KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — On Sunday, Dec. 11, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 08-08 of Lake County held its annual “change of watch” for the new year at Riviera Hills Restaurant.
Officiating at the ceremony was District Captain Wayne Farnholtz.
Kevin Kealey accepted the office as flotilla commander again for 2023.
Arthur Martinez took the oath of vice-commander for 2023 and was awarded new shoulder boards indicating his new command.
Receiving the Award for Auxiliarist of the Year was Dorothy “Bunny” De Lope, public affairs officer.
Among the invited guests were Elizabeth Larson, editor and publisher of Lake County News, and guest speaker William Fox, program coordinator of Lake County Water Resources.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Auxiliary consists of over 30,000 volunteer members throughout our country who provide operational support to the USCG and are dedicated to promoting recreational boating safety.
For more information about the group, visit its website.
Dorothy De Lope is public affairs officer for Flotilla 08-08.
In looking back on fire news in California over the past year, Cal Fire is sharing six important things about 2022.
Those topics are shared below.
No. 1: Reflecting on a year of progress and resilience, California experienced an 85% reduction in acres burned and a 78% reduction in structures destroyed in 2022
While Mother Nature played a critical role, strategic investments in firefighting equipment, aerial resources, fuels reduction and forest management projects, and the tireless hard work of firefighters and local communities also came together to help 2022 experience significantly fewer acres burned than in previous years.
Watch Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler in the video discuss the year’s highlights.
No. 2: A new demonstration forest and more than 2,500 acres were added statewide, furthering momentum for important forest research, restoration, and stewardship work
California's demonstration state forests help show the world how restoration, conservation and stewardship come together to provide critical research and healthy forests during the age of climate change.
Cal Fire furthered this important work this year and thank our many partners and adjacent communities that help make it happen.
No. 3: Cal Fire law enforcement officers helped stop fires before they started through a record number of arson arrests
Through the committed work of Cal Fire law enforcement officers and diligent community members, more than 160 arson arrests were made this year following extensive investigations.
With a majority of all wildfires being human-caused in California, this year's record-setting number makes a significant impact towards combatting the potential for human-caused megafires.
Since 2016, Cal Fire law enforcement officers have arrested more than 700 suspected arsonists.
No. 4: The first night flying missions hit the sky, providing California another important tool in the firefighting toolbox
Cal Fire continues to add new technology and innovative solutions to the range of firefighting tools available to us.
One of these tools, when conditions and operations allow, is the ability to attack fires at night from the air.
In the video above, see first-hand how this works and the added capacity it provides.
No. 5: Important updates were made to California’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, now open for public comment
After years of planning and collaboration with fire scientists, firefighters, stakeholders and local community partners, the new and updated map reflects changes in fire hazard now experienced throughout California in rural or unincorporated areas.
And there are many ways to stay informed and provide public comment. Learn more at the link below.
No. 6: Millions were distributed to California communities to strengthen partnerships, shade schoolyards and neighborhoods, and prepare for and prevent wildfire
And applications are now open for 2023. Learn more about the amazing work these grants make possible and what's available for your community.
The California Highway Patrol urges everyone to ring in 2023 responsibly by designating a sober driver.
The CHP will conduct a maximum enforcement period, or MEP, starting at 6:01 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, continuing through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023.
During that time, all available CHP officers will be out on patrol with a focus on removing impaired drivers.
“Every year, people’s lives are impacted forever by making the decision to get behind the wheel while under the influence,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “Driving impaired is never worth it and certainly not the way to ring in the new year — always designate a sober driver.”
During the previous New Year’s MEP, 29 people were killed and CHP officers arrested 495 impaired drivers.
Additionally, the CHP issued over 2,300 citations for speeding and 26 citations for seat belt violations during the same time period.
To help bolster this year’s holiday traffic safety effort across state lines, the CHP will again coordinate with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and law enforcement partners from all over the Western United States.
With this year’s “Eyes on the Interstates” initiative, officers from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Montana will be teaming up with the CHP to increase awareness about driving under the influence and removing impaired drivers from the roadways.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has new dogs available to join families in the new year.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Belgian Malinois, border collie, border terrier, Chihuahua, German shepherd, hound, husky, Labrador retriever, mastiff pit bull, Schipperke, shepherd and terrier.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
‘Tyson’
“Tyson” is a handsome male husky with a red and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 20, ID No. LCAC-A-4344.
Lab-pit bull mix puppy
This female Labrador retriever-pit bull mix puppy has a short black coat with white markings.
She is in kennel No. 2, ID No. LCAC-A-4451.
Male Schipperke
This 3 and a half year old male Schipperke has a long black coat.
He is in kennel No. 3, ID No. LCAC-A-4453.
Male pit bull
This 3-year-old male pit bull has a short brown coat.
He is in kennel No. 4, ID No. LCAC-A-4428.
Female Chihuahua
This 9-month-old female Chihuahua has a short tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 6, ID No. LCAC-A-4459.
Male pit bull
This 3-year-old male pit bull has a short white coat with gray markings.
He is in kennel No. 7, ID No. LCAC-A-4425.
Female German shepherd
This 10-month-old female German shepherd has a black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 8, ID No. LCAC-A-4448.
Female Belgian Malinois
This 6-month-old female Belgian Malinois has a short black and tan coat.
She is in kennel No. 10, ID No. LCAC-A-4447.
Female terrier
This 2-year-old female terrier has a short tan and white coat.
She is in kennel No. 16, ID No. LCAC-A-4452.
Female hound
This 8-month-old female hound has a fawn coat.
She is in kennel No. 17, ID No. LCAC-A-4386.
Female pit bull terrier
This 1-year-old female pit bull terrier has a short black coat with white markings.
She is in kennel No. 19, ID No. LCAC-A-4461.
Female border terrier
This one and a half year old female border terrier has a tricolor coat.
She is in kennel No. 22, ID No. LCAC-A-4450.
Female terrier
This 7-month-old female terrier has a short brown coat.
She is in kennel No. 23, ID No. LCAC-A-4436.
Male pit bull
This 3-year-old male pit bull has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 26, ID No. LCAC-A-4445.
Female German shepherd
This 10-month-old female German shepherd has a short light-colored coat.
She is in kennel No. 28, ID No. LCAC-A-4297.
Male shepherd
This 3-year-old male shepherd has a short black and tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 31, ID No. LCAC-A-4312.
Male border collie-shepherd
This 2-year-old male border collie-shepherd has a short black coat with white markings.
He is in kennel No. 32, ID No. LCAC-A-4437.
Male American pit bull terrier
This 3-year-old male American pit bull terrier has a short brindle coat.
He is in kennel No. 34, ID No. LCAC-A-4402.
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.
Tis the season to be giving. Many older adults enjoy giving money during their lifetime to family members or donations to a religious or charitable organizations.
For example, a grandparent may make a generous holiday gift of money to a needy grandchild in college or to an adult child who is struggling in-between jobs. The magnitude of such giving is usually governed by a person’s financial resources, life circumstances, and generosity.
This natural tendency to bestow gifts, at holidays and birthdays, can grind to an abrupt halt when someone becomes incapacitated, such as when a person becomes demented.
That said, anyone who wishes to continue a pattern of gifting, or otherwise provide for possible gifts, in the event of their own future incapacity, should plan ahead by including appropriate gifting provisions in their estate planning documents.
An express gifting authority can be included in a person’s trust to allow the person’s trustee to make gifts using assets inside the trust and also included in a person’s power of attorney to allow the person’s agent to gift using assets outside of the trust. Such gifting authority must be expressly stated written authorization and cannot be implied based on a person’s past behavior.
For example, a commonly used express gifting provision in a power of attorney is, “the Agent is authorized to make gifts on the Principal's behalf to the Principal's children, any of their issue, or both, to the full extent of the federal annual gift tax exclusion … and, for such purposes, to remove the Principal's assets from any revocable trust of which the Principal is a grantor.”
The foregoing authority allows the Agent the discretion to make gifts to the principal’s descendants (e.g., children and grandchildren) up to the current annual federal gift tax exclusion amount, presently $16,000, each year, per donee. The Agent may request assets from the Principal’s trust to fulfill the gifts.
Thus, in 2022, if the principal had one child and two grandchildren, the agent may gift up to $16,000 to each and $48,000 altogether. In 2023, the annual gift tax exclusion amount is $17,000.
Gifting is not to be confused with a person’s legal duties of support to a spouse or to dependent minor child(ren). A power of attorney and a trust may, and should, also provide for meeting a person’s legal duty of support during their incapacity.
However, some people provide financial support to family members which is not legally required.
For example, a parent may pay a disabled child’s living expenses. In such cases, whether such support continues if the provider becomes incapacitated depends on whether the provider’s estate planning documents provide for continued support that is not legally required.
An agent under a power of attorney and a trustee under a trust instrument are each a fiduciary (i.e., a legal representative with duties and obligations).
Any actions, including discretionary gifts, taken by an agent or trustee must agree with their legal duty and obligations as a fiduciary.
Thus, any exercise of fiduciary discretion must be reasonable, in good faith, and consistent with any instructions provided in the instrument. Thus, an Agent, or a Trustee, ordinarily should not make imprudent or unjustified gifts that might jeopardize the financial welfare of the principal or settlor.
An important exception is when the agent or trustee is expressly authorized to gift assets away in order to qualify the principal or settlor as eligible for needs-based government welfare benefits (e.g., SSI and Medi-Cal).
There are many good reasons to give during one’s lifetime. Sometimes it may be appropriate and desirable that such gifting continues even during one’s incapacity. If so, then plan ahead. Happy Holidays.
The foregoing discussion is not legal advice. Consult an attorney.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
State Fire Marshal Michael J. Richwine has announced his retirement from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, Office of the State Fire Marshal, after a 42-year career, including 36 years with the department.
Chief Richwine was appointed State Fire Marshal by Governor Gavin Newsom on May 15, 2020, after serving as the assistant state fire marshal from 2012 to 2018.
As state fire marshal, Chief Richwine oversaw a staff of more than 220 employees.
“Among many things, one of my proudest career achievements was leading the Office of the State Fire Marshal and overhauling the California Fire Service Training and Education System — a state fire training certification and education program — including aligning it with national training standards and national and international accreditation of the firefighter program,” said Chief Richwine. “Through this important work, we continue to find ways to innovate, set the bar high and prepare the next generation of fire professionals in California.”
Chief Richwine's total 42-year fire service career began with the Hanford Fire Department. He has since risen through the ranks and held a variety of fire prevention and training positions within the Office of the State Fire Marshal, including, fire service training specialist, deputy state fire marshal within fire and life safety, Hazardous Materials and Pipeline Safety Divisions, chief of state fire training, and chief of the Fire Engineering Division.
Chief Richwine also served as a member on Cal Fire’s Incident Management Teams for six years and holds numerous professional certifications.
“My hope for the future is that the Office of the State Fire Marshal continues its tradition of working collaboratively with its many partners and continues to communicate effectively. That is what I have preached on a regular basis — up and down and across our entire organization,” said Chief Richwine.
The mission of the State Fire Marshal is to protect life and property through the development and application of fire prevention engineering, education, and enforcement.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal supports the mission of Cal Fire by focusing on fire prevention and providing support through a wide variety of fire safety responsibilities through code development and analysis, community wildfire preparedness and mitigation, fire and life safety, fire engineering and investigations, pipeline safety and certified unified program agency, and state fire training.
During his retirement, Chief Richwine is looking forward to spending time with his wife, a retired elementary school teacher, and their children and grandchildren.
His last day with the Department will be Dec. 30.
Eleonora Troja, University of Rome Tor Vergata and Simone Dichiara, Penn State
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The big idea
A bright flash of gamma rays from the constellation Boötes that lasted nearly one minute came from a kilonova, as we described in a new paper. This finding challenges what astronomers know about some of the most powerful events in the universe.
The unusual cosmic explosion was detected by the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory on Dec. 11, 2021, as the satellite orbited Earth. When astronomers pointed other telescopes at the part of the sky where this large blast of gamma rays – named GRB211211A – came from, they saw a glow of visible and infrared light known as a kilonova. The particular wavelengths of light coming from this explosion allowed our team to identify the source of the unusual gamma-ray burst as two neutron stars colliding and merging together.
Gamma rays are the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation. In just a few seconds, a gamma-ray burst blasts out the same amount of energy that the Sun will radiate throughout its entire life. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful events in the universe, and astronomers think only two cosmic scenarios can produce gamma-ray bursts.
The most common sources are the deaths of stars 30 to 50 times more massive than the Sun. The catastrophic destruction of one these large stars is called a supernova. When they explode, the stars create black holes that consume the leftover debris. These black holes emit a jet of matter and electromagnetic radiation that moves at close to the speed of light. In moments after the black hole starts emitting this high-energy stream of matter and radiation, the jet produces a burst of gamma rays that can last for minutes.
Kilonovae are the second type of events associated with gamma-ray bursts. Kilonovae occur when a neutron star merges with another neutron star or is consumed by a black hole. Neutron stars are rather small stars – about 1.4 to 2 times the mass of the Sun, though only dozens of miles across.
When two of these tiny, dense stars merge to produce a black hole, they leave very little material behind. Compared with the long-lasting feast a black hole gets after a supernova, kilonovae leave a black hole with little more than a snack that results in a gamma-ray burst that lasts only a second or two at most.
For over 20 years, astronomers thought that kilonovae accompanied short gamma-ray bursts and supernovae accompanied long ones. So when our team started looking at the wealth of data and images collected on the minute-long burst in December 2021, we expected to see a supernova. Much to our surprise, we found a kilonova.
Why it matters
Kilonovae are cosmic factories that create heavy metals, including gold, platinum, iodine and uranium. Because they enrich the chemical composition of the universe, kilonovae are critical to providing the basic ingredients for the formation of planets and life.
GRB211211A’s long duration contradicts existing theories of how gamma-ray bursts relate to supernovae and kilonovae. This finding shows that there is still a lot astronomers like us don’t understand about these powerful and important processes and suggests that there may be other ways the universe can produce heavy metals.
What still isn’t known
The initial images and data gathered on this interesting event look like a kilonova produced from the collision of two neutron stars. But the long-lasting burst of gamma rays throws doubt on what exactly happened. It is possible that one of the players was a rare neutron star with an incredibly powerful magnetic field – called a magnetar. The burst could also have been the result of a neutron star being torn apart by its companion black hole. Or astronomers could have just witnessed a new, previously unknown type of stellar crash.
What’s next
The few exotic stellar encounters that produce gamma-ray bursts can look very similar to one another across the electromagnetic spectrum. However, the unique gravitational wave signatures they produce could be the key to solving the enigma. The gravitational wave detectors LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA did not see GRB211211A, as they were all offline for improvements. If they can catch a long-duration gamma-ray burst after they begin operating again in 2023, the combination of gravitational wave and electromagnetic data may solve the mystery of this newly discovered event.
Cameras on the Surface Water and Ocean Topography spacecraft captured the antennas for its main science instrument unfurling in orbit.
But before it can do that, the satellite would need to unfold its large mast and antenna panels (see above) after successfully deploying the solar panel arrays that power the spacecraft. The mission monitors and controls the satellite using telemetry data, but it also equipped spacecraft with four customized commercial cameras to record the action.
The solar arrays fully deployed shortly after launch, taking about 10 minutes.
The antennas successfully deployed over four days, a process that was completed on Dec. 22. The two cameras focused on the KaRIn antennas captured the mast extending out from the spacecraft and locking in place but stopped short of capturing the antennas being fully deployed (a milestone the team confirmed with telemetry data.)
Thirty-three feet apart, at either end of the mast, the two antennas belong to the groundbreaking Ka-band Radar Interferometer, or KaRIn, instrument.
Designed to capture precise measurements of the height of water in Earth’s freshwater bodies and the ocean, KaRIn will see eddies, currents, and other ocean features less than 13 miles across.
It will also collect data on lakes and reservoirs larger than 15 acres and rivers wider than 330 feet across.
KaRIn will do this by bouncing radar pulses off the surface of water on Earth and receiving the signals with both of those antennas, collecting data along a swath that’s 30 miles wide on either side of the satellite.
The data SWOT provides will help researchers and decision-makers address some of the most pressing climate questions of our time and help communities prepare for a warming world.
More about the mission
SWOT was jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales, or CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency, or CSA, and the UK Space Agency.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project.
For the flight system payload, NASA is providing the KaRIn instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations.
CNES is providing the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground operations.
CSA is providing the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA is providing the launch vehicle and the agency’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, is managing the associated launch services.
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal.
On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
However, our new satellite analysis reveals what researchers have suspected for years: Forest offsets might not actually be doing much for the climate.
You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here.
When we looked at satellite tracking of carbon levels and logging activity in California forests, we found that carbon isn’t increasing in the state’s 37 offset project sites any more than in other areas, and timber companies aren’t logging less than they did before.
The findings send a pretty grim message about efforts to control climate change, and they add to a growing list of concerns about forest offsets. Studies have already shown that projects are often overcredited at the beginning and might not last as long as expected. In this case we’re finding a bigger issue: a lack of real climate benefit over the 10 years of the program so far.
But we also see ways to fix the problem.
How forest carbon offsets work
Forest carbon offsets work like this: Trees capture carbon dioxide from the air and use it to build mass, effectively locking the carbon away in their wood for the life of the tree.
In California, landowners can receive carbon credits for keeping carbon stocks above a minimum required “baseline” level. Third-party verifiers help the landowners take inventory by manually measuring a sample of trees. So far, this process has only involved measuring carbon levels relative to baseline and has not leveraged the emerging satellite technologies that we explored.
Forest owners can then sell the carbon credits to private companies, with the idea that they have protected trees that would otherwise be cut down. These include large oil and gas companies that use offsets to meet up to 8% of their state-mandated reductions in emissions.
It’s clear that offsets are playing a large and growing role in climate policy, from the individual to the international level. In our view, they need to be backed by the best available science.
Satellites offer a more complete record than on-the-ground reports collected at offset projects. That allowed us to assess all of California since 1986.
Carbon isn’t being added to these projects faster than before the projects began or faster than in non-offset areas.
Many of the projects are owned and operated by large timber companies, which manage to meet requirements for offset credits by keeping carbon above the minimum baseline level. However, these lands have been heavily harvested and continue to be harvested.
In some regions, projects are being put on lands with lower-value tree species that aren’t at risk from logging. For example, at one large timber company in the redwood forests of northwestern California, the offset project is only 4% redwood, compared with 25% redwood on the rest of the company’s property. Instead, the offset project’s area is overgrown with tanoak, which is not marketable timber and doesn’t need to be protected from logging.
How California can fix its offset program
Our research points to a set of recommendations for California to improve its offsets protocols.
One recommendation is to begin using satellite data to monitor forests and confirm that they are indeed being managed to protect or store more carbon. For example, it could help foresters create more realistic baselines to compare offsets against. Publicly available satellite data is improving and can help make carbon offsetting more transparent and reliable.
California can also avoid putting offset projects on lands that are already being conserved. We found several projects owned by conservation groups on land that already had low harvest rates.
Additionally, California could improve its offset contract protocols to make sure landowners can’t withdraw from an offset program in the future and cut down those trees. Currently there is a penalty for doing so, but it might not be high enough. Landowners may be able to begin a project, receive a huge profit from the initial credits, cut down the trees in 20 to 30 years, pay back their credits plus penalty, and still come out ahead if inflation exceeds the liability.
Ironically, while intended to help mitigate climate change, forest offsets are also vulnerable to it – particularly in wildfire-prone California. Research suggests that California is hugely underestimating the climate risks to forest offset projects in the state.
The state protocol requires only 2% or 4% of carbon credits be set aside in an insurance pool against wildfires, even though multiple projects have been damaged by recent fires. When wildfires occur, the lost carbon can be accounted for by the insurance pool. However, the pool may soon be depleted as yearly burned area increases in a warming climate. The insurance pool must be large enough to cover the worsening droughts, wildfires and disease and beetle infestations.
Considering our findings around the challenges of forest carbon offsets, focusing on other options, such as investing in solar and electrification projects in low-income urban areas, may provide more cost-effective, reliable and just outcomes.
Without improvements to the current system, we may be underestimating our net emissions, contributing to the profits of large emitters and landowners and distracting from the real solutions of transitioning to a clean-energy economy.
Martin’s 28-year law enforcement career began in 1992 when he became a military police officer in the U.S. Army, serving in that capacity for five years. After he was honorably discharged in 1997, he joined the Pismo Beach Police Department.
He returned in 2005 to work in Lake County, where he had grown up in a family filled with public servants, including his father, Richard Martin, now retired after having been a Lake County Superior Court judge, and mother Joyce Campbell, a retired deputy district attorney for Lake County.
Martin, 51, went on to serve more than 15 years in Lake County law enforcement, including the last eight years as sheriff.
Earlier this month Martin received a resolution that Congressman Mike Thompson read into the congressional record honoring him for his contributions to Lake County and his leadership during several disasters that hit the county, including fires, floods and COVID-19.
The Board of Supervisors on Dec. 13 presented a proclamation to Martin, published below, in praise of his career and services to Lake County.
On Friday at 2:14 p.m., Martin had his last “10-10” call — indicating that he was off duty — from Central Dispatch. The call is posted on this page.
From Saturday through Monday, Capt. Chris Chwialkowski will be acting sheriff.
Then, on Jan. 2, Rob Howe will be sworn in as sheriff of Lake County, a role he will fill for the next two years.
The full text of the Board of Supervisors’ proclamation honoring Martin is below.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF LAKE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PROCLAMATION COMMENDING SHERIFF-CORONER BRIAN MARTIN FOR HIS 15 YEARS OF SERVICE TO LAKE COUNTY
WHEREAS, being a dedicated Lake County public servant came naturally to Brian Martin, as he was surrounded by examples of public service: his father, the Honorable Judge Richard Martin, his mother, retired Deputy District Attorney for Lake County. His parents’ invaluable contributions to the County of Lake have set a high bar for both Brian and other community leaders. The values his parents instilled in him have been evident to everyone who has worked with Brian throughout his impressive career. Prior to starting his law enforcement career, Brian Martin joined the Army as a Military Police and served his country with honor for five years; and
WHEREAS, starting with his employment with Lake County on July 18, 2005, Brian Martin has always been respected and well-liked by his colleagues in local law enforcement, all the way back to his early days working for the Sheriff’s Department. He worked his way up to become a member of the Department’s Command Staff with the rank of Lieutenant and was eventually elected as the Sheriff-Coroner of Lake County and started in that position on January 6, 2015; and
WHEREAS, regardless of his rank or position, Brian Martin always demonstrated himself to be a dedicated public servant, reliable, hard-working and with the highest level of integrity and ethics. He is known as being fair and even-handed. He is also known for speaking up and speaking out with honesty and sincerity on behalf of the Lake County residents he serves; and
WHEREAS, Brian Martin’s election as Sheriff-Coroner brought ethical leadership, stability, and public trust to the Sheriff’s Department at a critical time when it was urgently needed. His skills as a leader were invaluable to the County during a series of catastrophic wildfires and other emergencies that occurred during his tenure as Sheriff-Coroner. Like his parents before him, Brian Martin has set a high bar of what to expect from our County Sheriff-Coroner. Brian and his spouse, Crystal, both are public servants serving their communities and instilling in their children and their communities the value of public service.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Lake does hereby commend Brian Martin for his 15 years of service to the County of Lake and to the residents of Lake County, and extends our appreciation for his dedication and hard work, and wish him the best in the future.
SIGNED: Eddie Crandell, Chair, Board of Supervisors
ATTEST: Susan Parker, Clerk to the Board of Supervisors
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. — Three years after Lakeport’s Kmart closed, the building that once housed the retail giant is poised to get new life and new tenants.
At its last meeting of 2022 on Dec. 14, the Lakeport Planning Commission approved Upward Architects’ application for a use permit and an architectural and design review for a new commercial project at the building, located at 2019 S. Main St.
The commission’s approval will allow Upward Architects to renovate and subdivide the 90,852-square-foot building into three lease spaces, two of which will be occupied by Marshalls and Tractor Supply Co.
Upward Architects, a Tempe, Arizona-based commercial architecture firm, submitted the project’s land use application in September.
The owner of the 8.59-acre property is Ken Simons of Simons Real Estate Group Inc. in Moorpark, California, the land use application showed.
During the Dec. 14 meeting, City Manager Kevin Ingram noted that for the city, the project is “the biggest thing we’ve got going.”
Kmart closed the store at the end of 2019 after operating it there since the early 1990s and despite the fact that it was reported to be one of the struggling company’s top 25 performing stores in the country.
The store had been a major sales tax generator for the city of Lakeport. Since its closure the city has worked to fill the void.
The city has been helped by The Retail Coach, a company it had hired in July 2019 to help recruit retailers, before word of the Kmart closure became public.
At the Nov. 1 Lakeport City Council meeting, during which the council extended the contract with The Retail Coach, it received an update on the company’s efforts, which included a report on plans for the former Kmart building.
Austin Farmer of The Retail Coach told the council at that meeting that they had received two letters of intent from retailers for the redevelopment of the Kmart property.
Farmer didn’t identify the two retailers at that point, but at the Planning Commission meeting and in the application from Upward Architects, it was confirmed that Marshalls and Tractor Supply Co. are the retailers.
Marshalls is a department store which has offerings including clothing, shoes, cosmetics, accessories, gifts and home décor.
Tractor Supply Co. offers equipment, tools, food for pets and livestock, and housewares. This will be Lake County’s second Tractor Supply.
The other is located in Clearlake in the Walmart shopping center on Dam Road, in a building that formerly was the location for Ray’s Food Place, which closed in late 2016. That building was renovated and now, in addition to Tractor Supply, it houses Big 5 and a new Department of Motor Vehicles office.
Commission gets report on project, votes to support it
During the Planning Commission’s half-hour meeting on Dec. 14, Chairman Mark Mitchell recused himself from the discussion and the vote because he is involved in the project.
City Associate Planner Victor Fernandez explained that the project application calls for Tractor Supply Co. to occupy the southern portion of the building, which consists of 30,981 square feet.
In addition to the indoor section of the building, Tractor Supply also will have outdoor sales of large equipment and outdoor sidewalk sales.
The project includes expansion of the 21,977-square-foot outdoor fenced area — which had been Kmart’s outdoor garden section — for Tractor Supply’s use.
The plans also call for increasing the building’s height from 29 feet to 32 feet. Fernandez said the maximum height within the city’s C-2 commercial zoning is 35 feet.
Fernandez said it’s anticipated that Marshalls will occupy the northern portion of the building, which is about 24,000 square feet.
The 36,005 square foot middle section of the building will be for a future tenant which is unknown at this time, Fernandez said.
Lakeport planning staff analyzed the project and determined that it’s compliant with the city’s general plan and that it’s exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, under a section which allows improvements to existing facilities, Fernandez said.
The staff report noted that the existing site layout would remain “mostly unchanged” except for the expansion of Tractor Supply’s fenced outdoor area and some minor parking space modifications to allow for semi truck access.
Fernandez said the project’s site plan will eliminate a small amount of parking due to those modifications.
However, he reviewed the parking requirements under the city’s most restrictive guidelines that require one space for 250 square feet of building space.
That would equal 364 parking spaces for the entire project and the three leased spaces. Even with the loss of some parking spaces, Fernandez said the project would have more than enough parking, with 471 total parking stalls.
During public comment, Rick Sander, an architect with Upward Architects and senior project manager, said the only “asterisk” on the project as proposed is that there are unknowns about the middle section of the store that doesn’t yet have a tenant.
Sander said it’s possible that center space could be divided, but it’s only a discussion at this point and it’s unknown as to what stores might go in there. Once they know, they will return to talk to the city.
Fernandez said such a modification to divide the building’s center section would consist of interior remodeling and wouldn’t increase square footage so the city would be able to do that modification to the plan with a building permit application.
If the exterior facade changed, Fernandez said the plan might need to go through a modification, adding it would be a “fairly standard” process.
The commission unanimously passed three separate motions for a categorical exemption to CEQA, approval of architectural and design review and the use permit.
Sander asked about next steps, and Fernandez said he would contact him the following morning regarding the approval letter and the project conditions agreement.
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. — In its last meeting of the year, the Board of Supervisors voted to give its members a 40% hike that will go into effect in March if not challenged by referendum.
The raise amounts to an annual increase to the supervisors’ base salaries of more than $25,500, or an additional $2,100 a month.
The board had previously discussed the proposal in November and had voted to bring it back, at the latest, by Jan. 23.
However, it came before Christmas, on Dec. 20.
Earlier in the meeting, in a 3-2 vote, the board denied a request by the Behavioral Health Services Department to offer an advanced step request for a highly qualified senior substance abuse counselor candidate in a difficult-to-fill position, a matter raised during the board raise discussion. Human Resources staff raised questions about equity and process.
The ordinance that implements the supervisorial pay raise will require a second reading, expected to take place on Jan. 10, the board’s first meeting of 2023.
The ordinance the board approved ties supervisors’ raises to the salaries of Superior Court judges, a move that county staff favored instead of tying the raises to 60% of elected department head salaries as it was meant to “mitigate the appearance of a conflict of your Board approving raises for themselves,” according to County Administrative Officer Susan Parker’s written report in the November discussion.
However, county officials and board members have had to admit that they are still involved with setting their own salaries by taking action to set it in one way or another.
Going forward, board members will now get 38.6% of Superior Court judges salaries, which change on an annual basis — and sometimes more often due to salary adjustments — through a state calculation process.
The board’s packet contained a memo to the board with typos in the proposed amounts — stating that it would be 28%, not 38%, of Superior Court judges’ salaries as had been discussed in November — mistakes which were repeated in the draft ordinance.
Despite those errors, acknowledged by Parker, the board did not hold the matter over in order to give the public a chance to comment on the corrections made to the ordinance. A corrected version of the ordinance was later posted on the county’s website but Parker’s report was not updated and the typos remained in place afterward.
Changes to Superior Court judges’ salaries
When Parker first presented the proposal for that raise to the board at the start of November, she suggested giving the board 38.6% of the salaries of Superior Court judges, which as of July 1 totaled $229,125 annually.
The numbers she shared in November proposed a scenario that raised the annual pay for a supervisor from a base pay of $63,714 — with an additional $2,400 for the chair — to $88,483.20 annually, a 38.8%-percent increase from the current salary level, with the chair to receive an additional 5%, or $4,472.
However, since then, Superior Court judges have received a pay increase.
A Dec. 1 letter from the California Department of Human Resources, which the Judicial Council of California provided to Lake County News, stated that judicial salaries have been adjusted back to July 1 due to bargaining units receiving increases.
That adjustment raises the new annual salary for Superior Court judges by almost $2,000 dollars per year, from $229,125 to $231,174.
That means that the supervisors’ new salary will not be $88,483.20, as Parker had originally reported, but $89,233.16.
Moving from a base salary of $63,714 to $89,233.16 annually is a 40% jump for the supervisors.
The California Department of Human Resources told Lake County News that the calculation for Superior Court judges’ salaries is completed on a fiscal year basis and has not been finalized yet for 2023-24.
“Since the calculations are based on the average percentage salary increase for each fiscal year, we typically need to wait for collective bargaining to conclude to determine the applicable percentage for that fiscal year,” the agency said in a statement to Lake County News.
Supervisorial raises the latest result of class and comp study
The County Administrative Office presented the salary increase for the board in the context of its 2019 classification and compensation study.
In the fall of 2020 and 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, the board approved $21 million in raises based on that study, but had so far held off on raising its own member salaries.
The classification and compensation study showed that the Board of Supervisors’ salaries actually were 1.6% above the “base salary median” when compared to 12 other counties.
However, when asked by Lake County News about that on Dec. 20, administrative staff dismissed that comparison, saying it wasn’t “apples to apples” with other boards and that some of those other boards only showed up for meetings, unlike, they said, the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
The ordinance the board approved also states Lake County’s supervisors are now “full time.”
County staff said that they had held the matter over to make sure that funding was available.
Assistant County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter said the first payments of property tax had come through, and staff believed revenue was strong enough to support the raises.
The staff report explained, “The fiscal year 2022-23 currently has secured property taxes revenue budgeted to be $18,446,080 which means during the midyear budget staff will be requesting to increase the revenue projected by $342,170.23 that would cover the proposed increase of $165,847 for the BOS.”
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he was all for moving forward but he cautioned the board about the action.
He wanted to tie board salaries to 60% of elected department heads’ pay, which Parker said had been the formula before the county’s implementation of the classification and compensation study.
By the numbers, the difference between the two proposals for determining board salaries would have been minor. If using the 60% of elected department heads salary calculation, it would have amounted to a 37% raise, increasing board salaries to $87,573.60.
However, Sabatier believed that option would have insulated the board from criticism. He said he was concerned about what county staff would say when supervisors get raises at times when staffers don’t because of the more changeable judicial salary basis. He raised that issue in the context of the board talking a lot about staff morale.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska responded by saying the board had discussed the pay raise several times and neither way is perfect.
Michael Green, the board’s newest member, touched on public perception and said the county has stretched the limits of the classification and compensation study.
He pointed to the board’s action to deny Behavioral Health’s request to give Denise Newman a step five placement as a substance abuse counselor, because the lower step the county was offering was more than a dollar an hour less than she’s making. The request was turned down despite the fact that staff said she would be able to bill at a rate that would cover her pay.
Green had noted during the discussion about Newman’s proposed hire that he would take a hit to the integrity of the classification and compensation study due to the need for the position and her qualifications — which included more than 20 years of experience, which staff said was more than five times the minimum qualifications as outlined in the job description.
Human Resources Director Pam Samac told the board that county staff is planning to begin new discussions about classifications in January.
The board voted 3-2 to deny the step request — Moke Simon, Pyska and Sabatier voting yes, and Green and Board Chair EJ Crandell voting no.
During the board raise discussion, Green said being a supervisor is definitely a step up in responsibility and scope of work and tying it to the judges’ salaries makes sense, as he said the board is not going to get out of the controversy.
He would offer both motions needed to approve the action, including waiving the reading of the corrected ordinance and reading it in title only, which was approved 4-1, with Sabatier voting no, and advancing the corrected ordinance for the second reading at the Jan. 10 meeting, which the board approved 5-0.
County Counsel Anita Grant said the ordinance will not go into effect until 60 days after its anticipated second passage on Jan. 10, putting its implementation date at around March 10.
While most county ordinances go into effect 30 days after passage, certain ordinances — including those involving supervisorial pay — have a 60-day period after final passage before becoming effective.
That is, if they are not challenged by a referendum.
Before the ordinance goes into effect in March, county residents who oppose the raise could stop it by submitting qualified signatures totaling 10% of the entire votes cast in Lake County for all candidates in the last gubernatorial election, which was in November.
In Lake County, votes for governor in November totaled 20,131 votes, according to the final election results provided by the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office. That means, 2,013 verified signatures would be required for a referendum effort to succeed.
The last successful referendum in the unincorporated county was in 2014 in response to a marijuana cultivation ordinance passed by the board.
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.