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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — Mendocino National Forest officials are requesting public comment on the draft environmental assessment for the proposed McIsaac Ranch Land Exchange Project.
The project area is located in eastern Mendocino County just west of Forest Highway 7 and Mendocino Pass.
Based on comments received during the scoping period, a revised proposed action was created.
Under the revised proposed action, the land that would come into federal ownership consists of four parcels with a total area of 561 acres. Three of these parcels are surrounded by federal land and one of the parcels borders private land on the northeast but borders federal land on the other sides.
The land that would be transferred into private ownership consists of a single parcel with a total area of 560 acres that borders private land on the north and south and federal land on the east and west.
The purpose of this land exchange is to consolidate federal ownership within the Mendocino National Forest’s Management Area 26 (Twin Rocks).
Consolidation of federal ownership would improve management efficiency, reduce long-term management costs and improve management of multiple wildlife, fish and recreational resources.
Forest leadership encourages all interested parties, organizations, agencies, and state, local and tribal governments to review the environmental analysis and share their thoughts or concerns regarding the revised proposed action.
Comments should be emailed to
Comments can also be mailed to Wade McMaster c/o Hilda Kwan, Mendocino National Forest, 825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows, CA 95988.
Additional information related to this exchange, including the draft environmental analysis and resource analysis reports are available online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61640.
A public meeting is planned for Feb. 12. Additional details about the public meeting will be shared in the coming weeks. If you would like to participate or have questions about the project, please reach out to Hilda Kwan, Forest NEPA Planner at
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Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted U.S. citizenship and the rights and privileges that come with it.
In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this right in a case brought by Wong Kim Ark, a San Francisco-born, Chinese-American man who had been denied his re-entry rights after a trip abroad.
In Tuesday’s lawsuit, 18 state attorneys general — led by California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts — argue that President Trump’s unprecedented executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and should be immediately blocked from going into effect while litigation proceeds.
“The president’s executive order attempting to rescind birthright citizenship is blatantly unconstitutional and quite frankly, un-American,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As home of Wong Kim Ark, a San Francisco native who fought — successfully — to have his U.S. citizenship recognized, California condemns the President’s attempts to erase history and ignore 125 years of Supreme Court precedent. We are asking a court to immediately block this order from taking effect and ensure that the rights of American-born children impacted by this order remain in effect while litigation proceeds. The president has overstepped his authority by a mile with this order, and we will hold him accountable.”
From the beginning of the nation’s history, America followed the common law tradition that those born on U.S. soil are subject to its laws and are citizens by birth.
Although the Supreme Court’s notorious decision in Dred Scott denied birthright citizenship to the descendants of slaves, the post-Civil War United States adopted the Fourteenth Amendment to protect citizenship for children born in the country.
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause explicitly promises that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this constitutional right in 1898 when a San Francisco-born, Chinese American man was denied entry back into the United States after visiting relatives in China on the grounds that he was not a citizen. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court established that children born in the United States, including those born to immigrants, could not be denied citizenship.
Within hours of taking office, the president issued an executive order disregarding the U.S. Constitution and this long-established precedent.
The order directs federal agencies to prospectively deny the citizenship rights of American-born children whose parents are not lawful residents.
The order instructs the Social Security Administration and Department of State, respectively, to cease issuing Social Security numbers and U.S. passports to these children, and directs all federal agencies to treat these children as ineligible for any privilege, right, or benefit that is reserved by law to individuals who are U.S. citizens.
If allowed to stand, the order would strip tens of thousands of children born each year of their ability to fully and fairly be a part of American society as rightful citizens, with all the benefits and privileges. These children would lose their most basic rights and be forced to live under the threat of deportation. They would lose eligibility for a wide range of federal benefits programs. They would lose their ability to obtain a Social Security number and, as they age, to work lawfully. And they would lose their right to vote, serve on juries, and run for certain offices.
The executive order would also directly harm California and other states, causing them to risk federal funding for vital programs that they administer, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program; these programs are conditioned on the citizenship and immigration status of the children they serve.
In addition, states would be required — on little notice and at considerable expense — to immediately begin modifying their operation and administration of benefits programs to account for this change by Feb. 19, when the order goes into effect.
In Tuesday’s filings, the attorneys general contend that President Trump’s executive order is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act and would cause irreparable harm to the states and their residents.
As such, the attorneys general seek a nationwide preliminary injunction to prevent the denial of the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of babies born each year in the U.S. who otherwise would have been, and should be, citizens, including an estimated 24,500 children born in California annually, and the disruption vitally important public health and other federal benefit programs.
Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, along with the city of San Francisco.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council gave unanimous support to the proposal, presented to them by Special Districts Administrator Robin Borre.
Borre noted that Special Districts has purchased other tax defaulted properties in the county jurisdiction.
The four lots Special Districts was seeking the council’s support in purchasing through the Lake County Tax Collector’s Office, and the purchase prices, are:
• 14750 Highlands Way — $3,000;
• 14760 Highlands Way — $3,000;
• 5878 Vallejo Ave. — $2,000;
• 5898 Vallejo Ave. — $2,000.
“These four lots are really important to the district to improve sewer connections and improve our system overall,” said Borre.
Borre said the two lots on Highlands Way will help increase system capacity for the new Konocti Gardens apartments complex while the two on Vallejo Avenue, which are unbuildable due to the sewer lines crossing them, will collect additional flow from the other side of the highway. Odor controls also will be installed.
She said the lots on Highlands Way have experienced a lot of dumping and encampments. Those lots will be fenced and secured, and odor controls also placed there as well.
Noting that taxes haven’t been paid on the lots in some time, Borre said the Board of Supervisors, in its capacity as the Special Districts Board of Directors, had already approved the purchase. That approval came on Nov. 5.
The final step needed was the council’s approval of the purchase price, as required under the California Revenue and Taxation Code.
Council members had questions about generators at the sites — which Borre said they are working to provide — as well as the odor control issues. Mayor Russ Cremer said the odors from the sewer station near the Clearlake Senior Center were awful.
City Manager Alan Flora thanked Borre for her efforts, explaining that they have had a lot of issues with the sewer system in Clearlake over the years.
Since his tenure as city manager began in 2019, Flora said that almost every major rain event has led to a sewer spill. That is, until this winter.
This is the first winter in the job for Borre, who the Board of Supervisors hired in May.
The fact that Borre is working on plans for improving the system and understands where the bottlenecks in the system are “is very refreshing and encouraging,” Flora said.
Cremer said he thinks Borre is doing a better job than has been done in the past, but added there has been frustration for a long time.
During the discussion, a neighbor who has lived on Highlands Way for 30 years said he has been trying to find how to purchase the lots for a few years and that he had not heard of a public sale, only that $68,000 was owed.
He said the lots have been a drug haven but were cleaned up two days before New Year’s, and he offered to pay $10,000 for them. He complained about having to deal with the smell.
Borre reiterated that they will install odor controls, secure the lots to address issues with homeless encampments and will make some road improvements in order to access the properties.
Former Councilmember Joyce Overton told the council that since Special Districts made upgrades to its facilities near the senior center, where she is director, the odor issues have improved. “It is working.”
Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten moved to approve the purchase, with Councilmember Mary Wilson seconding and the council voting 5-0.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The commission will meet beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The agenda can be found here.
Submit comments and questions in writing for commission consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
Community members also can participate via Zoom. To register, visit this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the
webinar.
The meeting also can be watched on the city’s YouTube account.
To give the planning commission adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit written comments before 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The main item on the agenda is a public hearing to consider a conditional use permit and corresponding environmental analysis for a gas station, convenience store and drive-through car wash on two acres covering three parcels at 14975 Olympic Drive, 3545 Old Highway 53 and 3565 Old Highway 53.
The property’s owner is Norcal Fuelworxz Inc.
The site is the former Four Corners Builders Supply.
City documents show that the project site has been developed since the 1950s, with uses from residential to commercial. Two tribes, the Koi and Elem, have responded to say they want to consult on the project due to concerns it will impact cultural resources.
The 8,500-square-foot hardware store and accessory structures that remain on the site will be removed in order to redevelop the site.
The project proposes to build a 5,106-square-foot convenience store, a 2,081-square-foot quick serve food area, a 588-square-foot office, 852-square-foot equipment room, a 3,600-square-foot drive-through car wash facility, six double-sided gas pumps, and 75 parking spaces with 12 vacuum pump stations.
City staff is recommending the commission’s approval of the project, which it said is to be located on parcels where the proposed uses are allowed under the city’s general plan.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
