LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport on Wednesday reopened a city street and a portion of another that had been closed due to recent flooding.
The city said Royale Avenue and Lakeshore Boulevard between Lange Street and the city limits at Beach Lane had been reopened.
Still closed is Lakeshore Boulevard east of Giselman to Lange Street, as the result of continued flooding.
The city will continue to provide updates on the flood conditions through city of Lakeport and Lakeport Police Department Facebook, Twitter and Nixle accounts.
For additional information contact the city of Lakeport Emergency Operations Center at 707-263-5614 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – State officials said emergency repairs are continuing at the Oroville Dam’s damaged spillway in an effort to restart operations at the dam’s power plant, which provides another outlet for water release at the facility.
On Tuesday, one day after the Department of Water Resources, or DWR, halted flows down the damaged flood control spillway at the dam, crews continue removing a debris pile estimated at roughly 1 million cubic yards at the base of the spillway.
Debris removal will help lower the water level in the channel that leads to Hyatt power plant, officials said.
Bringing down the water height in that channel is a key step to restoring function at the power plant, which will give DWR another means of releasing water from the reservoir.
The forecast for the coming week is relatively dry, and Lake Oroville is not expected to rise above 860 feet elevation while spillway flows are halted for up to seven days.
The lake level still would be 41 feet below the level at which the emergency spillway would be used. The current lake level is 840 feet elevation, with inflows of roughly 20,000 cubic feet per second.
If Hyatt power plant function is not restored within seven days, DWR will use the flood control spillway again to regulate reservoir levels.
In preparation for the restarting of Hyatt power plant, DWR is moving a power line in order to connect the second of three lines needed to enable reoperation of the entire plant. This work is being coordinated with Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Once operational, the Hyatt power plant can discharge roughly 14,000 cubic feet per second, which will allow state water officials to better manage reservoir levels through the remaining spring runoff season.
On Monday, flows down the flood control spillway gradually dropped from 50,000 cubic feet per second to zero, ceasing around noon.
The cessation of flows has allowed DWR to better assess the extent of erosion on the flood control spillway that was first noticed Feb. 7.
“We’ve been monitoring this spillway closely since Feb. 7, and we knew there was significant damage before we went to zero flows,” said acting state Water Resources Director Bill Croyle. “It’s clear we have a lot of work ahead of us. Work already is underway to repair or replace the damaged spillway so that we are ready for next winter.”
The halt in flood control spillway releases gives workers safe access to the debris pile. Crews are excavating day and night. Excavators, bulldozers and several crane barges are in operation.
Flows necessary to meet fishery requirements in the Feather River downstream of the dam are being maintained at 2,500 cubic feet per second through use of water stored in the diversion pool and Thermalito Forebay and Afterbay. This complex of small reservoirs just downstream of Oroville Dam will provide enough water to maintain flows for approximately seven days.
DWR and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife together are surveying the Feather River downstream of Oroville Diversion Dam to rescue fish that may get stranded in pools as the river level falls.
Adult salmon are not expected to be in the river at this time of year, and young salmon likely have already moved downstream with recent high flows.
Since Feb. 12, Department of Water Resources has reduced water levels in Lake Oroville from 901 feet elevation to 840 feet, more than 60 feet below the top of the emergency spillway.
DWR is coordinating with Caltrans to address the impact of emergency response activities on local roads, and this will continue throughout the operation.
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – The Stonyford Work Center on the Grindstone Ranger District of the Mendocino National Forest will be closed to the public on Wednesday, March 8, for an all-employee meeting.
Regular business hours will resume at 8 a.m. on Thursday, March 9.
Forest visitor maps are best used to view the entire National Forest and are great for driving through or planning a trip, showing recreational sites, campgrounds, public information sites and other attractions in the forest.
If you have questions, contact Lisa Marie Le Fever, district administrative staff officer, at 530-934-1147, or by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION AND NOTICE OF PROPOSED MINOR USE PERMIT BY THE LAKE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator of the County of Lake, State of California, will consider approving Minor Use Permit 16-34 with no public hearing if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 P.M., February 22, 2017 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 March 1, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. in Conference Room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.
Minor Use Permit 16-34. Location: 5141 Baylis Point Drive, Lower Lake, APN 043-270-06. Applicant: Ryan Villanueva. Project: In accordance with Lake County Code to allow a 25% reduction of the front yard setback from 30 feet to 22 feet to rebuild a garage. Project planner: Mark Roberts, 707-263-2221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Copies of the application, environmental documents, all reference documents, and staff reports associated with each project are available for review through the Community Development Department, Planning Division; Telephone, 707-263-2221.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Robert Massarelli, Director
By: ____________________________________ Michalyn DelValle, Principal Planner
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday released annual applicant and appointee data for the administration's judicial appointments across California.
From 2011 through 2016, Gov. Brown appointed 356 judges – including 45 in 2016 – from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants.
Over those six years, nearly 40 percent of Gov. Brown's appointees identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African-American; Hispanic; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; or other/unknown.
Last year, Hispanic appointees accounted for more than one in five judicial appointments.
From 2011 through 2016, Gov. Brown's judicial appointees included a number of notable firsts:
– Yvette Durant, the first woman judge ever appointed to the Sierra County Superior Court. – Richard T. Fields, the first black man appointed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. – Marco D. Nunez, the first openly gay judge ever appointed to the Imperial County Superior Court. – Sonia Cortés, the first Latino judge ever appointed to the Yolo County Superior Court. – Marsha G. Slough, the first openly gay justice in the history of the Fourth District Court of Appeal. – Luis A. Lavin, the first openly gay justice to serve on the Second District Court of Appeal. – Therese M. Stewart, the first openly lesbian justice to serve on the California Court of Appeal. – Ferdinand P. Inumerable, the first Asian-American judge ever appointed to the Ventura County Superior Court. – M. Bruce Smith, the first black judge to serve on the Fifth District Court of Appeal. – Paul Lo, the first Hmong American judge ever appointed in the country. – Sunshine Sykes, the first American Indian judge ever appointed to the Riverside County Superior Court. – Sunil Kulkarni, the first South Asian American judge ever appointed in Northern California. – Rupa Goswami, the first South Asian American woman judge ever appointed in California. – Halim Dhanidina, the first American-Muslim judge ever appointed in California. – Jim Humes, the first openly gay justice ever appointed to the California Court of Appeal. – Miguel Marquez, the first Latino justice ever appointed to the Sixth District Court of Appeal. – Rosendo Peña, the first Latino justice ever appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. – Chris Doehle, the first female judge ever appointed to the Del Norte County Superior Court. – Kimberly Colwell, the first openly lesbian judge ever appointed to the Alameda County Superior Court. – Mark Andrew Talamantes, the first Latino judge ever appointed to the Marin County Superior Court. – Kathleen O'Leary, the first female presiding justice ever appointed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three. – Raquel Marquez, the first Latina judge ever appointed to the Riverside County Superior Court.
Under SB 56 and SB 182, the governor is required to disclose aggregate statewide demographic data provided by all judicial applicants by March 1.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Council of Church Women United will meet Friday, March 3.
The meeting will take place beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Lower Lake Community United Methodist Church Social Hall, located at 16255 Second St.
The theme is, “Human Rights Celebration: Kindling New Fires of Hope.”
Guest speakers are Melissa Fulton, chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and organizer of the Stars of Lake County Awards, and Janine Smith Citron of Hospice Services of Lake County who will share about the organization’s humanitarian works in Lake County.
In December, 1941, just a few days after World War II was declared, Church Women United was formed, and human rights have been on the group’s agenda since then.
Church Women United has been a part of the United Nations as a nongovernmental organization since its formation as well. It has supported the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since the UN adopted it in 1948. Human rights have been front and center in the organization’s witness and service.
With this history in mind, Church Women United began its human rights celebration 12 years ago to honor individuals who have made progress in this arena.
In Lake County the group will celebrate two such organizations, along with Church Women United’s Shoe Program. Members provide shoes to all needy school children in Lake County. Working in partnership with Healthy Start, vouchers/gift certificates are redeemable at Big Kmart to school children.
To attend the celebration, please RSVP to 707-799-6062.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Hundreds of residents of the city of Lakeport remain under a mandatory evacuation order and dozens of homes have been red-tagged, with officials working to get people back home as quickly and safely as possible.
Those were among the main updates offered by the city staffers manning the Lakeport Emergency Operations Center, which hosted a community flood information meeting on Tuesday evening in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
More than 60 community members were at the meeting to hear the latest flood-related information from city department heads and county officials. Also in attendance were Mayor Stacey Mattina and Mayor Pro Tem Mireya Turner, representatives from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and four National Guard members.
Lakeport Police Officer Victor Rico also was on hand to interpret for Spanish speakers in the audience.
In response to the flooding, the worst in 19 years, city staff have been manning the Emergency Operations Center around the clock since mandatory evacuations for Aqua Village, Lucky Four and Will-O-Point trailer parks and the Esplanade neighborhood from Main to K streets were ordered on Feb. 20.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News that, altogether, 225 people were evacuated from within Lakeport’s city limits.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Rasmussen introduced four National Guard members, explaining their mission and role in assisting with the Lakeport flood emergency.
He said the National Guard’s 579th Engineer Battalion based in Santa Rosa is providing a high clearance vehicle with operators to get police into flooded areas in case of medical or law enforcement emergencies.
“We have several sites in the city that still have significant water on streets and we want to be able to safely get in and get out without destroying or damaging vehicles that shouldn’t be doing that,” he said.
Rasmussen said the National Guard is on standby to respond as long as he feels it’s necessary to have them at the ready.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram, also acting as the center’s public information officer, gave the group an update on lake and weather conditions.
At the time of the meeting, Clear Lake’s elevation was at about 10 feet on the Rumsey gauge. Flood stage is 9 feet Rumsey and above.
With no rain, there is about an inch and a half of reduction in the lake level each day, Ingram said.
At total saturation level – which is what the county is now experiencing – new rain events add one inch of rise on the lake for every one third of an inch of rain received, Ingram said.
He said the Lake County Water Resources Department has told the city that, even with no additional rain events, Clear Lake won’t get under 8 feet Rumsey by the end of March.
The city is monitoring the forecasts, which call for rain to begin on Saturday and continue through the following Thursday, March 9. However, Ingram noted, “It doesn’t appear to be a significant event,” with half an inch to an inch of rain expected on Saturday and Sunday.
Ingram said the city also is watching the forecast for any sign of wind, which has caused a lot of damage, especially winds coming from the south and the east. So far, there is no wind in the forecast like the high winds the county experienced week before last.
He said the city will send out public notices if there are any changes in that weather forecast.
The update then switched to the matter of the mandatory evacuations.
“All of our evacuation orders still remain in effect, unchanged,” said Rasmussen. “Our goal is to lift those as soon as we can, but before we do that, we need to make sure areas are safe. Some areas are more impacted than others, with more significant issues that we have to address.”
He said the city continues to run its emergency operations center, which is making plans and reviewing issues daily in an effort to get people home as soon as they can.
Rasmussen also gave an update specifically about the situation at Will-O-Point, where he said the evacuation order is expected to last longer than the other areas of the city.
That’s because the California Department of Housing and Community Development has red-tagged all 41 homes in Will-O-Point, Rasmussen said.
He said the police department is working to organize a vehicle recovery operation for Will-O-Point residents. That operation is taking time to set up, with Rasmussen explaining that police have to work with a number of agencies and organizations to evaluate the area for contaminants. He said a notice will be issued once they’re ready to proceed.
“When you see delays, it’s always because of our desire to do these things safely, for you and for our staff,” he said.
Rasmussen said the city also is aware that many Will-O-Point residents have important things they need to recover from their homes, and once the vehicle recovery is completed they will organize a day to take residents in to get those items.
He said that will entail dealing with safety concerns similar to those involving vehicle recovery, noting it will be more complex to set up for homes.
Public Works Director Doug Grider said many road closures remain in place, with just a few lifted. He said they will take a hard look at Royale Avenue on Wednesday with a view to possibly reopening it, depending on whether the water recedes further and there is damage to the road.
Regarding Lakeshore Boulevard from Lange Street to the city limits at Beach Lane, on Wednesday Grider’s staff will conduct debris removal and a street assessment. “If everything comes out the way we think it’s going to, we’ll be opening that section back up to travel.”
He said there are major concerns about the area of Lakeshore Boulevard from Giselman to Lange Street, where they’ve identified severe road damage, including undermining of the pavement on the lake side.
“We can’t tell how far that undermining goes,” he said, adding that it extends at least 200 feet.
Grider said the city is strategizing about how to deal with getting traffic back on Lakeshore Boulevard. Once the water recedes enough to get the southbound lane open, he anticipated putting a timed signal in place to control traffic in that one lane.
He also reminded people to not drive in the water in areas that are closed. That’s important because of concerns about the possibility of sinkholes and debris. Grider said it also causes wakes that can go into nearby homes that aren’t otherwise flooded.
A woman asked Grider about concerns about sewage in the water. Grider said it didn’t come from Lakeport’s municipal sewer system. “We know for a fact that we’ve had no leaks, no spills.”
Rather, he said any fecal matter is believed to be coming from inundated farmlands and backyards, and actually is more animal waste.
Paul Harris, the city’s utilities superintendent, oversees the water and sewer systems. He said flooding is always challenging for a wastewater system, as the water finds its way in, so they’ve been proactive in checking manholes and cleanouts.
There has been stormwater inflow into the system, and pumper trucks were set up at the C Street pump station to keep up with the flow, Harris said.
“We’ve been trying to stay ahead of it. The flows are coming back down,” he said.
He said the city sent out an advisory asking the community conserve water, which helped the system, and he thanked the community for their efforts.
“We’ve had no sewer spills through this event at all,” Harris said, adding that the city is actively preparing for future rains, thinking about the city’s long-term storage reservoir and monitoring pump stations.
Harris reiterated the city’s request that people take precautions regarding the flood water, noting that there are septic and private systems that could have failed or been compromised.
In response to questions about the impacts on drinking water, Harris replied, “The water supply has always been fine,” explaining that it’s well water from the Scotts Valley area.
Denise Pomeroy, director of the Lake County Public Health Department, also was on hand to urge people to avoid contact with the lake water and to follow law enforcement rules for safety.
“Our team is out doing health assessments now,” she said, explaining that the assessments of homes, restaurants and the water began on Monday and involve her agency and the planning department. Reports will be released to the public when they’re completed.
The city received high marks from community members for the proactive efforts to keep people informed and handle the emergency.
The following is a rundown of important topics for evacuees and city residents.
The Lakeport Emergency Operations Center
The center remains open. It had run around the clock since Feb. 20, and on Tuesday was scaled back to Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. City residents with questions are urged to call the center’s information line at 707-263-5614.
How to find a roundup of city alerts and information
The city of Lakeport’s Web site at http://cityoflakeport.com/hot-details.aspx?id=205 has a full rundown of city health and safety advisories issued for the flood event, from issues regarding not driving on closed roadways to avoiding flood water contact, to school dropoffs, assembling emergency kits and how to sign up to receive messages from the city’s emergency telephone notification system.
How to sign up for Nixle text and email alerts
One of the ways the city of Lakeport issues notifications and emergency notices to community members is through the Nixle alert system.
To sign up for text alerts, text your zip code to 888777. To get email alerts, go to www.nixle.com and sign up for a free account.
Evacuation centers
There are two evacuation centers open for community members displaced by the floods.
The shelters are located at the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1111 Park Way, telephone 707-263-6002, and the Lakeport National Guard Armory, 1431 Hoyt Ave.
If your home or business is inundated, contact the Lake County Community Development office at 707-263-2221 and Lake County Environmental Health at 707-263-1164 before reoccupying the structure.
Employ professional service for septic system repair and maintenance.
Because flood waters can contain unhealthy substances, potentially increasing transmission of communicable diseases. The following general precautions are advised:
– Reduce flow into your drains with strict water conservation measures. – A void contact with floodwaters. – Wash your hands frequently. – Disinfect or discard objects that have been in floodwater.
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.
UKIAH, Calif. – The superintendent/president of the Mendocino-Lake Community College District, Arturo Reyes, has recently been named a finalist in the search for Chancellor at the Ventura County Community College District.
Reyes credits the incredible staff and faculty at Mendocino College for his recruitment. “I know that I was recruited as a candidate for this position in great part due to the tremendous work of the MLCCD board, faculty, staff and managers here at Mendocino College. Our work together is something I am incredibly proud of and have shared with my colleagues around the state since I came to Ukiah over four years ago.”
Living closer to his father, now age 90 and residing primarily in Rosarito, Mexico most of the year, is a huge factor behind Reyes’ consideration of this position.
After being contacted by the search firm representing Ventura County Community College District Reyes said, “I have carefully considered my father’s situation and the chance to be closer to him while contemplating the prospect of serving students in another region of the State in considering this opportunity.”
President Reyes has led a multitude of initiatives in his time at Mendocino College, including the college’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution; the acquisition of the coastal territory and center from College of the Redwoods; significant growth in state and federal grant funding; a comprehensive effort to create a more equity-minded, inclusive culture at the college; strong enrollments, and strengthened relationships and partnerships with all K-12 districts in the region.
In speaking with Reyes, he looks forward to continued success in the California Community College system.
“I have been blessed with tremendous opportunities to serve different communities and honored to serve Mendocino and Lake counties,” he said. “My current role as superintendent/president continues to be very rewarding, inspiring and professionally gratifying. Our trustees, managers, staff, faculty and students are second to none.”
Reyes and his family are saddened about the possibility of leaving this area, yet this is a new opportunity and a professional challenge worth considering.
“If offered the position it will be my father’s situation, the strength and values of their district, and the best interest of my loved ones that will help inform my final decision,” he said.
The Ventura County Community College District serves more than 35,000 students and employs more than 900 staff and faculty members at Moorpark, Ventura and Oxnard College.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Clearlake man has been sentenced to jail time, probation and possible restitution in a case involving the possession of American Indian artifacts that authorities say were looted from local archaeological sites.
Brian Gene Smith, 41, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing ancient American Indian artifacts during a Feb. 21 court appearance, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Kreutzer arrested Smith on Aug. 22, 2015. Kreutzer originally contacted Smith regarding allegations that he had left an inappropriate letter for a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
When Kreutzer found Smith, he was behind a business in Lower Lake, appearing to be under the influence of drugs, with his van filled with a number of artifacts – Indian bone fragments, arrowheads, clay pottery bowls, pieces of obsidian and other rocks which were shaped into points, and other items, according to law enforcement reports.
Some of the objects had index cards explaining where they had been located, which the original sheriff’s report said were areas around Clear Lake that had been exposed due to the ongoing drought conditions at the time.
There also was a flash drive that Kreutzer found that had pictures of Smith and another male subject holding obsidian points from an unknown location, authorities said.
Kreutzer knew he had an archaeological crime case on his hands. Two days beforehand, he had finished a training on such crimes which was co-presented by tribal groups and the sheriff’s office, as Lake County News has reported.
Anderson said Smith failed to show at a Nov. 8 court appearance. On his next court appearance on Jan. 6, he said he was autistic and needed the court to explain a jury trial.
Anderson said his office reached an agreement with Smith in which he pleaded on Jan. 10 to the felony charge of unlawfully possessing ancient American Indian artifacts.
As a result of the agreement, a number of other charges Smith originally had been facing – including vandalism and removing or injuring any object of archaeological or historical interest, and drug charges – were not pursued, Anderson said.
On Feb. 21, retired Lake County Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann sentenced Smith to felony probation and 109 days in the county jail plus other terms of probation which include possible restitution to the local American Indian community, according to Anderson.
“We’re elated. We’re happy,” said Dino Beltran, tribal administrator and treasurer of the Koi Nation of Lower Lake.
It was Beltran who had first proposed to Sheriff Brian Martin in early 2015 that the trainings on archaeological crimes be held locally for law enforcement.
The Koi Nation, Robinson Rancheria and the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake form a tribal consortium called Ancestors 1, which entered into a memorandum of understanding with the county of Lake in 2015 to increase protections for cultural resources.
In October the California Office of Historic Preservation awarded the Governor's Historic Preservation Award for 2016 to Ancestors 1 and the county for the agreement, as Lake County News has reported.
Beltrans praised Sheriff Martin for hosting the archaeological crimes class, Kreutzer for his work and Anderson for following through on the prosecution and “saying that this does mean something.”
There have been other busts previous to the one involving Smith, but they didn’t go anywhere or, in one case, were dismissed as lesser charges in a stabbing case, Beltran said.
While this case has come to its conclusion, Beltran said it’s important to keep up the efforts to stop similar crimes. “These are happening often,” he said.
In a 2015 interview, Martin McAllister of Archaeological Damage Investigation & Assessment – who led the archaeological crimes class held in Lake County – told Lake County news that archaeological looting is a very serious problem, and one that’s “much more serious than the American public realizes.”
McAllister said stolen artifacts form a multimillion dollar black market industry in the United States, and cited Interpol numbers that estimates the illicit artifacts trade is a $7 billion annual industry worldwide.
Anderson said the District Attorney's Office will work closely with law enforcement and the American Indian community to help preserve their culture and heritage.
He said his agency is still doing followup on where the artifacts Smith had in possession came from originally in order to return them to the tribe to whom they belong.
As for similar cases, Anderson said his department doesn’t have any others they’re now working on.
Smith’s case, he said, can serve as a deterrent, but he’s also concerned that it could make some people more interested in attempting to seek out such artifacts.
To that second group, he said, “I wouldn’t take a chance.”
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. – Three men have been sentenced for crappie fishing violations.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said Eugene Law, Freeman Law and Lawrence Law were convicted in related cases.
In September of 2015, local California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, wardens started receiving citizen complaints that Freeman Kwei Law, a resident of Paradise Cove in Lake County, was catching over-limits of crappie from Clear Lake and possibly selling them in the Bay Area, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said it is illegal to possess more than 25 crappie at a time, illegal to sell sport caught fish in California, and illegal to transport live fish from the waters where they are caught.
In September of 2015 wardens with the CDFW Special Operations Unit, with the assistance of local game wardens, began a surveillance operation into Freeman Law’s fishing activities, Hinchcliff said.
The lead warden in CDFW’s Special Operations Unit contacted the Lake County District Attorney’s Office. Hinchcliff, who handles the fish and wildlife prosecutions in Lake County, assisted wardens with obtaining a surveillance warrant for the operation and later search warrants.
Numerous CDFW wardens assisted in the undercover surveillance investigation from September 2015 to April 2016, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said the investigation involved Law’s illegal fishing activities in Lake County, as well as his activities in San Francisco, where he owned a second home.
During the operation, investigators also identified two other suspects in the illegal fishing activities, Lawrence Sil Law and Eugene Kwei Law, both relatives of Freeman Law and residents of San Francisco, Hinchcliff said.
During the months-long surveillance, Hinchcliff said investigators obtained evidence that Freeman Law gave some of the fish away as gifts, which is not illegal, but also that some of the fish were being sold illegally.
Hinchcliff said they also obtained evidence that Freeman Law was catching over-limits of crappie, possessed over-limits of crappie and was illegally transporting live crappie from Clear Lake.
On April 14, 2016, search warrants were served on three locations, including Freeman Law’s residences in Lake County and San Francisco, and Lawrence Law’s residence in San Francisco, Hinchcliff said.
Lawrence and Eugene Law were observed leaving Freeman Law’s residence at 5:30 a.m. and the three warrants were simultaneously served when they reached Lawrence Law’s residence at 8:20 a.m., according to Hinchcliff.
Lawrence and Eugene Law were found in joint possession of 169 crappie they had just transported from Clear Lake. Hinchcliff said Lawrence Law also had five crappie in his freezer and 12 crappie in a pond in his yard.
At Freeman Law’s residence in San Francisco warden’s found approximately 100 crappie in his freezer, while at his residence in Lake County wardens found 187 frozen crappie and 148 live crappie, Hinchcliff said.
In total, more than 600 crappie were located in the three locations and only 75 were legally possessed, according to Hinchcliff.
In addition, Hinchcliff said wardens seized Freeman Law’s Toyota truck and Boston Whaler fishing boat.
He said wardens also seized fishing equipment at Freeman Law’s residences, much of it in unopened packaging, including 57 fishing poles, 53 reels, ice chests, an under water camera, two trolling motors, terminal tackle, and hundreds of fishing lures. Wardens estimated the seized fishing equipment to be worth approximately $20,000.
On Oct. 3, 2016, Hinchcliff filed complaints against the suspects in the Lake County Superior Court, charging them with numerous fish and game violations occurring in Lake and San Francisco counties. Freeman and Lawrence Law also were charged with conspiracy to commit fish and game violations.
On Jan. 17, Eugene Law pleaded no contest to illegal possession of crappie, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said Eugene Law was placed on three years’ probation and fined $5,948. The probation can be terminated after one year if he pays the fine in full and does not violate probation.
On Feb. 24, Lawrence Law pleaded no contest to two counts of illegal possession. He was placed on three years’ probation and fined $5,520. Hinchcliff said the probation can be terminated after two years if he pays the fine in full and does not violate probation.
On Feb. 24, Freeman Law pleaded no contest to two counts of illegal possession and one count of unlawful sale of crappie. He was placed on 5 years’ probation, fined $30,138, and the fishing equipment valued at approximately $20,000 was ordered forfeited, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said the truck and boat will be returned. The probation can be terminated after two years if he pays the fine in full and does not violate probation.
The terms of probation for the Law’s include search conditions for fish and game violations, fishing license revocation and no fishing of any kind, they cannot be in the presence of anyone who is fishing, they can not possess any live fish, and they cannot possess any sport caught fish, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff and local wardens are planning on having the CDFW and the District Attorney’s Office work together to have the forfeited fishing equipment donated to a good cause in Lake County.
At this time, he said they are looking into donating to children who like to fish and who lost their possessions in the Valley fire or Clayton fire, to a local high school bass fishing club or some other similar project.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport Emergency Operations Center will host a community meeting to discuss the latest information on the ongoing flood event.
The meeting will take place beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
City officials said the meeting is open to the public but is mainly intended for Lakeport residents in flood-affected areas. A translator also will be available for Spanish speakers.
Four city neighborhoods along the lakeshore were ordered to evacuate on Feb. 20, with city officials reporting that 225 people were evacuated.
Those city residents remain under a mandatory evacuation order, with evacuation shelters set up at the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1111 Park Way, and the National Guard Armory, 1431 Hoyt Ave. in Lakeport.
City officials said Monday that Verizon has installed a temporary “cell on wheels” at the church to improve wireless communications for emergency workers and the close to 100 evacuees sheltering there.
The city said the Verizon Crisis Response Team outfitted the Lakeport Emergency Operations Center last week with enhanced wireless data connectivity allowing for better coordination among emergency workers and city officials.
Verizon also provided a portable wireless hotspot and Internet-connected laptops to the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s evacuation center for a homework room for schoolchildren, as Lake County News has reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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