LAKE COUNTY
Author’s webinar on building resilience to be presented Friday
First 5 Lake County will host a 90-minute webinar this Friday from 10-11:30 a.m. led by author and researcher, Zach Mercurio. Zach is the author of, The Invisible Leader, as well as a speaker and researcher, whose writing has been featured in Psychology Today and Forbes magazine, and his speaking engagement clients include Hewlitt Packard, Ghiradelli, the National Park Service, the Alzheimer’s Association, the University of Notre Dame and many more.
Mercurio will be speaking on the topic of, “Building Resilience on Purpose.” In this session, he will review the science and evidence-based practices of consciously developing a purposeful approach to positively grow through trauma and difficulty. Participants will also learn skills to discern meaningfulness in difficulty and will be able to reflect on and activate their strengths for navigating compassion fatigue and avoiding burnout. This training is made possible by a partnership between Lake County Child Welfare Services and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District and is organized with foster parents and those working with foster and at-risk youth in mind as the core audience, but all are welcome to attend.
Register for the webinar at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftaRcRpWx87qBGrQ3y7SBrTcwCbPp3CscPRwNa6UUZ7k_DpA/viewform
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UKIAH
Bureau of Land Management to oversee prescribed fire in Lake County’s Black Forest
The Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Field Office, in cooperation with CAL FIRE Sonoma Lake Napa Unit, plans to conduct prescribed fire operations in the Black Forest along Soda Bay Road, on the northeast side of Mount Konocti in Kelseyville, Lake County. Pile burn operations are scheduled to start the week of Jan. 24 and may continue periodically through the winter and spring. Burning will take place only when weather and fuel moisture allow for safe and successful burning.
The prescribed fire is part of a shaded fuel break initiated in 2008 and is designed to improve landscape health and to remove hazardous fuels that could feed wildland fires within this wildland-urban interface, where public lands meet urban development. Approximately 18 acres of undergrowth and small trees were hand-thinned by firefighters and piled last summer.
The Black Forest encompasses approximately 200 acres of BLM-managed public lands and supports many sensitive plants and animals as well as important watershed ecosystems, including a pristine Douglas fir forest.
The BLM is committed to keeping public landscapes healthy and productive. More information is available from the BLM Ukiah Field Office at 707-468-4000. Updates will be provided by BLM through its social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter.
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WASHINGTON D.C.
Legislators reintroduce Access Technology Affordability Act to help blind individuals stay in the workforce
Late last week, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) announced the reintroduction of the Access Technology Affordability Act, a bill to ensure that blind people can afford the high-cost access technology that helps them participate in the workforce. The bill creates a refundable tax credit for blind individuals to buy things like screen readers and Braille embossers which are not normally covered by insurance that individuals need to participate in every day workplace tasks.
“Blind individuals deserve the same access to economic opportunity through employment as anyone else in our nation. Sadly, the technology that gives blind people access to the workforce, such as screen readers or Braille note takers, can be prohibitively expensive,” said Thompson. “That’s why I am proud to reintroduce the Access Technology Affordability Act, a bipartisan bill to create a refundable tax credit so blind people can purchase these life-changing technologies and remain competitive in the workforce. This credit is a simple way to ensure broader economic opportunity for blind people in our community and I’m proud to champion this important bill.”
“All Americans deserve the opportunity to earn a living. Unfortunately, almost 70 percent of blind Americans are either unemployed or underemployed given the high cost of access technologies,” said Kelly. “Our legislation will make those tools more accessible and empower blind Americans to fully participate in the U.S. job market, a win for them and a win for America.”
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “My wife, my two daughters, and I are all blind, and the children’s technology needs will increase as they complete their education and start their careers. My family is not unique; blind people across the nation face this challenge, and this legislation will provide critical assistance. We thank and commend Chairman Thompson for continuing to be a champion for this act, which will help give blind people the technology they need to live the lives they want.”
You can read the full text of the Access Technology Affordability Act, first introduced by Thompson in April 2019 by visiting this link: https://mikethompson.house.gov/sites/mikethompson.house.gov/files/THOMCA_004_xml.pdf
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