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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is attempting to locate a male juvenile who has been missing since Monday afternoon.

James Griffin, 15, was last seen at about 2 p.m. Monday at his home, according to police.

Griffin is a white male. He is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and 100 pounds.

He has brown shoulder-length hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a plaid shirt, blue jeans and silver Converse sneakers.

If you have any information regarding the location of this missing juvenile please contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 1.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the origin of numerous collectible “Barbie” dolls that have been seized during an investigation.

Based on the investigation, officials said it is suspected that these items may have been stolen, but not yet reported as such.

The sheriff’s office hopes to identify the rightful owner of these items, and return them.

If anyone recognizes the dolls, which are pictured above, or have information leading to the identification of the rightful owner, please call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-262-4200 and ask to speak with Deputy Joseph Lyons, or email your information to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s newest crop report showed local agriculture’s value continues to climb, with salvage timber from the recent wildland fires causing a spike in timber valuation.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Hajik completed and presented the 2016 Crop Report in December.

He said the completion of the report was delayed by a staffing shortage.

The 2016 report puts Lake County’s agriculture valuation at $113,829,790, the highest number recorded so far, he said. It’s a 12-percent increase from 2015.

Hajik said the rise in valuation can be attributed to an increase in the value of the winegrape and and timber industries.

“Grapes are growing, pears are stabilizing and walnuts are falling,” he said in summing up the main findings about Lake County’s key agricultural crops.

The 2016 report showed the gross value of Lake County’s winegrapes was $78,643,584, an increase of 24 percent from 2015. The total tonnage was 46,528, and the total grape acreage was 9,420, an increase of 635 acres. Hajik said the tons per acre increased by 15 percent and the average price per ton increased by 3 percent.

Hajik said pear tonnage was down in 2016, but acres held steady.

The gross pear value in 2016 was $20,849,889, a decrease of 21 percent from 2015. Hajik found that the total production decreased by 8,114 tons, and the price per ton increased slightly. The pear acreage remained the same at 2,034 acres.

Walnuts showed one of the more dramatic drops in crop value in 2016. Hajik said the 2016 gross value of walnuts was $3,674,529, a decrease of 32 percent. The price per ton decreased
by 31 percent and acreage decreased by 100 acre, with production also down slightly.

“My gut feeling is, walnuts are being pulled for vineyards,” he said.

The most notable change in valuation came in timber production, which went from $28,447 in 2015 to $5,101,380 in 2016 due to salvage logging, according to Hajik’s report. That’s a 17,223-percent increase.

But Hajik said it doesn’t account for a resurgence of Lake County’s timber industry, which he said isn’t healthy.

“What’s going on there is there’s a salvage timber operation going on,” he said.

“They can’t get good prices on timber,” he added. “There’s a glut, which is unfortunate.”

Most of the Valley fire salvage timber is going overseas, Hajik said.

With the recent fires around the North Coast, Hajik said timber industry professionals are anticipating a possible increase in Douglas fir prices this year.

Greg Giusti, advisor and director emeritus of forest and wildlands ecology at the University of California Cooperative Extension, also attributed the “blip” in timber numbers to the timber sold following the Valley fire.

Lake County, Giusti explained, has been producing around one million board feet for some time, “but the fire caused many, including the state, to sell salvaged logs. I think we’ll see another blip for 2017.”

He said most of the logs from Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest – the bulk of which were pine – went to local mills, and the Mendocino Redwood Co. bought most of the logs from the state forest.

“I’d say most, if not all, of the logs from private lands were exported to China. The Chinese use wood to make concrete forms,” which Giusti said is their chief building method.

As for use of the lumber, Giusti said ponderosa pine lacks the strength for structural construction, while Douglas fir can be used for houses and other structures.

The 2016 Crop Report also noted increases in field crops, 14 percent, and miscellaneous fruit, 3 percent, while decreases occurred in nursery production, 37 percent; livestock production, 18 percent; vegetables, 22 percent; and livestock and poultry products, 6 percent.

One of Lake County’s biggest crops – marijuana, or cannabis – isn’t accounted for in the report, and isn’t likely to be for the foreseeable future, Hajik said.

While the California Department of Pesticide Regulation considers cannabis a crop, the US Department of Agriculture doesn’t recognize it as a crop currently, which in turn has caused the the California of Food and Agriculture not to formally recognize it, he said.

“It’ll happen eventually,” he said.

Hajik said he and his staff will plan on starting the 2017 Crop Report in March, with hopes that it will be completed by June.

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.

2016 Lake County Crop Report by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new report shows that foreclosure across the United States – as well as in Lake County – has dropped to the lowest levels in 12 years.

The Year-End 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report was produced by ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s largest multi-sourced property database.

The report is a count of unique properties with a foreclosure filing during the year based on publicly recorded and published foreclosure filings collected in more than 2,500 counties nationwide.

Based on the report foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 676,535 U.S. properties in 2017, down 27 percent from 2016 and down 76 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010 to the lowest level since 2005.

Those 676,535 properties with foreclosure filings in 2017 represented 0.51 percent of all U.S. housing units, down from 0.70 percent in 2016 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010 to the lowest level since 2005.

The report showed that the states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2017 were New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Illinois , Connecticut, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, Nevada and New Mexico.

It also included data for December 2017, when there were 64,651 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, up 1 percent from the previous month but still down 25 percent from a year ago. The company said December was the 27th consecutive month with a year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity.

In Lake County, where there are a reported 35,626 housing units, foreclosures in 2017 took place on 150 properties, well below the 265 reported in 2006, based on data provided by the company to Lake County News.

Foreclosure activity peaked in Lake County in 2010, as the recession continued to impact the area. That year, the report showed that 1,771 foreclosures took place.

The chart above shows Lake County’s foreclosure activity for the years of the report.

“Thanks to a housing boom driven primarily by a scarcity of supply, which has helped to limit home purchases to the most highly qualified – and low-risk – borrowers, the U.S. housing market has the luxury of playing a version of foreclosure limbo in which it searches for how low foreclosures can go,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions.

Among the reports other key findings were the following:

– Lenders started the foreclosure process on 383,701 U.S. properties in 2017, down 20 percent from 2016 and down 82 percent from a peak of 2,139,005 in 2009 to a new all-time low going back as far as foreclosure start data is available – 2006.

– A total of 318,165 U.S. properties were scheduled for public foreclosure auction (the same as a foreclosure start in some states) in 2017, down 27 percent from 2016 and down from a peak of 1,600,593 in 2010 to a new all-time low going back as far as foreclosure auction data is available – 2006.

– Lenders repossessed 291,579 properties through foreclosure (REO) in 2017, down 23 percent from 2016 and down 72 percent from a peak of 1,050,500 in 2010 to the lowest level since 2006 – an 11-year low.

Nationwide, 50 percent of all loans actively in foreclosure as of the end of 2017 were originated between 2004 and 2008 – down from 55 percent a year ago, according to the report.

The report said the states with the highest number of legacy foreclosures on loans originated between 2004 and 2008 were New York (25,886), New Jersey (20,172), Florida (19,494), California (9,847) and Illinois (8,732).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a full shelter of dogs needing new families this week.

The dogs offered adoption this week include mixes of Akita, Chihuahua, German Shepherd, golden retriever, Labrador Retriever, mastiff, pit bull, shepherd, Rottweiler and terrier.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Chihuahua-terrier mix

This female Chihuahua-terrier mix has a short black and brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 3, ID No. 9368.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female Labrador Retriever-Rottweiler mix with a short black and brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 6, ID No. 9375.

Female pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier has a short black and white coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 10A, ID No. 9322.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female pit bull with a short black coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 10b, ID No. 9323.

Male pit bull terrier

This young male pit bull terrier has a short black and white coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 11, ID No. 9315.

German Shepherd-Akita mix

This female German Shepherd-Akita mix has a short black and tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 22, ID No. 9219.

Labrador Retriever-shepherd

This male Labrador Retriever-shepherd mix has a short gold and tan coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 9312.

Male German Shepherd

This male German Shepherd Dog has a long black coat.

He is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 9321.

Pit bull terrier-mastiff

This male pit bull terrier-mastiff mix has a short brindle coat.

He is in kennel No. 17, ID No. 9289.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 18a, ID No. 9371.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short brindle and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 18b, ID No. 9372.

Female shepherd mix

This female shepherd mix has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 9362.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short buff and white coat.

Shelter staff describe him as a “lovely boy” who will sit on command and give you a handshake.

He’s in kennel No. 25, ID No. 9369.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short white and brindle coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 26, ID No. 9262.

Golden retriever

This male golden retriever

Has a medium-length golden coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 9302.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The last of five visioning forums to discuss the county of Lake’s budget issues and services will take place on Monday evening in Middletown.

The forum will take place beginning at 7 p.m. Monday at Twin Pine Event Center, 22223 Highway 29 in Middletown.

All Lake County residents are welcome.

At the forum will be District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon as well as several department heads to talk about the county’s budgeting challenges and take input from the community about issues including what services to prioritize.

Forums so far have been held in Kelseyville, Clearlake, Nice and Lakeport.

About 120 people were in attendance at the Kelseyville event, 70 in Clearlake, more than 110 in Nice and about 150 in Lakeport.

For more information or to take a county survey on budget priorities, visit http://www.lakecountyca.gov/vision/.