Lake County Chamber of Commerce

Algal Bloom Leads to Local Health Advisories (7/30/2010)

LAKE COUNTY, CA Despite ample rainfall and higher lake levels this summer, the blue-green algae that last year proved troublesome for several shoreline areas on Clear Lake has re-emerged.
The algae blooms recently have been observed in the same general areas as last year, mainly in the southern sections of the lake where prevailing winds tend to cause localized accumulation of the algae, in the form of a filmy layer or mats on the surface of the water.

As in the bloom last year, the predominant genera of this blue-green algae bloom is known as Lyngbya Recent tests of water in Clear Lake have not detected toxins.

Precautionary Health Advisories have been posted at a few southern beach locations where the blue-green algae has accumulated, per state guidelines that call for the posting of areas where there is visible film or mats. The affected public areas are currently limited to Austin Park, Highlands Park, and Redbud Park. The majority of the lake remains open for recreation.

Avoidance of contact with water in the immediate vicinity of algae accumulations is prudent. Because of the potential for harmful substances to be present in dense accumulations of blue-green algae, people and pets are advised to avoid swimming, wading, and drinking water in the immediate vicinity.
For more information about the algae bloom and efforts to mitigate its impacts, contact the Lake County Department of Water Resources at (707) 263-2344. For health-related questions, contact the Lake County Health Services office at (707) 263-1164.

For more information regarding blue-green algae, go online to: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/environhealth/water/Pages/Bluegreenalgae.aspx

SENATE BILL WILL KEEP THE ‘FAMILY' IN FAMILY FARMS (7/29/2010)

Efforts to protect family farms and ranches from being broken up to pay federal estate taxes gained momentum today, as a bill to defer estate taxes on farm assets was introduced in the U.S. Senate.

The Family Farm Estate Tax Deferral Act of 2010, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would defer estate taxes on farm and ranch assets, as long as the property remains as a family agricultural operation. The bill would also exclude land enrolled in a qualified conservation easement from the estate tax.

The Feinstein measure is similar to one re-introduced in the House of Representatives in May by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa.

These bills keep the family in family farms, by assuring that family members can pass their farms and ranches to the next generation, California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger said. No issue hits home more personally for family farmers and ranchers.

When a death occurs in a farming family, the remaining family members often must re-mortgage the farm or sell some or all of it to pay the estate tax, Wenger said, forcing multi-generation farmers to make life-changing decisions.

This thoughtful reform of federal tax laws will benefit the great majority of farms and ranches, he said, pointing out that more than 95 percent of California farms are operated by families, individuals, partnerships or family corporations. And, allowing farms and ranches to stay in family ownership assures the continuity of land stewardship gained through hard-earned knowledge about the lands soil, water, wildlife habitat and other resources.

Wenger thanked Sen. Feinstein and Rep. Thompson for their commitment to estate-tax reform. The bills are supported by more than 60 state, regional and national farm and environmental organizations.

This is a crucial year for estate tax reform, Wenger said. If Congress fails to act, estate-tax rates will return to their pre-2001 levels next year. That will cripple farmers ability to pass a farm or ranch to the next generation. Its urgent to solve this problem and we appreciate how congressional leaders from California have taken the lead.

The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of 81,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members.

Enter Shop,Stay & Play IMHO Contest (7/26/2010)

Enter Shop, Stay Play's
IMHO* Review Writing Contest
and WIN Great Prizes!!
*(In My Humble Opinion)

Visit ShopStayPlay.com and write a review for any Lake County business between June 15th and July 30th 2010 to be eligible to win cool prizes from great local merchants!
See http://shopstayplay.com/imho-contest.asp
Some of the Great Prizes are:
A weekend getaway for two to the Featherbed Railroad BB, Nice
A Six Pack of Rosa d'Oro Wine, Kelseyville
A knife block set from The Kitchen Gallery, Lakeport
A pair of Pear Earrings from Middletown Florist, Middletown
A decorative flag pole set garden windchime from Linda's Hallmark, Lakeport
A Round of Golf for 4 from Adams Springs Golf Club, Cobb
more prizes coming in daily
Prizes will be awarded for:

Most Useful Review
Most Entertaining Review
Most reviews written for a business

Vote for your favorite review by joining the discussion on our Shop, Stay Play Facebook Page.Save Time and Money -Shop Local!
Go TODAY to ShopStayPlay.com and tell a Lake County business what you think!

Terms and Conditions: We reserve the right to remove or edit any review.

The Lake County Quilt Trail Phase I Complete (7/26/2010)

www.groodyriverfilms.com/quilt_trail/map.pdf The Kelseyville Pear Festival Committee is adding a new dimension to this year's celebration the Lake County Quilt Trail.On a drive along Highway 29 from Kelseyville to Lakeport, watch for a new and unique burst of color that now hangs on the Hill Creek Ranch barn amidst four and a half acres planted with winegrapes and 48 olive trees.

On Saturday, March 27, the committee marked the launch of the Lake County Quilt Trail by hanging a vibrant quilt block on the barn owned by Lou Ann Bauer, a San Francisco kitchen and bath designer who also owns and operates LuLus Ice Cream and Dessert Shop in downtown Kelseyville, and Nancy Yost, a San Francisco architect.The barn features the pattern Square on Square in bright red, white and blue. The pre-built 8-foot wooden square block was hand painted by Konocti Art Society member-artist Annette Higday. Framing and installation was provided by local craftsman/contractor Ben Mitten.

The photo above sent by Tulip Hill Winery in Nice is part of Phase I and joins Stokes Ladders in Kelseyville as 2 of the 13 Quilt Trail participants of Phase I.

The Lake County Quilt Trail is the very first for the state of California. This Lake County project is part of the rapidly spreading National Quilt Trail throughout more than 24 states. Hill Creek Ranch is easily recognized along Highway 29. As you drive along be sure to look to the west and see the quilt block hanging on the barn. The metal animals in a rural, farm setting create a sense of history, creativity and folklore.
Based upon the founding values of the festival, the quilt trail is designed to continue the celebration of our agricultural heritage.

The Kelseyville Pear Festival Committee agreed to provide the seed money to initiate the countywide project. Supporters feel it is a wonderful way to bring public art into a rural community and make it accessible to all.

The Lake County Quilt Trail provides opportunities for individuals, families, organizations and businesses to work together much the same way that traditional quilting has through the generations. Each project site will capture the spirit of place using art for community celebration and economic development.

The quilt committee is seeking volunteers with community spirit to help in the creation of future quilt blocks. This could be a stimulating project for scout troops, senior centers, church groups, quilt guilds, 4-H members, class projects and art societies. Painted quilt blocks can be hung on vegetable stands, wineries, any barn or business building. The Lake County Quilt Trail Committee has the quilt block designs, colors and materials in place for you to make selections.

I would encourage anyone who likes to paint to be involved, said Higday.

Lets keep this interconnecting clothesline of quilts on-going from coast to coast. Applications to sponsor your own quilt block design on a barn or public building may be obtained by contacting Bethany Rose at 707-263-5744. There is a nominal fee of $225 to keep the project sustainable.

From an article in Lake County News by Vicky Parish Smith for the complete article click here

Cost Containment Critical in Developing AB 32 Cap-and-Trade Pl (6/15/2010)

as it develops rules to implement Californias landmark climate change law, AB 32.The June 7 letter from the AB 32 Implementation Group, of which the CalChamber is a member, expressed support for the general direction outlined by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff at a May 17 workshop.
The goal of the implementation group is to serve as a constructive voice and ensure the state meets the greenhouse gas emission reductions required by AB 32 while maintaining the competitiveness of California businesses and protecting interests of consumers and workers.
The ARB is gathering comments on proposed rules for a cap-and-trade program that would set a maximum limit for greenhouse gas emissions while allowing regulated industries to buy or trade emissions credits to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as established by AB 32.
Competitiveness Concerns
The coalitions letter included the following comments.
Cost containment. The coalition has consistently urged that AB 32 incorporate cost containment mechanisms that may be needed to ensure California companies can remain competitive with those in other states and nations. The coalition is encouraged by the ARB staff presentations focus on addressing cost containment and leakage concerns.
Leakage. Avoiding leakage also is important to maintain the environmental integrity of the program.
Allocation of allowances. The coalition appreciates that ARB has recommended a free allocation of allowances as an important cost containment element. The proposed direction reflects sensitivity to current economic problems and one of the important recommendations made by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a March 24 letter to ARB Chair Mary Nichols.
ARB staff has appropriately proposed limiting the use of an auction for allocating allowances in the early years of the program. An immediate auction for all allowances would impose very high and abrupt costs on public agencies AB 32 and companies subject to the program.
The same concern will apply later if California has not transitioned to a comprehensive national program and the states companies remain at a competitive disadvantage.
The ARB staff will be conducting an in-depth analysis of covered entities to determine an appropriate system for allocating permits.
In developing the allocation strategy, ARB should consider that California companies and other covered entities are much more energy efficient than competitors in other states and countries due to a decades-long history of high energy costs and aggressive energy efficiency programs. Investments and efficiencies already put in place by
California companies should be rewarded or at least recognized.
Offsets. The state should be sending strong signals now that offset projects will play a significant role in providing cost-effective emission reduction strategies to contain allowance costs for companies that want to keep jobs and expand in California. Allowing a broad use of offsets to contain costs will be very important as the emissions cap declines in the years leading up to 2020.
Staff Contact: Brenda M. Coleman

CWA Launches AgVenture Day-long Seminars (6/1/2010)

It is AgVenture, an innovative concept in agricultural education designed for non-farming community leaders who wish to understand more fully the workings of our local agricultural industry. The program is modeled on long standing, successful programs in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. The Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture (CWA) is providing the coordinating leadership to launch such a program here.Diane Henderson states, Our AgVenture program will consist of once-a-month, day-long seminars held over a period of three months. The meeting dates are August 13, September 10, and October 8, all Fridays. Each day's seminar will focus on a different commercial crop and will include both speakers and farm tours. Class members will gain a broad knowledge of the heritage, culture, and business of local agriculture. The sessions will cover such topics as economics, labor, history, marketing, water and land use, challenges of farming, ag tourism, and sustainability. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with and learn from farmers and other local agriculture industry leaders.
The twelve participants who will be selected for the program this first year will be community leaders from a wide range of areas who not only have an interest in agriculture, but who are in a position to help maintain a viable agricultural industry in Lake County. Watch for more info on these great workshops in the Chamber of Commerce July Newsletter available online.

CENSUS 2010 OFFICIAL COUNT APRIL 1ST-FORMS LIST BELOW (4/1/2010)

you and your community. Here are some of the locations in Lake County where you can pick up a form to complete:
Upper Lake: Habematolel Tribal Office 375 E. Hwy 20 Noon to 5pm M,W,F
Kelseyville: Lake Family Resource Center 5350 Main St. (during normal business hours)*Bilingual available
Lucerne: Lake County Visitor Center 6110 E. Highway 20 M-W 2pm-5pm, noon-5pm Saturday, noon-4pm Sunday
Lakeport: Lakeport Library 1425 N. High St. T,Th,Saturday Noon -8pm
Clearlake: Queen of Peach Catholic Church Parish Hall 14435 Uhl Ave. TThurs 4pm-9pm *bilingual available
Middletown: Senior Center 15299 Central Park Rd. M-F 9am-3pm
Cobb: Cobb Mt. Water Dist. 16595 Hwy 175 MW 1pm-5pm, T,Thur,F 10am-5pm
There will also be Census Workers going door to door. Be sure that they have the proper Census Credentials, forms and the official census recepticle to place completed forms.
ALL FACILITIES WILL BE OPEN THROUGH APRIL 19, 2010

Two New Scams Reported in Lake County (3/5/2010)

Attention Anyone who accepts pre-paid credit cards!
Kevin Burke, Police Chief of Lakeport reports on a local scam they are seeing at Lakeport banks.

Suspect presents a pre-paid credit card worth $400 and asks the teller for multiple transactions in the amount of $400 hundred claiming that his credit card has a $400 per transaction limit.
Apparently when you do multiple transactions back to back, the credit card verification thinks it is a series of duplicate transactions and will continue to approve the cash advances.
One Lakeport bank ended up giving $4,400 to the suspect on a prepaid card worth only $400.
If you suspect this type of fraud, refuse the transaction and call the police immediately.

Phone Scam Involving Relay Operator for Speech/Hearing Impaired

One of our chamber members just reported the following scam. Here is what she reported:
We received a phone call from the ATT operator phone number 424-243-7299. I called the number and that part is legitimate. The operator is a special relay operator for those who are hearing or speech impaired. The operator explained that the person on the other end was typing on the internet and her job was to relay what was being asked and then type back my responses.

The gentleman asked if we did brake repair and wanted to speak to the owner or manager. I asked if this was a sales call. He did not respond to that question. He identified himself as Kenny Porter and that his wife had just purchased an automobile from a salvage yard in Florida and it has bad brakes. I responded that we do that kind of work and I would be happy to make an appointment for him.
He asked if Tuesday would be okay and I told him that would be fine. He said the brakes were so bad that it needed to be towed and asked for a favor. I asked if he would like to correspond directly through email and he gave me kennypo22@gmail.com. He also gave me a Fax number of 206-984-1166.

He said that the tow company would not accept a credit card and asked if he could give me a card number to run through our terminal for $3500.00. The tow company needed $2500 and the remainder would be good faith money for the repair. I asked where he lived and his response was in the State. At that point, I told the operator that we need to have him call us on the land line so we can have a call back number and we need a physical address. I gave her our telephone number and asked the operator to disconnect the call.

How low is that to give the impression that you have a communication handicap.

Fast-Growing Coalition Opposing Independent Contractor Withholding (2/16/2010)

Fast-Growing Coalition Opposing Independent Contractor Withholding
Spearheaded by the California Chamber of Commerce, the coalition opposing a proposal to require businesses to withhold 3 percent of payments to independent contractors is growing rapidly.
In just days after inviting CalChamber members via e-mail to sign onto the opposition coalition, the list of opposing organizations and companies more than quadrupled, topping 800 entities from throughout the state.
Other business and industry associations also are actively participating in an intensive effort to educate legislators that independent contractor withholding will harm millions of companies and agencies, kill jobs and hurt the California economy.
Onerous Mandate
The coalition is warning that independent contractor withholding places a maximum burden on businesses for a minimal return. It will amount to an interest-free loan to the state from small businessesan onerous, never-ending mandate that is a one-time money-grab. It will not yield new revenue, but merely accelerate income tax payments already owed or bring in monies that will have to be refunded to businesses that dont owe any income tax.
The Senate Budget Committee was poised to vote on a budget package that included independent contractor withholding. The idea seems appealing to lawmakers who mistakenly believe it can help address the states chronic budget deficit.
Who Must Withhold?
Companies, non-profit organizations and local and state agencies all would be required to implement the withholding, the coalition is pointing out in a one-page fact sheet being circulated widely.
Who Will See Money Withheld?
Independent contractors are self-employed individuals and businesses, ranging from small businesses and entrepreneurs to large firms.
Examples of operations that will see money withheld from payments to them include: builders, painters, plumbers, real estate agents, insurance agents, computer programmers, accountants, automotive mechanics, attorneys, doctors and other health care providers, engineers, gardeners, janitors, security guards and entertainers.
As businesses, independent contractors pay more kinds of taxes than employees, such as self-employment taxes and local business taxes; pay income taxes throughout the year through quarterly estimated tax payments; and are subject to penalties for not paying or underpaying.
Because of recent budget agreements, independent contractors already must pay 70 percent of their taxes by June of each year for the next two years.
Threatens Small Business
In a year when the Governor and legislative leaders have indicated that jobs, jobs, jobs is a top priority, independent contractor withholding will destroy rather than create California jobs.
CalChamber opposition to independent contractor withholding is based on the following:
Independent contractors already have a greater tax burden than employees; Withholding will wrongly force small businesses to loan money to the state, interest-free; Withholding could generate little if any new revenue for the state; and Withholding targets the wrong group of taxpayerstaxpayers who are already compliant. These taxpayers already are providing the state information it can use to target independent contractors who arent paying income taxes they owe. Action Needed
The CalChamber is urging members to call or write their legislators to voice opposition to independent contractor withholding.
Business people can find a fact sheet and sample letter, or look up their legislators or legislators telephone numbers at www.calchambervotes.com.
To join the opposition coalition, e-mail laurie.lively@calchamber.com.

America's Agricultural Angst (2/2/2010)

America's Agricultural Angst
Joel Kotkin, 01.19.10, 12:01 AM EST
(Courtesy of Ag Today, February 1, 2010)

Farming is big business, but some green activists are seeking to destroy it.
In this high-tech information age few look to the most basic industries as sources of national economic power. Yet no sector in America is better positioned for the future than agriculture--if we allow it to reach its potential.

Like manufacturers and homebuilders before them, farmers have found themselves in the crosshairs of urban aesthetes and green activists who hope to impose their own Utopian vision of agriculture. This vision includes shutting down large-scale scientifically run farms and replacing them with small organic homesteads and urban gardens.

Troublingly, the assault on mainstream farmers is moving into the policy arena. It extends to cut-offs on water, stricter rules on the use of pesticides, prohibitions on the caging of chickens and a growing movement to ban the use of genetic engineering in crops. And it could undermine a sector that has performed well over the past decade and has excellent long-term prospects.

Over the next 40 years the world will be adding some 3 billion people. These people will not only want to eat, they will want to improve their intake of proteins, grains, fresh vegetables and fruits. The U.S., with the most arable land and developed agricultural production, stands to gain from these growing markets. Last year the U.S.' export surplus in agriculture grew to nearly $35 billion, compared with roughly $5 billion in 2005.
The overall impact of agriculture on the economy is much greater than generally assumed, notes my colleague Delore Zimmerman, of Praxis Strategy Group. Roughly 4.1 million people are directly employed in production agriculture as farmers, ranchers and laborers, but the industry directly or indirectly employs approximately one out of six American workers, including those working in food processing, marketing, shipping and supermarkets.

Yet none of this seems to be slowing the mounting criticisms of corporate agriculture. A typical article in Time, called Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food, assailed the U.S. agricultural industry for precipitating an ecological disaster. With the exhaustion of the soil, the impact of global warming and the inevitably rising price of oil--which will affect everything from fertilizer to supermarket electricity bills--our industrial style of food production, the article predicts, will end sooner or later.

The romantic model being promoted by Time and agri-intellectuals like Michael Pollan hearkens back to European and Tolstoyan notions of small family farms run by generations of happy peasants. But this really has little to do with the essential ethos of American agriculture.

Back in the early 19th century Alexis de Tocqueville noted that American farmers viewed their holdings more like capitalists than peasants. They would sell their farms and move on to other businesses or other lands--a practice unheard of in Europe. Almost all the farmers of the United States, he wrote, combine some trade with agriculture; most of them make agriculture itself a trade.

Despite the perceptions of a corporatized farm sector, this entrepreneurial spirit remains. Families own almost 96% of the nation's 2.2 million farms, including the vast majority of the largest spreads. And small-scale agriculture, after decreasing for years, is on the upswing; between 2002 and 2009 the number of farms increased by 4%.

This trend toward smaller-scale specialized production represents a positive trend, but large-scale, scientifically advanced farming still produces the majority of the average family's foodstuffs, as well as the bulk of our exports. Overall, organic foods and beverages account for less than 3% of all food sales in the U.S.--hardly enough to feed a nation, much less a growing, hungry planet.

Then there's the even more fanciful notion--promoted by Columbia University's Dickson D. Despommier--of moving food production into massive urban hothouses. In a recent op-ed in the New York Times he argues we are running out of land and need to take agriculture off the farm. According to Despommier, The traditional soil-based farming model developed over the last 12,000 years will no longer be a sustainable option.
Yet Praxis Strategy's Matthew Lephion, who grew up on a family farm, points out that such projects hardly represent a credible alternative in terms of food production. Urban land is far more expensive--often at least 10 times as much as rural. Energy and other costs of maintaining farms in big cities also are likely to be higher.

Furthermore the notion that America is running out of land--one justification for subsidizing urban farming--seems fanciful at best. The past 30 years have seen some loss of farmland, but the amount of land that actually grows harvested crops has remained stable. Though some prime farmland close to metropolitan centers should be protected, agriculture has over the past decades returned to nature--forests, wetlands, prairie--millions of acres, far more than the land that has been devoted to housing and other urban needs.
However ludicrous the arguments, the Obama administration remains influenced by green groups and is the cultural prisoner of the lifestyle left, with its powerful organic foodie contingent. That leaves farmers and the small towns dependent on them with little voice.

The ability of greens and others to wreak havoc on agriculture can be seen in the disaster now unfolding in California's fertile Central Valley. Large swaths of this area are being de-developed back to desert--due less to a mild drought than to regulations designed to save obscure fish species in the state's delta. Over 450,000 acres have already been allowed to go fallow. Nearly 30,000 agriculture jobs--held mostly by Latinos--have been lost, and many farm towns suffer conditions that recall The Grapes of Wrath.

Not satisfied with these results, the green lobby has prompted the National Marine Fisheries Service to further cut water supplies, in part to improve the conditions for whales and other species out in the ocean. Given these attitudes, farmers, including those I have worked with in Salinas, are fretting about what steps federal and state regulators may take next.

One particular concern revolves around the movement against genetically modified food. Already there are calls for banning GMOs in Monterey County. Local officials worry this would cripple the area's nascent agricultural biotech industry as well as the long-term ability of existing farmers to compete with less regulated competitors elsewhere. The fact that a less advanced form of genetic engineering also sparked the green revolution that greatly reduced world hunger after 1965 seems, to them at least, irrelevant.

When viewed globally, the anti-big farm movement seems even more misguided. As Chapman University's professor of food science Anuradha Prakash observes, India's own organic farms serve a small portion of the market and cannot possibly meet the nutritional needs of the country's expanding population. You just don't get the yields you need for Africa and Asia from organic methods, she explains.

A formula that works for high-end foodies of the Bay Area or Manhattan can't produce enough affordable food to feed the masses--whether in Minnesota or Mumbai. The emerging war on agriculture threatens not only the livelihoods of millions of American workers; it could undermine our ability to help feed the world.
Joel Kotkin is a distinguished presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University. He is also an adjunct fellow at the Legatum Institute in London and serves as executive editor of newgeography.com. He writes the weekly New Geographer column for Forbes. His next book, The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050, will be published by Penguin in February.