Chesbro was coauthor of state Sen. Joe Simitian’s Senate Bill 2X, which requires utilities to get at least 33 percent of electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020.

“This bill will bring many important benefits to California, including stimulating investment in green technologies in the state, creating tens of thousands of new jobs, improving local air quality, promoting energy independence, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Brown in his signing message.

“While reaching a 33 percent renewables portfolio standard will be an important milestone, it is really just a starting point – a floor, not a ceiling,” Brown continued in the message. “Our state has enormous renewable resource potential. I would like to see us pursue even more far-reaching targets. With the amount of renewable resources coming on-line, and prices dropping, I think 40 percent, at reasonable cost, is well within our grasp in the near future.”

“When the governor signed SB 2X today, California confirmed its position as the world leader in green energy technology,” Chesbro said. “This breakthrough legislation will create a large number of new living-wage jobs, attract new businesses to California, preserve the environment, improve air quality and protect public health.”

Senate Bill 2X applies to all electricity retailers in the state – investor-owned utilities (IOUs), municipal utilities and independent sellers.

The current 20-percent renewable energy requirement applies only to investor-owned utilities and independent sellers.

Municipal utilities have adopted renewable energy goals, which only some have met. Achieving 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 is a key element of the state's plan to meet the limits on greenhouse gas emissions established by AB 32.

Senate Bill 2X does not require utilities to reach the goal at any cost.

The California Public Utilities Commission must approve renewable energy contracts, and utilities may be granted exemptions if the price of energy, or the difficulty of moving it into the state’s grid, make the cost excessive.

For these reasons the bill was endorsed by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates and consumer watchdog The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

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The 3.3-magnitude temblor occurred at 2:48 a.m. Sunday, April 10, according to the US Geological Survey.

Its epicenter was three miles west southwest of Anderson Springs, four miles southeast of The Geysers geothermal steamfield and five miles south of Cobb, at a depth of nine-tenths of a mile, the survey reported.

The US Geological Survey received no shake reports on the quake.

A 3.5-magnitude earthquake was reported near The Geysers on March 20, as Lake County News has reported.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Tuleyome, a Woodland-based conservation organization, has taken ownership of 620 acres on the south flank of Goat Mountain.

The land is located in Lake County at the headwaters of the upper North Fork of Cache Creek.

The land is an in-holdings in the Mendocino National Forest, the group reported.

The Goat Mountain properties were previously owned by the California Institute of Man in Nature as a part of John Olmsted’s vision for an Across California Trail along the 39^th parallel, which is approximately the route of Highway 20.

Olmsted described his vision as an ecological corridor with islands of protected lands – “Beads on a Necklace.”

Other properties that Olmsted helped to protect include Jug Handle State Reserve on the coast, Sutter Buttes in the Central Valley and the Bridgeport covered bridge on the South Yuba River.

Olmsted also helped to build the Independence Trail on the South Yuba that is one of the first handicap assessable nature trails in the nation.

He died on March 8, and will be remembered through his conservation legacy.

“It has been a pretty intensive effort over the past eight months to secure these properties,” said Bob Schneider, Tuleyome’s senior policy director. “The property was in danger of sale for back taxes and there were 30 outstanding Deeds of Trust. We worked through that and the owners of the Deeds of Trust were incredibly generous. It was a pleasure to permanently secure this portion of John’s conservation legacy.”

This was an important purchase for Tuleyome. The group's major project is the proposed Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area. Tuleyome’s proposal ranges over 100 miles from south to north and includes 500,000 of public lands.

“Tuleyome’s proposed National Conservation Area and John Olmsted’s vision for an east-west ecological corridor intersect at the Goat Mountain properties,” said Tuleyome President Andrew Fulks.

The properties, from 2,800 feet to more than 4,000 feet in elevation, are sited on a very large ancient landslide above the upper North Fork of Cache Creek.

The tops of these types of landslides are “lumpy” creating areas of wetlands and springs that have high levels of biological diversity.

“I fell in love with the property when I visited and saw milk vetch with Monarch butterflies,” added Schneider.

He also pointed out that one of the largest sugar pines in the region, “Big Bertha,” is found on the site.

The parcels were once homesteaded and are named White Ranch Glades, Root Glades, Wyman Flat and Addington Springs.

Tuleyome intends to offer tours and educational trips to the Goat Mountain properties.

For more information contact Tuleyome at www.tuleyome.org or 530-350-2599.

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Goodwin is replacing Linda Tyner, current alternative education director, who is retiring in July 2011, the Lake County Office of Education reported.

The Lake County Office of Education Alternative Education includes the Renaissance School for students in juvenile hall, the Clearlake Community School and the Lloyd P. Hance Community School.

These schools provide an alternative learning environment for students in grades seventh through 12th who are experiencing difficulties in a traditional school setting or who are exhibiting negative behavior patterns in school or in the community.

All three programs offer a complete high school graduation curriculum and support course work that will help students earn a diploma.

Goodwin will finish out the school year with Terrace Middle School, and Tyner and Goodwin are working together to develop a plan that will ensure smooth transitions for students and staff.

Goodwin has served at Terrace Middle School in Lakeport for the past three years, and brings with him more than 16 years of experience in education, working primarily in alternative education settings.

“Approximately 20 percent of our students are being served in alternative education settings,” Goodwin said. “There is a huge need in our communities for a strong positive influence in the lives of troubled kids, and this position really feels like a great fit for me.”

He added, “My time with Lakeport Unified and the Terrace Middle School community has been a wonderful opportunity and an experience that I will cherish and miss. I look forward to continued collaboration with this district as well as the six others. I’m looking forward to new opportunities for growth both for myself and for the county.”

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According to the California Department of Finance, there will be more than six million seniors aged 65 and over by the year 2020 in this state.

“Getting older does not mean the end of a person’s driving days,” said California Highway Patrol (CHP) Commissioner Joe Farrow. “It’s the perfect time to evaluate, improve and maintain the safety and mobility of California’s senior drivers.”

With more and more seniors taking to the roads every year, the CHP has received a federal grant that will not only help educate senior drivers and raise their awareness about how to keep safe on the roads, but will ultimately assist in the CHP’s mission of saving lives.

The overall goal of the “Keeping Everyone Safe (KEYS) II” grant is to reduce the number of fatal and injury collisions caused by senior drivers (aged 65 and over) within CHP jurisdiction by 5 percent by Sept. 30, 2011.

To achieve this goal the CHP will launch a statewide public education and awareness campaign focusing on senior traffic safety and mobility.

Television and radio public service announcements and community-based committees will be established. These committees will collaborate to assess the issues most relevant to senior drivers and to make recommendations to address the needs of the senior driving community.

The committees also will include members from public and private organizations, including law enforcement, health and aging professionals, transportation agency representatives and other interested parties.

In addition, CHP personnel will conduct public awareness and educational presentations statewide.

“With California’s senior population doubling in size by 2020, we need to take care of our older drivers, passengers and pedestrians using our roadways,” added Farrow.

This grant is presented in collaboration with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Funding for the “Keeping Everyone Safe (KEYS) II” grant was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Local and state fire officials responded on Sunday afternoon to a fire in the High Valley area that turned out to be a controlled burn.

The fire was reported just before 2:30 p.m. along an area of High Valley Road, according to a California Highway Patrol incident log entry.

Radio reports indicated firefighters from Northshore Fire and Cal Fire were responding, with dozers coming from the other side of the county.

By about 4 p.m. Northshore firefighters were leaving the scene and heading back to their stations.

Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown said the fire turned out to be a controlled burn.

However, Brown said he intended to follow up on the permit, which wasn't issued through his agency, nor did it appear that Cal Fire had issued it.

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“Not only is the minimum coverage provision necessary to carry out Congress' goals of lowering the costs of medical care and expanding insurance coverage, it is a proper exercise of federal authority that does not alter the essential attributes of state sovereignty,” the amicus brief states. “The Affordable Care Act continues a longstanding and necessary partnership between the states and the federal government in the healthcare policy arena.”

In January, a federal judge in Florida ruled that the law's minimum coverage requirement, which mandates that individuals maintain health insurance or pay a fine, is unconstitutional because it regulates “inactivity” – or the decision to forgo coverage.

Harris, joined by nine other attorneys general, rejected that view in the amicus brief filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which is based in Atlanta.

They argued that the Constitution gives Congress broad powers to regulate interstate commerce – and that an individual's decision to purchase health insurance has a significant impact on interstate commerce because it allows formation of risk pools, lowers healthcare costs nationally and reduces the cost of uncompensated care.

The failure of millions of Americans to purchase health insurance has a significant impact on the states, the group argued.

In 2009, more than 7.2 million Californians – nearly one in four people under the age of 65 – lacked insurance for all or part of the year. More than 5.5 million Californians who could not afford private health insurance are enrolled in government-sponsored health plans, which will cost the state a projected $42 billion in the next fiscal year.

According to the amicus brief, $27.1 billion of those funds comes from the General Fund, which faces a $25 billion deficit.

The minimum coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act will reduce the need to shift the cost of uncompensated care of the uninsured – and will thus reduce the expenses now absorbed by the states and by individuals with health insurance.

Others joining California in this brief are Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, New York, Oregon and Vermont.

In January, the same group of attorneys general – except the District of Columbia – filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit arguing for the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act: http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2032&p=3.

In March, those attorneys general filed an amicus brief supporting the law's constitutionality in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2047&p=3.

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Lake County Vet Connect officially got under way in March, offering a critical link between homeless and jobless vets and services that they're entitled to receive because of their service.

The group offers twice-monthly events where veterans can sit down with fellow veterans, explain their situations and get the services they need.

Vet Connect's intake and outreach events will take place twice a month – on the second Wednesday at the American Legion Post No. 437, 14770 Austin Road in Clearlake, from 9 a.m. to noon, and the same hours on the third Wednesday in Lakeport at Umpqua Bank, 805 11^th St. Both the post and the bank are providing the space for the effort free of charge.

The clinics this month will be held in Clearlake on April 13 and in Lakeport on April 20.

The first Vet Connect took place on March 16, and organizers called it a “tremendous success,” with 26 veterans served in what is expected to be the first of many sessions.

Lucerne vet Frank Parker, president of the United Veterans Council, called the program's goal “a hand up, not a handout.”

Parker was one of the local veterans instrumental in founding Lake County's Vet Connect. He said it was exciting to see so many veterans getting the help they need.

This past January, United Veterans Council of Lake County formed a committee to address the needs of the county's homeless and underserved veterans. Local veterans officials said the committee arose based on the concerns of local veterans organizations and the Lake County Veterans Service Office, which are committed to ending homelessness in Lake County.

Out of that committee came Lake County Vet Connect, the group said.

Parker emphasized that Vet Connect is a combined effort of many groups in the county. He said group affiliations have been put aside in order to join together in a common goal of serving veterans in need.

Parker helped lay the groundwork for the group when, last year, he began researching how to put it all together and make a one-stop experience for veterans. He came across Sonoma County's Vet Connect, which has assisted by offering expertise, guidance and even the forms that will be needed for vet intake.

The research and work that Parker and his fellow veterans did to put together Lake County Vet Connect revealed that “a lot of these services are already available in Lake County,” according to Dan Davi, a Vietnam veteran involved in Lake County Vet Connect.

Parker and the group also created their own Vet Connect handbook, with information on local services available to vets.

Government and nonprofit organizations that will have a presence at the monthly Vet Connect outreach events include Veterans Administration Support Housing, Lake County Veterans Service Office, Lake County Mental Health, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Disability Services and Legal Center, CalFresh for general assistance and food stamps, Employment Development Department, Drug and Alcohol Center, Legal Education, Financial Education, North Bay Veterans Resource Center and Catholic Charities.

The work is complementing that done by the Lake County Veterans Service Office.

“Part of our job is to connect veterans to local resources, to assist in whatever they need,” said county Assistant Veteran Service Officer Bob Penny.

However, Penny explained that he and his staff are so busy working with the Department of Veterans Affairs that they don't always have time to research and keep up with all the programs that are available locally, and which are always changing.

He said Vet Connect has been doing a lot of research and finding new resources.

In one example, a local veteran's roof was damaged by the wind. “He called here to see what might be available,” said Penny.

Penny gave made a call to Parker, who found some assistance through the US Department of Agriculture. “This was something that I didn't know about that Frank did research on and found,” said Penny.

“To have their help in doing this is an immense help to all of our veterans and their dependents in our county,” Penny said.

The background to the effort

Local veterans have put enormous time and preparation into creating Vet Connect to serve their comrades in arms.

Ahead of the official kickoff of Vet Connect last month, a group of veterans involved in the effort gathered in the upstairs community meeting room at Umpqua Bank on 11^th Street in Lakeport.

Tom Benton, a Vietnam vet from Sonoma County who was a founding member of its Vet Connect, took the men through a practice intake interview, with local vet Kirk Macdonald sitting across from him, playing the part of a veteran seeking services.

Benton led the interview in an easy going manner, explaining to Macdonald that he would next be directed over to some tables where a Veterans Affairs social worker would check his eligibility for health benefits and shelter.

“You're going to have to feel your way through it,” Benton told the vets who watched him work through the process.

He explained the importance of keeping information confidential and also making veterans – some of whom have never approached the system and haven't wanted to – comfortable.

Having veterans work with other veterans helps tear down barriers right away, Benton said.

Helping similar Vet Connect programs get started outside of Sonoma County “is something we've wanted to do for a long time,” said Benton.

Sonoma County's Vet Connect began in November 2007. The founders included eight vets – seven of them, including Benton, having served in Vietnam – and local service providers.

The effort in Sonoma County started out as a way to help homeless vets, said Benton, who himself had been homeless for 18 months at one time. Another of the founding vets also had been homeless.

Over time, the group became so proficient at dealing with large numbers of veterans that Benton said

Sonoma County officials wanted to know how they did it. Benton said it's because they're not a bureaucracy, and can therefore move more swiftly and efficiently.

They're not sure how many vets to expect to serve over time, but they said their outreach will help validate the numbers and the need in Lake County.

Parker also believes that the word will travel, and Benton said that in Sonoma County word of mouth has been a key way of communicating the available services.

Parker said they estimate they will need seven volunteers for each event. They're already getting more offers of help.

To offer assistance in the form of volunteering or donations, of if a local group would like to be an onsite service provider, contact Parker at 707-274-9512 or Kirk Macdonald, 707-263-8449.

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Gustavo Lopez, 22, died as a result of the incident, according to Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department.

Several hours later, police arrested 34-year-old Angelo Ray Short of Clearlake, who is alleged to have hit Lopez with his car before fleeing the scene, according to Hobbs.

He said that at approximately 2:40 a.m. Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to the area of Old Highway 53 and Park Street for a reported traffic collision.

Within minutes of being dispatched, three Clearlake Police officers arrived on scene and located Lopez lying on the lawn at the entrance to the Clearlake Resort, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said Lopez had sustained life threatening injuries as a result of a vehicle striking him as he was riding his bicycle on the shoulder of Old Highway 53. The vehicle that struck Lopez fled the scene and did not make any attempt to check on Lopez’s condition.

Officers requested that medical personnel from the Lake County Fire Department respond to the scene. A short time later medical personnel arrived, and began performing life saving measures on Lopez, who Hobbs said was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, where he was pronounced dead.

Clearlake Police Department detectives and fatal traffic collision investigators responded to the scene and relieved the patrol officers so they would be able to resume their patrol duties, Hobbs said.

Through interviews with witnesses and evidence at the scene, Hobbs said it is believed Lopez and Charles Farlow, 21, of Clearlake were riding their bicycles south on the paved shoulder of Old Highway 53.

As Lopez and Farlow were approaching the entrance to the Clearlake Resort, Lopez was struck by a car that was also traveling south on Old Highway 53. Hobbs said the driver of the vehicle did not stop and fled the scene.

He said the vehicle was determined to be a 1993 to 1997 red-colored Geo Prism, which had sustained damage to the front end.

Around 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Clearlake Police detectives located the involved vehicle, a red 1994 Geo Prism, parked at a residence at the B&B Lighthouse Resort. Hobbs said the vehicle was towed as evidence and stored at the Clearlake Police Department pending the issuance of a search warrant on the vehicle.

Hobbs said Short was contacted at the residence and interviewed by detectives regarding his involvement in the collision. While being interviewed, Short allegedly admitted to being the driver of the vehicle and fleeing the scene after the collision.

Short was arrested for felony hit and run with death and vehicular manslaughter and later booked into the Lake County Jail. His booking sheet indicated that his bail was set at $25,000, and he remained in custody early Sunday morning.

The news of Lopez's death, announced on Lake County News' Facebook page Saturday afternoon, resulted in numerous expressions of sadness, disbelief and condolences to the young man's family.

Readers who contacted Lake County News about Lopez, whose family owns Havy's restaurant, recalled him as a warm, funloving young man who cared about others.

“He was a great young man with a lot of ambition,” said Amanda Conley. “He worked hard for what he wanted and took great pride in himself and his family. From what I have seen, Gustavo never turned a blind eye to anyone that needed help. This accident provides a great loss for everyone who knows him, and my heart goes out to the family.”

Hidden Valley Lake resident Taqua Ammar recalled seeing Lopez for the last time at a local gas station after he had gotten off work for the day. They chatted, and Ammar noted that Lopez seemed happy.

“The magical thing about Gustavo though was how charismatic he was,” Ammar said. “He was the life of the whole gas station that night. After we said our goodbyes I saw him talking to the owners and random people in the store. That's how he was even when he was tired, and even if it was 10 o' clock at night.”

Ammar added, “He cared about people and he had a natural gift of making people laugh. As I walked out of the gas station I heard someone crackle over another one of Gustavo's hilarious jokes. I miss him. I will never forget the memories we had! He was a good guy with a good heart. May he rest in peace.”

The Clearlake Police Department asked that anyone with information regarding this case contact Detective Alvarado at 707-994-8251, Extension 329.

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Demetri Gilbert Amaya, 50, was taken into custody on Sunday, April 10, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Smallcomb said at 2:30 p.m. Sunday Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were patrolling the Four Mile Glade area of Cow Mountain when they observed a vehicle parked at the end of the roadway, which is just inside the Lake County jurisdiction.

When the deputies approached the vehicle it appeared unoccupied at first, but then they found the driver – later identified as Amaya – to be asleep across the front seat with a 40-ounce beer bottle perched on the steering wheel, Smallcomb said.

He said deputies also observed numerous firearms inside the vehicle and in the bed of the truck.

The deputies awakened Amaya and removed him from the vehicle, Smallcomb said. Due to the weapons in the vehicle, they asked and were given permission to search the vehicle.

Smallcomb said a records check revealed that two guns were reported stolen, one from Sonoma County and the second reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as being stolen from San Francisco.

He said both guns were confirmed to be stolen and Amaya was placed under arrest.

Amaya was transported to the Lake County Jail, where jail records indicated he was booked on a charge of receiving stolen property. Bail was set at $15,000.

Jail records indicated Amaya remained in custody late Monday.

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A fire engulfs a home on 40th Avenue in Clearlake, Calif., early on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Photo by Susanah Carlsen.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Sunday morning fire destroyed a red-tagged residence in Clearlake.

The house, located in the 15000 block of 40^th Avenue, was reported to be on fire at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a California Highway Patrol incident log.

Lake County Fire officials could not be reached Sunday for additional information.

Susanah Carlsen, who lives across the street from the structure – which she believed was a mobile home with an add-on – said it was “up in flames” by about 2:30 a.m., and she called the fire department. She estimated that the fire likely began around 2 a.m.

Carlsen said nobody lived at the home, which was red-tagged a few weeks ago, although she noted, that there have been people inside and around it during the past few weeks and especially within the last few days.

She said she didn't know if anyone was harmed.

The structure was still standing Sunday, Carlsen said. “It's pretty burnt up, but all the walls appear to still be up.”

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A Lake County Fire Protection fire truck arrives on scene at an early morning structure fire on 40th Avenue in Clearlake, Calif., early on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Photo by Susanah Carlsen.

School districts in the county may also qualify for an exemption from having certain state payments deferred, according to a report from North Coast Assemblyman Wes Chesbro.

“The Legislature felt cuts to the First 5 program would hurt small counties disproportionately and the budget package we approved states that counties falling under a certain funding threshold are exempt from spending cuts to their local programs,” said Chesbro (D-Arcata). “First Five Lake County is one of the programs that qualifies for this exemption.”

When the Legislature cut $11 billion in state spending last month, included was a $1 billion funding shift away from First 5 California, which is funded by Proposition 10 tobacco tax money, to health care programs for children age 5 and under, Chesbro reported.

Assembly Bill 99, the budget trailer bill passed last month that contains the funding shift, includes language exempting local First Five programs that received $600,000 or less from Proposition 10 money. Chesbro said First 5 Lake County qualifies because it received $500,567 in Proposition 10 funds in fiscal year 2009-10.

Lake County’s small school districts may also be eligible for some relief in the form of exemptions from deferred payments the state authorized in the budget package passed last month, he said.

“School districts in rural counties that are at risk of not being able to meet their financial obligations if payments are deferred can apply for a hardship waiver to be exempt from the deferrals,” Chesbro said.

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