LAKE COUNTY
Local International Overdose Awareness Day tribute event
August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, the cause of more deaths in the US than breast cancer, guns and car accidents combined. Lake County’s death rate due to drug use is more than 4 times higher than the state of California’s.
To honor Lake County lives lost to overdose, and to support overdose prevention activism, Hope Rising and SafeRx are bringing an IOAD tribute event on August 31 from 10 am to 5 pm, with speakers at 12:30 pm, in Library Park, Lakeport. Lake County Behavioral Health, Tribal Health, and Public Health, along with Tobacco Free North Coast, Redwood Community Services, and other local agencies, will be providing information and access to their resources. To highlight the grievous losses, community members who have lost loved ones due to overdose are invited to pay tribute to them by creating a poster board headstone at the event, to be placed alongside others who have suffered similar losses.
SafeRx will also be providing trainings in Narcan, a life saving overdose reversal drug. In addition to remembrance of those whose lives ended prematurely, the purpose of this event is to overcome the stigma often associated with overdose, and to stimulate conversations around the challenges of addiction with key agencies and other community members. Event partners will provide education on the science of addiction, Lake County’s overdose statistics, and guidance on how to access local support resources.
Hope Rising Lake County is a nonprofit that mobilizes partnerships and activities that support community health and wellness. SafeRx is an initiative of Hope Rising that aims to reduce overdose deaths by providing education and resources in Lake County.
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Accredited Teaching Credential program recruits aspiring teachers
Lake County’s teaching credential program Teach Lake County Program (TLC) was recently accredited by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) for its multiple subject teaching credential.
TLC is a partnership between Lake and Mendocino County Offices of Education, and previously operated as a satellite program of the North Coast School of Education (NCSE).
Brock Falkenberg, Lake County Superintendent of Schools said, “We are thrilled to be providing a local, high-quality educational opportunity for Lake and Mendocino county residents to earn their teaching credential.”
The TLC program offers a pathway for people with bachelor’s degrees to obtain their teaching credential in multiple subject (elementary school) or mild/moderate special education.
“TLC develops teachers who are committed to the community and have the skills and perspectives necessary to support our kids,” Jamie Buckner-Bridges, Director of Teach Lake County at the Lake County Office of Education said.
TLC is recruiting for its 5th cohort. This class of students will begin in January 2022.
“We’ve tried to solve the local teacher shortage by looking outward to recruit and train, and it hasn’t been effective,” Buckner-Bridges said. “Teach Lake County provides a different approach. We are a local program, developed and led by local educators, that provides opportunities to local residents”
TLC’s mild/moderate special education credential is still operated through NCSE. TLC expects to receive its accreditation from CTC for the special education credential as soon as the State of California finalizes the new special education teaching credential curriculum requirements.
If you are interested in earning your teaching credential through the Teach Lake County program, visit lakecoe.org/TLC
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LAKEPORT
Regional Transportation Survey: Resident feedback sought
The Lake Area Planning Council (APC) is updating the Lake County Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Active Transportation Plan (ATP) and wants to hear from members of the community and stakeholders about transportation needs, deficiencies and mobility barriers/challenges.
The RTP is a long-range planning document covering a 20-year time span, with short- and long-term transportation projects across all modes of transportation, including motorized, active transportation, and public transit. It promotes a safe and efficient transportation system and establishes regional goals that support mobility, economic and health goals of the region. The updated RTP is scheduled to be adopted in December 2021.
The ATP serves as the non-motorized component of the RTP and is the regional vision for improving the bicycle and pedestrian network.
The public is invited to visit the APC interactive website and fill out the survey to help plan for the future of your community: https://lakeapc.mysocialpinpoint.com/.
Survey questions include: What at the greatest needs for the region’s transportation system? What improvements will help community members get around? What barriers need to be addressed?
For questions or comment, please contact John Speka, spekaj@dow-associates.com or call (707) 263-7799. Visit www.lakeapc.org for more information.
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SACRAMENTO
State Supreme Court upholds death penalty
The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected an attempt to make it harder for a jury to impose the death penalty — a direct blow to Newsom, who last year took the unprecedented step of urging the court to change the state’s application of capital punishment, citing a process “infected by racism.” However, the court’s decision also suggests the case is far from closed: In addition to noting that state lawmakers could consider changes to make the death penalty fairer, the justices also said future cases that rely on different legal arguments could potentially render California’s death penalty process unconstitutional. For the time being, the decision from the state’s highest court preserves the sentences for the 699 inmates currently on Death Row — though Newsom in 2019 said he would not carry out in executions while in office.
The ruling came a day after the state Supreme Court rejected another appeal from the Newsom administration — this one seeking to overturn a lower court decision requiring the Department of State Hospitals to promptly provide treatment for criminal defendants found mentally incompetent to stand trial. A state appeals court found that as of 2017, those defendants were held in county jails for an average of 86 days before being transferred to a hospital. The ruling upheld by the state’s high court would require California to cut that down to 28 days starting in January.
—Emily Hoeven, CALMatters
—Compiled by Ariel Carmona Jr.
