LAKEPORT
FFA Youth receive local scholarship awards
Two Middletown FFA members were recognized with Paul and Otha Alexander Memorial scholarship awards recently at the 2021 Lake County fair.
The $550 winner, Sophia Guzman, who over the course of her six years with 4-H and FFA, has raised a variety of market animals (rabbits, turkeys, and beef). She served as the ASB treasurer and a member of the cheer team at Middletown High School. During her senior year, she also found her calling to be a teacher, particularly a teacher of ag and veterinary science. She is currently enrolled at Santa Rosa Jr College at the start of pursuing that path.
First runner up, Tanner Pachie, who was awarded $350, is also 2021 graduate of Middletown High School, a 4-H alumni, an FFA and ASB officer. He is a seven year veteran of the California High School Rodeo Association and a 4 sport scholar athlete. Tanner is presently in Bozeman pursuing a degree in Kinesiology at Montana State University.
“Both these recipients possess the kind of character, leadership, and community involvement this scholarship is meant to recognize,” commented Peggy Alexander, Coordinator of the Paul and Otha Alexander Memorial Scholarship. This year marks the 21st year of scholarship awards to local graduates.
—Submitted
As of press time Tuesday morning, there are more than 14,500 firefighters making progress on 14 major wildfires and four extended attack wildfires in California. Yesterday, firefighters also responded to 40 new initial attack wildfires across the state.
Of those initial attacks, three wildfires broke out into large or extended attack fires, but progress is being made on all three. Since the beginning of the year, more than two million acres have burned in California. While firefighters continue battling the current major wildfires, CAL FIRE and fire departments across
the state remain prepared for potential more significant wildfires due to critical fire weather.
A Fire Weather Watch is in effect through Thursday for critical fire weather due to gusty wind and low humidity in parts of Modoc County. In Northern California, unusually warm and dry conditions remain through today. Light northwest-west-southwest wind flow through today, with localized gusts of 20 – 25 mph within the mountains. Beginning this week, expect gusty winds and marginally low relative humidity in the coastal range and north eastern part of the state. Lightning potential increases in the upcoming week. Moisture will flow northward ahead of initial wave Tuesday and create a slight chance of drier showers and thunderstorms across the far northwest corner of the state. Slight cooling with higher relative humidity from west to east through tomorrow.
In the southern region, temperatures will remain 5 – 10 degrees above normal through next weekend. The potential for large fire will remain elevated away from the coastal areas through next weekend as hot and very dry conditions continue. Isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms possible over the mountains and deserts of Southern California, east and south of Interstate 15 Wednesday and Thursday.
Are you prepared if a wildfire should strike nearby? Making a quick and safe evacuation is critical to protecting your life and your family. To learn ways to be prepared, visit
www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
—Submitted
CALIFORNIA
More election updates
Californians living in the 15 counties that operate vote centers were able to cast their ballots in person starting Saturday. More than 5.7 million of the state’s 22.2 million active registered voters had already returned their mail-in ballot as of Friday — 53% of which came from Democrats, 26% from Republicans and 20% from no party preference voters, according to Political Data Inc. As candidates look to turbocharge voter outreach in the last week of the campaign, Newsom has a clear financial advantage over his challengers, CalMatters’ campaign money tracker shows: As of Monday, recall opponents had raised nearly $69 million, compared to the $11.6 million raised by recall supporters. Campaign finance reports filed last week put the numbers into even starker relief: From Aug. 1 to Aug. 28, the governor’s anti-recall committee spent $30.2 million, raised $19.8 million and had $17.2 million in the bank, while Elder — who brought in the most money among Newsom’s top challengers — spent $6.2 million, raised $8.6 million and had $4.7 million in cash on hand.
One more election update: State lawmakers on Friday sent to Newsom’s desk a bill that would make permanent California’s pandemic election procedures by sending mail-in ballots to every active registered voter for every election in the state. The proposal passed on a party-line vote: Every lawmaker in favor was a Democrat and every lawmaker opposed was a Republican.
—Emily Hoeven, CALMatters
CALIFORNIA
Hospitals filling up in San Joaquin Valley
Hospitals in the eight-county San Joaquin Valley are running out of available intensive-care beds, the state Department of Public Health said Friday, triggering special “surge” rules that require nearby facilities to accept transfer patients from hospitals that have less than 10% ICU capacity for three straight days. As of Sunday, the San Joaquin Valley region had 8.9% ICU capacity — with more than 53% of its ICU beds filled by COVID patients — while the Greater Sacramento region had 14% ICU capacity, Northern California 21.4%, Southern California 22.2% and the Bay Area 25%, state data show. Although coronavirus hospitalizations and ICU admissions appear to be plateauing statewide, the virus continues to ravage areas with lower vaccination rates — forcing numerous rural California schools to close temporarily, according to EdSource.
- Tim Taylor, executive director of the Small School Districts’ Association: “The majority of small school districts were open last year — most face-to-face — and we had very few cases. The (delta) variant is the real deal, and I think all of us have underestimated its impact on schools.”
As hospitals fill up, California’s nurse shortage is becoming more apparent. More than 20,000 job advertisements for registered nurses were posted in the two-month period ending Aug. 17 — making nursing the most in-demand occupation in the state, according to a Labor Day report from the state Employment Development Department. Meanwhile, a Monday report from the UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care estimated that California is currently short nearly 41,000 full-time equivalent registered nurses — a gap that will likely persist until 2026.
—Emily Hoeven, CALMatters
—Compiled by Ariel Carmona Jr.
