HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – Officials are investigating the circumstances behind a Tuesday morning house fire in Hidden Valley Lake, with a juvenile male in custody who may have been responsible for setting the fire.

The fire did serious damage to a home at 19407 Deer Hill Road, which was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on scene shortly after 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to South Lake County Fire Battalion Chief Scott Upton.

Later in the morning, Lake County Sheriff's deputies detained a 17-year-old male, whose name has not been released because of his minor status, according to Capt. James Bauman.

The incident was initially reported just after 8 a.m., when a woman who lived at the home called to report that her son attempted to set the home's bathroom on fire, had spread lighter fluid throughout the house and broke things inside the residence before leaving on foot, Bauman said.

About five minutes later, at approximately 8:12 a.m., another call came in reporting the home was on fire, Bauman said. A deputy who arrived in the area a few minutes later began looking for the teen.

Upton said eight fire units responded to the fire, located in a 2,500-square-foot, split-level home.

“We got pretty quick knockdown on it,” Upton said, adding that they contained the fire to the second floor, where it appeared to have originated.

By the time firefighters arrived, everyone in the home was outside, Upton said. No residents or firefighters were injured in the incident.

Shortly after 8:30 a.m., as firefighters were working on extinguishing the blaze, the Lake County Sheriff's Office put out an alert on the Nixle system, seeking information on the whereabouts of the teen.

The message said the teenager was “suspected of starting a fire at a house and throwing rocks at passing cars,” and described him as a white male, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with thin or shaved blonde hair, wearing a dark blue shirt, baggy pants and tennis shoes.

Bauman said the teen's mother reported that he might be heading to his stepfather’s home on Horseshoe Drive.

Deputies located the teenager at around 8:40 a.m. in the 18000 block of Horseshoe Drive, in front of the stepfather's home, Bauman said. A Google map indicated the location is about a half-hour's walk from the burned home.

As deputies approached the juvenile, the boy retrieved a large rock from the front yard and threw it through the front window of his stepfather’s home. Bauman said the juvenile was then detained without further incident.

A followup Nixle report announcing the teen's arrest went out shortly before 9 a.m.

Bauman said the teenager's mother told deputies that earlier in the morning her son had just finished taking a shower when she heard a loud noise in the bathroom. When she asked the boy if he was alright, he told her he had broken a shelf and then went into the garage, presumably to get something to fix the shelf.

When he returned from the garage, he had a bottle of lighter fluid and began spreading the fluid throughout the house, Bauman said.

When the woman took the lighter fluid away from the boy, he began breaking items in the home, according to Bauman. While the woman called 911 for help, the boy reportedly went into her bedroom, spread toilet paper throughout the room, and started the fire before fleeing from the home on foot.

Bauman said deputies arrested the teenager and transported him to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for a medical and mental health clearance. He was then taken to the Lake County Juvenile Hall and booked on several arson-related charges.

When firefighters responded to the incident, they weren't aware that the fire may have been intentionally set, Upton said.

Upton said sheriff's personnel arrived at the scene about an hour after the fire to let him know what was going up. Later, some sheriff's detectives visited the scene.

Investigators were working the scene Tuesday to try to determine the cause, Upton said.

“We just brought in one of the Cal Fire prevention officers and we've activated the Lake County Arson Task Force,” he said.

Upton estimated the home's value to be at about $300,000, with the property saved valued at half that amount.

“It has a severe amount of damage to the inside of the home,” Upton said.

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The May revise, unveiled Monday morning, proposes to reduce the amount of taxes needed to balance the budget by $3 billion, improve debt management, offers tax incentives to spur job creation and would pay off most of the state's $34.7 billion debt that has accumulated over the last decade, according to Brown.

“California’s economy is growing, but we still face a $10 billion structural deficit and a wall of debt for years to come,” said Brown. “California’s finances were plunged into turmoil by the Great Recession and a decade of short-term fixes and fiscal gimmicks. This is not the time to delay or evade. This is the time to put our finances in order.”

As part of the revisions, Brown is planning to further downsize state government, proposing the elimination of 43 boards, commissions, task forces, offices and departments, among them the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Programs, which Brown said will be cut as services are returned to the local level. He also proposes to merge the Healthy Families Program into the Medi-Cal program.

Brown is proposing to sell off “underutilized” state-owned properties such as the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Montclair Golf Course in Oakland, the Capital Area Development Authority in Sacramento and the Ramirez Canyon property in Southern California.

The governor also said he intends to restore honesty to the budget process by addressing revenue shortfalls in departments such as the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Mental Health, which he said were underfunded last year by $465 million.

Brown said he plans to spur job creation through a number of tax incentives, including restrictions on enterprise zone credits to create new jobs only, reduced sales tax on equipment purchases to encourage manufacturing jobs and a revamped hiring tax credit.

He said the revised budget also will increase funding to public schools by $3 billion, but the state still owes schools billions . Brown said the state has spent years shortchanging schools, which resulted in schools having to borrow to balance their budgets.

Brown's budget received a mixture of praise and criticism.

Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton (Rancho Cucamonga) and Senate Budget Vice Chair Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) said in a joint statement that Senate Republicans believe Brown is moving in the right direction by making education and law enforcement funding a top priority, and they also credited Brown for embracing what they said were Republican proposals of paying down state debt and providing some job-creation incentives.

“But the May Revise goes too far on taxes and not far enough on reforms,” they said.

They said that Brown didn't curb government spending in the May revise, which they said still “still sets the state on a course of excessive spending growth in the future – spending that relies on tax increases.”

Republicans also said it's “ridiculous” to ask voters for five years of new taxes with an estimated $6.6 billion in new revenues.

Instead, they called for a hard spending cap, pension reform and business-regulation relief.

California Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Allan Zaremberg weighed in, saying, “The only path out of this on-going crisis is a bi-partisan, comprehensive budget solution that solves both short and long term budget issues.” Such a solution, he added, needs to “recognize and correct the costly impact that our regulatory climate has on jobs here.”

State Controller John Chiang appeared optimistic that the May budget revision was heading in the right direction.

“The test of a budget’s soundness involves looking at its sustainability, honesty, and whether it positions California for lasting economic prosperity,” Chiang said in a Monday statement. “While the particulars will be ironed out in the days ahead, I commend Governor Brown for presenting a plan that appears to avoid one-time gimmicks, begins reigning in the state’s borrowing, and offers fundamental and cost-effective reforms for the delivery of local and state services.”

California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott called Brown's budget “a fiscally responsible, balanced approach to lead the state in the right direction.”

Scott commended Brown for allocating $350 million to reduce the colleges' present deferral funding of $961 million, following nearly $1 billion in cuts over a three-year period. He said the funds will give colleges badly needed resources in this difficult year and will assist them to provide both job training and the first two years of a college education.

“We hope that Californians can vote on a tax extension that could provide education for thousands of students,” said Scott.

At the same time the California Federation of Teachers, which pointed out that even with the additional funds public education's proposed spending in 2011-12 will be $7 billion less than it was in 2007-08, suggested that increasing taxes by 1 percent on the wealthiest 1 percent of Californians would raise $2.5 billion for education and services.

Some of the harshest criticism came from a coalition of redevelopment supporters, who said that Brown's continued plans to eliminate redevelopment – which they said were illegal according to the by California Legislative Counsel and numerous constitutional and redevelopment experts – will harm local job creation and the economy.

“The governor has repeatedly claimed he wants to end the gimmicks and wants honest budgeting,” said Chris McKenzie, executive director, League of California Cities. “But his proposal to eliminate redevelopment will result in more of the same. It is illegal, will not provide the State any budgetary relief and, by destroying local economic growth, will actually reduce State and local revenues.”

Rather than supporting redevelopment's total elimination, the groups are backing SB 450 (Sen. Alan Lowenthal) and SB 286 (Sen. Roderick Wright), which the group said would implement reforms, increase accountability and allow redevelopment agencies to voluntarily and legally contribute $2.7 billion to schools over 10 years to help offset state general fund obligations.

“We’re confident legislators will reject the Governor’s illegal proposal and instead act to reform redevelopment to preserve this critical local job-creating tool for future generations,” said John Shirey, executive director, California Redevelopment Association.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, a nonpartisan public policy research group, said Brown's approach remained “the only credible path” to a balanced budget, but regretted his decision to retain the Enterprise Zone Program while proposing to close parks and cut services to vulnerable members of society.

The May Revision can be found at www.ebudget.ca.gov/.

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A yellow Ford Mustang nearly went into Clear Lake near Lucerne, Calif., after the car's driver lost control and went off the road on Monday, May 16, 2011. Photo by Gary McAuley.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A yellow Ford Mustang ended up perched on rocks on the Clear Lake shoreline Monday evening after its driver lost control and went off the highway.

The single vehicle crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. Monday on Highway 20 near Pepperwood Cove east of Lucerne, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The male driver, said to be in his 20s, suffered no injuries, the CHP said.

The vehicle had reportedly been heading eastbound when the driver exited a lefthand turn, the rear of the vehicle lost traction and the Mustang went off the roadway. Reports at the scene indicated a tree stopped the car from going into the lake.

The driver reported he was driving 45 miles per hour when he went through the curve, according to reports from the scene. He was able to get out of the vehicle on his own.

Two CHP officers were on scene for traffic control, a Northshore Fire medic unit and a tow truck responded, according to incident reports.

Radio traffic indicated no fuel got into the lake as a result of the crash.

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Highway 20 near Lucerne, Calif., was partially blocked while a tow truck pulled the vehicle from the Clear Lake shoreline on Monday, May 16, 2011. Photo by Gary McAuley.

Robert Baer IV of Ventura, Calif., won the adult division of the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Catfish Derby on Sunday, May 15, 2011, with a 23.04-pound catfish. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Despite rain and cooler temperatures over the weekend, the people and the catfish came out in strong numbers for the annual Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Catfish Derby.

The 28^th annual event – billed as the largest catfish derby west of the Mississippi – was held Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15.

Dennis Locke – a member of the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association, which sponsors the derby – said 491 adults and 112 children were entered this year.

He said attendance was down slightly from last year, which he suggested may have been a result of the inclement weather and higher fuel costs.

Out-of-county residents accounted for 61 percent of entrants, while local residents comprised 39 percent of the entries. More local residents were entered this year than last, Locke noted.

Not lacking in numbers were the fish, which Locke said the weather didn't appear to deter.

“During the derby, contestants weighed 190 fish, easily the most in any derby for the last 10 years,” he said.

Locke said a total of $8,500 in prizes in cash and merchandise were awarded.

Marcia Hatanaka of Clearlake, Calif., won second place in the adult division of the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Catfish Derby on Sunday, May 15, 2011, with a 19.96-pound catfish. Courtesy photo.

This was the first year that a cash prize – $4,000 – was given to the adult contestant catching the largest fish, an addition that Locke said appeared to be well received.

This year Robert Baer IV of Ventura caught the tournament's largest fish, which was taken on Saturday and weighed in at 23.04 pounds. Second place went to Marcia Hatanaka of Clearlake with a 19.96-pound catfish, caught on Saturday, and Samuel Reynolds of Lower Lake, whose 18.93-pounder was taken on Saturday as well.

In addition to the award for the largest fish, 19 other adult contestants received cash prices, Locke said.

For the children, he said prizes included a Nintendo Wii for the winner, and bicycles, fishing poles and cash going to others.

Among the children's competitors, Max Lane of Hood River, Ore., won with a 16.86 pound catfish, caught on Sunday.

Andre Kouckekey of Palo Alto caught a 16.22-pounder on Saturday to take second place, followed by Noah Lane of Hood River with a 15.40-pound fish, caught Sunday.

Max Lane of Hood River, Ore., won the children's division of the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Catfish Derby on Sunday, May 15, 2011, with a 16.86 pound catfish. Courtesy photo.

Also a first this year for the derby – results were sent out via text message and the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association's Twitter account, http://twitter.com/#!/clogba.

Locke said the most popular fishing spots reported included Cache Creek, Indian Island, Rattlesnake Island, Rodman Slough and the state park areas. He said a lot of fish came into the Clearlake Keys to escape the wind.

All proceeds from the Catfish Derby go back into the community to fund events like the Maxine Sherman Memorial Annual Fireworks display at Wigeon Bay in Clearlake Oaks on July 4, and donations to local organizations and scholarships.

Locke said more information and photos will be posted on Monday to the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association Web site, www.clearlakeoaks.org.

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 Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Andre Kouckekey of Palo Alto caught a 16.22-pounder on Saturday, May 14, 2011, to win second place in the children's division of the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Catfish Derby. Courtesy photo.

In this image, the Voorwerp floats near a spiral galaxy. Credit: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known,” wrote Carl Sagan.

And now you can be the one to find it, thanks to Zooniverse, a unique citizen science Web site.

Zooniverse volunteers, who call themselves “Zooites,” are working on a project called Galaxy Zoo, classifying distant galaxies imaged by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

“Not only are people better than computers at detecting the subtleties that differentiate galaxies, they can do things computers can't do, like spot things that just look interesting,” explained Zooniverse director Chris Lintott, an astronomer at the University of Oxford.

Zooite Hanny van Arkel, a Dutch schoolteacher, discovered a strange green object floating in her cosmic soup, pictured above.

When van Arkel noticed this unusual greenish object and posted an image of it on the Galaxy Zoo forum, not even the experts knew what it was.

They named it “Voorwerp,” Dutch for “object.”

Another group of Zooites found green “peas” in theirs, and dubbed themselves the “Peas-Corp.”

The peas turned out to be small, round green galaxies about a tenth the size of the Milky Way. These are now believed to be the most efficient star factories in the universe, forming huge numbers of stars in a hurry.

“It was easy to find 'peas' by computer once we knew they were there, but without the human factor we'd never have noticed them,” said Lintott.

Lintott started Zooniverse in 2007 to solve a very large and unique problem: "I had too many galaxies on my hands," he explains.

Lintott was faced with classifying, by shape, one million galaxies imaged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

First he did what any self-respecting scientist would do: “I asked a graduate student to classify them.”

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Shortly before 11 p.m. fire and police were dispatched to the area of Boyles for a report of a victim with a gunshot wound to the head.

The victim was later reported to have been transported to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake. Radio traffic indicated issues locating a helicopter to fly the victim out of county.

A short time later, a Clearlake Police patrol vehicle was involved in a crash that resulted in major injuries at 18^th Avenue and Phillips shortly after 11:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said the crash was the result of a pursuit.

It was not clear based on radio traffic if those incidents were related to each other and to the police's search for a silver Honda with three occupants.

The car reportedly had front- and rear-end damage, appeared to two blown out tires and was last seen in the area of Seigler Canyon Road passing toward Perini Road.

That vehicle had reportedly been at the scene of what a dispatcher described as a drive-by shooting. A be on the lookout for officer safety relating to the vehicle was put out shortly before midnight. The car's occupants were believed to be armed and dangerous.

Clearlake Police were not available for comment early Tuesday morning.

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The National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a hazardous weather outlook for Lake County and all of interior Northern California on Sunday.

The alert called for gusty winds with periods of heavy rains, hail, thunderstorms and the possibility of snow down to 2,500 foot elevation – all of which occurred on Sunday throughout Lake County.

There is more rain in the forecast early this week, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain is expected to increase again during the day on Monday, with temperatures well below average as another storm system takes aim at Lake County, forecasters said.

Widespread rain is expected to fall throughout the morning on Tuesday then becoming drier, but according to the Western Weather Group, frost and near-freezing temperatures will remain possible for low-lying areas for the remainder of the week in the mornings.

Daytime highs today and Tuesday are predicted to only reach the low 50s, warming more on Wednesday and barely reaching into the 70s by Thursday.

Because of the unsettled weather and possible near-freezing overnight temperatures, cold weather protection for people, livestock and pets, as well as frost and freeze protection for newly-planted gardens are recommended until late this week.

For up-to-the minute weather information, please visit the Lake County News homepage.

E-mail Terre Logsdon 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 Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Motorcycles lined Main Street in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, May 14, 2011, when the Vagos visited town to hold an annual meeting. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Officials shut down streets in downtown Lakeport for several hours Saturday in response to the arrival of dozens of members of a group police identified as an outlaw motorcycle gang, and by day's end an effort was going on to block the possible arrival of a rival gang in the county.

The Vagos – sporting black leather jackets and bright green insignia – arrived in the city Saturday morning for an annual meeting, according to the group's sergeant-at-arms, who identified himself as “Sarge.”

Sgt. Jason Ferguson of the Lakeport Police Department said the group is an outlaw motorcycle gang which police had received word would be coming to Lakeport. He said he couldn't release information police had received about the reason the Vagos had come.

Ferguson said police weren't aware of how many Vagos would be coming or how long they would be staying. Between 75 and 100 were said to be in town, Ferguson said.

Police said there were no incidents or arrests related to the meeting.

Throughout the morning police had been contacted by county residents who spotted the group members making their way toward Lakeport, Ferguson said.

Although the Vagos and other motorcycle clubs have been in Lakeport before, “We've never had this type of numbers show up here, which caused us concern,” Ferguson said.

That prompted a mutual aid request, which resulted in the arrival of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, Clearlake Police Department, the Lake County District Attorney's Office and California State Parks.

Main Street from First to Fourth and Third Street from Main to Forbes were closed to vehicles late Saturday morning as a precautionary measure, Ferguson said. Foot traffic was still allowed.

“The safety and security of citizens in our community is paramount,” said Ferguson.

Local law enforcement agencies were posted around downtown Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, May 14, 2011, in response to the appearance of the Vagos. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

A command center was set up behind the Lake County District Attorney's Office on N. Forbes Street. District Attorney Don Anderson and Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira were on hand with law enforcement to monitor the situation.

Sheriff Frank Rivero also was on scene, having left his son's baseball game to respond.

He said there had been concerns about safety after the large number of bikes arriving in town earlier in the day had stopped or snagged traffic. He said motorcycles had been racing up and down the streets and Vagos were stepping into the middle of the street and clogging traffic while they tried to park their bikes. Vagos also had been blocking the sidewalks and were being “overbearing,” he added.

“When we showed up it all calmed down,” he said.

Close to two dozen motorcycles were parked along Main Street while Vagos gathered inside the nearby Clearlake Club.

Sarge, with fellow members at the bar, estimated there were about 70 members there from club chapters around California and Nevada.

He said the gathering was just an annual party which had been scheduled to take place several weeks ago but was preempted by the death of one of the group's founders.

Sarge said most of the Vagos would be gone by Saturday night.

He complained about the heavy law enforcement presence. Pointing out that so many people are talking about stretched county budgets, he argued a large amount of taxpayer dollars were being spent unnecessarily.

Rivero, standing next to Sarge, said he had a lot of management staff on Saturday.

“I appreciate your concern for our tax dollars,” Rivero told Sarge.

Rivero disputed Sarge's statements about the gathering only being a regular event.

“Our intelligence was very clear on this,” Rivero said.

He explained that a Vagos member was beaten up some weeks ago by two Hells Angels prospects, and that 15 to 30 members were going to come to Lakeport to put on a show of force. Instead, they had two to three times that number show up.

Rivero said the law enforcement turnout was meant to send a message to motorcycle groups that local towns won't be handed over to them.

“I believe our show of force helped diffuse the situation,” he said.

Asked if they were concerned about other rival gangs showing up in response, Ferguson said, “There's always that concern.”

“They do have rival gang members,” he said, adding, “It's the unknown that we are preparing for.”

Groups of Vagos bikers began pulling out around 3:30 p.m., with police and CHP following them out of town, with Lake County News receiving reports that sheriff's units were following the bikes through Cobb and along other local roadways. Numerous other Vagos members continued to stay at the bar until into the evening.

Back in Lakeport, the streets were reopened to traffic close to 4:30 p.m., Rasmussen said.

At that point, action switched to the major entry points into the county.

The concern about rival gangs showing up had appeared to solidify, as Rivero said he and acting Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen received reports that Hells Angels were heading toward Lake County.

One of the reports, which came from the FBI, said there was a Hells Angels motorcycle run moving along Highway 12, Rivero said.

He said the concern was a potential confrontation between the two groups.

Rivero was directing numerous sheriff's units to gather at the entry points into the county in an effort to block any Hells Angels who might try to enter. Rasmussen said Lakeport Police also sent three units to the south county.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Henry-1 helicopter responded to check the areas of Highway 101 and Highway 175 over the Hopland Grade, Rivero said. No groups were spotted.

The day's activities received some mixed reactions in town.

Shortly before Lakeport's streets were fully reopened to traffic, two local women, Candy Prairie and Cheryl Ann Oncale, had ridden their motorcycles into town to stop and have a drink at Molly Brennans pub on Main Street.

“They didn't like us coming through but we did it anyway,” said Oncale, sitting at the pub's bar.

The two women said police should have given community members and businesses more notice.

That was a view shared by the pub's bartender, Jeremy Potter, who said the closure hurt businesses and employees who work for tips.

“It would be nice if they were able to keep the street open and just be present,” Potter said.

Down the street at Watershed Books, owner Cheri Holden said many local businesses had closed once the street was closed to traffic, making for a very quiet Saturday.

She also said she felt the police should have given more notice to merchants.

Rasmussen said of the closure, “We just had to make a decision right away.”

Lakeport Police demobilized the command unit at about 6:30 p.m., and at about 7:45 p.m. the Lakeport Police units that had responded to the south county were back in the city, according to Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said that at about 8 p.m. they still had about 15 to 20 Vagos at the Clearlake Club.

Rivero said he was planning on keeping additional units on scene throughout the night. Rasmussen said Lakeport Police was doing the same, and was communicating with Rivero and other agency chiefs.

“We will pool our resources to deal with any issues if they come up,” Rasmussen said.

Rivero said he plans to hold a debriefing with his command staff on Monday and then meet with the gang task force on Tuesday to discuss the situation. Rivero said his agency also will be working on a long-term strategy for dealing with motorcycle gangs.

“It appears like this is heating up,” he said.

Rasmussen and his agency offered thanks to all of the allied agencies that took part in the Saturday operation, noting everyone worked well together.