LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The sixth and final grading period has commenced.

At this time Carlé High School is looking at a graduating class of 34 students that have finished their credits and all other requirements for graduation.

Congratulations graduating class of 2016 – we couldn’t be prouder.

The Student of the Week for the week of April 4 was Vanessa Gonzales. Congratulations!

The proud Dan Maes, who was the nominating teacher, had this to say: “Vanessa Gongales was selected as Carlé’s student of the week because of her solid work ethic in all of her classes. Vanessa demonstrates a positive attitude by doing what she is supposed to do.”

Carlé High School’s gold level students from the fourth grading period had a field trip led by teachers Angie and Alan Siegel to Mackerricher State Park.

They spent their day knee-deep in tide pools and with their spare time, had lunch on the beautiful beach of this amazing park.

“It was amazing, we all had a lot of fun learning about tide pools and seals and hanging out on the beach. It’s definitely something we should repeat next year,” said gold level student Andrew Astorga

The student of week for the week of April 11 was Nick Begins.

Another proud teacher, Alan Siegel to be exact, had nothing but amazing things to say. “Nick is incredibly helpful and he is kind to everyone around him. I hear nothing but positive things from the people he surrounds himself with. He comes to school everyday early to set up for the morning bulletin without being asked. It’s his kind of positive attitude that made my decision so easy to nominate Nick. Congratulations!”

Prom is planned for May 6. The whole student body is going to be involved in the voting of the theme this year.

This week there will be a poll for the students to pick a theme that they desire. The one theme with the most votes will be this year’s prom theme. We have: “A Night in Wonderland,” “A Night Under The Sea” and “A Night Under The Stars.”

The winners of our economic survival game were: First place, Nick Begins and Daniel Salazar; second place, Stephani Utley and Vincente Padilla; and third place, Nicole Arlitt. Congratulations! Plaques to commemorate their success were made for three places by the media class.

Secretary Barbara Dye crunched all the numbers and was pleased to announce gold level students for the fifth grading period. These successful students are: Andrew Astorga, Nick Begins, Destiny Blevins, Kayla Doyle, and Brianna E. Legg. Congratulations!

Brianna E. Legg and Candice Safreno are students at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif – The Lake County First 5 Lake Commission will meet on Wednesday, April 20.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at Legacy Court, 1950 Parallel Drive in Lakeport.

Agenda items include an update on succession planning for Executive Director Tom Jordan, public hearings on the review of the strategic plan and approval of the 2015-16 First 5 Lake Long-Range Financial Plan, and a program presentation on AmeriCorps.

There also will be reports from the executive director and commissioners, and public comment and announcements.

Commissioners include Jim Brown, Laurie Daly, Brock Falkenberg, Carol Huchingson, Susan Jen, Pam Klier, Ana Santana and Jeff Smith.

For more information call the Lake County First 5 Lake Commission at 707-263-6169 or visit www.firstfivelake.org .

NOTICE OF PROPOSED MINOR USE PERMIT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator will consider approving Minor Use Permit (MUP 16-02) of GREG CLOUSE in accordance with Lake County Code to allow a collector’s permit for construction of two accessory structures that will exceed the square footage of a primary residence and a front yard setback reduction to allow a twenty-two and a half foot setback.

The project is located at 15495 Hwy 175, Cobb, and further described as APN 013-050-15. 

The Planner processing this application is Tricia Shortridge, (707) 263-2221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Zoning Administrator will approve this Minor Use Permit with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 P.M., April 13, 2016 to the Community Development Department, Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, California. 

Should a timely request for hearing be filed, a public hearing will be held on April 20, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.


COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Scott DeLeon, Interim Director
 
By: ______________________________________
Danae Bowen, Office Assistant III

THE BOSS (Rated R)

Comedy is tricky, at best, for even the funniest comedians.

The delightfully funny Melissa McCarthy has had her share of hits (“The Heat” and “Spy”) but also the occasional misses (“Tammy”), and thus she’s aware of the minefield in this business.

“The Boss,” a collaboration between McCarthy, her husband Ben Falcone and Steve Mallory for the script duties, is best categorized as a hit-and-miss comedy, even though much of it is a family affair as her husband also served as director and even has a bit part.

Reaching into her comedic bag of tricks from her formative days at the Los Angeles-based improv troupe The Groundlings, McCarthy has resurrected her tone-deaf, self-help finance guru Michelle Darnell as the titular, larger-than-life character in “The Boss.”

Aside from the opening scene flashbacks to her childhood days of being bounced around from foster home to foster home, with brief stints at a Catholic orphanage, Michelle blasted her way through life to get to the pinnacle of business success.

Described as the 47th wealthiest woman in America, Michelle Darnell is introduced at the top of her game, holding sold-out seminars in Chicago’s United Center, offering self-help career advice like someone trying to sell a course in house flipping.

As a confident, powerful woman wrapped in a cocoon of entitled wealth and privilege, Michelle is planted in the upper echelons of celebrity. She eschews the customary rules of civil engagement and operates without much regard for the status of others.

Meanwhile, her former lover and business competitor Renault (Peter Dinklage), operating in full vengeful mode, triggers her downfall by giving the feds all the ammunition needed for her indictment on insider trading, which is followed by a stint in federal prison.

Upon release from custody, the ruthless Michelle is prepared to resume her extravagant lifestyle until she has the rude awakening that she has nothing – no minions, no friends, no money and no assets.

In desperation, Michelle turns up at the apartment of her former executive assistant and struggling single mother Claire (Kristen Bell), seeking temporary refuge on her couch.

Living in cramped quarters with her young daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson), Claire is not thrilled that her former boss has insinuated herself into their lives for the dubious prospect of getting a fresh restart.

Working off a family recipe, Claire bakes brownies that are very popular with her colleagues at an exceedingly boring office workplace, where the only bright spot is the putative romance with co-worker Mike (Tyler Labine).

In true Darnell fashion, Michelle devises a shady business model for a new venture, a brownie empire guaranteed to catapult her back into the big leagues while giving Claire a real opportunity to build a solid future in the business world.

Some of the funniest situations involve Michelle’s natural instinct to fight dirty in a scorched Earth approach. As such, she creates Darnell’s Darlings, a brazen for-profit version of a revered scouting organization.

Michelle’s brainchild morphs into a motley crew of misfit girls peddling brownies made by Claire’s recipe. The girls are dressed in red berets and denim jackets, and looking like a revolutionary guard, they have all the attitude and swagger of the Black Panthers.

Not only do Michelle and her Darlings disrupt meetings of the Dandelions, a nonprofit girl’s organization selling cookies under the tutelage of the nice but flustered Scout Leader Sandy (Kristen Schaal), they are ready for a street brawl, which eventually happens.

Of course, the fight scene of the competing baked goods sellers is a bit violent and mean-spirited, with some markedly gratuitous swearing that for obvious reasons causes “The Boss” to deservedly earn its R rating for language, among other excesses.

“The Boss” also strikes a somewhat discordant note of sentimentality about family. For obvious reasons, Michelle is a despicable character, but the soft core of the story is that she seeks redemption by eventually bonding in a familial way with Claire and Rachel.

It may be satisfying that Melissa McCarthy gives her character enough heart, in her backstory as an unloved orphan and now as a reformed person, that she becomes more congenial, if not entirely lovable.

But the central point for “The Boss” is not whether McCarthy’s ribald Darnell proves to be likable after all; it’s about the goofiness of the once and future business honcho sustaining comedy gold in all facets of a loosely focused plot.

As I mentioned, “The Boss” is a hit-and-miss but still has a good share of laughs.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown branch of the Lake County Library will host a financial literacy seminar “Self-Directed Retirement Plans for Wealth Development” on Saturday, April 23.

The seminar will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the library, located at 21256 Washington St.

Lamarr Baxter of Alternative Investments and Consulting LLC will be the speaker for this free program.

Baxter is a licensed and knowledgeable real estate professional with 30 years of financial experience who specializes in establishing self-directed retirement plans.

He regularly conducts educational seminars and webinars outlining the benefits and rewards of investing with a self-directed retirement plan.

For more details call 707-263-8817.         

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – April’s Fireside Chat at Gibson Museum will feature local historian Gene Paleno.

A resident of Witter Springs for almost 50 years, Paleno has collected local history and now shares it in his newly release book, “Lake County History: A Mystical Adventure in Time.”

He will sign copies of the 450-page tome for interested attendees.

The chat will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 30. The museum closes at 5 p.m.

Now nearing his 90th birthday, Paleno has developed a wry, humorous look at the world he lives in that always delights his audiences.

He had earlier written 15 novels and books of fiction and nonfiction. Of this most recent work he said, “History can be too strange or too ridiculous to be ignored.”

Paleno also will appear at the second anniversary celebration of the Gibson Museum & Cultural Center on May 14.

That event is themed “A Look at Life in the 1860s” and will be headlined by two authentically portrayed skirmishes by the American Civil War Association, as well as fashions, food and music of the period.

Paleno will delve into his book about the Civil War to offer information about the surprising depth of Californians’ participation in that war.

There is no charge for the April 30 fireside chat, although donations are welcomed as Gibson is entirely funded by voluntary contributions.

Seating is limited and reservations are advised.

The Gibson Museum is located at 21267 Calistoga St. (Highway 29) in Middletown, directly opposite the community center. Call 707-809-8009 or write This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

On April 14, 2016, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service concluded that West Coast populations of fisher are not facing extinction and recognized that collaborative voluntary conservation efforts by state agencies and private landowners are providing conservation benefits for fisher on millions of acres across the range of the fisher in three states.

The service found that the threats to fisher were significantly less than feared, and did not warrant a listing under the Endangered Species Act.

“We applaud the service’s decision not to list the fisher because it is good for the fisher,” said Kristina McNitt, president of Oregon Forest & Industries Council. “Forest landowners in Oregon are committed to protecting fish and wildlife and preserving habitat for species like the fisher. This progressive development underscores the dedication of the Oregon forest industry and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service to work collaboratively to achieve common environmental goals. We look forward to implementing the industry’s pledged conservation goals to protect and expand fisher habitat and hope this collaborative effort acts as a model for the future.”

The service recognized that there were a number of federal, state, tribal and private partners that came together in California, Oregon and Washington to conserve fisher habitat and restore the population.

"The work we did together is a testament that landowners, the state, tribal and federal governments can develop voluntary measures that protect wildlife species, and the forestry business at the same time,” said Mark Doumit, executive director of the Washington Forest Protection Association.

“I applaud the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for recognizing that the voluntary efforts between California, Oregon and Washington to preserve and enhance the habitat of the pacific fisher are beyond what is needed to maintain a robust population. Our collaborative efforts show our commitment to the long-term stability of the species. We’ve found that these types of successful partnerships are best enhanced through both public and private landowner participation, and we look forward to continuing our efforts across jurisdictional boundaries in the West,” said David Bischel, 0resident of the California Forestry Association.

The fisher is among the larger members of the weasel family that also includes the marten, otter and mink. It is found in much of the northern United States, including populations in Washington, Oregon and California.

The fisher’s historic range was significantly curtailed toward the turn of the last century due, primarily, to trapping and pest control.

Today, healthy populations persist in the southern Sierra Nevadas, in northern California and southwest Oregon, and on the Olympic peninsula in Washington.

Recognizing that abundant fisher habitat exists on private and public lands throughout the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges, landowners have worked with the service to protect existing populations, and to reintroduce fisher in suitable habitat outside of its current range.

In Washington, reintroduction efforts have been underway since 2008, and a programmatic candidate conservation agreement with assurances (“CCAA”) that would protect fisher found on state and private lands for 20 years is nearing completion. More than 25 landowners and 1.4 million acres have enrolled in the CCAA.

In Oregon, landowners have indicated their intention to enroll more than three million acres of forestland under a template CCAA that requires fisher protection measures for 30 years. Oregon landowners have also offered significant financial support for proposed fisher monitoring and reintroduction efforts.

Similarly, California landowners have successfully reintroduced fisher on private lands, enrolled more than one million acres in CCAAs and related projects benefiting the fisher, including efforts to enroll additional lands.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clear Lake/Callayomi Masonic Lodge No. 183, Free and Accepted Masons, hosts the “best breakfast in Lake County” on the third Sunday of each month at the Masonic Center, located at 7100 South Center Drive in Clearlake.

The next breakfast will be served April 17.

The lodge serves a full, sit-down breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m.

Choose your breakfast from a large menu including eggs (any style), omelets, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, hot cakes, breakfast meat, toast, juice and coffee.

The cost is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 6 to 12. Children under age 6 may eat for free and are served a special “kids” breakfast.