How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
SACRAMENTO – State officials are reporting that the state's critical snowpack is hovering below 50 percent of normal.
The California Department of Water Resources conducted the fourth manual snow survey of the season on Highway 50 near Echo Summit on Wednesday.
State hydrologists monitor snow-water content in order to determine water supply for the year ahead.
Measurements were taken at elevations ranging between 6,500 and 7,600 feet, with average snowpacks between 35 and 55 percent of normal. Snow depths measured between 35 and 52 inches.
Electronic sensor readings posted Wednesday on the California Data Exchange Center's Web site show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 52 percent of normal for this date, Central Sierra at 48 percent and Southern Sierra at 38 percent.
Statewide, the snowpack is at 46 percent of normal, DWR officials said. That's down sharply from the 64 percent of normal snowpack reported at the start of March.
Previous statewide averages for the season were 40 percent for February and 59 percent for January.
DWR Snow Survey Section Chief Frank Gehrke said Monday night's storm helped the snowpack by about 2 inches but "instead of seeing an increase of 5 or 6 inches in March, we lost 8 or 9 inches," he said.
"That's a pretty bleak month," he added.
Snowpack information is part of the data used by DWR's State Water Project (SWP) Analysis Office in determining how much water will delivered each year through the SWP. Currently, the SWP is meeting 60 percent of requested amounts, which officials say translate to about 2.5 million acre feet for the year.
DWR officials say those deliveries will be particularly meaningful for the south state this year.
While reservoir storage in California is at or above normal thanks to a wet 2006, much of Southern California is experiencing its driest rainfall year on record.
DWR reported Wednesday that only 2.47 inches of rain have fallen in downtown Los Angeles since July 1. In a normal year, that figure would be more than 13 inches. Los Angeles has received only 18 percent of its normal rainfall for this time of year.
Southern California and other parts of the state also could be facing water shortages due to a recent court decision. That ruling, which came last week, would would shut off the pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 60 days unless DWR gets the permits necessary for the killing of endangered fish, which die yearly in the Delta's pump system.
The fifth and last snow survey of the season will take place on April 26.
DWR coordinates the snow monitoring program as part of the multi-agency California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program. Surveyors from more than 50 agencies and utilities visit hundreds of snow measurement courses in California's mountains each month to gauge the amount of water in the snowpack.
For real-time snow-water sensor readings, visit http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/lsreports/DLYSWEQ .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
UPPER LAKE – Following last year's record number of illegal marijuana seizures in the Mendocino National Forest, several members of the forest's law enforcement team were honored this month with a national award.
On March 14 the Mendocino National Forest Law Enforcement team received a national Director's award from the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy for their outstanding service to the nation in combating marijuana trafficking on the national forest last year.
Officers Walt Bliss, Mike Casey, Matt Knudson and Ramon Polo received the award from Director John P. Walters in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Forest spokesperson Phebe Brown said Polo is based in Covelo, Knudson in Upper Lake, Bliss in Paskenta and Casey in Willows, but all of them travel all over the forest as part of their enforcement duties.
Last year, the team spent more than 300 days eradicating 405,399 marijuana plants from 55 illegal marijuana sites on the Mendocino National Forest. “We were No. 1 in the state,” said Brown.
In fact, Walters' citation to the officers reads, in part: "More marijuana was taken by this team than any other group within the Forest Service in 2006.”
Illegal marijuana eradication was a major issue for Lake County in 2006.
Last fall, when then-Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced the results of the state Department of Justice’s 2006 Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), Lake County led the state's 58 counties with the most plants seized – 314,603, almost 100,000 more than the second-ranked county, Shasta.
Statewide, Lockyer reported, CAMP set a new record with the seizure of 1,675,681 plants worth an estimated $6.7 billion during the eradication season – more than three times the number of plants seized in 2005.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell said the illegal marijuana growers are attracted to the Mendocino National Forest – not necessarily Lake County itself – as a location.
The forest's fertile soils and remote locations are a haven for illicit marijuana growing, he explained.
“This is an area that is deeply troubling to me and my staff who work in the area of eradicating marijuana,” he said.
That's because it involves trespassing on both private and public lands, said Mitchell.
Worse, threats are posed to humans who happen across the illegal grows, he said, and the growers show wanton disrespect for the environment.
“This is a huge area of concern and should be even for people who are pro-dope,” he said.
The Mendocino National Forest's officers expressed their thanks to agencies like Mitchell's for help in the marijuana eradication effort.
"We could not have been successful without the teamwork with the Sheriff's Departments of Glenn, Colusa, Tehama, Lake and Mendocino Counties, the California National Guard, and Department of Justice CAMP teams," Casey said. "We all worked together to locate and remove this illegal use of our public land."
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY – Employment numbers for Lake County improved in February, according to a recent report from Dennis Mullins of the state Employment Development Department.
Mullins reported that Lake County's February 2007 unemployment rate was 8.3 percent, down 0.2 percent from January 2007, but up slightly from the year ago February 2007 rate of 8.2 percent.
This compares to a California seasonally unadjusted rate of 5.2 percent and 4.9 percent for the nation, according to Mullins' report.
Other surrounding county rates included 6.3 percent for Mendocino, and 4.2 percent for Sonoma, he noted. Orange and Marin Counties again tied for the lowest rate in the state at 3.5 percent and Colusa had the highest with 18.1 percent.
Total industry employment grew by 190 jobs (1.3 percent) between February 2006 and February 2007, Mullins said, ending the year-over period with 14,470 jobs.
Year-over job growth occurred in the following categories: farm, natural resources, mining and construction, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and other services, according to Mullins.
Year-over job losses, Mullins said, occurred in trade, transportation and utilities.
Industry sectors with no change for the period included manufacturing, private educational and health services, and government, Mullins said.
Industry gainers easily outnumbered decliners for the year-over period with natural resources, mining and construction, and leisure and hospitality leading gainers with 60 each.
Farm and other services each added 40 jobs. Information, financial activities, and professional and business services gained 10 each.
Trade, transportation and utilities was down 40 for the period.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Editor
CLEARLAKE – The City of Clearlake is looking for volunteers to help chart the course for the city’s future.
The Clearlake Vision Task Force will be part of a community-driven effort that will produce plans for how the city should grow and develop.
Task force members will attended between 15 and 20 meetings, where officials expect there will be lively discussions, heated arguments, tough compromises and ultimately, consensus.
City Administrator Dale Neiman said the process will produce a plan for Clearlake created by city's residents and business owners, the stakeholders who will decide what sort of community will be left to their kids and grandkids.
The results of their efforts will be the policies that will be the backbone of plans, programs and priorities affecting all aspects of community life, Neiman said.
The Task Force will set the agenda, addressing a variety of community concerns including infrastructure, such as streets and utilities; economic development; residential development; services to residents, such as public safety, youth and senior activities; and much more.
Neiman said the objective is to present a report to the City Council that represents the community’s view of what needs to be done in order for Clearlake to become the best it can be, and to generate the interest and enthusiasm to keep the process moving forward in the years to come.
The qualifications for participating in the Vision Task Force process are simple, said Neiman. Members must want to plan for the city’s future while protecting those qualities that make the city special; care deeply about the kind of community they want to leave to future generations; and think in terms of tomorrow, not yesterday. Those who only want to complain need not apply, he said.
Irwin Kaplan, the city's interim Community Development director, said a community-driven process is needed because change doesn't come easily.
“We need to find solutions to difficult problems that have only gotten worse over the years,” Kaplan said. “But the motivation to change comes from knowing that change is already happening and that our choice is either to take control of our destiny, or be the victims of change. Just look at what has been happening with land speculation and new development, large and small.”
An overview of recent activity presented to a joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission on Jan. 27th indicated the following:
– Residential permits issued last year: 195 new residential units.
– Permits in process: Commercial, 22,000 square feet; residential, 1,156 units.
– Pending redevelopment projects (commercial and residential): Airport Business Park, Austin Harbor.
– Exploratory interest: Borax Lake, 1,000 acres; 500+ acre project for vineyards, condos ranchettes and commercial.
Originally developed as a community for summer cabins, Clearlake has been transitioning to a community of year-round homes that it was never designed to accommodate, officials say.
Without the street improvements, water and sewer systems in place, the community finds itself in the position of trying to accommodate development with outdated infrastructure, often being called upon to make instant decisions to do what is best under the circumstances while under the pressure to approve projects.
“This is like building the airplane while flying it,” Kaplan said. “People investing in the community are the wind in the community’s sails. The city can choose to ignore it and go wherever the wind blows it, or the city can take control of its destiny and decide where it wants the ship to go.
“But make no mistake,” Kaplan added, “the wind is beginning to blow. Just look at what is happening to land values.”
And Clearlake shouldn’t be sold short, Kaplan added, “because very, very few communities are blessed with the natural gifts of Clearlake.”
The committee will represent a wide range of interests -- youth and the elderly, men and women, businesses and residents, owners and renters, etc. -- so that the plan for Clearlake can be for all its residents.
If you are interested in serving on the Task Force, you can find an application on the City’s Web site at www.clearlake.ca.us, or call City Clerk Melissa Swanson, 994-8201, Extension 106, to have one sent to you. You also may stop by City Hall Monday through Thursday to pick up an application.
Applications should be returned by April 2, so that the selection process can be completed by April 12.
A recent decision by the City Council makes Vision Task Force membership open to anyone who owns property within the city limits, and to any business owners who have a business in the city but who do not necessarily live in Clearlake.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Editor