Note to sky watchers: Put on your winter coats. What you’re about to read might make you feel an uncontrollable urge to dash outside.

The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up in the evening sky, and you can see the formation Saturday night.

Go out at sunset and look west. Venus and Jupiter pop out of the twilight even before the sky fades completely black. The two brilliant planets surrounded by evening blue is a beautiful sight.

Venus and Jupiter are converging Saturday night. In mid-February they are about 20 degrees apart. By the end of the month, the angle narrows to only 10 degrees – so close that you can hide them together behind your outstretched palm. Their combined beauty grows each night as the distance between them shrinks.

A special night to look is Saturday, Feb. 25, when the crescent Moon moves in to form a slender heavenly triangle with Venus, Jupiter and the Moon as vertices.

One night later, on Sunday, Feb. 26, it happens again. This arrangement will be visible all around the world, from city and countryside alike.

The Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest objects in the night sky; together they can shine through urban lights, fog, and even some clouds.

After hopping from Venus to Jupiter in late February, the Moon exits stage left, but the show is far from over.

In March, Venus and Jupiter continue their relentless convergence until, on March 12 and 13, the duo lie only three degrees apart – a spectacular double beacon in the sunset sky. Now you’ll be able to hide them together behind a pair of outstretched fingertips.

There’s something mesmerizing about stars and planets bunched together in this way – and, no, you’re not imagining things when it happens to you. The phenomenon is based on the anatomy of the human eye.

“Your eye is a bit like a digital camera,” explained optometrist Dr. Stuart Hiroyasu of Bishop, Calif. “There's a lens in front to focus the light, and a photo-array behind the lens to capture the image. The photo-array in your eye is called the retina. It's made of rods and cones, the organic equivalent of electronic pixels.”

There’s a tiny patch of tissue near the center of the retina where cones are extra-densely packed. This is called “the fovea.”

“Whatever you see with the fovea, you see in high-definition,” Hiroyasu said.

The fovea is critical to reading, driving, watching television. The fovea has the brain's attention.

The field of view of the fovea is only about five degrees wide. Most nights in March, Venus and Jupiter will fit within that narrow cone. And when they do – presto! It’s spellbinding astronomy.

Standing outdoors, mesmerized by planets aligned in a late winter sunset, you might just forget how cold you feel. Bring a coat anyway …

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Editor's note: It is important to make clear that Ronnie Campos Jr., mentioned in the following story as coach of the Clear Lake High School wrestling team, is not to be confused with his father, Ron Campos Sr., owner of Campos Casuals and coach of Upper Lake's wrestling team. Ron Campos Sr., a respected longtime wrestling coach, is not in any way involved with this story.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Kelseyville High School wrestler’s progress report is at the center of a controversy in which it’s alleged that the coach of a rival wrestling team took the document and used it to allege, falsely, that the student was ineligible to compete.

The incident in question surrounds the alleged theft of a weekly grade progress report for Kelseyville High School junior Adryan Segura from the school’s wrestling room last week.

Lake County News received permission from Segura and his mother, Lia Lionetti, to name him in this story.

Ronnie Campos Jr., Clear Lake High School’s wrestling coach, is alleged to have taken the document during a practice session on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 9.

The document incorrectly stated that Segura had a 1.8 grade point average, not his correct GPA of 2.0, and allegedly was circulated in an attempt to establish that Segura is not eligible to complete.

Campos told Lake County News on Thursday that he could not comment on the matter because he was under orders from Clear Lake High School not to do so.

“I definitely have a version of the story,” he said, adding, “I’m going to respect what I’ve been asked to do.”

Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent Erin Smith Hagberg said she could not comment on any personnel matter.

Rob Brown, Kelseyville High School’s wrestling coach, said he reported the document’s removal from the wrestling room to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

He said Deputy Cynthia Radoumis is investigating the matter and picked up the progress report – which reportedly was recovered from Campos by Clear Lake High School officials and returned to Kelseyville High – as evidence.

Lionetti said her rights and those of her son have been violated, especially when it comes to confidentiality. She’s filed a formal complaint with the Lakeport Unified School District and is considering taking legal action.

When she filed the complaint, she said Hagberg apologized to her, said Campos was on administrative leave and that the district had acted immediately to address the incident.

Lionetti said the document that allegedly was taken was a weekly progress report she consented to have the school give to her son’s coaches so they can keep up-to-date on his grades and make sure he remains eligible for competition.

She said Campos also has slandered her son, who wrestles in the 147-pound weight class, by telling people that the young man’s wrestling wins were attributable not to skill but to steroids.

“It’s very poor sportsmanship, it’s very unprofessional, with no integrity at all,” she said.

Lionetti also believes it was an attempt to keep her son – who has been competing as a wrestler since sixth grade – from wrestling in this weekend’s Coastal Mountain Conference League Finals, the prelude to the North Coast Section finals.

Brown and Kelseyville High School Principal Matt Cockerton both said they’ve been informed that the matter is set to be discussed at the Lakeport Unified School District’s next board of trustees meeting.

Cockerton said Kelseyville High has been in discussions with Clear Lake High officials regarding the alleged incident.

“We’re confident that they’ve taken care of whatever they need to take care of on their end,” Cockerton said, adding that the two schools have a good working relationship.

Brown said he also believes Clear Lake High will handle the matter properly. “Their integrity is too high to allow somebody like this to discredit them.”

Document allegedly taken, circulated

Brown first reported the matter via a lengthy e-mail to Cockerton on Friday, Feb. 10, after he received a call earlier in the day from Tom Powers, a Lakeport Unified School District board member and the parent of a Clear Lake High wrestler.

Brown said Powers asked him about Kelseyville High’s eligibility policy and then specifically asked about 17-year-old Segura.

At that point, Brown said he knew immediately what had happened, as a copy of Segura’s progress report – which stated incorrectly that his GPA was 1.8, not 2.0, based on a simple calculation error – was on a table in the wrestling room, where Campos had been the night before.

Brown said Powers confirmed to him that Campos had taken the document. By that time the progress report already had been distributed publicly, which Brown said he confirmed through a phone call to North Coast Sections Assistant Commissioner Bri Niemi.

Brown believes the alleged action by Campos was a “desperate attempt” to overturn a match between the two teams on Feb. 8 in which Kelseyville beat Clearlake 37-33 – they also beat Lower Lake 45-36 in the same match – and moved another step closer to the Coastal Mountain Conference League finals, scheduled for this weekend.

Brown said in more than 30 years of coaching he’s never witnessed such a violation of a student’s rights and dignity as he has in Segura’s case, and called Campos’ behavior “inexcusable.”

In his Feb. 10 e-mail to Cockerton Brown suggests that Campos should be terminated, banned from Kelseyville Unified property, that he should have to return to the district the item he allegedly took and write a formal apology to Segura.

Lionetti said Brown was the first person to contact her about the issue. By the time he had, the document already had been circulated publicly, including on the Internet.

She credited Brown with taking immediate action and working to defend her son in the face of the unfair and inaccurate accusations that arose following the Feb. 9 incident.

Student was always eligible under school policy

According to Segura’s progress report, released to Lake County News with the permission of Segura’s family, he has a 2.0 grade point average. Included among his grades is one F grade.

Cockerton told Lake County News that the school’s policy is that students may participate in sports if they have a 2.0 GPA or above.

Even with an F grade in one class, based on district guidelines Segura is eligible to compete, and Cockerton confirmed the winning wrestler is still on the Kelseyville High team.

That’s because the district does not have a “no F” policy, said Cockerton.

Previously the district had barred students with F grades from participating in sports, but Cockerton said the board of trustees changed the policy last summer.

That move was made in response to a situation in which a student athlete failed an AP course, but was doing well in other courses. Cockerton said the district didn’t want to penalize students who were succeeding in some areas but struggling in others.

As for who determines eligibility, “Coaches have nothing to do with it,” but rather receive an eligibility list from the athletic director who works with administration to make the final determinations, said Cockerton.

Cockerton said the school uses software to calculate the GPAs, but it has a glitch that affected not just Segura’s progress report but those of other students as well.

“When we ran eligibility, we had several athletes that came up below 2.0 that we had to recalculate for whatever reason,” said Cockerton. “That’s where this whole thing started.”

Cockerton added of Segura, “He had a 2.0 from the get-go.”

Brown had an ineligible wrestler a few years ago, and he brought the matter forward himself, Cockerton said, adding that the school proceeded with sanctions.

Cockerton said the North Coast Section is pretty specific about how to handle ineligible players. In the previous case, “We had to notify everybody,” and that would have been the case had ineligibility been an issue here, he said.

Lionetti said her son is doing fine in the wake of the recent controversy.

“He knows his coach would never let him wrestle without the grades,” said Lionetti, adding that Brown carefully monitors his wrestlers’ grades, even to the point of having a recent Saturday study session to make sure all of them were up-to-date on their homework.

She said she has received outstanding community support as the matter has unfolded.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A settlement the California Attorney General’s Office has reached with five banks is expected to bring tens of millions of dollars of assistance to Lake County homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Last week Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the commitment of up to $18 billion by the banks to benefit hundreds of thousands of homeowners in California, the state hardest hit by the mortgage meltdown of the last several years.

The banks included in the settlement are Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial.

Those banks also are known under other trade names, including Countrywide (a trade name for Bank of America); Washington Mutual and EMC Mortgage (Chase); CitiMortgage (Citibank); Wachovia (Wells Fargo); and GMAC (Ally Financial).

“California families will finally see substantial relief after experiencing so much pain from the mortgage crisis,” Harris said in a written statement. “Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will directly benefit from this California commitment.”

The settlement calls for county-specific payments based on the number of homeowners and the depth of the foreclosure crisis in the particular areas.

The five counties expected to receive the largest benefit amounts are Los Angeles, $3.92 billion; Riverside, $1.59 billion; San Bernardino, $1.13 billion; Sacramento, $820 million; and Stanislaus, $368 million.

In Lake County, where thousands of homeowners have lost their homes or gone underwater on their mortgages, an estimated $43.7 million in relief is expected, the Attorney General’s Office told Lake County News.

Neighboring Sonoma County is expected to receive $267 million, while Napa is slated to receive about $79.3 million and Yolo $74.5 million.

Lake’s other neighboring county’s are estimated to receive less. Colusa’s expected amount is $8.9 million; Glenn, $7.3 million; and Mendocino, $25.8 million.

“The impact of the foreclosure on that community was one of the factors” in determining amounts counties would receive, said Linda Gledhill, an Attorney General’s Office spokesperson.

The settlement calls for more than $12 billion to reduce the principal on loans or offer short sales to approximately 250,000 California homeowners who are underwater on their loans and behind or almost behind in their payments.

If the banks fail to enact at least $12 billion in principal reductions for California homeowners, they face up to $800 million in payments to the state. The settlement also allows Harris to summon the banks to California state court to enforce the obligations.

In addition, $849 million is estimated to be dedicated to refinancing the loans of 28,000 homeowners who are current on their payments but underwater on their loans, the Attorney General’s Office said.

The agency said another $279 million will be dedicated to offering restitution to approximately 140,000 California homeowners who were foreclosed upon between 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011.

Other settlement terms include an estimated $1.1 billion to be distributed to homeowners for unemployed payment forbearance and transition assistance, and to communities to repair the blight left by about 16,000 recent foreclosures; $3.5 billion to relieving 32,000 homeowners of unpaid balances remaining when their homes are foreclosed; and $430 million in costs, fees and penalty payments.

Homeowners urged to prepare

The settlement does not start immediately, but must be approved by a U.S. district court judge, who has to name a federal monitor, according to the state.

However, in preparation for that final approval, Gledhill said homeowners should start to get their information together immediately in order to apply for assistance.

“We’re encouraging people to start this process now,” said Gledhill.

The Attorney General’s Office’s Web site has an in-depth frequently asked questions section on the national mortgage settlement at https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs.

More information also is available at http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/.

Gledhill said homeowners seeking help first need to know who owns their mortgage. If it’s one of the five banks covered in the settlement, they should contact that bank directly and start talking to them about receiving assistance.

She said some of the banks involved have indicated that they will set up consumer assistance centers to aid homeowners in the process.

The Attorney General’s Office intends to make sure the banks follow through on the requirements, Gledhill said.

Harris has said she will appoint a monitor to follow how the banks enact the settlement in California.

The Attorney General’s Office also is expanding its Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, which currently has more than 42 members, to speed mortgage-related investigations and strengthen resulting prosecutions. It also will continue an investigative alliance with Nevada, which allows for the sharing of resources and strategies.

Harris’ office also announced that she plans to propose a comprehensive legislative agenda to protect homeowners in the mortgage market.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Getting affairs in order is important to you and your loved ones at multiple levels.

First, a comprehensive, well drafted estate plan may afford you protection against an otherwise avoidable conservatorship of your own estate; against a costly and time consuming probate; and against financial abuse.

Second, a thoughtful estate plan can promote your legacy with your surviving loved ones when you are no longer there to assist them.

Third, your estate plan can also protect your loved ones’ inheritances against creditor actions by their own creditors; it can protect a beneficiary who receives needs based government benefits from becoming disqualified due to receiving their inheritance; and it can control and manage their inheritance so that it is not wasted or abused by them or others.

Let us consider this in more detail.

Incapacity planning

You owe it to yourself and your family to plan for and authorize who steps in to manage your affairs, personal care, and health care decisions, when you are unable to manage them for yourself due to a mental or physical incapacity.

A well drafted durable power of attorney for financial affairs and a separate property management and a durable power of attorney for personal care (not to be confused with an advance health care directive) can authorize your named agent(s) to exercise the rights of control and management over assets held in your name (and not in a trust), in the manner prescribed in the instrument, for your benefit and the benefit of your dependents. These instruments are different.

A power of attorney for financial affairs and property management is usually much broader and speaks to managing your financial accounts, assets (e.g., bank accounts, retirement plans, and brokerages), exercising legal rights (e.g., government benefits, contractual rights, and rights to sue), and fulfilling legal responsibilities (e.g., filing a tax return and paying support).

 It becomes effective either upon signing or upon your incapacity. It either ceases upon the principal’s death or at a date certain; and, it can always be revoked sooner by written revocation and notice by the principal to the named agent so long as the principal has capacity to revoke.

A separate power of attorney for personal care, however, specifically addresses your personal care, living arrangements, maintenance of personal property, and maintaining the residence.

A personal care directive allows your health care agents to make personal care arrangements (e.g., hire nurses). Either a financial account would be made available to the personal care agent or he would need the assistance of the financial agent (or the trustee) that controls the financial accounts).

Lastly, the advance health care directive authorizes your agent to make medical decisions affecting medical care. It also authorizes your agent to dispose of your body after you die, and to authorize an autopsy. Special health care instructions may be included.

Legacy planning

Discussed here are when a probate is needed, how assets are distributed, and how to protect your loved ones’ inheritances.

Estates with an appraised date of death value at or below $150,000 that would otherwise be subject to probate now qualify as small estates for summary administration procedures. No probate and or creditor notification is needed under summary administration. (See the “Settling Small Estates under $150,000” at www.DennisFordhamLaw.com/blog.)

Persons with larger estates can avoid probate by transferring their assets into a living trust. The trustee controls the assets both during life time and at death for the benefit of the settlor(s) and their loved ones, as relevant.

Trusts allow you to designate who is in charge of trust assets during your incapacity and how the trust benefits you and any dependents.

Not all assets are transferable to one’s trust. Retirement accounts, annuities and life insurances pass pursuant to designation of death beneficiary forms wherein you name your primary and alternative death beneficiaries.

The distribution scheme at death varies with the circumstances and goals. You may choose to make outright distributions of assets to those who are without creditor problems and who are not receiving needs based government benefits.

Otherwise, you may transfer certain inheritances into an irrevocable special needs trust those receiving (or expected to receive) needs based government benefits and into an irrevocable discretionary asset protection trust for those who would likely lose what they received due to improvidence or debt problems.

The trustee is given absolute discretion to make distributions to or for the benefit of the named beneficiary. In California such further trusts can last for up to 90 years.

If you treat your surviving heirs unequally, or disinherit an heir completely, then your estate planning must be drafted to withstand later scrutiny by a disgruntled/disinherited heir. This entails including appropriate disinheritance and no contest provision.

The drafting attorney will need to preserve documents that evidence your intentions. Sometimes a physician’s capacity determination showing that you had testamentary capacity is needed.

A handwritten letter by you stating your reasons and wishes may be helpful to show that you expressly intended the unequal results of your own accord. All of this requires the guidance of a qualified attorney.

Also, if you wish to leave something to a person not related by blood or marriage, especially a person who has provided care giver services (e.g., such as a friend who takes you to the doctor and prepares your meals), then a certificate of independent review may be necessary to support the validity of your estate planning gift.

Estate planning also involves adequate contingency planning for what happens to inheritances when the intended beneficiary does not inherit (due to death or disclaimer – refusal to receive).

Do you wish for the assets to go to a deceased beneficiary’s own surviving children? The same answer is not true for all persons.

Unintended consequences, including probates, happen when unforeseen events occur without adequate contingency planning.

Tax planning

Estate planning also involves tax considerations such as the estate and gift tax, income tax, and local real property taxes.

Presently, the estate and gift tax is only a concern for the very wealth because the first $5 million of a deceased individual, or of $10 million in the case of a married couple with effective estate tax planning, are exempt.

Uncertainty exists as to what happens come Jan. 1, 2013, when present law states that these amounts shall revert to $1 million to $2 million, respectively. Most likely, Congress will again enact last minute legislation preserving the existing generous exemptions.

Income tax considerations, however, concern everyone. Congress preserved the so-called “stepped up” basis that allows the assets of a deceased person to receive a new income tax basis equal to their appraised date of death value.

With appreciated assets, any unrealized gain accumulated over the decedent’s lifetime is eliminated. With depreciated assets, any unrealized loss is unfortunately lost. Thus, it may help your beneficiaries if you sell or gift depreciated assets while alive and hold-on to appreciating assets till death.

Income tax considerations are important in selecting your death beneficiaries on your tax deferred retirement assets. Typically, one wants to preserve the stretch out of required minimum distributions over your beneficiary’s lifetime in order to defer income taxes.

For this reason, trusts that continue in existence (after you death) for the purpose of administering assets over the years for your loved ones, are not usually named as designated death beneficiaries, except in extenuating circumstances (e.g., a special needs trust or a creditor protection trust) where the income tax considerations are less important than other non tax considerations.

Local real property tax rules favor one’s surviving spouse and surviving children and grandchildren from a deceased child. Gifts to them of real property are not subject to reassessment.

Sometimes it is better to leave real property assets only to those children who will hold on to the real property and not include other children who want to be cashed out.

Final considerations

Implementation of one’s estate plan usually entails the assistance of multiple professionals, including, at a minimum, a qualified attorney and a financial planner, and the cooperation of competent and trusted persons to act as one’s agent, trustee and executor. The qualifications of those you entrust are of great importance to the probable outcome.

Procrastination is frequently why people fail to get their affairs in order. It is simply too easy to delay, especially when thinking about one’s mortality. That said acting when one is free from compulsion is less risky and more pleasant than delaying until when it is absolutely necessary to act. Consider the peace of mind that you enjoy when you know that you and your family are protected.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." data-mce-href="mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com.

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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Middletown teenager and her family are seeking information from the community in order to find out more about the cause of a November crash that resulted in the loss of her arm.

Kya Hill, 17, a senior at Middletown High School, was seriously injured in the crash on Nov. 3, 2011, on Highway 29 a few miles over the Napa County line and six and a half miles north of Tubbs Lane, as Lake County News reported.

Hill was riding with her boyfriend, Samuel Weatherwax of Middletown, in his pickup that evening, heading south over Mount St. Helena, when the pickup lost traction, went off the road and hit a rock embankment, the California Highway Patrol’s Napa Area office reported.

In the collision Hill sustained injuries that led to the loss of her right arm.

An in-depth CHP investigation found what may have been the crash’s main factor – an officer stepped in and slipped on “an unknown slippery substance” on the right half of the southbound traffic lane, where Weatherwax had been driving.

The officer wrote in the report that he was unable to confirm what the substance was.

The substance was 100 feet long by 2 feet wide, according to the CHP report.

The report ruled that the cause was “other than driver,” as Weatherwax “could not have foreseen the slippery substance on the roadway as he negotiated a curve on a dark mountainous roadway.”

Attorney Jesse Chrisp, who is representing Hill and her family, said the CHP has no leads as to what the substance was or its source.

Now Hill and her family are reaching out to the community to ask if anyone saw a roadway spill occur on Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena that night.

Because the spill was so large, Chrisp said it’s believed to have come either from a semi truck or a commercial vehicle hauling some substance from Lake County into Napa County.

Prior to the crash, Hill had enlisted in the U.S. Army for eight years. Because of the loss of her arm, her military career plans have ended, Chrisp said.

He said Hill now is planning to go to college, but she is having to learn how to live without her arm.

Anyone with information about this spill is asked to call Chrisp's office at 707-994-0529.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A well-known and respected North Coast musician and his sister died in a vehicle crash in Southern Oregon Tuesday night.

Mark Albert Hansen, 59, of Talmage and his sister, Elise M. Hansen, 45, of Gloucester, Mass., died at the scene of the collision, which occurred on Highway 97 near Crescent, the Oregon State Police said in a Wednesday report.

According to Oregon State Police Sgt. Keith Taylor, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday Hansen was driving a four-door 1988 Honda Accord northbound on Highway 97 when he lost control on the ice-covered roadway.

Hansen's Honda crossed into the southbound lane and collided with a 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup driven by 47-year-old Lisa Daniel of Post Falls, Idaho, the report said.

Both Mark and Elise Hansen were pronounced dead at the scene. The Oregon State Police said they were both using safety restraints.

The report said Daniel and her 13-year-old daughter, Caitlin M. Brown, both suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported by ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.

Both Daniel and her daughter were using safety restraints and the pickup’s airbags deployed. State police said two dogs in their vehicle survived and were taken by an Oregon State Police trooper to Deschutes County Animal Shelter.

Oregon State Police troopers from Bend, Gilchrist and Klamath Falls offices responded to investigate, the agency said.

Local area emergency responding agencies and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene. The roadway was closed for about four hours with a detour in place.

The investigation into the crash is continuing, according to the Oregon State Police report.

A guitarist, Mark Hansen was well known on the local music circuit, and “was one of our favorite musicians here at the Blue Wing,” said the restaurant's owner, Bernie Butcher.

Butcher said Hansen – who he called “a real pro” – had played his last gig at the Blue Wing in Upper Lake on Monday night with a group that included Tom Aiken on keyboards and Paul McCandless on wind instruments.

Editor's note: The official report from the Oregon State Police recorded the first spelling of Hansen's name as “Mark,” however his name appears in various other places as “Marc.” For the purposes of this article, the spelling reported in the crash report was used.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Hidden Valley Lake man has received a six-year prison sentence for the April 2011 sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

On Wednesday Frank Joseph Vivero, 21, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom to six years and eight months in state prison for sexual assault.

Vivero had pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating Penal Code section 261(a)(3), rape of a juvenile female, and one felony count of violating Penal Code section 261.5(c), statutory rape involving a second juvenile female, according to the Lake County District Attorney's Office.

According to investigation reports, on April 18, 2011, at approximately 5:20 p.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the Coyote Valley Elementary School in Hidden Valley Lake on a report that several juveniles were drinking alcohol on school grounds.

As deputies arrived in the area it was further reported that a 14-year-old girl was lying unconscious near the rear of the school. Vivero was detained at the scene by deputies, officials reported.

Further investigation revealed that Vivero was previously acquainted with the unconscious girl. She had allegedly contacted him on the afternoon of April 18 and suggested that they hang out. She and a juvenile female friend obtained a 1.75 litre bottle of vodka and met Vivero at Coyote Valley Elementary School.

The three spent the rest of the afternoon consuming the vodka, according to the investigation. At one point Vivero began kissing one of the girls who was extremely intoxicated. Shortly afterwards Vivero began having sex with the intoxicated and unconscious juvenile, and at some point had sex with the other juvenile.

During a subsequent interview with a sheriff’s investigator, Vivero admitted to having intercourse with the two juveniles, officials reported.

Vivero was represented by David Markham. The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

On Thursday Representatives Mike Thompson (CA-1) and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6) introduced an amendment to ban drilling on of California’s North Coast.

H.R. 3408, the Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act would automatically open the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Alaska’s Bristol Bay, Southern California and the Virginia coast for oil and gas leasing.

The bill also could potentially open up California’s North Coast to drilling – even if the state objects to offshore drilling in the region.

“Oil drilling is an important component of our energy solution, but we should only drill where it’s appropriate – and that means no drilling off the North Coast,” said Thompson. “The North Coast is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, supporting salmon, Dungeness crab, rockfish, sole, and urchin populations. It is one of four major upwellings in all the world’s oceans, allowing nutrient-rich water to rise supporting an abundance of marine life.

Thompson continued, “If an oil spill were to occur in this area, not only would the economic damage to businesses and tourism be staggering, the rocky shores and rough seas would make a cleanup impossible. This amendment should be passed, and Congress must affirm that although oil is a part of our energy solution, we will not be opening up the North Coast for drilling.”

“The waters off California’s North Coast are some of the most abundant and exquisitely beautiful on the face of the earth,” said Woolsey. “Our commercial fishing industry depends on this thriving marine ecosystem, as do our research scientists. They are critical to our local economy, supporting thousands and thousands of tourism-related jobs. Who would visit the North Coast to look at an oil derrick? We must block any attempt to open these waters to drilling.”

In a decision to “trust but verify,” Thompson and Woolsey introduced an amendment clarifying that the North Coast may not be opened for drilling under H.R. 3408. Passing the amendment will affirm that there would not be North Coast drilling in the future.

According to a 2009 Energy Information Administration report, opening up waters that are currently closed to drilling would only yield an enough oil to reduce gas prices by no more than 3 cents a gallon – in 2030.

In Northern California, the potential economic impact of the region’s oil supply is even smaller: if all the recoverable reserves of Northern California’s Outer Continental Shelf were tapped, they would provide enough oil to fuel the U.S. for only 100 days.

Thompson and Woolsey have been a longtime opponent of efforts to open drilling off the coast of Northern California. In May he introduced a similar amendment to H.R. 231, the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act that would affirm the North Coast would not be opened to drilling. In January, he reintroduced legislation to ban drilling off the coast of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino Counties.

Woolsey is the author H.R. 192, co-sponsored by Thompson and 53 others and widely supported in the local community, which would permanently protect the Sonoma Coast from oil and gas exploration by more than doubling the size of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

Below is the full text of Thompson’s remarks on the House Floor introducing the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Now, I request to yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I represent a coastal community and take seriously threats to our nation’s coastline. The Thompson/Woolsey amendment #127 would clarify that H.R. 3408 would not open drilling along the Northern California coast.

Proponents of H.R. 3408 claim that Northern California does not meet the minimum production potential to be eligible for offshore drilling. However, I do not simply want to take the House Majority’s word for it. In a Congress that has seen an unprecedented push to weaken safety standards for the oil and gas industry, I do not want to leave the door open for alternative interpretations. The people of the North Coast of California want to ensure that their environmentally unique and critical coast is protected. Period.

Because this amendment is a clarification of the legislation’s intent, there is no cost associated with it.

It is important to me and to my constituents that H.R. 3408 makes clear that drilling will not occur in the Northern California Planning Area – along the coasts of Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Sonoma and Marin counties.

The coastal area of my district is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, and supports salmon, Dungeness crab, rockfish, sole, and urchin populations.

If an oil spill were to occur in this area, the environmental and economic costs would be staggering. Response and clean-up efforts would be hazardous and minimally effective given the rocky shores and rough waters.

Drilling for oil or gas off of California’s North Coast could cause serious harm to the unique and productive ecosystem and abundant marine life. The economic damage to businesses and tourism that rely on these pristine areas would also be substantial.

This amendment will simply clarify that this bill does not require drilling off the North Coast of California.

I urge a yes vote on this amendment and I reserve my time.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday St. Helena Hospital Clearlake today received a $25,000 contribution to assist with their Live Well program.

The grant, which was given to the nonprofit organization through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program, will be used to provide new expanded space for the many educational groups and outside community organizations throughout the Lake County region.

The new area will be used as a learning center for group meetings, one of the most important aspects of the Live Well program.

“The generosity of Walmart is greatly appreciated,” said Kimberly Tangermann, associate director of family health centers, St. Helena Hospital Clearlake. “The Live Well program values Walmart’s contribution to evolving the health of our community.”

Since opening its doors in early 2011, the Live Well program at St. Helena Hospital’s Clearlake Family Health Center has helped thousands to overcome or avoid chronic illness.

Live Well emphasizes the whole-person approach to chronic health issues. Based on St. Helena’s core value of treating mind, body and spirit together, Live Well incorporates patient education, physical conditioning, diet and lifestyle choices, and staff and peer support to help patients become active partners in their own health care and make meaningful life changes.

“The Walmart Foundation is very pleased to support St. Helena Hospital’s Live Well program, and is committed to helping those in need in the communities we serve,” said Clearlake Assistant Store Manager Coleen Lee. “We are hopeful that this grant will help St Helena Hospital Clearlake educate our community about healthy living so we can all live better.”

Live Well is located at the St Helena Family Health Center at 15230 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake. For more information about Live Well, call 707-995-4545.

To be considered for support, perspective grantee organizations must submit applications through the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program’s online grant application.

Applicants must have a current 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status in order to meet the program’s minimum eligibility criteria. Additional information about the program’s funding guidelines and application are available online at www.walmartfoundation.org/stategiving.

In 2010, in California, Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation awarded more than $29.1 million in cash and in-kind donations to local organizations in the communities they serve.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Driving plays an important part in maintaining an active, rewarding lifestyle. It means independence, freedom and the pursuit of happiness at any age.

The California Highway Patrol understands how much seniors enjoy driving, and offers a program designed to help extend their driving years.

“Our ultimate goal is saving lives in California,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “To help accomplish this mission, our personnel are taking the ‘Age Well, Drive Smart’ program out into California’s senior communities. Not only is this program intended to save lives, but it is one way to help older motorists drive as long as possible.”

The recent receipt of a federal grant will enable the CHP to continue to offer this valuable traffic safety program to California’s growing senior population through Sept. 30, 2012.

“Age Well, Drive Smart” is a free, two-hour senior driver safety/mobility class offered by the CHP and focuses on educating drivers, aged 65 years and over.

Individuals can register for the course by contacting their local CHP office. In Lake County, the CHP office can be contacted at 707-279-0103.

The Keeping Everyone Safe (KEYS) III grant will also help fund a public awareness campaign using a variety of available tools to address older adult driving issues.

In addition, educational materials will be produced and distributed statewide. CHP personnel will also conduct educational presentations at various venues and will staff traffic safety booths at community events.

“Continued education through a program like this is an excellent way to help extend your driving years,” added Commissioner Farrow.

Funding for the KEYS III grant is provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A 106-year-old woman escaped unharmed from her burning home Tuesday night thanks to a neighbor.

The fire, which broke out shortly after 7 p.m., occurred in a doublewide mobile home in space No. 18 at Sterling Shore Estates Mobile Home Park, located at 5830 Robin Hill Drive in Lakeport, according to Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells.

Wells said the woman was home alone that night – her family was away – when she noticed that in a corner of the residence flames were coming from a heating pad.

“The only thing she knew was to get low and start crawling out,” he said.

A neighbor came to the woman’s aid and helped her escape the structure, according to Wells. She was uninjured.

Two dogs did perish in the fire, he said.

Wells said two Lakeport Fire engines, assisted by an engine from Kelseyville Fire and an engine from Northshore Fire, responded, with a total of 19 personnel on scene.

The fire was contained shortly before 9 p.m., he said.

Wells said a Red Cross caseworker arrived at the scene and made the appropriate contacts to get the woman and her family emergency help and shelter.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .