LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Right before the new fiscal year began for schools, the Trump Administration announced an abrupt freeze of over $6 billion in federal education funding nationwide — including an estimated $1 billion to California and $1.2 million to Lake County schools — despite congressional approval.
State and Lake County officials say the move — described as an “impoundment of federal funds” — will bring tremendous disruption to public school services.
The U.S. Department of Education announced the freeze on June 30, one day before the July 1 start of the school year, when funds are typically released.
It’s projected that $1.2 million has been withheld from county schools — about 16.5% of its over $7 million in total federal funds allocation, according to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
Falkenberg told Lake County News that he had not received any official communication prior to the fund freeze, and that it occurred, “Without notice and without reason and without engagement or warning.”
“It is troubling; It will have a tremendous impact,” he told Lake County News. “We’re still trying to evaluate what actually is going to mean locally, but it is millions of dollars.”
Locally, such a decision “jeopardizes essential educational services, especially those that support our most vulnerable students,” Falkenberg said in a July 2 press release. “Programs supporting adults working toward a high school diploma, after-school initiatives that keep children safe and enriched, services for English learners, and resources for students from migrant families are all at serious risk.”
The freeze came abruptly without an explanation, raising concerns about its legality and motivation.
In a July 1 press release, the California Department of Education estimates a $1 billion freeze being “illegally impounded” statewide.
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said the decision appeared to be politically driven.
“The President is completely disregarding the democratic process by impounding dollars already budgeted, rather than trying to make his case for cuts to elected representatives sent to Congress by the American people to make these decisions,” Superintendent Thurmond said in the press release. “In the notification we received, the Trump Administration provides no legal justification for withholding these dollars from our students. The Administration is punishing children for the sole reason that states refuse to cater to Trump’s political ideology.”
“It is unprecedented in my career,” Falkenberg told Lake County News in a phone call. “There’s always been respect for the budgets that have been in place as the administration changes.”
Falkenberg said he has worked as an educator and administrator for three decades. For him the current funding freeze breaks with that long-standing norm of respecting approved budgets, regardless of political and administration changes.
Worst case scenario, Falkenberg said, if the frozen funds ended as cuts and never came through, he would expect “a cut in staffing and a cut in programs that are supporting our adult learners, our after school programs, our programs to support and enhance teacher preparation, our support for students who are English learners — that’s the programs that are supporting families or students of families of migrants.”
‘Foundational to educational opportunities’
Falkenberg explained that education budgets were laid out in March, assuming these funds would be in place. “We have programs in place and have made purchases assuming these funds would be there. Only to the very last minute here that they may not come,” he said.
“These aren’t supplementary programs; they are foundational to educational opportunities,” Falkenberg said in his press release. “These funds were enacted by Congress and signed into law by the President. School districts across California, including here at home, responsibly integrated them into their budgets with the clear expectation of timely delivery.”
The answers to many questions remain unclear: Why did the abrupt freeze occur? Is it permanent or temporary? If it’s temporary, when will the fund be released?
“A lot of your questions are the same questions that we are trying to delve into right now,” Falkenberg said.
Lake County News made multiple calls over the past week to reach the U.S. Department of Education’s press office with these questions.
Each call was met with an automated message: “Our center is temporarily closed at this time.” After a voice message was recorded — with no options to review, re-record or mark it as urgent — the call ended abruptly: “Thank you for your message. Goodbye.”
News outlets are not alone in struggling to get answers from the federal agency.
“Everyone’s in the same position; they're scrambling,” said State Superintendent Thurmond in a KCRA 3 interview. “They have no idea what this means and what the impacts are. We can't even get the information out of the US Department of Education about what's being funded and what's not.”
While local access to federal information remains limited, Falkenberg is worried about what this may signal for the future.
“That's a good indicator even if we end up receiving these funds in a month or two, they won't be in the next budget,” Falkenberg told Lake County News. “If these are not a priority of the current administration, and there's a good possibility they won't be budgeted in the long run.”
He added, “I think the dust will start to settle — for lack of a better term — in the next week to two weeks, and at that point in time, we'll just be able to have much more robust conversations about next steps.”
Email Lingzi Chen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The North State Planning and Development Collective at California State University, Chico, along with the Northeastern and Upstate California Connect Broadband Consortia, will hold its seventh annual Virtual Broadband Summit next month.
The event will take place on Thursday, Aug. 28, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Registration is free and is now open through Eventbrite.com.
The event brings together regional and state leaders in broadband for a morning dedicated to the current broadband programs and initiatives underway in the California North State region.
“Broadband is critical to the way we all live, do business and learn,” said Jason Schwenkler, executive director for the collective and manager of the Upstate and Northeastern California Connect Broadband Consortia. “This annual event allows us the opportunity to inform the region about current broadband policy, infrastructure developments and more affecting the North State region.
The agenda includes:
• Welcome and update from Jason Schwenkler. • Legislation and Policy Update by Sunne Wright-McPeak, President and CEO, California Emerging Technology Fund, or CETF. • Broadband for All Update by Scott Adams, deputy director of broadband and digital literacy, California Department of Technology and an update from Mark Monroe, deputy director of California's Middle-Mile Initiative, California Department of Technology. • Update from Maria Ellis, deputy director of broadband, California Public Utilities Commission
To register, search “7th Annual Virtual Broadband Summit” on Eventbrite.com.
For additional information about the event agenda or registration, contact Sabrina Oregel, outreach coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Town Hall, or MATH, will get updates on a new park project and other projects in the south county area.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10, in the Middletown Community Meeting Room/Library at 21256 Washington St., Middletown. The meeting is open to the public.
On the agenda is a presentation by Public Services Director Lars Ewing regarding a new park in Middletown.
The group will consider voting to finalize MATH’s updated bylaws, which will then be sent to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
In other business, the group will get an update on a public meeting on Aug. 7 regarding Caltrans projects in the Middletown area and the Lake Lake Area Planning Council’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Plan.
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.
For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
People shop for food in Brooklyn in 2023 at a store that makes sure that its customers know it accepts SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps and EBT. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In my research on the history of food stamps, I’ve found that the program was meant to be widely available to most low-income people. The SNAP changes break that tradition in two ways.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 3 million people are likely to be dropped from the program and lose their benefits. This decline will occur in part because more people will face time limits if they don’t meet work requirements. Even those who meet the requirements may lose benefits because of difficulty submitting the necessary documents.
Inspired by the plight of unemployed coal miners whom John F. Kennedy met in Appalachia when he campaigned for the presidency in 1960, the early food stamps program was not limited to single parents with children, older people and people with disabilities, like many other safety net programs were at the time. It was supposed to help low-income people afford more and better food, regardless of their circumstances.
From the start, the states administered the program and covered some of its administrative costs and the federal government paid for the benefits in full. This arrangement encouraged states to enroll everyone who needed help without fearing the budgetary consequences.
Who could qualify and how much help they could get were set by uniform national standards, so that even the residents of the poorest states would be able to afford a budget-conscious but nutritionally adequate diet.
The federal government’s responsibility for the cost of benefits also allowed spending to automatically grow during economic downturns, when more people need assistance. These federal dollars helped families, retailers and local economies weather tough times.
The changes to the SNAP program included in the legislative package that Congress approved by narrow margins and Trump signed into law, however, will make it harder for the program to serve its original goals.
Restricting benefits
Since the early 1970s, most so-called able-bodied adults who were not caring for a child or an adult with disabilities had to meet a work requirement to get food stamps. Welfare reform legislation in 1996 made that requirement stricter for such adults between the ages of 18 and 50 by imposing a three-month time limit if they didn’t log 20 hours or more of employment or another approved activity, such as verified volunteering.
Budget legislation passed in 2023 expanded this rule to adults up to age 54. The 2025 law will further expand the time limit to adults up to age 64 and parents of children age 14 or over.
States can currently get permission from the federal government to waive work requirements in areas with insufficient jobs or unemployment above the national average. This flexibility to waive work requirements will now be significantly limited and available only where at least 1 in 10 workers are unemployed.
Concerned senators secured an exemption from the work requirements for most Native Americans and Native Alaskans, who are more likely to live in areas with limited job opportunities.
The new changes to SNAP policies will also deny benefits to many immigrants with authorization to be in the U.S., such as people granted political asylum or official refugee status. Immigrants without authorization to reside in the U.S. will continue to be ineligible for SNAP benefits.
Tracking ‘error rates’
Critics of food stamps have long argued that states lack incentives to carefully administer the program because the federal government is on the hook for the cost of benefits.
In the 1970s, as the number of Americans on the food stamp rolls soared, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, developed a system for assessing if states were accurately determining whether applicants were eligible for benefits and how much they could get.
A state’s “payment error rate” estimates the share of benefits paid out that were more or less than an applicant was actually eligible for. The error rate was not then and is not today a measure of fraud. Typically, it just indicates the share of families who get a higher – or lower – amount of benefits than they are eligible for because of mistakes or confusion on the part of the applicant or the case worker who handles the application.
States responded by increasing their red tape. For example, they asked applicants to submit more documentation and made them go through more bureaucratic hoops, like having more frequent in-person interviews, to get – and continue receiving – SNAP benefits.
These demands hit low-wage workers hardest because their applications were more prone to mistakes. Low-income workers often don’t have consistent work hours and their pay can vary from week to week and month to month. The number of families getting benefits fell steeply.
The USDA tried to reverse this decline by offering states options to simplify the process for applying for and continuing to get SNAP benefits over the course of the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Enrollment grew steadily.
Despite this requirement, the national average error rate jumped from 7.4% before the pandemic, to a record high of 11.7% in 2023. Rates rose as states struggled with a surge of people applying for benefits, a shortage of staff in state welfare agencies and procedural changes.
The big legislative package will increase states’ expenses in two ways.
It will reduce the federal government’s responsibility for half of the cost of administering the program to 25% beginning in the 2027 fiscal year.
And some states will have to pay a share of benefit costs for the first time in the program’s history, depending on their payment error rates. Beginning in the 2028 fiscal year, states with an error rate between 6-8% would be responsible for 5% of the cost of benefits. Those with an error rate between 8-10% would have to pay 10%, and states with an error rate over 10% would have to pay 15%. The federal government would continue to pay all benefits in states with error rates below 6%.
Republicans argue the changes will give states more “skin in the game” and ensure better administration of the program.
While the national payment error rate fell from 11.68% in the 2023 fiscal year to 10.93% a year later, 42 states still had rates in excess of 6% in 2024. Twenty states plus the District of Columbia had rates of 10% or higher.
At nearly 25%, Alaska has the highest payment error rate in the country. But Alaska won’t be in trouble right away. To ease passage in the Senate, where the vote of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, was in doubt, a provision was added to the bill allowing several states with the highest error rates to avoid cost sharing for up to two years after it begins.
About 600,000 individuals and families will lose an average of $100 a month in benefits because of a change in the way utility costs are treated. The law also prevents future administrations from increasing benefits beyond the cost of living, as the Biden Administration did.
States cannot cut benefits below the national standards set in federal law.
But the shift of costs to financially strapped states will force them to make tough choices. They will either have to cut back spending on other programs, increase taxes, discourage people from getting SNAP benefits or drop the program altogether.
The changes will, in the end, make it even harder for Americans who can’t afford the bare necessities to get enough nutritious food to feed their families.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors this week will consider placing delinquent water, sewer and lighting fees on the 2024-25 tax rolls for collection, review a feasibility study by Sonoma Clean Power suggesting lower electricity costs, and discuss the cannabis policy recommendations.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 8, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 865 3354 4962, pass code 726865. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,86533544962#,,,,*726865#. The meeting can also be accessed via phone at 669 900 6833.
At 9:30 a.m., the board will consider adopting an increase in the fire mitigation fee. The staff memo noted that the fee will be automatically adjusted for inflation each year on July 1, commencing immediately.
The board will then hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. on the placement of lighting fees and delinquent water and sewer fees on the 2024-2025 tax rolls for collection, before the approval of related resolutions.
At 10:30 a.m., the board will hear a presentation from Sonoma Clean Power evaluating the feasibility of expanding their Community Choice Aggregation program, or the CCA program, into Lake County.
Under the conditions of the study, it is estimated that if the program expands to Lake County, customers may save between 4.2% and 12.9% on their electricity bills compared to their current provider.
The chief executive officer and staff from Sonoma Clean Power will answer questions from and discuss potential next steps with the board.
At 11a.m., the board will consider a summary of cannabis policy recommendations and provide direction to staff who will draft an ordinance to create a new Article 73 in the Lake County Zoning Code.
The draft will be sent out for review by stakeholders and the Agriculture Advisory Committee. It will then be brought back to the board for consideration and possible adoption, according to the staff memo.
The summary of policy recommendations includes cannabis-related business types, possible zoning districts to locate these businesses, the level of permit required, development standards and options to align with existing state regulations.
At 1 p.m., the board will consider a report from consulting firm Municipal Resource Group on a governance and organizational workshop attended by the board and staff in March in which they discussed the possibility of moving from a chief administrative officer to a chief executive officer model.
In the untimed items, the board will consider an annual update by Lake County Behavior Health Services and the department’s several contracts adding up to over $4.5 million.
The board will also consider an agreement for construction management services for the 2024 Pavement Rehabilitation Project in the Cobb area with GHD.
The agreement amount is not to exceed $634,478, or 12% of the construction contract amount.
The staff memo noted that construction began on June 18, with Argonaut Contractors Inc. as the builder and GHD providing construction management services.
In the closed session, the board will consider an employee grievance complaint and conduct a public employee evaluation of the county’s Water Resources director.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution approving Agreement #25-7306-0256-RA with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services for July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, for $143,263.10; July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, for $146,638.26 and July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2028, for $149,007.30.
5.2: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 25-0268-000-SA with the California Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the Nursery Inspection Program for period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, for $500.
5.3: Adopt resolution approving Agreement with California Department of Food Agriculture for Certified Farmer’s Market Program Investigation and Enforcement Agreement #25-0120-000-SA for $944.00 for the period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
5.4: Approve amendment between County of Lake and CliftonLarsonAllen LLP for accounting and advisory services; an increase of $50,000 total compensation not to exceed $150,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.5: Approve a) budget transfer in Budget Unit 4014 – Behavioral Health of $514,650 from Inventory account 740.38-00 to Capital Asset account 740.63-13; and b) amend the list of capital assets of the 2024-2025 budget to increase the South Shore Clinic to $681,250 and authorize the chair of the board to sign.
5.6: Approve Board of Supervisors meeting minutes June 3, 2025 and June 10, 2025.
5.7: Adopt resolution authorizing the Community Development Department to apply for the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) grant from the California Department of Conservation and authorize the chair to sign.
5.8: Approve long distance travel for Liberty Francis, Tobacco Education & Prevention Coordinator and Patricia Wingler, Tobacco Education & Prevention Health Programs Support Specialist to attend the National Conference on Tobacco or Health Training in Chicago, Illinois from August 24, 2025 to August 29, 2025.
5.9: Approve request to close the Probation Department on Friday, July 24, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. for all-staff training.
5.10: a) Approve the purchase agreement for wetland mitigation credits at Seigler Valley Wetland Bank – FMAG HMGP Culvert Replacement No. 1 and authorize the Public Works director to sign; and b) approve the purchase agreement for wetland mitigation credits at Seigler Valley Wetland Bank – FMAG HMGP Culvert Replacement No. 2 and authorize the Public Works director to sign.
5.11: Approve late travel claims for election technicians for the November 5, 2024, general election and authorize the Auditor-Controller to process payments to be paid out of FY 2024/2025.
5.12: (Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District, Board of Directors) Approve Local Cooperation Agreement between Central Valley Flood Protection Board of the State of California (CVFPB) and Lake County Watershed Protection District (LCWPD) for Middle Creek Flood Control Project work and authorize the chair to sign.
5.13: Approve the agreement between County of Lake and Clean Lakes, Inc. for the Aquatic Vegetation Management Program for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 not to exceed an amount of $271,210 and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
6.1, 9:02 a.m.: Public input.
6.2, 9:03 a.m.: Pet of the Week.
6.3, 9:04 a.m.: New and noteworthy at the Library.
6.4, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of presentation of Brown Act.
6.5, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing – Consideration of a proposed resolution approving resolutions submitted by Lake County fire agencies and making findings and requesting the County of Lake to implement fire mitigation fees with the automatic inflation pursuant to the Lake County Fire Mitigation Fee Ordinance.
6.6, 10 a.m.: Public hearing – (Sitting concurrently as Clearlake Keys CSA #1, #2, #6, #13, #20, #21–Board of Supervisors, Kelseyville County Waterworks District #3 and Lake County Sanitation District–Board of Directors) – Consideration of (a) resolution confirming collections of annual lighting fees; (b) resolution confirming collections of delinquent water fees; (c) resolution confirming collections of delinquent water and sewer fees; (d) resolution of delinquent sewer fees for Lake County Sanitation District.
6.7, 10:30 a.m.: Consideration of a presentation by Sonoma Clean Power on a feasibility study for Sonoma Clean Power Lake County expansion.
6.8, 10:45 a.m.: Public hearing – Consideration of resolution appointing Road Commissioner for the County of Lake.
6.9, 11:00 a.m.: Consideration of summary of cannabis policy recommendations and request for board direction.
6.10, 1:00 p.m.: Consideration of a report from Municipal Resource Group on your board's March 21, 2025, training workshop on general governance, priority development and organizational effectiveness.
NON-TIMED ITEMS
7.1: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.
7.2: Consideration of Board of Supervisors Rules of Procedure, General Protocol and Committees Policy update.
7.3: Consideration of Amendment No. 2 to the agreement between County of Lake and California Mental Health Services Authority "CalMHSA" Semi-Statewide Enterprise Health Record Program in the amount of $1,528,816.56.
7.4: a) Consideration of presentation on Lake County Behavioral Health Services Mental Health Services Act annual update for Fiscal Year 2025-26 and approval of modifications to the three-year plan spanning 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26; and b) resolution adopting the annual FY 2025-26 update to the three-year Lake County Mental Health Services Act program and expenditure plan.
7.5: Consideration of agreement between the County of Lake and Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for Fiscal Year 2025-26 in the amount of $1,200,000.
7.6: Consideration of Amendment No. 2 to the agreement between County of Lake and Davis Guest Home, Inc. for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services in the amount of $380,000 for Fiscal Year 2024-25.
7.7: Consideration of agreement between the County of Lake and Redwood Community Services, Inc. for provision of the Lake County Wrap Program, Foster Care Program, and Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) Program for specialty mental health services for Fiscal Year 2025-26 in the amount of $1,500,000.
7.8: Consideration of agreement for construction management services for the 2024 Pavement Rehabilitation Project with GHD with an amount not to exceed $634,478.00, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.9: Consideration of (a) waiving the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; (b) ratifying payment in the amount of $7,892.37 for Ad Order 0006900014; (c) approving payment to the Lake County Record-Bee not to exceed $50,000.00 annually. 7.10: Consideration of (a) waiving the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; (b) approving payment of Pre-Sort Center postage deposit for $5,905.41; (c) approving agreement with the Presort Center for printing and mailing services in an amount not to exceed $200,000.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1, 2 p.m.: Closed session: Employee grievance complaint pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54957.
8.2: Public employee evaluation: Water Resources Director.
Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“Molok Luyuk,” or Condor Ridge, at sunset. Photo by Bob Wick.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — This week a special event will celebrate the first decade of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.
On July 10, 2015, President Obama established the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to conserve and protect federally managed lands in California's Northern Inner Coast Range.
This was the culmination of many years of hard work by Tuleyome, its partners and the community.
Most of the 344,000-acre monument is within Lake County.
To celebrate “10 Years Wild,” as well as the 25th anniversary of the National Conservation Lands System, join Tuleyome at the Tallman Hotel, 9550 Main St. in Upper Lake beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 10.
The celebration starts with hors d'oeuvres, drinks, trivia and guest speakers, and then moves to the Middle Creek Campground at 15230 Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake from 7:30 to 10 p.m. for nighttime activities — including s'mores.
More information and registration is available on the Tuleyome website.
Lauren S. Hughes, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Kevin J. Bennett, University of South Carolina
As researchers studying rural health and health policy, we anticipate that these reductions in Medicaid spending, along with changes to the Affordable Care Act, will disproportionately affect the 66 million people living in rural America – nearly 1 in 5 Americans.
People who live in rural areas are more likely to have health insurance through Medicaid and are at greater risk of losing that coverage. We expect that the changes brought about by this new law will lead to a rise in unpaid care that hospitals will have to provide. As a result, small, local hospitals will have to make tough decisions that include changing or eliminating services, laying off staff and delaying the purchase of new equipment. Many rural hospitals will have to reduce their services or possibly close their doors altogether.
Hits to rural health
The budget legislation’s biggest effect on rural America comes from changes to the Medicaid program, which represent the largest federal rollback of health insurance coverage in the U.S. to date.
First, the legislation changes how states can finance their share of the Medicaid program by restricting where funds states use to support their Medicaid programs can come from. This bill limits how states can tax and charge fees to hospitals, managed care organizations and other health care providers, and how they can use such taxes and fees in the future to pay higher rates to providers under Medicaid. These limitations will reduce payments to rural hospitals that depend upon Medicaid to keep their doors open.
Rural hospitals play a crucial role in health care access.
Second, by 2027, states must institute work requirements that demand most Medicaid enrollees work 80 hours per month or be in school at least half time. Arkansas’ brief experiment with work requirements in 2018 demonstrates that rather than boost employment, the policy increases bureaucracy, hindering access to health care benefits for eligible people. States will also now be required to verify Medicaid eligibility every six months versus annually. That change also increases the risk people will lose coverage due to extra red tape.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that work requirements instituted through this legislative package will result in nearly 5 million people losing Medicaid coverage. This will decrease the number of paying patients at rural hospitals and increase the unpaid care hospitals must provide, further damaging their ability to stay open.
Additionally, the bill changes how people qualify for the premium tax credits within the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this change, along with other changes to the ACA such as fewer and shorter enrollment periods and additional requirements for documenting income, will reduce the number of people insured through the ACA Marketplace by about 3 million by 2034. Premium tax credits were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping millions of Americans obtain coverage who previously struggled to do so. This bill lets these expanded tax credits expire, which with may result in an additional 4.2 million people becoming uninsured.
An insufficient stop-gap
Senators from both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns about the legislative package’s potential effects on the financial stability of rural hospitals and frontier hospitals, which are facilities located in remote areas with fewer than six people per square mile. As a result, the Senate voted to set aside $50 billion over the next five years for a newly created Rural Health Transformation Program.
These funds are to be allocated in two ways. Half will be directly distributed equally to states that submit an application that includes a rural health transformation plan detailing how rural hospitals will improve the delivery and quality of health care. The remainder will be distributed to states in varying amounts through a process that is currently unknown.
While additional funding to support rural health facilities is welcome, how it is distributed and how much is available will be critical. Estimates suggest that rural areas will see a reduction of $155 billion in federal spending over 10 years, with much of that concentrated in 12 states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and have large proportions of rural residents.
That means $50 billion is not enough to offset cuts to Medicaid and other programs that will reduce funds flowing to rural health facilities.
Rural and frontier hospitals have long faced hardship because of their aging infrastructure, older and sicker patient populations, geographic isolation and greater financial and regulatory burdens. Since 2010, 153 rural hospitals have closed their doors permanently or ceased providing inpatient services. This trend is particularly acute in states that have chosen not to expand Medicaid via the Affordable Care Act, many of which have larger percentages of their residents living in rural areas.
Currently more than half of rural hospitals no longer deliver babies. Rural facilities serve fewer patients than those in more densely populated areas. They also have high fixed costs, and because they serve a high percentage of Medicaid patients, they rely on payments from Medicaid, which tends to pay lower rates than commercial insurance. Because of these pressures, these units will continue to close, forcing women to travel farther to give birth, to deliver before going full term and to deliver outside of traditional hospital settings.
And because hospitals in rural areas serve relatively small populations, they lack negotiating power to obtain fair and adequate payment from private health insurers and affordable equipment and supplies from medical companies. Recruiting and retaining needed physicians and other health care workers is expensive, and acquiring capital to renovate, expand or build new facilities is increasingly out of reach.
Finally, given that rural residents are more likely to have Medicaid than their urban counterparts, the legislation’s cuts to Medicaid will disproportionately reduce the rate at which rural providers and health facilities are paid by Medicaid for services they offer. With many rural hospitals already teetering on closure, this will place already financially fragile hospitals on an accelerated path toward demise.
Far-reaching effects
Rural hospitals are not just sources of local health care. They are also vital economic engines.
Hospital closures result in the loss of local access to health care, causing residents to choose between traveling longer distances to see a doctor or forgoing the services they need.
But hospitals in these regions are also major employers that often pay some of the highest wages in their communities. Their closure can drive a decline in the local tax base, limiting funding available for services such as roads and public schools and making it more difficult to attract and retain businesses that small towns depend on. Declines in rural health care undermine local economies.
Furthermore, the country as a whole relies on rural America for the production of food, fuel and other natural resources. In our view, further weakening rural hospitals may affect not just local economies but the health of the whole U.S. economy.
The U.S. population age 65 and older rose by 3.1% to 61.2 million while the population under age 18 decreased by 0.2% to 73.1 million from 2023 to 2024, according to the new Vintage 2024 Population Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data show the population continued to age, with the share of the population age 65 and older steadily increasing from 12.4% in 2004 to 18.0% in 2024, and the share of children declining from 25.0% to 21.5%.
Ongoing growth among the older population, coupled with persistent annual declines in the population under age 18 has reduced the size difference between these two age groups from just over 20 million in 2020 to just below 12 million in 2024.
From 2020 to 2024, the older population grew by 13.0%, significantly outpacing the 1.4% growth of working-age adults (ages 18 to 64), while the number of children declined by 1.7%.
"Children still outnumber older adults in the United States, despite a decline in births this decade,” said Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch. "However, the gap is narrowing as baby boomers continue to age into their retirement years. In fact, the number of states and counties where older adults outnumber children is on the rise, especially in sparsely populated areas.”
As recently as 2020, there were just three states where older adults outnumbered children: Maine, Vermont, and Florida. By 2024, this number had increased to 11, with Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia joining their ranks.
Similarly, from 2020 to 2024, the number of U.S. metro areas with more older adults than children increased from 58 to 112. This represents nearly 30% of the nation’s 387 metro areas. Additionally, in 2024, three metro areas with at least 1 million people (Cleveland, OH; Providence-Warwick, RI-MA; and Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT) had more older people than younger people for the first time.
In 2020, 31.3% (or 983) of the nation’s 3,144 counties had more older adults than children. This figure increased to almost 45% (1,411 counties) in 2024. In both years, most of these counties had small populations and were located outside of metro and micro areas.
Other highlights
Age and sex:
• In 2024, the U.S. median age reached a new record high of 39.1, up 0.1 years from 2023, and up 0.6 years from 38.5 in 2020. • Regionally, the West (38.4) and South (38.8) had the lowest median ages in 2024; the Northeast had the highest (40.6), followed by the Midwest (39.3). Maine’s population in 2024 was the oldest, with a median age of 44.8; Utah’s was the youngest (32.4). • The median age across all counties in 2024 ranged between 20.9 and 68.1; 74% (2,340 of 3,144) had a median age at or above the median age for the nation. • Women outnumbered men by 3.4 million, making up 50.5% of the U.S. population in 2024.
Race and Hispanic origin:
• Between 2023 and 2024, the Asian population grew the fastest (4.2%), followed by the Hispanic or Latino population (2.9%). • From 2023 to 2024, the Hispanic or Latino population increased by 1.9 million; this gain was larger than the change for all other race and ethnicity groups combined. • The White population was the only population that dropped, declining 0.1% between 2023 and 2024. • While the Hispanic or Latino share of the U.S. total population reached 20% for the first time in 2024, only nine states and 457 counties were at least 20% Hispanic. • The Asian population experienced its largest gains in California, followed by Texas; however, Texas’ annual growth rate (6.9%) was substantially faster than California’s (2.7%).
Judge Andrew Blum. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — After four decades in the legal profession, including 15 years on the bench, Lake County’s senior Superior Court judge is stepping down.
Judge Andrew Blum announced his plans to retire in early May and last week completed his tenure.
In an interview with Lake County News in his chambers this spring, after he made the decision to retire, Blum explained that he’d been in the legal profession for more than 40 years, mostly as a prosecutor and then, for the last 15 years, as a judge.
“So I think it’s time,” said Blum, who is 65.
In retirement, Blum said he wants to travel, and so far his schedule hasn’t allowed for much of that.
Going with him into retirement is his wife, Yolanda, who has worked for the courts for 29 years, most recently as court coordinator, judicial assistant and senior employee.
“I can’t travel without her,” he said of his wife. “She’s made that clear.”
Blum has no plans to move out of Lake County, where he’s lived for decades, but he does want to be able to visit his three adult children, who are living across the United States, and his grandchildren. This spring his fifth grandchild was born and a sixth is on the way.
He’s also looking forward to doing more work with the Lakeport Rotary and other community organizations of which he is a part.
His last day on the bench as a full-time judge was Thursday, July 3.
“The Fourth of July will be my Independence Day,” he quipped.
However, as many of his predecessors have done, Blum expects to take some judicial assignments as a retired judge at some point in the future, “if they need me.”
That they’ll need him is a given. With his retirement, the Lake County Superior Court has had to make changes to assignments, with the three remaining judges — Shanda Harry, Michael Lunas and J. David Markham — having to shift to take on additional duties.
“We’re going to miss Judge Blum,” said Lunas. “Fifteen years of excellence on the court. It’s going to be missed.”
Lunas, now the longest-serving judge of the Lake County Superior Court bench, has taken over Blum’s duties as presiding judge, a position that rotates through the judicial ranks and involves making decisions about day to day operations in addition to case work. As such, Lunas has worked to shift schedules and assignments to cover for the loss of Blum on a permanent basis.
He said they are planning to bring in visiting judges to assist with handling cases, as there are no longer any retired judges from Lake County hearing cases since David Herrick and Arthur Mann left the program.
Blum’s retirement has triggered a process that began with him notifying the Governor’s Office, which will be responsible for appointing a successor until the next election.
Interested members of the legal community can apply — there is already reported to be at least half a dozen potential candidates in the offing — and the process will be an extensive one.
Blum, who went through it himself, explained that the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, or JNE, will take several months to thoroughly vet applications. Nine months to a year is the common time frame.
“It’s an important decision. They shouldn’t do it without due thought,” Blum said.
Judge Andrew Blum in his office on the fourth floor of the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, California. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, and his juris doctorate degree from the University of California, San Francisco's Hastings College of the Law, where he and Susan Krones — today Lake County’s district attorney — attended law school together.
Blum, who first appeared in federal court in 1982 as a law student, was admitted to the California State Bar in December 1984. That year he began working as a research attorney for the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
In 1985, he accepted a position as a deputy district attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, where he remained until 1989, the year he accepted a position with the Lake County District Attorney's Office.
From 1989 to 1991, he was a deputy district attorney in Lake County and was promoted to chief deputy district attorney in 1992, serving for five years in that job under then-District Attorney Stephen Hedstrom, who later became a Lake County Superior Court judge.
Blum later moved to Kosrae State, Micronesia, where he worked from 1997 to 2000. There, he first served as assistant attorney general under his friend and former deputy district attorney Richard Martin, who later also became a superior court judge in Lake County. After Martin left Micronesia, Blum took over as attorney general.
Blum left his post in Micronesia in 2000, going on to teach high school English from 2001 to 2002 before joining the Commission on Judicial Performance in 2003. For the next seven years, Blum prosecuted judges accused of misconduct.
In his time on the bench, he’s seen increasing challenges, such as correctional realignment, which resulted in many more people being incarcerated in county jails rather than prisons, as well as legislative changes that impacted sentencing and prison time.
He’s seen the pendulum swing back and forth between incarceration and rehabilitation. Those philosophical differences have resulted in laws continually changing.
“Every time we turn around, the rules have changed. It’s been challenging to keep up with it,” he said. “Once you get used to one set of rules, they change them again.”
He added, “There is less judicial discretion than there once was.”
In considering his tenure, Blum points to developments that he considers important, such as opening veterans and mental health courts to address the unique needs of those populations. Both of those special courts involve treatment and structures with support from multiple agencies. He said the goal is to deal with participants’ problems at core level rather than locking everyone up.
“Mental health court is fairly new still, so the jury’s out on that,” said Blum.
However, he’s received a great response on veterans court, aimed at helping those who served our country and who have a unique set of experiences — and needs.
“It made sense to split those out from the general population,” Blum said. “I’ve had great feedback on how successful that is.”
A community program in which he has participated for several years is Every 15 Minutes, which teaches high school students about the dangers of driving under the influence.
The program reenacts fatal car crashes fueled by drug and alcohol abuse, shows mock arrests and even has the students who are acting out parts in the program make an appearance in Lake County Superior Court. There, they’ve encountered Blum, acting as judge, recounting the crimes that led them there and putting them through the same process that real defendants experience.
“I like that program,” he said, recalling seeing the impact on participants. “It’s just trying to get across to young people, who don’t think about it, the consequence of their actions.”
He’s also participated in the Lake County Mock Trial, and helped get that program off the ground more than a decade ago.
There also have been people who let him know his work mattered to them in a special way.
“People I've sent to prison have sent me letters thanking me,” he said, explaining that he believes they felt they were treated fairly.
He also recalled once coming out of the courthouse one evening when he met an elderly woman on the sidewalk. She looked up at him, asked him if he was a judge and after he said yes, she said he had sent her son to prison.
Just as he was thinking the encounter was about to go bad, the woman thanked him and said it was the best thing that had ever happened.
“That could have gone very differently,” he said, noting that, to this day, that’s the only mother to thank him in that way.
“It’s an adversarial system so it’s not designed for a lot of warm and fuzzy,” he said.
Hedstrom, who retired in 2019 from the bench, offered praise to Blum for his work in the legal community.
“During my time as the Lake County District Attorney, I had the pleasure of working with many outstanding individuals, including several who later became District Attorneys and Judges themselves,” Hedstrom said in an email to Lake County News. “When I made the decision to appoint Andy to the position of Chief Deputy District Attorney, I had complete confidence in his integrity, judgment, and leadership. Andy was my Chief Deputy District Attorney from 1992 to 1997. Throughout his career, Andy has consistently demonstrated judicial temperament. I’ve genuinely enjoyed working with him in the DA’s Office and in the Court. I am honored to have had that opportunity. I sincerely congratulate Andy on his retirement – it’s well-deserved, and I wish him and his family all the best in the years to come.”
Retiring Judge Andrew Blum, left, speaks with Terry Norton, a retiree from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division, during a retirement reception for Blum on Thursday, July 3, 2025, his last day on the bench as a full-time judge. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
A heavy caseload
In his 15 years on the bench, Blum and his fellow judges have handled a caseload that can include hundreds of cases per week.
A typical Monday calendar can have as many as 30 preliminary hearings and a dozen sentencings. On the day Lake County News interviewed Blum at the courthouse, he had just conducted nine sentencings that same afternoon and had a dozen file folders stacked on his desk for upcoming trials.
Tuesdays can see the judges working through more than 100 other cases, along with in-custody arraignments. Then, jury trials start on Wednesdays and can continue through the rest of the week, along with more preliminary hearings and arraignments.
“We have a much higher caseload than most courts, big or small,” Blum said, explaining that Lake County has more cases per judge than most counties.
The Judicial Council of California does a survey on caseloads per judge, weighted to type. “We are near the top of the list to get a fifth judge,” said Blum.
However, the State Legislature has to approve the creation of new judgeships. “They don’t do it when there is a budget shortfall, like there is right now,” he explained.
Just up the road, after more than a decade of delays — and the persistent championing of the project by Blum and his fellow judges — the new Lakeport courthouse is rising on Lakeport Boulevard.
At 45,300 square feet, it will triple the room now available to the Superior Court — which is mostly cramped into the 15,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the courthouse on S. Forbes Street. However, there isn’t room for a fifth courtroom to house that much-needed new judge.
That’s despite asking for it, Blum said. “They did not do that for us.”
Lake County’s second courthouse, located in Clearlake, is No. 6 on the list of worst courthouses in the state, with the county the only one to have two courthouses in need of replacement in the top 10.
Blum fought long and hard for the new Lake County courthouse. After 17 years of effort by all of the judges, the new courthouse is expected to be finished until late 2026. He and other judges toured the new building in the spring and noted it’s coming along well.
“When I told the judges I was retiring, they suggested on opening day [of the new courthouse] I should sit on the bench,” he said.
Retiring Judge Andrew Blum, right, and Lake County Superior Court Commissioner John Langan at a retirement reception for Blum on Thursday, July 3, 2025, his last day on the bench as a full-time judge. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
Challenges and a pandemic
During Blum’s tenure, the Superior Court has had more than the usual challenges and its fill of emergencies.
In 2018, due to the sprawling Mendocino Complex that caused the entire city of Lakeport to be evacuated, Blum — then serving as presiding judge — had to shut down the courthouse. That required the permission of the state Supreme Court’s chief justice.
“That was unprecedented,” said Blum, recounting that in-custody proceedings had to be conducted in Mendocino County.
Two years later, the court’s operations — like the activities of much of the rest of society — were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID was more challenging because the whole world was shut down,” he said.
It led to dramatic changes in court operations for a few years, with more virtual appearances, some of which continue.
With challenges also have come opportunities.
Blum said that in a larger county, a judge may rarely hold the presiding or supervising judge job, nor be involved with making decisions on the executive committee.
With just four judges, “We are the executive committee,” said Blum.
He said of the court, “It’s a good size for being a judge because you have input on everything of significance.”
During his time on the bench, he also taught judicial ethics across the state and served on the Trial Court Budget Committee, which advises the Judicial Council of California.
Asked about memorable cases, Blum said the seven or eight murder trials he’s presided over have all fit that definition.
One of the most notable was the trial in 2020 of Mavrick Fisher, a young deaf man accused of killing another deaf man, Grant David Whitaker, in Humboldt County the previous year. Fisher was alleged to have brought Whitaker’s body to Lake County, where it was found in 2019.
When the case came to trial, the court held the proceedings in the larger space of Phil Lewis Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds, where jurors, prosecutors, defense and court staff could be spaced apart.
Lewis Hall at that point was adorned with big pictures of roller skates. Blum said that he had fallen and broken his foot and so was getting around Lewis Hall with a scooter.
“I could get going at a pretty good speed so that was pretty memorable,” he said.
Fisher was convicted in November 2020 of involuntary manslaughter and taking a vehicle without permission, while the jury found him not guilty of murder and hung on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon with a special allegation of great bodily injury or death.
Blum sentenced him to four years in state prison the month after the conviction.
A case Blum had to handle with even larger implications was that of Luther Ed Jones Jr.
In early 2016, it came to light that Jones had been falsely accused and then convicted of child molestation after the alleged victim came forward to say her mother, once Jones’ significant other, had pressured her to lie.
Then-District Attorney Don Anderson filed a writ of habeas corpus, and he and attorney Angela Carter, then the head of the county’s indigent defense contract, took the matter to Blum, expecting a hearing process to begin that could have lasted weeks, if not months.
However, after a review of the materials and thorough questioning of Anderson about whether or not he believed Jones was innocent — he did — Blum surprised everyone by immediately ordering Jones to be released.
Carter praised Blum for courage in acting quickly, noting, “He cut through bureaucratic tape in about an hour.”
Blum said he’d never seen a case like Jones’, with a DA telling him a person was innocent.
He recalled telling all involved, “I don’t see the need for a hearing. I’m going to order his immediate release. I don’t want him another day in jail.”
Blum added, “I think they were a little surprised I did it that way.”
That was justified by the circumstances. “I was horrified. I hadn’t seen that in all my years as a prosecutor and judge,” Blum said, adding, “That was a memorable situation for sure.”
It’s a reminder that the system is not perfect, “but overall it’s quite good,” he said.
Retiring Judge Andrew Blum, left, speaks with Judge Michael Lunas, center, as current and former members of the District Attorney’s Office look on at a retirement reception for Blum on Thursday, July 3, 2025, his last day on the bench as a full-time judge. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
A sendoff with praise and friendship
On Thursday, his last day on the bench, Superior Court staff held a farewell reception for Blum in his Department 3 courtroom.
Dropping in to share snacks, stories, a handshake and a hug were staffers from the District Attorney’s Office, Behavioral Health, Victim-Witness, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, court and security staff, police officers and bailiffs.
Judge Lunas, Superior Court Commissioner John Langan, and supervisors Brad Rasmussen and Bruno Sabatier were there, and retirees including former Chief Deputy District Attorney Rich HInchcliff, former Deputy County Counsel Bob Bridges, also came by.
“The good news is, I’m leaving. The bad news is, I’m taking Yolanda with me,” Blum told Terry Norton, who retired from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division.
There was a great deal of praise for Blum, both as a judge and as a person, with all of those Lake County News spoke to wishing him a happy retirement but being sad at seeing him go.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg said he has enormous respect for Blum, who he called both an excellent judge and a stellar human being. Blum’s retirement is “a huge loss for the criminal justice system in Lake County because he’s an excellent judge.”
Borg said Blum is fair, treats people well, follows the law and works hard. When he rules against someone, he tells them why which, from a practical standpoint, is helpful.
Marion Titus, a deputy district attorney, wished Blum nothing but the best, crediting him and his fellow judges for being among the reasons she chose to move to Lake County due to their fairness. She said she hopes Blum’s successor has the same mindset.
“It has been an honor to work in his courtroom,” said Krones, who added that she appreciated Blum’s sense of humor and work ethic. “I just think the world of him.”
She is sad to see him retire, but hopes he will enjoy his retirement and the travel he wants to do.
Across the room, Blum and Bridges reminisced about their early days in Lake County Superior Court, when there was just one judge — John Golden, whose portrait was among the seven on the wall staring down on the assembly. Blum’s own portrait will join that collection in the near future.
Bridges recalled Golden’s nickname — “Jammin’ John” — because of his speed and efficiency in running the court.
Bridges believes Golden influenced the quality of the current bench of superior court judges.
“That’s a fair statement,” said Blum.
During the interview in his office with Lake County News weeks before his final days on the bench, Blum was asked what people should know about his profession.
He replied that, despite what they may hear in the public or media, “The system’s really geared towards being fair and letting everyone have a chance to be heard.”
That extends from the jurors — who over the years have impressed Blum with the time and attention they dedicate to their service — to the rest of the people who work in the system.
He was also asked about the encouragement Judge Mann had offered him before he took the bench 15 years ago, telling him that he was going to love the job of judge.
Was Mann right?
“For the most part, it’s true,” Blum said. “Overall, I have enjoyed being a judge. I've tried to be the best judge I could be, to be fair to all sides. There are moments when I would say I did not love it.”
However, he added, “I wouldn’t have done it this long if I hadn’t loved it.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Fires around Lake County kept firefighters particularly busy on Saturday.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Saturday a fire was reported in the 1500 block of East Highway 20 near the Pomo Pumps gas station in Nice.
Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire and Cal Fire were dispatched to the incident, called the Pomo fire, with Cal Fire sending aircraft that helped contain the fire.
While structures were reported to be threatened initially, not were damaged based on scanner reports, with the blaze running into an area that had burned earlier this year.
Cal Fire said the incident was contained at 16 acres just an hour after dispatch. The cause remains under investigation.
Then, at around 2:45 p.m., a fire was reported at Highland Springs reservoir.
Witnesses reported the fire was started by juveniles with fireworks, and supplied authorities with pictures of them.
Two groups of juveniles were seen leaving, one group running for cover in trees, another group trying to walk out of the area, according to radio traffic.
The 200-foot by 100-foot fire was quickly contained, based on radio reports.
Later, shortly after 11 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to the 13000 block of Manakee Avenue in Clearlake on the report of a residential structure fire.
Firefighters arriving on scene minutes later reported that another two structures had caught fire, with power lines down and some wildland also involved.
Just after 11:20 p.m., firefighters reported over the scanner that they had contained the fires in the first two structures and had knocked down the wildland fire.
The fire in the third structure was contained just after 12:30 a.m., with reports from the scene indicating there would be several hours of mop up.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has many dogs of all sizes and many breeds ready for adoption this week.
The dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Chihuahua, German shepherd, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull terrier, Pomeranian, 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
Sky chart showing Mercury and Mars in the western sky following sunset in early July. NASA/JPL-Caltech.
What’s up for July? Mars shines in the evening sky, 60 years after its first close-up, Venus brightens your mornings, and the eagle soars overhead.
First up, Mercury is visible for a brief time following sunset for the first week of July. Look for it very low in the west 30 to 45 minutes after sundown. It sets within the hour after that, so be on the ball if you want to catch it!
Mars is visible for the first hour or two after it gets dark. You'll find it sinking lower in the sky each day and looking a bit dimmer over the course of the month, as our two planets' orbits carry them farther apart. The crescent Moon appears right next to Mars on the 28th.
July is the 60th anniversary of the first successful flyby of Mars, by NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft in 1965. Mariner 4 sent back the first photos of another planet from deep space, along with the discovery that the Red Planet has only a very thin, cold atmosphere.
Sky chart showing Venus in the morning sky in July. NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Next, Saturn is rising late in the evening, and by dawn it's high overhead to the south.
Looking to the morning sky, Venus shines brightly all month. You'll find it in the east during the couple of hours before sunrise, with the Pleiades and bright stars Aldebaran and Capella. And as the month goes on, Jupiter makes its morning sky debut, rising in the hour before sunrise and appearing a little higher each day.
By the end of the month, early risers will have the two brightest planets there greeting them each morning. They're headed for a super-close meetup in mid-August, and the pair will be a fixture of the a.m. sky through late this year. Look for them together with the crescent moon on the 21st and 22nd.
Sky chart showing the shape and orientation of the constellation Aquila in the July evening sky. Aquila's brightest star, Altair, is part of the Summer Triangle star pattern. NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Aquila, the eagle
From July and into August, is a great time to observe the constellation Aquila, the eagle.
This time of year, it soars high into the sky in the first half of the night. Aquila represents the mythical eagle that was a powerful servant and messenger of the Greek god Zeus. The eagle carried his lightning bolts and was a symbol of his power as king of the gods.
To find Aquila in the sky, start by locating its brightest star, Altair. It’s one the three bright stars in the Summer Triangle, which is super easy to pick out during summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Altair is the second brightest of the three, and sits at the southernmost corner of the triangle.
The other stars in Aquila aren’t as bright as Altair, which can make observing the constellation challenging if you live in an area with a lot of light pollution. It’s easier, though, if you know how the eagle is oriented in the sky. Imagine it’s flying toward the north with its wings spread wide, its right wing pointed toward Vega. If you can find Altair, and Aquila's next brightest star, you can usually trace out the rest of the spread-eagle shape from there. The second half of July is the best time of the month to observe Aquila, as the Moon doesn't rise until later then, making it easier to pick out the constellation's fainter stars.
Observing the constellation Aquila makes for a worthy challenge in the July night sky. And once you're familiar with its shape, it's hard not to see the mythical eagle soaring overhead among the summertime stars.
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The phases of the Moon for July 2025. NASA/JPL-Caltech.
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
