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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Among the short-term changes for local law enforcement, the sheriff’s office last week stopped regular in-person visits to the jail and this week stopped all family visitations, as Lake County News has reported.
At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff Brian Martin said his agency is now only booking felony cases into the jail.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday closed its lobby at its headquarters at 1220 Martin Street in Lakeport. That closure will remain in effect until Monday, April 13, according to Lt. Corey Paulich.
Paulich said people who are reporting a crime or have an emergency should contact Central Dispatch. For emergencies, dial 911; for nonemergencies, dial 707-263-2690. If you need to speak with someone at the Sheriff’s Main Office call 707-262-4200.
The sheriff’s office has an existing online crime reporting system on its website.
If it isn’t an emergency and there are no known suspects, and if it happened within the unincorporated county, reports can be filed online. For more information on whether an incident qualifies, check out the FAQs for online report filing.
Both the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport also have closed police department lobbies to the public.
Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White said his agency has taken steps in line with health expert guidance, including limiting some in-person interactions with the public.
On Thursday, White told the Clearlake City Council that the department launched a new online reporting system which can be found here.
Similar to the sheriff’s online reporting system, the one the Clearlake Police Department rolled out also requires that incidents reported not be emergencies and that the suspect is unknown, except in the case of a custody violation.
White emphasized that while the lobby is closed to the public, the agency is still at work, with officers on patrol and support staffers such as dispatchers hard at work behind the scenes.
The Clearlake Police Department can be reached at 707-994-8251.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen had emphasized at Tuesday’s Lakeport City Council meeting that his department is continuing to serve the community and to be out in front, acting as the voice of reason as the county deals with COVID-19.
Rasmussen said he and his officers will be continuing work as normal, and he doesn’t expect an increase in crime.
On Wednesday, the department reported that its work included responding to calls for service, checking on the welfare of residents called in by concerned neighbors, foot patrol checks and the checking of nearly 40 individual businesses.
“With more residents at their homes during the Shelter-In-Place Order, we ask that you look out for your neighbors, summon a police officer for issues that necessitate a response, and continue to utilize other forms of crime reporting, such as: by phone, text and emails; which comply with Social Distancing recommendations. We are committed to working together, resulting in our enduring this together as we have endured our previous disasters,” the department said in a Thursday statement.
The Lakeport Police Department also is working on an online reporting system. The form appears to be ready for use although it also is reported to be under construction.
The Lakeport Police Department can be reached at 707-263-5491.
In addition to their websites, all of the departments keep active Facebook accounts, which is another way to contact them.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
If you are a senior citizen in Lake County or know of a senior citizen in need of assistance with meal delivery or pharmacies providing delivery service, please call the senior center in your area.
If you don’t know which senior center serves your area, please call the Area Agency on Aging at 707-995-4652 and they can provide you with that information.
The Lakeport Senior Activity Center, which manages Meals on Wheels services for Lakeport, Kelseyville and Lucerne, reported that it has a team of volunteers ready to bring lunches and anything else homebound seniors may need.
Seniors do not need to have a prior relationship with the senior center to get the services they are providing. Anyone over age 60 automatically qualifies to receive the meals.
Lakeport must serve those over 60 first, but the center wants to help younger seniors and the disabled or isolated. Center officials reported that they will do everything they can for the most vulnerable in the community during this crisis.
With the order to stay home, any senior over 60 may request meals for pickup or delivery and any other needs they have by contacting the center at 707-263-4218.
Cash donations are greatly appreciated to make up for the loss of revenue from the center’s Meals on Wheels Thrift Shop. Donations can be made online at www.facebook.com/lakeportseniors or by mailing a check to 527 Konocti Ave., Lakeport, CA 95453.
To find out what the current needs or ways to be a part of Lakeport’s efforts, call the Lakeport Senior Activity Center at 707-263-4218 or join the Covid19 - Lake County Seniors and Disabled Support Network Facebook group.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Despite a countywide shelter in place order due to concerns about COVID-19, community members can still sign up to foster shelter dogs.
The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.
‘Buddy’
“Buddy” is a male spaniel mix with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 3667.
‘Cha-Chi’
“Cha-Chi” is a male Chihuahua with a short gold and white coat.
He is dog No. 3661.
‘Duchess’
“Duchess” is a female Chihuahua puppy with a short tan coat.
She is dog No. 3618.
‘Fable’
“Fable” is a female husky with a smooth brown and buff coat.
She is dog No. 3044.
‘Lucious’
“Lucious” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 3690.
‘Missy’
“Missy” is a female Chihuahua puppy with a short tan coat.
She is dog No. 3663.
‘Phoebe’
“Phoebe” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix with a short black and white coat.
She is dog No. 3483.
‘Princess’
“Princess” is a female German Shepherd with a black and tan coat.
She has been spayed.
Princess is young and energetic. She previously lived around a smaller dog and has been around the office cat. She will benefit from training and attention.
She is dog No. 3669.
‘Woodrow’
“Woodrow” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 3281.
Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.
Hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Thursday evening California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay at home order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Newsom said the order was to go into effect immediately. It remains in place until further notice.
“This is a moment we need to make tough decisions. This is a moment where we need some straight talk and we need to tell people the truth. We need to bend the curve in the state of California and in order to do that we need to recognize the reality,” Newsom said.
Earlier on Thursday, Newsom asked President Donald Trump to immediately deploy the USNS Mercy hospital ship to the Port of Los Angeles.
Newsom asked the president to keep the ship there until Sept. 1 in order to help decompress the state’s health care delivery system in Los Angeles in response to COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
In his letter to Trump, Newsom cited the rapid increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases across California, with a 21-percent increase over the previous 24 hours and the case rate doubling every four days in some parts of the state.
“We project that roughly 56 percent of our population – 25.5 million people – will be infected with the virus over an eight week period,” Newsom wrote.
By the time the governor announced his stay at home order on Thursday evening, 21.3 million Californians already were living under shelter in place orders.
That included Lake County, whose 65,000 residents have been under a shelter in place order – issued by Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace – since 12 a.m. Thursday.
Pace has said that, so far, there are no cases of the virus confirmed in Lake County, where about two dozen residents have been tested. But he also acknowledged delays in getting test results back and difficulty in finding testing labs that aren’t overcapacity.
Other counties that were under such shelter in place orders by the time of Newsom’s action included Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma.
Napa County’s order had been set to begin at 12 a.m. Friday and in the hours before Newsom’s order, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties also had ordered residents to stay home. Separately, residents of the cities of Berkeley and Fresno were under shelter in place orders.
The governor’s order allows essential services to remain open. Those services include gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, banks and laundromats/laundry services.
Also remaining open are essential state and local government functions, including law enforcement and offices that provide government programs and services.
The order directs the immediate closure of dine-in restaurants, bars and nightclubs, entertainment venues, gyms and fitness studios, public events and gatherings, and convention centers.
During his Thursday night briefing, Newsom said that in pandemic planning, state officials are estimating a 20-percent hospitalization rate, which translates to 19,543 people who would need to be hospitalized.
That’s above the existing capacity of the hospital system, said Newsom. “I’m being very straight with you.”
Newsom said California’s 416 hospitals have 78,000 staffed beds. Beyond that, they have a surge capacity of another 10,207 beds. However, he said there is a gap in resources and staffing. “That’s currently what we’re up against.”
In Lake County, both hospitals – Sutter Lakeside and Adventist Health Clear Lake – are under the Critical Access designation. Both have 25 beds, for a county total of 50 hospital beds. Dr. Pace has reported that there are a total of eight ventilators in Lake County, four at each hospital.
Newsom said that if state residents change their behaviors, it’s possible those estimated hospitalization numbers could come down and the state could bend the curve.
The governor also announced on Thursday night that the state is working to secure hundreds of more beds between two hospitals in Northern and Southern California.
State officials also are negotiating with hotels and talking with leaders of the University of California and the California State University systems to identify appropriate dormitories for locating people who contract the virus.
“This is not a permanent state. This is a moment in time. And we will meet this moment together and we will look back at these kinds of decisions as pivotal decisions,” Newsom said.
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