MIDDLETOWN
Acoustic Eidolon returning to Jazzercise Studio
The concert will be held on Thursday, March 3, at 15642 Armstrong St. in Middletown. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.for dinner and socializing and the concert starts at 6:30 p.m. The concert will also kick off Lake County Jazzercise’s Friends and Family Free Weekend, March 4 to March 7, 2022, where anyone is invited to attend any class for free. www.jazzercise.com/friendsandfamily
Acoustic Eidolon, featuring Joe Scott on double-neck guitjo and guitar and Hannah Alkire on cello, are from Colorado. They have graced stages throughout the US, Europe, Australia and Canada with their original mix of folk, classical, Celtic, Latin, and other world-influenced music.
Scott and Alkire came to Lake County for the first time in March of 2016 to give an Acoustic Eidolon concert to raise money for Hope City to rebuild homes lost in the Valley Fire. After the concert ended, they chose to increase the percentage of the event income they donated to Hope City to 100%.
People who attended the concert said they were amazed that these world-class musicians visited our small community. Scott and Alkire said they found the warmth and reception here so positive that they have returned several times since.
“The last three Acoustic Eidolon concerts we have held at my studio have sold out. These joyous musicians share their beautiful music and their lives with the audience in a way that makes everyone feel like friends by evening’s end. I especially love hearing their heartfelt covers and originals in our Jazzercise studio where the wooden building resounds with the warmth of their instruments and voices,” says Lake County Jazzercise owner and instructor, Beth Rudiger.
The concert tickets are $20. Pre-order a locally-catered, buffet dinner (beverage and dessert included) for $25 or a half-sized portion of the same for $15 (see menu below). Wine sales benefitting the Middletown Art Center will be available for cash purchase at the event.
Call Beth at 707-326-1291 or email beth@lcjazz.com to pay and reserve your seat and dinners.
Masks are not required but anyone should feel free to wear them if they choose.
You can listen to Acoustic Eidolon on their website www.acousticeidolon.com . Additional video clips can be found on YouTube.
The dinner will be catered by Bing’s Kitchen and Goddess of the Mountain and will be served buffet-style.
—Submitted
SACRAMENTO
Little Hoover Commission announces support for legislation implementing Its recommendations
The Little Hoover Commission today announced its support for bills that would implement its recommendations on forest management, intimate partner violence, labor trafficking, law enforcement training, occupational licensing, and online meetings:
Forest management
SB 1062 by Senators Mike McGuire, Robert Hertzberg, and Susan Rubio would require Cal Fire to hire additional firefighters to fully staff frontline fire engines as well as add more fuel crews to provide on-the-ground support during fire season, proactively move on defensible space and fire prevention projects, and protect vulnerable communities. The Commission recognized the importance of more funding and staff for long-term forest management in its 2018 report, Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada.
Intimate partner violence
SB 513 by Senator Robert Hertzberg would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop and administer a program that awards grants to homeless shelters to serve the needs of pets for people experiencing homelessness, including shelter, food, and basic veterinary services. Such a program will help survivors of intimate partner violence access lifesaving shelter for themselves and their pets, a recommendation made by the Commission in its 2021 report Beyond the Crisis: A Long-Term Approach to Reduce, Prevent, and Recover from Intimate Partner Violence.
SB 914 by Senator Susan Rubio would require the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, implementing a recommendation from the Commission’s 2021 report Beyond the Crisis: A Long-Term Approach to Reduce, Prevent, and Recover from Intimate Partner Violence.
SB 975 by Senator Dave Min would entitle an alleged debtor to debt relief if they can establish that an alleged creditor’s claim arises from a coerced debt, including debt resulting from duress, intimidation, threat, force, fraud, or exploitation due to domestic violence. Helping survivors of intimate partner violence recover from damage to their credit was recommended by the Commission in its 2021 report Beyond the Crisis: A Long-Term Approach to Reduce, Prevent, and Recover from Intimate Partner Violence.
Labor trafficking
AB 1661 by Assemblymember Laurie Davies would require hair, nail, and skin care, and other related businesses to post a notice in clear view of the public and employees with information about human trafficking hotlines to call for services and support. This requirement would implement a recommendation made by the Commission in its 2020 report, Labor Trafficking: Strategies to Uncover this Hidden Crime.
AB 1820 by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula would establish the Labor Trafficking Unit within Department of Industrial Relations to receive, investigate, and prosecute complaints alleging labor trafficking and take steps to prevent it, implementing a recommendation from the Commission’s 2020 report Labor Trafficking: Strategies to Help Victims and Bring Traffickers to Justice.
AB 2553 by Assemblymembers Timothy Grayson, Dr. Joaquin Arambula, Wendy Carrillo, Jordan Cunningham, Cristina Garcia, Mike Gipson, Ash Kalra, Tom Lackey, Luz Rivas, and Robert Rivas would establish the California Multidisciplinary Alliance to Stop Trafficking Act Task Force to examine collaborative models to combat trafficking, evaluate the state’s progress on this issue, and provide recommendations for further work against human trafficking. The Commission recommended creating a statewide organization designed to strengthen California’s response to human trafficking in tis 2020 report, Human Trafficking: Coordinating a California Response.
AB 2628 by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes would expand the bases on which a child can be adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court to explicitly include children who are victims of labor trafficking. Additionally, the bill would change the name of the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Program to the Human Trafficked Children Program and revise the program to include all children who are victims of human trafficking. Such changes would implement a recommendation made by the Commission in its 2020 report, Labor Trafficking: Strategies to Uncover this Hidden Crime.
Law enforcement training
AB 2429 by Assemblymember Bill Quirk would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to partner with academic researchers to conduct an assessment of existing peace office training requirements and determine how well they are working for peace officers in the field, implementing recommendations made by the Commission in its 2021 report Law Enforcement Training: Identifying What Works for Officers and Communities.
Occupational licensing
AB 1662 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson would allow a prospective applicant that has been convicted of a crime to submit a request for a pre-application determination to a licensing board. The bill would also require the board to determine if the prospective applicant would be disqualified from licensure based on the information submitted with the request and deliver that determination to the prospective applicant. The Commission recommended mitigating barriers licensing applicants face in its 2016 report Occupational Licensing: Strategies to Ease Occupational Licensing Barriers.
Online meetings
AB 1733 by Assemblymember Bill Quirk would amend the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act to allow state boards and commissions to hold meetings entirely by teleconference, while providing a physical location from which members of the public can access the meeting. The bill would also enable board and commission members to participate in meetings remotely without disclosing the locations from which they are participating. Such changes would implement the Commission’s 2021 report, The Government of Tomorrow: Online Meetings.
“These critical bills seek to implement many of our recommendations for good governance, and we look forward to supporting them as they move through the legislative process this year,” said Chairman Pedro Nava.
“We are pleased to support each of these important bills that would help state government efficiently serve all Californians,” said Vice Chairman Sean Varner.
—Submitted
