As a volunteer member of the neighborhood council’s land use committee, I listened to scores of proposals by dozens of developers. Some were good projects that added value to the community and improved the business environment and some were not.

Back in 2004, a Las Vegas developer, backed by a corporation in Arlington, Texas, proposed a large gated community on 900 acres of beautiful but rugged undeveloped hillside. He hired a major law firm and numerous consultants to lobby the City of Los Angeles for a zone change and a general plan amendment. There was heated opposition, but citizens didn’t stand a chance against this array of legal and financial firepower – he got his subdivision in a supposedly protected Scenic corridor, in violation of an existing specific plan that citizens had written and which the city had approved to prevent this exact sort of thing.

His plan – to put in the roads and infrastructure and sell the subdivision’s parcels off individually or in small groups to other developers!

Provensalia’s unfolding has been like “déjà vu all over again” for us. Our property is in Big Valley, some distance from the site, but we have been following this for several years. Local residents are pointing to many obvious and alarming red flags, but the Clearlake Planning Commission and Clearlake City Council seem to be unaware that it is their job is to comprehend the consequences and costs if they make the wrong decision. Aren’t they concerned about potential financial fallout from this project? This could affect all Lake County taxpayers, but the cost could be thousands of dollars for individual Clearlake property owners and ratepayers if this goes badly.

This doesn’t even start to address planning policy issues or the environmental problems created of this type of development. These are just a few issues that should be causing severe alarm and concern to Clearlake officials, not to mention the residents who will ultimately pay the bill when it comes due.

Unclear ownership?

To recap, Agustin Rosas-Maxemin owns Armax International Inc. with offices in San Francisco and Mexico City. He purchased the property initially but (maybe?) he’s out of the deal now. According to Dick Price, Rosas-Maxemin sold his rights to the project “after Rangel de Alba decided not to have him continue.”

According to the Armax Web site Price is their project manager. He works there, but he talked Jorge Rangel de Alba into buying out his boss? And he's still on the project? www.armax.com/index2a.htm.

Rangel de Alba also “owns units” in an Armax luxury condo project in San Francisco. This may be an “orange” flag. Was this sale really an arm’s length transaction? An arm's length transaction is one in which the parties involved are entirely independent of each other, deal with each other as strangers, and have no reason for collusion.

A family affair

“SF’s fashionable crowd turned out for the opening soirée where a portion of the evening’s sales benefited Raphael House. The family shelter is dedicated to helping at-risk families find stable housing and financial independence, while providing daily comforts and one-on-one support. Celebrants at the party included: Goyard franchise owners Patrick and Luisa Hagemeister-Rangel de Alba, Norman Hagemeister, Jorge Rangel de Alba with his daughter Mariana Hagemeister – the family also owns Bang and Olufsen and Roche Bobois). Goyard owners Alex and Jeanne Signoles flew in from France.” www.newyorksocialdiary.com/socialdiary/2006/08_25_06/socialdiary08_25_06sanfran.php

European Designs owns the stores that sell Goyard, B&O and Roche Bobois. Brothers Norman and Patrick Hagemeister own the franchises for these products and Patrick is the CEO of European Designs. He’s apparently married to Luisa Hagemeister-Rangel de Alba.

Jorge Rangel de Alba is pictured with his daughter, Mariana Hagemeister. Obviously these two families are very closely connected – doesn’t Rangel de Alba “own” the stores?

Implausible ignorance

Recall that Price says he got Rangel de Alba to sell off the additional land originally included in the Provensalia proposal to Starlite Ventures LLC. Starlite Ventures formed on June 15, 2005, and the property was transferred on June 23, 2005, for $2 million. Starlite has no Web site or phone – shell corporations don’t need locations, employees or phones.

Price says he doesn't know who is behind Starlite Ventures. “They made a point of not telling me who it was.” However, Starlite Ventures LLC is apparently Eric Villaseñor and, as noted, Villaseñor is CFO of Hagemeister’s company, European Designs. http://europeandesigns.net/european-designs-about-us.shtml.

This does NOT appear to be an arm’s length transaction – that’s a red flag.

What’s the motive?

Price says he doesn’t believe the parcel sold to Starlite can be developed “due to terrain, trees and lack of an entry.” And “The city’s oak tree ordinance, adopted earlier this year, also would challenge the property’s development ...” Why is Price working so hard to make this point? Why do they want it to look like they “sold” $2 million of “unbuildable” land, which they apparently still own? What’s that about?

Can the Clearlake Planning Commissioners or council members explain what is going on here?

Who is accountable?

Unfortunately, it appears that Rangel de Alba will be more or less untouchable if things go badly for Provensalia and the city of Clearlake. There won’t be much recourse if he doesn’t keep up his side of the sewer deal and anything else Clearlake gets stuck with, but they could try giving him a call at one of his shops on Avenida Presidente Masaryk in Mexico City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenida_Presidente_Masaryk

To give an idea how much money may go through Rangel de Alba’s checking account, he was also a principal in a $190 million merger between two Mexican remittance companies via a shell corporation located in Arlington, Texas. (This transaction can be verified using www.google.com.) However, remittances decline during a recession – this has already been reported in the financial pages of major newspapers like the Wall Street Journal.

Business partner B&O seems to be having their share of troubles, too, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bang_&_Olufsen. In this economy it's anyone's guess how privately-held luxury furniture dealer, Roche Bobois is doing. http://www.rochebobois.com/sites/tendances/index.php?langue=en&pays=us

The Price Group

A number of people have pointed out that the last thing Lake County needs is yet another paper subdivision. Don’t we have enough problems with erosion, illegal dumping, and criminal activities on our existing problem properties?

Dick Price was a principal in Fox Hills, a golf and housing development in Merced – about three quarters of the way down in the Los Banos Enterprise article it mentions the development has NOT “made much visible progress so far.” www.losbanosenterprise.com/114/story/31267.html,

http://foxhillsgolfcommunity.com/html/featured.htm

Price sold off his interest in Fox Hills to some other developers a few years back so maybe he made out okay when the music stopped and everyone ran for the chairs ...

Greater Fool Theory: “Observation that any price (no matter how unrealistic) can be justified if a buyer believes that there is another buyer who will pay an even-higher price for the same item.” ~ www.businessdictionary.com

Here is another red flag of a different sort than Price’s statement that he has no idea who bought that unbuildable parcel – the Price Group’s estimated annual sales revenue is $165,000. He is clearly not in a position to pony up millions for sewers.

www.usadirectlenders.com/pdf/Fox_Hills-Judge_OKs_building_on_protected_ag_land%5B1%5D.pdf

www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_ggj1mm.

Additional oddities

It’s been reported that Rosas-Maxemin also has a development named Provinsalia (with an “i” instead of an “e”) in San Jose. “That Provinsalia consists of 72 hillside homes between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet each – built in a style ‘reminiscent of those found in Provence or Tuscany’ – and ranging in price from $432,000 to $733,700, according to the Armax Web site.” The Yahoo map on the Armax web site links to a parcel next to a development on Sands Drive between a school and another tract development.

By sheer coincidence I was in this neighborhood recently. Nothing I saw bore even a remote resemblance to Provence or Tuscany. The ambiance is better described as “United States of Generica.” You need GPS because every winding suburban street looks exactly like the last one you drove down.

When I called the San Jose offices for Provinsalia, the phone numbers listed on the Web site were disconnected with no new number or rang with no answer. Maybe Provinsalia is 72 condo units on Sands Drive – crammed onto Highway 87 freeway frontage road in the middle of a very built-up area about two miles south of downtown San Jose. I have no plans to return in the near future to verify this. However, you will find that Provinsalia web page VERY difficult to access from the Armax Web site home page and it is not listed on the site map. It’s almost like it’s hidden or been removed or something . . . so here’s the link: http://www.armax.com/projects/provensalia.htm.

Conclusion

No case has been made that this project will result in a gain for Clearlake, rather than merely a profit for the developer upon sale by the current owners of the land.

To spell it out clearly, if the land has decreased in value, the owners can attempt to increase its value by changing the zoning and subdividing it. This may enable them to sell it for a higher price. They do not have any actual legal right to require that this be done for them. If Clearlake doesn’t allow a subdivision and golf course, they have not been denied anything to which they are truly entitled. They still have the right to use the land as allowed under the zoning that existed when they bought it. This is the same right that we all have as property owners.

The notion has been floated by someone who should know better that future residents of Provensalia will earn an average of $61,000 per year. That is an interesting claim given the average income in this area. Others have already pointed out the absurdity of raising the average per capita income by importing people who make more money as opposed to increasing economic opportunity for existing residents and improving the multiplier for local enterprises. Instead Clearlake seems to be bent on opening two national big-box retailers which will have the exact opposite effect by ensuring that our money LEAVES Lake County more quickly! But I digress ...

Do Clearlake’s decision-makers believe that these residents will be “extreme commuters” who spend three or more hours a day driving to and from places that do have jobs that pay $60,000 per year? This is a way of life with no future. If they don’t understand by now why that is not sustainable, they need to educate themselves. May I recommend “The Geography of Nowhere” by James Howard Kunstler?

Furthermore, a person with yearly income of $61,000 is able to afford a house costing a maximum of $244,000 and more conservative lenders would put that figure closer to $180,000. What developer is able to pay for extensive infrastructure and then build a custom home on a third of an acre and sell it for $200,000? Will these be manufactured homes?

Perhaps the theory is that every household in Provensalia will have two fully-employed members in each making an average of $60,000 per year so the homes can be sold for $400,000 or $500,000, despite the reality of Lake County’s real estate market. Has Mr. Nieman been on www.lcaor.com recently?

In the absence of due diligence by the public officials of Clearlake, it falls to local journalists and concerned citizens to do their own investigation of the financial standing and past history of the parties involved with this project. They must hold local officials accountable. They must consider carefully what the probable outcome will be if problems arise from this development.

Back in my old community, the developer described in the beginning is grading hillsides because his subdivision approval would have expired if he failed to “break ground” within the required time. Of course, no gated community is going to be built in the foreseeable future, but now the ground has been disturbed, creating the conditions for erosion and mudslides.

This outcome was predicted by a number of citizens back in 2005, but officials with the city pooh-poohed their concerns. It’s anyone’s guess when the economy will recover, the huge over-supply of housing inventory will be eliminated and there will again be a hot market for 4,000 square foot houses, but it’s certain that the bulldozers will continue to wreak havoc in the hills behind town for some time to come.

Roberta Actor-Thomas lives in Kelseyville.

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Thirty years later, and having lived for a significant amount of time in a total of three very different nations, I think I may have come to know the meaning of such stress.

Stress is a mental experience, that affects the body and the emotions, but that does not necessarily have to do with actual outer circumstances or events, rather it is often rooted in specific beliefs and perceptions. It is how we handle life that causes us to be stressed, rather than life itself, most of the time.

Life here seems to be handled with high expectations, standards of perfections that are not seen in too many other cultures, that are often deemed to be “substandard” by Americans. Even Europeans are looked upon with some disdain for having supposedly lower standards in some aspects of their lives. Some environmental causes are met with the comment: ”So you want us to live like Europeans?” as if Europeans still lived in the dark ages.

The flip side of this pursuit of materialistic happiness, which goes with the pursuit of superficial perfection, is stress, as nothing is ever good enough, and no one can ever be satisfied with what they have, they consistently want more, bigger, louder, brighter, faster. Even food has to be large, and as it gets bigger, shinier and more perfect, like plastic, it looses its content, with almost no nutrition.

So this plastic culture focuses almost entirely on appearances. Damn the content, worship the superficial. People eat perfect-looking empty or chemical food, they elect individuals who “look presidential” and are clueless or have no integrity or character, they watch mind-numbing movies and flashy news and entertainment, they live in huge houses made of cardboard, and they attempt to look and act as if they were still 20 in their 40s, with fake body parts whenever they can afford them.

Indeed the struggle to appear perfect also targets physical appearances and personal lives. People don’t just want perfect trappings; they want perfect lives, some according to Hallmark ideals in the domain of relationships. They also want perfect bodies, women still being generally pressured to strive to look like the 16-year-old anorexic models who fill the pages of popular magazines.

Happiness must also be perfect, and anyone who feels sadness or grief, or anything even slightly negative, better get over it quickly and according to some predetermined and orderly steps defined by the experts, or else it is concluded that there is something wrong with them and that they need psychotropic medications, which are given to the public by doctors like candy these days.

Normal anger is not tolerated, but violence is, and pervades society precisely because people are taught to bottle up their everyday anger and frustrations, to control their behaviors and suppress their feelings, until they go postal or psycho, or implode in depression. So while no one should ever express normal, rational anger or pain, everyone better have a gun and some medication, as fear and paranoia become rampant.

Children are not immune from a pressure to perform, to excel, and to compete madly, the latest being that toddlers can be taught to read. Perhaps they will be made to have read Shakespeare and Homer and do calculus by the age of two … after all, you can never induce a person to aim for the best too early, or so it is believed.

What is lost in this process of striving for superficial perfection and performance? Some American tourists made a comment, while visiting Venice, reputed to be one of the most romantic cities in the world … they said it wasn’t bad, but it needed a coat of paint. They were apparently oblivious to the soul of the place, and wanted it to look like Las Vegas.

Soul, heart, poetry, charm, substance, meaning, authenticity, these things are lost, in people as well as the outer environment, when outer perfection is sought with such neurotic determination. There is definitively a huge yet unconscious hunger for these attributes in America today, as can be seen in the current trend of “distressed” furniture which people with so called disposable income and some sophistication like to acquire, looking for some traces of soul in their decor. Because this hunger is unconscious, the attempt to restore “soul” in everyday life is indeed feeble and superficial, and as everything else commercially exploited.

The poetic dimension of life, so crucial to the soul, that without it withers and dies, is severely lacking in this speedy plastic and concrete “perfect” American culture, so seemingly practical and materialistic yet without respect for actual matter, without much respect or love for land, water and air, and so fundamentally alien to nature, as can be witnessed when, traveling by air, perfectly straight lines and square angles are seen to define cities and impose their very odd, unnatural order on curvy, naturally wiggly hills and valleys.

What is also lost here, and the source of the most intense stress in the final analysis, is self-acceptance. High standards mean relentless self-criticism, each one of us being trained to be our very own “coach,” beating and whipping ourselves into guilt and ever greater demands to become better in all areas of our lives, not from natural growth and inner inspiration, as should happen given some care, trust, and natural time, but by trying to lift ourselves by our own bootstraps.

Mistakes are frowned upon and learning time and performances are condensed to the speed of light. Those who fail or appear to give up are pariahs, akin to lepers … they are “losers.” It is ironically believed that there is something seriously wrong with those individuals who do not have the drive to relentlessly struggle to better their lives according to other people’s standards, and almost everyone is conditioned to want it and want it yesterday … from the hurried business executive to the spiritual seeker demanding instant enlightenment.

For these very reasons, because growth does not happen naturally and on its own terms, from the inside out (there is no time to live, only time to race through life, to get and perform rather than be), people who forcefully achieve the goals society teaches them to seek frequently end up feeling fake, and have an occasional “identity crisis,” as their outer life does not match their inner life.

Yet most do not experience such necessary redemption, they simply navigate unaware on the edge of meaninglessness and despair, attempting to function while quickly pursuing what is called happiness with ever more and better stuff, ever more effective medications, greater and madder sources of entertainments and escapes, and a belief that if they could only reach the epitome of what they think is perfection in one aspect of their lives or another, they would be satisfied at last, they would feel worthy and could rest on their achievements for an instant … until artificial standards are raised again, and a new race begins, and the gerbil is back running in the wheel inside his/her mental cage, going absolutely nowhere with great speed and impressive determination.

Raphael Montoliu lives in Lakeport.

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WASHINGTON, DC – 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 a.m., left Alexandria, Virginia at 5:30 a.m., sausaged ourselves on the 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 setup, it could have easily been a disaster had the crowd not found a way to self-manage.

After the Metro, we waited another three 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 Harris, Tony Farrington and Cliff Swetnam 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 George W. Bush and First Lady 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 his reference to dark storm clouds gathering suggested that we have some particularly difficult times ahead, which we all appreciate and are 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 acknowledgment 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 health care. 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 US 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: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFhlZtTn_0U.

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 p.m., 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.

Denise Rushing represents the Northshore on the Lake County Board of Supervisors. She lives in Upper Lake.

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Columnist and contributing writer Mandy Feder.

“If you always think what you always thought, you'll always do what you always did and you'll always get what you always got, and think what you always thought.” – Anonymous

It was a moment of silence for me – the pen swooping swiftly across the paper – equal pay for equal work. It seems so simple and equitable like the lessons we were taught in primary school.

The day President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law on Jan. 29, I sat with eyes fixed to the television on CNN.

The passage of the bill means that women can challenge unequal pay.

A woman with cropped blond hair and librarian-style glasses told of her plight in a voice that sounded like that of the Coal Miner’s Daughter.

Lilly Ledbetter was employed as a supervisor at Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Gadsden, Ala. from 1979 to 1998.

She worked as an area manager for most of her career. The majority of people in her position were men.

Lilly Ledbetter stands behind President Barack Obama on Thursday, January 29, 2009, as he signs the act named for her, which addresses equal pay among male and female workers. White House photo by Pete Souza.

At first her salary paralleled the salaries of the men performing substantially similar work. Over time Ledbetter’s pay stagnated compared to the pay of male area managers who had the same or even less seniority.

At the end of 1997 she was the only woman in the position of area manager and the pay discrepancy was blatantly obvious. Ledbetter was paid $3,727 per month while the lowest-paid male area manager received $4,286 and the highest paid received $5,236 per month.

The act addresses fairness and equality in an era of desperation.

It also makes the statement that maybe the best man for the job is not always a man.

I’m not touting womanpower, just human power and basic human rights.

It’s simple. It’s like picking a bushel of apples, or in Lake County, pears. If a man and a woman both contribute the same amount, why would the man walk away with more pieces of gold?

According the National Women’s Law Center, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reverses the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in 2007 and restores the ability of victims of wage discrimination to hold their employers accountable for injustice and challenge the practice in court.

“This is truly a monumental achievement for women – and all workers. The Supreme Court stripped workers of their ability to fight wage discrimination but now a new president and Congress have stepped in and restored their basic legal rights,” said Marcia D. Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center. “Employers will now be held accountable for each discriminatorily reduced paycheck, because every time pay is unfairly lowered, it’s a violation of the law and fundamental fairness.”

It takes perseverance and patience to fight the good fight or envision the big picture as Ledbetter learned in her experience, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), U.S. Supreme Court.

When I consider equality for women, I often look to famed sociologist, philosopher, feminist and author, Mary Wollstonecraft, born in 1797, an avid advocate of independence and education for women.

During an unlikely era she stood firm about the importance of self-discipline, honesty, frugality and social contentment. She placed the responsibility of sensibility, economics and political theory on women while fully appreciating the role of motherhood. She died from complications associated with childbirth when her daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of “Frankenstein,” was born.

In the spirit of strong women, strong humans, Ledbetter stood in front of a crowd in Washington DC, her image on the televisions of many millions, proving that we all have a voice.

The world is tumultuous at best now. The simple act promoting civilized and fair behavior provided some respite from the cold winds of war, poverty and overwhelming hopelessness.

Mandy Feder is an award-winning writer and editor who now joins Lake County News as a columnist and contributor.

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Dr. William MacDougall. Courtesy photo.

As most of you know, the California State Legislature still has not agreed upon a budget. This places all state-funded agencies, including schools, in a very tough position.

As they debate, life goes on and state-funded agencies spend monies not knowing exactly how much will be received when the debate ends. In their efforts to force an agreement, the legislators and the governor have made rumors and threats regarding cuts and financial withholdings.

I was taught to always “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” This philosophy has served me well and that is exactly what we have been doing.

Prior to the beginning of the year, the Konocti Unified School District developed a budget based upon the best projections available from multiple sources. The KUSD administration knew that things were going to be tight and staffed accordingly.

We have entered 2009 still with no budget adopted by the state. The governor has stated that there will be drastic cuts, but no amounts have been determined.

Now rumors are surfacing of IOUs coming from the state. These are only rumors, but IF it were to happen, it would cause a huge financial turmoil that would affect all aspects of the California economy. However, with the “prepare for the worst” philosophy, we have secured funds to get our contracted employees through this possibility.

The key phrase here is “contracted employees.” We know how much we are spending on our contracts with our classified and certificated staff. Where we come into problems is when we add staff time through time sheets.

Most of these time sheet hours are to be paid out of grants we have been awarded or categorical funds we have been promised by the state. The state is saying that it may not honor or may greatly reduce what we have been awarded or promised. Thus, we should not spend monies that we cannot count on receiving. That is why we have temporarily suspended time sheet hours and continued the spending freeze.

Once the budget is adopted, hopefully very soon, we expect to lift the suspension of time sheets and continue to fund the staff needed to operate programs such as our after school Academic Opportunity (AO) and music programs.

Over 40 years ago, my father told me that a person’s true character is best shown during the “tough times.” I have talked with several people who are being financially affected by the temporary suspension of time sheet hours. Almost every person I have spoken with has understood the necessity of this decision and then stated that “we’ll make sure that the kids get what they need anyway.” Members of our community, specifically in this case the KUSD staff, are again going the extra mile, without financial compensation, to provide services and enrichment to our community. This is the TRUE character of our community.

In these times we have very few things we can count on, but we can count on our community. When I first came to Lake County, the Lower Lake High School football field, later named Sadler Field, had just been completed. This field was completed through the funds and volunteer efforts of many outstanding citizens. This month, we opened our new gymnasium, a state-of-the-art facility that has the largest indoor seating capacity in Lake County. The gym was paid for out of bond funds purchased by our community. Amazing things happen when our community decides to invest in our children.

Another great example of how a rural community, with limited financial resources, can create a highly successful, heavily attended family activity is the Konocti Basketball League (KBL). KBL provides evening activities for youth at each elementary school and then coordinates games from 8 a.m. To 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Opening day games took place on Saturday, Jan. 10. There were hundreds of people at Lower Lake High School, enjoying a fun-filled, family activity. Parents are asked to pay $30 for each player for the entire season, but several children are sponsored by community members because some parents are unable to pay the fee. KBL is an all-volunteer organization. All coaches, referees, and organizational positions volunteer their time so that the youth of our community have supervised, safe activities after school and on Saturday.

KBL requires and enforces a policy of sportsmanship and code of ethics for its athletes and parents. This policy promotes a sense of honor, appreciation, respect and community.

The healthiness of this family activity is noteworthy. Children and their parents spend the day participating and watching basketball, and sharing “quality time.” This activity would not be possible without a partnership between the schools and a large group of community volunteers. Many of these volunteers do not have children participating; they simply want to “look after” the kids in our community.

The Calling All Communities Challenge is another example of our community’s unity and health. This U.S. Cellular-sponsored competition stated that $100,000 would be given to the 10 schools around the country that received the most community support. Community support was determined by the number of prepaid postcards that were filled out naming an individual school.

Within weeks, Lower Lake High School was listed as having the fifth-highest number of votes in the entire nation. The local newspapers and communication networks kicked into high gear as the new year arrived. People throughout Lake County realized that only one California school was ranked anywhere near the top 10.

Votes for Lower Lake High School started pouring in from all over Lake County. We will not know the final results until Feb. 15, but the last unofficial estimate from U.S. Cellular had Lower Lake High at No. 4. Thanks to all of you who voted! This really shows how our community and county are special, strong and supportive.

Representatives from the county of Lake, the city of Clearlake, KUSD and our community have been meeting weekly since November to investigate ways to increase revenue and make our dollars go further. Members of our community continue to volunteer their time and resources to provide activities, food and shelter to our kids.

One thing is certain; the best investment we can make is in our children. This is the basic, beautiful belief of the Konocti Unified School District and our community. We live and work with some of the most caring, hard-working, community-minded people on Earth. I am humbled and honored to work with you and to be able to serve our community.

Dr. William R. MacDougall, Ed.D., is in his first year as Konocti Unified School District's superintendent. He writes periodic updates with community members to let them know the state of the district.

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The old Lucerne Hotel. Courtesy photo.

I don't like to make big pleas to local officials in a public way very often, because I like to save up for the big ticket items.

But the time has come. So, here goes.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors – if its members care at all about the future of the Northshore town of Lucerne – should give direction to county administrative staff to begin the process of purchasing the old Lucerne Hotel, which some of us here who know and love the building affectionately call “the Castle.”

Ignore that sound that you hear off in the distance of a screaming man in a buffalo print shirt and I'll explain.

In recent years, thanks mostly to the Lake County Redevelopment Agency, the county has purchased a lot of property for the purpose of sprucing up the county. That's not an entirely popular business with some folks, including Supervisor Rob Brown (hopefully he's stopped screaming in frustration by now).

A few years ago, when Brown happened to take a vacation and neglected to make sure his office at the courthouse was locked, county staff did a little modifying, draping his office in pink decorations, among them a prominent “I love redevelopment” poster – printed in pink – on one wall. It was pretty priceless. Wish I could find the pictures I took of that.

To his credit, Brown hasn't ruled out every redevelopment-funded property purchase the county has made, and has generally looked at them based on impact and merit.

In November 2007 he wholeheartedly supported the purchase of Clark's Island in Clearlake Oaks as a way of dealing with a blighted property that impacted the lake. When he embraced the purchase at a meeting a few months before the final vote to purchase, Supervisor Jeff Smith couldn't help himself – he had to give Brown a good ribbing about it, telling him, “You are coming around.”

So, there are no real absolutes in this process, and for the most part it's been approached with a great deal of care and investigation. I've appreciated it when board members question the process and are willing to disagree, because the resulting dialog has benefited the county's residents.

Now comes the announcement that the Lucerne Christian Conference Center – the group that owns the Castle – is putting it up for sale. No asking price yet, but they want to sell it fairly fast.

I have to make a quick qualification here – I live in Lucerne, within view of the Castle and just around the corner from it. Its spires greet me every day, and I'm utterly in love with the building.

So this is an appeal from the heart, not just from mine but from our little community's.

Please, Rob Brown, Jim Comstock, Tony Farrington, Jeff Smith, Denise Rushing ... buy the Castle for the entire county.

I've seen few buildings as unique in my travels around the rural reaches of Northern California. Personally, I can think of no other place that best exemplifies the possibilities for redevelopment than the Castle. How many opportunities does anyone have – whether private individuals or government agencies – to buy a big, beautiful white castle?

It's one of the county's largest buildings at 75,000 square feet, and one of the tallest at seven stories.

Why should the county buy this building?

Well, for one, to protect it. That, quite honestly, is the first and best reason.

The Castle has had a lot of missed opportunities since construction on it began in 1926, part of a vast dream for Lucerne. It wasn't even completed when the despair of the Great Depression descended on the country, leading to its first sale.

Now, here we are again, in a period now being called the Great Recession, and the Castle is on the block once more, littered with broken dreams and the best of intentions.

If nothing else, the board should purchase the building to protect it from the kind of real estate speculators who have held a death grip on Lucerne for years, buying up properties in key locations and then attempting to sell them – often to the county – for outrageously inflated rates often double the market value. It's part of the reason that I believe Lucerne still languishes economically and socially.

If you think I'm paranoid, you have to remember that I've both been studying this from a professional standpoint as a journalist and as a resident of this town. So I have some information that isn't widely known.

For example, I've come across information that indicates some of these same speculators I'm concerned about had their eyes on the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center. I don't believe it's any mistake that, when the county offered monetary support to get that center back on its feet, it included ironclad protections to try to keep the building's holding nonprofit from losing the property to a private owner.

That's a nightmare scenario for many Lucernians; but just as bad – or possibly worse – is the prospect that one of these speculators attempts to purchase the Castle and turn it into something such as a drug rehab or flop house, which we're all full up on, thank you very much.

If that happens, I guarantee, it will put a spike through the heart of this community. And it's going to be torch and pitchfork time here in the neighborhood. The mess that could result might find the county having to intervene and try to buy the building anyway, at a much-inflated price.

There's also the outrageous suggestion being made by the current owners to start selling off pieces of the seven-acre property the building sits on while they're waiting for a buyer, which would eat away at the building's opportunities.

Another reason to buy the building: There's nothing like it anywhere, situated as it is, with what is arguably one of the most beautiful settings to be found. Napa and Sonoma counties may have grand buildings, but I can't think of a castle overlooking the water, as you would find in the original Lucerne in Switzerland – which, incidentally, is believed to be that country's most popular tourist destination.

Along other stretches of the Northshore, the county has taken the opportunity to buy and revitalize or give assistance in revitalizing areas that were either historically town centers or could serve as centers in areas where there weren't any.

Take The Plaza project in Clearlake Oaks, where the community and its willingness to partner with local government has put them very much ahead of the game in recreating what was reportedly once the little town's focal point. That project will reestablish a town center around which business and services can rotate.

In Nice, last summer the board decided to purchase Holiday Harbor, again suggesting it could be a town square, rather than the Hinman Park area previously chosen. That decision, according to District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, was urged by community members.

Brown, however, wasn't happy about it, especially from the standpoint that the county's redevelopment plan had centered on Hinman, and it represented a case of changing horses midstream. His reaction was a reasonable and understandable reaction to having a longstanding plan seem suddenly to change.

Lucerne already has a town center. It's the Castle. The town's widest street, 13^th Avenue, was created to lead directly to the building, which is framed elegantly at the end of the street.

The county's redevelopment plan calls for commercial development with a mixed-use element – apartments over businesses – lining 13^th Avenue. Those plans, connected to the Castle as a community and conference center and hotel, would be a masterstroke, and could end up being redevelopment's crowning achievement in Lake County.

The building's pool, tennis and basketball courts could be updated, its facilities improved. Lease out restaurant and pub space, have a day spa, a book shop and even rent out the hotel rooms, use its undeveloped grounds as a park, offer much-needed after school activities for local children. New and existing businesses could be stimulated and expanded in such an environment.

Just as reasonable an option is that the county purchase the land and hold it for resale to a thoroughly vetted and proven developer with a portfolio of successful, similar projects. The county also could enter into a unique public-private partnership with a commercial business that would provide a conference center and office space for county government functions mixed with business and community use.

There are literally endless options.

But what isn't an option here is letting this pass us by. Redevelopment isn't a concept that has universal approval or appeal, as we've already discussed, but I've seen it do tremendous good in Lake County.

I've seen what the impact of one building can be to a community. Here in Lucerne in 2007 the county purchased and demolished “the blue monster,” an old house that had become a lakeside eyesore.

The impact of having that building gone has been incredible on the town's look and feel. It's as if the evening light hits the town differently, with that lurking bulk out of the way. We're also eagerly awaiting the scheduled demolition this spring of two blighted motels on the other end of town.

Great, you say. But what about the money? How can the county afford this at such a difficult economic time?

I'm glad you asked.

Here's the great part about redevelopment: The county redevelopment agency can finance this purchase.

Let me say that again: The county has the ability to do this. They can buy the Castle today and begin the process of saving it. Redevelopment can make that happen.

So, yes, it's possible. I've confirmed with county officials that the funding possibilities exist.

This will come down purely to a political decision for our board. If the money is there, it will be more about ideological concerns about government getting involved in private property ownership and commercial development.

However, we live in interesting times. With what's happening in our government right now – buying shares of banks and finance companies – the expectations of what government should be and what it should do have changed forever. The federal government has set the precedent of buying into private enterprise elsewhere, although not very well, but I believe our local government has the ability to make public-private partnerships work.

That's because I have faith in certain key people, who have made redevelopment work for the people of this county. They can take this opportunity and use redevelopment for a vast project of community rebuilding.

The chance is here now, however, and may not last long. If the county tarries too much, the Castle could fall into an ownership that once again can't do the right things due to lack of will, knowledge or finance.

If the heart of the community isn't addressed, then other attempts to revitalize the Lucerne community may be seriously diminished. From that building flows huge possibilities, both good and bad, depending on what happens to it next.

This isn't an opportunity likely to present itself again – at least while the building is standing in its current condition. The next time, it could be a battered ruin, the saving of which could cost millions more than it would take today to turn it into a world-class community and conference center.

To the community: If you support this, let your supervisors know. E-mail them (you can find their addresses by going to this page and clicking on your district in the lefthand side of the page: www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors.htm), call them at 263-2368 or – better yet – show up at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. The Castle is scheduled to be discussed at 11:15 a.m.

To our supervisors, I implore you: Storm the Castle. Take it. Let the community come together to plan a future for it. You hesitate at the community's peril.

Elizabeth Larson is publisher and editor of Lake County News and proud to live in Lucerne.

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