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- Written by: Lake County News reports
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, has awarded over $3.1 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) “stimulus” contracts to five small and one large business for projects that support the district’s mission.
The projects include construction and upgrading of major recreation and community-use areas, endangered-species preservation, water recycling and vital fish-hatchery operations.
The money was awarded to six California companies, five of which are small businesses, according to Lt. Col. Torrey DiCiro, San Francisco District commander.
The district made the following ARRA awards:
Coyote Valley Dam Comfort Stations Repair/Replacement, Lake Mendocino at Ukiah: $113,298 to Belmont-based MIE Inc., a small business.
Elevator Hoistway Control-Structure Seepage Repair, Warm Springs Dam, Lake Sonoma at Geyserville: $18,644 to Livermore, Calif.-based CSRW, Inc., a small business.
Warm Springs Dam Control Structure Repair, Warm Springs Dam, Lake Sonoma at Geyserville: $4,080 to Livermore-based CSRW Inc., a small business.
GIS Data Development of Salinas and Arroyo Rivers, Monterey County: $149,493 to Concord, Calif.-based Towill Inc.
San Ramon Valley Recycled Water Project, Contra Costa County: $2,406,145 to Yuba City, Calif.-based North Star Construction and Engineering Inc., a small business.
San Francisco Bay Multipurpose Building Electrical Generation Project, Sausalito: $408,688 to Riverside-based Hal Hays Construction Inc., a small business.
With the addition of these six ARRA contracts awards, the San Francisco District has awarded over $56 million in 93 “stimulus” contract awards since May 2009. Small businesses comprise 72 of the 93 awards.
Established in 1866, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, employees approximately 350 people, who are responsible for 40,000 square miles extending 600 miles from the Oregon border to San Luis Obispo County. The district’s programs and projects support approximately 1,000 permanent, higher-wage jobs that contribute to more than $100 million to the regional economy.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
VETERANS AFFAIRS REPORTS THE OPENING IS OCT. 13, NOT OCT. 30.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The new Veterans Affairs clinic under construction in Clearlake is on schedule to open in October, the county's veterans service officer and health department head said Thursday.
Jim Brown said a grand opening for the new clinic is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 13. Local dignitaries and Congressman Mike Thompson will be on hand for the event.
The 10,000-square-foot clinic is located at 15145 Lakeshore Drive, with Vila Construction Co. of Richmond doing the construction work, as Lake County News has reported.
The groundbreaking for the project – which had at least 10 years of lobbying behind it – took place last April.
The VA has been handling oversight of the construction and keeping the county informed, with Brown saying he's getting updates on the progress.
At the same time, Veterans Service Office staff have been busy enrolling veterans who want to receive the health care services offered there, he said.
Brown said it's estimated that there eventually will be about 3,500 vets enrolled for the clinic's services. Altogether, the county has a veterans population of about 8,000.
Some of those veterans who currently want to transfer health services from Ukiah and Santa Rosa may be held off until newer enrollees are brought in, he said.
The Veterans Service Office also will have space at the clinic, according to Brown.
“We do expect to have some presence in the clinic, probably about two days of the week,” he said.
The Veterans Service Office staff will be “doing everything,” said Brown, from talking about health care issues and enrollments to giving information about home loans.
While veterans will be able to get a wide array of general health care services at the clinic, Brown said major procedures will still require travel to Santa Rosa or San Francisco.
Currently, veterans can catch a bus from Clearlake City Hall down to the Bay Area every weekday morning at 5 a.m. for major treatments, but the clinic may now serve as a staging place for those trips, he said.
“That's something that we've just started talking about,” Brown added.
Brown said those trips and the associated logistics will be overseen by the VA.
For veterans wanting to enroll for health services, it's not too late. Call the Lake County Veterans Service Office at 707-263-2384.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Social Services Department is beginning an online customer service survey to gauge how it's serving the community.
The agency, headquartered in Lower Lake, is the county department with the largest budget – $45 million – most of which comes from the state, as Lake County News has reported.
It oversees numerous offerings, from In-Home Supportive Services to Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, CalWORKS, Medi-Cal, food stamps and a variety of other relief-based programs.
Director Carol Huchingson reported Thursday that they were launching the online customer satisfaction survey.
“Based on our commitment to excellent customer service, we are encouraging persons served by our department to complete a survey anytime, online at www.dss.co.lake.ca.us,” she said.
From that Web page, users can click on the link for English or Spanish versions of the survey.
“The feedback you give us will help us enhance our service delivery,” Huchingson said.
For those without access to computers, hard copy customer satisfaction survey forms also are available in the agency's Lower Lake lobbies, she said.
The survey asks about ease of application for services, if the person received information about other services and if that information was explained, were they able to ask questions or voice issues, were questions answered and issues resolved, who they dealt with and overall satisfaction.
Social Services can be reached via telephone at 707-995-4200.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Thanks to the generosity of community members and groups, Lakeport Fire Protection District officials will be able to pay off a life-saving piece of equipment.
On Wednesday Chief Ken Wells received a check from the Lakeport Kiwanis Club to go toward the purchase of an “AutoPulse” cardiac support pump, which already has helped save local lives.
The device, according to Wells, offers a more powerful and effective manner of doing chest compressions as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with more blood pushed through the body.
The check presented to fire officials Wednesday came from proceeds of an Aug. 28 fundraiser breakfast, which raised about $3,100, along with numerous donations from groups and individuals.
“The community just stepped up and helped out with this,” Wells said. “We're still getting donations.”
Among the major donors were Lakeport Kiwanis, Early Lake Lions and Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Sharon and Jim Hubman, Denise Hinchcliff, City Center Realty and John Whitehead, said Wells.
The family of Glenn Wilds, a former Lakeport firefighter and commissioner who died Sept. 3, also asked that donations be made to the fire department for the machine, Wells said, adding they received a $200 donation in Wilds' memory.
At the Aug. 28 breakfast, the Lakeport Volunteer Firefighters Association and the Lake County Channel Cats both pitched in to help, said Wells.
The Channel Cats were instrumental in selling tickets ahead of time and did a great job as servers at the event, he said, adding they also were pretty cute.
The end result was the department was able to purchase the AutoPulse outright, he said, along with some replacement LifeBands, which are placed around the chest and used for chest compressions. A new machine costs $15,000, but the agency was able to buy a reconditioned one for less.
The volunteer firefighters association has started an AutoPulse account, said Wells. “We're going to keep that account going so eventually we would purchase another one.”
He added, “I would like to see one on every ambulance.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at