Maricruz Alvarez-Carrillo, 21, faces felony assault with a deadly weapon charges, and felony battery with serious injury for her role in an incident Jan. 28 in outside the C.V. Starr recreational center, according to a Tuesday report from Mendocino County District Attorney C. David Eyster's office.

Alvarez-Carillo is accused of taking the ax to Alissa Colberg, 19 at the time of the attack, who suffered chest and facial wounds, and a male juvenile from Fort Bragg.

Judge Clay Brennan found the ax attack was gang-related after hearing testimony from 13 witnesses following a two-day preliminary hearing last week, Eyster's office said.

Colberg was the main witness for prosecutors. She testified that around 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 28 she was walking to the dog park next to the Starr center when she saw Alvarez-Carillo chasing the male juvenile around a vehicle.

At first she thought the woman was attacking the male victim with a hammer, but she soon learned it was a hatchet. Colberg testified that she swung at Alvarez-Carillo with a dog chain in a bid to aid the boy, but she instead became the target of the ax attack.

Colberg ended up suffering a deep wound to her chest, and cuts on her face. All left disfiguring scars, Colberg testified.

Fort Bragg Police Officer Brian Clark testified that Alvarez-Carillo later claimed that “Northeners” gang members had surrounded her car with her baby in it and then smashed the windows.

Clark testified that the defendant said she got out of the car to confront Colberg “who had a chain.”

Tammie Lynn Garner, a neighbor who witnessed the incident, said she saw two females fighting and “one female had an ax and the other female had a belt or chain.” The hatchet was later found in the parking lot in front of the Starr center.

Alvarez-Carillo and defense witnesses contended that Colberg was the aggressor in the fight because she allegedly belongs to rival gang that has terrorized the Minnesota Avenue apartment complex where the father of Alvarez-Carillo’s child lives.

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Gates has the department preparing such a set of recommendations to be part of a $400 billion defense savings package over the next 12 years.

Specifically he criticized a “one-size-fits-all approach” to basic pay and retirement, suggesting “tiered and targeted” methods could cost less but pay more to service members in “high demand and dangerous specialties.”

He implied pay levels overall are set too high as evidenced by the services’ continuous ability to meet recruiting and retention targets, except for the Army and only “during the worst years of Iraq.”

Gates again asked that TRICARE fees be raised, particularly for working age retirees. And he eyes replacing the all-or-nothing 20-year retirement plan with a more “flexible” system that would allow earlier vesting in benefits but also encourage more members to serve longer careers.

Some of these ideas are decades old. Over the past 40 years other defense secretaries have made similar or even more unpopular proclamations to curb military benefits, from closing discount stores on base to ending tax-free allowances and shifting the military to fully taxable salaries.

Gates had soften some of the impact of his remarks to the conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute May 24 by reassuring Marines at Camp Lejeune just weeks earlier that any change to retirement should not affect the current force. “So don’t get nervous,” he said.

The reality is that sharp changes to pay or benefits typically don’t occur as a result of policy speeches or even in-depth studies written over months by commissions created for that task. Dramatic changes usually occur during fiscal emergencies, real or perceived.

The House Armed Services Committee, for example, thought it necessary in 1984-85 to move military retirement to an accrual accounting system to ensure funding of benefits to future members stopped encroaching on money for other defense programs.

Lawmakers then set a target for the accrual account and told Defense officials to design a retirement plan to produce the required result.

That turned out to be “Redux,” a plan that cut the value of 20-year retirement by roughly 25 percent for new members. As time passed and retention fell among the Redux generation, Congress repealed the plan. To preserve some cost savings, however, a $30,000 lump sum bonus was offered to any member who agreed to opt back into Redux during their 15th year of service.

Redux was fruit of a crisis tied to rising retirement obligations. The current debt crisis is far more threatening. Total national debt is nearing $15 trillion.

Unless the debt ceiling is raised by Aug. 2, the U.S. Treasury says it will default on some obligations, likely triggering a worldwide financial crisis.

Republicans vow not to raise the ceiling unless an agreement is reached with the White House to cut federal spending deeply, to include Medicare and other prized entitlements.

Vice President Joe Biden is hosting closed-door meetings with Republicans and Democrats. He promises to bring forth at least $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years.

It’s during such closed-door deals that popular programs, even military benefits, can become tempting targets.

Gates’ remarks encourage that military compensation be part of planned defense cuts, suggesting excess dollars going today into compensation can be diverted over time to help replace aging fleets of aircraft, ships, submarines and land warfare vehicles.

Benefit cuts that impact current members and families in wartime could be seen by as unfair. But lawmakers negotiating with Biden have plenty of other options from among recommendations made late last year by separate debt reduction panels.

A task force co-chaired by former Sen. Pete Domenici and economist Alice Rivlin proposed a cheaper military retirement plan, which could be shaped to target to future members only. It would provide some retired pay at age 60 for those with as few as 10 years service. But it would end the tradition of paying an immediate annuity after only 20 years.

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, co-chaired by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, recommended a study of structural changes to federal retirement plans. One idea floated is to defer cost-of-living adjustments until age 62, when a one-time catch-up raise would restore lost inflation protection.

Perhaps the ripest fruit for those arguing federal entitlements are unsustainable is adoption of a modified Consumer Price Index (CPI) that would shave annual cost-of-living adjustments. Both deficit reduction panels endorsed it.

The revised index is a “chain-weighted” CPI. The Bureau of Labor Statistic created it in 2002 to address criticism of “substitution bias” in other CPIs.

The idea behind the revised CPI is that, as prices rise, people actually change behavior and buy cheaper items, apples instead of oranges, for example. Yet the CPI used to adjust federal entitlements assumes consumers buy the same items month after month regardless of price.

Reformers see this as exaggerating inflation and driving up entitlement costs. Defenders of current COLAs argue the index should measure price changes for the same goods and services over time, and not be adjusted continually based on changing behaviors from the sting of rising prices.

Shifting to the new CPI would curb entitlement spending, on average, by .25 percentage points a year. Yet by one estimate the savings could total $300 billion over the next decade, at least half from Social Security benefits.

For the Department of Defense, proponents might argue, this change alone is a no-brainer in desperate times, serving to dampen retirement costs without singling out the military alone for fiscal sacrifice.

To comment, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: www.militaryupdate.com.

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The incident – alleged to have taken place at a tattoo conference at the Konocti Vista Resort and Casino outside of Lakeport – involved the Vagos and the Hells Angels, both outlaw motorcycle gangs, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.

Bauman said a member of the Vagos was brutally beaten, allegedly by a group of full-patch members of the Hells Angels.

At approximately 1:20 p.m. Saturday, sheriff’s deputies responded to Konocti Vista Casino after security reported that four to five Hells Angels were involved in a physical fight, Bauman said.

He said deputies arrived within minutes of the call and stopped a group of full-patch Hells Angels members who were walking out of the resort’s conference center.

As the group of Hells Angels allegedly were telling deputies that they knew nothing about a fight, resort security personnel alerted deputies to a green SUV leaving the resort that was reportedly occupied by the victim, Bauman said.

The green SUV was stopped by deputies a short distance from the resort. Bauman said the passenger in the SUV, identified as 39-year-old Michael Anthony Burns of Lakeport, was bleeding about the head and face, his face was swollen and he had a laceration under his right eye.

Burns, however, denied being involved in any altercation and alleged that his injuries occurred as the result of a “fall,” Bauman said.

Although Burns was a known validated member of the Vagos, a rival gang of the Hells Angels, he was released from further detention since he adamantly denied being assaulted. Bauman said the group of Hells Angels also left the resort.

Deputies later reviewed footage from the resort’s security surveillance system. Bauman said they were able to determine that two of the as-yet unidentified Hells Angels members allegedly had followed Burns and another subject out of the casino.

As Burns and the other subject entered the foyer in front of the casino, Burns allegedly was struck by one of the Hells Angels and all four men began fighting, Bauman said.

Four to six more Hells Angels then entered the foyer and while some of them allegedly joined in the assault on Burns, others blocked resort security personnel from trying to stop the assault, according to the report.

Bauman said Burns allegedly was left lying on the floor bleeding as the Hells Angels left the foyer. Burns eventually got up and left the foyer as well.

The Hells Angels allegedly seen assaulting Burns in the surveillance footage did not appear to be the same group contacted by deputies on their arrival, Bauman said.

He said the investigation continued into the night.

The sheriff's office said the Hells Angels and the Vagos “have a documented history of extreme violence and retaliation.”

Based on that history, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said it expects retaliation and further acts of violence.

Individuals wearing Hells Angels patches – featuring a helmeted skull – or the bright green Vagos insignia are members of the gangs and should be considered dangerous, the agency said.

The reported incident comes less than a month after a large group of Vagos showed up in Lakeport for an annual meeting.

When the Vagos showed up on May 14, Lakeport Police – assisted by several other local law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff's office and the California Highway Patrol – shut down some of the city's downtown streets because of safety concerns, as Lake County News has reported.

Police had reportedly received intelligence that the group's appearance was in connection to the beating of one of its members by two Hells Angels members some weeks before.

As law enforcement was monitoring the situation May 14, they received reports that a group of motorcycle riders – possibly Hells Angels – were heading toward the county.

Sheriff Frank Rivero allegedly directed deputies to block any Hells Angels if they tried to enter the county that day, an occurrence that has led to allegations of potential civil rights violations now under investigation by the Lake County District Attorney's Office.

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Lake County Special Districts Deputy Administrator Pete Preciado said Monday that the agency believes as many as 8,000 gallons of sewage was spilled as a result of the crash, which damaged a lift station on the lake between Nice and Lucerne.

California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Tanguay said the crash occurred at 6:45 p.m. Sunday.

He said Nneka Michelle Bonney, 17, of Clearlake Oaks was driving a 1998 Ford Explorer westbound on Highway 20 a miles east of Bartlett Springs Road at an unknown speed she drifted off the side of the road, overcorrected and lost control.

Tanguay said Bonney's vehicle crossed the other lane of traffic and hit the lift station, located on the lake side.

He said Bonney was alone and wasn't injured by the crash, which is being investigated by Officer Josh Dye.

Preciado said CHP reported the crash to the Lake County Office of Emergency Services, which in turn contacted Lake County Environmental Health and Special Districts.

He said Special Districts was notified at approximately 7:16 p.m. Sunday, and was on scene a half-hour later. Environmental Health responded along with Special Districts.

Pumper trucks arrived at the scene and contained the spill, vacuuming up the sewage they encountered. Preciado said he didn't yet have information on how much wastewater they hauled away, although Special Districts staff had estimated that 8,000 gallons were spilled before the containment occurred.

“That's just a preliminary estimate,” he said, noting that they didn't actually see the wastewater going into the lake.

The crash took out a bollard and damaged an 8-inch pipe and valve, which was the source of the lost wastewater, Preciado said.

“Fortunately, they missed the electronic control panel, which is good,” he said.

A contractor responded at about 10 p.m. Sunday and made repairs, which Preciado said were complete by 1:45 a.m. Monday.

He said that by that time everything had been repaired, cleaned and disinfected.

Preciado said Special Districts notified state health officials about the spill.

He added, “Everyone that draws water from the lake in that area was notified.”

That included Nice Mutual Water Co. and California Water Service Co., he said.

Cal Water District Manager Gay Guidotti said the company's water quality department was notified, and it in turn notified the California Department of Public Health.

At the time of the spill, Cal Water's water treatment plant was off, she said.

Now, they're taking two water samples daily, which will continue every day this week, Guidotti said.

The plant also increased its levels of disinfection, turning up the chlorine, “just to be safe.” An ultraviolet system is in constant operation, she added.

“Those were the recommendations made by our water quality department,” and the state Department of Public Health approved, she said.

Preciado said Special Districts also collected samples and took them to a local laboratory for analysis. He said it will take a few days to get the test results.

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These are modern-day slaves and it takes a team of law enforcement, prosecutors and nonprofit groups to combat a growing crime pinned “human trafficking.”

On Monday, the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) assembled key state and federal agencies alongside non-governmental organizations to share information and form new partnerships to combat this growing crime.

“This is a crime against many of the most vulnerable silent victims who have no way out,” said Mike Dayton, acting secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency.

“The better understanding and collaboration that takes place between all these agencies, the more effective our overall effort is to end the suffering of those trapped and victimized,” said Dayton.

Leaders from the United States Attorney's Offices (Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central Districts), Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement joined with members of human trafficking task forces from throughout California to share best practices for combating human trafficking and learn about the latest efforts to build upon existing collaborative efforts.

“The event here today, by its broad participation by multiple federal, state and local agencies, is representative of the kind of collaboration that is really necessary in this area to make a serious dent in human trafficking,” said Benjamin B. Wagner, US Attorney of the Eastern District of California. “This is a deep and spreading problem that can only be attacked by the collaboration of the agencies who are here today.”

“We really had no task force presence 30 years ago, but look where we are today,” said Herbert Brown, Special Agent in Charge of Sacramento's FBI Office. “I strongly believe the only way we'll have success in combating human trafficking is to maintain this type of fusion between agencies.”

Front-line law enforcement officials from human trafficking task forces in San Diego's North County Region, San Francisco, Riverside and San Jose shared information on the latest cases they're working.

In an effort to develop new partnerships between fusion centers and the human trafficking task forces, leaders of California's State Threat Assessment Center and Sacramento's Regional Threat Assessment Center provided key insights on state and local efforts to provide effective intelligence information to uncover the often-unseen crime.

Because human trafficking is often an international crime, those attending also heard the latest research and information from The Council of State Government - West, and the North American Center for Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.

The California Emergency Management Agency has provided $375,000 grants for a three year period, for victim services, operations, and prosecution to each of the six task forces and their NGOs in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Westminster (Orange County) and San Diego.

Cal EMA also provided additional funding for the development of three additional task forces in Sacramento, Fresno and Riverside.

To help local jurisdictions keep up with the latest trends, Cal EMA provided a $1.2 million grant to the Westminster Human Trafficking Task Force to train law enforcement and district attorneys on identifying child victims of human trafficking.

More than 100 participants attended Monday's meeting at the California Emergency Management Agency's headquarters in Rancho Cordova.

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This pair of honey bees harvests nectar from a sunflower at the Leonardis Organics farm in Kelseyville, Calif. Photo by Esther Oertel.

I’m not the first one to revel in this sweet made by bees. The human longing for honey goes back to prehistoric times, as revealed by a 10,000 year old cave drawing in Valencia, Spain that depicts two women using sticks to retrieve honey from wild hives.

The Egyptians are credited as being the first civilization to keep bees some 5,000 years ago. Not only did honey sweeten their cakes, it was an ingredient in all their medicines, was used in mummification processes, and Cleopatra is said to have made it central to her beauty regime.

The ancient Egyptians began the practice of keeping bees, but the ancient Romans perfected it. Being fond of sweet foods and beverages, honey was a key ingredient in many of their recipes. In fact, some say that honey was a fixture on Roman tables and was put on their food at every meal.

Honey provided another boon to Roman citizens. During the reign of Julius Caesar, it was acceptable to use honey instead of gold to pay taxes.

Honey was also cultivated in other ancient civilizations, such as China, where books were written about the art of beekeeping, and in Mesoamerica, where the Mayans used honey from the stingless bee native to that area.

Robert Landrum of RB Honey offers his locally-produced honey at many of the farmers' markets in Lake County, Calif. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Honey has significance in a variety of religions around the world. In Hinduism, honey is considered one of the five elixirs of immortality. Buddhist legend has it that honey brought by monkeys sustained Buddha while he retreated to the desert.

The Hebrew Bible is riddled with references to honey, including the famous phrase about milk and honey flowing in the Promised Land. In the Qu’ran, the holy book of Islam, the Prophet Mohammed recommends eating honey for health.

Honey has captivated the imagination – not to mention the taste buds – of humankind almost as long as we’ve been around.

A quick Internet search for the use of honey in world cuisines yielded recipes from Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan and Malaysia, all for chicken prepared with honey. Clearly, honey has worldwide appeal; in fact, it’s cultivated for culinary use in almost every country.

The sheer magnitude of honey varieties made from the nectar of specific plants is astounding. These can range from herbal plants, such as lavender and thyme, to flowers, such as clover and heather, to unique trees, such as eucalyptus and pine.

Honey made from the blossoms of various food plants is also harvested, such as avocado, pumpkin, buckwheat, macadamia or blueberries, often with flavor components borrowed from the nectar source.

Each honey has a unique taste and color. Sometimes special properties are associated with a particular variety. For example, Manuka honey harvested from tea tree bushes along the New Zealand coast is said to have a medicinal taste and healing characteristics.

Honey lovers throughout the world are indebted to the industrious creatures that produce this sweet and versatile food, namely honey bees.

Amazingly, bees must visit more than two million flowers to produce a pound of honey, something akin to traveling three times around the world, and the average honey bee will only produce one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. Honey-making is a community effort, and hive communities are immensely efficient.

Nothing reflects this more than the language bees use to describe the location of flora for nectar collection. A scout, known as a forager bee, goes out from the hive to locate flowers nearby. When he returns, a complex dance is performed to detail the exact location of the plants based on the position of the sun.

Even though the sun moves one degree each four minutes, bees are able to adapt the scout’s directions to adjust for this. Knowing such details makes me appreciate each drop of honey all the more.

Bees collect nectar from blossoms via their proboscis, a long straw-like facial appendage. The nectar goes into one of their two stomachs, either one for their own nourishment or one for conversion of nectar into honey for the hive. The latter gets deposited into the wax cells in the hive for storage.

Honey has been used medicinally in cultures throughout the world over the last 2,700 years and modern scientific research confirms many benefits to the human body.

Raw honey has antiseptic qualities – it’s antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral – and a plethora of studies confirms that applying honey to burns and other wounds not only speeds the healing process, but prevents infections.

Most impressive was a study done in India on more than a hundred patients that found that 91 per cent of honey-treated burns were infection-free, compared with 7 percent of those treated conventionally.

Interestingly, an enzyme in honey produces hydrogen peroxide when combined with water.

Honey has been shown to stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol, keep free radicals at bay, suppress coughs and provide healthy bacteria for digestion, among other things.

And we all know how good honey feels on a sore throat when mixed with hot tea and lemon.

Raw honey – that which hasn’t been pasteurized – contains healthy phytonutrients, as well as small amounts of the resins contained in propolis, the “bee glue” that seals the hive to keep it free from contaminants, both of which have been shown to possess cancer-preventing qualities.

Honey has a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more, as well as B vitamins.

If you’re in the mood for honey, below are two recipes for your enjoyment. First is a version of honey infused butter from “The New Basics Cookbook” by food mavens Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, and following that is a recipe for figs roasted with honey and wine courtesy of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) website, to which I’ve added chopped walnuts.

Here’s to happy, healthy eating! Have a honey of a day.

Honey pecan butter

Try this atop waffles, pancakes, biscuits or scones.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1 cup pecan halves

¼ cup light clover honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse on and off several times to blend; the pecans should remain chunky. Transfer to a small bowl or individual ramekins, and serve.

Makes 1-1/4 cups

Roast figs with honey and Marsala

8 large fresh figs

2 tablespoons or so runny honey

A splash or two Marsala wine (or port or Madeira)

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional preparation)

Vanilla ice cream, custard or mascarpone cheese for serving, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut a deep cross into each fig, nearly to the bottom, and then squeeze the sides to expose the juicy flesh. (If using walnuts, stuff a portion of chopped walnuts into each fig and omit the step of squeezing the sides.)

Place the figs into a lidded baking dish.

Drizzle the honey and wine over the figs, ensuring some runs inside them.

Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Serve them immediately with ice cream, custard or mascarpone cheese, along with the syrup from the baking dish.

Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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These bottles of honey reflect the variance of color depending on the nectar source. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Despite the fact that they were secured, these two wine barrel benches were stolen from the EcoArts Sculpture Walk outside of Middletown, Calif., sometimes on the night of Thursday, June 2, 2011. Courtesy photo.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The EcoArts Sculpture Walk is having a rough start to its ninth year.

The annual summertime arts installation at Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve County Park, set to mark its grand opening in a free event from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12, was damaged late last week by suspects who went about destroying art installations, according to Karen Turcotte, the exhibition's founder.

The exhibit has suffered vandalism in past years, she said.

“Vandalism has happened, but nothing that was ever completely destroyed,” she said.

Destroying art work wasn't enough for the suspects, who also allegedly stole three hand-crafted wine barrel benches made by Shawn Harrington of Kelseyville, which Turcotte called “a stupid act.”

The benches were to be used for visitors at Kelseyville resident Tim Salisbury's installation – the last on the route – in honor of Lake County's 150^th anniversary, Turcotte said.

“You were supposed to be able to sit and ponder the past,” Salisbury said Monday evening.

Salisbury, who said this is his first year taking part in the exhibit, didn't notice any damage to his exhibit outside of the theft of the benches.

Turcotte believes the vandalism and theft took place Thursday night, as she had last been there that afternoon and everything was OK.

The next morning when she arrived to work on the exhibit she discovered the damage, and found one of the artists trying to fix her own broken exhibit.

The art eggs made by the students of Lake County International Charter School in Middletown were used to break other art work, she said. Some of the exhibit's signs also were disturbed.

Sustaining more damage was the work of another first-time exhibitor in the sculpture walk, 8-year-old Julianne Carter of Hidden Valley Lake.

She created “Gimme Shelter,” which includes 31 small pots she made and painted.

“They have little drawings on them, like birds, trees, mountains, clouds, all kinds of things,” she said.

When the pots are picked up, clay bugs can be seen underneath them. The idea, she said, was to explore the idea of habitat creation. She was inspired after finding bugs under pots she had put in her play yard.

“The bugs,” she warned of her clay creations, “are kind of scary.”

Several of the pots she had created on her mother's dining room table over the course of several weeks were destroyed in the vandalism, which she said she found discouraging.

Turcotte called the Lake County Sheriff's Office to report the incident. She subsequently spoke to a deputy who told her he had some ideas on who might be responsible and would investigate.

“We haven't heard anything yet,” she said.

Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the agency had responded and that a deputy was writing a report on the incident.

With preparations still under way for the grand opening this Sunday, Turcotte said they're dealing both with the damage and trying to get seven more pieces installed.

Julianne Carter said she hopes everyone keeps an eye out for the thieves and vandals. “We hope that they can catch them.”

Anyone with information about the vandalism and theft is asked to call the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 707-262-4200 or Turcotte at 707-928-0323.

The exhibit will run through October. Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve County Park is located at 21435 Dry Creek Cutoff, Middletown. The park is open daily from dawn until dusk.

For more information about the sculpture walk visit www.ecoartsoflakecounty.org.

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This bench was one of three pieces of wine barrel furniture stolen from the EcoArts Sculpture Walk outside of Middletown, Calif., sometimes on the night of Thursday, June 2, 2011. Courtesy photo.

During a May 31 workshop that ran more than two hours interim City Administrator Steve Albright presented the proposed 2011-12 budget.

He said the budget will go back to the council for further discussion and possible adoption on Thursday, June 9.

Over the last few years, city budgets had been getting adopted later. In 2009, the budget was adopted in July, and last year, the council approved the 2010-11 budget in October. That's despite a state constitutional requirement that cities accept their budgets by June 30.

Breaking that rule usually only earns a city a slap on the hand and not much more, Albright said.

This year, however, Albright – who has been with the city since February – has a document that's ready to be considered for approval by June 30.

The proposed budget is balanced, offers modest cost of living increases for employees who have received no raises and taken on additional job duties over the last few years, and will begin to rebuild the city's depleted reserves, hit hard in the economic downturn.

“We still have a tight budget,” Albright cautioned, but the city can now start doing things that haven't been done in several years, including tackling deferred maintenance and equipment replacement.

The proposed budget's general fund expenditures for 2011-12 are $4,029,000, with projected revenues at $4,049,000, for a small surplus of $20,900.

That $20,900 difference, coupled with the $388,410 surplus Albright projects the city will realize at the end of the 2010-11 fiscal year, will add up to a two-year surplus of $409,310.

Albright said the money to improve the city's situation has always been there. “The city has had, on its balance sheet, a substantial amount of money that is owed to it for quite a while,” creating somewhat of a logjam, he said.

Some of that logjam was on the redevelopment side, where a new strategy Albright proposed will help the city redevelopment agency satisfy the Clearlake Housing Now lawsuit settlement from 1998 – with an amended settlement in 2008 – by the end of the 2011-12 budget year.

As of June 30, 2010, approximately $1,579,139 was still owed to the agency's low and moderate income house fund as part of the settlement, which had resulted from the city borrowing redevelopment housing funds for other uses in the late 1990s.

Albright said the city had previously sold bonds to create a revenue fund of $8 million. In an effort to get the lawsuit settlement paid off, those bond proceeds were used to repay debt service on the redevelopment agency bonds themselves.

That, he said, freed tax increment revenue – the increased property tax value realized in a redevelopment area – for other purposes, such as repaying the low and moderate income housing fund to satisfy the lawsuit.

That's an acceptable use of the bond money, he emphasized, noting the city reviewed the bond documents and checked with the city's attorney to make sure they were complying with the rules.

One payment of $1,199,242 this year and $389,732 by June 30, 2012, will satisfy the settlement repayment, Albright said. Then an audit will be done.

Previously, the city was paying off the settlement as it was able to, Albright said. At that rate, it was going to take the city 30 years to pay off the debt.

Once they kicked the logjam loose and freed up tax increment revenue – which provides the city with “a substantial amount of money” every year, he said – the city's finances started to look better.

Albright, who will act as interim redevelopment agency executive director through year's end, said the agency also must repay a loan it took from the city.

He said the agency still owes the city $2,377,176 at a 10 percent interest rate as of this June 30. The agency will make an interest-only payment of $241,489 in the coming fiscal year.

With there now being money available from the agency to pay back the city, “Suddenly the city's revenues look better,” Albright said.

The improvements to the city's balance sheets means the redevelopment agency will have about $5.5 million available for low and moderate income housing projects.

“We need to start doing projects,” he said.

As part of the budget, Albright proposed a 2.5-percent cost of living increase increase for all noncontract employees, the first such increase since July 1, 2007.

He also is proposing the realignment of management salaries, which will set salaries lower for the city administrator, police chief and finance director, while increasing the lowest management salary.

Other suggestions include adding a land use/transportation planner and a clerical position to enable code enforcement, rehiring a laid off maintenance worker and hiring four part-time seasonal public works staffers.

Vice Mayor Joey Luiz told Lake County News that he would rather have the money proposed for the public works positions be spent on restoring a police officer position.

By taking that money and rolling the proposed 2.5-percent cost of living increase back to 1.5 percent, Luiz suggested it's possible that as many as two police officer jobs could be added if some changes were made to the budget.

Council member Judy Thein came out against the cost of living increase at the May 31 budget workshop. She has since written a letter to the editor (Thein: Public safety is in jeopardy) advocating for restoring police officer positions instead off offering staff the increase.

Even so, Albright said the cost of living increase is still included in the budget and will be up for consideration this week.

Albright's budget also tackles deferred maintenance projects, and includes $25,000 for badly needed repairs for city hall's leaking roof. He's recounted at council meetings needing to keep buckets in the city offices to catch rainwater.

There is also $50,000 included for a new public works vehicle, $25,000 for a new animal control vehicle; two new police cars covered under a grant, plus a third new car that's funded by insurance after the recent totaling of a patrol vehicle; and proposed renewal of the city's code enforcement functions.

He said staff will have a resolution for adopting the budget ready for Thursday's meeting.

“Is any document ever perfect? No,” said Albright. However, he feels the proposed budget is strong and the city can proceed with it.

If the council has serious concerns or can't agree on the document, they could still adopt the budget resolution at the June 23 meeting and meet the state deadline, Albright said.

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Winegrape growing has a long history in Lake County. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Winery Association.

In commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the founding of Lake County this year, Lake County News is publishing a series of historical stories about the county, its people and places. In this week's story, the focus is the county's long history of winegrape growing and winemaking.

Friday, May 20, 2011, marked Lake County’s sesquicentennial anniversary – 150 years since its establishment as a California county.

Lake County has a long history of fascinating stories – stories of a pioneering spirit and entrepreneurship, of agriculture traditions and preservation, of heroes and visionaries, and of a thriving pre-Prohibition wine industry.

In 1884, Lake County boasted 600 acres of wine grapes. Vineyards were established by notable arrivals to the county such as Seranus C. Hastings, founder of Hastings Law School, and Lillie Langtry, a colorful theater star in Europe and America.

Lillie Langtry, purchased the Langtry property in the Guenoc Valley in 1888. The property’s wine history dates back to 1854 when grapes were first planted at the site.

The famed actress claimed that the property would produce the “greatest claret in the country,” and she proceeded to produce the finest Bordeaux wines in the region.

Rumor has it that one of California’s oldest vines continues to grow on the Langtry Estate at the top of Tephra Ridge. It is thought to be part of Mrs. Langtry’s original vineyard.

Professor Ohmo of UC Davis, one of the world’s experts on viticulture – now deceased – came across the vine some years ago, smiled and said, “This is one of the oldest vines in California and I think it is a Syrah.”

Being a lady of the theater from the city and thereby a landlady in absentia of the Langtry Estate, Mrs. Langtry sold the property in 1906 just after the “big one,” the massive earthquake that devastated San Francisco.

The Lillie Langtry House still stands today, overlooking the property and welcoming guest to its door. Built in 1874, this two-story Folk Victorian has been restored and is often a place of hospitality for visitors to the Langtry Estate.

The Lillie Langtry House near Middletown, Calif., once was home to the famed British actress. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Winery Association.

To commemorate the 150-year anniversary of Lake County, the Lillie Langtry House will be open for tours, when it is not housing the guests of the estate now owned by Malulani Investments, which acquired the 22,000 acre property in 1963. Contact Langtry Estate & Vineyards at www.langtryestate.com or 707-987-2385 for more tour information.

On Saturday, Nov. 5, the Lake County Winery Association will host the People’s Choice Wine Awards at Langtry Estate and Vineyard from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. This event is the premier consumer wine competition event showcasing the finest Lake County wines. It is a fun and informative blind tasting where the ‘people’ determine the final winners of the competition.

In honor of Lake County’s Sesquicentennial celebration, the People’s Choice Wine Awards will include tours of the Langtry home.

Other Lake County wineries offering a glimpse into their fascinating history and agricultural traditions include the following.

Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyard and Winery will offer a one-hour Pinzgauer historical tour of the ranch and homesteads. For time, cost, and reservations contact Six Sigma Ranch at www.sixsigmaranch.com or 707-994-4068.

Brassfield Estate Winery invites you to visit the original 150-year-old farmhouse at the Brassfield High Serenity Ranch. To schedule a self-guided tour, contact Brassfield Estate at www.brasfieldestate.com or 707-998-1895.

The owners of Wildhurst Vineyard, Marilyn and Myron Holdenried, have a wealth of historical information to share with anyone who asks. Stop by the Wildhurst tasting room in Kelseyville for 150th celebration tidbits. www.wildhurst.com or 707-279-4302.

The Lake County Winery Association (LCWA) is proud to support and participate in Lake County’s 150th Sesquicentennial Celebration.

The Lake County Wine Adventure, the winery association’s annual signature event, is scheduled for July 30-31 and will proudly feature the 150th logo on the event’s recyclable four-bottle wine bags.

The Lake County Winery Association is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 by a dozen wineries. Today, LCWA serves over 40 vintners and associate members who share a mission to promote awareness of Lake County’s excellent wine industry, high elevation wines and tourism opportunities.

Through partnerships with the County of Lake, Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, Lake County Winegrape Commission, Lake County Farm Bureau, and others, LCWA strives to promote the County’s unique and distinct rural attributes – our lake, our mountain, our air, and our land. LCWA is committed to sustainable farming and winery operation practices and is committed to our community and its members.

To learn more about LCWA, visit www.lakecountywineries.org or call 707-355-2762.

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A winegrape vine believed to be the oldest in Lake County, Calif., grows on the Langtry Estate at the top of Tephra Ridge near Middletown, Calif. The vine is believed to have been part of Lillie Langtry's Langtry

The museum is located at 9921 Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road) between Kelseyville and Lower Lake.

The new Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum will function as a historical and agricultural visitor center that will encompass the Ely Stage Stop building, as well as several reconstructed old barns, displays of farm equipment, agricultural demonstrations, and interpretive and living history exhibits, including a blacksmith shop.

The two-story structure will provide a permanent home for the Lake County Historical Society, as well as a starting point for a self-guided historical tour of Lake County.

“We’re excited to see this new museum open to the public,” said Lake County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox. “It will be an incredible resource for both residents and visitors to learn about and appreciate Lake County’s agricultural heritage.”

The grand opening will provide an opportunity for the public to see the progress to date and learn about the plans for continued development of the museum’s exhibits.

“We’re looking forward to the completion of the Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum,” said Phil Smoley, president of the Lake County Historical Society. “Not only is it a significant historical site, it will become an important destination that will attract people to Lake County and help stimulate the local economy.”

The Ely Stage Stop building dates to the late 1850s and is considered by some to be the oldest “stick-built” building in Lake County.

On July 29, 2007, the historic Ely Stage Stop structure was relocated from its original location at 7909 Highway 29 on land owned by Beckstoffer Vineyards, across Highway 29, to its new location on Soda Bay Road, approximately one mile north of Kit’s Corner.

Although its age and condition made the relocation a challenge, the building’s varied history as a stage stop, hotel, and even a post office adds historical character to the new museum. The new site also features dramatic views of Mount Konocti and overlooks the former S-Bar-S Ranch.

This project was made possible through the generous donation of the Andrew Beckstoffer family who donated the historic building and the five-acre parcel just a few miles from the building’s original site for the establishment of the museum.

In addition to the Beckstoffer family donation of the historic building and land, the Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum has received several other generous contributions including a donation of $100,000 from the Kettenhofen Family Foundation, a charitable foundation established and funded by the estates of Ernest and Polly Kettenhofen who owned the S-Bar-S Ranch from approximately 1960 to 2000.

With arrangements set forth in a proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the County and the Lake County Historical Society, the County agreed to be responsible for the physical relocation and the necessary improvements to the structure and the Historical Society agreed to be responsible for the acquisition of the barns and farm equipment to be exhibited as well as the day-to-day operation of the museum.

The Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum will be owned by the county and will be staffed by members of the Lake County Historical Society.

Donations of artifacts and old barns are still being sought as are photos depicting the original building in its early years and throughout its many transformations and uses.

Anyone interested in contributing time or resources to the project may contact Greg Dills, chairman of the Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum Project for the Lake County Historical Society, at 707-263-4180, Extension 12.

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The festival will showcase the culinary and pairing skills of local restaurants and chefs who will be competing for awards in five categories – best presentation, most creative, best of show, best use of local products, and consumer favorite pairing.

Professional judges will judge four categories and event attendees will get to vote in the consumer favorite pairing category.

Attendees will stroll between the two wineries along the vineyard trail that overlooks the beauty of Anderson Marsh and Clear Lake.

Special transportation accommodations will be provided for guests who require them.

Tickets to the event are $40 per person and include a commemorative wine glass as well as tastings and pairings at both winery venues.

Creative cuisine will be paired with fine wines from a variety of local restaurants and chefs.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit Konocti Regional Trails and the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association.

Attendees will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a two-night stay at Vigilance Villa and other great prizes.

Gregory Graham Winery is located at 13633 Point Lakeview Road and Vigilance Winery & Vineyards is located at 13888 Point Lakeview Road, both in Lower Lake.

For more information, call 707-995-3500 or 707-994-9656 or go online to www.ggwines.com or www.vigilancewinery.com.

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A Martian sunset photographed by Spirit on May 19, 2005. Photo courtesy of NASA.

The Voyagers are, perhaps, the best known example. Launched in the 1970s to explore the outer planets, the iconic spacecraft have zoomed far beyond their original targets to the edge of interstellar space itself, 9 billion miles from Earth and still making discoveries.

Pioneer 10 and 11, Ulysses, Stardust-NEXT, Deep Impact, and others have similar track records. It has become almost routine for superbly-engineered probes to wrap up their prime missions, then travel a few million (or billion) bonus miles for extra science.

Against this backdrop of sweeping overachievement, we pause to salute a robot that might never move another inch.

Well done, Spirit.

“For the past seven years, Spirit has been on a journey as extraordinary as any mission in NASA history,” said Mars Exploration Rover project manager John Callas of JPL. “But now it may be time to say thanks and farewell.”

NASA hasn't heard from Spirit in more than a year, and on May 25 the agency sent a final transmission in its series of attempts to regain contact.

The trouble began in April 2009 when the rover trundled into a sandtrap in a place called “Troy,” breaking through an apparently safe crust into soft sand below.

Stuck in place, Spirit couldn't turn its solar panels squarely toward the sun; at the same time, dust accumulated on the panels, reducing sunlight even more. These impediments curtailed power just when Spirit needed power most, during the deep freeze of an approaching Martian winter.

The Comanche Outcrop on Mars suggests a hospitable environment for life in the distant past. Photo courtesy of NASA.

“Where Spirit is, winter temperatures drop as low as -130 C, far colder than any place on Earth,” said Callas. “Without sufficient electricity to power internal heaters and warm critical systems, Spirit went into hibernation.”

NASA has used Deep Space Network antennas and two of the agency's Mars orbiters to try to reestablish contact – but no luck.

Whether the rover is damaged or merely “sleeping,” no one can say, but most engineers believe the possibility of contact is now extremely remote.

Spirit landed on Mars on Jan. 4, 2004, for a mission designed to last merely three months.

After quickly accomplishing its primary science goals, the rover went on to work for almost six more years.

In all, Spirit has traveled almost eight kilometers, explored several large craters, scrutinized thousands of rocks, scraped off topsoil to reveal hidden minerals, photographed Martian dust devils and sunsets, observed the moons of Mars, and took the first picture of Earth in the night sky of another planet. Bonus-time, indeed.

This may be the last thing that Spirit ever saw