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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV 8 will broadcast the meeting live.
Beginning at 10 a.m., the board will discuss the possibility of transferring Community Development Block Grant program income money from the Business Expansion and Retention Revolving
Loan Fund to finance other projects, including curb, gutter and sidewalk projects in the Northshore Redevelopment Project Area and a feasibility study for the Lucerne Hotel property.
The hotel, which has housed the Lucerne Christian Conference Center for many years, has been put up for sale by its owners after bookings for Christian retreats and camps in the coming year began to drop significantly, as Lake County News has reported.
On Jan. 13 the board discussed possibly becoming involved with buying the property to hold it for a new buyer or assisting with active marketing it to assist in a speedy sale. At that time, supervisors approved looking at using grant funds for a study to look at the building's structural integrity and also conducting an appraisal.
Other items on the board's agenda include the following.
Timed:
9:15 a.m.: Public hearing on the Planning Commission’s recommendations for approval of proposed amendments to the Lake County Zoning Ordinance pertaining to bed and breakfast inns, detached
granny units and creating a new category of off-site signage for certain shopping centers and business districts.
9:45 a.m.: Public hearing on Planning Commission's recommendation for approval of a one-year time extension of the Vintage Faire General Plan of Development for applicant De Nova Homes; project is located at 20740 and 20830 State Highway 29, Middletown.
10:30 a.m.: Appointment of District 1 Lake County Planning Commissioner and administer Oath of Office; and consideration of applications from members of the public for appointment to miscellaneous Lake County committees, commissions and advisory boards.
11 a.m.: Public hearing on Ronald Jacobs' appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to grant the appeal of Erik Thorsen, trustee, Edgar F. Thorsen Trust, regarding the issuance of a lakebed encroachment permit and supporting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notice of
Exemption to Ronald Jacobs for the construction of pier/covered deck/gangway/suspended platform/covered electric boat lift; project is located at 1925 Westlake Drive.
Untimed items:
– Consideration of recommendation for award of bid for Fourth through Fifth Avenue Lucerne Sidewalk Improvement Project; and consideration of proposed agreement for construction
inspection services for Lucerne Sidewalk Improvement Project.
– An ordinance establishing annual payments for lakebed encroachment permits and annual lease fees – (second reading).
The board also will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Highlights of the Water Plan and Volume 1 – Strategic Plan are now posted at www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/cwpu2009/index.cfm.
Update 2009 outlines a new approach in how California manages its water resources. Titled “Integrated Water Management,” it is the state’s blueprint for statewide and regional integrated water management, integrated flood management, and sustainable use of this valuable resource.
Guided by a 21 state-agency steering committee, Update 2009 is a result of collaboration between government and private agencies, Native Americans, cities, farms, industry and environmental organizations.
The document addresses concerns from every arena of water use, supply, flood protection, and for the environment.
The plan includes 27 resource management strategies (Volume 2) to meet various water management goals: reduce water demand, improve operational efficiency and transfers, increase water supply, improve water quality, practice environmental stewardship, and improve flood management.
The strategic plan includes 13 objectives with more than 100 near-term and long-term actions. New analytical methods and tools will help plan for future effects of climate change, population growth, and other factors outside the water community’s control.
Volume 3 Regional Reports looks at water conditions and concerns in California’s 10 hydrologic regions and two special areas of concern: the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and Mountain Counties Area in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
All drafts will be posted at www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/cwpu2009/index.cfm.
The Water Plan Highlights and Volume 1 – The Strategic Plan were posted Jan. 7; Volume 2 – Resource Management Strategies will be posted Jan. 21 and Volume 3 – Regional Reports will be available Jan. 28. Printed highlights containing a CD of the other volumes will be available in February.
Public comment workshops will be held in all regions mid-April through May. Refer to the www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/cwpu2009/index.cfm Web site for meeting dates and locations. Comments will also be posted at this location.
Comments may be sent through June 5 via:
Email:
Fax: 916-651-9289
Postal Mail: Attn: Paul Dabbs
Strategic Water Planning
Statewide Integrated Water Management
California Department of Water Resources
P.O. Box 942836
Sacramento, CA 94236-0001
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- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
NICE – Dozens of Robinson Rancheria tribal members – those under threat of disenrollment and those who aren't – as well as nontribal members lined a short stretch of Highway 20 near the tribe's casino on Saturday, protesting the tribal council's action to remove at least 60 people from its rolls and to fire numerous people from jobs with the tribe.
The disenrollment, which took place last month as Lake County News has reported, has deepened divisions in the tribe, according to those who marched and chanted Saturday.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs must approve the action, according to the tribe's constitution. That agency has yet to do that, according to tribal members who appealed their disenrollment and await a decision.
That disenrollment action was followed earlier this month by sudden firings for disenrollees and nontribal members working at California Tribal TANF, which offers social services to Indians, and the tribe's well-respected environmental program.
Indian and non-Indians alike carried signs that read, “Corruption spoken here,” “Can you smell the greed,” “Justice for who? All,” “Did our ancestors die for injustice,” “All tribes united to fight tribal corruption,” “Honk for justice” and “Fairness and quality for all RR (Robinson Rancheria) Pomos.”
About 50 people were engaged in the protest at any one time, with many people coming and going over five and a half hours. Drivers of dozens of cars honked and waved to the group.
Clayton Duncan helped start the morning out with a brief smudging ceremony, burning sage and offering a blessing of the protest and its participants, who ranged from young children to elders.
Duncan expressed concern over what the disenrollment could mean for the tribe's future and its young people, some of whom also are proposed to be stricken from membership rolls.
“What about our children?” Duncan said. “They don't even think about our children.”
Wanda Quitiquit, one of those targeted for disenrollment and a member of the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization (AIRRO), credited AIRRO – which cosponsored the protest – with being the only group to actively fight for Indian civil rights.
“I'm not disenrolled as far as I'm concerned,” said Quitiquit, who called California “the home of disenrollment.”
She said AIRRO estimates that 3,000 California Indians have been disenrolled from their tribes. “There is something very bad going on in Indian land today.”
Wanda Quitiquit and her brother, Marion Quitiquit, have been part of AIRRO since it was founded several years ago with the help of the Foreman family of Redding Rancheria, who were themselves disenrolled.
Quitiquit said Indian gaming “is our downfall,” and said the present disenrollment crisis requires Indians to step up their political activism like they did in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2) was approved by a vote of 289-139.
The bill is very similar to the legislation that President Bush vetoed twice in the 110th Congress.
“Investing in children’s health care is one of the wisest choices our federal government can make,” Thompson said during a speech on the House of Representatives floor. “Children have to be healthy to get an education and achieve their full potential as adults. When kids see the doctor more regularly, they receive the preventive services that keep them healthier longer – and they are less likely to end up in the emergency room, which saves everyone money.”
Thompson said almost a million and a quarter children in California are uninsured, which he called “simply unacceptable.”
He said that, in contrast to President Bush’s multiple vetoes of similar bills, President-elect Obama gave his enthusiastic support to providing coverage for 4 million additional children. “That is truly change we can believe in,” Thompson said.
SCHIP was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage for children in families that earn too little to afford health insurance for their children but too much to qualify for Medicaid.
The bill passed last week by the House of Representatives reauthorizes SCHIP through 2013 and preserves the coverage for all 7.1 million children currently covered by SCHIP, including 1,538,416 children in California.
Thompson's office has previously estimated that 1,600 Lake County children will receive coverage under the legislation.
The bill also extends health care coverage to 4.1 million additional low-income children, who are currently uninsured. The bill is fully paid for.
This bipartisan bill has been endorsed by dozens of organizations, representing millions of Americans – ranging from business groups such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses and Business Roundtable to the American Hospital Association, AARP and Families USA.
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