Team Lake County
It was noted in the Lake County Record-Bee last week that Team Lake County “will be the ‘driving force’ in solving the rental crisis,” as reported by Jason Morash, in his coverage of the Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 19.
There is no question that housing shortages are hampering Lake County’s long-term recovery from our 2015 wildfires, and that a multi-agency collaboration is needed to find solutions for displaced survivors to relocate, including many still receiving temporary housing assistance from FEMA.
Representatives from Team Lake County participated in a joint leadership discussion for this major problem-solving effort, along with representatives from the Lake County Board of Realtors, local lenders, County of Lake, Habitat for Humanity, Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation, USDA, and others. Team Lake County’s participation is limited to coordinating available resources for the unmet needs of displaced survivors through its case management process, which has been under way for several months.
Team Lake County welcomes the opportunity to join in the County’s long-term recovery process through support for additional needed infrastructure, including housing, as funding and other resources allow, to achieve our primary mission, which is to “assist in identifying unmet needs of those affected by disaster, and to coordinate access to resources that would provide relief. For more information on Team Lake County, please visit our website (www.teamlakecounty.org).
Thank you for allowing us to provide the public with this clarification of Team Lake County’s participation in developing a collaborative effort to meet the urgent needs of Valley Fire displaced persons. Please let us know if there is any way we may be of service to you as we recover from the third worst wildfire in California’s history.
Betsy Cawn, Team Lake County Public Information Officer
A dilemma
Interesting opinion LCRB 4/26/16. Regarding the Delta Twin Tunnel Project at an initial cost of — to us — $17 Billion Dollars.
Kind of presents a dilemma — do you want to give LA and San Diego all our water or do you want all of them to come up here for the water?
Norman Michael, North Lakeport
Embrace change
I find it both interesting and appalling that most, if not all the faith based religious leadership has not stepped up to the plate about the divisive and uninformed comments that Thumper has made over this past year or so.
Major media management stays silent so as to use his demeaning thoughts and hateful comments to increase their profit margins and will continue to do so until November. There’s is a perfect example of capitalism at its worst, as usual, and of using politics as entertainment.
What really irks me is the far right who demand religious rights along with the power to run all the women’s issues, but seem to pick and choose what is or isn’t an issue in the stuff that Thumper spews day after day. It shows a clear picture of a sad group of older white males being afraid of continuing to lose their previous dominance with the browning of our nation, and women’s ascendency. Instead they might as well put up their chins, march into the 21st century and embrace the wide mixture of cultures that has made our nation as great as it has always been and will continue to be. They might as well accept the present and future instead of fighting it and just slowing down the inevitability of everyone being equal.
We can see the light at the end of the tunnel of bigotry in our younger generation, who will bring the truth that there is a promised land after all.
As each day passes more factual information about so many myths of the past are exposed, allowing for more reasons, “not” to hate and fear from our nation’s minority and female citizens. This brings a deep breath of fresh air to be enjoyed by all. It appears that our younger citizens will no longer stay silent when our elected leaders put the everyday hopes and needs of each of our citizens aside, but vote, as will the hourly paid working men and women who will realize the power of their votes.
More and more of our elementary and high schools, and our colleges have opened the minds of so many and its high time the faith based leadership starts opening the minds of their flocks, instead of trying to perpetuate the past. Human needs have changed dramatically in 2000 years. We are no longer a thinly populated, farming society. Churches need to practice what they preach instead of preaching to their own collection plates. They need to offer and show compassion, 24/7, and not on one day a week along with a few free holiday meals. It’s time for the faith based organizations to resign from their membership in the most wealthy Corporation’s Club. The glitzy temples of wealth are outdated, and caring for those persons and families in need of food and shelter is “in”! The strongest statement of the greatness of any nation is how well they treat all their friends and neighbors, poor and disenfranchised during their time of need.
We must start spending less on elections and more on helping each other live our American Dream, the benefits and results are priceless.
The present day elephant in the room is the fact that high tech and robotics will continue to decrease the number of jobs needed far into the future. Programs need to be developed to support those parties who will not be able to gain employment as we know it today, but to be able to update job skills as needed and support those who are unable to obtain meaningful employment through no fault of their own.
Short term answers are not always the best answers. Long term answers are just as important. The greater level of compassion we envision now will be the path to an even greater future.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
