UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Local authorities were involved in a search on Friday morning for two subjects who fled after a vehicle pursuit near Upper Lake, with the search called off a few hours later.

A Friday morning report from the Lake County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway said they were looking for one male and one female who fled on foot from the area of Old Lake County Road and Highway 20 near the Lake and Mendocino County line.

CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said the pursuit had begun in the Willits area and ended in Upper Lake. He did not have additional details Friday morning.

The only available description of the subjects are a male with long brown hair in a red jacket or dark-colored shirt and a female with shoulder length hair wearing all-black clothing.

The two subjects are possibly armed with a handgun and should be considered dangerous, the sheriff's office said.

Anyone who sees subjects matching these descriptions in this area should avoid contact and call 9-1-1 immediately, authorities said.

The search led to schools in the area being locked down.

Upper Lake Unified School District Superintendent Patrick Iaccino said he put the schools into lockdown as soon as he got an alert notice from the sheriff's office on Friday morning.

Students and teachers were kept inside and administrators were out monitoring the school campuses, Iaccino said.

Iaccino said they had tried to discourage parents from coming to pick up students due to not wanting activity out on the campus.

Rob Young of the Lake County Office of Education had been communicating with Iaccino about the situation to get him more information, Iaccino said.

With the search about five miles from the school, and with the suspects not believed to be headed in the school's direction, Iaccino planned to lift the lockdown and return school to normal operations at around 11 a.m.

Just as Iaccino was getting ready to lift the lockdown at 11 a.m., the sheriff's office said the search had been discontinued.

At that point, the two subjects – who were last seen on foot going towards Mendocino County – hadn't been located, officials said.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said it did not have any further information to provide on the incident, as CHP in Mendocino County is the investigating agency.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Although Thursday saw less rain for Lake County than the earlier days of the week, the day still brought a dose of winter weather with snow in the higher elevations and a lake that's continuing to rise.

Compared with the rains this week and early this week, Thursday's precipitation was relatively light.

The National Weather Service's network of observation stations reported the following rainfall totals, in inches, for the 24-hour period ending at 12 a.m. Friday:

• Bear Canyon (Middletown): 0.31.
• Boggs Mountain: 0.18.
• Cache Creek (near Lower Lake): 0.49.
• Hidden Valley Lake: 0.52.
• Indian Valley Reservoir: 0.19.
• Jerusalem Grade (Middletown): 0.93.
• Kelseyville: 0.39.
• Soda Creek at Lake Pillsbury): 0.19.
• Upper Lake: 0.30.
• Whispering Pines: 0.36.

A small amount of snow on Thursday morning also was reported by residents in and around Cobb and parts of Kelseyville, including a light dusting on top of Mt. Konocti.

The National Weather Service said the recent storms have many areas of Northern California running 175 to 200 percent of normal for rain at this time of year.

This week's heavy rains also resulted in a new flood warning for the southern two-thirds of Lake County. The National Weather Service issued the warning on Thursday, and said it will continue through Friday afternoon.

The rains have filled up area creeks and streams, and Clear Lake early Friday morning was just over 7 feet Rumsey as of 12 a.m. Friday. A full lake is 7.56 feet Rumsey.

Looking ahead, the National Weather Service said drier weather is expected Friday and into the middle of next week.

Parts of Lake County, particularly around Lakeport and Upper Lake, could see areas of dense fog on Friday night and Saturday morning, with chances of showers Saturday night and early Sunday, according to the forecast.

Conditions are expected to clear through Monday night.

Temperatures are forecast to range from the low 30s at night into the high 50s in the daytime.

While the next several days of drier weather should give the region a short break from rain, the National Weather Service warned that another atmospheric river is possible next week.

The agency said details remain uncertain, but added that the predicted system could bring heavy rainfall, higher snow levels above 7,000 feet, gusty winds and renewed flooding concerns on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Lake County specific forecast calls for that weather system to bring more rain from Tuesday through Thursday.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – With its superintendent announcing he will retire this summer, the Upper Lake Unified School District is beginning a search for a new leader and planning a meeting next month to take input from community members.

Superintendent Patrick Iaccino will retire in June, at the end of this school year, the district reported.

Iaccino was the longtime Upper Lake Union High School District superintendent who was one of the leaders of the successful effort to unify that district with the Upper Lake Union Elementary District.

The two districts officially merged into one as of July 1, with the board selecting Iaccino as the new district's superintendent, as Lake County News has reported.

The district will hold a community forum meeting to discuss the superintendent search at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the cafeteria at the Upper Lake High School campus, 675 Clover Valley Road.

The public is invited to the meeting event and encouraged to provide input regarding the search for a new superintendent.

For interested candidates, the job description and brochure links can be found at http://www.ulusd.org/quicklinks/?id=51 .

Requirements include a master's degree, with the appropriate administrative credential to serve a K-12 district also preferred.

The job's salary range is $114,438 to $157,474, plus health and welfare benefits.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. March 1.

In the middle of March, an ad hoc selection committee that includes members of the district's governing board, community members, parents and staff will select candidates to interview, with the date of interviews to be announced.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This month a local organization plans to conduct an updated count of Lake County's homeless population.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Lake County Continuum of Care, or CoC, will hold a point-in-time count to count the sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals and families in Lake County.

The point-in-time, or PIT, count will help the CoC obtain a better understanding of homelessness in our community and needed services and resources.

It also will make Lake County eligible for funding for homeless services.
 
In addition to mobile teams canvassing the county, survey sites will be open on Jan. 24 from 1 to 5 p.m. in locations throughout the county:
 
• Clearlake: Walmart parking lot, 15960 Dam Road.
• Clearlake Oaks: Methodist Church Youth Center, 12487 The Plaza.
• Kelseyville: Lake Family Resource Center, 5350 Main St.
• Lakeport: Natural High School, 800 block of N. Main Street.
• Lucerne: Fifth Avenue office, corner of Fifth Avenue and Highway 20.
• Middletown: Methodist Church Fellowship Hall (corner of Washington and Armstrong streets).
 
The sites will offer flu shots, HIV/Hepatitis C testing, dog food and supplies, sandwiches and water/coffee.

Each person who is homeless and completes the confidential survey will be given a bag of snacks, hygiene supplies and other items.
 
“The point-in-time survey is an essential element in our ability to serve our local homeless individuals with appropriate resources and programs,” said Marilyn Wakefield, PIT Committee chair. “If you know someone who is homeless, please encourage them to visit with a member of our survey team at one of the many locations.”
 
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, requires all homeless continuums to conduct a point-in-time count of homeless individuals/families during a single night in January.

These counts provide an overview of the state of homelessness in the region and offer the information needed to direct services, funding and resources provided by the CoC.
 
The result of the PIT survey will establish a count of homeless families/individuals that is necessary for Lake County to be eligible for federal funding through HUD and other agencies for housing-related programs and support services.

Results also will provide a foundation for future planning to meet the needs of the homeless in Lake County.
 
Local private and public agencies partner through the CoC to improve services for those in the community who are homeless or are at risk of losing their housing.

HUD describes a CoC as “a community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximize self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.”

State Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) has introduced a new bill to incorporate media literacy education into school curriculums.

Media literacy is the ability to analyze and evaluate information consumed from various media outlets such as Web sites, social networking sites, television and radio.

Adolescents can spend up to nine hours a day absorbing media from these various sources.
 
“The rise of fake and misleading news is deeply concerning. Even more concerning is the lack of education provided to ensure people can distinguish what is fact and what’s not,” said Dodd. “Through new technology news has never been more readily available. However, the quality of that information varies widely. By giving students the proper tools to analyze the media they consume, we can empower them to make informed decisions.”
 
The prevalence of fake news garnered national attention in the recent election, where in the final months of the presidential campaign, false and misleading stories from hoax Web sites outperformed actual news stories in terms of social media engagement.

This flood of information can make it difficult for the public to differentiate between reputable news sources and false or misleading claims, Dodd's office said.

The practice of advertisements masquerading as news has also seen an increase in recent years. A recent Stanford study found that 82 percent of middle school students struggled to distinguish advertisements from news stories.
 
Under Dodd’s legislation, the California Board of Education’s Instructional Quality Commission will be responsible for developing the framework for incorporating media literacy into school curriculums.

The legislation will also see that media literacy training opportunities are made available for teachers in California.

The bill should receive its first committee hearing within the next couple of months.
 
Dodd represents the Third Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo, Sacramento and Contra Costa counties. He previously represented Lake County in the State Assembly.

Visit his Web site at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd .

LUCERNE, Calif. – Firefighters rescued a driver whose car went off of Highway 20 and into Clear Lake late Thursday night.

Northshore Fire personnel, Lake County Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers were first dispatched to the crash in the area of Highway 20 just west of Foothill Drive shortly before 10:30 p.m., according to radio reports.

At the scene they found a silver four-door sedan on its roof and mostly submerged – except for a rear portion of the car, including its back wheels – in Clear Lake.

CHP Officer Ryan Erickson said the report of the crash first came in as secondhand information from a passerby who had seen lights in the lake.

Late Thursday, Erickson said they didn't yet know much about what had occurred, with the investigation at that point in its early stages.

He said the silver sedan, which had been traveling eastbound on Highway 20, was the only vehicle involved.

Shortly before 11 p.m., firefighters were able to pull the female driver from the vehicle. Erickson said she was given CPR and had a pulse.

A Northshore Fire ambulance transported the woman from the scene a short time later. Erickson said she was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

At that time, Erickson said it was unknown if another person was in the vehicle, and they were waiting for a tow truck to pull the car from the lake.

Due to the rains, the water was murky and rough. The car's lights were still on and could be seen just below the surface of the dark water.

The vehicle was pulled from the water at around midnight, with units clearing the scene about 45 minutes later, according to reports from the scene.

Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos confirmed to Lake County News at 1 a.m. Friday that the driver had been the car's only occupant.

He said at that time he didn't have an update on the woman's condition.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A new sales tax Lakeport voters approved in the fall will be implemented beginning in April.

On Nov. 8, Lakeport residents voted to enact Measure Z, a one-percent increase to the local sales and use tax.

Measure Z, which will go into the general fund, required a simple majority vote to pass. It received a 61.9-percent yes vote, with 38.1 percent of voters opposing it.

City officials said the new tax is slated to take effect April 1, at which time, the sales tax for taxable items purchased in the city of Lakeport will rise to 8.75 percent.

Currently, the sales tax in the city of Lakeport is 7.75 percent, which reflects a drop in the state sales and use tax rate of one quarter of one percent, effective Jan. 1.