SACRAMENTO – Three assembly bills authored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) move on to the Senate after receiving approval from the Assembly last week.

“Our bills focus on leveling the playing field for low-income Californians and strengthening accountability in State institutions,” Yamada said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues and stakeholders as these bills proceed through the Senate.”

The bills include the following.

AB 1434 – Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program: Responds to a need for a statewide water rate assistance program for low-income Californians. With new water treatment requirements, water service providers around the state will need new infrastructure investment in the coming years that will continue to raise rates for all Californians. This bill directs the California Department of Community Services and Development, (CSD) in conjunction with the Board of Equalization and relevant stakeholders, to develop a statewide Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program for low-income ratepayers.

AB 1580 – Morale, Welfare, & Recreation Fund Oversight: The Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) fund, first established in 1999, provides needed support for the wellbeing of California Veterans Home residents. This bill addresses problems revealed during a recent state audit and strengthens state oversight of this important state resource.

AB 1816 – Nursing Home Complaint Investigations: Recent news headlines, particularly in Southern California, reflect serious deficiencies in the state’s ability to quickly investigate complaints of abuse in our state’s long-term care facilities. This bill strengthens resident safety in nursing homes by addressing the slow, cursory or incomplete investigations of suspected abuse in long-term health care facilities. This bill, as amended in Assembly Appropriations Committee, suggests a 60-day benchmark for timely completion of an abuse complaint.

Yamada represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or parts of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Hospice Services of Lake County announces that Sarah Harrison, CPA, MSBA has assumed the position of director of finance.

Harrison will oversee the accounting department and manage the financial needs for the agency.

She comes with extensive accounting experience working with non-profit organizations and school districts.

Harrison said that nonprofit accounting is a very specialized field and she has devoted most of her career to serving nonprofit businesses.

While earning her MSBA in taxation, Harrison taught accounting at Sacramento State University before working in a mid-sized CPA firm specializing in audits and tax return services. Since 2004 she has run her own CPA firm in Ukiah.

She said she has a deep appreciation for the services that hospice offers and loves its mission to serve.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Public Services Department announced that Lake County residents will soon have the opportunity to drop off their unused latex or water-based paint at no-cost at two permanent and convenient locations.

The new program will start on Monday, June 2, at Lake County Waste Solutions on 230 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport and at South Lake Refuse and Recycling located just inside the Eastlake Landfill gate at 16015 Davis St in Clearlake.

Residents may bring up to 15 gallons per visit in cans up to 5 gallons in size to either facility for free dropoff.

Paint cans cannot be leaking and must still be in the original can with the label still affixed.  

Paint and cans should be the original content with no other paints added.

Items not accepted as part of this program include aerosol products, spray cans, arts and crafts paints, auto or marine paint, aircraft paint, paint thinners, solvents and oil-based paint cans.

For information on how to dispose these items or on the new PaintCare program, contact the Public Services Department Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 707-262-1618.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A team of eight employees from Paratransit Services, operators of Lake Transit, volunteered their time to clean the Olympic Drive corridor for the 10th annual Clearlake Clean Up Day on Saturday, May 10.

“This was just the right location for our crew to chip in,” said Paratransit Services Regional Manager Wanda Gray. “Our bus routes serve a large portion of the Clearlake area. It is a great way to give back in a different way to the community we serve.”

Paratransit Services is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) transportation services firm based in the Puget Sound city of Bremerton, Wash.

Founded in 1980, the company has operated Lake Transit for the Lake Transit Authority since July 2007.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The regular meeting of the Clearlake Planning Commission scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, has been canceled.

The commission is next scheduled to meet Tuesday, June 17, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

A public hearing for the draft environmental impact report for the city's general plan update, which had been planned for Tuesday's meeting, will be rescheduled to the June 17 meeting.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Central Committee will hold its regular meeting on Thursday, June 5.

The monthly meeting will take place in Lakeport at 1210 S. Main Street at 6 p.m.

The agenda for the June 5 meeting includes reports from representatives for Congressmen Mike Thompson and John Garamendi, Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada and State Sen. Noreen Evans, as well as reports from the Stonewall Democratic Club Chair Essie Coons and representative from the Lake County Democratic Club Paula Mune.

Meetings are open to the public and committee membership is open to all registered Democrats.

The Lake County Democratic Central Committee is the official governing body of the Democratic Party in Lake County.

For more information about the Democratic party in Lake County please visit www.lakecountydemocrats.org or www.facebook.com/LakeCountyDemocrats .

Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-533-4885 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .