Northshore firefighters, California Highway Patrol, Lake County Sheriff's deputies and Caltrans personnel responded to the scene of a fatal single-car crash off of Highway 20 west of Witter Springs Road outside of Upper Lake, Calif., on Monday, October 17, 2011, which claimed the life of a man from Portland, Maine, and seriously injured a woman from South Freeport, Maine. The California Highway Patrol said the crash, involving a rented 2012 Corvette, occurred some time on the night of Sunday, October 16, 2011, but wasn't discovered until the following morning. Photo by Gary McAuley.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A man was killed and a woman seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash that occurred along Highway 20 on Sunday night but wasn't discovered until Monday morning.

The collision, which took place west of Witter Springs Road, was first reported to the California Highway Patrol at 11 a.m. Monday via a 911 call from the surviving crash victim, the agency reported.

The 40-year-old male driver – a resident of Portland, Maine, whose name was not released – died, and his 43-year-old passenger, a woman from South Freeport, Maine, suffered major injuries, according to a report from CHP Officer Matthew Norton, who is leading the crash investigation.

Initial reports from the scene on Monday indicated that the crash occurred the previous night, which CHP Officer Kevin Domby confirmed to Lake County News later in the day.

Domby said the female crash victim extricated herself from the vehicle – a rented canary yellow 2012 Chevrolet Corvette – and called in the crash on her cell phone.

The woman remained on the line while the dispatcher listened for the sirens. When the sirens were close by, the dispatcher notified Northshore Fire that they were in the right area, Domby said.

At 11:15 a.m. emergency personnel located the Corvette down an embankment, Norton reported.

Based on the investigation so far, Norton said speed appears to be a factor in the collision's cause.

Norton said the Corvette was traveling westbound on Highway 20 when the driver failed to negotiate a right curve in the road and went off the road's south edge.

The Corvette hit an oak tree, ejecting the driver, who was not wearing his seat belt, Norton reported. The driver died at the scene.

The female passenger, who was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, sustained major injuries. Norton said she was transported by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Norton said the collision investigation is continuing.

John Jensen contributed to this report.

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A REACH air ambulance transported a woman from South Freeport, Maine, from the scene of a fatal vehicle crash near Upper Lake, Calif., to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Monday, October 17, 2011. Photo by Gary McAuley.

Increased water monitoring data shows the number of rivers, streams and lakes in California exhibiting overall toxicity have increased 170 percent from 2006 to 2010.

About two dozen water bodies were added to the list – including the San Joaquin River and several reaches of the Santa Ana River.

Clear Lake has been listed for several years. Other local water bodies that are listed by the EPA include Indian Valley Reservoir, the lower and north forks of Cache Creek, and McGaugh Slough.

The agency said that California has some of the most magnificent rivers, lakes and coastal waters in the country. However, of its three million acres of lakes, bays, wetlands and estuaries, 1.6 million acres are not meeting water quality goals, and 1.4 million acres still need a pollution clean-up plan, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).

Of the 215,000 miles of shoreline, streams and rivers, 30,000 miles are not meeting water quality goals, and 20,000 miles still need a TMDL. The most common contaminants in these waterways are pesticides and bacteria, followed by metals and nutrients.

“Clean water is vital to California's pubic health, economy, recreation and wildlife,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “California has done an excellent job of increasing the amount of water monitored. Unfortunately, much of the new data points in the wrong direction. This list of impaired waters is a wake-up call to continue the critical local and statewide work to needed to heal California's damaged waters. “

The Clean Water Act requires states to monitor and assess their waterways and submit a list of impaired waters to EPA for review. The 2010 list is based on more comprehensive monitoring as well as new assessment tools that allow the state to evaluate larger quantities of data.

The data showed several important trends including:

• Many more beaches, both inland and coastal, are on the 2010 list because bacteria reached unsafe levels for swimming. This increase is largely driven by a more extensive review of data collected by counties.

• Better reporting of trash in waters has led to an increase in trash impairments by 76 percent from 2006 to 2010. California’s statewide Trash Policy is under development and will address trash impacts to both local wildlife and reduce California's contribution to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

• The numbers of listings showing pollutants in fish are at levels too high for safe human consumption has increased 24% from 2006 to 2010, with the greatest increases seen in mercury. Rather than signaling an increase in fish contamination, this trend is due to California's recent statewide sport fish monitoring effort. Additionally, some pollutants such as DDT are no longer manufactured and are slowly decreasing in concentration over time.

• Waters identified as impaired by pesticides showed a 36 percent increase from the prior list, likely a result of the more thorough monitoring required under the State's Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. Under this program, close collaboration between the Water Boards and the Department of Pesticide Regulation has resulted in reduced pesticide discharges to surface and groundwater.

Last year, California submitted to EPA for approval its list of polluted rivers, lakes and coastal waters. EPA added several waterways to the list, including portions of the San Joaquin River, where increasing temperatures and salinity imperil salmon and trout populations. Following public comment, EPA finalized the additions Tuesday.

Last week's action leads to the development and adoption of hundreds of pollution cleanup plans by California to restore waters to swimmable, fishable and drinkable conditions.

Work is already under way in California to address hundreds of waters previously listed as impaired. EPA will continue to work with the state to develop and implement additional TMDLs to address the remaining waters.

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Left: This is an image of the star HR 8799 taken by Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) in 1998. A mask within the camera (coronagraph) blocks most of the light from the star. Center: Recent, sophisticated software processing of the NICMOS data removes most of the scattered starlight to reveal three planets orbiting HR 8799. The positions of these planets coincide with orbits of planets observed by ground-based telescopes in 2007 and 2008. Right: This is an illustration of the HR 8799 exoplanet system based on the reanalysis of Hubble NICMOS data and ground-based observations. The size of the HR 8799 planetary system is comparable to our solar system, as indicated by the orbit of Neptune, shown to scale. Credit: NASA; ESA; STScI, R. Soummer.

In a painstaking re-analysis of Hubble Space Telescope images from 1998, astronomers have found visual evidence for two extrasolar planets that went undetected back then.

Finding these hidden gems in the Hubble archive gives astronomers an invaluable time machine for comparing much earlier planet orbital motion data to more recent observations. It also demonstrates a novel approach for planet hunting in archival Hubble data.

Four giant planets are known to orbit the young, massive star HR 8799, which is130 light-years away.

In 2007 and 2008 the first three planets were discovered in near-infrared ground-based images taken with the W.M. Keck Observatory and the Gemini North telescope by Christian Marois of the National Research Council in Canada and his team.

Marois and his colleagues then uncovered a fourth innermost planet in 2010. This is the only multiple exoplanetary system for which astronomers have obtained direct snapshots.

In 2009 David Lafreniere of the University of Montreal recovered hidden exoplanet data in Hubble images of HR 8799 taken in 1998 with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS).

He identified the position of the outermost planet known to orbit the star. This first demonstrated the power of a new data-processing technique for retrieving faint planets buried in the glow of the central star.

A new analysis of the same archival NICMOS data by Remi Soummer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore has recovered all three of the outer planets.

The fourth, innermost planet is 1.5 billion miles from the star and cannot be seen because it is on the edge of the NICMOS coronagraphic spot that blocks the light from the central star.

By finding the planets in multiple images spaced over years of time, the orbits of the planets can be tracked. Knowing the orbits is critical to understanding the behavior of multiple-planet systems because massive planets can perturb each other's orbits.

“From the Hubble images we can determine the shape of their orbits, which brings insight into the system stability, planet masses and eccentricities, and also the inclination of the system,” said Soummer.

These results are to be published in the Astrophysical Journal.

The three outer gas-giant planets have approximately 100-, 200-, and 400-year orbits. This means that astronomers need to wait a very long time to see how the planets move along their paths. The added time span from the Hubble data helps enormously.

“The archive got us 10 years of science right now,” said Soummer. “Without this data we would have had to wait another decade. It's 10 years of science for free.”

Nevertheless, the slowest-moving, outermost planet has barely changed position in 10 years.

“But if we go to the next inner planet we see a little bit of an orbit, and the third inner planet we actually see a lot of motion,” said Soummer.

The planets weren't found in 1998 when the Hubble observations were first taken because the methods used to detect them were not available at that time. When astronomers subtracted the light from the central star to look for the residual glow of planets, the residual light scatter was still overwhelming the faint planets.

Lafreniere developed a way to improve this type of analysis by using a library of reference stars to more precisely remove the “fingerprint” glow of the central star.

Soummer's team took Lafreniere's method a step further and used 466 images of reference stars taken from a library containing over 10 years of NICMOS observations assembled by Glenn Schneider of the University of Arizona.

Soummer's team further increased contrast and minimized residual starlight. They completely removed the diffraction spikes, which are artifacts common to telescope imaging systems. This allowed them to see two of the faint inner planets in the Hubble data.

The planets recovered in the NICMOS data are about 1/100,000th the brightness of the parent star when viewed in near-infrared light.

Soummer next plans to analyze approximately 400 other stars in the NICMOS archive with the same technique, improving image quality by a factor of 10 over the imaging methods used when the data were obtained.

Soummer's work demonstrates the power of the Hubble Space Telescope data archive, which harbors images and spectral information from over twenty years of Hubble observations.

Astronomers tap into this library to complement new observations with a wealth of invaluable data already gathered, yielding much more discovery potential than new observations alone.

From the NICMOS archive data Soummer's team will assemble a list of planetary candidates to be confirmed by ground-based telescopes. If new planets are discovered they will once again have several years' worth of orbital motion to measure.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., in Washington, D.C.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – There is sufficient evidence to try three men for the murder of a child and the attempted murders of five other people, according to a local judge's Monday ruling.

Judge Stephen Hedstrom ruled that Paul William Braden, 21, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23, of Clearlake Oaks, and 29-year-old Kevin Ray Stone of Clearlake will stand trial for the June 18 shooting in Clearlake that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp.

The shooting, the worst in the city's history, also wounded and permanently disabled the child's mother, Desiree Kirby, and wounded Kirby's boyfriend, Ross Sparks, and his brother, Andrew Sparks, and friends Ian Griffith and Joseph Armijo.

The group was in the yard of Kirby's and Sparks' home on Lakeshore Drive on the evening of June 18 when armed assailants – who the shooting victims couldn't see due to the darkness – shot through and over a fence separating the home from a neighbor's residence.

In a hearing that ran just short of an hour, Hedstrom explained his conclusion that the three men could be tried on the 16 felony counts they're facing, including murder, mayhem, multiple counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and many more special allegations.

Hedstrom's decision followed the conclusion last Friday of the mens' eight day preliminary hearing, which stretched over three weeks, and saw 14 witnesses – including Kirby, Ross and Andrew Sparks, and Griffith – testify, with police offering statements of another 14 witnesses who did not take the stand themselves.

In reviewing the testimony and evidence, Hedstrom said a June 9 fight between the Sparks' cousin, Josh Gamble, and members of the “Avenue Boys” – a gang of young men who live in the city's Avenues area – at an adult school graduation at Lower Lake High School was a “triggering event.”

He explained that the fight led to a chain of other events that brought tensions to a head.

Those events included a confrontation between Kirby and Lopez's younger brother, Leonardo, at Walmart several days before the shooting; what had appeared to be a friendly discussion between Ross Sparks and Orlando Lopez about the adult school fight, which also occurred in the days before the shooting; and then, on June 18, the exchange of angry text messages between Sparks and Orlando Lopez, who had been planning to meet for a fight, based on testimony.

During the preliminary hearing, police officers, detectives and witnesses testified to differing statements by the three men about who was responsible for the shooting.

Hedstrom noted, “We have three defendants pointing in all different directions as to who was the shooter or shooters.”

As part of his case, District Attorney Don Anderson had presented evidence and witness statements that double ought buckshot and bird shot were the two types of ammunition found at the scene.

Hedstrom said that, based on his review of pictures submitted into evidence, the expended shotgun shells found at the scene appeared to match an unexpended shell found in a borrowed vehicle Stone allegedly had crashed near the shooting location.

“When one looks at this broad overview of the evidence, this is much more than any one defendant simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Hedstrom.

He went on to add, “When you take all this evidence, it's very easy for the court to come to the conclusion, based on the aiding and abetting concept, that all three defendants are responsible for these substantive charges that have been brought against them … It's just eminently clear to the court.”

While the defense – including Stephen Carter, Komnith Moth and Doug Rhoades, representing Lopez, Stone and Braden, respectively – had asked for factual findings about the lack of credibility of some of the witnesses, Hedstrom wouldn't take that step.

Acknowledging, “We certainly have a lot of conflicting evidence,” Hedstrom continued, “The court declines at this point to try to unravel the inconsistencies and make judgments as to credibility.”

His reasons, he said, included insufficient evidence to make solid determinations of credibility. He said he hadn't heard all of the evidence, mostly because many witnesses hadn't taken the stand in the hearing.

But he said there was a “reasonable suspicion” – a standard of proof appropriate for a preliminary hearing, but less than would be required at trial – to hold Braden, Lopez and Stone to answer.

Hedstrom asked the defense attorneys if there was an objection to combining the three suspects' cases going forward.

Carter said it was highly likely the three men would be tried separately. Moth added he anticipated severing Stone's case from the combined case.

The next step will be a new arraignment, scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Hedstrom's Clearlake courtroom.

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 Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Shown here is a bundle of flat leaf parsley, also known as Italian parsley. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Parsley may be in need of an image makeover. This wonderful herb is thought of by some as nothing more than a bright little garnish or flecks of green in a side dish, but it brings far more to the table.

As the herbal adage states, “Parsley is the jewel of herbs, both in the pot and on the plate.”

It’s amazing how often I add copious amounts of fresh parsley to the meals I make.

Last evening I added a handful to pungent pasta puttanesca, I tossed it in a mushroom omelet the night before and over the last few days I’ve been happily devouring one of my favorite salad dressings, a puree of parsley with apples and ginger.

Parsley is native to the southern Mediterranean region and grows wild from Sardinia east to Lebanon, as well as in the northern African nations of Algeria and Tunisia. It’s naturalized throughout much of Europe and figures heavily in the cuisines of that continent, as well as in the Middle East.

While it’s been cultivated for more than 2,000 years, it was used medicinally prior to its popularity in cooking. The ancient Greeks viewed parsley as sacred, and used it to adorn winners of athletic contests, as well as the tombs of the dead.

Parsley’s name is derived from the Greek word for “rock celery,” with celery being one of its relatives.

It’s unclear when it became popular as an addition to food. Some historians claim the practice goes back as least as far as the time of Charlemagne in Medieval Europe, as it was grown in his gardens. Prior to this it was used as a garnish in ancient Rome, but there’s no record of its being added as a flavoring to food in that culture.

The two best known varieties of leaf parsley are curly parsley and flat leaf or Italian parsley. While some prefer the curly variety, especially as an attractive garnish, the latter is more popular with chefs as most feel the flavor is superior.

A lesser known type of parsley is grown as a root vegetable and has a much thicker root than the parsley cultivated for its leaves. It looks similar to the parsnip, a relative, but the taste is dissimilar. Root parsley is largely unknown in the U.S., but is a common addition to soups and stews in central and eastern Europe.

In my opinion, the bright, fresh taste of parsley purveys summer on a cold winter’s day. It can be used in cuisine in much the same way, meaning it brings a light flavor to an otherwise heavy dish.

An example of this is the use of gremolata, an Italian condiment made with fresh parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, as a classic pairing with osso bucco, a Milanese dish of braised veal shanks. The bright taste of the condiment balances the heaviness of the dish.

I found this to be true in my own kitchen when I made a spaghetti sauce with plenty of tomato paste and a rich red wine. I was happy with the flavor, but it was heavy on the palate. I remedied this by sprinkling gremolata over the dishes of pasta and sauce as I served them. It was the perfect accompaniment.

Gremolata may also be used on fish or vegetables. It’s especially good with roasted asparagus.

The French have a similar condiment made with parsley and garlic, but sans the lemon zest, called persillade.

Parsley is a component of bouquet garni, a grouping of fresh herbs tied together with kitchen string and used to flavor soups and stews. Other herbs that are commonly used include bay leaves and thyme.

This practice is utilized throughout southern and central Europe, particularly in France. I often tie the herbs in a cheesecloth bundle, an alternative to using the string. The herbs may be varied depending on the dish, but parsley is almost always included.

Linguine and clams is a dish that benefits from large amounts of parsley. It adds lively color to an otherwise monochrome arrangement, but the real addition is its flavor. That’s true of so many uses of parsley, including when it graces boiled potatoes or carrots along with butter.

This herb is a veritable powerhouse of nutrition, absolutely full of antioxidants. It’s one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

Just one ounce supplies over 60 percent of our daily need for vitamin C, 30 percent of vitamin A, excellent stores of folate and iron, and many trace elements.

Its volatile oils have been shown to have anticancer, antioxidant, and cardio-protective potency. To top it off, its massive stores of chlorophyll are a fantastic breath freshener!

Parsley is delicious juiced with carrots, kale, beet, and chard as a health drink and pick-me-up.

In the garden, parsley produces leaves from mid-June to late fall, and is available in the supermarket year round. When shopping, choose bundles that aren’t limp and look freshly picked.

Fresh parsley may be stored one of two ways in the fridge, either upright in a glass of water (clip the ends first) or wrapped loosely in a paper towel in a zipper sealed bag.

Today’s recipe is one of my favorites, Middle Eastern tabbouleh, which I enjoy often with its frequent companion, hummus. Both are wonderful in pita bread together.

It seems appropriate to consume this delicious cold salad now with October’s current warmth, and it’s a good way to use those late tomatoes ripening in the garden.

To me, it tastes like health personified with much mint and plentiful parsley. For those sensitive to wheat, it’s wonderful when made with quinoa.

Enjoy!

Minty tabbouleh with plenty of parsley

1 heaping cup bulgur

1 cup water

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

½ cup sliced scallions, white and green parts

2 cloves finely minced garlic

½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into ½ inch dice

1 large cucumber, seeded and cut into ½ inch dice

Fresh mint and parsley leaves for garnish

Combine the bulgur, water, lemon juice, and 1/3 cup of the olive oil in a large bowl. Mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes with a fork. Fluff the mixture with a fork. (The bulgur absorbs the liquid and softens.)

Add the mint, parsley, scallions, garlic, salt, pepper and remaining 1/3 cup olive oil. Toss well with a fork.

Add the tomatoes and cucumber and toss again.

Adjust the seasonings, if necessary, and allow to stand, loosely covered, for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to combine.

Garnish with fresh mint and parsley leaves, and serve.

Makes six to eight portions.

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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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Friday the preliminary hearing of the three men accused of killing a child and wounding five others in a June shooting wrapped up as the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments.

Over eight days stretching across three weeks, District Attorney Don Anderson has presented evidence in an attempt to link three men – Clearlake Oaks resident Paul William Braden, 21, and Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23, and Clearlake resident Kevin Ray Stone, 29 – to the June 18 attack that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp.

The three men are accused of driving to the Lakeshore Drive home of Desiree Kirby and boyfriend Ross Sparks and their children, and shooting into a crowd of friends gathered in the yard late at night.

The little boy was hit and died at the scene. Kirby was seriously wounded and has ongoing health issues; also wounded were Sparks and his younger brother Andrew, as well as family friends Ian Griffith and Joey Armijo.

Braden, Lopez and Stone are charged with murder, mayhem, several counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and numerous special allegations such as use of a firearm for the incident, which Clearlake Police have said was the worst single shooting in the city's history.

Before he invited the closing arguments to begin, Judge Stephen Hedstrom allowed Stone's attorney, Komnith Moth, to finalize his arguments on an objection he raised earlier in the proceedings regarding the admissibility of a July 1 interview that police conducted with his client.

Clearlake Police Det. Tom Clements and Det. Tim Alvarado traveled to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office to interview Stone early that day. He had been arrested in Santa Rosa nearly two weeks after the shooting.

The 31-minute videotaped interview was presented during testimony on Thursday.

Moth argued that Stone had invoked his right to legal counsel during the interview, and that the statements he made to police therefore shouldn't be allowed into evidence.

Hedstrom found that Stone understood his rights, and that he clearly waived his rights and spoke willingly to the detectives for about the first half of the interview. “Clearly if you can waive a whole, you can waive a part,” said Hedstrom.

Hedstrom said it was clear Stone, in his interview with police, was seeking a deal to prevent him from being prosecuted.

However, Moth got part of what he wanted.

When asked about what specifically happened at the shooting scene, Stone refused to discuss specifics. From that point on, as Clements and Alvarado continued to press him for details, Hedstrom ruled the interview was inadmissible.

The roots of the conflict

In his closing arguments, Anderson said the foundation of the conflict could be traced to a June 9 fight at an adult school graduation in Lower Lake involving Josh Gamble, a cousin of the Sparks brothers, and several members of the “Avenue Boys,” or “Ave Boys,” a local gang believed to be associated with the Norteños street gang, according to previous testimony.

Gamble testified on the first day of the preliminary hearing that he and Armijo were assaulted by the group, and that he was hit in the face with a pipe by Leonardo Lopez, Orlando Lopez's younger brother.

A few days after that fight, Kirby confronted Leonardo Lopez at Walmart about the fight, which Anderson said “added fuel to the fire.”

He said the situation heated up further on June 18 due to threats texted to Ross Sparks from Orlando Lopez's phone, and from a phone argument between Braden and Gamble's cousin, Crystal Pearls.

The threats were being exchanged at a time when Orlando Lopez and Braden were reportedly at a party at the 16^th Avenue home of Leonardo Lopez and his girlfriend, Ashli Athas, which Anderson said was attended by several Avenue Boys.

Braden and Orlando Lopez allegedly left the party and returned with a shotgun, which Braden sawed the handle off of before leaving later in a car driven by Stone. Anderson said Stone became involved in the plan and retrieved a gun from his apartment. Stone's girlfriend, Leighann Painchaud, told police she saw Stone emerge from their home with some kind of firearm under his jacket.

Anderson said that showed premeditation, as did the way the men are alleged to have parked away from Sparks' residence, walking through his neighbor's backyard and shooting over the fence and through a gap caused by missing boards, then fleeing.

In building the scenario, Anderson said all three men were armed. Based on witness statements, the weapons believed to be used included two shotguns, a .22 rifle and a 9 millimeter handgun.

Anderson alleged that Lopez told another jail inmate that he took part in the shooting, claiming that he shot the little boy “almost in half.” Lopez also later claimed Stone killed the child.

“I think there's sufficient evidence that these defendants were there doing the shooting, it was premeditated and they shot into a crowd,” said Anderson.

He added, “They killed Skyler Rapp,” and injured the child's mother, who has injuries that more than likely will leave her disabled for the rest of her life, said Anderson.

Looking for the Avenue Boys

In their closing arguments, the three defense attorneys pointed to what they argued were big holes in the prosecution's theory in the case, and questioned the credibility of key witnesses.

Rhoades – representing Braden – said the justice system needs to make sure the right people are punished for the crime, and that it isn't just a matter of a blanket being thrown over a lot of people.

Rhoades looked at the disparity in witness testimony, zeroing in on Athas, who initially told police in two interviews that Braden wasn't at her home the day of the shooting. In a third interview she said he was there, and that she had previously lied due to being threatened. But Rhoades said the threats she offered were hearsay, and came after the first two interviews with police.

He also questioned statements given to police by Dena Smith, the neighbor of Kirby and Sparks, who did not take the stand but whose statements were related on the stand by Alvarado. Smith claimed to have seen Braden and a female through the 11-inch gap in the fence between Sparks' home and his neighbor's from 30 feet away in low lighting.

Stone and Painchaud later would be arrested in Santa Rosa after fleeing. But Rhoades said of his client, “Mr. Braden was arrested at home. That's where he was. He didn't go anywhere. He had no reason to run.”

Rhoades also took issue with the changes in Lopez's story to police, questioning Lopez's account of holding shotgun shells for Braden in the car on the way to the shooting as a way to explain why his fingerprints would be on the shells. He said Lopez has offered “every possible variation” of what could have happened.

He said the only evidence of Braden's involvement was offered by Stone and Lopez, as Braden made no admissions in the case.

Rhoades said Athas' testimony was clearly biased. “We can't put a firearm into Mr. Braden's hands unless we believe Ashli and the two defendants.”

The evidentiary requirements of a preliminary hearing are far lower than a trial, said Rhoades, adding if they were at trial Braden would be walking out completely exonerated.

Moth said Stone had no known motive for committing the crimes, pointing out that the shooting victims who testified all stated they didn't know who he was before June 18.

Referring to Anderson's tracing of the crime back to the June 9 fight, Moth said there is no evidence showing Stone was present for that confrontation. “His motive for the shooting is absolutely unclear at this point. It's essentially nonexistent.”

Nor is there evidence that Stone fired a weapon that night, said Moth. While statements attributed to Lopez put Stone at the scene, Moth said Lopez was “essentially a liar,” whose statements are filled with inconsistencies and a desire to shift blame.

Moth said there also wasn't evidence that Stone knew about what was going to happen that evening. He said his client couldn't be called an accessory if he was found to have only given Lopez and Braden a ride.

In his interview with police, Stone admitted to being on his way to get drugs the night of the shooting when he was called for a ride, Moth said.

Moth then raised the issue of gang involvement.

“The Ave Boys have their fingerprints all over this incident,” he said, noting that Braden and Lopez were alleged to have been at the home of Athas and Leonardo Lopez on June 18, leaving the party ahead of some of the Ave Boys members.

“Their whole presence permeates this entire incident,” he said about the gang of young men who live in the city's Avenues area.

Moth pointed out that the court had, over his objections, previously allowed in testimony that Stone is an affiliated Sureño member. At another point in the hearing, Clearlake Police Officer Ryan Peterson had testified that the Ave Boys appear to be associates of the Norteños, rivals of the Sureños.

Moth said it didn't make any sense that Stone would participate in helping Norteños or any associated group. “It doesn't make any sort of sense your honor. He doesn't have any motive to help out that organization.”

Carter, arguing for Lopez, said there was no direct evidence that his client made any threats to anyone in the run up to the shooting, and he said a jail inmate's testimony that Lopez admitted to the shooting was not credible, as he said Lopez has never made any such claim.

While the shooting victims testified to low light and not being able to see the shooters, Carter questioned how Smith could have seen anyone as clearly as she told police she had.

In addition to telling police in a second interview that she had seen Braden through the gap in the fence, she also stated that she saw Lopez coming through the fence gap with a gun.

Yet Carter said that conflicted with her first statement to police, in which she saw two Caucasian males with short-cropped hair, one of them wearing a black t-shirt with white skulls on it and blue jeans. He said Lopez's features don't match that description, and instead are consistent with Hispanic and American Indian features.

“That completely lacks credibility,” he said of Smith's account.

Carter said there also wasn't evidence that his client had a firearm at the time, nor was it addressed in the preliminary hearing just how many weapons there actually were at the scene. Just because there were two types of ammunition – bird shot and double-ought buckshot – didn't mean there was more than one weapon.

Anderson and the attorneys had the opportunity to briefly rebut each others' arguments before Hedstrom took the case under submission.

Hedstrom said he will deliver his verdict on whether or not the men will stand trial on the charges at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17.

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 Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.

The community program planning meeting will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse Museum, 255 N. Main St. in Lakeport. Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m.

The Mental Health Services Act has been providing funding to Lake County since 2005 to support a variety of initiatives to assist consumers of mental health services and their families in the local community.

These initiatives include direct services and supports as well as prevention and early intervention programming.

Input from consumers and their families, partner agencies, and representatives from cultural and ethnic populations in Lake County aided in the development of these programs through the Community Program Planning process as required by the act.

At this time, stakeholder participation is requested to further develop workforce education and training, innovation, and capital facilities and technological needs plans.

Transportation and childcare will be provided upon request to those who qualify.

Please RSVP to Sarah Deng, MHSA analyst, at 707-263-4338 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Wednesday, Oct. 19.

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Community members learn about emergency kits from Northlake Medical Pharmacy and are reminded to keep a supply of prescription medication on-hand at the first disaster preparedness expo in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, October 15, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Bringing together emergency responders, community groups, businesses and the public, the first disaster preparedness expo held in Lakeport on Saturday was educational for all involved.

The city of Lakeport and Mendo Mill sponsored the event, which took place at Mendo Mill on S. Main Street.

“Not only does this kind of event raise public awareness of what to do in the event of an emergency, but it serves as a networking event for providers of disaster-relief services,” explained Lake County Health Office Dr. Karen Tait.

Gregg Scott, volunteer emergency services coordinator with the Lakeport's Police Department, had written in a news article that residents needed to consider what they and their family would do in the event of an emergency in Lake County – if the power, phone lines, cell phone or other infrastructure were down for an extended period of time.

“Communications between the community and first responders is a critical link that we provide on a regular basis,” explained Arland Souza with the Nice Amateur Radio Club, who said there are more than 300 amateur radio – also called ham radio – operators in Lake County, many of whom, “listen in and assist daily in and for your community.”

Many of the organizations represented at the expo operate on, and are currently seeking, volunteers such as the Lake Evacuation and Protection (LEAP), which cooperates with Lake County Animal Control to aid in the evacuation of domestic animals and livestock in the event of an emergency, and the Lake County Medical Reserve Corps, which assists professionals who want to volunteer during an emergency or disaster.

Informational booths at the event included attorney Dennis Fordham, Lincoln-Levitt insurance, Amerigas, Lake County Vector Control, North Lake Medical Pharmacy, the Nice Amateur Radio Club, CalFire, California Highway Patrol, Timberline Land Management, Vietnam Veterans of America, T-Mobile, the Lake County Medical Reserve Corps, American Red Cross, Lake Evacuation Animal Protection (LEAP), Vulcan Vents, Mark Davis Insurance, Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling and more.

For more information on volunteering with LEAP, contact Nehemiah White at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information on registering to volunteer with the Lake County Medical Reserve Corps, contact Linda Fraser at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Timberline Land Management reminds residents to assist firefighting efforts by maintaining defensible space around homes and structures at a disaster preparedness expo in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, October 15, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.

At its Web site, www.occupywallstreet.org, the organization said Friday there would be more than 951 cities in 82 countries demonstrating in concern on Saturday, Oct. 15.

More than 100 such protests are said to be taking place in the United States alone this weekend, including one in Lakeport and one in Clearlake.

In Lakeport, the demonstration will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the corner of Fifth and Main Street.

In Clearlake, protesters will gather from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Cooper Tires parking lot at the corner of Olympic Drive and Old Highway 53 and Burns Valley Road.

Lake County Peace Action held a similar demonstration in Lakeport on Oct. 6, and Occupy Wall Street protests have been making their way around other areas of the North Coast, including Santa Rosa and Napa.

The nationwide movement is composed of people identifying themselves as “the 99 percent” – those who are losing their jobs and homes due to the country's deep recession, which they blame on the banking industry.

The top 1 percent, meanwhile, holds more than one-third of the entire country's wealth, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis.

Thus Main Street is taking its battle to Wall Street, and gaining friends along the way in the form of unions and powerful organizations like the California Teachers Association, which said Friday it endorsed the movement and that it embraced the call to raise taxes on the rich, to reregulate the banks, and to enact a financial speculation tax.

Such actions, the group said, will restore public budgets for schools and other vital services, and set California and the rest of the country “back on a road to democracy and prosperity.”

The national chapter of the Sierra Club also has endorsed the movement, noting in a statement, “Corporations that pollute our air, land and water, that put greed ahead of community good, public health and the nation's economic well-being must be held fully accountable. In our work around the country, we have seen first-hand how international coal and oil companies have wrecked communities, polluted our environment, and dominated the political process. We stand with Occupy Wall Street protesters in saying 'enough.'”

Information on local meetups and protests can be found at www.occupytogether.com. More information about the movement and the protests can be found at www.occupywallstreet.org, https://www.facebook.com/OccupyWallSt and can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/OccupyWallSt.

The Tumblr site, www.wearethe99percent.tumblr.com, also shares the stories of people taking part in the movement.

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 Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – California’s political landscape changed significantly on Oct. 10, 1911, but many Californians may not be familiar with that momentous event.

One hundred years ago the number of eligible voters in California roughly doubled overnight when an amendment to the state constitution passed, enfranchising California women nine years before the 19th Amendment granted equal suffrage nationwide.

Official election returns show that this measure barely passed, but it was enough to secure new rights for California women.

Statewide the “yes” vote was 125,037 (50.73 percent), while the “no” votes totaled 121,450 (49.27 percent). Voters in Lake County approved the woman suffrage amendment 471 to 341.

The dry statistics don’t show how long and rocky the path to equal suffrage in California was.

The women and men who supported the cause worked many years to bring it about as powerful interests opposed to women voting campaigned against the measure.

In 1896 liquor interests feared that women would vote for prohibition if they had the vote. The brewing and liquor groups succeeded in defeating California’s suffrage measure on its first outing.

Before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on Aug. 20, 1920, California and several other states had granted suffrage to women. Some suffragists favored the state-by-state avenue to suffrage, while others pursued the federal amendment directly.

As the 19^th century closed, American women were interested in participating in civic life, and Lake County women were no exception.

Women developed their political skills in the years before equal suffrage, participating in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, labor unions, civic clubs and improvement clubs to benefit their communities.

They learned to speak in public and to petition government officials about their causes. Some were active suffragists who pursued the vote and some followed other paths to civic engagement.

California granted women the right to run for school-related offices in 1874 and in 1890 Lake County women began to win offices for which they couldn’t vote.

Women served on local school boards and women held the office of superintendent of Lake County schools for 44 of the years from 1890 to 1942.

Etta Kise Harrington was sworn in 1890, with Hettie Irwin, Minerva Ferguson and Mary Mason Harrow following her. Only Charles Haycock managed to break the gender line and to serve two terms during that period.

After Mary Mason Harrow left office in 1942, men held the office until Judith Luchsinger was elected in 1979.

As the 1896 presidential election fired national debate about Free Silver and the presidential contest between William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley, another political campaign stirred passions in California.

Pro-suffrage supporters had succeeded in placing an amendment to grant women’s suffrage on the ballot and suffragists mounted a determined effort against strong opposition.

Part of the plan was to involve high-level suffragists in the California campaign.

Susan B. Anthony, the septuagenarian pioneer suffragist, came to California to direct the state’s equal suffrage campaign, bringing other well-known suffrage speakers to canvass towns and cities throughout the state.

California women formed suffrage clubs, held conventions and demonstrated for equal suffrage. Lake County’s equal suffrage advocates, both female and male, joined the movement. Women in Upper Lake and Kelseyville formed suffrage clubs in their towns.

Not everyone in Lake County viewed female suffrage as a good thing.

The Clear Lake Press commented on Sept. 24 that “Will Clendenin and O.T. Boardman expect to prove that the government will go where the Rev. Yorke said – to 'tarnashion smash' if the affirmative [suffrage] win.”

Despite the their husbands’ attitudes, Ada Clendenin and Viola Boardman were among those attending Lake County’s biggest suffrage event, the Lake County Women’s Congress, which opened on Sept. 22, 1896. Congress president Emma Ransdell welcomed the guests (female and male) to the two-day program.

Local speakers Marcia Mayfield, W.L. Rideout, Hannah Millard Coffin, the Rev. H.W. Chapman, Ida League, Viola Boardman, Col. Herman Winchester and Lorenzo Scranton presented papers on such topics as “Women in art,” “Women as inventors” and “Mothers of great men.”

The featured speaker, nationally-known suffrage orator Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, spoke both days, where her eloquence, demeanor and intelligence won over the Lake County press corps and an appreciative audience.

Shaw spoke about how the qualifications for voting had changed over the centuries, becoming more liberal at each change, leaving sex as the only qualification.

She raised the question, “Why not eliminate the word “male” as a qualification?” Shaw disposed of all arguments against women’s suffrage to the satisfaction of her audience.

Since her birth in England, Shaw had traveled a long way, both geographically and intellectually.

The Shaw family migrated to the United States when Anna was a child, settling in rural Michigan. In an era when higher education for women was uncommon, Shaw earned both a divinity degree and an M.D., but found her true calling as a pro-suffrage speaker. Her oratorical skills made her a national star of the suffrage movement around the turn of the 20th century. In 1896, Lakeport was just one of many California towns on her itinerary.

The Lake County Bee on Sept. 23, 1896, approved Shaw’s manner and described her as “a pleasant, agreeable lady, and far, very far, from being the vinegar visaged, long, lank masculine creature, such as the caricaturist generally represents the woman suffragist to be. She is refined and intelligent, kind and gentle, and withal, possessed of an intellect such as few of her opponents possess.” Other local writers were similarly impressed.

A few days before the election the Lake County Bee urged its readers to vote for suffrage because “[e]veryone who believes in justice cannot be true to themselves and do otherwise.”

Despite the efforts of pro-suffrage activists, the equal suffrage amendment lost on Nov. 3, 1896. Lake County voters voted against it 718 to 603 and statewide it lost 110,355 to 137,099.

Next week, the effort for suffrage continues.

Author's note: In researching this article, the writer was not able to find photographs of any Lake County suffrage events in the collection of the Lake County Museum. If any reader knows of photos of any suffrage events, please contact Jan Cook at Lakeport Library, 707-263-8817.

Visit the Lake County Sesquicentennial Web site at www.lc150.org or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Sesquicentennial/171845856177015.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An extensive investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force into organized drug trafficking over the past several months has culminated in multiple arrests and the seizure of methamphetamine, marijuana, weapons and thousands of dollars for asset forfeiture, according to a Friday report.

In May, the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force opened an investigation into the operations of the “Rodriguez” drug trafficking organization, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.

Information gathered from the investigation revealed that the organization was responsible for the distribution of large amounts of methamphetamine and the illegal cultivation of marijuana throughout Lake County, Bauman reported.

To date, the investigation has resulted in the seizure of approximately one pound of methamphetamine, 1,318 marijuana plants, 205 pounds of processed marijuana, four firearms (one of which had been stolen), eleven arrests, and the seizure of $26,089 for asset forfeiture, Bauman said.

On May 19, narcotics detectives made three arrests in the city of Clearlake in relation to the investigation, Bauman said.

Those arrested included 26-year-old Michael Tremell Mitchell of Clearlake, 30-year-old Edgar Agustin Castellanos of Las Vegas and 25-year-old Fernando Flores-Nunez of Clearlake. Bauman said the men were arrested at two separate locations and all three were booked on felony narcotics charges. Castellanos and Flores-Nunez were both illegal aliens and had immigration holds placed on them.

On Aug. 5, 34-year-old Juan Manuel Rodriguez Sandoval of Clearlake was arrested for possession of marijuana for sales and cultivation of marijuana, Bauman reported. On Aug. 8, 22-year-old Juan Martinez Ruiz, a transient, was arrested for the possession of a controlled substance for sales and transportation of a controlled substance.

Both Rodriguez Sandoval and Martinez Ruiz remain in custody at the Hill Road Correctional Facility with immigration holds, he said.

On Sept. 16, narcotics detectives arrested 28-year-old Luis Benigno Rodriguezlomeli of Clearlake for having a false compartment in his vehicle that was designed for smuggling drugs, Bauman said. After detectives located the compartment, a sheriff’s narcotics detection K-9 confirmed the compartment had recently been used to conceal narcotics. Rodriguezlomeli remains in the custody of the sheriff on an immigration hold.

On Oct. 2, Jorge “George” Rodriguez, 49, of Middletown; 27-year-old Manuel Herrera Valdovinos, a transient; and 34-year-old Ruben Carra Valdovinos of Clearlake were arrested for cultivation of Marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales. Bauman said Rodriguez and Herrera Valdovinos also were charged with being armed in the commission of a felony.

All three remain in custody with immigration holds. Bauman said Rodriguez is currently on non-revocable parole for the sale of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer and has a previous conviction for being armed during the commission of a felony.

On Oct. 5, 55-year-old Rhonda Heidi Roper of Clearlake was booked at the Hill Road Correctional Facility for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales, Bauman said. On Oct. 7, narcotics detectives arrested 33-year-old Jeronimo Flores-Gonzalez of Clearlake for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales. He too, remains in custody with an immigration hold.

Bauman said the 11 arrests were the result of several months’ worth of diligent investigations by the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force into organized drug trafficking in Lake County.

He said the effort also was supported by the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Detail, the California Department of Fish and Game and the Lake County Probation Department.

The coordinated effort included the service of 13 search warrants, executed at residences in Clearlake, Kelseyville, Clearlake Oaks, Middletown and the city of Brentwood, Bauman said.

Sheriff Frank Rivero commended the Narcotics Task Force for their tenacious pursuit of drug traffickers and their relentless pursuit of the Rodriguez drug trafficking organization.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

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