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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Recent rains and cooler temperatures across the region have lowered the threat of wildfires, allowing Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit to transition out of peak fire season effective Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 8 a.m. in Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Solano, Yolo and Colusa counties.
This is the third year in a row that the agency’s operational transition has taken place in November.
Cal Fire will continue to maintain staffing to meet any potential threat, as well as maintaining the ability to strategically move resources to areas that remain at a higher threat level.
The agency also will continue to monitor weather conditions closely and still has the ability to increase staffing should weather conditions change or if there is a need to support wildfires or other emergencies in other areas of the state.
The 2017 fire season has been an extremely active year, even more so than in 2016. Statewide, Cal Fire and firefighters from many local agencies responded to more than 6,000 wildfires within the State Responsibility Area that burned nearly 505,000 acres.
During the cooler winter months, Cal Fire will continue to actively focus efforts on fire prevention and fuels treatment activities as guided by the state’s Strategic Fire Plan and localized unit fire plans.
These will be done through public education, prescribed burns and various types of fuel reduction.
These activities are aimed at reducing the impacts of large, damaging wildfires and improving overall forest health.
Residents are urged to still take precautions outdoors in order to prevent sparking a wildfire.
Before you burn, ensure it is a permissive burn day by contacting the local air quality district and then make sure you have any and all required burn permits.
During burning, make sure that piles of landscape debris are no larger than four feet in diameter, provide a 10-foot clearance down to bare mineral soil around the burn pile and ensure that a responsible adult is in attendance at all times with a water source and a shovel.
For more ways to burn safely visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
This is the third year in a row that the agency’s operational transition has taken place in November.
Cal Fire will continue to maintain staffing to meet any potential threat, as well as maintaining the ability to strategically move resources to areas that remain at a higher threat level.
The agency also will continue to monitor weather conditions closely and still has the ability to increase staffing should weather conditions change or if there is a need to support wildfires or other emergencies in other areas of the state.
The 2017 fire season has been an extremely active year, even more so than in 2016. Statewide, Cal Fire and firefighters from many local agencies responded to more than 6,000 wildfires within the State Responsibility Area that burned nearly 505,000 acres.
During the cooler winter months, Cal Fire will continue to actively focus efforts on fire prevention and fuels treatment activities as guided by the state’s Strategic Fire Plan and localized unit fire plans.
These will be done through public education, prescribed burns and various types of fuel reduction.
These activities are aimed at reducing the impacts of large, damaging wildfires and improving overall forest health.
Residents are urged to still take precautions outdoors in order to prevent sparking a wildfire.
Before you burn, ensure it is a permissive burn day by contacting the local air quality district and then make sure you have any and all required burn permits.
During burning, make sure that piles of landscape debris are no larger than four feet in diameter, provide a 10-foot clearance down to bare mineral soil around the burn pile and ensure that a responsible adult is in attendance at all times with a water source and a shovel.
For more ways to burn safely visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The most experienced judge currently serving on the Lake County Superior Court bench says he will not seek reelection next year.
On Monday, Judge Stephen Hedstrom announced that he will not be seeking a fourth term in 2018.
Rather, Hedstrom said he will serve out his third term on the Department Four bench. His six-year term ends in January 2019.
“I didn’t use the word retirement,” Hedstrom was careful to note in an interview with Lake County News.
Hedstrom, who turns 69 this week, has practiced law for 43 years. Before his election to the bench in 2000 – succeeding retired Judge Richard Freeborn – he served as Lake County’s district attorney for about 12 years.
By the time he retires, he will have spent 30 years in elected office and will be 70 years old.
“When I put that string together, it kinda says to me, it’s probably time,” Hedstrom said.
This is where he thought he would be at this time in his career, he said.
While the job of a judge is very demanding, “I very much enjoy my work and the people I work for and the people I work with,” said Hedstrom.
However, he added he’s ready for more freedom. “This seems like the right thing to do at this time,” he said.
There is a lot to look forward to. “I have a family who actually want to spend more time with me,” he quipped.
His family includes his wife, Linda, his two grown sons, Dan and Brian, and their families, including Hedstrom’s five grandchildren.
“That’s a big part of it too,” he said of his decision. “My sons. My grandkids. My daughters-in-law,” as well as his siblings.
Hedstrom said that the timing of his announcement is dictated in part by the need to let potential candidates know about his decision so they can start planning to run early in 2018.
In fairness, he said people need to have time to make their decisions in order to get campaigns under way.
Hedstrom’s announcement comes about six months after his colleague, Judge Richard Martin, retired from the Department 2 Superior Court bench, as Lake County News has reported.
Gov. Jerry Brown has still not announced an appointee to succeed Martin.
In an interview this spring, Lake County Superior Court Presiding Judge Andrew Blum told Lake County News that he anticipated an appointment by the end of this year.
However, the latest list of judicial appointments released recently by Brown’s office did not include an appointee for the Lake County Superior Court bench, and the governor’s office did not respond to a request from Lake County News on Monday seeking an update on the appointment process.
Lake County Superior Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier said Monday that the court has so far not been notified of a decision by the governor.
While Hedstrom is not seeking reelection and Martin’s seat has no appointee yet, that doesn’t mean there will be two simultaneous judicial races in Lake County next year.
Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley said that, in fact, Hedstrom’s seat may be the only judicial race on the ballot.
All of the judicial seats typically go on the ballot the same year, with 2018 being the next year for all of them to run for reelection, Fridley said.
However, if the races are uncontested, they don’t appear on the ballot, she said. That means if no one challenges Judge Andrew Blum and Judge Michael Lunas for their seats, they will be considered reelected.
And while Martin’s seat remains open, it won’t be on the ballot, said Fridley.
She confirmed that with the governor’s office and also referred to language in the California Constitution that sets out how judicial seats are to be filled.
According to Article 6, Section 16, subsection (c), “Terms of judges of superior courts are six years beginning the Monday after January 1 following their election. A vacancy shall be filled by election to a full term at the next general election after the second January 1 following the vacancy, but the Governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy temporarily until the elected judge's term begins.”
In other words, the seat Martin held is not expected to appear on the ballot again until 2020, Fridley said.
Fridley said judicial candidates have a slightly different process to seek office. It starts earlier in the new year than other races, requires a declaration of intention and has an earlier deadline, which underlines the importance of Hedstrom making his announcement early.
The campaign calendar is being drafted by Fridley for next year and will be available soon, she said.
As for Hedstrom, in the coming year he expects it will be “business as usual.”
He plans to focus on his work as he always has, and anticipates there will soon be an appointment to Martin’s seat so that the busy court can have another full-time judge.
After his term ends, he is considering hearing cases part-time as a retired judge, as many other retired judges – including Freeborn, Martin, Robert Crone, David Herrick and Arthur Mann – continue to do on a regular basis, giving much-needed help to the full-time judges.
“I can’t imagine not working,” he said, but he’s looking forward to less work and more time for the people and the activities close to his heart.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
111317 Hedstrom announcement by LakeCoNews on Scribd
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A homeless Clearlake man who became the focus of a social media firestorm after his dog was found dead along Highway 53 in September has been ordered to stand trial for animal cruelty.
On Monday retired Judge Arthur Mann ordered James Harley Thomas Miranda, 40, to stand trial on charges of felony animal cruelty and a misdemeanor for being under the influence of a controlled substance, specifically, methamphetamine.
On Sept. 11, Miranda’s dog, Cocoa, was found dead by a passerby on Highway 53 and recovered by a short time later by Clearlake Animal Control Officer Melinda Wymer, as Lake County News has reported.
A picture of the dead dog went viral on Facebook, where some people suggested harm should come to Miranda for the dog’s death.
The following morning, Miranda was taken into custody. He’s remained in the Lake County Jail ever since, according to his defense attorney, Andrea Sullivan.
Miranda, who appeared in court wearing an orange and white jumpsuit, looked visibly healthier than he did in his jail booking photos two months ago, at which point he was much thinner and more gaunt.
Sullivan would call him to take the stand in his own defense during the hour-long hearing, at which point Miranda tearfully recounted trying to help Cocoa after he said she was hit by a car.
During the Monday hearing, Sullivan presented information from a necropsy performed on the dog’s body that suggested Cocoa had died from blunt force trauma injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle, as Miranda said had happened.
Still, with the preliminary hearing stage requiring a very low evidentiary standard, Mann ordered Miranda held over for further proceedings.
Miranda, along with about a dozen other jail inmates, originally appeared before Judge Andrew Blum in Department 2 on Monday morning.
The controversy about the case followed Miranda into the courtroom. Several people seated in the audience made it known they were there to advocate for Cocoa. After one woman held up a painting of the dog they were admonished by the court to stop it.
Blum later had the case moved over to be heard by Mann in Department 3 so it could proceed while he dealt with other cases.
Once in the Department Three courtroom, the audience members who had been warned about the picture were warned again by the bailiff before the hearing started.
The bailiff had to warn the same people again during the hearing because of the loud talking and muttering that could be heard from the audience. At various points the audience members – one of them Rita Doyle of the Lake County Animal Coalition – were heard using expletives to describe witnesses and the defendant.
Witnesses, defendant give testimony
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson’s first witness was Clearlake Animal Control Officer Melinda Wymer, who had been in her job for three months when, on the morning of Sept. 11, she was dispatched to a report of a dead dog on the side of the highway.
The dog was found on the side of Highway 53 between Olympic Drive and the area of Lakeshore and 40th, Wymer said.
She found the brown mixed-breed female dog on the ground, tied with cloth to a dolly, its muzzle bound shut. When she arrived, the dog wasn’t moving and its body was still warm to the touch.
A man who was taking his child to daycare called to report the dog, Wymer said.
There were marks on the ground that made it look like the dog was struggling to get up and remove the materials used to muzzle it. Wymer said an elastic underwear waistband was used to tie the dog’s mouth shut and two pieces of cloth were used to tie its leg to the dolly.
Besides some hair missing from its tail – that Wymer said could have been due to a flea allergy or mange – the dog’s overall physical appearance was good. There were no external signs of injury
Along with the dog’s body on the dolly, Wymer said she found a black duffel bag filled with personal items and a tent in a bag. She searched the duffel bag looking for items of identification, finding a dictionary with a name on it along with a piece of paper with two names and phone numbers.
In looking at the scene, Wymer said she thought someone had been trying to make the dolly into a gurney for the dog. She didn’t have an opinion about how the dog died.
The prosecution’s second witness was Clearlake Police Officer Mark Harden, a trained K9 handler who had three previous contacts with Miranda before investigating the death of Cocoa.
“In each of those instances the defendant had the dog with him,” said Harden.
Harden was the officer who, after being shown a picture of Cocoa, tracked Miranda down in the area of Davis Avenue near his parents’ residence and arrested him early on Sept. 12 for the dog’s death.
When Harden found Miranda, he said Miranda turned around and put his hands behind his back as if expecting to be handcuffed. The officer said he believed Miranda was under the influence of methamphetamine, as he had dilated pupils and was acting paranoid.
Miranda told Harden that he and his dog were in the area of Davis and Moss, with Cocoa not on leash, when a silver-colored vehicle struck Cocoa.
After the dog was injured, Miranda muzzled the dog to prevent her from biting. “He did not take the dog to get medical care,” said Harden. In response to questions from Abelson, Harden said a veterinarian’s office was within a five-minute walk.
Harden also stated that Miranda told him he went to a friend’s house and smoked meth, a statement Sullivan would object to but the judge overruled and let the statement stand in the record. Miranda also disputed that statement in his testimony.
The officer said he didn’t recall seeing injuries on Miranda, who didn’t provide a urine test as required in order for authorities to check his intoxication.
When Abelson asked Harden if he believed Miranda when he said Cocoa was hit by a car, Harden responded, “It was a possibility.”
Miranda also appeared to be upset about his dog’s death, according to Harden’s testimony.
When Miranda took the stand, he explained that he had owned Cocoa – a chocolate Labrador Retriever and red-nosed pit bull mix – for seven years after purchasing her from a friend.
On Sept. 11 he was homeless, with no regular income and he worked odd jobs.
“She ate before I did,” he said, explaining he and his dog were very close. “She was like my child.”
Cocoa, who weighed close to 70 pounds and was fed special food due to a corn allergy, was last taken to a vet about a year prior to her death for a sprained leg, Miranda said.
Miranda testified that on Sept. 11 he had been camping with a friend off of Olympic Drive. At around 5:30 to 6 a.m. he was walking down the highway when a car veered off the road, hitting his dog on the right side and hitting his arm, knocking him to the ground.
“I freaked out, I was screaming, he said.
He said he picked up Cocoa, who was yelping and whining in pain and couldn’t walk. He said her legs and back end were smashed.
“She was dying,” he said.
The dog wasn’t responding except to try to bite at him. Miranda said it was not like her to snap at him except that she was in pain.
He said he walked along carrying her about a mile or so and was trying to wave down help. “But no one would stop for me.”
He said she was yelping in pain with every step he took. Then he said he found a dolly on the side of the road. Miranda said he threw blankets and a duffle bag down on it, put her on top of it and wrapped her back leg so it wouldn’t get caught in the wheels. He then covered her with a blanket, and took strips off of his underwear and shirt to tie her to the dolly and muzzle her.
As Miranda described his actions, he began to cry, recalling how he drug her on the dolly for about a mile and a half along the road.
He said he had no money and while he knew where the vets were he didn’t know if one would see her.
Miranda said he finally stopped and left Cocoa by the side of the road while he went to his parents’ home to get their truck. By that point, she was dead.
When he arrived at his parents’ home, no one was there. That was the result when he went to a friend’s home. Still another friend couldn’t help him because he didn’t have gas in his truck.
When he returned 20 to 30 minutes later, Miranda said he saw Officer Wymer driving off after having picked up Cocoa’s body.
He denied that he had used meth that day or the next. Rather, he said he got drunk in his grief.
Miranda denied beating Cocoa. “I never hit my dog.”
He also maintained he had told Harden repeatedly that he had tried to get help for Cocoa. “I was balling my eyes out,” he said. “It’s like losing a child that day.”
Miranda said his mother called the city to find the dog, and was told Cocoa had been found dead at the scene.
Abelson called Harden back to the stand to ask him about a violent physical confrontation he had with Miranda in August.
Harden said Miranda had broken free of him and took off running, so Harden removed his police K9 from the back of his vehicle to deploy the dog. At that point, Cocoa, who was with Miranda, attacked the K9. Harden said he kicked Cocoa as a result.
Defense, prosecution offer arguments
Following the testimony of the witnesses, Sullivan offered her arguments in the case, pointing to a necropsy performed on Cocoa’s body which indicated the dog was hit by a car.
Sullivan said the examination found Cocoa’s hind end had several fractures. The cause of death was given as hemorrhage associated with blunt force trauma, which is the kind of trauma most commonly associated with being hit by a vehicle, according to the examining veterinarian.
There was no evidence, Sullivan said, that had Miranda been able to get Cocoa to a vet that the dog even would have been seen. But she emphasized he was trying to get help.
“I don’t see how that’s needlessly inflicting injury or cruelty to an animal,” she said.
Sullivan also pointed out that Miranda had no previous felony convictions. “His only crime is not having enough money to go to a vet and lack of a car.”
Abelson countered that not having enough money is not an excuse for not getting vet care for Cocoa, adding she didn’t think Miranda was credible.
She said Miranda got himself into trouble, and rather than taking the dog to a vet to be humanely put down, he abandoned it. His actions qualified for the felony charge for failing to get care and the tortuous way the dog died.
Mann noted the necropsy’s finding in his ruling. “That raises some doubts in the court’s mind as to what actually happened here,” said Mann.
At the same time, he found it odd that Miranda would have found a dolly on the side of the road where he happened to be walking.
Mann said that in viewing the case overall, the prosecution had met the burden for the “low standard of proof” required at preliminary hearing, which is lower than what is needed at trial.
As such, Mann ordered Miranda to be held over for trial and ordered him to next appear in court at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
On Monday retired Judge Arthur Mann ordered James Harley Thomas Miranda, 40, to stand trial on charges of felony animal cruelty and a misdemeanor for being under the influence of a controlled substance, specifically, methamphetamine.
On Sept. 11, Miranda’s dog, Cocoa, was found dead by a passerby on Highway 53 and recovered by a short time later by Clearlake Animal Control Officer Melinda Wymer, as Lake County News has reported.
A picture of the dead dog went viral on Facebook, where some people suggested harm should come to Miranda for the dog’s death.
The following morning, Miranda was taken into custody. He’s remained in the Lake County Jail ever since, according to his defense attorney, Andrea Sullivan.
Miranda, who appeared in court wearing an orange and white jumpsuit, looked visibly healthier than he did in his jail booking photos two months ago, at which point he was much thinner and more gaunt.
Sullivan would call him to take the stand in his own defense during the hour-long hearing, at which point Miranda tearfully recounted trying to help Cocoa after he said she was hit by a car.
During the Monday hearing, Sullivan presented information from a necropsy performed on the dog’s body that suggested Cocoa had died from blunt force trauma injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle, as Miranda said had happened.
Still, with the preliminary hearing stage requiring a very low evidentiary standard, Mann ordered Miranda held over for further proceedings.
Miranda, along with about a dozen other jail inmates, originally appeared before Judge Andrew Blum in Department 2 on Monday morning.
The controversy about the case followed Miranda into the courtroom. Several people seated in the audience made it known they were there to advocate for Cocoa. After one woman held up a painting of the dog they were admonished by the court to stop it.
Blum later had the case moved over to be heard by Mann in Department 3 so it could proceed while he dealt with other cases.
Once in the Department Three courtroom, the audience members who had been warned about the picture were warned again by the bailiff before the hearing started.
The bailiff had to warn the same people again during the hearing because of the loud talking and muttering that could be heard from the audience. At various points the audience members – one of them Rita Doyle of the Lake County Animal Coalition – were heard using expletives to describe witnesses and the defendant.
Witnesses, defendant give testimony
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson’s first witness was Clearlake Animal Control Officer Melinda Wymer, who had been in her job for three months when, on the morning of Sept. 11, she was dispatched to a report of a dead dog on the side of the highway.
The dog was found on the side of Highway 53 between Olympic Drive and the area of Lakeshore and 40th, Wymer said.
She found the brown mixed-breed female dog on the ground, tied with cloth to a dolly, its muzzle bound shut. When she arrived, the dog wasn’t moving and its body was still warm to the touch.
A man who was taking his child to daycare called to report the dog, Wymer said.
There were marks on the ground that made it look like the dog was struggling to get up and remove the materials used to muzzle it. Wymer said an elastic underwear waistband was used to tie the dog’s mouth shut and two pieces of cloth were used to tie its leg to the dolly.
Besides some hair missing from its tail – that Wymer said could have been due to a flea allergy or mange – the dog’s overall physical appearance was good. There were no external signs of injury
Along with the dog’s body on the dolly, Wymer said she found a black duffel bag filled with personal items and a tent in a bag. She searched the duffel bag looking for items of identification, finding a dictionary with a name on it along with a piece of paper with two names and phone numbers.
In looking at the scene, Wymer said she thought someone had been trying to make the dolly into a gurney for the dog. She didn’t have an opinion about how the dog died.
The prosecution’s second witness was Clearlake Police Officer Mark Harden, a trained K9 handler who had three previous contacts with Miranda before investigating the death of Cocoa.
“In each of those instances the defendant had the dog with him,” said Harden.
Harden was the officer who, after being shown a picture of Cocoa, tracked Miranda down in the area of Davis Avenue near his parents’ residence and arrested him early on Sept. 12 for the dog’s death.
When Harden found Miranda, he said Miranda turned around and put his hands behind his back as if expecting to be handcuffed. The officer said he believed Miranda was under the influence of methamphetamine, as he had dilated pupils and was acting paranoid.
Miranda told Harden that he and his dog were in the area of Davis and Moss, with Cocoa not on leash, when a silver-colored vehicle struck Cocoa.
After the dog was injured, Miranda muzzled the dog to prevent her from biting. “He did not take the dog to get medical care,” said Harden. In response to questions from Abelson, Harden said a veterinarian’s office was within a five-minute walk.
Harden also stated that Miranda told him he went to a friend’s house and smoked meth, a statement Sullivan would object to but the judge overruled and let the statement stand in the record. Miranda also disputed that statement in his testimony.
The officer said he didn’t recall seeing injuries on Miranda, who didn’t provide a urine test as required in order for authorities to check his intoxication.
When Abelson asked Harden if he believed Miranda when he said Cocoa was hit by a car, Harden responded, “It was a possibility.”
Miranda also appeared to be upset about his dog’s death, according to Harden’s testimony.
When Miranda took the stand, he explained that he had owned Cocoa – a chocolate Labrador Retriever and red-nosed pit bull mix – for seven years after purchasing her from a friend.
On Sept. 11 he was homeless, with no regular income and he worked odd jobs.
“She ate before I did,” he said, explaining he and his dog were very close. “She was like my child.”
Cocoa, who weighed close to 70 pounds and was fed special food due to a corn allergy, was last taken to a vet about a year prior to her death for a sprained leg, Miranda said.
Miranda testified that on Sept. 11 he had been camping with a friend off of Olympic Drive. At around 5:30 to 6 a.m. he was walking down the highway when a car veered off the road, hitting his dog on the right side and hitting his arm, knocking him to the ground.
“I freaked out, I was screaming, he said.
He said he picked up Cocoa, who was yelping and whining in pain and couldn’t walk. He said her legs and back end were smashed.
“She was dying,” he said.
The dog wasn’t responding except to try to bite at him. Miranda said it was not like her to snap at him except that she was in pain.
He said he walked along carrying her about a mile or so and was trying to wave down help. “But no one would stop for me.”
He said she was yelping in pain with every step he took. Then he said he found a dolly on the side of the road. Miranda said he threw blankets and a duffle bag down on it, put her on top of it and wrapped her back leg so it wouldn’t get caught in the wheels. He then covered her with a blanket, and took strips off of his underwear and shirt to tie her to the dolly and muzzle her.
As Miranda described his actions, he began to cry, recalling how he drug her on the dolly for about a mile and a half along the road.
He said he had no money and while he knew where the vets were he didn’t know if one would see her.
Miranda said he finally stopped and left Cocoa by the side of the road while he went to his parents’ home to get their truck. By that point, she was dead.
When he arrived at his parents’ home, no one was there. That was the result when he went to a friend’s home. Still another friend couldn’t help him because he didn’t have gas in his truck.
When he returned 20 to 30 minutes later, Miranda said he saw Officer Wymer driving off after having picked up Cocoa’s body.
He denied that he had used meth that day or the next. Rather, he said he got drunk in his grief.
Miranda denied beating Cocoa. “I never hit my dog.”
He also maintained he had told Harden repeatedly that he had tried to get help for Cocoa. “I was balling my eyes out,” he said. “It’s like losing a child that day.”
Miranda said his mother called the city to find the dog, and was told Cocoa had been found dead at the scene.
Abelson called Harden back to the stand to ask him about a violent physical confrontation he had with Miranda in August.
Harden said Miranda had broken free of him and took off running, so Harden removed his police K9 from the back of his vehicle to deploy the dog. At that point, Cocoa, who was with Miranda, attacked the K9. Harden said he kicked Cocoa as a result.
Defense, prosecution offer arguments
Following the testimony of the witnesses, Sullivan offered her arguments in the case, pointing to a necropsy performed on Cocoa’s body which indicated the dog was hit by a car.
Sullivan said the examination found Cocoa’s hind end had several fractures. The cause of death was given as hemorrhage associated with blunt force trauma, which is the kind of trauma most commonly associated with being hit by a vehicle, according to the examining veterinarian.
There was no evidence, Sullivan said, that had Miranda been able to get Cocoa to a vet that the dog even would have been seen. But she emphasized he was trying to get help.
“I don’t see how that’s needlessly inflicting injury or cruelty to an animal,” she said.
Sullivan also pointed out that Miranda had no previous felony convictions. “His only crime is not having enough money to go to a vet and lack of a car.”
Abelson countered that not having enough money is not an excuse for not getting vet care for Cocoa, adding she didn’t think Miranda was credible.
She said Miranda got himself into trouble, and rather than taking the dog to a vet to be humanely put down, he abandoned it. His actions qualified for the felony charge for failing to get care and the tortuous way the dog died.
Mann noted the necropsy’s finding in his ruling. “That raises some doubts in the court’s mind as to what actually happened here,” said Mann.
At the same time, he found it odd that Miranda would have found a dolly on the side of the road where he happened to be walking.
Mann said that in viewing the case overall, the prosecution had met the burden for the “low standard of proof” required at preliminary hearing, which is lower than what is needed at trial.
As such, Mann ordered Miranda to be held over for trial and ordered him to next appear in court at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The US flag that spent half the year flying over Austin Park came down on Monday morning.
More than 100 spectators came out for the event.
Children from the Konocti Unified School District, members of the Park Study Club, city of Clearlake staff, the Lake County Fire Protection District, and the American Legion braved the elements to attend the annual flag lowering and retirement ceremony at Austin Park.
“It’s great to see the next generation of young American patriots from Konocti Unified School District come out and pay tribute to our veterans and to our flag,” said City Manager Greg Folsom.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Air Quality Management District said the 2017 burn ban is lifted as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Burn permits are required for all outdoor burning in the Lake County Air Basin, the agency said.
Contact your local fire agency for a burn permit, or the Lake County Air Quality Management District to obtain a smoke management plan.
A smoke management plan is required for all burns over 20 acres in size, multi-day burns, standing vegetation burns, whole tree or vine removals over one acre, and other burns where significant smoke impacts may occur or sensitive receptors may be impacted.
A fee is required for all burn permits, payable at the time the permit is issued.
Burn permits (agricultural and residential) and smoke management plans are $26, while land development/lot clearing burn permits are $78.
Only clean dry vegetation that was grown on the property may be burned.
Residential burn permits require a one-acre or larger lot, a burn location that is located at least 100 feet from all neighbors, and at least 30 feet from any structure.
Lot clearing/land development burns require special permits available at your local fire agency. Burn only the amount of material that can be completely consumed during the allowed burning hours. Read your burn permit carefully and follow all the conditions.
Consider using the vegetative waste pickup provided with your waste collection services or composting as an alternative to burning leaves.
Please be considerate of your neighbors. A permit does not allow you to create health problems for others. You can be liable for health care costs, fines, and other costs resulting from your burning.
Lake County’s joint fire agencies and air quality management district’s open burning program has incorporated both fire safety and air quality management since 1987.
The district thanks the community for its cooperation this burn season.
Burn permits are required for all outdoor burning in the Lake County Air Basin, the agency said.
Contact your local fire agency for a burn permit, or the Lake County Air Quality Management District to obtain a smoke management plan.
A smoke management plan is required for all burns over 20 acres in size, multi-day burns, standing vegetation burns, whole tree or vine removals over one acre, and other burns where significant smoke impacts may occur or sensitive receptors may be impacted.
A fee is required for all burn permits, payable at the time the permit is issued.
Burn permits (agricultural and residential) and smoke management plans are $26, while land development/lot clearing burn permits are $78.
Only clean dry vegetation that was grown on the property may be burned.
Residential burn permits require a one-acre or larger lot, a burn location that is located at least 100 feet from all neighbors, and at least 30 feet from any structure.
Lot clearing/land development burns require special permits available at your local fire agency. Burn only the amount of material that can be completely consumed during the allowed burning hours. Read your burn permit carefully and follow all the conditions.
Consider using the vegetative waste pickup provided with your waste collection services or composting as an alternative to burning leaves.
Please be considerate of your neighbors. A permit does not allow you to create health problems for others. You can be liable for health care costs, fines, and other costs resulting from your burning.
Lake County’s joint fire agencies and air quality management district’s open burning program has incorporated both fire safety and air quality management since 1987.
The district thanks the community for its cooperation this burn season.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two local teenagers whose families reported them missing have been located outside of the county and are safe, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Jacob Young, 18, and Olivia Baker, 15, had last been seen in Middletown on Oct. 31, as Lake County News has reported.
The sheriff’s office issued a Nixle alert seeking information on the pair on Sunday.
Early Monday morning, the sheriff’s office said the teens were found in the unincorporated Sacramento area Sunday night.
The agency said it received information as a result of the Nixle alert and from the teens’ families, which enabled the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office to locate the two.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office thanked the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office and everyone who provided information which led to the teens being safely located.
Jacob Young, 18, and Olivia Baker, 15, had last been seen in Middletown on Oct. 31, as Lake County News has reported.
The sheriff’s office issued a Nixle alert seeking information on the pair on Sunday.
Early Monday morning, the sheriff’s office said the teens were found in the unincorporated Sacramento area Sunday night.
The agency said it received information as a result of the Nixle alert and from the teens’ families, which enabled the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office to locate the two.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office thanked the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office and everyone who provided information which led to the teens being safely located.