How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Last week, Lake County Special Districts received testing results showing that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, was found in raw sewage at all four of its sewage treatment plants, as Lake County News has reported.
Biobot, a Massachusetts-based company, is conducting the testing as part of its pro bono COVID-19 response program, which is being carried out nationwide in collaboration with researchers at MIT, Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The weekly tests began on March 26 and continued on April 1, with no virus detection. Then, samples taken on April 8 showed the presence of the virus in Special Districts’ four sewage treatment plants: Kelseyville, Middletown, Northwest Regional in north Lakeport and Southeast Regional in Clearlake, the agency reported.
The South Lakeport wastewater collection system moves effluent to the city of Lakeport’s wastewater treatment facility through a formal agreement between the two agencies. It wasn’t included in the Biobot testing to date.
Testing of sewage at the city of Lakeport’s wastewater treatment facility isn’t currently taking place, according to city Utilities Superintendent Paul Harris.
“We do intend on sampling our raw sewage for COVID-19,” Harris said. “The problem is the lab that performs these tests is currently at capacity and cannot do any additional sampling at this time. They are working on expanding their capacity and we are on a waiting list.”
In the meantime, Lakeport Public Works Director Doug Grider said they have installed the testing ports in order to be able to collect the samples once they can get a slot with the testing company.
Biobot is among a number of companies, universities and researchers studying how to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in communities by tracking its presence in sewage, as the virus is shed in the stool of those who are infected with it.
Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said in a Monday statement that in a followup call with Biobot, county officials learned the company has researched fecal stools of COVID-19 patients at a Boston hospital and found the virus does not shed consistently in all patients.
Some patients shed more one day, less the next and more the third day. Pace said some patients also shed the virus in stools for a few days, while others shed it up to two weeks.
“Because of these variables, it is not possible to know the number of cases in the county by detections,” Pace said. “This tool is most useful as an indicator of whether cases are increasing or decreasing. By continuing the testing, it will also become a valuable tool to gauge COVID-19 activity when we open the economy back up.”
Pace said all four sewage treatment plants had estimated cases at less than 1 percent of catchment so the numbers are relatively small.
The date of the April 8 test, he added, “does coincide with the six confirmed cases in the county.”
In response to concerns from members of the public about sewage, Pace said raw sewage has many contaminants that are hazardous.
“This is why our staff must always take precautions and sewer spills are always considered an extreme emergency. Although staff will continue to treat all raw sewage as hazardous, it is believed the virus is killed by the amount of detergent and bleach present in raw sewage,” he said.
He said some have also expressed concern about water supplies. “Sewer and water are not related, and what is in the raw sewage at the treatment plant has nothing to do with any public water system. Also, it has been proven this virus will not survive the treatment process of public water systems.”
Pace said other concerns have focused on the lake. “Public sewer systems do not discharge into the lake, so these findings do not affect Clear Lake,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
The district’s leadership said the process to select the new superintendent/president is underway, but finalists have yet to be determined.
In preparation for the next step in the search and review process, the district said it is asking for the public’s help.
Due to COVID-19, the district will be recording candidate forums without a live audience.
The recorded forums will be posted on the district’s website for the community’s review and feedback on May 12 by 9 a.m.
Prior to the forums the district also will welcome input. Send questions that you would like to ask the candidates by April 26 at 11:59 p.m.
Questions can be submitted here or via email to
The district said it will include a good representation/cross-section of the questions posed.
Additionally, there will be a feedback link to provide feedback at the time of the posting of the recording. The district will need feedback no later than May 12 at 11:59 p.m.
“We understand that a live forum with active participants is the ideal; however, we are in a new operating environment with COVID-19. Our District is doing our best to move forward with business as usual, as well as having the highest concern for everyone's safety,” said Robert Jason Pinoli, John Tomkins and Marie Myers, members of the Mendocino-Lake Community College District Board of Trustees and the Superintendent/President Search Sub-Committee in a joint written statement.
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
“School may be physically closed, but class is still in session,” said Gov. Newsom. “But for class to be in session, it is imperative that California addresses the inequities in access to computers, technology tools and connectivity to ensure that online learning can in fact reach all of California’s children. It’s inspiring to see parents, teachers, businesses and philanthropy step up to meet this moment and provide tools to help bridge the digital divide and get more students connected.”
“I am beyond grateful for the generosity and leadership of our community leaders to help us bridge the technology gap that too many California families are facing," said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. "As a mother of four, I know well that the challenges of distance learning can take a toll – both on the child and the parent. That is why it is crucial we close the digital divide and work to ensure that every child has what they need to reach their full potential."
Approximately one in five students in California lack high-speed Internet or an appropriate computing device at home.
In a parent survey two weeks ago, 50 percent of low-income families and 42 percent of families of color reported that they lacked the laptop, Chromebook, or tablet needed to access distance learning.
“We are so thankful to everyone that is stepping up to help us close the digital divide. These efforts will truly make an impact in the lives of our students and an even greater impact as we work to close achievement gaps that existed before this public health crisis,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “I look forward to continuing these efforts with my ‘Closing the Digital Divide’ task force, co-chaired by Sen. Connie Leyva, because we are stronger together, and together, we can close the digital divide for all students in California.”
Earlier this month, Gov. Newsom issued a call to action to business, government, and community leaders to help bridge the digital divide. Leaders across sectors stepped up to heed the call.
Private partnerships
First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond led – and will continue to lead – the drive for community leaders to heed the Governor’s call to action.
Companies, business leaders, and philanthropists heeded the call by committing to provide Internet access for hundreds of thousands of households and over 70,000 laptops, Chromebooks and tablets for students:
– T-Mobile is donating 13,000 tablet devices, in addition to the previously-announced 100,000 hotspot devices (for which they partnered with Google).
– Amazon is donating 10,000 tablet devices.
– Apple is actively working with 800 districts across the state, offering free coaching sessions to teachers to help them with the transition to remote learning. In addition, Apple is offering special pricing for iPads with cellular, and has given the equivalent of 9,000 iPads to ensure the most vulnerable in our state have access.
– Verizon is partnering with the State of California to provide 250,000 students with unlimited Internet service at a discount.
– The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative is donating $1,000,000.
– Jack Dorsey (via #startsmall) is donating $1,000,000.
– Ann and John Doerr are donating $1,000,000.
All monetary contributions will be deposited in a fund established at the CDE Foundation and used to bulk-purchase computing and hotspot devices for allocation to school districts in need, with a priority on rural and low-income communities.
CPUC Broadband in Schools Initiative
The California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, and the California Department of Education will partner to distribute a total of $30 million to support connectivity.
The CPUC will make $25 million available from the California Teleconnect Fund for hotspots and Internet service for student households.
School districts will be able to apply to receive 50 percent discounts on the cost of hotspot devices and on monthly recurring service charges until September 30, 2020.
Rural, small, and medium-sized districts will be prioritized More information is available here.
The CPUC is also proposing to make $5 million available from the California Advanced Services Fund to help cover the costs of computing and hotspot devices. CDE will review requests and coordinate purchases in order to leverage economies of scale. Low-income communities, communities with high percentages of residents with limited English proficiency, and communities with high percentages of residents with limited education attainment will be prioritized. More information is available here.
City of Sacramento Proof of Concept
The California State Transportation Agency is partnering with the city of Sacramento for a 60-day proof of concept to be launched on May 1, 2020.
Seven transit buses will be repurposed and outfitted with super hotspots providing connectivity with at least a 500-foot radius. Buses will park between four to eight hours to provide high-speed Internet services to surrounding locations while people remain in homes or congregate at safe distances while under supervision.
Hotspot locations and protocols will be determined in collaboration between the City of Sacramento, Valley Vision, Sacramento Public Library, SacRT, California State Transportation Agency and public health officials.
Lessons learned from the proof of concept will be converted into a model for cities throughout California to replicate.
Full list of private partnerships
Additional commitments include:
– HP Inc. is donating 5,000 Chromebooks and launching HP Refresh with dedicated resources to the state.
– Lenovo is donating 4,000 Chromebooks.
– An anonymous foundation is donating $1,000,000.
– Box is donating free 12-month licenses to its secure file-sharing services (up to $1,000,000) for school districts to enable administrators and teachers to collaborate. Box CEO Aaron Levie is also personally donating $100,000.
– Scott Cook and Signe Ostby through The Valhalla Charitable Foundation are donating $500,000.
– An anonymous foundation is donating $500,000 for LA County public schools.
– Zoom is donating $500,000.
– AT&T is donating $300,000 for devices and $250,000 for distance learning programs.
– Microsoft is donating 1,000 Surface tablets.
– The Stuart Foundation is donating $250,000.
– Todd McKinnon and Roxanne Stachon are donating $250,000.
– Heising-Simons Foundation is donating $200,000.
– Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang are donating $100,000.
– Silver Giving Foundation is donating $100,000.
– The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is donating $100,000.
– Craig Newmark Philanthropies is donating $100,000.
– VIPKid is donating $50,000.
– PayPal Gives is donating $50,000.
Visit www.covid19.ca.gov or www.covid19.ca.gov/es for critical steps Californians can take to stay healthy, and resources available to those impacted by the outbreak.
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Monday evening, the Lakeport Police Department said it located a transient who was wanted for a parole violation and failure to register as a sex offender.
The department reported that officers found and arrested Dean Thomas Ammons, 54.
Earlier in the day, the Lakeport Police Department had asked for the community’s help in locating Ammons, a high-risk sex offender who had failed to follow registration requirements.
Due to temporary bail restrictions imposed by the Judicial Council of California due to COVID-19, the Lakeport Police Department said it was unable to book Ammons into the Lake County Jail.
Instead, police said Ammons was affixed with a monitoring device by his parole agent. Officers then released Ammons on a citation for the felony violation of failing to register as a sex offender.
Ammons was released by the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections on March 31, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen reported.