MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Middletown teenager and her family are seeking information from the community in order to find out more about the cause of a November crash that resulted in the loss of her arm.

Kya Hill, 17, a senior at Middletown High School, was seriously injured in the crash on Nov. 3, 2011, on Highway 29 a few miles over the Napa County line and six and a half miles north of Tubbs Lane, as Lake County News reported.

Hill was riding with her boyfriend, Samuel Weatherwax of Middletown, in his pickup that evening, heading south over Mount St. Helena, when the pickup lost traction, went off the road and hit a rock embankment, the California Highway Patrol’s Napa Area office reported.

In the collision Hill sustained injuries that led to the loss of her right arm.

An in-depth CHP investigation found what may have been the crash’s main factor – an officer stepped in and slipped on “an unknown slippery substance” on the right half of the southbound traffic lane, where Weatherwax had been driving.

The officer wrote in the report that he was unable to confirm what the substance was.

The substance was 100 feet long by 2 feet wide, according to the CHP report.

The report ruled that the cause was “other than driver,” as Weatherwax “could not have foreseen the slippery substance on the roadway as he negotiated a curve on a dark mountainous roadway.”

Attorney Jesse Chrisp, who is representing Hill and her family, said the CHP has no leads as to what the substance was or its source.

Now Hill and her family are reaching out to the community to ask if anyone saw a roadway spill occur on Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena that night.

Because the spill was so large, Chrisp said it’s believed to have come either from a semi truck or a commercial vehicle hauling some substance from Lake County into Napa County.

Prior to the crash, Hill had enlisted in the U.S. Army for eight years. Because of the loss of her arm, her military career plans have ended, Chrisp said.

He said Hill now is planning to go to college, but she is having to learn how to live without her arm.

Anyone with information about this spill is asked to call Chrisp's office at 707-994-0529.

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 .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A well-known and respected North Coast musician and his sister died in a vehicle crash in Southern Oregon Tuesday night.

Mark Albert Hansen, 59, of Talmage and his sister, Elise M. Hansen, 45, of Gloucester, Mass., died at the scene of the collision, which occurred on Highway 97 near Crescent, the Oregon State Police said in a Wednesday report.

According to Oregon State Police Sgt. Keith Taylor, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday Hansen was driving a four-door 1988 Honda Accord northbound on Highway 97 when he lost control on the ice-covered roadway.

Hansen's Honda crossed into the southbound lane and collided with a 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup driven by 47-year-old Lisa Daniel of Post Falls, Idaho, the report said.

Both Mark and Elise Hansen were pronounced dead at the scene. The Oregon State Police said they were both using safety restraints.

The report said Daniel and her 13-year-old daughter, Caitlin M. Brown, both suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported by ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.

Both Daniel and her daughter were using safety restraints and the pickup’s airbags deployed. State police said two dogs in their vehicle survived and were taken by an Oregon State Police trooper to Deschutes County Animal Shelter.

Oregon State Police troopers from Bend, Gilchrist and Klamath Falls offices responded to investigate, the agency said.

Local area emergency responding agencies and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene. The roadway was closed for about four hours with a detour in place.

The investigation into the crash is continuing, according to the Oregon State Police report.

A guitarist, Mark Hansen was well known on the local music circuit, and “was one of our favorite musicians here at the Blue Wing,” said the restaurant's owner, Bernie Butcher.

Butcher said Hansen – who he called “a real pro” – had played his last gig at the Blue Wing in Upper Lake on Monday night with a group that included Tom Aiken on keyboards and Paul McCandless on wind instruments.

Editor's note: The official report from the Oregon State Police recorded the first spelling of Hansen's name as “Mark,” however his name appears in various other places as “Marc.” For the purposes of this article, the spelling reported in the crash report was used.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – In an effort to increase parental involvement and build relationships with organizations and members in the community, the Lakeport Unified School District has established a new community/school partnership coordinator.

District officials reported Tuesday that they were pleased to welcome Cheryle Trammell-George as the new coordinator.

Trammell-George has extensive experience in project management, volunteer coordination and is an active volunteer in the Lake County community, according to the Tuesday report.

“She brings enthusiasm and an unwavering spirit of working together toward success, both for our students and for our community,” said Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent Erin Smith Hagberg, Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent.

Developing the community/schools partnership project will involve conducting an extensive assessment of district needs followed by engaging volunteers and other resources to meet those needs, according to Hagberg.

In the new position Trammell-George will encourage parents to seek out ways that they can help in their child’s classroom and also ways community members and organizations can be more involved contributing to those needs critical to the education of district students.

Trammel-George is a firm believer that “it takes a village.”

“Once we have a concise idea of what our schools need, and those needs are communicated, I am certain community members will fill many of these needs,” said Trammell-George.

The district said the position was made possible through fund development efforts of LUSD's Parent Teacher Organizations, Booster Club and the Lakeport Enhanced Education Foundation.

The Lakeport Unified School District is currently looking for volunteers to mentor, read to children, serve as classroom guest speakers, participate in fundraisers and much more.

“Community members are encouraged to think about what portion of their time and expertise can be offered to our students,” said Trammell-George. “Enhancing our childrens’ education by contributing time and resources to schools is the best investment that one can make in our future.”

For more information regarding these opportunities and possibilities contact Cheryle Trammell-George at 707-262-3009 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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On Thursday Representatives Mike Thompson (CA-1) and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6) introduced an amendment to ban drilling on of California’s North Coast.

H.R. 3408, the Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act would automatically open the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Alaska’s Bristol Bay, Southern California and the Virginia coast for oil and gas leasing.

The bill also could potentially open up California’s North Coast to drilling – even if the state objects to offshore drilling in the region.

“Oil drilling is an important component of our energy solution, but we should only drill where it’s appropriate – and that means no drilling off the North Coast,” said Thompson. “The North Coast is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, supporting salmon, Dungeness crab, rockfish, sole, and urchin populations. It is one of four major upwellings in all the world’s oceans, allowing nutrient-rich water to rise supporting an abundance of marine life.

Thompson continued, “If an oil spill were to occur in this area, not only would the economic damage to businesses and tourism be staggering, the rocky shores and rough seas would make a cleanup impossible. This amendment should be passed, and Congress must affirm that although oil is a part of our energy solution, we will not be opening up the North Coast for drilling.”

“The waters off California’s North Coast are some of the most abundant and exquisitely beautiful on the face of the earth,” said Woolsey. “Our commercial fishing industry depends on this thriving marine ecosystem, as do our research scientists. They are critical to our local economy, supporting thousands and thousands of tourism-related jobs. Who would visit the North Coast to look at an oil derrick? We must block any attempt to open these waters to drilling.”

In a decision to “trust but verify,” Thompson and Woolsey introduced an amendment clarifying that the North Coast may not be opened for drilling under H.R. 3408. Passing the amendment will affirm that there would not be North Coast drilling in the future.

According to a 2009 Energy Information Administration report, opening up waters that are currently closed to drilling would only yield an enough oil to reduce gas prices by no more than 3 cents a gallon – in 2030.

In Northern California, the potential economic impact of the region’s oil supply is even smaller: if all the recoverable reserves of Northern California’s Outer Continental Shelf were tapped, they would provide enough oil to fuel the U.S. for only 100 days.

Thompson and Woolsey have been a longtime opponent of efforts to open drilling off the coast of Northern California. In May he introduced a similar amendment to H.R. 231, the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act that would affirm the North Coast would not be opened to drilling. In January, he reintroduced legislation to ban drilling off the coast of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino Counties.

Woolsey is the author H.R. 192, co-sponsored by Thompson and 53 others and widely supported in the local community, which would permanently protect the Sonoma Coast from oil and gas exploration by more than doubling the size of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

Below is the full text of Thompson’s remarks on the House Floor introducing the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Now, I request to yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I represent a coastal community and take seriously threats to our nation’s coastline. The Thompson/Woolsey amendment #127 would clarify that H.R. 3408 would not open drilling along the Northern California coast.

Proponents of H.R. 3408 claim that Northern California does not meet the minimum production potential to be eligible for offshore drilling. However, I do not simply want to take the House Majority’s word for it. In a Congress that has seen an unprecedented push to weaken safety standards for the oil and gas industry, I do not want to leave the door open for alternative interpretations. The people of the North Coast of California want to ensure that their environmentally unique and critical coast is protected. Period.

Because this amendment is a clarification of the legislation’s intent, there is no cost associated with it.

It is important to me and to my constituents that H.R. 3408 makes clear that drilling will not occur in the Northern California Planning Area – along the coasts of Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Sonoma and Marin counties.

The coastal area of my district is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, and supports salmon, Dungeness crab, rockfish, sole, and urchin populations.

If an oil spill were to occur in this area, the environmental and economic costs would be staggering. Response and clean-up efforts would be hazardous and minimally effective given the rocky shores and rough waters.

Drilling for oil or gas off of California’s North Coast could cause serious harm to the unique and productive ecosystem and abundant marine life. The economic damage to businesses and tourism that rely on these pristine areas would also be substantial.

This amendment will simply clarify that this bill does not require drilling off the North Coast of California.

I urge a yes vote on this amendment and I reserve my time.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday St. Helena Hospital Clearlake today received a $25,000 contribution to assist with their Live Well program.

The grant, which was given to the nonprofit organization through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program, will be used to provide new expanded space for the many educational groups and outside community organizations throughout the Lake County region.

The new area will be used as a learning center for group meetings, one of the most important aspects of the Live Well program.

“The generosity of Walmart is greatly appreciated,” said Kimberly Tangermann, associate director of family health centers, St. Helena Hospital Clearlake. “The Live Well program values Walmart’s contribution to evolving the health of our community.”

Since opening its doors in early 2011, the Live Well program at St. Helena Hospital’s Clearlake Family Health Center has helped thousands to overcome or avoid chronic illness.

Live Well emphasizes the whole-person approach to chronic health issues. Based on St. Helena’s core value of treating mind, body and spirit together, Live Well incorporates patient education, physical conditioning, diet and lifestyle choices, and staff and peer support to help patients become active partners in their own health care and make meaningful life changes.

“The Walmart Foundation is very pleased to support St. Helena Hospital’s Live Well program, and is committed to helping those in need in the communities we serve,” said Clearlake Assistant Store Manager Coleen Lee. “We are hopeful that this grant will help St Helena Hospital Clearlake educate our community about healthy living so we can all live better.”

Live Well is located at the St Helena Family Health Center at 15230 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake. For more information about Live Well, call 707-995-4545.

To be considered for support, perspective grantee organizations must submit applications through the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program’s online grant application.

Applicants must have a current 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status in order to meet the program’s minimum eligibility criteria. Additional information about the program’s funding guidelines and application are available online at www.walmartfoundation.org/stategiving.

In 2010, in California, Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation awarded more than $29.1 million in cash and in-kind donations to local organizations in the communities they serve.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Seven people were arrested Sunday for various charges after police responded to the report of a burglary, which turned out to be unfounded.

Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph said several suspects were arrested, including Clearlake residents Georgia Walker, 23, Austin Johnson, 19, Johnny Arizmendez, 28, and 27-year-old Justin Thomas Cordero; Nicholas Troy Brooks, 32, of Clearlake Oaks; Ashley Buller, 21, of Roseville; and Abran Chavez, 24, of Granada Hills.

Joseph said that at 4:30 p.m. Sunday Clearlake Police officers responded to a report of a residential burglary in progress at a home located at the corner of Lasky and Davis avenues.

When officers arrived, they spoke to a witness who stated the suspects were last seen going into a home located in the 4000 block of Frye Avenue, Joseph said.

Officers went to the Frye Avenue address and contacted several subjects inside the home. Joseph said three of the subjects were either on parole or probation.

He said Clearlake Police officers conducted a parole/probation search of the home. During contact with the subjects several were exhibiting symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Walker, Buller, Johnson, Chavez and Arizmendez were arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance. Chavez, who also allegedly was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia, was additionally charged, Joseph said.

Following a probation search of a parked vehicle, Arizmendez was found to be in possession of almost 7 grams of suspected methamphetamine, more than 90 dosage units of Hydrocodone without a prescription and a scale, according to Joseph.

Joseph said Arizmendez additionally was charged with possession of controlled substances for sale and transportation of a controlled substance. He is alleged to be an active “Norteno” criminal street gang member and was additionally charged with participating in a criminal street gang and probation violation.

Cordero was found in possession of almost 7 grams of suspected methamphetamine and was charged with possession of a controlled substance for sales. He also was charged with a probation violation and is an active “MS13” “Sureño” criminal street gang member, Joseph said.

Brooks was found to be in possession of approximately 2 grams of suspected methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia. Joseph said Brooks also was charged with a parole violation.

The original residential burglary call was determined to be unfounded as the home is a vacant abandoned residence, Joseph said.

The Clearlake Police Department thanked the witnesses who came forward and provided the necessary information which led to these arrests.

Anyone with information about a crime occurring in the City of Clearlake is urged to call police at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Driving plays an important part in maintaining an active, rewarding lifestyle. It means independence, freedom and the pursuit of happiness at any age.

The California Highway Patrol understands how much seniors enjoy driving, and offers a program designed to help extend their driving years.

“Our ultimate goal is saving lives in California,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “To help accomplish this mission, our personnel are taking the ‘Age Well, Drive Smart’ program out into California’s senior communities. Not only is this program intended to save lives, but it is one way to help older motorists drive as long as possible.”

The recent receipt of a federal grant will enable the CHP to continue to offer this valuable traffic safety program to California’s growing senior population through Sept. 30, 2012.

“Age Well, Drive Smart” is a free, two-hour senior driver safety/mobility class offered by the CHP and focuses on educating drivers, aged 65 years and over.

Individuals can register for the course by contacting their local CHP office. In Lake County, the CHP office can be contacted at 707-279-0103.

The Keeping Everyone Safe (KEYS) III grant will also help fund a public awareness campaign using a variety of available tools to address older adult driving issues.

In addition, educational materials will be produced and distributed statewide. CHP personnel will also conduct educational presentations at various venues and will staff traffic safety booths at community events.

“Continued education through a program like this is an excellent way to help extend your driving years,” added Commissioner Farrow.

Funding for the KEYS III grant is provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A 106-year-old woman escaped unharmed from her burning home Tuesday night thanks to a neighbor.

The fire, which broke out shortly after 7 p.m., occurred in a doublewide mobile home in space No. 18 at Sterling Shore Estates Mobile Home Park, located at 5830 Robin Hill Drive in Lakeport, according to Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells.

Wells said the woman was home alone that night – her family was away – when she noticed that in a corner of the residence flames were coming from a heating pad.

“The only thing she knew was to get low and start crawling out,” he said.

A neighbor came to the woman’s aid and helped her escape the structure, according to Wells. She was uninjured.

Two dogs did perish in the fire, he said.

Wells said two Lakeport Fire engines, assisted by an engine from Kelseyville Fire and an engine from Northshore Fire, responded, with a total of 19 personnel on scene.

The fire was contained shortly before 9 p.m., he said.

Wells said a Red Cross caseworker arrived at the scene and made the appropriate contacts to get the woman and her family emergency help and shelter.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – In its first meeting, the newly formed board tasked with overseeing the phaseout of the Lake County Redevelopment Agency voted to transfer several agency-held properties to the ownership of the county, which helped fund many of the purposes either all or in part.

The oversight board for the successor agency to the former Lake County Redevelopment Agency met Monday morning at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport and decided to transfer the properties, including the Lucerne Hotel, Holiday Harbor in Nice and Clarks Island in Clearlake Oaks.

The state Department of Finance now has three days to review the decisions before they can become final. County staff intended to notify the agency of the actions on Monday afternoon.

Oversight board members include Eric Seely, the redevelopment agency’s deputy director; Supervisor Denise Rushing, who was elected the board chair; Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook, elected the board’s vice chair; Michelle Buell, director of business services for the Lake County Office of Education; Holly Harris, member of the public; and Jay Beristianos, Northshore Fire Protection District chief. Kathy Lehner, president/superintendent of Mendocino College, also is a member but was unable to attend.

Also at the meeting were County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox and members of his staff, including Debra Sommerfield, Matt Perry, Jeff Rein, Kathy Barnwell and Alan Flora; County Counsel Anita Grant and one of her deputies, Lloyd Guintivano; and County Clerk/Auditor-Controller Cathy Saderlund.

Cox told the group that the county took “the high road” and didn’t move properties and funds around in an effort to shield them from the redevelopment phaseout, which he expects will save the board some work in having to make the kinds of reversals other oversight boards may face.

He said the county is fully prepared to comply both with the spirit and the letter of the law to end redevelopment, noting it’s in the county’s best interest to make sure the dissolution is done quickly and properly.

Perry said the state is ordering redevelopment agencies to be dissolved “expeditiously” and in a manner that maximizes the value of properties.

Properties acquired through the use of tax increment revenue – the increase in property tax valuation seen in redevelopment areas – are to be sold, according to the new guidelines, he said.

In the absence of redevelopment, the county and other taxing agencies will see an increase in the tax revenues they receive, according to county staff.

Current projections are for the county general fund to receive $563,253 annually; $37,202 for the county roads department; $22,834 to the county’s library system; $189,394 to Northshore Fire Protection District; and $708,984 to schools in the redevelopment agency area.

Once it established its leadership, reviewed enforceable obligations, and approved its budget and the use of county administrative staff, the board discussed action to take on the redevelopment agency’s main assets, chief among them the Lucerne Hotel – known as “The Castle” – and Holiday Harbor.

Marymount College is in talks with the county about locating a college campus at The Castle, and is sending a delegation to visit the county later this month, Flora said.

The Castle is considered one of the agency’s most important assets due to the amount of money and effort put into its remodel, he said.

The county loaned the agency $1.35 million to purchase the building from a group of churches in 2010. Administrative office staff said a Sept. 10, 2010, loan agreement between the county and agency makes the funding source an “extremely straightforward” matter.

“The county bought this,” Cox said of the building.

While state legislation involving redevelopment dissolution does not allow the agency to pay back the $5 million it was loaned from the county general fund, Flora said staff believes the county can take The Castle since county funds – and not tax increment revenue – purchased the building.

Cox explained that the county’s ultimate goal – to see the property used for a purpose like a college campus – will benefit all of the taxing entities far more than if it were merely sold.

County staff said Holiday Harbor – purchased to be Nice’s town center – also was purchased with about $1.9 million in county loans.

The group voted separately to transfer the Lucerne Hotel, Holiday Harbor as well as several other assets – parcels for parking at the Lucerne Hotel, beachfront parcels next to Holiday Harbor, Clarks Island in Clearlake Oaks, parcels for the Clearlake Oaks Senior Center, the Lake County Sheriff’s Lucerne substation, Nylander Park in Clearlake Oaks, Harbor Village, Alpine Park and the Third Avenue Plaza and the Lucerne Promenade – to county ownership.

Only the Lucerne Hotel transfer didn’t get a unanimous vote. Beristianos voted against it citing “public safety” issues if the county had to remain responsible for its maintenance.

The board also voted to direct the successor agency to pursue the appropriate method of disposing of paper subdivision lots donated to the agency.

The lots, which cover the hillsides above Nice and Lucerne, were used to help finance the Lucerne Hotel’s construction in the 1920s, Rushing said.

However, in the decades since, the lots – many of which are not suitable for building due to steep terrain, lack of roads and utilities – have been sold and resold, and have become a target of squatting and illegal dumping.

Rushing said she would like to see the county continue to work to get the parcels off the market and use them to create open space.

The board also voted to sell a parcel on Boggs Street and to provide $80,000 to match a grant for a sidewalk project in Clearlake Oaks.

Additionally, the group voted unanimously to terminate an agreement with Rural Communities Housing Development Corp. for a multifamily low-income housing project in Nice.

The county entered into a contract for the project in 2005 and committed $1,248,000 to it, with nearly $627,000 spent, according to county staff.

With the county having no further obligations to build low-income housing as part of redevelopment, the oversight board thought that taking the more than $621,000 that remains and distributing it elsewhere was the better choice.

The board’s meetings and activities will be reported on the county’s Web site at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Redevelopment/Successor_Agency/Oversight_Board.htm.

The oversight board will next meet March 5.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A settlement the California Attorney General’s Office has reached with five banks is expected to bring tens of millions of dollars of assistance to Lake County homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Last week Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the commitment of up to $18 billion by the banks to benefit hundreds of thousands of homeowners in California, the state hardest hit by the mortgage meltdown of the last several years.

The banks included in the settlement are Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial.

Those banks also are known under other trade names, including Countrywide (a trade name for Bank of America); Washington Mutual and EMC Mortgage (Chase); CitiMortgage (Citibank); Wachovia (Wells Fargo); and GMAC (Ally Financial).

“California families will finally see substantial relief after experiencing so much pain from the mortgage crisis,” Harris said in a written statement. “Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will directly benefit from this California commitment.”

The settlement calls for county-specific payments based on the number of homeowners and the depth of the foreclosure crisis in the particular areas.

The five counties expected to receive the largest benefit amounts are Los Angeles, $3.92 billion; Riverside, $1.59 billion; San Bernardino, $1.13 billion; Sacramento, $820 million; and Stanislaus, $368 million.

In Lake County, where thousands of homeowners have lost their homes or gone underwater on their mortgages, an estimated $43.7 million in relief is expected, the Attorney General’s Office told Lake County News.

Neighboring Sonoma County is expected to receive $267 million, while Napa is slated to receive about $79.3 million and Yolo $74.5 million.

Lake’s other neighboring county’s are estimated to receive less. Colusa’s expected amount is $8.9 million; Glenn, $7.3 million; and Mendocino, $25.8 million.

“The impact of the foreclosure on that community was one of the factors” in determining amounts counties would receive, said Linda Gledhill, an Attorney General’s Office spokesperson.

The settlement calls for more than $12 billion to reduce the principal on loans or offer short sales to approximately 250,000 California homeowners who are underwater on their loans and behind or almost behind in their payments.

If the banks fail to enact at least $12 billion in principal reductions for California homeowners, they face up to $800 million in payments to the state. The settlement also allows Harris to summon the banks to California state court to enforce the obligations.

In addition, $849 million is estimated to be dedicated to refinancing the loans of 28,000 homeowners who are current on their payments but underwater on their loans, the Attorney General’s Office said.

The agency said another $279 million will be dedicated to offering restitution to approximately 140,000 California homeowners who were foreclosed upon between 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011.

Other settlement terms include an estimated $1.1 billion to be distributed to homeowners for unemployed payment forbearance and transition assistance, and to communities to repair the blight left by about 16,000 recent foreclosures; $3.5 billion to relieving 32,000 homeowners of unpaid balances remaining when their homes are foreclosed; and $430 million in costs, fees and penalty payments.

Homeowners urged to prepare

The settlement does not start immediately, but must be approved by a U.S. district court judge, who has to name a federal monitor, according to the state.

However, in preparation for that final approval, Gledhill said homeowners should start to get their information together immediately in order to apply for assistance.

“We’re encouraging people to start this process now,” said Gledhill.

The Attorney General’s Office’s Web site has an in-depth frequently asked questions section on the national mortgage settlement at https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs.

More information also is available at http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/.

Gledhill said homeowners seeking help first need to know who owns their mortgage. If it’s one of the five banks covered in the settlement, they should contact that bank directly and start talking to them about receiving assistance.

She said some of the banks involved have indicated that they will set up consumer assistance centers to aid homeowners in the process.

The Attorney General’s Office intends to make sure the banks follow through on the requirements, Gledhill said.

Harris has said she will appoint a monitor to follow how the banks enact the settlement in California.

The Attorney General’s Office also is expanding its Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, which currently has more than 42 members, to speed mortgage-related investigations and strengthen resulting prosecutions. It also will continue an investigative alliance with Nevada, which allows for the sharing of resources and strategies.

Harris’ office also announced that she plans to propose a comprehensive legislative agenda to protect homeowners in the mortgage market.

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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday evening for a continued discussion on how to craft the coming year's budget in order to deal with $2.8 million in reduced funding.

The meeting will begin with a closed session at 5:30 p.m. in the Carol McClung Conference Center, located at 9430 B Lake St., Lower Lake.

The board will begin open session at 6:15 p.m.

The zero base budget model being crafted by district Superintendent Dr. Bill MacDougall and his administrative staff will be the focus of a board workshop on the 2012-13 budget.

MacDougall's report to the board explains that, despite having cut over $1 million annually from the district's budget every year since 2008-09, Konocti Unified will need to prepare for a $2.8 million cut next year.

That significant amount, according to MacDougall, is in part due to the governor proposing to eliminate the home to school transportation.

“This means that every dollar we spend on transportation next year will need to be offset by either staff reductions and/or elimination of services for students,” his report for the Wednesday meeting said.

Rather than taking the approach used in previous years to making cuts, MacDougall has used a zero base budget process, which he said requires the district “to begin with a vision of the services we want for our students and then to determine what are the minimum services, programs and positions required to achieve that vision. Instead of continually taking pieces off the original structure, we are developing a new foundation (zero base) and building a new structure. In short, we are planning for continued success.”

The board initially discussed the zero base model at a Feb. 1 meeting, as well as a special budget workshop last Saturday, as Lake County News has reported.

MacDougall reported that several question and answer sessions were held with parents, staff and other stakeholders earlier this month to explain the process and address concerns.

The Wednesday agenda calls for the board to review recommended transportation revisions in the zero base process and give direction to the administration regarding implementation of those revisions.

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 .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Fair has agreed to provide management services to the Dixon May Fair for the period of February through May of 2012.

Dixon May Fair, which is located in the Solano County town of Dixon, is scheduled for May 10-13.

Dixon May Fair has been without a chief executive officer since September of 2011, when the previous CEO left to pursue other opportunities.

Reacting to state budget issues has caused many operational changes at fairgrounds throughout California.

The Dixon May Fair’s board of directors decided not to immediately fill the CEO position, and instead requested an agreement with the Lake County Fair for CEO Richard Persons to provide managerial leadership through Dixon's annual event, Persons reported Monday.

Persons, who has been the CEO at the Lake County Fair since November of 1996, is expected to spend two days per week in Dixon, along with the entire week of the Dixon May Fair.

The agreement specifies a maximum of forty-two days of work between February and the end of May. The total agreement has a value of $27,300 if all 42 days are used.

Dixon May Fair will reimburse the Lake County Fair for 100 percent of Persons’ salary, benefits and retirement for each day he spends in Dixon, and also will pay all travel and other costs associated with the arrangement.

If the arrangement is successful, a longer-term agreement may be possible, which would result in a cost savings to both fairgrounds.

“The timing with Dixon is perfect,” said Persons. “They are hitting the really busy time before the annual fair now, then just as they return to normal after the May Fair, we hit that really busy time in Lakeport starting in June.”

He added, “Besides the obvious financial benefits for each fair, this arrangement also allows me to see how things are done at another fairgrounds, and to help them with my knowledge of what works well here. The two operations are very similar, with nearly identical size fairgrounds and similar sized staffs. Unless the State finds a way to fund the fairground facilities it owns, I think there probably will be more cost sharing arrangements like this in the future.”

Fairgrounds throughout California have made many operational changes to deal with the loss of all state funding.

Payroll is the largest single expense at most fairgrounds, and Lake County Fair issued layoff notices to 50 percent of its full-time staff in February 2011, Persons said. The affected individuals eventually opted to retire, and the fair has left the positions vacant.

Dixon May Fair also has reduced staff at a similar rate, he said.

The Dixon May Fair board of directors approved the agreement on Wednesday, Feb. 8, and the Lake County Fair board of directors gave its approval on Monday, Feb. 13, Persons reported.

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