-Luceren Cutoff in Lakeport.
Other locations to easily spot many types of birds include Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.
In the 2008 count, 37 reports were submitted that included nearly 150 different species of birds in Lake County.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is important because scientists can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are.
Bird populations are dynamic and constantly changing due to a myriad of reasons, and documenting the migration, movement and distribution of so many so many different species in such a short time would be impossible for even a team of scientists.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, some of the questions that can be answered by the data collected in the Great Backyard Bird Count include:
How will this winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations?
Where are winter finches and other "irruptive" species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?
How will the timing of birds' migrations compare with past years?
How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?
What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural and natural areas?
Are any birds undergoing worrisome declines that point to the need for conservation attention?
The Great Backyard Bird County Web site includes everything you will need to participate including bird identifications, educational materials for teachers and parents, and even a contest for photographs of birds.
For more information and to download a checklist to participate, visit www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
my only weapon is my pen
and the frame of mind I’m in …
Poet, from There’s A Riot Goin’ On
Sylvester Stewart, circa, 1971
Actually, there’s still a riot goin’ on in my CyberSoulMan head regarding an incident that happened to me in small claims court here in Lake County a few years back. I’ll get to that shortly.
I’d like to go back even further though, in an attempt to illustrate part of the formative childhood of T. Watts, back when the brainwash was new.
I was a CyberSoulChild, living in San Francisco, city of my birth. I actually cannot remember not having a television. One of my favorite TV shows was entitled “Captain Fortune.” It was, obviously, a children’s show, full of fantasy, magic and the like.
One of the cool things Mr. Captain Fortune could do was have one of his young charges take a crayon to an easel and mark it up all crazy and then actually redraw the mass into anything the little tyke or tykes desired. It was like, total subliminal domination of my 5-year-old mind. This cat could make something out of nothing. Pure alchemy. My mini psyche shouted, “Eureka!”
Several years later, I had a similar experience in my eighth grade math class. It was taught by a young whiz kid with a southern accent named Mr. Williams. He was a genteel, handsome type, natty dresser, really popular with the students and, I imagine, females in general.
Mr. Williams, through a series of seemingly algebraic formulaic smoke-and-mirrored sleight of hand, proved to the class that 1 + 1 = 3. There. It had happened again. I had been shown by someone that I had a modicum of faith in, that the impossible was occasionally possible. Mr. Williams, bless his heart, did undo his fraudulent math lesson to illustrate to our teenaged sensibilities that people can be made to believe anything.
Here folks, is where the bloggy gets foggy. I’m easing toward my tale from the cryptic courtroom now.
You see, I was a Lake County landlord a few seasons back. I learned that there are some very fraudulent renters out there. These are people who make a living at renting for free. They’ll show up like the all-American family. They have maybe one or two vehicles and a couple of children. They will be slightly short of the total move-in costs to secure the rental of your property and have a less-than-stellar credit report as well.
They’ll give you a story that will tug at your heart. You agree to rent them your property. They pay the rent fine for a couple of months. Then suddenly they can’t pay the rent because they are separated. The wife and children are gone and the husband has a sad story. This goes on for close to three months.
Then their former landlords make contact with you, the current landlord. You compare notes. It’s a ruse. You discover they scammed more than one former landlord the same way. You might even catch your tenants at Kmart acting very unseparated, spending your mortgage money. The husband refuses to vacate your property.
You explore your legal options. In my case I decided to use a legal reference handbook for landlords taking their tenants to court. I file all the papers, to evict the tenant(s) and sue for back rent and property damage.
On the day of court reckoning, I walk in the courtroom dressed like a lawyer. You know, sport coat, tie, slacks, shined shoes. I spy a popular Lake County doctor in the courtroom dressed for business as well. We acknowledge each other and wait for the judge.
Lot on the plate of some of these judges. Makes them a little late sometimes. One pleasantry about the proceedings is that the court stenographer is my neighbor.
His Honor finally saunters in and we do the “All rise.” He calls the doctor’s case and quickly finds for the doctor. The doctor is able to hear the nature of my case before he leaves the courtroom. His Honor calls my case. At some point during the proceedings His Honor scowls at me like I’m a menace there to do harm to the defendant, who looks like he slept in his clothes.
Rather than give you the blow by blow, let me just suffice to say that after presenting my case and finally getting the sheriff to give my tenant the boot, His Honor asked me where I got my legal advice. When I told him the title of the legal handbook he angrily told me that I was misinformed, that I was not eligible for the two and a half months back rent and all I could be awarded was a $200 cleaning fee.
Hey, wait a minute, I’m thinking. This is some negative alchemy. This judge is trying to convince me that I’m wrong, when I know I’m right. All my i’s are dotted and my t’s are crossed. This is bad mojo. The impossibly unfair has the shady scale of justice on its scanty side.
But wait, there’s more proof. I ask my neighbor the stenographer what she made of the court action. She said something to the effect of, “I don’t know what came over the judge. I’ve never seen him act like that before. He acted like you did something to him.”
I bumped into the doctor a few days later. He too, was surprised that I didn’t get the verdict I was seeking.
I’ve gotten out of the land lording business. Nothing lasts forever. Not even unrighteous judges who ignore scandalous behavior. Me? I’ve got bigger fish to fry. Maybe next I’ll write about Rush Limbaugh’s pain pill connection. Papa’s got a brand new bag!
Keep prayin’, keep thinkin’ those kind thoughts.
T. Watts is a writer, radio host and music critic. Visit his Web site at www.teewatts.biz.
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