LAKE COUNTY
$9,000 in scholarships for graduation seniors
This month, June of 2023, the Konocti Women’s Service Club (KWSC) presented eleven scholarships totaling $9,000 to graduating seniors in Lake County High Schools who were applying for college entrance and vocational schools.
Scholarships of $1,000 each went to Jasmine Stowers, Nancy Medina, and Jadan Martinez of Clearlake High; Lauren Parker, Madelyn Madrzyk, Filemon Sotelo and Ari Fossa of Kelseyville High; Araceli Rubio and Avery Adamcyk of Lower Lake High. A $500 scholarship each was presented to Mariana Magaria and Nadine Mahlen of Konocti Educational Center.
The KWSC worked hard to raise the scholarship funds by holding Christmas gift basket raffles and a successful Barn Dance the past year. To all who purchased the raffle tickets and/or attended our Barn Dance, we thank you for your contributions. You have assisted our young students in their quest for additional education and training to further their plans for their careers and future life.
—Submitted
CALIFORNIA
California’s IT disaster isn’t over
Policy nerds might notice the date on California’s most recent comprehensive financial report — 2021.
It’s not a typo. Instead, it’s another consequence of the FI$Cal fiasco, an IT disaster that is costing millions and delaying critical information.
The project was launched in 2005 to bring the state’s budgeting and finance systems under one umbrella. Its scope was expanded in 2006 to combine accounting, budgeting, cash management and vendor contracts.
Despite ongoing problems, a bill passed last year deemed the project complete as of July 2022 for certain reporting purposes. That means the California Department of Technology, one of the agencies managing the transition, no longer has to report on some key markers of progress.
And according to a Department of FI$Cal statement, “the system is working for California.” It also noted that it added 151 departments and 14,000 users since its launch, processing $421 billion in spending each year.
- Lisa Gray, information officer for the department: “The State Treasurer’s Office uses the FI$Cal system to process approximately $3.1 trillion in state government banking transactions annually and the Department of Finance uses the system to prepare the State Budget each year. Departments are paying their bills and balancing their budgets every day using the FI$Cal system.”
But in January 2022, the State Auditor’s office called out the problematic transition to FI$Cal for delaying “critical state financial reporting” for three years. The auditor noted that state bond agreements and federal funding require the reports, although some federal deadlines were extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked last week about the continued delay, the auditor’s office pointed to its same statement from 2022:
- “The State’s ability to publish accurate and timely financial statements is important for the State to sustain the trust of financial markets and maintain a high credit rating. A high credit rating helps ensure access to low-interest debt. If the State suffers a downgraded credit rating, it could substantially increase borrowing costs, affecting the State’s ability to pay for debt-financed projects such as schools and levees.”
The comprehensive financial report from 2021 — the latest available — marked the fourth year in a row that the report missed its deadline.
In her transmittal letter, Controller Malia Cohen says that “multiple departments have struggled to submit financial reports” to the controller’s office that are timely and accurate and to reconcile their FI$Cal accounting records.
But she says that efforts underway, in coordination with other state departments, will lead to “measurable advancements in improving timely financial reporting.”
—Sameea Kamal
WASHINGTON
USDA recognizes National Pollinator Week
This week the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is recognizing National Pollinator Week through the continued commitment and support for pollinator health and research. Pollinator species, such as bees, other insects, birds and bats play a critical role in producing more than 100 crops grown in the United States. Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $18 billion in value to agricultural crops annually.
USDA recognizes the critical role pollinators play in agriculture and supports pollinator health through research, data collection, diagnostic services, monitoring, pollinator habitat enhancement programs and pollinator health investments. USDA will release the “2023 Annual Strategic Pollinator Priorities Report” later this year outlining USDA pollinator research and programmatic priorities, focusing both on managed and wild pollinators. Identifying pollinator research priorities and practices enables USDA, partners and communities to make informed decisions when supporting pollinator health in the agricultural systems, ecosystems and economies that depend on pollinators.
Last month, USDA released a three-year Science and Research Strategy, which establishes a framework to transform the U.S. food system and support our Nation’s farmers, ranchers, producers and foresters. The framework includes efforts focusing on pollinator health research, education and Extension priorities. This year’s Annual Strategic Pollinator Priorities Report reflects input from Tribal and Hispanic/Latino community members and complements the USDA Science and Research Strategy. USDA is committed to ensuring our scientific research priorities reflect the needs of the diverse communities we serve.
To celebrate National Pollinator Week, USDA will host a pollinator exhibits exposition on Friday, June 23, 2023 (no rain date scheduled), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (EDT) on the Jaime L. Whitten lawn, on Jefferson Drive, SW between 14th and 12th Street, SW (next to the Smithsonian Metro Station), in conjunction with USDA’s Farmers Market. The event is an opportunity for the public to explore and learn about pollinator health and how these powerhouses feed the world.
Learn more about USDA pollinator work at www.usda.gov/pollinators.
—Submitted
