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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is asking for the community’s assistance in identifying two male subjects involved in vehicle theft and tampering in a city neighborhood early Friday morning.

At 3 a.m. Friday the Lakeport Police Department responded to a report of an in-progress vehicle theft in the area of 15th and Hartley Street, the agency said.

Upon the officer’s arrival, the officer saw that the vehicle had been abandoned on scene, police said.

Afterward, police received numerous reports of vehicles that had also been either vandalized or tampered with or had items stolen out of them in the surrounding area, the department report.

During the investigation, officers were able to obtain surveillance footage that showed two male subjects responsible for the acts. They can be seen in the videos posted on this page.

Police said the total loss to victims is estimated at more than $1,500.

If anyone has any information regarding these subjects, please contact the investigating Officer Casey Debolt at 707-263-5491 ext. 122 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Officer Joe Medici at Extension 120 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You can also send an anonymous message from your cellular device by texting the word TIP LAKEPORT followed by your message to 888777 or by sending us a private message on Facebook.

Police asked anyone who sees any suspicious activity to their local law enforcement agency.

Additionally, they reminded people to lock their vehicles at night and to remove any and/or all valuables from vehicles.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Soap box racers are putting the finishing touches on their gravity-powered entries for Clearlake’s inaugural Soap Box Derby on Saturday.

The city of Clearlake and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce are hosting the family-friendly event, which will take place on the newly constructed Dam Road Extension in Clearlake.

The fields are now set, with registrations having closed on Sept. 6.

There are two divisions – speed and art.

Within the speed division there are the following age groups: the Little Turtles, ages 7 to 12; Turbo Teens, 13 to 17 years of age; Awesome Adults,18 years and older.

In the Art Division, racers will be judged on creativity rather than speed on the course. Judges for the Art Division will beSupervisor Bruno Sabatier, Clearlake, Police Chief Andrew White, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce President Denise Loustalot and Clearlake Mayor Russ Cremer.

The derby also will feature racing flagger Johnny Miskill, one of the top auto sport flaggers in the United States. Raised in Lake County, Miskill is a fixture at the Lakeport Speedway and also travels to tracks around Northern California and Southern Oregon.

“This is about the kids,” said Miskill. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing children engaged at the track, and this is even more exciting because they get to build the cars from scratch and sit behind the wheel.”

While speeds won’t match those at Lakeport Speedway, that doesn’t matter to Miskill. His focus will be on safety, fair finishes and teaching the next generation of flaggers the ropes.

The event is free for spectators, who are encouraged to bring chairs to sit along the course.

There also will be food and novelty vendors will be located near the finish line at Konocti Education Center.

For more information about the derby visit https://www.downtownclearlake.com/soap-box-derby.

The following is the schedule for race day. City officials said the times are subject to change based on the number of attendees.

Race schedule

7:30 to 8:30 a.m.: Check in for Little Turtles, including vehicle inspection

9 a.m.: Race for the Little Turtles

8:30 to 9:30 a.m.: Check in for the Turbo Teens, including vehicle inspection

10 a.m.: Race for the Turbo Teens

10:45 a.m.: Top four qualifying Turbo Teens drivers championship races

9:30 to 10:30 a.m.: Check in for Awesome Adults, including vehicle inspection

11 a.m.: Race for Awesome Adults

11:45 a.m.: Top four qualifying Awesome Adults drivers championship races

10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Check in for Art Division, including vehicle inspection

Noon: Art Division race

A study published Thursday in the journal Science reveals that since 1970, bird populations in the United States and Canada have declined by 29 percent, or almost 3 billion birds, signaling a widespread ecological crisis.

The results show tremendous losses across diverse groups of birds and habitats – from iconic songsters such as meadowlarks to long-distance migrants such as swallows and backyard birds including sparrows.

"Multiple, independent lines of evidence show a massive reduction in the abundance of birds," said Ken Rosenberg, the study’s lead author and a senior scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy. "We expected to see continuing declines of threatened species. But for the first time, the results also showed pervasive losses among common birds across all habitats, including backyard birds."

The study notes that birds are indicators of environmental health, signaling that natural systems across the U.S. and Canada are now being so severely impacted by human activities that they no longer support the same robust wildlife populations.

The findings show that of nearly 3 billion birds lost, 90 percent belong to 12 bird families, including sparrows, warblers, finches, and swallows – common, widespread species that play influential roles in food webs and ecosystem functioning, from seed dispersal to pest control.

Among the steep declines noted:

– Grassland birds are especially hard hit, with a 53-percent reduction in population – more than 720 million birds– since 1970.

– Shorebirds, most of which frequent sensitive coastal habitats, were already at dangerously low numbers and have lost more than one-third of their population.

– The volume of spring migration, measured by radar in the night skies, has dropped by 14 percent in just the past decade.

"These data are consistent with what we’re seeing elsewhere with other taxa showing massive declines, including insects and amphibians," said coauthor Peter Marra, senior scientist emeritus and former head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and now director of the Georgetown Environment Initiative at Georgetown University. "It’s imperative to address immediate and ongoing threats, both because the domino effects can lead to the decay of ecosystems that humans depend on for our own health and livelihoods – and because people all over the world cherish birds in their own right. Can you imagine a world without birdsong?"



Evidence for the declines emerged from detection of migratory birds in the air from 143 NEXRAD weather radar stations across the continent in a period spanning over 10 years, as well as from nearly 50 years of data collected through multiple monitoring efforts on the ground.

"Citizen-science participants contributed critical scientific data to show the international scale of losses of birds," said coauthor John Sauer of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). "Our results also provide insights into actions we can take to reverse the declines." The analysis included citizen-science data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey coordinated by the USGS and the Canadian Wildlife Service – the main sources of long-term, large-scale population data for North American birds – the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, and Manomet’s International Shorebird Survey.

Although the study did not analyze the causes of declines, it noted that the steep drop in North American birds parallels the losses of birds elsewhere in the world, suggesting multiple interacting causes that reduce breeding success and increase mortality. It noted that the largest factor driving these declines is likely the widespread loss and degradation of habitat, especially due to agricultural intensification and urbanization.

Other studies have documented mortality from predation by free-roaming domestic cats; collisions with glass, buildings, and other structures; and pervasive use of pesticides associated with widespread declines in insects, an essential food source for birds. Climate change is expected to compound these challenges by altering habitats and threatening plant communities that birds need to survive. More research is needed to pinpoint primary causes for declines in individual species.

"The story is not over," said coauthor Michael Parr, president of American Bird Conservancy. "There are so many ways to help save birds. Some require policy decisions such as strengthening the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. We can also work to ban harmful pesticides and properly fund effective bird conservation programs. Each of us can make a difference with everyday actions that together can save the lives of millions of birds—actions like making windows safer for birds, keeping cats indoors, and protecting habitat."

The study also documents a few promising rebounds resulting from galvanized human efforts. Waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) have made a remarkable recovery over the past 50 years, made possible by investments in conservation by hunters and billions of dollars of government funding for wetland protection and restoration.

Raptors such as the bald eagle have also made spectacular comebacks since the 1970s, after the harmful pesticide DDT was banned and recovery efforts through endangered species legislation in the U.S. and Canada provided critical protection.

"It’s a wake-up call that we’ve lost more than a quarter of our birds in the U.S. and Canada," said coauthor Adam Smith from Environment and Climate Change Canada. "But the crisis reaches far beyond our individual borders. Many of the birds that breed in Canadian backyards migrate through or spend the winter in the U.S. and places farther south – from Mexico and the Caribbean to Central and South America. What our birds need now is an historic, hemispheric effort that unites people and organizations with one common goal: bringing our birds back."

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Thursday, Oct. 3.

The class will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.

The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.

These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.

The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.

Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.

The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.

Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Joel Skeen at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is increasing the scope of its monitoring and testing efforts for chronic wasting disease, or CWD, in California’s deer and elk herds.

“While California has never had a report of CWD, increased testing is needed to establish with a high degree of certainty that there are no deer with CWD in California,” said CDFW Wildlife Veterinarian Brandon Munk. “Keeping this disease out of our state is a top priority, both for wildlife managers and for hunters.”

CWD is always fatal to deer and elk, and is an ongoing concern for hunters and managers throughout the country.

Once CWD enters a herd, it is nearly impossible to eradicate. Although there are no known cases of CWD being transferred to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not consuming meat or organs from any animal that tests positive for CWD.

CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory has set an ambitious goal to test 600 deer statewide during this year’s hunting seasons and increasing that number to 2,000 statewide in the upcoming years.

Continued hunter cooperation will be key to achieving the CWD deer testing goals. CDFW will set up check stations during the various deer seasons, and hunters will be asked to bring their deer in for the quick removal of a lymph node for testing. CWD testing of hunter-taken deer is voluntary, and no meat is taken.

Information about specific locations and times of operation of CWD check stations in each of the state’s deer zones and control hunt areas will appear on CDFW’s Web site.

Hunters can also contact regional CDFW offices to get check station schedules. Some offices may also offer onsite deer testing.

Some professional meat processors and butchers throughout the state are also partnering with CDFW to take samples from deer at the hunter’s request. Hunters who may be unable to visit a check station or CDFW regional office for sampling are encouraged to ask their butcher ahead of time if sampling is available at the time of processing.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The sixth annual Lake-Mendocino Veteran Stand Down and Homeless Veteran Resource Fair is under way, with local veterans who want to know more about the resources available to them encouraged to stop by on Thursday.

Day one of the stand down saw an estimated 60 local veterans receive a variety of services and assistance, according to Amanda Celli, member services representative for the Clearlake VA Clinic’s community based outpatient clinics.

This year’s event is being held in Fritch Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport.

Fritch Hall is lined with tables featuring more than 25 service providers from local, state and federal agencies, Celli said.

This year’s number of service providers as well as volunteers is larger, according to volunteer Bob Penny, a retired veteran service officer for Lake County.

Veterans receive wrist bands when they arrive, go through an intake process and then can visit with dozens of service providers.

Frank Parker chairs the United Veterans Council’s Stand Down Committee, which is hosting the event. He said organizing the stand down is a year-round undertaking, with activities getting busier in July as they make final preparations.

He said this year volunteers came from as far away as Fort Bragg and Willits.

For homeless veterans, there were tables piled high with jackets, backpacks and other olive drab items that Parker said were donated by the US military, along with clothing donated from other sources.

Parker said the United Veterans Council works closely with the Yuba Sutter Stand Down, an event which draws about 1,400 veterans compared to the annual average of 160 in Lake County.

Also offering assistance is the American Red Cross and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 223 out of Santa Rosa, which Parker said provided food for the Lake County Stand Down.

Veterans attending the fair can get lunch, as well as free haircuts and even use the new mobile shower unit provided by Adventist Health Clear Lake.

Celli said there is still availability with One Justice’s Estate Planning; please call 415-534-5878 to schedule.

Those offering information to veterans this year included Red Cross, Area Agency on Aging, Child Care Services, the Employment Development Department, Woodland Community College, Hospice Services of Lake County, Community Care, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the veterans service offices for Mendocino and Lake counties, Cal Vet, the Veteran Crisis Line, Disability Service and Legal Center, and Veterans Resource Centers of America.

Another group on hand was the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team, which had a table to recruit new members, ideally retirees with time to devote to the group’s important work.

Formed in 2001, the team has offered military honors – including gun volleys and the playing of “Taps” – at more than 1,600 funerals, all in Lake County, according to Rich Fiero, one of the group’s leaders.

Fiero said they have 25 members and were hoping for a few more. “We’ve had a few bites,” he said of potential members on Wednesday afternoon.

The stand down continues on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For those veterans needing transportation, Parker said Lake Transit will provide free rides to veterans. They just need to show proof of service, which can include a VA identification card or DD214 form.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.