Wednesday, 04 December 2024

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California, unlike Texas and Florida, is not generous when it comes to debtor protections.


But the “homestead exemption” and the “homestead declaration” are two important protections every homeowner should know about.


These exemptions protect a portion of a homeowner’s equity against unsecured creditors who obtain judgment liens against the home.


These exemptions apply regardless of whether the principal residence is owned outright or in a living trust.


Let’s examine how these protections work and how much equity can be protected.

 

The homestead exemption applies automatically to a person’s or a family’s principal residence in California.


You can only have one principal residence. The homestead exemption protects a certain amount of equity against judicial foreclosures by judgment creditors.


Equity is the amount by which the value of your principal residence exceeds the combined value of all secured loans (typically mortgages and equity lines of credit). The homestead exemption does not apply to voluntary sales.


To apply, the declaration of homestead requires the homeowner to file a sworn and notarized declaration of homestead form with the county where the principal residence is situated.


Once filed, the declared homestead protects the same amount of equity as the homestead exemption, but this time with respect to voluntary sale of the principal residence.


The date when the declaration of homestead is filed is very important. The declaration does not pertain to judgment liens filed with the county prior to the declaration. So filing one’s declaration early when no judgment liens are imminent is prudent.


Moreover, if the homeowner buys a new home within six months, the homeowner can record a new declaration of homestead. Any equity from the sale of the first home that is used to buy the second home is also protected.


Now, how much equity is protected varies greatly depending on the homeowner(s)’s circumstances. A single homeowner generally is entitled to only $50,000, unless he or she qualifies for the $125,000 exemption.


A family unit generally is entitled to $75,000. A family unit includes a married couple, a single parent, or a dependent person and his caregiver.


The $125,000 (highest) exemption applies to homeowners who are 65 years of age and older, disabled persons, and persons between 55 and 65 years of age if their annual income does not exceed $15,000 (or $20,000 if married), but only in respect of nonvoluntary sales.


Let’s see how the homestead exemption works by example.


Consider John and Mary Smith, a hypothetical married couple who own a home.


The home is worth $300,000, and has a mortgage with an unpaid balance of $200,000; the Smiths have $100,000 of equity.


The Smiths owe $80,000 to a judgment creditor who has filed a judgment lien against their home. They qualify for the $75,000 homestead exemption amount, as they are not 65 or older and are not disabled. Thus, $25,000 of their $100,000 equity is exposed to judgment creditors.


The judgment creditor would be entitled to proceed with an auction sale. If the residence sold for $300,000, the $200,000 secured mortgage would be paid first, and the Smith’s would receive their $75,000 exemption amount. Lastly, the judgment creditor would receive the excess (up to his $80,000 lien).


Lastly, while the homestead exemption usually protects a conventional single-family home, it can also protect a temporary or mobile home such as a trailer, a mobile home or a boat.

 

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235.


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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) on Thursday led the writing of a bipartisan letter to President Obama urging him to provide federal disaster assistance for California communities battered by the recent March storms.


Between March 15 and 27, a series of storms swept across Northern California, causing significant damage in 17 counties statewide, including Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties on the North Coast.


The letter stated that damages are estimated to be more than $44.5 million statewide.


“The March storms brought a lot of devastation to communities across California,” Thompson said. “Heavy rain, snow, wind, and flooding battered local homes and infrastructure, causing significant and costly damage. I urge the President to quickly approve federal disaster assistance for our state to help give local communities the resources they need to get back on their feet.”


In total, 25 California Delegation Members who represent communities affected by the March storms signed on to Congressman Thompson’s letter, including: Wally Herger (R-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Sam Farr (D-CA), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Dan Lungren (D-CA), Jeff Denham (R-CA), David Dreier (R-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), George Miller (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Mike Honda (D-CA), Brian Bilbray (D-CA), Gary Miller (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA), and Pete Stark (D-CA).


“Many of us have had the opportunity to view the damage in our districts first-hand, and it is clear that a major disaster declaration is critical to helping our state recover from these devastating storms,” the letter stated.


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An artist's concept of GP-B measuring the curved spacetime around Earth. Image by James Overduin, Pancho Eekels and Bob Kahn.






Einstein was right again.


There is a space-time vortex around Earth, and its shape precisely matches the predictions of Einstein's theory of gravity.


Researchers confirmed these points at a press conference on Wednesday at NASA headquarters where they announced the long-awaited results of Gravity Probe B (GP-B).


“The space-time around Earth appears to be distorted just as general relativity predicts,” said Stanford University physicist Francis Everitt, principal investigator of the Gravity Probe B mission.


“This is an epic result,” added Clifford Will of Washington University in St. Louis.


An expert in Einstein's theories, Will chairs an independent panel of the National Research Council set up by NASA in 1998 to monitor and review the results of Gravity Probe B.


“One day,” he predicted, “this will be written up in textbooks as one of the classic experiments in the history of physics.”


Time and space, according to Einstein's theories of relativity, are woven together, forming a four-dimensional fabric called “space-time.”


The mass of Earth dimples this fabric, much like a heavy person sitting in the middle of a trampoline.


Gravity, says Einstein, is simply the motion of objects following the curvaceous lines of the dimple.


If Earth were stationary, that would be the end of the story. But Earth is not stationary. Our planet spins, and the spin should twist the dimple, slightly, pulling it around into a four-dimensional swirl. This is what GP-B went to space in 2004 to check.


The idea behind the experiment is simple:


Put a spinning gyroscope into orbit around the Earth, with the spin axis pointed toward some distant star as a fixed reference point. Free from external forces, the gyroscope's axis should continue pointing at the star – forever.


But if space is twisted, the direction of the gyroscope's axis should drift over time. By noting this change in direction relative to the star, the twists of space-time could be measured.


In practice, the experiment is tremendously difficult.


The four gyroscopes in GP-B are the most perfect spheres ever made by humans. These ping pong-sized balls of fused quartz and silicon are 1.5 inches across and never vary from a perfect sphere by more than 40 atomic layers. If the gyroscopes weren't so spherical, their spin axes would wobble even without the effects of relativity.


According to calculations, the twisted space-time around Earth should cause the axes of the gyros to drift merely 0.041 arcseconds over a year.


An arcsecond is 1/3600th of a degree. To measure this angle reasonably well, GP-B needed a fantastic precision of 0.0005 arcseconds. It's like measuring the thickness of a sheet of paper held edge-on 100 miles away.


“GP-B researchers had to invent whole new technologies to make this possible,” noted Will.


They developed a “drag free” satellite that could brush against the outer layers of Earth's atmosphere without disturbing the gyros.


They figured out how to keep Earth's magnetic field from penetrating the spacecraft. And they created a device to measure the spin of a gyro – without touching the gyro.


More information about these technologies may be found in the Science@NASA story, “A Pocket of Near-Perfection,” http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/16nov_gpb/ .


Pulling off the experiment was an exceptional challenge. But after a year of data-taking and nearly five years of analysis, the GP-B scientists appear to have done it.


“We measured a geodetic precession of 6.600 plus or minus 0.017 arcseconds and a frame dragging effect of 0.039 plus or minus 0.007 arcseconds,” said Everitt.


For readers who are not experts in relativity: Geodetic precession is the amount of wobble caused by the static mass of the Earth (the dimple in spacetime) and the frame dragging effect is the amount of wobble caused by the spin of the Earth (the twist in spacetime). Both values are in precise accord with Einstein's predictions.


“In the opinion of the committee that I chair, this effort was truly heroic. We were just blown away,” said Will.

 

 

 

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One of the super-spherical gyroscopes of Gravity Probe B. Courtesy of NASA.
 

 

 


The results of Gravity Probe B give physicists renewed confidence that the strange predictions of Einstein's theory are indeed correct, and that these predictions may be applied elsewhere. The type of spacetime vortex that exists around Earth is duplicated and magnified elsewhere in the cosmos--around massive neutron stars, black holes, and active galactic nuclei.


“If you tried to spin a gyroscope in the severely twisted space-time around a black hole,” said Will, “it wouldn't just gently precess by a fraction of a degree. It would wobble crazily and possibly even flip over.”


In binary black hole systems – that is, where one black hole orbits another black hole – the black holes themselves are spinning and thus behave like gyroscopes. Imagine a system of orbiting, spinning, wobbling, flipping black holes! That's the sort of thing general relativity predicts and which GP-B tells us can really be true.


The scientific legacy of GP-B isn't limited to general relativity. The project also touched the lives of hundreds of young scientists:


“Because it was based at a university many students were able to work on the project,” said Everitt. “More than 86 PhD theses at Stanford plus 14 more at other Universities were granted to students working on GP-B. Several hundred undergraduates and 55 high-school students also participated, including astronaut Sally Ride and eventual Nobel Laureate Eric Cornell.”


NASA funding for Gravity Probe B began in the fall of 1963. That means Everitt and some colleagues have been planning, promoting, building, operating, and analyzing data from the experiment for more than 47 years – truly, an epic effort.


What's next?


Everitt recalls some advice given to him by his thesis advisor and Nobel Laureate Patrick M.S. Blackett: “If you can't think of what physics to do next, invent some new technology, and it will lead to new physics.”


“Well,” said Everitt, “we invented 13 new technologies for Gravity Probe B. Who knows where they will take us?”


This epic might just be getting started, after all …


Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


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This handgun was seized from a vehicle in which the four suspects were alleged to be driving along the Hopland Grade on Thursday, May 5, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

 



 


LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The investigation of a suspicious vehicle parked in a remote area off of Highway 175 near the Mendocino County line Thursday morning has resulted in one arrest for marijuana and weapons charges, and a five-hour multiagency operation to search for two additional suspects.


Arrested was 41-year-old Malaquias Parras Ramirez of Santa Rosa, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.


On May 5 at approximately 8:30 a.m. a detective sergeant with the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force was traveling out of county on Highway 175 when he saw a suspicious vehicle parked in a turnout approximately a mile and a half from the Mendocino County line, Bauman said.


The vehicle, a Black Toyota Camry, was occupied by two men dressed in camouflage clothing and a third man dressed in camouflage clothing was standing near the car urinating, according to Bauman.


Bauman explained that when the detective sergeant stopped to contact the men, the man standing outside of the car immediately ran and fled into the brush on foot.


He said the detective sergeant drew his duty weapon and ordered the other two men in the car to raise their hands but the driver suddenly exited the car and also fled on foot into the brush in the same direction as the other. The third man seated in the back of the car, identified as Ramirez, was detained at gunpoint and the detective sergeant requested emergency assistance on his radio.


Multiple units from the sheriff’s office and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the area to assist the detective sergeant, Bauman said. As the first backup units arrived at the scene Ramirez was taken into custody.


Sheriff’s deputies began posting themselves along the highway to try to contain the two outstanding suspects. Bauman said a search of the Toyota revealed several potted marijuana plants and a loaded handgun drawn from its holster, lying on the floorboard where Ramirez had been sitting.


Additional resources were requested to respond, including a CHP helicopter, a law enforcement K-9 team from the U.S. Forest Service, and agents from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bauman said.

 

 

 

 

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Officials seized these marijuana growing supplies during the investigation on Thursday, May 5, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

 

 

 


Once additional resources arrived, a ground team that included the U.S. Forest Service K-9 began tracking the mountainous area the two suspects fled into. Bauman said the K-9 led the team into a large gorge where they located a “drop site” where illegal marijuana growers had left numerous spools of drip line, bags of fittings, fertilizer and other supplies used for marijuana cultivation.


The team continued to follow fresh tracks beyond the drop site but after tracking the suspects for nearly one mile, the K-9 began to lose their scent and trail, Bauman said.


At approximately 10:30 a.m., a CHP helicopter out of Redding arrived in the area to assist with the search of the suspects. Bauman said attempts to locate and apprehend the two outstanding suspects lasted until approximately 12:00 p.m., at which time the operation was suspended. The ground team had tracked the suspects into such rugged terrain that they had to be extracted by the CHP helicopter.


Ramirez was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility where he was booked on charges of cultivating marijuana, transportation of marijuana, being armed in the commission of a felony and possession of a loaded firearm in public, Bauman said. He remains in the custody of the sheriff without bail due to an immigration hold.


Bauman said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office intends to seek federal prosecution of Ramirez, which could potentially result in a sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the crimes with which he is charged.


It is believed that Ramirez and the other two suspects were interrupted by the detective sergeant while they were engaged in setting up a major illegal marijuana cultivation operation, Bauman said.


He said much of the mountainous area surrounding Highway 175 that is managed by the BLM has been host to such operations in past years.


Bauman said the investigation Thursday occurred in roughly the same area as a similar incident in August 2008 when a CHP officer spotted a suspect walking into the woods after a van dropped him off on the Hopland Grade.


In that 2008 case, three Manteca men would be arrested for marijuana-related charges following a response by federal and local law enforcement, as Lake County News has reported.


Bauman said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, BLM and the U.S. Forest Service are continuing their investigation into this and other suspected cultivation operations as “Operation Full Court Press” nears.


He said “Operation Full Court Press” is a multicounty, multiagency operation to eradicate illicit marijuana grows on federal lands.

 

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Malaquias Parras Ramirez, 41, of Santa Rosa, Calif., was arrested on Thursday, May 5, 2011, after multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies responded to a report of several suspects fleeing a sheriff's sergeant on the Hopland Grade. Lake County Jail photo.
 

MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – A two-day gang sweep this week in Mendocino County yielded several arrests.


The operation was organized by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at the request of the Homeland Security Investigations division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to a report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.


Smallcomb said the goal of the sweep was to contact persons who were members or associated with criminal street gangs. The majority of persons identified in the operations plan for the sweep were on active Mendocino County Probation or had active federal apprehension warrants.


The law enforcement agencies that participated in the sweep were the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations division, Mendocino County Probation, Willits Police Department and the Fort Bragg Police Department, Smallcomb said.


He said that on Tuesday, May 3, the sweep was conducted in the unincorporated areas of the Ukiah Valley and within the city of Ukiah.


Arrested were Refugio Ortega Vasquez, 36, of Ukiah, on charges of violation of probation and felon in possession of ammunition, as well as an immigration detainer; Pascual Garcia-Felix, 33, of Ukiah, held on an immigration detainer; juvenile male, 16, of Ukiah, on charges of violation of probation, according to Smallcomb.


On Wednesday, May 4, the sweep moved to the unincorporated areas of Anderson Valley, Fort Bragg and within the City of Fort Bragg, Smallcomb said.


He said that the arrestees in that portion of the sweep included Antonio Rafael Martinez, 46, of Fort Bragg on an immigration detainer; Juan Martinez-Losano, 36, of Fort Bragg, held on an immigration detainer as a result of a federal apprehension warrant; Jose Felix Angel-Villa, 21, of Fort Bragg, held on an immigration detainer; Sergio Ricardo Reyes, 19, from Fort Bragg, held on an immigration detainer as a result of a federal apprehension warrant; Alejandro Grijalba, 20, from Fort Bragg, on charges of violation of probation.


During the contacts, an indoor marijuana growing operation was located at a residence in the 33000 block of Mill Creek Drive in Fort Bragg. Smallcomb said an occupant of the residence was unable to provide sufficient documentation to show the marijuana was being grown legally. Statements and evidence collected also showed the marijuana was being grown for financial gain.


As a result, 201 growing marijuana plants and approximately 5 pounds of processed marijuana were seized. Smallcomb said no arrests were made in connection with the incident and reports will be forwarded to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office for review of possible charges.


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Erica Ray Rouse, 33, of Lucerne, Calif., was arrested on Tuesday, May 3, 2011, for allegedly forging prescriptions for painkillers and antiseizure medication. Lake County Jail photo.



 



LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force investigation into multiple forgeries and fraudulent purchases of prescription medications has led to the arrest of a 33 year old Lucerne woman.


Erica Ray Rouse, 33, was arrested and booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility on felony charges of forging or altering a prescription, counterfeiting a prescription blank, forgery and violation of probation, according to Capt. James Bauman.


On Tuesday morning, May 3, narcotics detectives contacted staff at the Kmart pharmacy in Lakeport to investigate a report that multiple medications had been filled by the use of fraudulent prescriptions, Bauman said.


After talking to pharmacy staff and examining their records, detectives determined that as many as 10 prescriptions for the pain medications Ultram and Tramadol, and the antiseizure medication Lorazepam, had been filled for a woman identified as Rouse, according to Bauman.


He said Rouse had allegedly been purchasing the medications from the pharmacy since November of 2010.


When detectives examined the prescriptions used to dispense the medications, they found Rouse had allegedly not only used her own name to obtain the prescriptions, but she is also alleged to have forged several different names on the prescriptions and the prescriptions themselves were counterfeit, Bauman said.


Bauman said narcotics detectives learned that Rouse was on formal felony probation for a prior welfare fraud conviction. At approximately 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, they went to her home in Lucerne to conduct a probation search relating to their investigation.


During their search, detectives located and recovered multiple prescription bottles matching the medications fraudulently purchased at the Kmart pharmacy. Bauman said detectives also located and seized blank counterfeit prescriptions that had apparently been fabricated by use of a computer.


Narcotics detectives continued their investigation on Wednesday morning and contacted pharmacy staff at the CVS drug store in Lakeport, Bauman said. After examining their records, detectives determined Rouse had made at least five additional purchases of the same medications by forging counterfeit prescriptions.


Bauman said the case is pending further investigation and contact with other Lake County pharmacies to determine if Rouse has forged any additional prescriptions.


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From left, Damon Shepherd and Travis Vaughn were arrested in Lakeport, Calif., after they were allegedly involved in a road rage incident. Lake County Jail photos.
 

 



LAKEPORT, Calif. – Two Lake County men were arrested following a road rage incident Wednesday that culminated in a fight in the parking lot of a local fast food restaurant.


Damon Joe Shepherd, 29, of Lakeport and Travis Wayne Vaughn, 28, of Nice were taken into custody early Wednesday evening, according to the Lakeport Police Department.


A report from Sgt. Jason Ferguson explained that the incident began on the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff where Shepherd is alleged to have cut in front of Vaughn, nearly causing an accident.


Ferguson said that, as both drivers entered Highway 29 in the Hill Road area it was alleged that Vaughn then cut Shepherd off.


He said Shepherd followed Vaughn to the Taco Bell, located on Parallel Drive in Lakeport, and they allegedly got into a verbal confrontation in the parking lot.


Acting Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said police received a call about the confrontation at Taco Bell at approximately 4:42 p.m.


“A Lake County Probation officer called in the incident at Taco Bell,” Rasmussen said.


Rasmussen said the probation officer saw Shepherd allegedly brandishing two knives in a threatening manner toward Vaughn before police arrived.


Lakeport Police sent two units to the scene, Rasmussen said.


After officers determined both Shepherd and Vaughn were intoxicated – each were given field sobriety tests – both men were arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol, Ferguson said.


Shepherd was additionally charged with brandishing a weapon in a threatening manner and possession of a dangerous weapon, Ferguson said. Rasmussen added that Lakeport Police had prior contacts with Shepherd.


Ferguson said both men were taken to the Hill Road Jail where they were booked.


Shepherd's bail was set at $10,000, and he remained in custody Thursday night, according to jail records. Vaughn posted his bail, set at $1,740, and was released.


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

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From left, Dr. Jim Riggs, Dr. Ron Erickson and Dr. Douglas Houston are the finalists in the search for a new chancellor for the Yuba Community College District, based in Marysville, Calif. Courtesy photos.

 



CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Yuba Community College District is getting close to choosing a new chancellor, and it will introduce the three top candidates in a series of upcoming meetings.


In January, Dr. Nicki Harrington, the district's chancellor since 2002, announced she would retire effective June 30, as Lake County News has reported.


Since then, college officials say they've undertaken an extensive nationwide search to find Harrington's successor.


The new chancellor will lead a district that covers 4,200 square miles across eight Northern California counties.


The three finalists for the job include Dr. Ron Erickson, Dr. Douglas Houston and Dr. Jim Riggs.


Erickson, who holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota, is president of Ohio's Hocking College and former vice president of academic affairs and institutional planning at Dakota County Technical College in Minnesota.


Houston is superintendent/president at the Lassen Community College District, based in Susanville, Calif., and formerly vice president for human and information services at the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Oroville, Calif. He received his doctorate in educational leadership from Pepperdine University.


Riggs serves as a professor in community college education and is interim doctoral program director at California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock. He previously was president of Columbia College in Sonora, Calif. He holds a doctorate in higher education leadership and curriculum from the University of Southern California.


The three men will participate in public forums at each of the district's colleges.


The district invites administration, faculty, staff, students and the general public to the events, which will feature a brief introduction of each candidate followed by a question and answer session.


District officials said those who attend the forums will be given comment forums. The completed comment forms will be collected and given to the Yuba Community College District Board of Trustees for review.


The public forums schedule is as follows.


Monday, May 9: Dr. Ron Erickson


  • 9 a.m. to 9:50 a.m., Clear Lake Campus forum, Room 800B, 15880 Dam Road Ext., Clearlake.

  • 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m., Yuba College forum, Yuba College Theater, 2088 N. Beale Road, Marysville.

  • 3 p.m. to 3:50 p.m., Woodland Community College forum, Room 852, 2300 E. Gibson Road, Woodland.


Monday, May 9: Dr. Douglas Houston


  • 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Clear Lake Campus forum, Room 800B.

  • 11 a.m. to 11:50 p.m., Woodland Community College forum, Room 852.

  • 4 p.m. to 4:50 p.m., Yuba College forum, Yuba College Theater.


Tuesday, May 10: Dr. Jim Riggs


  • 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Clear Lake Campus forum, Room 800B.

  • 1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m., Woodland Community College forum, Room 852.

  • 4 p.m. to 4:50 p.m., Yuba College forum, Room 201.


For more information on the finalists, visit the chancellor search site at www.yccd.edu/chancellorsearch/index.html.


For further information on the public forums please contact Cathy Richter, executive

secretary to the chancellor, 530-741-6971, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


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

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The annual year in review for the local watershed groups is always a fun, informative evening, and this year’s event will be no exception.


Mark your calendar for Thursday, May 12, and join local watershed groups at the Lower Lake School House Museum, 16435 Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake.


The doors will open at 6 p.m., with the event beginning immediately following the potluck.


Bring a dish that's ready to be shared with your friends and neighbors, and be prepared to honor the volunteers who work to make your communities and watersheds a better place to live.


Greg Dills, district manager and watershed coordinator for the East Lake and West Lake Resource Conservation Districts will show highlights of activities by the watershed groups in the Upper Cache Creek Watershed.


Dills also will present information about the activities and projects of the county's resource conservation districts.


Friends and neighbors of volunteers from the Big Valley Watershed Council, Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch, Lower Lake Watershed Council, Middle Creek CRMP, Nice Watershed Council, and Scotts Creek Watershed Council are especially encouraged to attend.


A Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to an outstanding member from the active watershed groups. The West Lake Resource Conservation District will also be presenting their annual Partner of the Year Award.


A special treat this year will be a presentation by the tribes regarding the ongoing work they're doing to help preserve the Clear Lake hitch.


The evening is one of celebration for the work the watershed groups do throughout the year, and is being hosted by the Lower Lake Watershed Council. Each year the public is invited to attend the event to learn more about the contributions these ambitious volunteers make to their communities.


There's been a recent focus on illegal dumping activities, and various concerns are being expressed regarding the health of the watersheds in Lake County.


Be a part of what your community can do to help with these issues – join a watershed group.


For more information about these organizations, please visit www.lakecountyrcds.org.


There will be good food, great volunteers and caring members of the community, the perfect combination for a successful annual meeting.


For more information, contact Greg Dills, 707-263-4180, Extension 102.


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LAKE PILLSBURY, Calif. – A 3.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded near Lake Pillsbury early Thursday afternoon.


The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 12:13 p.m.


It was centered five miles north northeast of Lake Pillsbury and 22 miles north of Upper Lake, at a depth of 8.8 miles, the survey reported.


By late Thursday, the US Geological Survey received eight shake reports from five zip codes – Willits, San Jose, Milpitas, Berkeley and San Bruno.


A 3.1-magnitude quake occurred four miles north northeast of Lake Pillsbury on May 2, as Lake County News has reported.


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

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James Abriel, 19, has been missing from Santa Rosa, Calif., since late April 2011. Courtesy photo.
 

 

 


NORTH COAST, Calif. – The family of a Sonoma State University student missing since last month is asking for help in locating him.


James Abriel, 19, a freshman at Sonoma State, was last known to be in Rohnert Park on April 22 and in Santa Rosa on April 24, according to his family.


His parents, Bill and Vangie Abriel, said he is 6 feet 1 inches tall and 180 pounds, with dark blond hair and blue eyes.


He is driving a white four-door 1999 Toyota Camry, with California license plate 4GYG766.


Abriel's family said he is an accomplished musician and a member of several ensembles at Sonoma State, including the string orchestra. He recently performed a musical composition he had written in a recital in the Green Music Center.


The teen earned a 4.0 grade point average in his fall 2010 semester, is an avid hiker and loves the outdoors, according to his family.


“We are so grateful to the Sonoma State administration and students for all their help in trying to locate James,” Bill and Vangie Abriel said. “Please continue to search for him and to let us know if you think of any places we could look. And please keep James and us in your prayers.”


If you see James Abriel or have any information about his whereabouts, please contact the Sonoma State Police Department at 707-664-3403, or the Walnut Creek Police Department at 925-943-5844.


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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest report on the state's median income showed that in 2009 incomes for Californians dropped for the first time after steady increases over the last decade.


The California Franchise Tax Board's report, released in March, showed that statewide median income for all personal income tax returns decreased to $34,079, 5.1 percent below the $35,923 reported in 2008.


At the same time, median income listed on joint returns decreased to $65,025, 5.7 percent below 2008, the Franchise Tax Board said.


The agency reported that “median income” – which represents the amount reported by a typical California individual or couple – is the point where one-half of the income reported on tax returns is above and one-half is below the midpoint of the range of values.


California taxpayers filed 15.3 million 2009 state income tax returns reporting $1.08 trillion in adjusted gross income, a 2.9 percent decrease from 2008 figures. Adjusted gross income is total income increased or reduced by specific adjustments, before taking the standard or itemized deduction.


In 2009, Lake County residents filed 21,343 returns, with an adjusted gross income of $837,384,000, the state said.


There were 9,492 joint returns filed in Lake County in 2009, for a median joint income of $45,428, a rank of 48 statewide. The state said total tax assessed for the county in 2009 was $22,978,000.


Lake County's median income for 2009 was $28,307, down 4.9 percent from the 2008 number, $29,790. Its median income earned the county a statewide rank of 45 in 2009.


Unlike the state, the county's median income actually began dropping following its peak of $30,071 in 2006. In 2007 it went down 0.7 percent to $29,855, and experienced a smaller decrease, 0.2 percent, to $29,790 in 2008.


In other findings, the Franchise Tax Board said that four Bay Area counties – Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara – have led California for 38 years in reported highest median incomes.


Marin County had the highest median income for joint returns at $108,465, a decrease of 8.6 percent from 2008; San Mateo County ranked second with $95,176; Santa Clara County ranked third with $94,209; Contra Costa County ranked fourth with $85,942; and Alameda County ranked fifth with $83,886, according to the report.


Los Angeles County taxpayers filed 25.5 percent of all 2009 income tax returns in California, reporting median incomes of $30,112 for all returns, the state said.


The state said the largest percentage gain in median income for all counties was 7.5 percent, reported in Alpine County.


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

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