After drawing much public attention for his historic trek into California, the gray wolf designated as OR7 has turned north and crossed back into Oregon.
 
Originally part of a wolfpack in northeastern Oregon, OR7 wandered more than 1,062 miles in Oregon in September through December of last year before crossing into California last Dec. 28.

Gray wolves were extirpated in California the 1920s, leading to speculation that OR7 might be the first wolf to reestablish roots in the Golden State.
 
While in California, the wolf trekked south through eastern Siskiyou County, traveled through northeastern Shasta County and then resided in Lassen County for a few weeks, wildlife officials reported Friday.

On Feb. 11 he reentered Shasta County and then, about a week later, he crossed north into Siskiyou County, the Friday report explained.

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has continued to monitor his whereabouts through the use of a satellite tracking collar, and has been updating his status at www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf/ .
 
DFG biologists who have been closely monitoring the wolf’s position and progress say they have been impressed with his ability to travel considerable distances into new territory and then return, following a different route, to locations he has previously visited (possibly through his use of scent-marking), sometimes after a few weeks have passed.
 
Over the past two months, DFG has received many telephone calls and e-mails reporting sightings of OR7, but nearly all of these reports were inconsistent with the satellite location data.

Photographs and physical descriptions provided to DFG by the public were consistently determined to be an animal other than a wolf (usually a coyote in winter pelt).

In some cases, the available information was insufficient to make any confident determination of the species observed. However, in the past few days OR7 may have been observed in northern Siskiyou County.
 
In at least one instance, private citizens photographed tracks likely to have been made by OR7. Some of those photographs are available for viewing on DFG’s website.
 
After traveling 900 miles in California (calculated as air miles, not the actual distance traveled, which was greater), OR7 crossed the state line from Siskiyou County and back into Oregon on March 1.

DFG biologists have described his behavior as dispersal, where a young wolf seeks to find a mate or another wolf pack. That search has not been resolved for OR7 in California and his next movements cannot be predicted with any certainty.

It remains possible he will return to California in the future, officials said.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com , on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

SACRAMENTO – Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey have, for the first time, demonstrated how aquifer composition can affect how excessive levels of phosphorous – an essential nutrient contained in fertilizers – can be carried from fertilized agricultural fields via groundwater to streams and waterways.

This finding will allow for more informed management of agriculture, ecosystem and human water needs, according to the agency.

Nutrient transport from agricultural fields, including nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, is one of the most serious environmental problems throughout the world because it can cause adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and/or drinking water supplies, USGS reported.

Excess phosphorus can stimulate algal growth in streams and lakes, which can lead to decreased levels of dissolved oxygen resulting in the death of sensitive organisms including fish, or can cause changes in the types of algae that are present. Some forms of algae can also release toxins that can negatively impact human health.

“While the widespread use of fertilizer has increased crop yields, excessive application is not only wasteful, but it can also be harmful to water quality, fish, and human health,” said USGS director Marcia McNutt. “New USGS science demonstrates how and when excess phosphorous is moving underground from fields to streams, and what underground conditions can mitigate nutrient transport.”

Researchers examined phosphorus quantities and movement in soils, and groundwater in five agricultural settings across the United States, including California, Washington, Nebraska, Indiana and Maryland.  

Sites were chosen to represent common variations in soil geochemistry, climate, irrigation usage and cropping systems found across the nation, allowing for the first time, a comparison of factors that contribute to phosphorus movement in shallow aquifers.

The study included assessment of a variety of agricultural practices, so that factors contributing to phosphorus movement via groundwater could be compared.  

“Until now, studies of phosphorus transport to streams have been focused on surface-water pathways because it was previously assumed that phosphorus does not dissolve into soil water and is not mobilized to groundwater,” explained USGS researcher Joseph Domagalski. “Farmers and resource managers can use the study information to better manage the application of fertilizer on agricultural fields and minimize phosphorus contamination in downstream water bodies.”

The study examines how iron and other elements present in particles in an aquifer can immobilize phosphorus and remove it from groundwater.

Under the right conditions, such as in the Maryland site, these processes completely limit phosphorus movement in groundwater. However, if aquifer particles are continually exposed to excess phosphorus and become saturated, the excess phosphorus will eventually be transported to a discharge zone, such as a stream.

Using this information, resource managers can evaluate what types of aquifer systems are more likely to transport phosphorus into surface water bodies.

The study also shows that inexpensive soil tests, routinely employed to estimate fertilizer requirements, can be used on deeper soil samples to evaluate the potential for downward movement of phosphorus below the plant rooting depth in agricultural areas.

The potential for groundwater transport of phosphorus can be evaluated with basic geochemical information, such as measurements of pH, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved phosphorus in samples of shallow ground water.

The study of agricultural chemicals is one of several priority topics currently being addressed by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program.

More information about the study is available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3004/ and in the Journal of Hydrology, “Subsurface transport of orthophosphate in five agricultural watersheds,” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169411005403.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com , on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The first witnesses in the trial of two local men alleged to have been responsible for the murder of a 4-year-old boy and the shooting of five others last June took the stand on Wednesday.

Janet Leonor and her great-granddaughter, 18-year-old Ashli Athas, were the first witnesses called by District Attorney Don Anderson in the trial of 21-year-old Paul William Braden and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, both of Clearlake Oaks.

Braden and Lopez are on trial for the shooting on June 18, 2011, in Clearlake that claimed the life of 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, and left five others – his mother, Desiree Kirby, her boyfriend, Ross Sparks and his brother, Andrew Sparks, and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo – wounded.

Before testimony started late Wednesday morning, the court spent an hour and a half rearranging the small Department 1 courtroom to accommodate the two juries – with a total of 35 jurors – who will hear the trial.

The defense and prosecution tables were turned to face the jurors, and half of the audience was blocked off with a partition and set up to seat the rest of the jurors who couldn’t fit into the jury box.

Leonor, who took the stand first, testified about a party held at her 16th Avenue home in Clearlake the day of the shooting.

It was there that Braden and Lopez were reported to have been in the hours before the shooting, and where Braden was allegedly seen with a shotgun, the butt of which he was said to have sawed off in Leonor’s garage.

Athas and her then-boyfriend, Leonardo Lopez – Orlando Lopez’s brother – and their young son lived with Leonor at that time. Several of Athas’ and Leonardo Lopez’s friends reportedly spent the afternoon hanging out, drinking and playing beer pong in the backyard, according to Wednesday’s testimony.

Leonor said she saw four young men go into her garage, among them Orlando Lopez and a tall young bald man, alleged to have been Braden, who at the time reportedly had a shaved head.

She said they were “fooling around at the work table,” and she could see they were standing near a vice, but her car blocked her full view.

The young men had no business being in the garage, so Leonor said she told them to get out of it.

The next day, Leonor went out to the garage and found a hacksaw and another saw lying on the table, not hanging on the peg board where they belonged. Those two saws were presented as exhibits in court, contained in large plastic bags. Leonor identified both.

She also found on the work bench a black bolt – which the prosecution alleges was from the shotgun stock – that had been cut.

Outside on a table in her backyard was found a roll of duct tape that Braden allegedly used to wrap around the sawed off shotgun butt in order to make a pistol grip. Anderson showed Leonor a picture of the table where the duct tape was found by police.

During cross-examination by Lopez’s attorney, Stephen Carter, Leonor said she never saw a weapon, and didn’t know the tall, bald young man she had seen at her home.

Leonor testified that at one point she had had weapons of her own in the home, but by June 2011 she had sold them all.

Athas testified to hearing Braden argue on the phone with Ross Sparks around 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. June 18, allegedly telling Sparks, “Let’s meet up and handle this.”

She said of Braden, “In a sense you could tell he was angry but he was being calm about it.”

According to Athas, a short time after that phone call, Braden and Lopez left, coming back about a half-hour later, with Braden holding a black shotgun wrapped in a sweatshirt.

She said Braden went to the garage along with several male subjects who were at the party – among them several individuals said to belong to a group called the Avenue Boys – with one of the young men then coming out to throw the shotgun butt in a recycling bin.

Athas said Braden spent several minutes popping shells in and out of the shotgun before he allegedly said, “I didn't bring this gun to Clearlake for nothing, let's go use it.”

She also recalled Braden saying, “I’m bored, let's go shoot somebody,” two to three times.

Athas didn’t recall seeing Braden drinking, but said she was sure there was marijuana at the party, although she didn’t remember Braden or Lopez using any.

Leonor started asking people to leave around 9 p.m., and again at 10 p.m. Athas said her grandmother got angry when some people still hadn’t left, so Athas went out to ask them to leave herself.

She said it was at about 10:15 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. that night, as she was looking out her bedroom window, that she saw Braden and Lopez leaving, walking toward what she described as a dark-colored SUV driven by Kevin Stone.

“Paul was holding the sweatshirt with the gun in it,” she said.

Within minutes of the shooting – which occurred shortly before 11 p.m. June 18 – Athas said she received a phone call from her father, asking why he heard Leonardo Lopez’s name over the scanner in connection with the shooting of the little boy. Athas said her then-boyfriend was at home with her.

The next day, when Leonardo Lopez went to the Clearlake Police Department to answer questions from police, his cell phone – which he had left at home – rang, and Athas said she answered it.

The call was from Braden, said Athas.

Although she had never met Skyler Rapp, she said her younger sister and the little boy had a mutual aunt, so she considered him a relation.

When she accused Braden of shooting the little boy, “All he had to say was, ‘I’m sorry, oh my God, I’m sorry.” Athas said she hung up on him.

She admitted during her Wednesday testimony that she originally had lied to police out of fear, because she had heard things about Braden’s family that scared her.

In his cross-examination, Rhoades questioned Athas about her differing testimony in the case’s October preliminary hearing, during which she had said there was no drinking or beer pong at her home on June 18.

She clarified that she had not recalled it at the time, but remembered after she spoke with some of the others who had been there.

Testimony continues Thursday morning.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

When you read the following paragraph, consider the following: Tornado season hasn't even started yet.

On Jan. 22 and 23, 2012, more than 37 tornadoes struck the southern USA. Ten of them tore across the Lower Mississippi Valley into Alabama.

Worst hit were St. Clair and Jefferson County, Ala., where 2 people were killed, about 100 others injured, and at least $30 million in damage was done. It was a chilling reminder of the April 2011 onslaught of deadly tornadoes that took a staggering toll across southern and Midwestern states.1

In southern parts of the USA, tornado season tends to peak in springtime. Yet January 2012 produced 73 winter tornadoes – third most of any January in recorded history.

Most of them struck southern states. And since over a quarter of the incredible 1,688 twisters confirmed across the US in 2011 occurred in the four-state region of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, residents there are becoming ever more wary of darkening skies.

“Even with our advances in science and communications, we can still be surprised by the deadliest storms,” said NOAA scientist Steve Goodman. “But NOAA is working with NASA and university researchers to give more lead time in tornado warnings.”

Southern tornadoes are especially insidious and challenging to track. The hilly, forested terrain in southern states makes an approaching twister harder to spot than in the flat Midwest. In the south you might not see the first evidence of an approaching tornado until it's almost in your back yard.

An Alabama resident describes the scene just before one of the April 2011 twisters struck near his home: “Suddenly, all the trees in my back yard corkscrewed violently, in unison, toward the northwest.” Moments later, the storm was there.

Rain wrapped tornadoes are especially hard to see, as are night-time tornadoes. And records indicate that southern tornadoes often strike at night.

To reduce the surprise, NOAA and NASA2 are developing the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R, or “GOES-R series,” with the first expected to launch in late 2015.

These next-generation weather satellites bristle with state-of-the-art instruments for improved scouting of these killer storms, even at night.

Tornadoes are, by their very nature, difficult to pin down. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on GOES-R will improve meteorologists' ability to assess conditions that spawn twisters.

Compared to current GOES imagers, the ABI provides twice the spatial resolution, three times as many channels of information, and more than five times the update rate.

“ABI will give us a much clearer picture of the clouds – where and how tall they are, how much and what kind of moisture they hold, and how they are moving and intensifying,” said NOAA research meteorologist Tim Schmit.

Most importantly, ABI can better detect the super-cold “overshooting tops” that mean severe weather is imminent. “Overshooting tops portend huge energy inside the cloud – it takes tremendous energy and upward velocity to poke through the lid of the tropopause,” explained Schmit.

“During episodes of severe weather, ABI can show conditions every 30 to 60 seconds. The system in use now only shows them every 7.5 minutes. And in normal mode, ABI will send readings over the continental U.S. every 5 minutes as opposed to every 15-30 minutes,” Schmit said.

Lightning is another key to tornadoes.

“Studies show that sudden changes in the total lightning correlate with [the onset of] tornadoes,” said Goodman.

Detecting lightning is a new specialty of GOES-R.

“GOES-R's Geostationary Lightning Mapper, or GLM, will see all the lightning: cloud-to-ground, cloud-to-cloud, and inside each cloud. And since this is the first time we'll have lightning detection from geostationary orbit, it means GOES-R will constantly monitor and map the lightning across the western hemisphere,” Goodman said.

The GLM is expected to give seven more minutes of lead time in tornado warnings. Average lead time now is 13 minutes.

“With GOES-R you'll have upwards of 20 minutes to get to a safe haven,” said Goodman.

That sure beats standing in your back yard, in the dark, waiting for the trees to twist.

Dauna Coulter writes for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com , on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Thursday released annual applicant and appointee data for his administration’s first year of judicial appointments.

Under SB 56, signed in 2006, the governor is required to disclose aggregate statewide demographic data provided by all judicial applicants relative to ethnicity and gender each year by March 1.

In 2011, there were a total of 768 judicial appointment applicants, the Governor's Office reported.

Women accounted for 32 percent of the applicant pool and 33 percent of Governor Brown’s judicial appointments, according to the report.

Nearly one-third of the applicant pool identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African-American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or other/unknown, and more than half (53 percent) of Gov. Brown’s appointees were from these groups.

Governor Brown’s judicial appointees included a number of notable minority judges, including Goodwin Liu, appointed to the California Supreme Court; Kathleen O’Leary, the first female presiding justice in the history of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three; and Raquel Marquez, the first Latina judge in the history of the Riverside County Superior Court.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com , on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Sheriff's investigators are asking for the community's help in tracking down leads in an assault case from early February.

Capt. Chris Macedo said detectives are investigating the assault of a 61-year-old woman on Feb. 9.

He said on that day relatives discovered the woman unconscious in her Lower Lake residence.

The woman had several severe injuries and was flown by REACH air ambulance to an out-of-county hospital, Macedo said.

The victim has since been released from the hospital, is recovering from her injuries and is in stable condition, according to Macedo.

Macedo said the woman has been interviewed by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit, which is actively investigating several leads in the case.

Anyone with information related to this crime is asked to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Upper Lake High School is asking for the community’s help in raising funds to send its Academic Decathlon team to the state competition this month.

The team, which won the Lake County competition Feb. 4, needs about $3,000 to attend the California Academic Decathlon, according to Upper Lake High Superintendent/Principal Pat Iaccino.

The California Academic Decathlon takes place March 15-18 in Sacramento. This year’s topic is “The Age of Empire.”

Upper Lake has been a longtime powerhouse in the Academic Decathlon competition.

Upper Lake Coach Anna Sabalone and Assistant Coach Angel Hayenga are now preparing their team for the big competition.

Winning team members are Jaqueline Estrada, Jordan Austin, Shayla Wyman, Byron Garcia, Christine Randall, Carlos Valencia, Oscar Nieves, Farhad Hussain, Justine Moran, Jamie Maddock and Krista Coleman.

Iaccino said community members wanting to contribute can contact the high school at 707-275-2338.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com , on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Firefighters were able to save a Clearlake home that caught fire Wednesday night.

The fire occurred in a modular home located at 15992 39th Ave., said Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 7:17 p.m. Wednesday, arriving on scene five minutes later to find about 25 percent of the home involved, Sapeta said.

Radio reports Wednesday night indicated witnesses saw smoke and flames coming from the back of the home.

Lake County Fire sent two engines, a water tender and two medic units, with Sapeta reporting that he also responded. No one was at home when firefighters arrived.

The fire was contained at 7:40 p.m., with the fire damage limited mostly to one room, with heat and smoke damage throughout the rest of the structure, he said.

He said firefighters cleared the scene at 8:45 p.m.

Sapeta estimated damage to be between $40,000 and $50,000.

The fire’s cause remains under investigation, Sapeta said.
             
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

When it comes to buckling up, daily efforts by the public and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) are making a difference.

Every click of a seat belt represents another life potentially saved, and the CHP said that's a trend it is striving to continue throughout the state.

“Motorists are to be commended because seat belt usage is at an all time high in California,” said CHP Commissioner Farrow. “However, there are still a small percentage of people who have yet to realize the benefits of passenger restraints and continue to ignore the warnings about not buckling up. This education and enforcement campaign is aimed at saving their lives.”   

To assist in this safety mission through September 30, 2012, the CHP has obtained the Vehicle Occupant Restraint Education and Instruction (VOREI) grant.

The money from this grant will be used to support statewide community outreach and enforcement efforts by CHP officers who will encourage Californians to not only buckle up themselves, but to ensure their passengers are properly secured as well, the CHP said.

The grant also will provide child passenger safety certification training to personnel from CHP and other law enforcement agencies.

According to data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, an average of five vehicle occupants were killed in collisions everyday in California during 2009 (the most recent year for which finalized data is available).

Among those five vehicle occupants killed daily, statistics indicate at least one of them was not properly secured inside the vehicle.

In addition to lives lost for failure to wear a seat belt, hundreds of citations are issued daily. The cost of a citation for an adult not wearing a seat belt is at a minimum $142, while the cost of a ticket for an unrestrained child under 16 starts at $474, along with a point against your driving record.

“This is an unnecessary risk and a needless expense,” added Commissioner Farrow. “Buckle up, it saves lives.”

Funding for this campaign is provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's senior centers are once again working together to raise money for important nutrition programs for seniors.

Last year Lake County senior centers participated in “March for Meals” to raise funds for their Meals on Wheels programs.

The 2011 March for Meals effort raised more than $30,000, according to a report from the centers.

This year the local senior centers are hoping to exceed that amount so that the vital services they provide that bring independence and hope to homebound seniors can continue.

With many challenges like the rising cost of gasoline and food prices, as well as a growing senior population in need of their services, senior centers are working hard to make up the difference.

Hundreds of volunteers come to the senior centers every day to prepare and serve meals, deliver meals to the homebound, run thrift stores and provide outreach services to the thousands of seniors in the community.

The month of March has been designated to bring awareness to the community of the many services that the centers provide, and give an opportunity for everyone to help.

Each senior center is running its own March for Meals campaign and need the community to help in this effort.

Bringing a sponsorship packet to places of employment, family, church or any other group to help raise money can make a world of difference to the efforts of local senior centers.

Senior centers with meals programs can be contacted at the following phone numbers, or by stopping by Middletown, 707-987-3113; Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, 707-994-3051; Live Oak Senior Center in Clearlake Oaks, 707-998-1950; Lucerne, 707-274-8779; and Lakeport, 707-263-4218.

More information can be found online at www.lcseniors.com .

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com , on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Testimony that was scheduled to take place on Thursday in the murder trial of two Clearlake Oaks men was continued due to the illness of a defense attorney in the case.

Testimony in the trial of Paul William Braden, 21, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, began on Wednesday.

They are alleged to have been responsible for shooting into a crowd at a Clearlake home on June 18, 2011, killing 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, wounding his mother Desiree Kirby and stepfather Ross Sparks, and also wounding Andrew Sparks, Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.

Two juries composed of approximately 35 jurors have been seated to deal with Braden’s and Lopez’s cases separately.

When court convened shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Lake County Superior Court’s Department 1, Yolo County Judge Doris Shockley – who has been brought in to preside over the trial – told the two juries that Lopez’s attorney, Stephen Carter, was too ill to attend the proceedings, which were continued.

Ashli Athas, the 18-year-old former girlfriend of Lopez’s brother, Leonardo, was set to continue testifying on Thursday.

Athas, the second witness called in the case, said Wednesday that both Braden and Orlando Lopez were at her home in Clearlake in the hours before the murder.

She said they disappeared briefly, with Braden returning with a black shotgun wrapped in a sweatshirt.

Braden is alleged to have sawed off the shotgun’s butt, and according to Athas said he was bored and wanted to go shoot somebody. “I didn't bring this gun to Clearlake for nothing, let's go use it,” she remembered him saying.

Braden’s attorney, Doug Rhoades, has called into question Athas’ testimony, which differed from that given at Braden’s and Lopez’s preliminary hearing last October in that she previously said there was no drinking or “beer pong” taking place that day.

Athas also has admitted to initially lying to police and telling them that Braden and Lopez weren’t at her home in the hours before the fatal shooting occurred.

With the Lake County Superior Court scheduled for a mandatory furlough day on Friday due to budget cuts, Shockley ordered jurors to return to court on Wednesday, March 7. Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. that day.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris on Wednesday announced the California Homeowner Bill of Rights designed to protect homeowners from unfair practices by banks and mortgage companies and to help consumers and communities cope with the state's urgent mortgage and foreclosure crisis.

Joined by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, Attorney General Harris announced her sponsorship of six bills designed to guarantee:

• Basic standards of fairness in the mortgage process, including an end to dual-track foreclosures.
• Transparency in the mortgage process, including a single point of contact for homeowners.
• Community tools to prevent blight after banks foreclose upon homes.
• Tenant protections after foreclosures.
• Enhanced law enforcement to defend homeowner rights – paid for by fees imposed on banks.
• A special grand jury to investigate financial and foreclosure crime.

"California communities and families are being devastated by the mortgage and foreclosure crisis. We must ensure the deceptive practices that caused it never happen again," said Attorney General Harris. "The California Homeowner Bill of Rights will provide basic fairness and transparency for homeowners, and improve the mortgage process for everyone."

The legislation builds on the California commitment announced by Attorney General Harris earlier this month, which is expected to result in $18 billion of benefits for California homeowners.

That agreement included reforms for mortgages owned by the five banks that were signing parties. The California Homeowner Bill of Rights will strengthen those protections, make them permanent, and apply them to all mortgages in the state.

"When I secured the California commitment, I made clear it was only one of many steps I am taking to comprehensively address the mortgage and foreclosure crisis," Harris said. "I want to thank Senate President Pro Tem Steinberg, Assembly Speaker Pérez and all the other lawmakers who are supporting this urgent package of legislation for homeowners."

"I want to congratulate the Attorney General on the victory she won on behalf of the people of California," said Speaker John A. Pérez. "Our state has suffered greatly as the result of bad actors in the banking and financial industries, and this settlement holds them accountable as we continue the difficult work of recovering the housing market and stemming the tide of foreclosures, evictions and auctions."

"Millions of Californians have already lost their homes to foreclosure and the mortgage crisis is far from over," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. "This landmark settlement negotiated by Attorney General Harris helps thousands of Californians but thousands more need the same help. We need to put these protections into law so that more people can save their homes."

CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNER BILL OF RIGHTS LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE

ASSEMBLY BILL 1602 / SENATE BILL 1470- THE FORECLOSURE REDUCTION ACT OF 2012

Authors: Assemblymen Mike Eng and Mike Feuer; Senators Mark Leno, Fran Pavley and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

• Requires creditors to provide documentation to a borrower that establishes the creditor's right to foreclose on real property prior to recording a notice of default.
• Requires creditors to provide documentary evidence of ownership, the chain of title to real property, and the right to foreclose, at the time of the filing of a notice of default.
• Prohibits creditors from recording a notice of default when a timely-filed application for a loan modification or other loss mitigation measure is pending.
• Prohibits creditors from recording a notice of sale when a timely-filed application for a loan modification or other loss mitigation measure is pending.
• Prohibits creditors from recording a notice of sale while a borrower is in compliance with the terms of a trial loan modification or after another loss mitigation measure has been approved.
• Requires creditors to disclose why an application for a loan modification or other loss mitigation measure has been denied.
• Requires that notices of foreclosure sales be personally served, including notices of foreclosure sale postponement.
• Provides homeowners with a private right of action in instances in which the requirements set forth in the legislation are not followed

ASSEMBLY BILL 2425 / SENATE BILL 1471 - DUE PROCESS REFORM LEGISLATION

Authors: Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell; Senators Mark DeSaulnier and Fran Pavley.

• Requires creditors to provide a single point of contact to borrowers in the foreclosure process who will be responsible for providing accurate account and other information related to the foreclosure process and loss mitigation efforts.
• Requires creditors to provide a dedicated electronic mail address, facsimile number and mailing address for borrowers to submit information requested as part of a loan modification, short sale or other loss mitigation option.
• Authorizes borrowers to challenge the unlawful commencement of a foreclosure process in court.
• Imposes a $10,000 civil penalty on the recordation or filing of "robosigned" documents, defined as documents that contain information that was not verified for accuracy by the person or persons signing or swearing to the accuracy of the document or statement.
• Requires that certain documents be recorded in a county recorder's office.

ASSEMBLY BILL 2314 / SENATE BILL 1472 - BLIGHT PREVENTION LEGISLATION

Authors: Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter; Senator Fran Pavley.

• Prevents blight enforcement actions from being taken against new purchasers of blighted property for 60 days, provided that repairs are being made to the property.
• Requires banks that release liens on foreclosed property to inform local code enforcement agencies of the release so that demolition of blighted property can proceed.
• Increases fines against owners of blighted property from $1,000 per day to $5,000 per day, and allow the imposition of the costs of a receivership over blighted property to be imposed directly against the owner of blighted property.

ASSEMBLY BILL 2610/ SENATE BILL 1473 - TENANT PROTECTION LEGISLATION

Authors: Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner; Senator Loni Hancock.

• Requires purchasers of foreclosed homes to honor the terms of existing leases and give tenants at least 90 days notice before commencing eviction proceedings.

ASSEMBLY BILL 1950 - ENHANCEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT

Author: Assemblyman Mike Davis.

• Imposes a new $25 fee to be paid by servicers upon the recording of a notice of default. The fee would be deposited into a real estate fraud prosecution trust fund that would support the Attorney General's efforts to deter, investigate and prosecute real estate fraud crimes, including the work of the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force.
• Extends the statute of limitations from one year to four years from the date of discovery for violations of law commonly occurring in connection with foreclosure-related scams, including acting as a real-estate agent without a license and charging up-front fees for loan modification services.

SENATE BILL 1474 / ASSEMBLY BILL 1763 - ATTORNEY GENERAL SPECIAL GRAND JURY

Authors: Assemblyman Mike Davis; Senator Loni Hancock.

• Authorizes the attorney general to impanel a special grand jury for the purposes of investigating and indicting multi-jurisdictional financial crimes against the state.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .