The District Attorney's Office dropped the drug-related charges against Michael Tremell Mitchell, 26, and explained the reasons in a Monday court appearance during which Mitchell was sentenced for no contest pleas he previously had offered in another case.

District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News that he dropped the charges against Mitchell because of concerns that he had been interrogated by Sheriff Frank Rivero without benefit of counsel.

In an e-mail to Lake County News late Wednesday evening, Rivero denied the allegations that he personally interviewed Mitchell or violated his constitutional rights.

Mitchell had been arrested on drug charges by Clearlake Police on May 12, as Lake County News has reported.

One week later, while he was out on bail, Mitchell was taken into custody in Clearlake by members of the Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force, who then took him to his house, where Mitchell's girlfriend was told to take their baby and leave.

The girlfriend subsequently called Clearlake Police to report a hostage situation, with Clearlake Police responding and arriving at the scene with weapons drawn and aimed at a deputy visible through the home's windows. Before the situation escalated further, the deputies identified themselves to police.

Mitchell's attorney, Jeremy West, said Mitchell – who was released on bail again after the May 19 arrest – was remanded back into custody on June 3 after being arraigned on the charges stemming from the undercover operation.

It was while he was back in jail, about a month after Mitchell's arrest, that “huge problems” arose in the case, according to Anderson.

Both Anderson and West said that Rivero personally had Mitchell removed from his cell for an interrogation, an event witnessed by other individuals in the jail pod at that time.

The interrogation took place without West's permission or knowledge, a situation which West called “highly unusual,” and which hasn't happened to him before.

“Mr. Mitchell has the right to have counsel present once counsel is appointed,” which West said already had happened by the time of the interrogation.

West said he only found out about the situation afterwards, when Mitchell told him.

According to Anderson, during the interrogation Rivero allegedly discussed the case with Mitchell and asked him about bail arrangements, which Mitchell had made through Rob Brown, who also is a county supervisor.

Rivero had made a series of public comments not long after Mitchell's arrest criticizing Brown for acting in his bail bondsman capacity and bailing Mitchell out of jail, and further alleging wrongdoing and conflicts of interest on Brown's part.

Brown replied that Rivero's allegations are false, that he is complying with ethical and professional standards both of the bail bonds business and in accordance with his role as a county supervisor.

West said that during his interrogation of Mitchell, Rivero reportedly made derogatory comments about Brown.

West said the May 19 operation that led to Mitchell's arrest was “pretty embarrassing” for the county and law enforcement, and he believed the issues surrounding the incident ultimately played into the sheriff's decision to interrogate his client.

Anderson said Rivero's interrogation of Mitchell resulted in violations of Mitchell's Fifth and 14^th Amendment rights under the US Constitution. In the case of the Fifth Amendment, it protects suspects from self-incrimination, while the 14^th Amendment guarantees defendants' “due process of law.”

Because Mitchell discussed issues associated with his case with Rivero, Anderson said it raised legal issues about what evidence could be presented. The interrogation itself also could have been presented in court.

Ultimately, he said the issues the interrogation raised led him to conclude he couldn't move forward with the prosecution.

“Legally I could have, but morally I can't,” he said, explaining his decision to dismiss the charges from the May 19 arrest.

West agreed that the interrogation created “a major issue” in the case.

When Mitchell appeared in court on Monday before retired Lake County Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann, West said he entered no contest pleas to two charges in two separate cases – possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, arising from a previous misdemeanor conviction, and no contest to possession of methamphetamine.

Mann sentenced Mitchell to 210 days in jail, with credit for time he's already served. West said Mitchell should be out of jail in a few weeks.

In an e-mail message to Lake County News that he asked be printed “unedited in its entirety,” Rivero said the following:

“If in fact the narcotics sales case against Mr. Mitchell has been dropped by the District Attorney and the 'DA and defense attorney' in this case said that it was because I, 'personally took Mr. Mitchell from his cell and interrogated him without the benefit of counsel, violating his Fifth and 14th Amendment rights under the US Constitution,' that information is false and they are both sadly misinformed. Mr. Mitchell was arrested by Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force Detectives for selling one ounce of high grade methamphetamine at the Yuba College Clearlake Campus. That hand to hand sale of methamphetamine transaction was arranged and witnessed by narcotics detectives. Detectives interrupted the transaction in progress and Mr. Mitchell was immediately taken into custody. No further inquiry or investigation into the case was needed or done by me. As an aside, Mr. Mitchell had recently been released on bail after a Clearlake Police arrest alleging a litany of serious felonies when he committed the new offense referenced here.

“Neither the DA's Office or Mr. Mitchell's defense attorney have contacted me to discuss the dropping of the charges,” Rivero continued. “I am of the opinion that Mr. Mitchell should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for selling a substantial quantity of methamphetamine at the Yuba College Clearlake Campus. Dropping the methamphetamine sales charge against Mr. Mitchell is a gross miscarriage of justice and a grave disservice to the People of Lake County. It will likely serve to embolden criminals and exacerbate the methamphetamine problem in Lake County. Nonetheless, my Narcotics Task Force will not waver in its mission to eradicate illicit drugs from Lake County.”

Brown, who Lake County News also asked for comment, sent the following message.

“I am troubled by the fact that the sheriff would compromise the validity of any criminal case just to cover his backside with regard to libelous statements that were made against a private business,” Brown wrote in an email. “It is unfortunate that someone's constitutional rights could have potentially been violated for reasons that were personally driven and had absolutely no bearing on the criminal case whatsoever. However, in all fairness to Frank Rivero, we all make mistakes … I just hope that he has learned from this.”

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Jaime Diaz Rivera and Sergio Ulises Alvarez Diaz of Michoacan, Mexico, were arrested on Sunday, September 18, 2011, in Kelseyville, Calif. Lake County Jail photos.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Sunday morning incident altercation led to the arrest of two men, the discovery of hundreds of pounds of processed marijuana and more than 2,000 marijuana plants.

Jaime Diaz Rivera, 32, and Sergio Ulises Alvarez Diaz, 26, both of Michoacan, Mexico, were arrested on Sunday, Sept. 18, according to a Tuesday Lake County Sheriff's Office report.

Just before 6 a.m. Sunday the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was called out to the area between Chippewa Trail and Yakima Drive in Kelseyville, with the initial caller reporting an altercation in the vicinity and possible mention of a firearm, the report explained.

Sheriff’s deputies intercepted Rivera and Diaz, who officials said were leaving the immediate area on Mojave Trail.

The Sheriff’s K-9 began searching for a third person who had been seen at the residence, and while conducting the search the K-9 alerted to marijuana, according to the report.

By 9:30 a.m. narcotics detectives had secured a search warrant for the residence. The report said that in the residence and garage detectives found 468 pounds of processed marijuana, and on and near the property they discovered 2,077 marijuana plants.

Diaz was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and an immigration violation, while Rivera was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, immigration violation and an outside warrant of arrest, officials reported.

The two men were transported to the Hill Road Correctional Facility, where both men are being held on no-bail immigration holds, according to jail records.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

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The live auction will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1. Community members can sign up to bid from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., with the auction starting at 10 a.m. Board member Joyce Overton said the auction is expected to last all day.

The items can be previewed from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the Clearlake Youth Center, 14750 Golf Ave., next to Redbud Park.

Overton said the items to be auctioned include commercial kitchen equipment, household refrigerators and freezers; office equipment, including computers, chairs, desks, office supplies and a telephone system; and other household items such as bunk beds, living room furniture and monitor heaters.

The items up for auction come from the nonprofit's TLC House in Lower Lake, its New Beginnings program and the main office that was located behind Foods Etc. on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, Overton said.

Overton said the auction is the board's last step in shuttering the nonprofit, which closed its doors in February after the 10-member board of directors concluded that its financial challenges – from unpaid federal payroll tax to back rent and unpaid vendors – made it impossible to continue, as Lake County News has reported.

Shortly thereafter the agency's employees were put on furlough before being laid off, Overton said.

All of the proceeds from the Oct. 1 auction will go to the IRS, said Overton. “We don't have any choice.”

Earlier this year the agency board had estimated that it had about $100,000 in unpaid payroll taxes. Neither Overton nor Board President Tom Jordan in a recent interview could offer a more specific figure. But on Monday Overton pointed out that penalties and fines makes that number grow each day.

Overton said she's worked with the IRS to try to settle the nonprofit's taxes. She said they've answered every question and offered a lot of support and help, but there is only so much that can be done.

She said the IRS told the board that they did the right thing by closing the nonprofit's services immediately in February once board members found out the agency's dire financial picture.

The IRS is in the process of taking possession of a building on Palmer Avenue that the agency owned and which offered temporary shelter for the homeless, Overton said.

All of Lake County Community Action Agency's services have been handed off to other entities, according to both Jordan and Overton.

Overton said Hilltop Recovery opened a recovery house in Lucerne, North Coast Opportunities took over the action agency duties, Redwood Empire Food Bank is assisting with providing food – as is the county Social Services Department – and Catholic Charities is working to expand its already considerable offerings to help cover the additional food and housing needs.

Closing the programs “just about killed me,” said Overton. “I was very angry and mad, and I felt so bad for all of those people we displaced.”

Overton said that the board is getting close to finally disbanding, once the auction is completed.

“I have no idea what it will bring,” she said of the auction.

All sales at the Oct. 1 auction are final. Sales up to $1,000 will be cash only; checks only will be accepted if they have been preapproved at the preview on Sept. 30.

For more information about the live auction, contact Gary at 707-478-3968.

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Salvador Junior Mosqueda, 20, of Stockton, Calif., was arrested on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, on charges of cultivation of marijuana and grand theft after he and a friend allegedly attempted to steal from a pot grow near Middletown, Calif. Mosqueda's friend died in a fall during the attempt. Lake County Jail photo.

SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday offered additional details on a Monday incident in which a man died while allegedly participating in a botched attempt to steal marijuana from a grow site.

The man – who apparently died of injuries sustained in a fall into a ravine in a wooded area between Lower Lake and Middletown – has not yet been released due to family not having been notified, officials said. The victim's exact cause of death also is pending further investigation.

On Monday, Sept. 19, at approximately 9:50 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Big Canyon and Ettawa Springs roads on a report that a man had fallen into a ravine and had possibly died, the report said.

Local residents had reportedly heard someone screaming for help somewhere in the woods and had located a man who told them his friend had fallen into a ravine somewhere in the surrounding hills, officials reported.

The report said deputies identified the man who emerged from the woods as 20-year-old Salvador Junior Mosqueda of Stockton.

After providing several conflicting accounts of what had happened, Mosqueda eventually told deputies that he and a friend had come to the area to steal marijuana from one of several grow sites, located approximately one-quarter mile off of Big Canyon Road, according to the sheriff's office.

Mosqueda told deputies that he and the other man were in the process of taking marijuana from the grow site when they heard people approaching in an ATV, the report explained.

After hiding for a brief time, Mosqueda and his friend took off running, and as they ran straight downhill from the area, his friend fell into a ravine. Mosqueda told deputies that he could not locate his friend due to darkness and he could only hear him moaning in pain so he continued to make his way out of the woods and began yelling for help as he approached Big Canyon Road.

Additional resources, including Search and Rescue volunteers and sheriff’s detectives, were called out to investigate the incident and attempt to locate the injured man, the sheriff's office said.

As morning approached, members of the Sheriff’s SWAT team were called in to make a tactical entry into the area and a CHP helicopter was requested to respond. The sheriff's office said marijuana suppression teams and a CAMP helicopter already scheduled for eradication operations elsewhere were diverted to the area as well.

At daybreak, Mosqueda led SWAT team members into the rugged area from which he and his friend had fled. The sheriff's report said SWAT team members located several marijuana gardens posted as alleged medical grows as they searched for the missing injured man.

When they reached the grow site Mosqueda and his accomplice had been raiding, deputies recovered several garbage bags full of plants, which the two men had abandoned as they fled, the report stated.

At approximately 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, SWAT team members located the missing man in a rock bed at the bottom of a deep ravine. The sheriff's office said that the fall victim, a Hispanic male in his 30s, had sustained serious trauma to the head and face from an apparent fall and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A CAMP helicopter was called in to air-lift the victim from the accident scene, officials reported. The body was transported to another location, where it was then removed by mortuary personnel.

Mosqueda was arrested and transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility where he was booked for cultivation of marijuana and grand theft, with bail set at $10,000.

Mosqueda remained in custody on Wednesday evening, according to jail records.

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Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said Monday that the District Attorney's Office reviewed 67-year-old James Mitchell's shooting of Kevin Quinn, 51, on July 3 in Clearlake for potential charges and prosecution.

Hinchcliff said that following a thorough and extensive investigation by the Clearlake Police Department, the case was forwarded to him to determine whether or not charges were warranted in the case, which technically is a homicide.

He concluded, based on the investigation and evidence, that charges should not be filed against Mitchell.

“Mitchell was clearly in legitimate fear for his safety and clearly believed he would suffer death or serious bodily harm if he did not shoot victim,” Hinchcliff wrote in his case assessment. “Suspect was clearly acting in self defense and used reasonable force under the circumstances in defending himself.”

Early on the morning of July 3 Quinn drove his pickup into the front of Mitchell's residence at 14200 Olympic Drive in Clearlake, police reported.

When Quinn got out of the pickup to confront Mitchell, Mitchell – armed with a .22 caliber pistol – shot Quinn five times, once with bird shot and four times with regular .22 rounds, based on the investigative report.

Even after being shot, Quinn continued to chase Mitchell, tackling him and causing him to suffer facial injuries, the police report showed.

Quinn died a short time later, before he could be transported to the hospital, according to the original Clearlake Police report.

The investigation found that Quinn had mental health issues, a history of violent behavior and had threatened to harm Mitchell before the July 3 incident.

Hinchcliff's full explanation and narrative of the case is printed below.

OFFICE OF THE LAKE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

REJECTION FORM

Explanation:

According to investigation reports, the shooting victim, Kevin Quinn, intentionally drove his vehicle into suspect James Mitchell's residence at approximately 1:50 a.m. on 7/3/11.

A witness observed Quinn beating on the side of Mitchell's residence, cursing and yelling. The witness then heard glass breaking. The witness then observed Quinn get into his truck, back the truck up, and proceed to accelerate and drive through the side of Mitchell's residence.

The truck ended up inside Mitchell's residence approximately 6 feet from where Mitchell was lying in bed asleep. Mitchell exited his bedroom and Quinn began making threats to kill Mitchell. Mitchell armed himself with a .22 caliber magnum pistol that he kept in his bedroom. Quinn got out of the vehicle and aggressively proceeded toward Mitchell inside Mitchell's residence, and was shot with one round of bird shot. Quinn subsequently continued to pursue Mitchell inside Mitchell's residence as Mitchell attempted to call the police and attempted to leave the residence. Victim prevented suspect from calling the police or escaping. Mitchell fired a total of 6 shots at Quinn and struck Quinn with one round of bird shot at extremely close range and 4 regular rounds of .22 magnum ammunition. Quinn continued to pursue Mitchell after being shot and at one point actually caught Mitchell and tackled him, causing Mitchell to sustain facial injuries.

There was a significant age and size difference between Mitchell and Quinn, Mitchell being 67 years old and weighing 195 pounds, and Quinn being 51 years old and weighing 235 pounds. Quinn had a prior history of violence and suspect was aware of victim's history of violence at the time of the shooting. Quinn also had mental health issues according to witnesses that Mitchell was aware of at the time of the shooting.

Investigation revealed Quinn had a history of mental health issues and had threatened to harm Mitchell prior to the shooting.

Mitchell was clearly in legitimate fear for his safety and clearly believed he would suffer death or serious bodily harm if he did not shoot victim. Suspect was clearly acting in self defense and used reasonable force under the circumstances in defending himself.

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The Mendocino College Lake Center's official groundbreaking ceremony will take place beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, October 20, 2011, at the 31-acre campus, located at 2565 Parallel Drive, Lakeport, Calif. Rendering courtesy of Mendocino College.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A groundbreaking ceremony for Mendocino College's new Lake Center campus will be held next month.

The newly formed Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, an affiliate organization of the Mendocino College Foundation, has partnered with Mendocino College to host the groundbreaking ceremony beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport.

The project is made possible by the passage of Measure W, a local bond measure which was passed in 2006 by the voters in Lake and Mendocino counties.

Construction costs are estimated at approximately $10 million.

The Mendocino College Board of Trustees recently approved Wright Contracting of Santa Rosa as the low bidder for construction of the new Lake Center, which will be located on 31 acres along Parallel Drive in Lakeport, approximately one mile south of the current college center.

College staff, representatives of Wright Contracting and TLCD Architecture will be on hand at the ceremony and the public is invited to attend and hear more about this long-awaited project.

“Construction will begin immediately so we can take advantage of any remaining good weather,” said Lake Center Dean Mark Rawitsch.

Phase one plans call for buildings totaling approximately 15,000 square feet, which will include a central administrative building housing admissions, counseling, learning resources, meeting and gathering spaces, and a classroom configured to allow for community activities.

Two other buildings included are the general classroom complex with five classrooms and a computer lab. Another classroom building will include teaching laboratories for science, music and art.

All spaces are focused around a central student plaza area which takes advantage of the natural features of the site with views of the oak grove, adjacent hills and Mt. Konocti.

Easy accessibility to the new site is from both the Lakeport Boulevard off-ramp to the north and the intersection at Highway 175 to the south.

This first phase is expected to be completed by December of 2012.

Kelseyville resident Mike Adams, the college's director of facilities planning, also directs the Measure W bond projects. He had high praise for Wright Contracting.

“They have been in business for 57 years, have an outstanding reputation and have completed five other projects for Mendocino College,” said Adams.

The company's other projects include the Vocational/Technical and Physical Education buildings, Gymnasium, Athletic Field and the Visual and Performing Arts Center, all on the Ukiah Campus.

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Close to 23,000 nurses are expected to take part in the one-day strike, which the association said is targeting registered nurses' rights to speak out for patients as well as proposed cuts in health care and retiree coverage for nurses and other hospital workers.

Hospitals operating under Sutter and Kaiser Permanente, and Children's Hospital & Research Center of Oakland will take part. In addition to Sutter Lakeside, North Coast hospitals to be affected include Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa.

CNA spokesman Charles Idelson said the strike will take place from 7 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, to 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 23.

Steve Kostove, a registered nurse who worked at the hospital for 19 years and has been a part of the CNA negotiating team, said the strike will take place in front of the hospital on Hill Road East.

Sutter Lakeside spokesperson Angie Lagle said that the hospital will have replacement nurses to cover the strike.

She said because Lake County is remote and there are 33 other hospitals striking, the the company providing the replacement nurses is requiring an eight-day contract.

As such, the nurses at Sutter Lakeside who go out on strike will have to take seven additional days of unpaid leave, Lagle said.

Both Idelson and Kostove called that a punitive lockout.

“We have been at loggerheads with Sutter for a number of years due to the abusive way they have treated communities in Northern and Central California,” said Idelson, accusing Sutter of being a Wall Street organization masquerading as a nonprofit that is limiting access to medically underserved patients.

He also accused Sutter of retaliating against nurses for speaking out against patient health care cuts.

Kostove believes he's a victim of that retaliation. He was suddenly terminated on Aug. 29, but is fighting the firing, which he believes arose from his pro-union activities. Kostove added that he's continuing his work in negotiations and will take part in the strike.

Kostove said all of the hospital's 125 nurses are represented by CNA, and at a Sept. 6 union meeting attended by 46 nurses, they voted unanimously to call for a strike.

A strike is no small matter for nurses, according to Kostove, who called strikes “incredibly emotionally gut wrenching” for everyone who takes part.

The nurses union said Sutter is trying to eliminate paid sick leave for registered nurses, slashing their health care coverage, vacations, holiday pay and education leave, reducing maternity leave, eliminating or reducing retiree health benefits.

Sutter Lakeside also is proposing to close home health services and limit acute-care hospital stays, the CNA said.

Sutter responded by stating that registered nurses who work at Sutter affiliate hospitals with CNA contracts earn an average of $136,000 annually.

Lagle said the Lakeport hospital only began negotiating with CNA in July, and so is later in the negotiations process than some of the Bay Area hospitals.

“We attempted to start bargaining back in February of last year,” she said, but the union wouldn't sit down with them until July.

The hospital's contract with CNA now is expired, she said. “We were really hoping to wrap it up before it went that far,” she said, adding that the contracts usually run for four years.

She said Sutter Lakeside has offered the union several proposals, including contract changes, which have been rejected, but the union hasn't yet made concrete counter offers in writing.

Kostove said Sutter Lakeside's proposals include changing the number of hours per diem nurses must work per pay period to qualify for health insurance form 40 to 64 hours. He said 25 nurses would automatically lose health benefits.

In addition, he said the hospital is proposing to cut shift pay differential by 50 percent.

He said the last negotiating session was held on Monday, at which time 32 CNA members showed up. Based on other negotiations, that's a lot of people to show up to such a session, he said.

Kostove said morale at the hospital has never been lower, and he believes the change has come about in the past year and a half due to the new administration.

As to how long the negotiations will continue, Lagle said it's anyone's guess.

The full list of hospitals that will be affected by the strike follows.

Sutter:

Alta Bates Main Campus, 2450 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705

Alta Bates Herrick Campus, 2001 Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Alta Bates Summit Campus, 350 Hawthorne Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609

Eden Medical Center, 20103 Lake Chabot Rd, Castro Valley, CA 94546

San Leandro Hospital, 13855 E. 14th Str, San Leandro, CA 94578

Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, 1501 Trousdale Drive , Burlingame, CA 94010

Mills Health Center, 100 S. San Mateo Drive, San Mateo, CA 94401

Novato Community Hospital, 180 Rowland Way, Novato, CA 94945

Sutter Solano Medical Center, 300 Hospital Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589

Sutter Delta Medical Center, 3901 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA 94509

Sutter Lakeside Hospital, 5176 Hill Road East, Lakeport, CA 95453

Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, 3325 Chanate Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Kaiser Permanente:

Kaiser Antioch, 4501 Sand Creek Rd, Antioch, CA 94531

Kaiser Fremont, 39400 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538

Kaiser Fresno, 7300 North Fresno St, Fresno, CA 93720

Kaiser Hayward, 27400 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward, CA 94545

Kaiser Oakland, 280 W MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94611

Kaiser Manteca, 1777 W Yosemite Ave, Manteca, CA 95337

Kaiser Modesto, 4601 Dale Rd, Modesto, CA 95356

Kaiser Redwood City, 1150 Veterans Blvd., Redwood City, CA 94603

Kaiser Richmond, 901 Nevin Ave, Richmond, CA 94801

Kaiser Roseville, 1600 Eureka Rd, Roseville, CA 95661

Kaiser Sacramento, 2025 Morse Ave, Sacramento, CA 95825

Kaiser San Rafael, 99 Montecillo Rd, San Rafael, CA 94903

Kaiser Santa Rosa, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Kaiser San Francisco, 2425 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115

Kaiser San Jose, 250 Hospital Parkway, San Jose, CA 95119

Kaiser Santa Clara, 700 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051

Kaiser S. Sacramento, 6600 Bruceville Rd, Sacramento, CA 95823

Kaiser South San Francisco, 1200 El Camino Real, South SF, CA 94080

Kaiser Stockton, 7373 West Lane, Stockton, CA 95210

Kaiser Vacaville, 1 Quality Dr, Vacaville, CA 95688

Kaiser Vallejo, 975 Sereno Dr, Vallejo, CA 94589

Kaiser Walnut Creek, 1425 South Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Other:

Children's Hospital & Research Center of Oakland, 747 52nd St., Oakland, CA 94609

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The campaign attempts to enhance the efforts of government agencies, universities, and nonprofit organizations that establish safe highway passage for wildlife in California.

The Defenders of Wildlife, a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting native animals and plants, estimates that 1.5 million animals are hit on the nation’s roadways each year. In addition, more than 200 people are killed in collisions with deer, elk and other wildlife.

Wildlife-vehicle collisions cause $1 billion in property damage, the agency said.

“California’s unique natural and cultural heritage is worth protecting,” said Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “This natural landscape not only provides habitat to spectacular wildlife, it is also a boon to the state’s economy. Caltrans encourages you to join with us in protecting wildlife, as well as motorists, during Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness Week.”

The campaign is sponsored by Caltrans, the California Department of Fish and Game, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Road Ecology Center at the University of California, Davis. Caltrans believes the awareness week will assist in planning for the conservation of natural resources while providing safe and effective transportation.

Other states – such as Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin – have also adopted similar initiatives.

Caltrans and Defenders of Wildlife offer a few tips for motorists in wildlife country:

• Be particularly alert when driving in wildlife areas.

• If you see an animal cross the road, know that another may be following.

• Don’t litter. It could entice animals to venture onto the road.

For more information on Watch Out for Wildlife, along with additional tips on avoiding collisions with wild animals, go to www.watchoutforwildlife.org.

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The settlement resolves all natural resource damages, penalties and response costs that resulted from the ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, and the subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay.

The event killed thousands of birds, impacted a significant portion of the Bay's 2008 herring spawn, spoiled miles of shoreline habitat and closed the Bay and area beaches to recreation and fishing.

“This Bay is the jewel of the San Francisco region and the Cosco Busan oil spill left a lasting scar across our water, natural habitats and wildlife,” Harris said. “This settlement will allow all of these precious resources to be restored to their original health and beauty.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, the State of California, the City and County of San Francisco, and the City of Richmond signed and lodged a consent decree that requires Regal Stone Limited and Fleet Management Ltd., the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan to pay $44.4 million for natural resource damages and penalties and to reimburse the governmental entities for response costs incurred as a result of the 53,000 gallon oil spill that occurred when the vessel struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007.

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091911 Cosco Busan Consent Decree