LAKEPORT
First 5 Lake now accepting external evaluator qualifications
For 25 years, First 5 Lake has funded valuable community services benefiting young children and their families in using funds derived from CA Proposition 10’s voter-mandated tax on tobacco products. First 5 Lake Commission is seeking an independent evaluation specialist to conduct the annual evaluation and reports of the Commission’s programs, as well as to undertake a review of the Commission’s grantees reporting.
Instructions for those interested in applying and the full Request for Qualifications (RFQ) packet can be found at www.firstfivelake.org. The deadline to submit qualifications is extended to Sept. 18, 2024, at 5 p.m.
If you have questions or would like further information, please contact the First 5 Lake office at 707-263-6169.
—Submitted
LAKEPORT
Celebrate where we live. Biodiversity Walk at Rodman Preserve and Open House
The Lake County Land Trust is pleased to announce a partnership with the Lake County Library in celebrating the National Endowment of the Arts NEA BIG READ program in partnership with Arts Midwest. On Sunday September 15, from 9 to 2 P. M. the preserve (6350 Westlake Rd.) will be open to adults and families, who will receive a free copy of the book, The Bear, by Andrew Krivak and enjoy the outdoor beauty of ‘Where we live.’
A guided nature walk at 9 a.m. will be led by Redbud Audubon’s Society’s naturalist, Donna Mackiewicz. This walk will coincide with Biodiversity Week sponsored by California Academy of Sciences. To celebrate the diversity at the preserve, Donna will be recording, with the help of those attending, every type of species seen with the goal of reaching 30+ different plants, animals, insects, and trees.
Water and light snacks will be provided, or visitors are welcome to bring a lunch to enjoy on the shaded porch of our Nature Center. Along with the 9am walk, Land Trust volunteers will be available to accompany walking groups to talk about some of the special aspects of “Where We Live.”
For more information visit: https://www.lakecountylandtrust.org/come-celebrate-where-we-live
—Submitted
SACRAMENTO
Newsom, Bonta warn locals on housing
Housing regulators have made an example of Elk Grove.
That, at least, was the message of a press conference Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta heralding the resolution of a lengthy legal tussle over a homeless housing project.
In spring 2023, the state sued the Sacramento suburb for denying a subsidized 67-unit project intended for families at risk of homelessness, arguing that violated a state law that requires the automatic approval of certain multifamily housing projects. The development has since been approved for a separate location outside the city’s historic Old Town neighborhood.
But in the legal settlement the city agreed to permit another affordable housing project in a “highest resource” part of town and to pay the state’s legal bills. The city was also given homework: For the next five years, Elk Grove will have to submit monthly reports to state housing regulators on any affordable housing proposals.
Bonta presented the agreement as a cautionary tale for other cities who have (or might consider) flouting state housing law.
- Bonta: “Whether you are Huntington Beach or Elk Grove or Woodside or Pasadena, whatever city you are … you will comply one way or the other.”
Both Bonta and Newsom have prioritized punishing and making examples of “NIMBY” cities. The governor’s administration recently waded into a local battle over a mixed-income apartment project in Beverly Hills.
At the press conference, Newsom also disclosed that he would sign a bill to force cities that fail to plan for enough new housing to pay at least $10,000 per month.
In other Capitol news:
Labor priority: Though lawmakers have not been as eager to pass labor bills since 2023’s “hot labor summer,” the Legislature still advanced several that now await Newsom’s decision, writes CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang. That includes a bill that bans employers from forcing workers to attend anti-union meetings. The National Labor Relations Board has allowed these “captive audience” meetings for decades, but the board’s general counsel under President Joe Biden has argued they are often used to intimidate employees. Business groups are pushing back against the proposal, saying it violates employers’ free speech rights. Read more about the bill in Jeanne’s story.
New Republicans: The California GOP, which has been adding new voters while Democrats are losing some, picked up a former legislator Wednesday: Gloria Romero, who rose to Democratic majority leader in the state Senate. She announced her move at the Capitol with GOP legislative and party leaders and echoed her concerns, going back to 2021, that the Democratic Party is no longer looking out for working people. Romero is the second significant switch: Last month, Marie Alvarado-Gil of Modesto became a Republican, reducing the Democratic supermajority in the state Senate and causing a ruckus.
—Lynn La, CALMatters
