A California Department of Fish and Game staffer works on the 2011 Delta smelt net survey. Courtesy of California Department of Fish and Game.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Young Delta smelt abundance this year roughly doubled when compared to last year but is a small fraction of their historical abundance, state biologists say.

The improvement is likely due in large part to higher than usual flows from the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers this year which resulted in better habitat conditions and water quality, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

Because it is exceptionally difficult to determine the actual number of Delta smelt, Department of Fish and Game biologists use survey data to develop “indices” of the species’ abundance.

An index is a number that is likely to vary in direct proportion to abundance. For example, if a hypothetical index were to double from 4 to 8 then abundance would also have doubled (e.g., from 200,000 to 400,000).

The 20-Millimeter Survey index of young Delta smelt abundance – which has been developed yearly since 1995 and is named after the approximate size of fish it collects – was 8.0 this year while the index in 2010 was 3.8 and its record high was 39.7 in 1999, officials reported.

The Summer Tow Net Survey index of slightly-older Delta smelt abundance – which has been developed yearly since 1959 and is named after the type of net used to collect fish – was 2.2 this year while the index in 2010 was 0.8 and the record high was 62.5 in 1978.

The California Department of Fish and Game conducted its 2011 net survey to record Delta smelt numbers. Courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Game.

The increased number of young Delta smelt is encouraging, according to biologists, but because it is still early in their one-year life cycle, the abundance of adults may or may not increase similarly.

The Department of Fish and Game will continue to monitor the population and at the conclusion of the Fall Midwater Trawl Survey in December will calculate and then release an index of sub-adult Delta smelt abundance.

Delta smelt occur only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The finger-sized fish was historically one of the most abundant in the Delta, but the species declined substantially and was listed as threatened under the California and Federal Endangered Species acts (ESA) in 1993.

After a further decline, the species was designated as endangered in 2010 under the California ESA.

Ongoing efforts to protect and recover the population include research on threats to the species, active management to minimize loss at water diversions under federal ESA biological opinions and a state ESA authorization, development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, improved water quality, habitat restoration and conservation of genetic diversity through special hatchery-rearing techniques.

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The indices of Delta smelt abundance have varied over the years. Courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Game.

Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters make their way to a fire in Clearlake Park, Calif., on Thursday, July 21, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

The fire was dispatched just before 5 p.m., with numerous Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire engines and units racing along Clearlake Park's winding and sometimes confusing streets to locate the blaze.

Burning on a steep hillside above San Joaquin Drive, firefighters on the ground and Cal Fire crews in the air attacked the incident.

As air attack spotter planes circled overhead, a tanker dumped retardant and a helicopter made trips back and forth between nearby Clear Lake and the hillside, where it made numerous water drops.

Nearby, one homeowners stood in his yard with a hose, dousing the dried up vegetation.

Lake County Fire and Cal Fire had a unified command on the fire, with Northshore Fire Protection District sending a water tender under mutual aid, according to Lake County Fire Battalion Chief George Murch.

A Cal Fire helicopter set down on San Joaquin Drive in Clearlake Park, Calif., near where firefighters were fighting a fire on the hillside on Thursday, July 21, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

Fire officials also had called Clearlake Police for assistance with traffic control, as vehicles were trying to pass through the area where fire trucks – and, for a time, a Cal Fire helicopter – were parked on the roadway.

A Clearlake Police volunteer was posted at San Joaquin Drive and Carter Lane to keep the roadway clear.

The fire burned between five and seven acres, based on estimates from the Cal Fire pilots, Murch said.

While the blaze was contained within an hour, the late afternoon wind was cause for concern. Murch measured it at an average of 7 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 15 miles per hour. He also reported the temperature was 92 degrees at the scene.

Because of the wind, he estimated that mop up and monitoring would continue for another four to five hours.

No reason was given for the fire starting. No injuries were reported, and there were no reports of burned structures.

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Jeff Ott sent in this picture of the fire in Clearlake Park, Calif., on Thursday, July 21, 2011. The red cloud is retardant dropped by a Cal Fire air tanker.

“Big tobacco continues to use its vast financial resources for campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures to oppose bills and ballot initiatives that would benefit public health by reducing tobacco use,” said Jane Warner, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association in California.

“Tobacco Money in California Politics” shows that tobacco interests contributed more than $6.56 million to candidates and members of the California Legislature, constitutional officers and political committees and spent $2.76 million on lobbying expenditures during the 2009-10 election cycle.

The data used in producing “Tobacco Money in California Politics” is derived from the semiannual contribution reports and the quarterly lobbying reports filed by the tobacco interests with the Secretary of State that cover the period Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2010.

It showed that, of the 122 state legislators, tobacco interests made campaign contributions to 59 members, or 48 percent, similar to the total from previous election cycles.

A searchable database of campaign contributions that the public can use to learn if their own state assembly member or senator received campaign contributions is available at www.Center4TobaccoPolicy.org/database.

A review of the database showed that Lake County's current state legislators – Assemblyman Wes Chesbro and Sen. Noreen Evans – have received no money from tobacco interests. Nor did previous North Coast legislators Sen. Patricia Wiggins or Assembly member Patty Berg.

The report also shows that 60 percent of the total contributions made during the 2009-10 election cycle were to political committees in support of Proposition 26 and in opposition to Proposition 25, which were both passed by California voters in the November 2010 general election.

Proposition 25 changed the vote requirement for passing a state budget from a two-thirds vote to a simple majority and Proposition 26 reclassified many types of fees as taxes, subjecting them to a two-thirds vote requirement.

In addition, Philip Morris USA Inc. spent more than $750,000 on lobbying in the second quarter of 2009 – April through June – a record amount for lobbying expenditures in one quarter by any tobacco interest over the last decade.

During those three months, the California Legislature voted on two budget bills that contained a tobacco tax increase and another tobacco tax bill that was moving forward in the legislative process.

“The numbers in this report are clear, Big Tobacco is spending to protect their vast financial interests in California,” said Paul Knepprath, vice president of advocacy and health initiatives, American Lung Association in California. “Despite the tobacco industry spending millions, smoking rates continue to drop and the state and local governments continue to pass policies that reduce tobacco’s impact on our state.”

A full copy of Tobacco Money in California Politics is available at www.Center4TobaccoPolicy.org/tobaccomoney. It also can be viewed or downloaded below.

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Tobacco Money in California Politics (2009-2010 Election Cycle)

Thomas James Bradley, 66, and Bernd Mathias Steffan, 64, both of Middletown, Calif., died on Sunday, July 18, 2011, when the plane they were riding in crashed in Azalea, Oregon. Image courtesy of the Douglas County, Ore., Sheriff's Office.

Thomas James Bradley, 66, and Bernd Mathias Steffan, 64, both of Middletown, were the victims of the fatal plane crash that occurred on Sunday, July 17, according to the sheriff's office of Douglas County, Ore.

Just after 5 p.m. July 17 Douglas County Emergency Communications received a report of an airplane crash in the 4100 block of Azalea Glen Road, the sheriff's office reported.

Sheriff's deputies and emergency response personnel responded to the scene and found a small fixed wing airplane that had crashed shortly after takeoff from a local airfield, the agency said.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash's cause wasn't known, according to sheriff's officials.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified. The sheriff's office said investigators from both agencies arrived on Monday to take over the scene.

An initial FAA report on the incident identified the plane as an experimental, amateur-built Zenith Stol CH701.

The plane, manufactured in 2006, was a fixed wing, single engine aircraft that a search of the FAA Registry confirmed was registered to, and owned by, Bradley.

According to the Web site www.zenithair.com, the Zenith Stol CH701 is a kit airplane first introduced in 1986.

When contacted by Lake County News on Friday, both the FAA and NTSB declined to offer further specifics of the cause of the crash.

“The investigation isn't closed yet,” said Mike Fergus with the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region office.

The NTSB in Washington reported that it would be some time before a final cause was released, although a preliminary report may be ready next week.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new state report shows that the rate of smoking among California's adults has hit an all-time low, while Lake County's adult smoking rate is nearly twice the state average, which the county health officer called a “glaring problem.”

California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ron Chapman issued the report late last week, drawing the data from the Centers for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

The state's data showed that, in 2010, 11.9 percent of the state’s adults smoked, down from 13.1 percent in 2009.

Health officials said California was one of only two states to reach the federal Healthy People 2020 target of reducing the adult smoking prevalence rate to 12 percent.

“The drop in smoking means that fewer people will see their lives cut short by tobacco,” Chapman said. “Since the inception of California’s tobacco education efforts in 1990, we have witnessed declines in lung cancer, heart disease and other tobacco-related illnesses.”

While California has managed to reduce its smoking rates, Chapman said the state still has to continue its aggressive efforts.

“While we take great pride in seeing smoking decrease nearly 10 percent in just one year, smoking remains the number one preventable cause of death and disease, killing more than 400,000 Americans each year,” Chapman said.

In 2010, 14.4 percent of men and and 9.4 percent of women smoked in California, down from the previous year, when 15.6 percent of men and 10.7 percent of women smoked, the report stated.

The California Department of Public Health also reported that smoking rates declined among all age groups, with the most significant decrease occurring among adults ages 25 to 44, which fell from 15.2 percent in 2009 to 13.1 percent in 2010.

In Lake County, the state's findings regarding adult smokers were not as positive.

Among the county's estimated 51,000 adults, 10,000 people – or 20.1 percent – smoke, according to data the California Department of Public Health provided to Lake County News.

In neighboring Mendocino County, the state said that adult smokers total 12,000, or 17.6 percent of the population.

“Our smoking rates are not doing so well,” said Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.

Those numbers are, however, better than the conclusion arrived at by the 2010 Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment.

That report, drawing on 2007 data from the California Health Interview Survey, showed that 14.5 percent of California adults smoked, compared to 25.9 percent of Lake County adults.

Comparing that data to the newest report, Tait said that while local smoking rates are still high, they may be showing a slight improvement.

“We may be following the trend but I think we're lagging, and we need to do much better,” Tait said.

The state also reported that smoking among high school students decreased from 14.6 percent in 2008 to 13.8 percent in 2010, while middle school student smoking decreased from 6.0 percent in 2008 to 4.8 percent in 2010. The 2010 youth smoking prevalence rate is taken from the biennial in-school California Student Tobacco Survey.

The state did not include specific numbers by counties on children who smoke, but Tait drew on data from www.kidsdata.org to offer a comparison between Lake County children who admitted smoking and the statewide numbers.

Between 2004 and 2008, children in Lake County who admitted smoking included 4.7 percent of seventh graders, 19 percent of ninth graders and 22.6 percent of 11^th graders.

“I find that kind of alarming,” she said.

As for the reasons why Lake County's overall smoking rates are higher, Tait said both poverty and rural settings have been linked to higher smoking rates.

But as to why that is, Tait couldn't say.

“I haven't really heard a scientific explanation for that,” she said. “Some of us have speculated.”

Regarding children, Tait said young people sometimes engage in mind-altering behaviors – smoking among them – which she guesses is to address feelings they have. “But that is just speculation,” she added.

Tait said smoking is the No. 1 preventable risk factor for many diseases – including cancer and heart disease – so smoking cessation is something “that's well worth putting effort towards.”

However, there doesn't appear to be strong interest in smoking cessation in Lake County, according to Glenn Koeppel, who works in Lake Family Resource Center's Tobacco Education Program.

Koeppel said that, despite the fact that smoking is becoming more cost prohibitive, he's found that the worse off people are economically, the more they tend to continue to smoke.

He said he gets very low turnout at smoking cessation classes he leads. At one recent evening class in Lakeport – scheduled so people could make it after work – only one person showed up, and that individual wasn't able to finish the course.

“There doesn't even seem to be a desire in Lake County for people who want to quit,” Koeppel said.

While everyone knows the health challenges connected to smoking, “It doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent,” he said.

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Sacha Shea Cooper, 30, was arrested for felony driving under the influence, driving with an expired driver license and felony child endangerment, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.

At approximately 6:20 p.m. Tuesday Cooper was driving her 2004 Chevrolet Impala northbound on Highway 29 north of Highway 281/Soda Bay Road when she allowed her vehicle to drift across the center line, according to Reynolds.

As a result of going over the center line, Cooper's vehicle struck the left rear of a 2004 Saturn which was heading southbound on Highway 29, driven by 31-year-old Laura Ewing of Lakeport, Reynolds said.

Reynolds said the collision forced Ewing to go off the west roadway edge and into a ditch.

Ewing sustained minor injuries in the collision but was not transported to the hospital, Reynolds said.

Cooper also went off the west roadway edge onto a dirt shoulder, according to Reynolds.

Reynolds said Officer Dan Frederick and Officer Efrain Cortez responded to the scene.

He said Frederick contacted Cooper who was outside her vehicle with her 1-month-old daughter in her arms.

Cooper was subsequently arrested, Reynolds said.

Cooper’s daughter was not injured in the collision and was in a properly fitted, properly installed car seat. Reynolds said the infant was released to her father.

In addition to the charges of DUI, driving with an expired driver license and felony child endangerment, Cooper's jail booking sheet also recorded a misdemeanor bench warrant.

Cooper's bail was posted at $25,000. Jail records indicated she later posted bail and was released.

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Marvin D. Johnson Jr., 33, and 22-year-old Simon Thornton, both reported to be transients with connections to the Ukiah area, were arrested Thursday for the murder of Joseph E. Litteral, 40, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Still being sought are William Hale Crocker, 30, and Arone Schnebly, 35, Smallcomb said.

Litteral was shot at the Bu Shay Campground at Lake Mendocino in Redwood Valley on Wednesday evening, as Lake County News has reported. Another Willits man also was shot and transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in stable condition on Thursday.

Johnson had been the subject of an early morning be on the lookout to Lake County law enforcement on Thursday, with officials warning he was armed and dangerous, and that he had relatives in the county.

Smallcomb said Ukiah Police officers found Johnson in Ukiah at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Sheriff's detectives subsequently contacted Johnson and interviewed him. Smallcomb said Johnson was arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder. He was being held on Friday in the Mendocino County Jail on no bail status.

Also on Thursday, Mendocino County Sheriff's detectives recovered a 12-gauge shotgun and a 45-caliber pistol which investigators believe were used in the incident, Smallcomb said.

Mendocino County Sheriff's detectives, with the assistance of Willits Police officers, located Thornton in the area of Highways 20 and 101 in downtown Willits at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, said Smallcomb.

Smallcomb said Thornton was subsequently arrested and booked into the Mendocino County Jail on murder and attempted murder charges. He also is being held on a no bail status.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is still seeking Crocker and Schnebly, who Smallcomb said also are believed to have been involved in the shootings.

Smallcomb said Crocker frequents both Mendocino and Lake County, and is described as a white male adult, with brown hair and eyes. He stands approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs more than 200 pounds. He should be considered violent.

Schnebly frequents Ukiah and Willits, and is described as a white male adult, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He stands approximately 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs more than 200 pounds, Smallcomb said.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of either suspect is encouraged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriffs Office at 707-463-4086.

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Selected for the 2011-12 panel include returning jurors Kathleen Bisaccio of Lakeport, Fred Christensen of Lakeport, Judith Stelljes of Kelseyville, Diane Trudeau of Cobb, Gerald Morehouse of Lucerne and Beryl Reeder of Clearlake; and new members Cheryl Engels of Middletown, Brockman Kreiss of Clearlake Oaks, Margaret Maloney of Kelseyville, Karen Miller of Kelseyville, Ken Montoya of Kelseyville, James Neil of Kelseyville, Janice Pankratz of Lakeport, Natalie Parsons of Upper Lake, Conrad Petersen of Kelseyville, William Quigley of Clearlake Oaks, John Sakowich of Lakeport, Gary Smades of Lakeport and Luther Sweigert of Clearlake.

Fred Christensen was appointed foreperson and the grand jury immediately went into session for the purpose of organization.

The 2010-11 grand jury was discharged after filing its final report earlier.

Along with Bisaccio, Christensen, Stelljes, Trudeau, Morehouse and Reeder, the former panel included Kevin Byrnes, Michael Daugherty, Kenneth Fountain, Jay Gehrke, Dave Johnson, Judith Steele Lanfranco, Nanette Marschall, Mary Moore, Phillip Myers, Mary Nolan and Jack Scialabba.

The major function of the Lake County Grand Jury is to examine county and city government and special districts to ensure that their duties are being lawfully carried out.

The grand jury reviews and evaluates procedures, methods, and systems utilized by these entities to determine whether more efficient and economical programs may be employed.

Grand jurors are officers of the court but work as an independent body.

A grand jury works to ensure that the best interests of all citizens of the county are being served by their governmental bodies.

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The shooting occurred shortly before 8 p.m. at the Bu Shay Campground in Redwood Valley, according to a report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

The names of the victims have not yet been released, and Smallcomb said suspects were still being identified.

Smallcomb said that at 7:50 p.m. Wednesday the Mendocino County Sheriffs Dispatch Center was contacted by employees at the campground regarding a shooting which had just occurred.

Deputies, along with the California Highway Patrol, Redwood Valley Fire, California Department of Forestry, REACH and and Cal Star air ambulances, proceeded to and arrived at space No. 8 at the campground, Smallcomb reported.

He said deputies learned that two people at the campsite had been shot.

A 40-year-old man was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center with life-saving efforts under way, but the man died from his injuries, Smallcomb said.

The second victim, reported to be in his 20s, was flown via air ambulance to an out-of-county hospital for a single gunshot wound to the upper torso. Smallcomb said that victim's medical condition was listed as critical but stable early Thursday morning.

Smallcomb said sheriff's detectives were investigating the incident and also were in the process of identifying at least three to four suspects responsible for the shootings.

At about 2:30 a.m. Lake County authorities issued an officer safety be on the lookout for a 33-year-old white male subject wanted in connection with the shooting.

The man was reported to be associated with a black Nissan sedan that contained three other white male adults. Officials said he was armed and dangerous, and last seen in Mendocino County at around the time of the fatal shooting.

Smallcomb said an autopsy of the fatal shooting victim is planned for Friday.

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The man was hospitalized, but is now recovering at home, the agency said.

"With the first confirmed human illness from West Nile virus this year, we are intensifying our surveillance for the virus with the help of all counties,” said CDPH Chief Deputy Director Kathleen Billingsley. “To protect against West Nile virus, the most important step people can take is avoiding mosquito bites.”

West Nile virus is most commonly transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of a mosquito harboring the virus.

The risk of serious illness to most people is low. However, some individuals – less than 1 percent – will develop serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis.

People 50 years of age and older have a higher chance of getting sick and are more likely to develop serious symptoms. Recent data also indicate that those with diabetes and/or hypertension are at greatest risk for serious illness.

To date in 2011, West Nile virus has been detected in 14 other California counties.

So far this year, Lake and its neighboring counties have been clear of the virus, based on the California West Nile Virus Web site, www.westnile.ca.gov.

The site reported that a total of 69 dead birds with the virus have been found in 12 counties, including Contra Costa, Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura.

Approximately 147 West Nile Virus-positive mosquito samples have been found in 14 counties – Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Sutter and Tulare.

In two counties – Kern and San Bernardino – a total of six sentinel chickens with the virus have been discovered, the Web site said.

Thus far this year, no horses or squirrels in California have been found with the virus, according to the state.

The California Department of Public Health recommends that individuals prevent exposure to mosquito bites and West Nile virus by practicing the “Four Ds”:

• DEET – Apply insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 according to label instructions. Repellents keep the mosquitoes from biting you. DEET can be used safely on infants and children 2 months of age and older.

• DRESS – Wear clothing that reduces the risk of skin exposure to mosquito bites.

• DAWN AND DUSK – Mosquitoes bite in the early morning and evening so it is important to wear repellent at this time. Make sure that your doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep out mosquitoes. Repair or replace screens with tears or holes.

• DRAIN – Mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water. Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, including flower pots, old car tires, rain gutters and pet bowls. If you have a pond, use mosquito fish (available from your local mosquito and vector control agency) or commercially available products to eliminate mosquito larvae.

Californians are encouraged to report all dead birds and dead tree squirrels on the California West Nile virus Web site or by calling toll-free 1-877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473).

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Joseph E. Litteral, 40, was identified as the fatal shooting victim, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

The incident was reported shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday at space No. 8 at Bu Shay Campground in Redwood Valley, according to Smallcomb.

Litteral was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center where he died a short time later, Smallcomb said.

The second victim, a Willits man in his 20s whose name was not released, was flown via air ambulance to an out-of-county hospital for a single gunshot wound to the upper torso. Smallcomb said the man remained hospitalized on Thursday and was in stable condition, having suffered a fractured scapula from his gunshot injury.

Detectives are continuing to follow up leads in an effort to identify the suspects in the shooting, Smallcomb said.

Smallcomb said an autopsy of Litteral is scheduled for Friday.

Anyone who may have information into the shooting incident is encouraged to contact Mendocino County Sheriff's Office detectives at 707-467-9159.

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North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), Congress member Nan Hayworth, M.D. (R-NY) and Dan Lungren (R-CA) introduced the PACE Protection Act of 2011.

The PACE program – currently available in 27 states and the District of Columbia – allows property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for their homes and commercial buildings – without any government subsidies or taxes. More important, it means lower utility bills for property owners and job creation in the hard hit construction industry.

“PACE promotes energy efficiency in ways that are good for our country, our economy, and our environment,” said Thompson. “It saves property owners money by lowering energy costs and, perhaps more important, creates jobs without taxes or government subsidies. Congresswoman Hayworth, Congressman Lungren and I are committed to protecting PACE for the future, which is why we introduced legislation to continue to allow property owners to finance innovative energy projects through these innovative, affordable, and responsible programs.”

The PACE Protection Act addresses adverse action taken by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their regulators at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) which has prevented communities nationwide from harnessing PACE benefits.

The PACE Protection Act of 2011 is meant to protect PACE programs from federal overreach by the FHFA and allow them to continue reducing energy consumption, boosting our economy, and creating jobs, without mandates from the government or taxpayer funds.

“PACE programs in our states have allowed homeowners to make energy-saving modifications on their houses through a voluntary assessment on their own property, at no cost to local taxpayers,” said Hayworth.

“PACE programs create jobs and help Americans to conserve energy, saving on those costs and protecting our environment,” she added. “Unfortunately, interference by the Federal Home Finance Administration has prevented states from enabling all of their homeowners to take advantage of PACE. Our bill addresses the concerns of FHFA and facilitates participation by homeowners in every state with a PACE program, which will in turn promote conservation, energy savings, and job creation.”

With unemployment hovering around 9 percent, legislation that focuses on creating jobs at the local level all across America is paramount.

Independent studies have shown the benefits of PACE to be substantial to homeowners, the economy, the environment, and federal, state and local governments.

“My colleagues and I are fighting for a common sense program that would both increase the value of homes involved and help create jobs in our region. The time is now, more than ever to pass legislation that will accomplish this goal,” Lungren concluded.

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