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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — County officials are asking for the community’s input on its parks, recreation and trails master plan, with the comment period set to close at the end of this week.
Lake County is renowned for its stunning landscapes, diverse ecosystems and abundance of recreational opportunities. It offers a wide range of recreational experiences for people of all ages and interests, be it on water, in the air or on land.
Over the last year and a half, the county of Lake worked to draft the first-ever parks, recreation, and trails master plan to inventory parks, facilities and trails, develop an understanding of community priorities and needs, and create actionable strategies to meet demands.
The plan was prepared with substantial public input to ensure alignment with community needs, and resulted in the following overarching vision: “From lakes to peaks — parks, programs, and trails that offer healthy and fun recreation experiences for all, while honoring cultural heritages and conserving natural resources for future generations.”
With the master plan draft now complete, the county invites and encourages you to provide comments.
You can do that online or in-person:
• On the web at www.lakecountyprt.com where the plan can be directly viewed and also includes the ability to provide comments or questions.
• In person at any of the three county libraries in Clearlake, Lakeport, and Middletown, as well as at the Lake County Public Services Department at 333 Second Street, Lakeport.
Comments will be accepted through May 31.
Lake County is renowned for its stunning landscapes, diverse ecosystems and abundance of recreational opportunities. It offers a wide range of recreational experiences for people of all ages and interests, be it on water, in the air or on land.
Over the last year and a half, the county of Lake worked to draft the first-ever parks, recreation, and trails master plan to inventory parks, facilities and trails, develop an understanding of community priorities and needs, and create actionable strategies to meet demands.
The plan was prepared with substantial public input to ensure alignment with community needs, and resulted in the following overarching vision: “From lakes to peaks — parks, programs, and trails that offer healthy and fun recreation experiences for all, while honoring cultural heritages and conserving natural resources for future generations.”
With the master plan draft now complete, the county invites and encourages you to provide comments.
You can do that online or in-person:
• On the web at www.lakecountyprt.com where the plan can be directly viewed and also includes the ability to provide comments or questions.
• In person at any of the three county libraries in Clearlake, Lakeport, and Middletown, as well as at the Lake County Public Services Department at 333 Second Street, Lakeport.
Comments will be accepted through May 31.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is asking for the community’s help in locating a missing teenager.
Antonio Lopez Padilla, 17, was last seen on Eighth Street in Clearlake late on Sunday night.
He has black hair and brown eyes, is 5 feet 6 inches tall and 140 pounds.
When he was last seen, he was wearing a white shirt black shorts and long white socks.
If you have any information regarding his whereabouts please contact Clearlake Police at 707-994-8251, Extension 1.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
In a possible sign of the COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting impact, the country’s fastest-growing places are increasingly likely to be far-flung exurban communities on the outer margins of metro areas, according to new July 1, 2023, population estimates.
Fewer of the fastest-growing places between 2022 and 2023 were inner suburbs than in 2019 before the pandemic, and more were on the far outskirts of metro areas — 30, 40 and even more than 60 miles away from the largest city’s downtown.
“While the Census Bureau doesn’t define exurbs, we tend to think of them as far outer suburbs of metro areas, and they often have a mix of urban and rural character,” said Luke Rogers, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “Exurbs have sometimes been among the most rapidly growing communities, but this appears to be even more true now than before the pandemic.”
High housing costs and more remote work are possible reasons
Multiple factors are likely behind the increased growth of exurbs.
Among them: Rising housing costs after the start of the pandemic, which drove some people farther away from cities toward exurbs in search of cheaper homes.
Greater opportunities to work from home also likely contributed. Before the pandemic, telework and remote work options were much less common.
“With many more people in working ages now able to work from home at least some of the time, it’s likely that some people are more willing to live farther away from their place of employment than they would have in the past,” Rogers said.
Fastest-growing places before and after the pandemic
The 500 U.S. cities with the largest percentage increases in population in 2018-2019 and in 2022-2023 were in all four regions. But more than 4 out of 5 were in the South or West and nearly all were inside a metro or micro area (Figure 1).
One of the 500 fastest-growing cities from 2018 to 2019 and three from 2022 to 2023 were not in a metro or micro area.
Calculating distances from downtown
Using an approach outlined in a 2010 Census Special Report on Core Based Statistical Areas, we defined “downtown” as the location of city hall in the largest city in a metro or micro area. We then calculated the distance from the center of each of the 500 places to that point.
The distance bands used were:
• Up to 10 miles from city hall.
• 10 up to 20 miles away.
• 20 up to 30 miles away.
• 30 up to 40 miles away.
• 40 up to 60 miles away.
• Greater than 60 miles from city hall.
There were more exurbs — places as far as 60-plus miles outside a metro area’s largest city — among the nation’s fastest-growing places in 2023 than in 2019, the year before the pandemic hit. (Table 1).
At the same time, there were fewer (103 compared to 125) fast-growing places within a 10-mile radius and a 10-to-20-mile radius (157 compared to 175).
Numeric population change was similar: collectively, population gains increased in the areas farthest out and slowed within 20 miles of the city center.
Booming exurbs in Phoenix metro area
The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ metro area demonstrates the prominence of these new exurban boomtowns.
The metro area, which consists of Maricopa and Pinal counties, has grown steadily in recent decades reaching 5 million and becoming the nation’s 10th largest metro area. And while the metro area grew at a fast clip during both periods (2018-2019 and 2022-2023), exurbs increasingly contributed to that growth in the latter years.
Figures 3 and 4 show the percentage change in population for cities in the metro area. Growth in Phoenix itself dropped from 1.6% to 0.4% and similar slowdowns occurred in many of its closer-in suburbs such as Scottsdale (1.4% to 0.6%), Mesa (2.0% to -0.1%), and Gilbert (1.7% to 0.1%).
Yet growth rates in some of the more distant suburbs south of the city eclipsed already high rates of growth in 2018-19:
• Maricopa’s rapid 4.2% increase from 2018 to 2019 accelerated to a 7.1% increase last year.
• Casa Grande’s 2.8% increase swelled to 6.1%.
• Coolidge’s 1.6% increase surged to 9.4% growth last year.
• Eloy, more than 60 miles south of Phoenix city hall, was up 8.6% compared to a 1.5% increase in the year before the onset of the pandemic.
All told, these four exurbs contributed fully one-third of the entire metro area’s population growth last year, compared to just 4% from 2018 to 2019.
Temporary blip or enduring phenomenon?
Patterns of population growth and distribution regularly evolve, and it is too soon to tell whether the recent surge of exurban growth is a temporary blip or a more enduring phenomenon.
Demographers and geographers will continue to monitor the spatial dimensions of population growth and decline for the nation’s 19,000-plus cities and towns for insights.
Lindsay Spell is a geographer and Marc Perry is a senior demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division.
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- Written by: Lindsay Spell and Marc Perry
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The 2024 Lake County Home Wine and Beer Makers’ Festival comes to Lakeport’s Library Park this year on Saturday, June 8, from noon to 5 p.m.
This family-friendly event has been going on for 22 years and is the largest fundraiser for the Lake County Symphony Association, which supports the Lake County Symphony, Community & Youth Orchestra, in-school music programs, and Allegro scholarship programs.
All home winemakers and brewers are eligible for the gold, silver and bronze ribbons awarded for a range of varietals and brews.
All amateur participants will have a chance to win the popular “Peoples’ Choice” awards voted on by attendees, with results announced during the festival.
As usual, tasters will also have a chance to sample wines from several Lake County commercial wineries, including Smiling Dogs, Rosa D’Oro, R Vineyards, Six Sigma and Brassfield Estate.
Don’t drink wine or beer? You can skip the entry fee and spend your time looking- and buying- original arts and crafts, clothing and agricultural products.
Non-tasters can support the symphony by purchasing “barrel of wine” raffle tickets or by participating in the popular silent auction, which features a variety of unique items donated by local businesses, along with original creations donated by artists.
Congressman Mike Thompson is again donating products from his Lake County vineyard along with a nicely boxed U.S. flag flown at the Capitol.
As always, there will be plenty of delicious food choices, including Danae’s Desserts, Wholly Bowls & Rolls, La Catrina Mexican Food Truck, and Island Soul’s Caribbean specialties.
And, of course, there will be music.
Twining Time features Anita Blu on keyboard and John Wagenot on guitar offering up their favorite R&B and folk tunes along with some of their originals.
Advance tickets are $30 and are available locally at Watershed Books, Wine in the Willows, Lake County Chamber of Commerce and Fore Family Vineyards. Tickets are also available online at Eventbrite.
For the latest Winefest information go to https://lakecountywinefest.com. Home winemakers, brewers and participating vendors can find registration forms and deadline dates at the same website. Visit Lake County Winefest on Facebook for more information.
Debra Fredrickson writes for the Lake County Winefest.
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- Written by: Debra Fredrickson