LAKE COUNTY
Lake County Library more than doubles the amount of borrows on hoopla Digital
Lake County Library is more than doubling the amount of borrows patrons can enjoy on the hoopla Digital service. Lake County Library cardholders can instantly borrow titles and start reading, listening, or viewing for free with a library card and a PIN by visiting the library website, library.lakecountyca.gov, and selecting hoopla Digital from the library’s digital content page. If you don’t yet have a library card, you can get a temporary online library card instantly at the library website. If you already have a card, your library PIN is usually the last four digits of the phone number on your library card registration.
Starting this week hoopla borrows will now be going from a limit of three to seven per month. This was made possible thanks to a grant awarded to the Lake County Library. The California State Library has provided Lake County Library $5,000 in crisis collection funding to help increase the digital resources available to residents.
Through the hoopla app and website patrons will have even greater access to hoopla’s full collection of over 750,000 eBooks, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, music, comics, and more. Titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. There are hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, with more being added daily. All titles will automatically expire at the end of the lending period and there are no late fees. Hoopla is like having your public library at your fingertips.
In addition to its normal offerings and to provide more content to patrons during this difficult time of sheltering at home, hoopla Digital has curated the hoopla Bonus Borrows Collection. This list of more than 1,000 top titles will not count against the usual borrowing limits for each patron. The collection will be free to libraries and patrons through April 30, 2020.
The grant funding that increased the number of borrows is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
To get started enjoying hoopla’s offerings, visit library.lakecountyca.gov. For more information call the library at 707-263-8817. Please leave a message and an employee will return your call.
—Submitted
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Thompson introduces the Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Act
Today Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) announced the introduction of the Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Act of 2020, a bipartisan bill to ensure businesses who purchase interruption insurance won’t get their claims denied because of major events, such as the Coronavirus pandemic, public safety power shutoffs or evacuations. This insurance compensates businesses for lost revenue when they are forced to close and, in many cases, is the difference between staying open and closing permanently. A statement from Thompson is below.
“Businesses who have purchased business interruption insurance in good faith and are forced to close their doors because of a major event and through no fault of their own deserve to have their claims honored. I have heard from many local businesses in my district who are getting denied and are worried about making necessary expenses, like payroll or rent, during the Coronavirus pandemic. That’s why I introduced the Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Act, a solution to future forced closures to help small business owners and their employees. Forced closures shouldn’t mean the end of the local businesses that power our economy.”
You can go online to read the text of H.R. 6494, the Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Act. Original cosponsors include Representatives Alcee Hastings (D-FL), John Larson (D-CT), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Gil Cisneros (D-CA), and TJ Cox (D-CA).
—Submitted
SAN FRANCISCO
PG&E Pays Property Tax and Franchise Fee Payments to Cities, Counties
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which serves 16 million Californians, is paying property taxes and franchise fees of nearly $386 million this spring to the 50 counties, 246 cities and one district where it owns and operates gas and electric infrastructure.
“Property tax and franchise fee payments are one of the important ways PG&E helps drive local economies and supports essential public services like education and public safety. This year’s payments reflect the substantial local investments we are making in our gas and electric infrastructure to create a safer and more reliable system and to better mitigate against wildfires,” said Jason Wells, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for PG&E.
PG&E received authorization from the bankruptcy court to pay property taxes and franchise fees so this support for local governments and schools would continue uninterrupted, even amid this year’s COVID-19 health crisis.
On April 10, PG&E paid property taxes of nearly $255 million to the 50 counties in which it owns property. The payment covers the period from January 1 to June 30, 2020. Total payments for the tax year of July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 are more than $509 million.
PG&E pays franchise fees to cities and counties for the use of public streets for its gas and electric facilities. The energy company is submitting the fees by April 15.
PG&E’s franchise fee payments totaled more than $131 million – almost $41 million for natural gas and over $90 million for electric service.
PG&E invested about $7 billion last year to enhance and upgrade its gas and electrical infrastructure for safety, reliability and wildfire mitigation across Northern and Central California.
PG&E supports the communities it serves in a variety of ways. Last year, PG&E provided $17.5 million in community grants and investments to enhance local educational opportunities, preserve the environment, and support economic vitality and emergency preparedness. PG&E employees provide thousands of hours of volunteer service in their local communities. The company also offers a broad spectrum of economic development services to help local businesses grow.
—Submitted
