LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild will present Lynn Wilder as the featured quilter at the 16th annual Falling Leaves Quilt Show.
The show takes place in Lewis Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport, on Saturday, Oct. 7, and Sunday, Oct. 8. The hours on Saturday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wilder is a quilter, quilt instructor, blogger and pattern designer.
Lynn Wilder. Courtesy photo As a blogger, her well-established blog, http://sewnwildoaks.blogspot.com, is where you can find current and past projects, quilt patterns, classes she’s teaching, helpful quilting tutorials and other delightful ideas.
Prior to retirement, Wilder was a geographic information systems analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Her work making maps using color and math transferred directly to quilting. It is no surprise then that Wilder is the author of “Patch Work Math” a resource manual containing formulas and piecing techniques.
Heritage quilt. Courtesy photo. Wilder will be demonstrating basic quilting math formulas and techniques throughout each day of the show.
She will be available to talk with attendees about her quilts on display. Wilder enjoys designing and making traditional quilts combining her love of appliqué with pieced blocks.
For information call show chair Linda Morrison, 707-245-5217. More information can also be found on the Web site at http://www.LLQG.org/quilt-show.html.
Suzanne Lee is a member of the Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild and publicity chair for the quilt show.
Harvest of Hope quilt by Lynn Wilder. Courtesy photo.
Banks and credit unions are required to report both known and reasonably suspected cases of financial elder abuse when such cases present themselves within the scope of banking activities (section 15630.1 of its Welfare and Institutions Code).
Reports are made either to law enforcement or Adult Protective Services immediately, or as soon as possible.
California Legislature recently amended the same law to allow banks and credit unions the right to refuse to honor a power of attorney to prevent financial elder abuse involving elders and dependent adults.
Powers of attorney are important legal instruments that can be used properly to manage the financial, property and legal affairs of a person in their best interests when that person later becomes incapacitated.
An adult who has legal capacity – i.e., understands the significance of the power of attorney and appreciates the rights, risks and alternatives involved – can authorize an agent to manage their finances.
A power of attorney can, therefore, be used to avoid going to court to manage a person’s assets and affairs when that person later becomes incapacitated.
Unfortunately, powers of attorney are sometimes obtained in wrongful circumstances (such as when the person lacks capacity or is being coerced) and also can sometimes be misused to embezzle money from the elder’s or dependent adult’s financial accounts.
Now, a bank or credit union may refuse to honor the power of attorney of an elder or dependent adult where they either know or suspect elder abuse.
They already have discretion whether or not to honor a power of attorney when the elder, or someone else, tells them elder abuse is occurring if the bank has neither any corroborating evidence showing elder abuse nor has a reasonable belief that, under the facts and circumstances, elder abuse is occurring.
Any alternative agents who are named in the power of attorney can still use the power of attorney if they are not themselves known or suspected of elder abuse.
The named alternative agents may be trustworthy persons who would act in the best interests of the elder or dependent adult and should be allowed to do so.
If an agent believes that their authority was wrongly dishonored by a bank or credit union then the agent can petition the court to enforce the power of attorney.
The court can award attorney fees to be paid by the bank to the attorney in fact. Clearly, banks and credit unions have an incentive to act responsibility under the circumstances.
The foregoing legislative amendment is a fine-tuning of California’s existing statutory laws regarding financial elder abuse.
It is specifically drafted to prevent financial abuse of its elders and dependent adults when their powers of attorney and banking activities are concerned.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com.
We’re all familiar with vehicles that move by using wind, solar energy, gas, or electricity. But occasionally, vehicles are able to use the most efficient and powerful force of all. Gravity.
Gravity’s pull is being used to help propel a small spacecraft known as OSIRIS-REx to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu.
The mission? Bring back at least a couple ounces of the asteroid so scientists can explore how planets formed and life began.
Gravity is the key to getting this spacecraft to Bennu. For decades, astronomers observed how a planet’s gravity could move large objects, like comets, out of their orbit.
Then, in 1974, NASA’s Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to employ the slingshot effect, also known as a gravity assist, to reach another planet.
The gravity of Venus was used to help Mariner 10 reach Mercury. Now, NASA scientists and engineers are using Earth’s gravity to slingshot OSIRIS-REx on to Bennu, a relatively small asteroid about the height of the Empire State Building.
There are a number of benefits to using gravity to propel OSIRIS-REx to Bennu.
“Using the Earth Gravity Assist opens up trajectory options that use less fuel,” Mike Moreau, the OSIRIS-REx Flight Dynamics Manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland said. “In this case, the Earth flyby is changing the plane of OSIRIS-REx’s orbit by approximately 6 degrees, which will align the spacecraft with the orbit of Bennu.”
Jeff Grossman, OSIRIS-REx Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, added, “The spacecraft’s long path to Bennu, including the Earth Gravity Assist, was carefully chosen to allow it to reach the asteroid, conduct all of the necessary rendezvous maneuvers, and get back to Earth within the amount of fuel the spacecraft can carry onboard.”
As the spacecraft approaches Earth, it will receive an increasing gravitational tug from our planet. It will essentially steal some momentum from the planet and in the process, change its speed and direction.
In the months leading up to the gravity assist, the spacecraft’s thrusters were fired on two different occasions to adjust the precise target and time of the flyby.
The flyby was designed to make the precise velocity change needed to arrive at Bennu in the fall of 2018.
Moreau notes, “OSIRIS-REx will fly by the Earth at an altitude of 10,700 miles (17,200 km) and will be traveling too fast to be completely captured by Earth’s gravity.”
So how much kick does Earth’s gravity add to the spacecraft? 8,500 miles an hour, without having to burn any fuel. Now that’s the ultimate ride.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Rotary Club of Lakeport will stage the 27th annual Konocti Challenge cycling event in Lakeport on Saturday, Oct. 7.
The event, which features four courses that suit riders of any skill level, has become one of the premier bicycle competitions in California, and it attracts hundreds of riders from all over the world.
Cycle CA! Magazine named the Konocti Challenge “The Best Metric Century of 2014” and awarded the event its “Excellence in Service” award in 2015.
The fun starts on Friday, Oct. 6, at 4 p.m., at the Skylark Shores Resort, which serves as “ride central,” with wine tasting and rider packet pick-up until 7 p.m.
More than 750 riders are expected to participate in this year’s challenge.
The real excitement begins the next morning at the Skylark Shores water’s edge when the 100- mile and 65-mile course riders are released between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. That is followed by the release of the 40-mile and 20-mile family course riders between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
All courses weave through some of Lake County’s most beautiful and picturesque settings.
“The ride occurs at one the most beautiful times of the year in Lake County,” said Jennifer Strong, Konocti Challenge ride director. “And the long-range weather forecast for this year’s ride looks to be excellent with temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s.”
Strong added, “This is an amazing event for our community and a great opportunity for us to show off our beautiful county and to encourage those riders from out of the area to visit us other times of year.”
The 100-mile and 65-mile courses traverse the east side of the lake to Middletown and then up and over Cobb Mountain.
The 40-mile and 20-mile routes run through Scotts Valley and Kelseyville.
All rides terminate at Lakeport’s Skylark Shores Resort where riders are greeted with an end-of-ride barbecue and refreshments.
One of the features that separates the Konocti Challenge from other cycling events is its rest stop competition.
Local nonprofit organizations that volunteer to man the ride’s rest stops compete for cash prizes that are awarded based on popularity as judged by the event’s riders.
The competition is fierce and rest stop decorations are creative and entertaining.
Konocti Challenge route maps, ride and registration information can be found at www.konoctichallenge.com.
Anyone wishing to volunteer can do so by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A group of cyclists enjoys the party after a previous Konocti Challenge. Courtesy photo.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council meeting this week featured an appearance by Batman, approval of the city’s lakefront revitalization plan and the direction to staff to negotiate an agreement for solar and energy conservation projects.
The meeting got started with Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and Mayor Stacey Mattina presenting certificates of appreciation to businesses and organizations that partnered to present the city’s National Night Out event in August.
Rasmussen said they assisted with providing advertising, prizes, equipment, cooking, food and more.
“We absolutely could not do it without the support of all of you,” Rasmussen said.
Those receiving certificates were Bruno’s Shop Smart, the Clear Lake High School Class of 2019, Country Air Properties, Lupoyoma Park Improvement Association, Esplanade Street Neighborhood Watch, Grocery Outlet, Face Painting by Kathy, Jeff Morin Art, Kiwanis Club of Lakeport, Kmart, KXBX, Lake County Amateur Radio Society, the Lake County Fair, Lake County News, Lake Event Design, Lakeport Cinema 5, Lakeport Main Street Association, Lakeport Pizza, Main Street Bicycles, Pak ‘N Mail, ServPro of Lake County, St. Mary Immaculate Parish, Susie Q’s Donuts, the Nerd Cave, Tony Barthel and Valerie Schweifler.
The last to appear was Batman, who received his certificate and a handshake from the mayor and chief.
City Manager Margaret Silveira said all of the contributions have allowed National Night Out to be completely free to the community. She added that Batman was a big hit with the children this year.
In other business, Community Development Director Kevin Ingram introduced the Lakeport Lakefront Revitalization Plan to the council.
The plan covers the area along the waterfront bounded by Clearlake Avenue in the north to C Street in the south, including public and private property. Ingram called it an important planning tool.
The city received more than 750 responses from the community through both meetings and an online survey.
Ingram said the only negative feedback he’s gotten was the lack of a funding component, however, he pointed out that adoption of the plan would add strength to future grant opportunities, which the city plans to start pursuing quickly.
The plan quantifies the importance to the community of a promenade or continuous walking path along the lakeshore. That part of the project is a highly popular feature, Ingram said.
Ingram said the plan would allow a developer to come in and see what the community would like to have. He said it’s also designed to be flexible and implementable in an incremental fashion.
He added that staff is excited to move forward into the implementation stage.
Steve Noll – a principal at the firm Design Workshop of Stateline, Nev., which prepared the plan for the city – presented an overview of the document.
He summarized challenges as circulation of traffic, private property and economic viability, with opportunities including connectivity between Main Street and the waterfront, enhancing local shops and amenities, existing uses, lakefront access, community events and collaboration with property owners, specifically, the Lakeport Unified School District, the owner of the Natural High property on the lakeshore.
Focus areas include the promenade; the city-owned Dutch Harbor property and Natural High; and parking and circulation in the area of Third Street.
The plan includes a number of preliminary concepts, shown in the staff report below from pages 64 to 73. Each is a variation with four key parts: the promenade, a combined use of the city and school property, parking and circulation and a hotel development.
Through working with community members and an economic assessment, the plan identified key priorities that the plan says “should all be kept at the forefront of the City’s future efforts.”
Those priorities are the promenade, additional restaurants and shopping, improved public open space, improved waterfront access, a hotel, improved circulation and connectivity to downtown, a community recreation center and water park.
Mattina said part of the process is looking at what the city has and considering what is the dream for that area, noting that not everything is going to happen right away.
“I’ve been dreaming of a promenade forever, and now at least we have one in writing,” she said.
Ingram explained that Main Street used to be a location of key activities, from the post office to the grocery store, which have since moved to the city’s fringes.
He said successful downtowns have rebuilt themselves as destinations, where people go for an experience – from the arts to enjoying an activity – and stay to shop. In Lakeport’s case, the city can offer the lake itself as a downtown activity.
During public comment, community member Nancy Ruzicka said that during the planning meetings, community members were clear about not wanting an 80-unit hotel at the small Dutch Harbor property, and that they liked better the proposal to build a hotel at Will-O-Point.
Lake County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa Fulton advocated for keeping both Dutch Harbor and Natural High as open space.
She also said that seaplane pilots, who recently visited the city during the annual Seaplane Splash-In, have indicated willingness to invest in getting a permanent seaplane ramp at the location so they can fly in year-round.
Ingram noted that it became very clear during all the public outreach that Natural High is a very valuable aesthetic property thanks to its view of the lake.
Councilman Kenny Parlet moved to approve the plan, which the council supported 5-0.
The council on Tuesday also authorized Silveira to negotiate a program development agreement with OpTerra Energy Systems for solar and energy conservation projects.
Ingram said staff had moved forward at council direction with pursuing projects but found that some regulatory and legislative changes led to questions of feasibility.
He said he and City Engineer Paul Curren had a great meeting with the Yuba City Public Works director and also talked to others who worked with OpTerra, which has done an energy audit and a site visit.
OpTerra Senior Manager Ashu Jain said the proposed scope of work included LED lighting; solar installations at City Hall, the Lakeport Police Department, the wastewater treatment plant and the city corporation yard; outdoor and indoor lighting retrofits at city facilities; and new HVAC units at locations including the Carnegie Library.
The preliminary plans propose solar parking canopies at City Hall and the police department, with city hall also to get an electric vehicle car charging station, according to Jain.
The initial estimate for all of the parts of the project is $3.9 million, with the city expected to realize $266,000 a year, or about 50 percent of its overall consumption. Jain said they would return with more firm numbers.
Jain said the project proposes to create $15 million in net savings before lease payments over a 30-year period. His estimates also included maintenance that the company would provide.
If the project goes forward, Jain said program development will take place from September to January, and implementation from February 2018 to February 2019.
Mattina said the city now needs to figure out a way to pay for it.
Parlet said having such a project would put Lakeport out in front of other rural communities, and he believed financing can be discussed later, once they know if they will actually go forward with a project after further assessment is done.
He moved to have Silveira start the negotiations, with Councilwoman Mireya Turner seconded and the council voting 5-0.
The council also unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Finance Director Nick Walker and Silveira to work with a team to refinance the prior bonds by issuing wastewater revenue refunding bonds with a principal amount of approximately $3 million, and authorized Silveira to execute the proposed professional services agreements for background investigations with James Bauman dba Pacific Quest Investigations; Gary R. Buchholz dba LACO Investigation; Cline Investigations, LLC; and Bob Nishiyama Investigations.
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.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council and Lakeport Planning Commission are planning a special October workshop to review possible amendments to the Lakeport Zoning Ordinance concerning the development of procedures for the allowance of commercial marijuana, or cannabis, uses within the city of Lakeport.
The meeting will take place beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The changes would reflect state regulations associated with the recently approved Proposition 64 that legalized the personal use of marijuana in California and other recent legislative changes concerning marijuana over the past couple of years.
At that meeting, the city council and planning commission will discuss:
• Discussion of recently approved legislation concerning commercial cannabis, including Proposition 64 and SB 94.
• Reviewing and developing standards for commercial cannabis uses including cultivation, manufacturing, testing and retail.
• Appropriate zoning districts for the allowance of commercial cannabis uses.
• Consideration of potential fees and taxes related to associated commercial cannabis uses.
The public is encouraged to attend and participate.
Following the workshop city staff will develop a draft ordinance for the regulations of commercial cannabis to be considered for adoption.
For questions and other concerns please contact the Community Development Department at 707-263-5613 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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