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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) was sworn in on Thursday as the representative in the U.S. House of Representatives for California’s Fifth Congressional District.
The Fifth District, recently redrawn, includes the southern portion of Lake County as well as all or parts of Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
“I am honored to have been sworn in to represent California’s 5th Congressional District,” said Thompson. “It is my high honor to serve our great district in Congress. As your representative, I will work every day to make our district a better place to live, work and raise a family.”
Constituents who would like help with federal agencies, to schedule tours in Washington D.C., or order a U.S. flag can call Thompson’s district office at 707-226-9898 or Washington Office at 202-225-3311.
Constituents also can sign up to receive Thompson’s e-newsletters on his Web site or at this link: https://mikethompson.house.gov/forms/form/default.aspx?ID=590 .
Constituents can follow Thompson on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RepMikeThompson .
Thompson’s district office is located at 1040 Main St., Suite 101 in Napa. New district offices will be opening soon in Vallejo and Santa Rosa.
Thompson is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He also is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and sits on the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne market is going to once again be able to participate in the federal food stamp program, but it’s appealing a requirement that it to pay a nearly $60,000 fine.
Lakeview Supermarket and Deli owner Kenny Parlet told Lake County News that his business is being offered the chance to once again accept US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP – payments for groceries.
Parlet had been notified the week before Thanksgiving that he was being “permanently disqualified” from the program based on allegations that one of his employees had participated in “trafficking” – which, under the USDA definition, means exchanging benefits for cash, as Lake County News has reported.
There were four incorrectly handled transactions totaling $132.50. A small portion of that overall total was for ineligible items and cash back, according to Parlet. Only one employee was involved and her employment has since been terminated.
The permanent disqualification was a hefty blow for Parlet, who expected to lose about half a million dollars annually, or about 25 percent of his total yearly sales, if he couldn’t participate in the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service program.
With the help of Congressman Mike Thompson’s office, Parlet appealed the decision, which came in the wake of the USDA’s announcement last summer that it was cracking down on abuses of SNAP benefits.
Parlet received a letter from USDA dated Dec. 20, informing him that the agency is granting his request for a civil monetary penalty in lieu of permanent disqualification, as the USDA had concluded that Lakeview Supermarket did, in fact, have in place a training program on how to accept the benefits.
However, the USDA found there were violations at the store and, as a result, is requiring that Parlet pay a $59,000 fine which is due in 30 calendar days of the receipt of his letter, otherwise he’s barred from the program.
He also must submit a collateral bond or irrevocable letter of credit for $4,075 to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, and maintain that bond or letter continuously for five years.
Parlet said he is asking for a review of the fine decision, citing federal regulations that allow for a warning letter to be sent after a violation that doesn’t warrant disqualification.
Based on the USDA’s letter, if Parlet submitted a written request for review within 10 days, the fine payment will be temporarily stayed while the review moves forward.
Parlet said he was never warned of the violations before being disqualified. The USDA’s Dec. 20 letter to him does not reference a warning, but does mention a charge letter sent to him late in October before it sent the subsequent letter in November notifying him of his disqualification.
If the USDA review that Parlet has requested fails to remove the fine, Parlet said he must then take the matter to federal court.
In his request for a review to the USDA, Parlet said that for him paying the fine is “impossible.”
At the same time that he’s facing the possibility of having to pay the fine, Parlet estimated he’s lost about $60,000 in sales since the initial disqualification decision in November.
He also had been required to return the electronic benefits transfer equipment for the food stamp program, but expects to have the equipment back within the next few days so he can resume accepting SNAP benefits.
Despite the setbacks, Parlet thanked his customers for their kindness and consideration, noting that it was a “relatively successful holiday season” despite not being able to participate in the food stamp program for the last month and a half.
“Lakeview Supermarket really wishes to thank all those people and local businesses that went above and beyond to support us during this most challenging period in our long history,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Snow surveyors on Wednesday reported that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is well above average for the date.
Manual and electronic readings taken during the first snow survey of the year on Wednesday recorded the snowpack’s statewide water content at 134 percent of average for this time of year.
That is 49 percent of the average April 1 measurement, when the snowpack is normally at its peak before the spring melt.
The snowpack normally provides about a third of the water for California’s homes, farms and industries as it slowly melts into streams, reservoirs and aquifers in the spring and early summer.
“We are off to a good water supply start for the new year, but we have to remember that we have seen wet conditions suddenly turn dry more than once,” said California Department of Water Resources spokesman Ted Thomas. “We know from experience that California is a drought-prone state, and that we must always practice conservation.”
Electronic readings indicate that the water content in the northern mountains is 133 percent of normal for the date and 50 percent of the April 1 seasonal average.
Electronic readings for the central Sierra also show 133 percent of normal for the date and half the April 1 average.
The numbers for the southern Sierra are 131 percent of average for the date and 44 percent of the April 1 average.
The Department of Water Resources and cooperating agencies conduct manual snow surveys around the first of the month from January to May.
The manual measurements supplement and check the accuracy of real-time electronic readings from sensors up and down the state.
The Department of Water Resources currently estimates that it will be able to deliver 40 percent of the slightly more than 4 million acre-feet of State Water Project water requested for this calendar year by the 29 public agencies that supply more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland. The delivery estimate is expected to increase as more winter storms develop.
The final allocation of State Water Project water in calendar year 2012 was 65 percent of requested deliveries. The allocation was 80 percent in 2011, 50 percent in 2010, 40 percent in 2009, 35 percent in 2008, and 60 percent in 2007.
The last 100 percent allocation – difficult to achieve even in wet years because of restrictions on Delta export pumping to protect sensitive fish species – was in 2006.
In addition to above average water content in the snowpack, early storms this season have replenished California’s reservoirs.
Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s principal reservoir with a capacity of 3.5 million acre-feet, is at 71percent of capacity, 113 percent of average for the date.
Shasta Lake north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project’s principal storage reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, today is at 73 percent of capacity, 115 percent of normal for the date. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, enough to cover one acre to a depth of one foot.
Electronic reservoir level readings are available on the Internet at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/products/rescond.pdf .
Electronic snowpack readings may be found at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/DLYSWEQ .
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that the investigation into the deaths of a father and son killed in a Potter Valley house fire last September has been concluded, with no suspicious cause found.
Lt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said the county’s chief deputy coroner classified the deaths of Earle McDaniel, 87, and his son Wesley McDaniel, 55, as accidental.
The men died in a fire that occurred at 10580 Main St. in Potter Valley on the morning of Sept. 29, as Lake County News has reported.
Some family members had escaped the fire, but the two men did not and their bodies later were found after firefighters put out the blaze, according to sheriff’s reports.
The investigation continued until Dec. 13, when the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office provided an approximately 200-page investigative report to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office for an official review, according to Van Patten.
He said sheriff's detectives believed the information collected did not substantiate an allegation of arson made by Dawn McDaniel, a surviving occupant of the residence.
Van Patten said statements obtained from two children who also were survivors of the fire suggested the fire had accidentally started as the result of an unattended burning candle.
The location of the candle was consistent with the origin of the fire as witnessed by Cal Fire Chief Chris Rowney and Potter Valley Fire Chief Bill Pauli upon their arrival at the residence, Van Patten said.
He said the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office concluded its official review of the sheriff's office investigative report on Dec. 18 and determined there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate the fire was anything but accidental.