LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday, in the races for state and congressional seats representing Lake County, voters elected to send the mayor of a small valley city to the State Assembly and reelected two incumbents to the House of Representatives.

The Secretary of State's Office reported preliminary results for federal and state races early Wednesday that showed that Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was elected to the District 4 State Assembly seat, while John Garamendi and Mike Thompson – Democrats representing Congressional districts 3 and 5, respectively – easily won reelection to the House of Representatives against their Republican opponents.

In the race to succeed Bill Dodd in the Assembly 4 seat, with 100 percent of the district's 486 precincts reporting, Aguiar-Curry, a Democrat and the mayor of Winters, topped Esparto resident Charlie Schaupp, a Republican and retired lieutenant colonel in the Marines.

The race results showed that Aguiar-Curry received 71,862 votes, or 63.6 percent of the vote districtwide, while Schaupp received 41,172 votes, or 36.4 percent, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

The District 4 Assembly race was closer in Lake County, based on preliminary numbers released by the Registrar of Voters Office.

The county returns showed that Aguiar-Curry received 6,673 votes, or 53.8 percent, to Schaupp's 5,737 votes, or 46.2 percent.

Turning to the congressional races, the Secretary of State's Office reported that with all 569 precincts reporting in the District 3 race, Garamendi received 102,237 votes, or 59.5 percent, while his opponent, Dr. Eugene Cleek, had 69,563, or 40.5 percent.

Lake County's voting results mirrored those in the rest of District 3, with 3,888 ballots cast, or 59.2 percent, for Garamendi, while Cleek received 2,678 votes, or 40.8 percent.

In the District 5 race, Thompson had an even more decisive win over challenger Carlos Santamaria.

The Secretary of State's Office results showed that, with 100-percent of the district's 573 precincts reporting, Thompson received 147,902 votes, or 77 percent, compared to the 44,223 votes, or 23 percent of the vote, cast for Santamaria.

In Lake County alone, preliminary results showed that Thompson received 4,034 votes, or 67 percent, to Santamaria's 1,988 votes, or 22 percent.

On Tuesday night, Thompson thanked the district's voters for “the tremendous show of support.”                                                               

“With the campaign behind us I look forward to continuing our work together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but united as Americans behind our shared goal of building a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. A future in which every hard-working American has a fair shot at earning a college degree, getting a well-paying job and enjoying financial security in retirement. A future in which everyone has access to quality, affordable health care and every veteran and military family gets the benefits they’ve earned. A future in which we honor our heritage as a nation of immigrants and celebrate the diversity that makes our country strong. A future in which climate change no longer threatens to destroy our planet and no child goes to school fearing for his or her safety,” he said in a written statement.

He concluded, “I’m ready to get to work on behalf of everyone in our Congressional District to turn our vision for a better, safer and more prosperous America into a reality for all.” 

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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Tuesday night vehicle crash knocked a power pole and power lines down across Soda Bay Road, resulting in an extended, overnight closure.

The crash was first reported shortly before 8 p.m. in the 8700 block of Soda Bay Road, near Konocti Harbor Inn, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP said first responders arrived to find one person on scene who had gotten out of the vehicle. Additional details about possible injuries and the cause of the crash were not immediately available.

The vehicle couldn't be removed immediately because it was in the lines, the CHP said.

Pacific Gas and Electric responded to the scene to make repairs. The company did not report any power outages in effect late Tuesday.

The Lake County Public Works Department told Lake County News that the downed power pole and lines resulting from the crash closed Soda Bay Road between Riviera West Drive and Konocti Harbor.

Officials said there was no estimate as to when the road would reopen, with the road expected to be closed all night and into Wednesday.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Authorities are investigating the cause of a Friday morning apartment complex fire in Clearlake that claimed a life and displaced the remaining residents.

The fire at 3891 Country Club Drive was first reported at about 5:45 a.m., according to Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta.

Sapeta said one apartment was partially involved when firefighters arrived.

He said his agency sent a total of four engines, two medic units, one water tender and himself, with resources from Northshore Fire and Cal Fire also responding.

The fire necessitated extended road closures in the area of Lakeshore Drive and Country Club Drive while firefighters were at work, according to the Clearlake Police Department.

Sapeta said the firefighters made an aggressive offensive attack and knocked the fire down, keeping it to the unit where it originated.

However, Sapeta said one person was found dead in the apartment where the fire started.

Red Cross responded right away to assist the residents who were displaced by the fire, with the property owner also responding, Sapeta said.

All fire resources cleared the scene at around 9:30 a.m., with investigators staying on scene for a few more hours, according to Sapeta.

He said investigators are working to make final determinations on the fire's origin and cause, noting, “It wasn't suspicious in nature,” and appeared not to be accidental but rather unintentional. “So there are no criminal components to it.”

As for the identity of the fire's victim, the Lake County Sheriff's Office was still working on Monday to confirm it.

“We believe we know who it is,” said Lt. Steve Brooks, noting the man was badly burned.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday at which time the medical examiner also will work on identification, Brooks said.

Due to the damage to the apartment complex, the building was red-tagged on Monday, according to Lee Lambert, the city of Clearlake's code enforcement officer and building inspector.

The three-story complex has a unit on the bottom floor, and six units each on the top two stories. Lambert said he did not know if all of the units were occupied at the time of the fire.

Lambert said he met with the property's insurance agent at the complex on Friday, with indications being that repairs are to get under way soon.

Before the city lifts the red tag, Lambert said it will require a structural engineer to sign off on repairs to the building.

He did not have an estimated time for when the repair process would be complete. However, he said a structural engineer is scheduled to visit the complex early this week.

Friday's fire is the second apartment complex fire involving a fatality in the county this year.

An August fire in Lakeport damaged a senior apartment complex on Bevins Street and took the life of a woman, as Lake County News has reported.

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.

This story has been updated with additional details about the phone carrier and counties affected.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday residents of Lake County were startled by an ongoing series of phone test alerts that were reported to have been the result of a system malfunction.

The multiple alerts came on Monday morning through the Integrated Public Alert Warning System, or IPAWS.

Lake County News received reports from local residents who said their phones had gone off about every 10 minutes for more than two hours.

The malfunction impacted US Cellular and not other cell phone carriers such as Verizon or AT&T, according to local officials.

There also were reports in other parts of the United States about receiving the alerts over an extended period.

Sheriff Brian Martin said the issues appeared to be a computer malfunction at the Federal Emergency Management Agency which subsequently was resolved Monday afternoon.

Martin said Central Dispatch received a notification from the state Office of Emergency Services regarding the malfunction issue.

Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and other areas north to Oregon also were impacted, according to information Martin provided to Lake County News.

Earlier this year the sheriff's office joined the IPAWS system, which is used by federal, state, territorial, tribal and local authorities to issue emergency alerts and warning, as Lake County News has reported.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday, Nov. 10, The Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College will be honoring and celebrating Veterans Day.

The event will begin at noon at the campus, 15880 Dam Road Extension in Clearlake.

The public is invited to attend the event, which will include the posting of the colors of the guard and student Anthony Neves singing the national anthem.

A guest speaker who will talk about their experience and detail what it means to be a vet, and discuss the important programs and benefits available to veterans in our local area.

There are more veterans in Lake County, per capita, than any other county in California. Woodland Community College feels it is important to honor and support our veterans and does so through events such as this and others such as the veterans’ educational benefit workshop it just offered on Nov. 3.

Aromas Café, the student-run campus restaurant, will be providing food for the event. They will be serving pork adobo with lumpia for $8, tempura sushi for $5, wonton soup for $5, pork belly appetizer for $6 and a teriyaki beef bowl with wonton for $8. All veterans will get an automatic 50 percent off anything they purchase from the restaurant.

For more information please contact the college at 707-995-7900 or visit http://lcc.yccd.edu .