CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council this week will take up a proposed policy for city staff’s use of artificial intelligence and consider extending the city manager’s existing contract.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The agenda can be found here.

The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel.

Community members also can participate via Zoom. The webinar ID is 899 6896 2267, the pass code is 158755. One tap mobile is available at +16694449171,,89968962267#, or join by phone at 669-444-9171 or 253-205-0468.

The City Council is being asked to discuss adoption of an artificial intelligence, or AI, policy around staff use of generative AI tools.

“Utilizing generative AI in a responsible and transparent way will allow the City to harness emerging technologies as we tackle the challenges and opportunities of the future,” City Manager Alan Flora said in his report.

Also on Thursday, the council will consider approving a new employment services agreement with Flora, who has been city manager since March of 2019.

The staff report said the key components of the agreement is that is gives Flora a one-year extension on his current three-year contract.

The proposed contract also includes a provision whereby termination without cause for Flora would require a 4/5th vote of the council for a period of year after the election of a new council member.

Flora’s salary, $16,342.05 a month, as well as benefits and other terms of the agreement would not change from the previous agreement, the staff report explains.

The council on Thursday also will receive a presentation on April’s adoptable dogs and present a proclamation declaring April 2024 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are considered routine in nature and usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; minutes of the March 13 Lake County Vector Control District Board meeting; adoption of the third amendment to the FY 2023-24 Budget (Resolution 2023-27) adjusting appropriations; Resolution No. 2024-17; approval of an amendment to professional services agreement with ECORP Consulting for a new total of $75,000; and consideration of Resolution 2024-18 authorizing the city of Clearlake to submit an application to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for funding under the Competitive Permanent Local Housing Allocation.

The council also will hold a closed session for conference with legal counsel to discuss a case of anticipated litigation.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — This weekend the Calpine Geothermal Visitors Center and the Middletown Art Center are joining together to host a community Earth Day celebration.

The event will take place from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the Calpine Geothermal Visitors Center, located at 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown.

With a theme of "A Healthy Earth Begins With You," the event promises to be an exciting and inspiring event for the whole family.

It will bring together vendors, live music, activities, and more to encourage everyone to take care of themselves and the Earth.

Calpine Geothermal and the Middletown Art Center are joining forces for the second year in a row to sponsor an Earth Day Celebration, promoting the concept that a healthy earth begins with healthy people.

Through this collaboration, they aim to raise awareness about environmental sustainability and the interconnectedness of human health with the well-being of the planet.

The event will be a free community celebration, offering fun and engaging activities for all ages.

The event will feature a variety of exciting attractions, including pony rides, face painting, and the Sonoma Bubble Man, who will amaze audiences with his bubble magic. Get your camera ready to take a picture of your child in a giant bubble.

The Children's Museum of Art and Science of Clearlake will be on hand with engaging activities for kids. A veritable petting zoo with a donkey, miniature horse and a goat will also be there. And the Middletown Art Center will invite community members to participate in a collaborative painting project.

One of the highlights of the day will be the Middletown Community Garden, which will offer tours and workshops to educate the community about sustainable food production and healthy eating. Visitors can learn about companion planting, soil building, composting, and more, and even take home a plant from the plant-a-pot giveaway.

For lunch, guests can enjoy a beautiful and healthy meal prepared by the Goddess of the Mountain, featuring the Three Sisters — corn, bean and squash — which synergistically nurture each other like family when planted together, according to the Iroquois and Cherokee traditions.

The event will also feature the Henny Penny Catering Co., who brings the world to your table with globally inspired menus created with local, seasonal ingredients. They will be featuring Latin-American cuisine and serving a variety of handmade tacos and tamales.

Jesus Christ Fellowship, next door to the Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center and the garden, will host an Adult & Kid's Zone for the community, which will include a jumpy house, billiards and other games inside the church.

Other attractions include live music, a carbon-neutral smoothie station powered by the Blue Zone Project's bicycle blender, and educational booths on water conservation and fire mitigation. The Lake County Jazzercise will host a demo class, inviting attendees to experience the magic of movement.

For more information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Hospitality, health care and workforce will be featured during the fifth Lake Leadership Forum to be held on Wednesday, May 22, at On The Waterfront, 60 Third Street, Lakeport.

The program begins at 1 p.m. and concludes with a walking tour of Xabatin Community Park at 4:30 p.m.

Presented by the Lake County Economic Development Corp., or Lake EDC, along with the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and the Lake County Tourism Improvement District, the Lake Leadership Forum is open to the public with a limited number of tickets available at tinyurl.com/LakeLeader2024.

Early bird tickets are on sale for $25 per person which includes light refreshments and a glass of wine or other beverage. After May 1, tickets will be $30 per person.

Tickets may also be purchased with a check payable to and sent to Lake EDC, P.O. Box 1257, Lakeport, CA 95453.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital is the presenting sponsor. The event is also generously supported by Calpine, Lake County Tribal Health, Reynolds Systems, Adventist Health Clear Lake, the city of Lakeport, Community First Credit Union and Savings Bank of Mendocino County.

The first leadership summits in 2014 and 2015, coordinated by the ad hoc Lake County Regional Economic Development Committee, were conducted at the then-Marymount California University in the Lucerne Hotel, with the third summit in 2019 at the same location under the auspices of the Lake EDC. The most recent event was held in 2022 at The Mercantile.

These early sessions were designed for Lake County’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and interested citizens to inspire, collaborate and envision a stronger economic climate.

The 2024 event’s keynote speaker is Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California. Beteta will share the current state of the tourism industry for the state and her insight on the future of hospitality and rural markets.

Additionally, Clair Whitmer, assistant deputy director and Northern California’s Regional Advisor for the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, or GO-Biz, will discuss the state’s efforts to support businesses.

A panel discussion regarding workforce development and attraction in Lake County will include Jonathan Walters, manager of Brassfield Winery; Brock Falkenberg, Lake County superintendent of schools; and Greg Panella, co-owner of Stokes Ladders and Panella Orchards.

Speakers will demonstrate the collaborative spirit of Lake County through presentations by Tonya Hat, proprietor of THAT Ranch; Christian Ahlmann of Six Sigma Ranch & Winery; Annie Tyner, director of Jack’s Lavender Farm; and Akriti Wong, director of Citizens Caring 4 Clear Lake.

The presenting organizations represent people from all over Lake County who love our community and want to see it prosper. You are invited to participate in this leadership forum and connect with like-minded citizens.

More information is available from Nicole Flora, executive director, Lake EDC, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In a Sunday ceremony in Napa County, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) recognized Clay Shannon as Lake County’s 2024 Climate Crisis Champion.

“Through his advocacy, Mr. Shannon has demonstrated how responsible farming can help address the impacts of climate change,” said Thompson. “As the owner of Shannon Family of Wines, Mr. Shannon has dedicated himself to advancing responsible farming that reduces the carbon footprint of farms.

"In 2018, Mr. Shannon began farming his 2,500 acres of land organically, and since then he’s integrated his sheep farming operation with his vineyard, dramatically reducing the need for mowing, fungicides, and conventional fertilizers in his vineyard. Mr. Shannon’s work to advance environmental stewardship in the 4th District’s farming community is inspiring, and I am honored to name him a Climate Crisis Champion,” Thompson said.

Shannon is a well known winegrape growers and wine producer.

He’s also owner of The Mercantile in Kelseyville.

Thompson awarded this year’s Climate Crisis Champions across each of the five counties in the Fourth District: Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo.

Champions are selected for their significant efforts to combat the ongoing climate crisis and protect the environment at home in their community.

Through their advocacy, champions are helping to build a more sustainable future for all, Thompson’s office said.

In addition to Shannon, the rest of the district’s winners were:

• Napa Schools for Climate Action (Napa);
• Ian Anderson (Solano);
• Dr. Lisa Micheli (Sonoma); and
• Maria Contreras Tebbutt (Yolo).

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Police Department is participating in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event will be held at the front lobby entrance of the police station at 2025 S. Main St.

Items that will be accepted include all over-the-counter or prescription medication in pill, tablet, liquid, cream or capsule form including schedule II-V controlled and non-controlled substances.

Pills need to be emptied out of their containers and placed in a plastic bag (not paper, so the contents can be seen to verify they are eligible to be accepted).

Vape pens or other e-cigarette devices from individual consumers will be accepted only after the batteries are removed from the devices.

Not accepted: Illegal drugs, needles, inhalers or aerosol cans.

The Lakeport Police Department has collected over 1,257 pounds of prescription drugs since it began participating in this program in January 2019. Many of these drugs were dangerous narcotics, including opioids.

“Removal of prescription drugs in this safe manner protects our community by keeping them from being diverted to illegal use and out of the environment and water sources,” the department said in its announcement.

For more information contact Chief of Police Brad Rasmussen at 707-263-5491.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The county of Lake has issued an advisory to community members regarding drone data collection set to begin this week.

From April 18 to 25, AirWorks crews will be collecting data to support preparedness for future broadband installation work in portions of Lake County, officials reported.

This data collection will support implementation of Lake County’s updated Broadband Master Plan, which is currently under development in partnership with CBG Communications Inc.

These operations include use of drones flying at 200 to 3,000 feet (weather permitting), and some ground crews taking measurements and conducting safety checks.

Work will be done between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day.

The map above depicts the areas expected to be surveyed — roughly 40 miles, in total, in the Nice and Kelseyville areas.

Data regarding utility structures (poles and wires), roads, sidewalks and curbs will be collected, and used for mapping purposes, only.

A digital map is accessible here; please note, the polygons demonstrating data collection areas may take some time to display.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed legislation that reflects the early action budget agreement announced by the governor and legislative leaders earlier this month to reduce the shortfall by approximately $17.3 billion.

“This action strongly positions the state to pass a balanced budget in June that protects key programs Californians rely on,” said Newsom. “I thank our leaders in the Legislature for their commitment to finding common ground as we continue working towards responsibly meeting this challenge in the months ahead.”

Under AB 106, the Department of Finance will report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee the list of items pursuant to the early action agreement that will no longer be included in the baseline budget forecast.

AB 106 is part of the early action agreement that contains a mix of $3.6 billion in reductions (primarily to one-time funding), $5.2 billion in revenue and borrowing, $5.2 billion in delays and deferrals, and $3.4 billion in shifts of costs from the general fund to other state funds.

For full text of the bill, visit http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College will host an Earth Day celebration on Thursday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

During the event, community members will have the opportunity to learn about the more than 50 degree and certificate programs available at the college and the supportive services offered to students and the community.

College President Dr. Lizette Navarette and Yuba College District Chancellor Dr. Shouan Pan will be available from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to visit with community members during the event.

In conjunction with the Earth Day celebration, Aromas will be open for food purchases. Underdog Grill will also be available for food purchases.

Kehaulani Hula Studio will perform during the event. Family-friendly activities will be provided as well as information from local agencies.

Join the college to learn more about the local community college and for an afternoon of fun.

For more information contact Mary Wilson at 707-995-7913 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors this week will discuss a plan to expand the county’s Road Map Task Force — with its mix of code enforcement and increased policing — to the Lucerne and Nice areas.

The‌ ‌board will meet beginning ‌at‌ ‌9‌ ‌a.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌watched‌ ‌live‌ ‌on‌ ‌Channel‌ ‌8, ‌online‌ ‌at‌ ‌https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx‌‌ and‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌county’s‌ ‌Facebook‌ ‌page. ‌ ‌Accompanying‌ ‌board‌ ‌documents, ‌the‌ ‌agenda‌ ‌and‌ ‌archived‌ ‌board‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌videos‌ ‌also‌ ‌are‌ ‌available‌ ‌at‌ ‌that‌ ‌link. ‌ ‌

To‌ ‌participate‌ ‌in‌ ‌real-time, ‌join‌ ‌the‌ ‌Zoom‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌by‌ ‌clicking‌ ‌this‌ ‌link‌. ‌ ‌

The‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌ID‌ ‌is‌ 865 3354 4962, ‌pass code 726865.‌ ‌The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,86533544962#,,,,*726865#. The meeting can also be accessed via phone at 669 900 6833.

In an item timed for 10:30 a.m., the board will consider a presentation from sheriff’s office and Community Development Department staff regarding the Road Map Task Force accomplishments and lessons learned in Clearlake Oaks, and proposed community oriented policing and targeted restoration for Nice, Lucerne and other shoreline area communities for fiscal years 2024/25 through 2026/27.

The proposal for the three-year project has a budget totaling $1,312,348, and will be based in the Lucerne sheriff’s substation.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

5.1: Adopt proclamation designating April 2024 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

5.2: Adopt proclamation commending Laura Calderon for her 23 years of service to the county of Lake.

5.3: Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 21 to 27, 2024, as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

5.4: Approve Board of Supervisors minutes for March 26, April 2 and April 9, 2024.

5.5: Adopt proclamation designating the week of April 14 to 20, 2024, as National Public Safety Dispatchers Week.

5.6: a) Waive the formal bidding process pursuant to County Ordinance 3109 Section 2-38 due to 38.2(3), not in the public interest as competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county; and b) approve eighth amendment to the lease agreement between county of Lake and NL Family Trust/KLA Family Trust for the property located at 1216, 1222 and 1228 South Main Street in Lakeport, for $22,800 from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, $23,820 from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, and $24,840 from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and authorize the chair to sign.

5.7: a) Waive the formal bidding process pursuant to County Ordinance 3109 Section 2-38 due to 38.2(3), not in the public interest as competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county; and, b) approve contract to lease agreement between county of Lake and OMarshall Inc. for the property Located at 16170 Main St. in Lower Lake, in the amount of $62,436 per fiscal year from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027, and authorize the chair to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

6.2, 9:03 a.m.: Pet of the Week.

6.3, 9:04 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 21 to 27, 2024, as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

6.4, 9:05 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating April 2024 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

6.5, 9:06 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation commending Laura Calderon for her 23 years of service to the county of Lake Behavioral Health Services Department.

6.6, 9:07 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of April 14 to 20, 2024, as National Public Safety Dispatchers Week.

6.7, 9:10 a.m.: Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District, (a) consideration of the cooperative agreement with Caltrans to provide Blue Lakes Safety Project Mitigation funds to support the Clover Creek Hitch Habitat Restoration Project in an amount not to exceed $246,492 and authorize the Water Resources director to sign the agreement; and (b) consideration of a presentation of the proposed project.

6.8, 10 a.m.: WITHDRAWN — PUBLIC HEARING (a) consideration and presentation of the fire mitigation fee nexus studies; and (b) consideration of ordinance amendments to increase fire mitigation fees.

6.9, 10:30 a.m.: Consideration of presentation on Road Map Task Force accomplishments, lessons learned, and proposed community oriented policing and targeted restoration for Nice, Lucerne and other shoreline area communities for fiscal years 2024/25 through 2026/27.

6.10, 11 a.m.: Consideration of an agreement between the county of Lake and PlaceWorks in the not-to-exceed amount of $253,520, for Lake County Housing Action and Implementation Plan consulting services.

UNTIMED ITEMS

7.2: Consideration of the Classification, Compensation, Recruitment, and Retention Committee (CCRR) 2023-2024 Reclassification Cycle findings and recommendations.

7.3: Consideration of the following Advisory Board appointments: Heritage Commission; Glenbrook Cemetery District.

CLOSED SESSION

8.1: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b) (1): Interviews for Social Services director; appointment of Social Services director.

8.2: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b) (1): Interviews for Public Works director; appointment of Public Works director.

8.3: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b) (1): Interviews for Water Resources director; appointment of Water Resources director.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will present two proclamations, meet a new employee, set a public hearing and consider awarding a project for a city project.

The council will meet Tuesday, April 16, at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The agenda can be found here.

The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. Masks are highly encouraged where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.

If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.

The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.

Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the city clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16.

On Tuesday, the council will meet new city employee Melissa Carpenter, and present proclamations designating April 2024 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The agenda includes a public hearing on a proposed ordinance revising Lakeport Municipal Code Chapter 3.34 regarding fire mitigation fees and direction to city staff to schedule a public hearing for the second reading of the ordinance for May 7.

Under council business, Community Development Director Joey Hejnowicz will ask the council to adopt a resolution for “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” in Lakeport.

That will be followed by a request from Public Works Director Ron Ladd to approve the plans, specifications and working details and award a construction contract to T&T Paving, Inc. dba Valley Paving for the South Main Street Sidewalk Project and authorize City Manager Kevin Ingram to execute the construction contract for the bid amount of $334,279.15.

On the consent agenda — items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the City Council’s special meeting on March 28 and regular meeting on April 2; approval of application 2024-016, with staff recommendations, for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Day walk; adoption of the proposed resolution adopting a records retention schedule, and authorizing destruction of certain city records and rescinding Resolution No. 2908 (2023); and adoption of the resolution accepting construction of the Lakefront Park Project by Builder Solutions Inc. and authorization of the filing of the notice of completion.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Nearly 327,000 people in the United States experiencing homelessness lived in shelters, a small proportion (0.1%) of the U.S. population from 2018 to 2022 but higher than from 2013 to 2017, according to American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates released in a working paper.

The 2013-2017 ACS, the previous 5-year ACS with no overlapping years, showed there were approximately 267,000 people (0.08% of the U.S. population) in shelters during that period.

A change in the number of people experiencing homelessness and living in shelters could be due to a change in economic circumstances or resources devoted to shelters or a combination of both.

Group quarters are places — owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or services for the residents — where people live or stay in a group arrangement.

They consist of institutional (residents primarily not eligible, able or likely to participate in the labor force) and noninstitutional (residents primarily eligible, able or likely to participate in labor force) facilities. Noninstitutional group quarters include places like college dorms and military housing and other noninstitutional facilities.



In the ACS, the sheltered population experiencing homelessness is sampled from facilities where people stay overnight as part of the noninstitutional facilities:

• That operate on a first-come, first-served basis where people must leave the next morning and have no guaranteed bed for another night.
• Where people are assigned a bed for a specified period (even if they leave the building daily).
• That provide temporary shelter during extremely cold weather (like churches). This category does not include shelters that operate only in the event of a natural disaster.

The sheltered population is an estimate of the population experiencing homelessness that stay in emergency and transitional shelters. It is not a complete count of the total U.S. population experiencing homelessness, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimated was 582,500 in 2022. HUD conducts a Point-in-Time count of sheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January every year and a count of unsheltered people every other year.

It’s important to note that some detailed group quarters types are included in the decennial census as “other noninstitutional facilities” but not in the ACS, which may lead to higher or overestimates of this population in the ACS. More information about this is available in Estimates of the Population Experiencing Homelessness and Living in Shelters.



Who are the people who stay in shelters?

Figure 1 shows the share of the sheltered population experiencing homelessness and the population in households and other living quarters (people who lived in households and in group quarters other than emergency shelters) by different demographic groups.

Among the sheltered population experiencing homelessness: 40% were female; 8% were under the age of 18; 8% were age 65 or over; 32% were non-Hispanic White; 37% were non-Hispanic Black; and 35% had a disability.

Figure 2 shows the labor market characteristics of both the sheltered population experiencing homelessness and the population in households and other living quarters.

Among the sheltered population age 16 and over experiencing homelessness, nearly 15% were unemployed and an additional 61% were not in the labor force. That means only about 25% of this population was employed compared to nearly 60% of the population in households and other living quarters.

Among the sheltered population age 25 and over experiencing homelessness, nearly 25% did not have a high school degree and just over 7% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Low educational attainment and high unemployment likely contributed to a poverty rate over six times higher (76.5%) than for the population in households and other living quarters (12.5%).

Also important to note: nearly one quarter of people experiencing homelessness and living in shelters were not in poverty.

The national poverty rate in 2018-2022 was 12.53%. When excluding the sheltered population experiencing homelessness, the poverty rate was 12.47%, which is not significantly different statistically.



Sheltered population by state

There was a lot of variation in both the number and rate of the population experiencing homelessness in shelters in each state in 2018-2022.

The sheltered population ranged from a low of 173 people in Wyoming to a high of 83,550 people in New York. In fact, four states accounted for over 50% of the total U.S. sheltered population experiencing homelessness: New York (83,550); California (57,700); Texas (15,340); and Florida (13,260).

While 10 out of every 10,000 people lived in a shelter nationally, this rate ranged from a low of 1.5 in Mississippi to a high of 61.5 in the District of Columbia (Figure 3).

Figure 4 shows the ratio of the state share of the U.S. sheltered population to the state share of the total U.S. population. This tells us whether the share of the sheltered population experiencing homelessness in each state was higher or lower than the share of the total U.S. population in each state.

For example, New York had a ratio of 4.23 with about 6% of the U.S. population, but over 25% of the total sheltered population experiencing homelessness. Conversely, Texas had a ratio of 0.53 with nearly 9% of the U.S. population, but only about 5% of the total sheltered population experiencing homelessness.

The share of the sheltered population experiencing homelessness was higher than the state’s share of the U.S. population in 10 states and the District of Columbia and lower in 35 states. The ratio of the two population shares was not significantly different in 5 states.

Figure 5 shows which states had a significant change in sheltered populations experiencing homelessness per 10,000 people in 2018-2022 compared to the 2013-2017 period.

While the number increased nationally, it only rose in 10 states and the District of Columbia. The sheltered population experiencing homelessness per 10,000 people decreased in 17 states and did not change significantly in the other 23 states.

Brian Glassman is an economist and chief of the Census Bureau’s Poverty Statistics Branch.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 14 to 20, is an opportunity to shine the light on the unseen heroes who keep us safe in our times of greatest need.

Public safety dispatchers play a critical role in orchestrating emergency response efforts, providing vital information to both the callers and emergency responders.

“These women and men are the first point of contact during an emergency, navigating a crisis with composure and expertise to provide vital instructions, while seamlessly coordinating efforts behind the scenes,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee. “Their dedication and unwavering commitment to public service deserve praise and recognition.”

The CHP has more than 700 dedicated professionals who serve in that role, working on the front lines of public safety and service, fielding a vast majority of cellular 9-1-1 calls in the state.

Last year, the CHP handled approximately 6.6 million calls for service statewide. Of those calls, 4.6 million were to 9-1-1.

In addition to their primary responsibilities, dispatchers often act as lifelines for individuals in distress offering reassurance, guidance, and support until help arrives.

Their ability to remain calm under pressure, think quickly on their feet, and maintain professionalism in the face of chaos is truly commendable.

The CHP has several openings for public safety dispatchers and public safety operators and is actively recruiting Californians to answer the call of this rewarding career.

For more information, register to attend an online hiring seminar at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24. Or take the next step and apply today.

The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of safety, service and security.