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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
Informed by growing evidence of the decreased risks and increased benefits of in-person instruction – especially for our youngest students – Gov. Newsom is advancing a strategy that will help create safe learning environments for students and safe workplaces for educators and other school staff.
The plan was developed in partnership with the Legislature, and the governor will propose an early action package to ensure schools have the resources necessary to successfully implement key safety precautions and mitigation measures.
Components of the plan will be launched in the coming weeks.
“As a father of four, I know firsthand what parents, educators and pediatricians continue to say: in-person is the best setting to meet not only the learning needs, but the mental health and social-emotional needs of our kids,” said Newsom. “In the midst of this pandemic, my administration is focused on getting students back into the classroom in a way that leads with student and teacher health. By focusing on a phased approach with virus mitigation and prevention at the center, we can begin to return our kids to school to support learning needs and restore the benefits of in-person instruction. It’s especially important for our youngest kids, those with disabilities, those with limited access to technology at home and those who have struggled more than most with distance learning.”
The administration’s strategy focuses on ensuring implementation and building confidence by bringing back the youngest children (TK-2) and those who are most vulnerable first, then phasing in other grade levels through the spring. This phased-in return recognizes that younger children are at a lower risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19.
At the same time, distance learning will remain an option for parents and students who choose it and for those whose health status does not allow them to return to school in the near term. Please find additional details about the rationale behind the plan here.
California’s Safe Schools for All framework to safe reopening of in-person instruction is built on four pillars:
Funding to support safe reopening: The budget will propose for immediate action in January, $2 billion to support safety measures – including testing, ventilation and PPE – for schools that have resumed in-person instruction or phasing in of in-person instruction by early spring.
Safety and mitigation measures for classrooms: To further ensure health and safety in the classroom, the Administration will support implementation of key health measures. This will include frequent testing for all students and staff, including weekly testing for communities with high rates of transmission; masks for all students and staff, including distribution of millions of surgical masks for school staff; improved coordination between school and health officials for contact tracing; and prioritization of school staff for vaccinations.
Hands-on oversight and assistance for schools: Dr. Naomi Bardach, a UCSF pediatrician and expert on school safety, will lead the Safe Schools for All Team, a cross-agency team composed of dedicated staff from CDPH, Cal/OSHA, and educational agencies. The team will provide hands-on support to help schools develop and implement their COVID-19 Safety Plans. These supports include school visits and walk-throughs as needed, webinars and training materials and ongoing technical assistance.
Transparency and accountability for families and staff: A state dashboard will enable all Californians to see their school’s reopening status, level of available funding and data on school outbreaks. Additionally, a web-based “hotline” will empower school staff and parents to report concerns to the Safe Schools for All Team, which will lead to escalating levels of intervention beginning with technical assistance and ending with legal enforcement.
Find additional details about the components of the plan here.
“These four pillars will serve as tools to safely guide our state’s return to in-person instruction and protect the health of students, educators and all school staff,” said CHHS Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “As a pediatrician and father, I know schools are the best place our kids can be and the positive impact in-person learning has on their overall health and well-being.”
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- Written by: Laurel Mellin, University of California, San Francisco
After a year of toxic stress ignited by so much fear and uncertainty, now is a good time to reset, pay attention to your mental health and develop some healthy ways to manage the pressures going forward.
Brain science has led to some drug-free techniques that you can put to use right now.
I am health psychologist who developed a method that harnesses our rip-roaring emotions to rapidly switch off stress and activate positive emotions instead. This technique from emotional brain training is not perfect for everyone, but it can help many people break free of stress when they get stuck on negative thoughts.
Why the stress response is so hard to turn off
Three key things make it hard to turn off stress-activated negative emotions:
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First, our genes make us worrywarts. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived by assuming every rustle in the grasses was a lurking hungry lion, not harmless birds hunting for seeds. We’re essentially programmed to be hyperaware of threats, and our brains rapidly launch stress chemicals and negative emotions in response.
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Second, the chemical cascade of stress hormones in the brain associated with negative emotions impairs cognitive flexibility, goal-directed behavior and self-control.
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Third, our tendency to avoid dealing with negative emotions puts people in a perpetual cycle of ignoring unpleasant feelings, which amplifies stress and the risk of emotional health problems.
Traditional approaches for coping with stress were based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on modifying patterns of thinking and behavior. It was developed before our modern understanding of stress overload.
Researchers at New York University discovered a paradox: Although cognitive methods were effective in low-stress situations, they were less effective when dealing with the high stress of modern life.
Emotional brain training works with these high-stress emotions in an effort to tame them, releasing negative emotions as the first of two steps in preventing stress overload.
Step 1: Release negative emotions
The only negative emotion in the brain that supports taking action rather than avoidance and passivity is anger.
Studies have shown that the suppression of anger is associated with depression and that suppressing anger doesn’t reduce the emotion. Healthy release of anger instead has been found to reduce other stress-related health risks.
Our technique is to switch off stress overload by using a controlled burst of anger to help the brain exert better emotional control and allow emotions to flow rather than become chronic and toxic. After that first short burst, other feelings can flow, starting with sadness to grieve the loss of safety, then fear and regret, or what we would do differently next time.
You can talk yourself through the stages. To experiment with the process, use these simple phrases to express the negative feelings and release your stress: “I feel angry that …”; “I feel sad that …”; “I feel afraid that …”; and “I feel guilty that …”
Step 2. Express positive emotions
After releasing negative emotions, positive emotions can naturally arise. Express these feelings using the same approach: “I feel grateful that …”; “I feel happy that …”; “I feel secure that …”; and “I feel proud that …”
Your mindset can quickly change, a phenomenon that has many potential explanations. One explanation is that in positive states, your brain’s neural circuits that store memories from when you were in the same positive state in the past can be spontaneously activated. Another is that the switch from negative to positive emotions quiets your sympathetic nervous system – which triggers the fight-or-flight response – and activates the parasympathetic system, which acts more like a brake on strong emotions.
Here’s what the whole stress relief process might look like like for me right now:
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I feel angry that we’re all isolated and I can’t see my new grandson Henry.
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I hate it that everything is so messed up! I HATE THAT!!!
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I feel sad that I am alone right now.
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I feel afraid that this will never end.
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I feel guilty that I am complaining! I am lucky to be alive and have shelter and love in my life.
Then the positive:
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I feel grateful that my daughter-in-law sends me photos of Henry.
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I feel happy that my husband and I laughed together this morning.
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I feel secure that this will eventually pass.
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I feel proud that I am doing the best I can to cope.
After a daunting year, and with more challenges ahead in 2021, upgrading your approach to emotions can be a drug-free mood booster. Our COVID-19 fears need not consume us. We can outsmart the brain’s fear response and find moments that sparkle with promise.
[Get our best science, health and technology stories. Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter.]
Laurel Mellin, Associate Professor Emeritus of Family & Community Medicine and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye signed the order in response to Presiding Judge Michael Lunas’ request for emergency relief under Government Code section 68115(a)(10), which addresses court operations during a state of emergency.
The order extends the time in section 1382 of the Penal Code for the holding of a criminal trial by not more than 30 days. In this case, it’s applicable only to cases in which the statutory deadline otherwise would expire from Dec. 30. The deadline is now extended to Jan. 28.
Court officials reported that they sought the order “as a result of the increasing COVID-19 cases both locally and statewide.”
This is the fifth emergency order the state has approved for the Lake County Superior Court to allow for the adjustment of court operations during the pandemic. Previous orders were issued on March 16 and March 27, April 28 and Aug. 14, according to the order the chief justice signed Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Lunas also ordered that trials would not resume before Dec. 30 and moved most of the court proceedings – with few exceptions – online in the wake of Lake County moving into the most restrictive tier on the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
In the weeks since, the court has confirmed that two employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
Court officials said Tuesday that no jury trial will take place before Jan. 27, so anyone who has received a jury summons for any date prior to that is not required to appear.
As for the impact on court operations, Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier told Lake County News, “While there are other jury trials that will be continued, the emergency order only impacts two in-custody defendants who have not waived their right to a trial within the statutory time frames.”
The court said all safety measures remain in place, including mandatory remote appearances in nearly all proceedings.
Details about court operations are updated at the court’s website, www.lake.courts.ca.gov.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The group said the primary reason is lack of volunteers to help with projects all year long.
The Hunger Task Force was formed in January 2001, the result of recommendations made following a hunger study conducted in Lake and Mendocino counties.
The first meeting was held in the board chambers of the courthouse in Lakeport, and there were 45 people in attendance.
That evolved into monthly meetings, throughout the years, held at various venues. Committees were formed, a mission statement and goal were decided upon.
Attendance soon slipped to about 20 people, as talking was the only activity. In October 2001 the garden committee created and planted the first community garden, at the former homeless shelter in Clearlake. This was accomplished on Make A Difference Day.
Following that time, membership slipped and only the garden committee survived. “We were led extremely capably for many years by Pete Johnson, then the leader for Habitat for Humanity in Lake County. He dedicated many years to our organization,” the group said.
Our other project that day was a food drive, with the food given to pantries around the lake. From that year on until 2019, the task force participated in the nationwide Make A Difference Day, which was accomplished with the help of volunteers from AmeriCorps, Kelseyville High School Interact students, K-Corps, and others from various organizations. This food drive morphed into the Stuff-A-Bus event at the urging and cooperation of Lake County Transit.
The task force extended its thanks to Lake Transit, Clearlake Grocery Outlet, Lakeport Grocery Outlet, and all who contributed items. “From 2000 until 2019, we collected and distributed 73,588 pounds of nonperishable food.”
In 2002 the task force held what is believed to have been the first-ever local "food summit," gathering all groups who had pantries and food programs. Another was held about four years later. “We hoped to coordinate information and schedules for the county, which proved to be only partially successful,” the task force said.
From 2002 until 2019, the group conducted canning lessons once a year. They were able to help 236 families and individuals learn the skills necessary to home can, and provided them with a canner, jars, books and a jar lifter to take home. These lessons were all hands-on, giving participants experience and confidence to do this on their own.
“We will forever be eternally grateful to the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church for the loan of their wonderful commercial kitchen,” the task force said.
Until the group was awarded a grant from the Lake County Wine Alliance in 2003 for $9,600, it relied on donations alone. “We applied for, and received, an additional $2,500 in 2009, for which we will always give kudos. They also donated $2,500 in 2019 to the Lake County Holiday Fund.”
In 2006, and again in 2012, the group conducted hunger surveys, which were compiled into booklets and disseminated throughout the county. Social work students from Pacific Union College conducted most of the surveys, and additional ones were done at food pantries and extended into the unhoused population. “Our gratitude is extended to Fiona Bullock, who led the students in these surveys, provided the compilation and conclusions,” the task force said.
Without the task force’s close alliance with North Coast Opportunities, including warehouse space, it would not have been able to conduct many of its activities.
North Coast Opportunities’ leader in Lake County, Tammy Alakszay, was a member of the task force since 2002. She originally came onboard as an employee of the Lake County Office of Education, working with the AmeriCorps volunteers.
“Over the years we participated in Hunger Action Day in Sacramento, tabled at the farmers market, talked with groups around the county, helped with school gardens, maintained and disseminated a food resource list, and helped feed people via other groups. Our most successful endeavor was our gardens,” the task force reported.
The group said it was fortunate to have landowners donate land and water for our gardens. The longest surviving garden was at Yoxagoi Farms, with Maile Field and Lars Crail supporting the efforts.
Later Bernie Butcher let the group use the Old Feed Mill property in Upper Lake. That garden is still operating and will be maintained by the Upper Lake High School FFA and 4H students, led by the extremely energetic Erica Boomer.
From 2010 until 2020, the task force’s gardens produced 68,584 pounds of produce. “We did not keep records until 2010, so the total is not really known,” the group said.
“No mention of our gardens would be complete without saying that without the mentorship and guidance of Sky Hoyt we could not have accomplished all we did. He taught us what grew best in Lake County, and helped us to achieve a high rate of production. He invented the waist-high tabletop growing system that we would incorporate in our gardens. He also allowed us to glean produce at his farm, as well as donating excess to the food pantries. We cannot thank him enough,” the task force said.
The task force said it was fortunate to have the loan of a greenhouse from the Lake County Office of Education, where it started all of its plants from seed. The money to buy all of the plant starts the group needed would have been impossible to sustain, so this greenhouse was integral to its garden projects. The garden alone had 98 tomato plants.
“We spent a lot of time gleaning in the late summer and fall. We gleaned pears, walnuts, and red flame seedless grapes. Our many, many thanks to Maile Field, Dan Goff, Nellie Dorn and Diane Henderson,” the task force said.
Beginning in about 2010, the task force participated in the holiday box program, at that time run by Lou Denny of the Lake County Community Action Agency. This role has been taken on by North Coast Opportunities, Community Action. Those boxes of food were provided by funds donated from citizens locally to the fund started years earlier by Judi Pollace of the Lake County Record-Bee.
In 2016 the group was asked to be the fiscal agent for the funds, and have been helping with it yearly. With eternal thanks to Scully Packing Co., which provided all of the boxes used – approximately 25,000 boxes over the years – along with Dennis Darling of Foods, Etc, Carlos Fagundes of Bruno's Shop Smart, Rotary Club of Lakeport, Beth Berinti of the Lake Family Resource Center, and Lou Denny of the Hunger Task Force. That program continues today.
Due to COVID, this year recipients were given gift cards to shop for themselves, 400 each in Lakeport and Clearlake.
The group offered a huge thank you to Dennis Darling for matching the funds to be used at Foods, Etc, and Carlos Fagundes, whose corporate offices donated an additional $5,000 to be spent at Bruno's Shop Smart.
That program will continue under the financial auspices of the Lake Family Resource Center. Donations to the Lake County Holiday Fund may be made at any time of year, either at Umpqua Bank or WestAmerica Bank.
In 2010 the task force began its most successful fundraising event, the Bountiful Boxes. The idea originated with Michelle Scully, and was carried out by group members, with help from other volunteers.
Yearly, due to the incredible generosity of Scully Packing Co. (primarily Toni and Pat Scully), the task force put together gift boxes full of Lake County products. The donation of premium Comice pears was the basis for the boxes, and all included a bottle of local wine or olive oil, wonderful walnuts, and a few years' delicious apples. The task force offered many thanks to all who donated, primarily Scully Packing Co., Six Sigma, Steele, Shannon, Chacewater, Lake County Walnut, Mike Marshall, Colleen Rentsch and Nellie Dorn.
For approximately four years the task force ran a backpack program for the children of Nice, Lucerne and Upper Lake, which is a very underserved population.
Every Friday selected children were sent home with a backpack full of food they did not have to cook, but could eat immediately. Many of those were latch key kids, so there was no one home to cook for them. This gave them some healthy, nutritious food to eat over the weekend when they were not getting lunch at school.
The task force ran this through the HUB in Upper Lake, and the group is deeply appreciative of their coordination with local families.
“There are many other accomplishments we achieved, but too numerous to mention here. As our final act, per our by-laws, all our remaining funds have been distributed to 14 other nonprofit organizations, to be used for food only,” the group said.
“It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye. It seems that in 2020 there are fewer people with either the time or inclination to volunteer. People need to eat daily, not just during holiday seasons. We have spoken with many other groups that are having the same problem, from churches to fraternal organizations to food pantries. We are aging out of being volunteers,” the group said in a farewell message.
The group concluded, “A million thanks to all who supported us with our efforts, whether it be physical labor, distributing food or other items, serving on our board, donating money and time, attending meetings, or just providing us with moral support. We will all still volunteer in the communities, just not as an official group.”