Denise Rushing's Blog

Upcoming Events--March 2009

2009-03-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

Upcoming opportunities for citizen input, shaping the future of Lake County:

March 11, 6-8PM: first Mt Konocti Master Plan public workshop. County staff is inviting broad-based participation in the creation of a Master Plan before the trails on Mt. Konocti are opened to the public. The first meetings will take place in the BOS Chambers in the Courthouse (255 N. Forbes) on Wednesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 25, both from 6-8PM: everyone is welcome! For more information contact the Public Services Department at 262-1618 or visit www.preservekonocti.org.
A downloadable printable flyer: http://www.preservekonocti.org/publicmtg0309.pdf

March 11, 6-8:30PM: fourth Blueprint Planning Program community workshop in Lucerne at the Alpine Senior Center 3985 Country Club Drive. This is one of five community workshops sponsored by the Lake County/City Area Planning Council as part of Lake County 2030, a regional Blueprint Planning Program intended to formulate a long range vision for local government planning and policies over the next 20 years, particularly regarding land use and transportation. Participants will learn about specific growth issues and then share ideas through small group activities and discussion. This is your chance to influence the future direction of our community!

March 14, 10AM-12PM: fifth and final Blueprint Planning Program community workshop. In Middletown at the Calpine Visitor Center, 15500 Central Park Road.

We hope to see you there!

Celebrating renewable energy in Lake County!

2009-03-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

Read about it here:
lakeconews.com.

More Inauguration Photos

2009-01-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

enjoy

Inauguration Day: January 20, 2009

2009-01-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

The estimates of two million people were low. Most could not get in: perhaps double that number were at the Capitol Mall today!

I am overcome by the sheer jubilation and numbers of people here. We woke up at 4:30 am, left Alexandria VA at 5:30, sausaged ourselves on metro (stop and go, mostly stop) for two and a half hours, faced extraordinary crowds, and encountered NO volunteers to help with crowd control. Despite that, the crowd was remarkably well-behaved. Without volunteers and with some of the crowd management missteps in the set-up, it could have easily been a disaster had the crowd not found a way to self-manage.

After metro, we waited another 3 hours in the Blue-ticket line to see the inauguration—though it was less a “line” and more like a river of humanity, pressed together so close that a dropped mitten became a major incident. We wondered how Wanda, Tony and Cliff were faring over at the Purple ticket gate? I was sure we all shared the bitter cold: even the warmth of the nearby bodies did not stop the inevitable numbness setting into fingers, toes and any exposed skin. We were all in SUCH a good mood, though...singing in the crush of people. Today is OUR day, after all, we are taking our country back and adults are in charge again and the rule of law will be restored. Hope reigns.

Once inside the event venue, the festivities began without any waiting… this meant there were thousands upon thousands with tickets still outside waiting to get in who would miss the event altogether. The fact that there wasn’t a riot at this point was amazing.

As the dignitaries were introduced, a strategically placed big screen treated the crowd to a preview of who would soon enter the venue. Later that evening, as I watched the pre-recorded inauguration on Tivo, I can tell there were moments that were either ignored by the media or not adequately appreciated.

First, there were few comments about who was cheered and who wasn’t. The crowd was surprisingly restrained when President Bush and Laura Bush were introduced… most people did NOT boo—perhaps a few close to the ABC and MSNBC cameras did, it sounded a lot louder on TV than in real life. And, even though this president was clearly unpopular among those attending this event, the comments around us were more relief than anger at the outgoing president In fact, the most negative response of all was reserved for Joseph Lieberman—perhaps loyalty means more than disagreement over policy. Lieberman scored a even more negative response from the crowd than Dick Cheney, who engendered a modest amount of restraint with his (convenient?) wheelchair: there were some side comments about how crass it might be to boo someone in a wheelchair. Here, democracy flirts with boorishness, those around commented on how allowing our country to torture might be worth a few boos even if the guy is in a wheelchair. It was clear that most folks intended to celebrate the new administration, and the cheers that erupted at the first glimpse of Obama on screen proved this.

Next, no matter what the pundits say or don’t say: the inaugural address was spot on with the crowd, and in my opinion, with the international community watching around the world. Here in the shadow of the Capitol, we were cheering and in tears. Obama seemed to strike the right balance between acknowledging the dire situation we are in and the his reference to dark storm clouds gathering suggested that we have some particularly difficult times ahead, which we all appreciate and experiencing back home. Those around me were saying Amen! To Key phrases like “putting away childish things” and “restore science” and “Ready to lead once more” and Obama’s reference to the “values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism” I, for one, greatly appreciated the reference to the restoration of the “rule of law” and his unwillingness to sacrifice our constitution for expediency, his acknowledgement that we are a member of a world community and our needs will not be met through the oppression of others. Obama made known his priorities: peace, energy, economy, education and healthcare. His emphasis on giving all the opportunity to pursue their full measure of happiness was particularly refreshing: acknowledging that the concentration of wealth has created such huge injustice in recent years. He focused on the concepts of personal responsibility, hard work and our task of growing abundance and prosperity for all, while acknowledging that the one thing we control is our willingness to serve: and the nobility of devoting oneself to service, to an effort greater than ourselves. This was a great blend of reality and hope.

Fortuitously, after the swearing in, we left the inauguration and walked around the capitol just in time to see the Obamas escorting the Bushes down the Capitol steps for George and Laura Bush’s sendoff off in a helicopter. The TV pundits did not comment on the song that erupted in the massive crowd: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey hey goodbye!” but in replays of the scene, you can clearly hear it on ABC’s coverage of the event and also at about 30 seconds into this youtube clip :

goodbye helicopter ride

This impromptu singing was much louder in person than on TV. I felt an odd mixture of delight and bit uneasy about the response… (I am glad to see him go too) Was this democracy or a baseball game with the opposing pitcher being removed from the mound? It seems the two have been merged together somehow. Yet, how else might a crowd celebrate their glee?

At this point, maybe 2:00 pm, after no breakfast and being on our feet for nine hours: we were cold, we were tired, we needed to pee and we encountered a 30 person long line at a Starbucks on the corner of 5th and New Jersey. We decided that a warm coffee would be worth the wait. We would at least get inside for a respite. In what I consider a miracle, Starbucks was also serving oatmeal with nuts, raisins and brown sugar that afternoon. I can honestly say that this is the second best meal I have ever eaten (the first being the soggy hospital hamburger that I consumed after the birth of my son ). This simple dish reminded me that food is sacred, and this food was a godsend: warm, hearty, filling and oh so delicious. Unfortunately, the bathroom was closed to the public, not even customers were allowed in.

A final thought on the overwhelming crowds:
Barack Obama's concert was handled so well on Sunday... it is too bad that the same folks were not apparently planning the crowd control and services for the inauguration!! We needed many volunteers to handle the record crowds on this inauguration day. The WORSE situation was this: nearly every bathroom and porta-pottie anywhere within walking distance of the capitol building was LOCKED, no, check that: PADLOCKED--virtually all of them at Union Station, a prime metro stop suddenly closed due to crowds and another three hours of walking and lines to find a way home.

The lack of attention to basic human needs was absolutely appalling… hotels with their armies of employees out front to prevent crowds from using their bathrooms, even the elderly and disabled were turned away.

What happened??? How could dozens of facilities lined up for use by the crowds all be locked, all except one which was in disgustingly dire condition? No matter where folks walked, they found the same situation: and the crowds were not allowed back into the standing areas where other portable facilities were located. Hundreds of thousand of people there--all waiting since the early hours of the morning, all dressed up and literally nowhere to go. To make matters worse, capitol police were giving misdirection to those in need of facilities... directing them to local restaurants or the Union Station—they were no help at all. I couldn't help but feel that this is the last gesture by the Bush administration: the planning for basic needs was clearly abysmal. In addition, the lack of trash cans resulted in a Capitol area covered in litter after the event: I’m not sure who was in charge of this part, but it wasn’t handled well.

All that said: people were remarkably upbeat. It was a jubilant day. For example, in the midst of all of the chaos, one of the street vendors gave Loretta a free OBAMA button. The gentleman’s smile and act of kindness shone through like the sun… There were thousands reaching out to each other: all were singing, celebrating and filled with a growing realization that we were all a part of history.

Washington DC, Day 1

2009-01-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

Wow. That is the one word I would use to describe our first day in Washington DC. The entire city is abuzz with the energy of this upcoming inauguration—from the airport to the downtown. I am struck by the diversity of those arriving, all races, ages…. and particularly the number of young people and families with children. Thousands stream in, and everyone is bundled up in their winter gear-it is COLD here. Faces are absolutely beaming with the excitement of the event , mine too. Loretta and I decided that we would attend the Sunday public concert, joining thousands upon thousands in a celebration of America. This proved to be a providential decision (more on that below).

We are staying at a well-stocked condo near the pentagon, a great location—and courtesy of Wanda’s ingenuity, we scored a great price too.

Our first full day in the city fell on a Sunday, so I thought that bus transportation to the Metro train into DC might prove to be tricky. Thankfully, in this area, buses run frequently on Sunday. Not only that, we are located right on the bus line and have two directions to choose from—one heads to the Pentagon Metro station and the other heads to Crystal City Station. This first venture out, we had only waited a few minutes when the first bus appeared and soon, we found ourselves at the Crystal City Metro station, buying a ticket. (Metro is very similar to BART)

Our first order of business yesterday was to pick up our tickets to the inauguration Tuesday and the California Bash that evening. The Capitol South metro station is only a few steps from the Cannon Office building, home of Congressman Mike Thompson’s office. We quickly found his office at 231 Cannon and met with Mike Thompson’s aide, Jonathan Birdsong. There, we chatted a bit about the happenings of the week in DC and what is going on in Lake County.

Next stop was the Hyatt Regency where we picked up our tickets to the California Bash at the Air and Space Museum that evening. The theme seemed appropriately named: “Flying to the Moon” The Hyatt experienced some trouble with its security system—alarms went off in the lobby with a female voice over the loudspeaker urged us to “Please exit the building immediately”, even as live people were announcing: “false alarm, false alarm, come back inside!” Naw. we had our tickets… enough of the Hyatt. I noticed that even with alarms-- no one seemed scared even—everyone is celebrating here. Fear? Too much excitement to let fear intervene.

At this point, we embarked on our two mile walk toward the Lincoln Memorial. Each block more and more people gathered, and larger and larger numbers of street vendors appeared selling t-shirts and buttons and hats and calendars and gloves and hand warmers. The brisk walk and the jovial crowds created an atmosphere of pure celebration—all drawn to this first event. Barack Obama and his family would be there..

We did not make it all the way to the Lincoln memorial—though we could see the concert stage in the distance from our vantage at the base of the Washington memorial. The crowds were massive. We felt drawn to come and even more drawn to stay.

Fortunately large audio speakers and video screens gave us a view of the stage. The opening invocation by Gene Robinson had us all crying… you can view it here (it was left off of HBO “We Are One” special, too bad):

Invocation Link

Wow. Wow. Loretta and I agreed that if we saw nothing else in Washington, that experience would have been worth the trip. What an invocation… what an experience with our fellow Americans. This common experiece cemented our love of democracy, our love of who we are as a people and that we are called to renew our country and our land in these difficult times

Then, Barack Obama and his family were introduced. Amazingly, they were there and with us for the entire concert! The music, the readings… Barack and Michele and their children were not only celebrating with us, they were celebrating US! From time to time, the camera would pan over to Barack and Michele, singing the songs we all love by Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, john Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, William, and so many more. The event ended with a powerful speech from Barack Obama—setting expectations for the difficult task ahead.

We all have work to do.

On the way back, I bought a red Obama 44th President ski hat to keep my ears warm on Inauguration Day. Our tickets have us in the “Blue Standing” area—that puts us to the right side facing the dias where the president will be sworn in Tuesday morning.

That’s it for now.

--Denise

Woohoo!

2008-12-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

I will be heading to Washington DC to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th 2009. I'll plan to blog about the event right here, including pics and video (if allowed). There are a few other Lake County folks attending as well, so we will be well represented at this historic event.

Announcement: Community Wildfire Protection Planning

2008-10-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On behalf of the Lake County Firesafe Council and the Board of Supervisors, I would like to invite you to participate in Community Wildfire Protection Planing in communities all around Lake County. This is an important task that absolutely requires community involvement to be successful. Details are posted below

Some communities, like South County, have very strong efforts already underway and look for additional citizen involvement, others (many right here in District 3) are developing a new plan for their area. All are vital to improving firefighter safety, to protecting property and, most importantly, saving lives. In all cases, our communities could use the additional funding and citizen involvement enabled by a good Community Wildfire Protection Plan. So please join me, the Lake County Firesafe Council, and your community leaders in attending the meeting in your area. Together will develop our local Community Wildfire Protection plan.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Denise Rushing

P.S. We could use your help in publicizing these meetings-- more information including downloadable posters are available at the Lake County FEC website
HERE.

Date & Time	Included Communities	Location
Monday, October 20, 6:30 pm	Lake Pillsbury, Blue Lakes, Upper Lake	Odd Fellow’s Hall 9480 Main Street, Upper Lake
Tuesday, October 21, 6:30 pm	Middletown, Hidden Valley	Calpine Visitors Center, 15500 Central Park Rd., Middletown
Thursday, October 23, 6:30 pm	Scotts Valley, Lakeport	Scotts Valley Women’s Clubhouse 2298 Hendricks Rd.
Friday, October 24, 6:30 pm	Nice, Lucerne	Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 10th & Country Club Dr., Lucerne
Saturday, October 25, 2:00 pm	Cobb Mountain	Cobb Mt. Lions Club Community Center (Little Red Schoolhouse) 15790 Bottle Rock Rd.
Sunday, October 26, 2:00 pm	Spring Valley, Double Eagle	Spring Valley Home Owners’ Association 3000 Wolf Creek Rd.
Monday, October 27, 6:30 pm	Jago Bay, Lower Lake, Clearlake	Brick Hall 16374 Main Street, Lower Lake
Tuesday, October 28, 6:30 pm	Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks, Paradise Cove, Kono Tayee	Live Oak Senior Center 12502 Foothill Blvd., Clearlake Oaks
Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm	Soda Bay, Rivieras, Buckingham	Riviera Elementary School Cafeteria 10505 Fairway Drive
Thursday, October 30, 6:30 pm	Finley, Kelseyville	American Legion Hall Corner of Gaddy Lane & 2nd Street, Kelseyville

Doors open ½ hour before meeting start time. Meetings last approximately 2.5 hours.
All Lake County citizens are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting nearest their home and properties.

For more information, visit Firesafe Council Website,
contact Mireya Turner at 263-2368, or email LakeFSC@gmail.com.
For information on meeting logistics, please contact Linda Juntunen at 263-4180 ext. 16.

Community Wildfire Protection

2008-08-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

In October, we will begin meetings throughout the communities of Lake County to develop community wildfire protection plans. I will post dates and locations here.

Stay Tuned!!!

Upper Lake Town Hall

2008-06-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

I invite citizens of Upper Lake to a community town hall meeting: .

Weds, June 18, 2008, 4pm
Upper Lake High School Cafeteria

Also planning to attend will be
--Kelly Cox, County Administrator,
--Eric Seeley, Deputy Redevelopment Director,
--Sheriff Rod Mitchell,
--Brent Siemer, Public Works,
--Pam Francis, County Water Resources.

Nylander Park Grand Opening

2008-06-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Clearlake Oaks Nylander Park Grand Opening dedicaton and celebration took place May 31, 2008! The park includes over 38,000 square feet of lawn, a variety of beautiful trees, a meandering cobbled path, with many places to sit and enjoy the park, 400 feet of rock wall that was modeled after the rock wall along clearlake.

Here are some photos of the event:

Lake County public Services Parks Staff

The Nylander Family:

Members of the Local Lake County Fiddlers:

It took a whole community to make this happen. The heart that went into the planning and creating of this space was wonderful to behold. Special Thanks goes to:

County Public Services Director Kim Clymire and the County Parks staff for building such a stunning place: the most beautiful community park in all of Lake County;

The Community of Clearlake Oaks, for volunteering time to prepare the grounds, plan the park, and donate their time, talent and treasure to making it a reality

Individuals in our Lake County community who collectively donated over $15000 to purchase the trees, benches, lamps and other park amenities,and the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association who donated an additional $5000.

Northshore Community Town Hall Meetings

2008-01-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

I invite members of the Northshore communities to upcoming community town hall meetings. The meeting dates and times for the individual communities of Clearlake Oaks, Blue Lakes and Lucerne have been scheduled and are listed below. In March and April, I plan to sponsor Community town Halls in Upper Lake and Nice (times and place to be announced).

Clearlake Oaks:
Sunday, January 20, 2008, 4pm, Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge (at the junction of highway 20 and highway 53)

Blue Lakes:
Sunday, January 27, 2008, 4pm, Pine Acres Resort ( 5328 Blue Lakes Road, Blue Lakes )

Lucerne:
Saturday February 9, 2008, 1 pm, Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive, Lucerne

Nice, Upper Lake to be scheduled, dates and locations to be announced.

For more information and here are links to flyers for the two january meetings (requires adobe acrobat reader to view):
Clearlake Oaks Flyer
Blue Lakes Flyer
Lucerne Flyer

I look forward to seeing you there!

Denise

Nylander Park

2007-09-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

Many citizens of Clearlake Oaks have been working with county officials and the local community to design Nylander Park for the community. All envision this park as a highly visible stop for visitors to Lake County in the town known as the "Gateway to Clear Lake." Fellow citizens have been volunteering their time and energies to both the the design effort and the site work. It is inspiring to see how the community has come together to renew their town--and Nylander Park is an important step.

This is an opportunity for you to help. Perhaps you might consider remembering a loved one by donating a memorial to this community park? Or planting a tree for the Lake County and Clearlake Oaks community? Here is your chance!

Buy Local Food

2007-07-12T00:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

In these times, one of the most persistant and significant actions we as individuals can take is this: buy local food.

By buying local food, we reduce our personal impact on the climate, we reduce the amount of energy needed to grow our food and we help our own farmers and the local economy too. I encourage you to pledge to buy a portion of your food locally, say one pound a week. By local, I mean grown as close to home as possible, within 100 miles or preferably less. Whether you visit a farmers market, or a local store, or are able to grow your own or buy directly from the farmer--you eliminate miles of transportation energy embedded in the food you eat.

As an added incentive, I recently discovered that by doing this, you could also win a prize!
I encourage you to join me in taking a local food pledge (pledging to eat at least 1 pound a week from local sources). If you are willing to do this, please visit this link:

As a next step, perhaps those of you in Lake County who have joined the LakeFuture group list can begin to share their favorite local food choices with one another, or send them to me and i will post them on the www.lakefuture.org website. There, I will also post the link to the food pledge site and any other good local food ideas you send me.

Denise

P.S. The top prize of $6000 worth of landscaping would create a great garden. (If you win that prize, and don't have room for a garden, let me know and I am sure we can help you find a fledgling community group that could use the help.) Spread the word!

Upcoming Nice Town Hall Meeting

2007-06-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hi All:

I need your help getting the word out regarding the Nice Town Hall meeting. Details here:

Thursday June 7th at 5:30 pm
Sons of Italy Hall
2817 Hwy 20, Nice

Topics Include:
--Community Redevelopment
--Public Safety / Local Law Enforcement
--Community Issues and Questions
--County Project Updates
--Community Parks
--Open Forum
Free tables will be set up for local groups, businesses or organizations wishing to distribute literature.

Also Attending:
--Kelly Cox, County Administrator
--Eric Seely, Deputy Director Redevelopment
--Kim Clymire, Public Services
--Rod Mitchell, Sheriff

Many thanks to the Sons of Italy for donating the space for this community meeting! For more information, contact 263-2368 or email deniser@co.lake.ca.us

Please help me get the word out to residents of Nice. Thanks for your help!

Many Thanks

2007-05-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all those who have sent me cards and emails following the death of my domestic partner, Renee Shields, on May 12th. Your support has been overwhelming and in very much appreciated during this difficult time.

In gratitude,

Denise

In NICE--STUFF and more stuff

2007-04-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

This just in from Jeff Lynch, Water Resource Technician at the Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians of California:

Here are the totals of Saturdays Cleanup on Pyle Rd. We had 35 Volunteers from the Nice Community and Robinson Rancheria show up
* 81 Tires
* Vehicle Transmission
* A Large Walk-in Cooler Door
* 15' Long Steel I-Beam
* 5 - 55 Gallon Steel Drums
* 30 Gallons of Motor Oil
* 3 - Stoves
* 1 - Refrigerator
* 6 - Car Batteries
* 1 - High Chair
* Large Quantities of Bed Springs and Barbwire
* 30 CYD - Dumpster was filled with Trash
* 1 - Stolen Rental Truck that was abandoned was towed away by Rich's Towing
* 4 - Abandoned Vehicles Information was documented by California Department of Fish & Game to be removed and investigated for filing charges.
* 2 - Abandoned Vehicle Trailers
* 1 - Abandoned Camper
* Supporting Documentation that was recovered from trash will be used for investigation and to file charges.
* Other Evidence of Illegal Activities observed within the area is under investigation. (Confidential)

For more information Contact Warden Lynette Shimek of The California Department of Fish & Game @ LSHIMEK@dfg.ca.gov

Illegal Dumping Presentation to the Board of Supervisors

2007-04-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here is part 1 of the Illegal dumping presentation made at the Board of supervisors on 4/17/07. If you would like to see the whole 50 minutes, in 10 minute increments, Click Here or on the additional links below. Q: Why 5 parts? A: YouTube limits uploads to 10 minute segments.

Enjoy.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Lucerne Town Hall

2007-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who attended the Lucerne townhall meeting on February 17, 2007! Results of the survey and summary of the town hall notes are here:

"Quick Survey" Results
Meeting Notes--top issues and comments

As a result of this meeting, the County will conduct a clean-up of Morrison creek this Saturday. Further creek management and clean-up will be determined by citizen involvement in the CRMP (Coordinated Resource Management Planning) group. The first meeting of the Lucerne CRMP is tonight at 6:30 pm at the Lucerne Senior Center.

Clearlake Oaks Town Hall Summary

2007-02-08T05:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

Thank you to everyone who attended the Clearlake Oaks townhall meeting on January 24, 2007! Your energy, enthusiasm and especially your presence energized those engaged in County service roles. The community enabled a number of decisions this past week and are excited to move forward on projects and ideas that will benefit the Oaks. MANY good ideas and thoughts emerged from the meeting, and the subsequent plaza design meeting the following week. Thank you for your involvement--it is truly inspiring!

By now, if you signed up for one of the four ad-hoc "hot topic" groups, you should have been contacted by a topic organizer with a status update and (in some cases) a follow-on meeting. Eric Seely and Kelly Cox are busy with the next steps for both the plaza project and Nylander park and the county has initiated discussion for the Schindler Creek park property. In addition, the Oaks task force is being evaluated and the processes updated by Voris Brumfield--look for her analysis and recommendations at a future Board of Supervisors meeting.

A summary of the Town Hall is pasted below (thank you to citizens Chuck Lamb and Holly Harris for their help compiling this) and I have posted the compiled results of the "quick survey" and comments online:
Survey results
Open Forum Notes

The above results include surveys from some of the seniors who attended a lunch-time update the Friday following the town hall. (A few of you filled out the survey quite creatively, so compiling the results was a challenge!) The "score" assigned to any one of the 12 items is the inverse of the ranking. Example: if everyone ranked an item as #1, the "average score" would be 12.

I'll do my best to focus on the issues that you have indicated are the most important and provide periodic updates of our collective progress on the projects and hot topics going forward. Thanks again for your involvement and for your interest in your community!

Denise

--------------------------------------------------------
Synopsis from the Jan. 24th Clearlake Oaks Community Meeting

Over 200 people attended Supervisor Denise Rushing's first Town Hall Meeting, held at the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks on Jan. 24th. Also in attendance were many county employees. Local businesses, local government, organizations and groups set up tables around the Moose Lodge to disseminate information to attendees.

Following is a synopsis from the meeting:

1) Welcome and Introduction - Denise Rushing
Purpose of the meeting was to enlist community help in improving CLO, and feedback on projects/survey results.

2) Clearlake Oaks Survey Results - Eric Seely, (Redevelopment Deputy Director)
- Overview: The purpose of the survey was to develop a plan to revitalize Glenhaven and Clearlake Oaks. 2200 surveys were mailed out to local residents and businesses, with a response of 281 surveys. Questions were posed on community identity and architectural themes, as well as a section for comments.
- Community Identity Responses: 27% Fishing & Water; 23% Gateway to Clear Lake/Konocti;
17% Oak Trees; 17% Old Time Family Vacation Spot
- Architectural Theme: 72% wanted a theme. Types of themes: 25% Oaks/Mixed Architectural Styles; 24% Country Charm; 20% Fishing Village.
- Conclusion: Strong preference for country charm/mixed architectural/oaks theme.

3) Survey Comment Section - Denise Rushing
Following is an overview - via ranking - of the survey comments
- (1) Clean Up Town/Code Enforcement and Law Enforcement (60 comments)
- (2) Facelift businesses on Hwy 20, Red & White (45 comments)
- (3 & 4) Keep rural small town charm/traffic calming and truck elimination on Hwy 20
- (5) Better local stores and services
- (6) Don't spend a lot of money fixing things
- (7) Community park

4) Survey Project Rankings/Costs - Denise Rushing
The survey results ranked projects in the following order: Clark's Island Park/Marina; Hwy 20 Park next to Nylanders; Hwy 20 Calming and Beautification; Plaza Project; Schindler Creek Park.

Denise gave an overview and graph ranking the projects by popularity, ease of implementation, length of time, and cost. Based on the results, the Clark's Island project (at roughly $3.5M & up to 5 years) was deemed too costly, compared to other projects such as the Hwy 20 Park and Schindler Creek Park. Based upon those factors, the first priorities would be the community park, then the plaza and schindler park. She requested feedback from the Public.

5) Plaza Restoration - Eric Seely
The CLO Plaza project will be located in the "parking lot" across from the CLO Senior Center and Methodist Church (behind Nylander's). Currently it is in the design/engineering phase, with a projected completion date of Sept. 2008. Plans include a grassy/tree-lined area with picnic tables, middle concrete section for fairs/events, water fountain feature, covered gazebo for concerts, one-way traffic around the Plaza and peripheral parking.

5) Downtown Park - Kelly Cox (County Administrator)
The County and Gary Nylander have reached a sales agreement on 11 parcels located just west of Nylander's Red & White, and behind. This will give a downtown park fronting on Hwy 20 and contiguous to the Plaza Park. The agreement has been publicly noticed, and will be (hopefully) finalized by the BOS at their meeting February 13th.

6) Highway 20 Improvements - Kelly Cox
The BOS has approved a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to install/construct curbs, gutters and sidewalks, decorative street lights on Hwy 20 from the Tower Mart to the Fire Station, and from the Windmill building to Foothill. Eventually hope to put in sidewalks down to the school. The speed of this project is dependent on approval by Caltrans.

7) Business Attraction Study - Kelly Cox
The County hired a consultant to give suggestions on increasing visitor/spending in CLO. Kelly felt the final report was disappointing, but it did give some ideas, such as expanding restaurant choices and local services; creating/promoting annual events.

8) Shoreline Plan - Rick Coel (Community Development Director)
The Lake County General Plan is nearly completed and will be out for Planning Commission review this spring. The second highest priority is now completion of the Shoreline Plan, an area plan covering Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks and down to Lower Lake - this has been on hold for 3-years. Emily Minton with handle this project. Mapping has been completed, a draft document will be available in 4 months. The original Advisory Committee will be contacted and vacancies filled. Once the document has been reviewed, it will be out for public and agency comments.

9) Community Parks and Recreation - Kim Clymire (Director Public Services)
Kim has roughly $500K in grant/funds money for purchase and improvement of a park in CLO. He wanted input on where to spend it. After much discussion, the majority of attendees indicated they would like Kim to pursue purchase of the Schindler Creek property (located on Hwy 20, separated from the school by Schindler Creek), which could be held until future funds are available for development. Plans included a future agreement with the school for joint use of play fields, footbridge connecting the two properties.

10) CLO Community Task Force:
The Task Force is currently funded, but not fully staffed. This is partly due to hiring difficulties in the Sheriff's department. This will be readdressed in the near future.

11) Workshops:
Flip charts were set up in each corner of the Moose Lodge, for attendees to offer ideas/sign-up on the top four concerns, as compiled from the survey:
Hwy 20 Beautification; Business Attraction; Parks and Recs; Blight/CleanUp/Law Enforcement.

12) Open Forum - Denise Rushing
The meeting was then opened up for public comments/suggestions/feedback on the survey conclusions. Some of the comments:
- Keep CLO rural; theme of "Pleasant Place to Walk"; better trash pickup; cleanup by the boat ramp; cleanup houses; sky-friendly streetlights; trees by PO and Happy Garden; fix potholes; weed control in the Keys; need reasons to stop in CLO.

A recap meeting was held on Jan. 26 at the CLO Senior Center. For those not able to attend either session, a video copy of Moose Lodge meeting is available at the Senior Center, and the Keys POA. For further questions, feel free to call 998-0135. Denise Rushing can be contacted at 263-2368, deniser@co.lake.ca.us

Upcoming Meetings:

Feb. 17th at 12:30 pm - Lucerne Community Town Hall Meeting hosted by Denise Rushing at the Lucerne Senior Center, 10th and Country Club Drive. Topics of concern to Lucerne include redevelopment; community clubhouse; promenade; community parks; Shoreline Area Plan; public safety; water organizations. For more info contact Donna at 274-8482 or email panhead49@mchsi.com

March 25, 12pm to 3pm. Waterwise/Solar Energy Seminar sponsored by the Spring Valley Homeowners Association to be held at the Community Center in Spring Valley. Topics to include soil types and amendments; landscape design; native, deer-resistand and drought-tolerant plants; drip irrigation; solar energy for garden and home; star thistle management; blue oaks management. For more info call Jeannie at 998-9272.

Future Town Hall Meetings will also be held in Spring Valley, Nice, Upper Lake and Blue Lakes over the next few months, though dates have not yet been confirmed.

Once again, thanks for your interest!

(Summary by Holly Harris / Chuck Lamb 998-0135)

Initial Announcements

2007-01-12T23:20:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday I was sworn into office as District 3 Supervisor in front of a courthouse crowd that was standing room only. Wow. Thank you to everyone who came to show their support--it meant a lot to have you there. This particular Board of Supervisors meeting turned out to be a marathon: county staffers said it was one of the longest agendas in awhile. AND at nearly 10pm the Board approved the Rivieras Area Plan, a culmination of many many months work by the citizens of the Riverias Community. What a day.

I thought I would share with you some announcements that you may find of interest.

TOWN HALLS
On January 24th at 6:30pm, I will sponsor a Town Hall for the Community of Clearlake Oaks and Glenhaven--details listed below. The Clearlake Oaks Town Hall is the first in a series of Community Meetings I'm sponsoring along the North Shore. The next Town Hall will be held in Lucerne on Saturday, Feb. 17 (noon) at the Lucerne Senior Center. Community meetings are planned for Upper Lake in March, Spring Valley in April, Nice in May, Blue Lakes in June--dates/times To Be Announced.

PLANNING COMMISSION
I am seeking applications for appointment to the Lake County Planning Commission effective March 1. Applicants must be residents of Supervisorial District 3 in order to be eligible for appointment. District 3 includes the communities of Blue Lakes, Upper Lake, Lake Pillsbury, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks and Spring Valley. Any residents of District 3 who may be interested in the position, are encouraged to contact me in writing, stating why they wish to serve and what experience and qualifications they would bring to the position. Correspondence should be sent to Denise Rushing c/o Board of Supervisors Office, County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St, Lakeport, CA 95453 no later than Jan. 31.

ONGOING COMMUNICATION
You are welcome to visit my website/blog from time to time at http://www.deniserushing.org. If you haven't already done so, I hope you also sign up for these email updates and share this email with others you think might find it of interest. As always, feel to contact me at the Board of Supervisor offices, 707-263-2368 or email: at deniser@co.lake.ca.us

It is an honor to be serving the community in this role and I look forward to all we can accomplish together!

Denise

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CLO TOWN HALL DETAILS:

Clearlake Oaks Community Town Hall Meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 24th beginning at 6:30pm. The event will take place at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, located at the intersection of Hwy 20 and Hwy 53.

Topics will include:
- Presentation of the Clearlake Oaks Community Survey results
- Projects Update: The Plaza, Community Parks, Highway 20 Improvements
- Community Discussion of Open Issues and Questions Going Forward, including Community Task Force and Clean-up
- Shoreline Area Planning Update
- Open Forum

Also in attendance will be: Kelly Cox (Lake County Administrator); Eric Seely (Deputy Directory Lake County Redevelopment); Rick Coel (Director Lake County Community Development); Kim Clymire (Director Lake County Parks and Recreation) and Lake County Sheriff Rod Mitchell.

As in the past, there will be free tables set up for local groups, organizations or businesses wishing to distribute informational literature or promote upcoming events. For more info, please contact Holly Harris or Chuck Lamb at (707) 998-0135, rtnc@sonic.net

For those unable to attend the meeting, I will also provide an update of the Town Hall Meeting, just after lunch on Friday, Jan. 26th, at the Clearlake Oaks Live Oak Senior Center, located on Foothill Blvd.

First Year Goals

2006-12-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

As I prepare to take office as District 3 Supervisor on January 9, 2006, I reflect on what I’ve heard from citizens in the community and what the Board of Supervisors can achieve in the months ahead. I’ve been asked to share my thoughts on what I hope to accomplish in my first year in office.

To begin, I enter this new role mindful of the principles that were the cornerstone of my campaign:

1. Bring integrity and openness to government
2. Create a thriving local economy without sacrificing the common good .
3. Safeguard our local resources: Water, land, open space, and people
4. Get the basics of government right : make sure that our infrastructure, public safety and resources can support our communities

Any specific decisions require the vote of the Lake County Board of Supervisors, so the primary task in my first year is to build relationships with other members of the board, understand what the issues are in each of their districts and learn what they hope to accomplish over time for the citizens of their district and for the county as a whole.

Recently, I published a set of specific initial goals and objectives for District 3 and the county in general. These are still available online at www.DeniseRushing.org. What follows are the first year highlights:

Bring integrity and openness to government.

Given the high level of disenfranchisement among citizens with government in general (only 50% of eligible adults are even registered to vote!), I believe that all levels of government need to do a better job of reaching out and involving people in important decisions that affect their lives. In the first year, I plan to sponsor town hall meetings and forums—one or more in each community in District 3. By the end of the first year, my goal is to offer a "State of the County" report to constituents. This will include a summary of budget, priorities and key upcoming decisions. I regularly evaluate how the county communicates and involves the public in decision-making processes and will actively promote involvement and dialog on important issues.

Create a thriving local economy without sacrificing the common good.

There are three main approaches to economic development: attracting extra money in (inward investment), stopping money from leaving (import substitution) and earning more from outside (export promotion). Historically most efforts at economic development focus on only one of these – attracting large businesses (tourism related or otherwise) to establish themselves in a local area. The profit from these businesses often leaves the local community immediately and the quality of the “created” jobs varies. This can reduce the amount of money staying and circulating locally and thus limit the positive economic benefit of the decision. To make matters worse, some of these projects exploit local resources in the process. An innovative ‘Plugging the Leaks’ approach to economic development builds upon the resources, strengths and skills that our community already has within it so that we can take control of our own economy.

In my first year in office, I will approach economic development decisions with this ‘Plugging the Leaks’ concept in mind. With the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Redevelopment Agency, I hope to sponsor a workshop for citizens and stakeholders where we identify the money and resource flows in and out of our individual communities and ways to keep more money circulating locally. The ultimate goal would be to develop and promote policies and actions within county government and among key stakeholders that increase local vitality in the communities that most need economic boost and for the county in general. An example of such policies would be to identify new ways to encourage more local purchasing and to cultivate local capabilities in areas where large economic leaks exist.

Safeguard our local resources: water, land, open space, and people

The county must focus on updating and abiding by the General Plan--ensuring that citizen input is valued and primary in the process. This is a critical tool for safeguarding our local resources and many decisions and policies flow from the work done on this plan. As the Board adopts a new General Plan, my focus in the first year will be to ensure that the new General Plan incorporates Smart Growth Principles.) and that high-level policies support the General Plan, ensuring infrastructure, public safety and resources can support our communities.

The General Plan and related Area Plan elements are important because they set the stage for our collective future—not only how and where we grow, but the very nature of our communities and surrounding open space. I encourage active public involvement. The Community Development Department will be hosting two workshops to discuss the final draft of the General Plan Goals and Policies, receive comments, and answer questions. The first workshop will be held at the Brick Hall in Lower Lake (6374 Main Street), at 6PM on Monday, December 11; the second workshop will be in the Supervisors Chambers at the Courthouse in Lakeport (255 N. Forbes Street), at 6 PM on Thursday, December 14, 2006. All concerned citizens are invited to attend these meetings to share their views with county planners. The draft plan is available online at www.co.lake.us

Get the basics of government right: make sure that our infrastructure, public safety and resources can support our communities

I advocate linking development decisions with infrastructure and public safety’s ability to serve the community—while urging the board and staff to correct the decision-making processes and mechanisms that have led to regular water moratoriums throughout the county. In addition, I plan to personally review flood control plans, processes, accountability and implementation progress for each district 3 community that experienced difficulty last winter to make sure we’ve done everything we can to prevent future disasters. I support assisting Lucerne with their analysis of water options and will ask the board to explore ways of supporting all northshore community’s water quality and capacity goals.

In closing, I encourage dialog and your involvement. I’ve just launched a regular update (blog) at DeniseRushing.org where you can track what I am up to, learn of ways to get involved and sign-up for informal email updates.

Again, it is an honor to be entering public service. I expect that my efforts will evolve as I learn through observation and from YOU, the citizens of our community.