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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Late last year, a group of North Coast counties received a grant to expand broadband access in rural areas, but Lake County wasn't included, said County Administrator Kelly Cox.
At a California State Association of Counties meeting last November in Oakland, Cox and Supervisor Ed Robey had a chance to meet with Sunne McPeak, chief executive officer of the California Emerging Technology Fund, which is providing funding for the North Coast broadband study.
Cox said he asked McPeak if it was possible to have Lake County included in that North Coast study.
“We had a good conversation,” he said, with McPeak asking Cox to follow up with her the following week.
When Cox called McPeak later as she had invited him to do, she had another idea.
Rather than join the North Coast study, McPeak suggested Lake County should be the lead agency in a new study.
Cox said he believed the proposal would be more advantageous to Lake County, because the end result should be more applicable to the county's particular needs.
Other counties participating will be Glenn, Colusa, Sutter and Yuba. Cox said they're in the process of bringing all of those counties on board now. “So far the response has been real positive.”
The California Emerging Technology Fund is going to give the county a $10,000 grant to cover the costs of preparing the grant application, Cox said, a project which will be lead by Debra Sommerfield, the county’s deputy administrative officer for Economic Development.
He added that he expects to have a written agreement from the fund this week, and McPeak has assigned a member of her staff to help the county with this project.
The broadband access study that the county wants to conduct, said Cox, will look at specific local needs, what broadband services already exist, areas of the county that are and aren't served, plus development of a plan for expanding services countywide.
He said the study also will offer Lake County the chance to learn from other areas of the state who have successfully expanded their offerings.
Emphasis, said Cox, will be placed on economic development with a view to what greater services can offer small business.
Better Internet access, he said, increases the county's capacity to host current businesses and attract new ones.
The California Emerging Technology Fund offers substantial financial support for studies like this one. Cox said the grants generally top out at $250,000 per year.
The county will use the funds to hire a consultant to complete the study, said Cox.
He praised McPeak for her willingness to work with the county, and offer alternatives they didn't know they had.
“She's just been really, really positive,” he said.
For more about the California Emerging Technology Fund visit their Web site, www.cetfund.org.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The 3.0 temblor was reported at 3:42 p.m. at a depth of 1.1 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake was centered two miles west southwest of Anderson Springs and five miles east southeast of The Geysers, the US Geological Survey reported.
Only two reports were made to the US Geological Survey by those who felt the quake – one in Guerneville, the other in San Carlos.
The US Geological Survey takes special note of earthquakes measuring 3.0 on the Richter Scale and above. The last quake above 3.0 to shake the county was a 4.1 on Feb. 23.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Editor
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA includes on the draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) currently unregulated contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and which may require regulation.
This draft CCL, which is the third such listing, lists 93 chemical contaminants or groups and 11 microbes, and describes the process and basis for selecting these contaminants.
"EPA is casting a broader scientific net for potential regulation of chemicals and microbes in drinking water," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. "EPA's proposed list of priority contaminants will advance sound science and public health by targeting research on certain chemicals and microbes and informing regulators on how best to reduce risk."
The CCL process was established by the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act as a mechanism to determine if new regulations are needed to protect drinking water.
Under this process EPA conducts extensive research into the occurrence and health effects of the listed contaminants before issuing new regulations or standards.
In developing the draft CCL 3, the agency implemented a new approach for selecting contaminants which builds upon evaluations used for previous lists and is based on substantial expert input early in the process and recommendations from a larger number of different groups including stakeholders, the National Research Council and the National Drinking Water Advisory Council.
The draft list includes chemicals used in commerce, pesticides, biological toxins, disinfection byproducts, and waterborne pathogens.
The agency evaluated approximately 7,500 chemicals and microbes and selected 104 candidates for the final draft list based on their potential to pose health risks through drinking water exposure.
The comment period is open for 90 days beginning the day of publication in the Federal Register.
For information on the CCL 3 visit www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/ccl3.html.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Besides the solidifying of the ballot, the major news of the day was that Supervisor Anthony Farrington will seek reelection unopposed.
Friday at 5 p.m. was the deadline for filing declarations of candidacy for the supervisorial seats up for election this year – Districts 1, 4 and 5, as Lake County News has reported.
The declaration of candidacy is the step that makes a person's candidacy official, and ensures their name will appear on the ballot, according to Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley.
Deputy Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez said no challengers filed paperwork to run for the District 4 seat against Farrington, who reportedly arrived shortly before 5 p.m. to make his candidacy official.
It's the opposite situation in District 1, where a big field is pursuing the seat held currently by Ed Robey, who is not seeking reelection.
James Comstock, Don Dornbush, Scott Fergusson, Susanne La Faver, Joey Luiz and Robert MacIntyre all submitted declarations of candidacy, said Valadez.
Because Robey, the incumbent, did not file to run again, Valadez said the deadline for the District 1 candidacy declarations will be extended by five business days to March 12.
The District 5 race, said Valadez, will include challenger Robert Stark and incumbent Supervisor Rob Brown.
The primary will take place on Tuesday, June 3.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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