LAKE COUNTY – As the wave of home foreclosures continues to climb across the state and the nation, new numbers suggest a steady increase of foreclosures also is occurring here in Lake County.

A report from DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, a company that tracks foreclosure rates statewide, found that lenders sent California homeowners the highest number of mortgage default notices in over a decade in this year's second quarter.

Those high default numbers are the result of flat or falling prices, anemic sales and a market struggling with the excesses of the 2004-2005 home buying frenzy, according to DataQuick.

Lenders filed 53,943 Notices of Default (NoDs) during the April-through-June period, DataQuick reported, up 15.4 percent from 46,760 for the previous quarter, and up 158 percent from 20,909 for second-quarter 2006.

The second quarter's default level was the highest since 54,045 NoDs were recorded statewide in fourth-quarter 1996, according to DataQuick. Defaults peaked in first-quarter 1996 at 61,541. A low of 12,417 was reached in third-quarter 2004.

Trustees Deeds recorded, or the actual loss of a home to foreclosure, totaled 17,408 during the second quarter, the highest number in DataQuick’s statistics, which go back to 1988. That was up 57.8 percent from 11,032 for the previous quarter, and up 799.2 percent from 1,936 for last year’s second quarter.

The prior peak of foreclosure sales was 15,418 in third-quarter 1996, the low was 637 in the second quarter of 2005, according to DataQuick.

DataQuick reported that most of the loans that went into default last quarter were originated between July 2005 and August 2006. The median age was 16 months. Loan originations peaked in August 2005. The use of adjustable-rate mortgages for primary purchase home loans peaked at 77.8 percent in May 2005 and has since fallen.

On primary mortgages statewide, homeowners were a median five months behind on their payments when the lender started the default process. The borrowers owed a median $11,126 on a median $342,000 mortgage.

On Notices of Default, the county with the highest percentage increase statewide was Yuba with a 280-percent increase; the lowest was Kings with a 50-percent rise.

For trustee deeds, the high number belonged to Yolo County, which skyrocketed 10,200 percent. Santa Cruz's trustee deeds climbed 253.8 percent in comparison, the lowest number reported in the state.

Lake County's foreclosure rates below state average

DataQuick spokesman Andrew LePage said Lake County's numbers are higher than recent years, but they're still below the staggering state average. And the most recent numbers also indicate a slight dip from the previous quarter.

In the first quarter of 2006, there were 51 Notices of Default in Lake County, said LePage. A year later, 97 Notices of Default were recorded in the first quarter of 2007, a 90.2-percent increase, LePage said.

In 2006's second quarter, there were 58 Notices of Default, compared to 2007's 109, an 87.9-percent increase over the year to date but down 3 percent from the first quarter of the year, said LePage.

As for trustee deeds, where the foreclosure process is completed and a home is taken away, there were seven in the first quarter of 2006 versus 31 in 2007's first quarter, LePage said, a 342.9-percent increase.

In the second quarter of 2006, there were 11 trustee deeds; in second quarter 2007, there were 48, a 336.4-percent jump but, again, down slightly – about 6 percent – from the previous quarter.

Neighboring counties recorded the following numbers for the second quarter, with percent increases indicating the rise from the same quarter the previous year:

• Notices of default – Sonoma, 462, 128.7 percent increase; Napa, 128, 172.3 percent increase; Yolo, 232, 201.3 percent increase.

• Recorded Trustee Deeds – Sonoma, 163, 805.6 percent increase; Napa, 34, 1033.3 percent increase; Yolo, 103, 10,200 percent increase.

“The key thing to watch is if things will level out in the next few quarters,” said LaPage.

If it doesn't level off, it means the problems are deeper than just peak lending activity to late summer 2005, he added.

Recent foreclosure activity “probably has more to with bad lending and borrowing decisions,” said LePage.

Many of the lending practices pointed to as likely causes for the climbing foreclosure rates – teaser and adjustable rates, and interest-only loans – were not new, LePage said.

If here was anything that was new, said LePage, it was how widely those loans were used.

Home sales don't appear heavily influenced

Thomas Pelandini, the Lake County Association of Realtors president for 2007 and operations manager for CPS Country Air Properties, said the local real estate market is fluctuating, but those changes don't appear linked with foreclosure activity.

The California Association of Realtors' most recent report on home sales stated that sales in June decreased by 24.7 percent compared with June 2006 while, at the same time, the median price of existing homes increased 3.2 percent. The association reports that the focus on foreclosures is causing some homebuyers to take a “wait-and-see” attitude, while homes priced to sell continue to move.

The same is true in Lake County, said Pelandini. “Pricing seems to be the critical element.”

Looking at residential statistics countywide from January through July of 2006, Pelandini said there were 550 listings sold with a median price of $299,000.

During the same period this year, the number of listings sold was 472, a 10-percent decrease, said Pelandini. The median price for the homes sold was $275,000, a 9-percent drop, he said.

“It seems to be fluctuating month to month,” Pelandini said. “There's no consistent upward trend or downward trend.”

The market is expected to enjoy a rebound in 2008 and 2009, Pelandini said.

Historically Lake County hasn't had a major foreclosures problem, said Pelandini.

As for current activity, “There are foreclosures here, and most agents have done a pretty quick cram course on short sales,” he said.

In recent years, with an influx of homebuyers coming to the county to look for second or retirement residences, the buyers tend to have higher incomes and more secure financial footings, which help avert foreclosure activities, Pelandini explained.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKE COUNTY – A San Jose woman who traveled around Northern California earlier this summer – with a stop to visit Clear Lake – has contracted West Nile Virus.

Test results delivered Aug. 2 confirmed the 48-year-old woman had contracted a mild form of West Nile Virus, said Joy Alexiou, Santa Clara County's public information officer.

The woman took a three-week camping trip during the mid to latter part of July, said Alexiou, traveling all around Northern California with some friends.

One of her stops was in Lake County, said Alexiou.

“We don't know exactly where she got it,” Alexiou said of the virus.

Although this is their second human case of West Nile Virus this season – the other was diagnosed shortly before this one – Alexiou said, in the woman's case, “We're confident that she did not get it in our county.”

On July 3, the woman – who just recently had returned from her camping trip – started to feel ill, said Alexiou. But it wasn't until later in the month that doctors began testing for the virus. “My guess is she didn't go to her doctor right away,” said Alexiou.

The symptoms the victim reported included a fever, body aches, fatigue and a body rash, said Alexiou. Health officials aren't sure the rash was related to the case of West Nile, however.

Luckily, the woman's case of West Nile was the mild – not the severe – form, said Alexiou. The severe form, she added, includes severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, and can lead to death.

In mild cases, the symptoms match the San Jose woman's, and also sometimes include nausea and vomiting, Alexiou said.

Alexiou said Santa Clara County notified the state but didn't contact Lake County's health officials, which Dr. Craig McMillan, Lake County's public health officer, confirmed.

The reason Lake wasn't contacted, McMillan said, is likely “because the West Nile Virus is everywhere.”

West Nile has symptoms that resemble other diseases, like meningitis, a fact which the county's doctors are aware of, said McMillan.

The Santa Clara West Nile victim “probably thought it was something else” before she finally went to see a doctor, McMillan said.

So far, 2007 has proved to be a heavy year for West Nile cases statewide. So far there have been 64 human cases – more than tripling last year's figure of 20, according to the California West Nile Virus Web site. So far four people have died from the disease.

This year, the disease has been found in 42 counties, versus 43 in 2006. In 2006, there were 13 horse cases 299 dead birds, 349 mosquito samples, 83 sentinel chickens and no cases of squirrels with the virus, the California West Nile Virus Web site reported.

In comparison, this year there have been five horses diagnosed with West Nile, 502 dead birds, 402 mosquito samples, 66 sentinel chickens and seven squirrels, according to the state.

Here in Lake County, there have been no West Nile cases in humans, horses, chickens or squirrels, the West Nile Virus Web site reported. There have, however, been five mosquito samples that tested positive.

McMillan said he's “happily surprised” by those very low numbers. “That doesn't mean it's not out there,” he cautioned.

Alexiou said the woman is recovering but still feeling very tired. “If you get it you're down for a while,” she added, noting victims need weeks, sometimes months, of recovery time.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKE COUNTY – For those interested in serving their community, this Friday is the deadline to sign up for numerous board and commission seats that will be on the ballot this November.

Up for election are seats on boards of education, water and fire protection districts.

The process of signing up is a simple one, said Jim Emenegger, an elections office assistant.

For one, you don't need to go out and collect signatures. “It's just filling out a form,” said Emenegger. “There's no fee or anything.”

The only item that requires a fee is if someone wants to include a candidates statement in the voter handbook, Emenegger added.

The county Registrar of Voters Office reported that the following seats are open and will be elected Nov. 6. All are four-year terms unless otherwise noted, and become vacant on the first Friday in December or when a successor is elected and qualifies for office.


Education

Mendocino-Lake Community College District
Trustee Area No. 1, 3, 4 and 7 (must be filed in Mendocino County)
Trustee Area No. 7, one vacancy, file in Lake County

Lake County Board of Education
Trustee Area No. 1, one vacancy

Trustee Area No. 2, one vacancy
Trustee Area 4, one vacancy, two-year unexpired term

Kelseyville Unified School District
Three vacancies

Lakeport Unified School District
Three vacancies

Upper Lake Union High School District
Two vacancies

Lucerne Elementary School District
One vacancy

Upper Lake Union Elementary School District
Two vacancies

Water Districts

Adams Springs Water District
Three vacancies (two full terms; one two-year unexpired term)

Villa Blue Estates Water District
Three vacancies (three two-year terms)

Buckingham Park Water District
Three vacancies (two full terms; one two-year unexpired term)

Callayomi County Water District
Two vacancies

Clearlake Oaks County Water District
Three vacancies

Cobb Area County Water District
Three vacancies (two full terms; one two-year unexpired term)

Konocti County Water District
Two vacancies

Upper Lake County Water District
Three vacancies

Scotts Valley Water Conservation District
Division 1, one vacancy
Division III, one vacancy

Fire Protection Districts

Kelseyville Fire Protection District
Two vacancies

Lake County Fire Protection District
Three vacancies

South Lake County Fire Protection District
Three vacancies

Anderson Springs Community Services District
Three vacancies (two full terms; one two-year unexpired term)

Butler-Keys Community Services District
Three vacancies

Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District
Three vacancies

Application forms must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10.

For more information about filing for any of these elective offices, contact the Lake County Registrar of Voters office, 263-2372; or visit them at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N Forbes St., Room 209, Lakeport.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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SACRAMENTO – The return of West Nile virus to California this year is renewing calls for horse owners to make sure their animals are vaccinated.

So far in 2007, five horses have been diagnosed with the disease – all have been either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated.

None of those equine cases were found in Lake County. However, two were in Sonoma, two in Kern and one in Sacramento County.

“Outbreaks of West Nile virus are still a risk for horses,” said California State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer. “Horse owners should contact their veterinarians as soon as possible to ensure vaccination status is current. If people get the necessary shots for their horses now, the animals will have optimal protection against the disease.”

Signs of West Nile virus include stumbling, staggering, wobbling, weakness, muscle twitching and inability to stand.

Horses contract the disease from carrier mosquitoes and are not contagious to other horses or people. Not every horse exposed to the virus will die.

California's Department of Food & Agriculture is collaborating with state, federal and local agencies to detect and respond to the disease in California.

For more information, click on www.cdfa.ca.gov. Questions may be e-mailed to CDFA at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Former owners of S-Bar-S Ranch, Ernest and Polly Kettenhofen, pictured here in 1976, established the Kettenhofen Family Foundation, which has pledged a $100,000 donation to the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum Project. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Historical Society is pleased to announce a private donation of $100,000 has been pledged to the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum.

In August, the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum Project will receive a donation of $100,000 from the Kettenhofen Family Foundation, a charitable foundation established and funded by the estates of Ernest and Polly Kettenhofen who owned the S-Bar-S Ranch from approximately 1960 to 2000. Ernest died in 1996; Polly died in 2006.

The Kettenhofen Family Foundation called for the donation recipients to be selected by remaining family members, so in looking for a charity in Lake County, the family discovered the Ely Stage Stop Project through the Lake County Historical Society web site.

Randy Ridgel, president of the Lake County Historical Society, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Society to the Kettenhofen family for the very generous donation.

Linda Marshik, daughter of the Kettenhofens, said, "We recognized the building as the one our father had told us used to be the Stage Stop at the Lost Springs Ranch, later called the S-Bar-S."

She said the family had been looking for a charity but hadn't expected to find a project that would be so fitting of the family's past connection to Lake County and be a long-term asset for Lake County.

"We were so pleased to learn about the Beckstoffer family's generous donation of the building and land for the project," Marshik said.

Andrew Beckstoffer of Beckstoffer Vineyards donated both the historic structure, considered by some to be the oldest "stick-built" building in Lake County dating to the late 1850s, as well as the five-acre parcel for the new site.

On July 29, the historic Ely Stage Stop structure was relocated just across Highway 29 to the future site of the museum, at 9921 Highway 281, approximately one mile north of Kit's Corner, in Kelseyville. The site features dramatic views of Mt. Konocti and overlooks the former S-Bar-S Ranch.

Ridgel said the society intends to use the Kettenhofen family funds for physical improvements such as building and foundation work in the early stages of the project, and also for future conservation efforts.

He said these efforts may include "old history" in the form of an operating windmill to pump water to supply the museum, as well as "new history" in the form of solar power to supply the museum with electricity.

Once completed, the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum will be owned by the county and will provide a permanent home for the Lake County Historical Society. The site will function as a historical and agricultural visitor center with reconstructed old barns, displays of farm equipment, as well as agricultural demonstrations and living history exhibits.

Opportunity to give back

Acknowledging the generosity and hard work of others that had brought the project to this point, Marshik said the family felt fortunate that the timing of the Ely Stage Stop Project gave them a chance to give something back to Lake County.

Marshik said, "Our parents believed you should always give something back" and Lake County was a place they cherished. She said that although family members now reside from San Diego to Vancouver, British Columbia, they each carry warm memories of the beauty of Lake County.

"It was at the center of many years of our family gatherings and the hub of activities," Marshik said.

She recalled memories of hiking, hunting, and birdwatching, blackberry picking, rock collecting and star-gazing, even water-skiing and county fairs.

"My father also had a keen interest in the history of the land and the stories of the people who had been on the land before," Marshik said.

She said the members of the Kettenhofen family agree that their parents, Ernest and Polly, would be truly happy at the chance to help with the Ely Stage Stop Project.

"We know it's a huge undertaking, and it has already taken an impressive amount of work with a great deal more to come," Marshik said. "The donation from our parents' estate comes with our warm wishes for the project's future success."

Monetary contributions as well as donations of farm equipment and old barns are still being sought.

Anyone interested in contributing to the project may contact Greg Dills, chairman of the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum Project for the Lake County Historical Society at 707-263-4180, extension 12.

For more information, contact Eric Seely at the Lake County Administrative Office at 707-263-2580.

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John Pavoni, board chair of the Board of Directors of Mendocino Community Health Clinic. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY – As Aug. 5 through 11 is National Health Center Week, it a good time to celebrate the efforts of groups like Mendocino Community Health Clinic (MCHC) and its board of directors for their contribution to the health of our local community.

Meaningful service is one of John Pavoni’s fundamental values. The Clearlake Oaks resident works with disadvantaged children and serves on the Lake County’s Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board, East Lake Elementary School’s Site Council, Konocti Unified School District Bond Oversight Committee, Clearlake Oaks Manor Senior Housing Project and serves as Liaison Officer for Li'l Acorns Preschool.

Since 2000, he has served on the Board of Directors of Mendocino Community Health Clinic (MCHC). In 2006 and 2007, his peers have elected him to the position of board chair. He holds governance oversight of MCHC’s three community-based health centers: Hillside Health Center, in Ukiah, Lakeside Health Center, in Lakeport and Little Lake Health Center, in Willits.

“I have stayed on the MCHC Board out of a desire to ‘pay it forward,'” Pavoni explained. “As a MCHC consumer and as a citizen, I know that serving MCHC is an opportunity to safeguard the right to health care for others and for my family. It is a way to build a safe and healthy future that will benefit all of us.”

A former nurse, Pavoni has become certified in Health Center Governance through the National Association of Community Health Clinics (NACHC). NACHC certification marks the board’s commitment that MCHC will work with staff to provide quality, competent, cost-effective health care at each of its centers.

He also recently participated in a training at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management/Health Care Executive Program.

“Being a board member requires something more that just showing up to meetings,” Pavoni explained. “Health care is quite complicated and, to be effective as a board member, you must engage in continuous education. This is a must and, for me, it is a passion. The training offered through NACHC helped to familiarize me with the procedural, financial, legal and technical responsibilities of serving a community health center.”

Prior to 1960, before the development of the community health center system of care, distribution of health services was primarily based on a community’s financial ability to support their health care provider. Of course, that left many small and rural communities without services from a doctor or dentist; often, there were not enough people in the community to make the “business” of doctoring pay.

As part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty, the dire health status of our nation’s citizens was improved through creation of a nationwide system of community health centers.

Since the beginning, federally funded health centers have been required to have boards made up of a majority of people who use its services.

“The consumer-based boards of our nation’s community health centers make it possible for each center to meet the unique needs of their community,” Pavoni noted. “Such boards exhibit better responsiveness to the health care needs of their families, friends and neighbors. Having such members gives center's administration a different perspective. We are people who utilize services the clinic provides.

“First and foremost, we are volunteers,” he continued. :”We have no financial incentive for our service. We are involved to demonstrate our commitment, to our communities and to staff as they provide the best health care possible. I am also proud to say that we work hard to ensure that quality healthcare is available.

“The health centers operated by MCHC strengthen the local Web of care in each community,” said Pavoni. “Our centers meet the highest standard of care as demonstrated by recent results from our review by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Their report on our services provides an in-depth look at our system of care, and their accreditation of each of our centers provides strong evidence of excellence.”

Because of his position as board chair, Pavoni also serves as a board member on the Alliance for Rural Community Health (ARCH). ARCH is a consortium of Lake and Mendocino County health centers.

“ARCH helps to give our region’s rural communities a strengthened voice in the growing healthcare debate,” he said. “Through ARCH, we are advancing our strength as patient advocates, locally and regionally.”

As the national health care environment worsens, the local system is feeling the impacts. “The difficulty of recruiting doctors, dentists and nurses into an area where housing prices have gone through the roof is only going to get worse,” said Pavoni.

“New programs are going to be needed to support the health of our aging population but, at the same time, the commitment to caring for these needs is diminishing. I am hopeful that, as health centers work together to advocate for meaningful local solutions though ARCH, we will be empowered to address the health care needs of our community more effectively.”

The federal community health center program is recognized as one of the federal government’s most effective. Designed to have a unique and significant impact, the program is expanding access to health care for underserved populations.

According to ExpectMore.Gov, “A 1998 evaluation found Medicaid health center users experience 22 percent lower hospitalization rates than Medicaid users receiving care from other sources.” In this way, health center patients improved health status is reducing the impacts on local hospitals and other service and law-enforcement agencies.

In addition to John Pavoni, Manuel Ramirez, former staff member of Lake County Environmental Health, represents the interests of Lake County.

From Mendocino County, Directors include Harold Lance, Carlos Frausto, Robert O'Connell, Bill Mergener, Bonnie Carter, Anne Veno Caviglia, Cyril Colonius and John Slonecker.

For more information about how you can make a contribution to Lakeside Health Center by becoming an MCHC Board Member, please contact Kathy MacDougall, administrative assistant to the president, at 472-4511.

Margaret McClure is director of communications for the Alliance for Rural Community Health.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED, WITH THE DATE FOR THE NEXT ORDINANCE READING CORRECTED. 

LAKEPORT – The City Council voted to forward an ordinance changing the city's right-of-way rules to a public hearing on Aug. 21.

City Engineer Scott Harter presented four possible resolutions to the council, meant to address how improvements on a property parcel trigger expensive – sometimes exorbitant – right-of-way improvement costs, including curb, gutter and sidewalk installation.

John Magee and wife Jennifer Fox brought the issue of unreasonably high right-of-way costs to the council's attention at its Feb. 6 meeting.

The couple wants to renovate their 100-year-old, 1,000-square-foot home on Ninth Street. Homes next to them don't have curb and gutter for most part, they said.

Their property includes four frontages – almost an entire block, Harter stated at the time – which could end up costing them more than their property is worth, which they estimate is about $350,000.

Even if the city deferred the right-of-way improvements until later, Magee said he and Fox couldn't pay them.

City Community Development Director Richard Knoll at the February called Fox and Magee's situation "the classic example of how our right-of-way ordinance doesn't work very well in some cases."

It was then that Knoll suggested rewriting the ordinance.

He also had suggested adding a "hardship waiver." The versions of the ordinance Harter took to the council Tuesday included a stipulation that the city manager can defer right-of-way improvements if they cause an undue hardship, but the ordinance does not state whether or not the deferral would have a time limit or would be permanent.

All of the sample ordinances suggested raising the valuation threshold that triggers right-of-way improvements from $26,000 to $45,000 over a three-year period.

Harter said, based on that value, it would allow a homeowner to add the equivalent of about 400 square feet to their home, a reasonable amount of property improvements before a property owner incurred the burden of right-of-way improvements.

The new $45,000 valuation and the three-year period would allow homeowners to stage their improvements over time, Harter explained.

Two of the sample resolutions included staff recommendations on specific exemptions for improvements made to increase energy conservation (energy efficient windows, solar, high efficiency heating and cooling, as examples); improvements to accommodate accessibility needs of the owner/occupant; and improvements meant to elevate the home within a floodplain to meet current standards.

Councilman Jim Irwin wanted a mechanism included in the ordinance that would prioritize fixing sidewalks on Main Street rather than in "isolated" areas of the city. It's also along Main Street that Irwin's father is developing his Victorian Village townhouse subdivision.

Harter said he and City Attorney Steve Brookes discussed it and decided that policy could increase the city's financial burdens.

Brookes explained after the meeting that if the city had a property owner's right-of-way obligation in another part of town go toward Main Street, the city itself would be obligated to make right-of-way improvements on that property owner's land in exchange.

Irwin questioned the solar/energy efficiency exemption. Councilman Buzz Bruns agreed the exemption should be removed, saying solar is extremely expensive. Mayor Roy Parmentier said more exemptions meant fewer sidewalks in the city.

Irwin also appeared poised to request the removal of the exemption of accessibility improvement projects until Knoll said they have one such project pending now, to add a wheelchair ramp to a woman's home.

In addition, Irwin questioned reducing the five-year valuation period to three.

When Irwin again attempted to broach the idea of right-of-way improvements being added first to Main Street, City Manager Jerry Gillham cautioned Irwin that it wasn't a good idea in the long-term.

"I think we're creating more machinations and more internal legal turmoil than the idea justifies," said Gillham.

Gillham said there aren't many right-of-way improvements that come through the city; Harter reported the number ranges between five and 10 annually.

If it's not a big deal, Irwin asked, then why the ordinance?

Councilman Bob Rumfelt moved to approve a version of the ordinance that kept the length of time for improvements at five years and removed the energy conservation improvements exemption.

The council approved the ordinance's first reading 5-0. It will be scheduled for a public hearing at the council's Sept. 4 meeting, after which it likely will be adopted.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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INDIAN VALLEY – An afternoon ATV accident on Monday sent one person to the hospital with major injuries.

The California Highway Patrol incident logs reported the accident was called in at 2:09 p.m. in the Indian Valley/Wilbur Springs area.

The ATV rider was transported by private vehicle to the Cal Fire station at Wilbur Springs, where he was life-flighted to the hospital.

A sheriff's deputy was at the scene and gave a statement on the accident, according to the logs.

Further details about the rider's name, the cause of the accident, the exact extent of his injuries and which hospital he was taken to was not immediately available from CHP.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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WASHINGTON – On Saturday, the House of Representatives passed the most significant energy reform legislation in over a decade.

The New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act (HR 3221 & HR 2776) will make an historic investment in new energy technologies and renewable energy, improve energy efficiency for a wide array of products, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly.

“Our district is on the cutting edge of many new energy technologies: the Geysers are the largest complex of geothermal power plants in the world; we have numerous world class wineries that are powered by solar energy," said Rep. Mike Thompson. “Our universities have also been leaders – from UC Davis’ development of the plug-in vehicle to the cutting edge biofuels research being conducted at Humboldt State. This bill improves and expands federal incentives for the development of these types of renewable and alternative energy, so communities across the nation can follow our lead."

The legislation extends federal tax credits for the production of biomass, geothermal, wind and many other types of renewable energy.

The solar investment tax credit is extended for eight years, providing long-term stability for the solar energy industry; also extended are the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax credits.

Additionally the legislation creates new monetary incentives and expands existing credits for taxpayers to make their homes and their businesses more energy efficient.

The bill also makes a first-time investment in new technology known as “smart meters," which will allow consumers to better manage their electricity usage during peak hours. This is of critical importance to states like California, where electricity infrastructure is already stressed and overloaded.

Lastly, the bill sets ambitious goals that will help lower the country’s carbon emissions and reduce our dependence on tradition fossil fuels. Utility companies would be required to meet a renewable energy portfolio standard whereby 15 percent of their energy must be derived from renewable sources by the year 2020.

“This legislation makes a long overdue investment in renewable energy, and it does so without increasing the budget deficit by a single dime," said Thompson. “As I have said many times in the past, we cannot drill our way to energy independence. We have no choice but to fully embrace the renewable energy sources and innovative technologies available to us; and this bill does just that."

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INDIAN VALLEY – A Dixon man sustained major injuries in a Monday afternoon ATV crash in the Indian Valley area.

The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. Monday, as Lake County previously reported.

California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia reported Tuesday that Tyler Bensen, 22, crashed his ATV and was taken by a private vehicle to the Wilbur Springs Cal Fire station.

Bensen was subsequently flown to UC Davis Medical Center with a broken collar bone.

Garcia said that because Bensen was transported from the accident site, CHP had not been able to locate the scene.

No further information on the collision's cause was available.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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ELIZABETH LARSON

LAKE COUNTY NEWS

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – California's push for cutting down on greenhouse gases emission has led the US Forest Service to become the first federal agency to join the California Climate Action Registry.

The California Climate Action Registry is a non-profit public/private partnership that serves

as a voluntary greenhouse gas registry to protect, encourage, and promote early actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the registry's Web site. More than 275 major companies, cities, government agencies and NGOs measure and publicly report their GHG emissions through the registry.

Forest Service officials in Vallejo say that by joining the registry, the agency has committed itself to tracking and reporting greenhouse gas emissions created by its operations in California, with the intent of ultimately reducing those emissions that contribute to climate change.

The Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region and Pacific Southwest Research Station have approximately 3,500 highway legal vehicles and 7,600 facilities in the state, and officials say the agency has the potential to significantly contribute to the state's effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The region consists of 18 national forests in California, which cover one-fifth of the state.

Matt Mathes, a spokesman for the regional forest service office, said joining the registry is "a good first step" for the region.

"The whole purpose is to establish a baseline for our emissions," said Mathes, and then to measure against that.

The agency is looking to cut down emissions through adopting electric and hybrid vehicles, said Mathes. He added that the Forest Service wants to set a good example for other federal agencies at work in the state.

The Forest Service's participation with the California Climate Action Registry will be a phased approach, according to the agency, and only emissions resulting from the operations of the Forest Service within the state of California will be registered.

Initial greenhouse gas emission tracking will focus on the non-biological operations of the agency in California and will not include emissions from wildfires, or from management activities such as prescribed fires or fuels treatments, the agency reported.

During this first phase, emissions tracking will focus solely upon vehicle fleet and facility emissions, according to the agency. In the future, a second phase may include the full range of Forest Service activities in California including the tracking of both biological emissions and potential greenhouse gas benefits resulting from management activities.

Phebe Brown, spokesperson for the Mendocino National Forest, said it's too soon to know how emissions calculations will take place on a local level.

But understanding greenhouse gases goes far beyond just vehicle emissions, said Brown. It also involves forest management itself.

Brown said forest officials are taking action to cut carbon the forest's carbon footprint by participating in the Forest Service Ecological Footprint and Sustainable Operations Operations Project this year.

Those activities include recycling a variety of materials, and moving toward "right-sizing" the forest's fleet of vehicles, including acquiring a hybrid vehicle, said Brown.

In addition, the forest has received a Green MicroGrant Award from the region which they are using to focus on energy efficiency and energy awareness for Forest Service employees, Brown said.

Joining the registry accompanies a research effort that the Forest Service is undertaking to understand the wildlife and biological components of the forest and how they influence greenhouse emissions.

That includes trying to quantify how much carbon a healthy forest absorbs. "We're ramping up our research in that right now," said Mathes.

Mendocino Forest's groundbreaking research

Rigorous study of the forest and its influence on climate is necessary, explains Mathes, because anecdotal evidence won't due in this day and age.

"Mendocino," added Mathes, "is actually in the forefront on this one."

Mendocino National Forest is preparing a fuel reduction project at Alder Springs, located in Glenn County. Brown said the project has several different components, such as thinning of trees and removal of biomass, such as brush.

Brown said the forest was taking bids for a stewardship products contract with a company to remove biomass and small diameter materials and take it to a biomass plant. Part of the research will explore the energy costs to remove brush and other materials, which is data the forest doesn't currently have.

That research will go so far as to look at how much carbon it takes for a chainsaw to cut down the materials and the truck to remove it, she said.

The research project is tacked onto a fuels reduction project, said Brown.

Winrock International, a national nonprofit research company, will do research on the energy costs. The work is supported by a Forest Service grant and will be done in concert with Forest Service researchers from Pacific Southwest Research station, said Brown.

Stewardship products contractors bear the responsibility for all costs related to removal, said Brown. In the future this research could lead to those contractors being able to trade those carbon credits.

"We're really excited to be part of this research," said Brown. "It has a lot of potential."

While it has potential, Brown added, "Nobody is able to say at this point what the research will show."

The primary issue in brush removal projects like that at Alder Springs is protecting the community by removing fuel for forest fires, said Brown. "We get a lot of fires in through there."

Alder Springs also will be part of a new hazardous fuel treatment, which removes fuel on a checkerboard or ladder pattern throughout that forest unit. Those fuel removal areas, said Brown, are like "speed bumps" for a fire.

Forests also have to account for emissions from other sources. "When you have a wildfire you have a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide that goes into the air,” said Brown.

Forests properly managed can reduce the amount of carbon going into the air through a major wildfire, and can sequester carbon through growing trees.

Controlling wildfires can be one significant avenue to fighting greenhouse gases, according to the California Forest Products Commission.

The commission reported that Alaskan and Canadian wildfires in two months in 2004 sent as much carbon dioxide into the air as all the cars, factories and human-caused activities in the continental U.S. during the same period.

Donn Zea, the California Forest Products Commission's executive director, gives another example. The August 2001 Star fire in California's Eldorado National Forest, located in the Sierra Nevada, poured two million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the equivalent of 405,964 passenger cars for one year, said Zea.

On the Web: www.climateregistry.org.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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CLEARLAKE – The Burns Valley Road area of Clearlake has long been a safety issue for those who travel along it by foot or bicycle, including the area's senior population. However, city officials say they're moving forward on a project that would install a walking and biking path along the road, which would significantly improve pedestrian safety safety.

The sidewalk project has been on the drawing board for about two years, said City Administrator Dale Neiman.

The current plan, according to a report Neiman gave to the City Council at its July 26 meeting, involves widening the existing street – which Neiman said is extremely narrow, at only about 24 feet wide – and installing curb, gutter and sidewalk.

Linda J. Burton, executive director of the Highlands Senior Center on Bowers Road, said in an interview Thursday that there are many senior housing complexes in the area – Walnut Grove, Autumn Village and Austin Manor, and the Orchard Park assisted living facility near the Redbud Library.

Many of those seniors travel back and forth between the Burns Valley Shopping Center, the senior center and their homes on foot, in wheelchairs or using scooters, Burton explained.

“A lot of them are walking along a little dirt path,” said Burton, with those who are unsteady on their feet walking on the pavement in the narrow street.

Because of those conditions, there's a great need for a sidewalk and crosswalks, said Burton.

“There are clearly some safety issues,” Neiman said at the council meeting, adding that he also has witnessed wheelchairs having to travel into the road's lanes.

But there have been several delays, including a discovery that the city's plan was going to cost $300,000, about $100,000 more than the total amount of the two grants the city had acquired to pay for the project.

Neiman's solution to the shortfall, which the council approved July 26, included dropping the curb, gutter, sidewalk and drainage improvements.

“If we build the curb, gutter and sidewalk and drainage improvements we would be adding about $200,000 to the value of the adjoining property because it would not have to be built when the property is developed,” Neiman's report stated.

Developer Robert Adelman will be required to make the improvements as he builds the nearby Lake Glenn Subdivision, Neiman said in a Thursday interview.

The city's revised plan calls for building a 6-foot-wide asphalt pedestrian/bike lane along the street's west side, which will be delineated with yellow lines and a bike lane strip.

The bike lane will narrow to 4 and a half feet in width at the Burns Valley intersection so the city can avoid the cost of extending or replacing the culvert, Neiman reported.

In addition, rather that reconstructing sections of both lanes of the road, the city will only reconstruct a portion of the road's west travel lane, Neiman's staff report noted.

The City Council unanimously approved Neiman's suggested revisions, with council members stating their concerns for the safety of seniors traveling along the road.

Mayor Judy Thein met with interim City Engineer Bob Galusha at the site Wednesday, where she said he answered several of her concerns, including the width of the bike lane/walking path at the culvert.

Thein said she had wanted the path wider than the proposed 4 and a half feet when the path reaches the culvert, but said when Galusha showed her measurements at the site, and explained that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance requires only 3 feet, she said she was satisfied.

The project will include crosswalks from nearby senior housing complexes to the senior center and to the pedestrian walkway, a guardrail to keep people from falling into the creek, and new ADA-compliant curbs, Thein explained.

Thein said the work will be geared toward senior safety as they travel to and from the senior center and the Burns Valley Mall.

The project, said Thein, has been important to her since she joined the council, and her goal is that it's completed as soon as possible. Seniors trying to navigate the area “just cannot go through another winter like they have been,” she said.

Neiman said the construction plans will need to be revised, which will take about six weeks.

The city still has a few other obstacles to overcome, he said. Those include getting easements from a nearby property owner, who received the deeds from the city about a month ago but hasn't returned them.

In addition, Adelman – who is being required to replace a culvert that crosses Burns Valley Road at the intersection near the senior center – hasn't obtained the necessary approvals from the city or the funding. In that case, Neiman said the city could allocate $50,000 to do the work and have Adelman reimburse the city later.

Neiman said Adelman hasn't yet given the city a time frame about when he plans to move forward on the Lake Glenn Subdivision development or the attendant sidewalk improvements. He said Adelman has finalized his construction drawings and is working on project financing, but most likely will miss this years building season.

Neiman said the city also needs the assistance of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) to move some power poles along the route.

At the City Council meeting, Neiman said he had not received word back from PG&E when the pole relocations might be possible.

Jana Schuering, a spokesperson for PG&E's North Bay and North Coast regions, said the company is in the process of estimating the project, which she said should be done by Aug. 9. At that time, the company will schedule a crew to relocate the power poles.

If everything moves forward smoothly from this point, Neiman said they'll go to bid after the plans are revised and, hopefully, have the project complete by October or November.

“That would be a great benefit to seniors living in this area,” said Burton.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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