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Shirley was born on April 10, 1948, in Santa Rosa, Calif., and passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, in Santa Rosa.

Shirley was raised and lived in Lake County, Calif., all of her life, graduating from Kelseyville High School in 1966.

She married Ricardo C. Cortez and they were married for 44 years. She enjoyed taking care of her family and making everyone laugh.

Shirley is survived by her husband, Ricardo Cortez; brother, Charlie Cruz; children, Rick Cortez, Jorge Cortez and Elisha Aguirre; grandchildren, Alondra Aguirre, Erube Aguirre, Antonio Aguirre, Felisa Cortez, Aryana Cortez and Jorge Cortez Jr.; and many nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her parents Jose and Vivian Cruz and brothers, Richard L. Cruz, Jose Luis “Skip” Cruz, Frank Cruz and Jess Cruz.

She will be deeply missed by her family and friends and will always be in our hearts.

Visitation will be held at Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary on Friday, Dec. 16, from 2 to 6 p.m., with a Rosary service at 6 p.m.

Funeral Mass will be held at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Kelseyville on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 11 a.m. with interment to follow at St. Mary's Cemetery.

For further information please contact Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary at 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .

SACRAMENTO – California revenues of almost $7.98 billion for November topped projections in the 2016‑17 Budget Act that Gov. Jerry Brown signed in June by $556.9 million, or 7.5 percent, State Controller Betty T. Yee reported.

The fiscal year-to-date total of nearly $38.87 billion in revenues is now 0.5 percent above estimates.

November personal income tax (PIT) receipts of $4.55 billion outpaced budget projections by $559.7 million, or 14.0 percent.

Five months into the new fiscal year, California has collected total PIT receipts of $26.00 billion, beating estimates by $560.7 million.

Gross corporation tax collections of $294.6 million for November beat projections by $53.6 million. However, corporation tax refunds of $399.7 million were $110.7 million higher than expected.

In total, corporation tax receipts for November were in the red by $105.1 million.

For the first five months of the fiscal year, total corporation tax receipts of $1.46 billion are $318.2 million lower than anticipated in the 2016-17 Budget Act – a shortfall of 17.9 percent.

Retail sales and use tax receipts of $3.10 billion for November missed expectations by $73.4 million. For the fiscal year-to-date, sales tax receipts of $9.92 billion are $238.3 million below estimates. For both the month and the fiscal year-to-date, sales tax receipts are 2.3 percent shy of budget projections.

The state ended the month of November with unused borrowable resources of just under $22.96 billion, which was $2.40 billion more than predicted in the 2016-17 Budget Act.

Outstanding loans of $16.23 billion were $708.2 million lower than projected. This loan balance consists of borrowing from the state’s internal special funds.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The 42nd annual Clear Lake Christmas Bird Count, held by the Redbud Audubon Society, will be on Saturday, Dec. 17.

The Christmas Bird Count is a traditional project of Audubon societies around the country and takes place between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.

Each December birders gather to record every individual bird and species encountered during the day.

Each count group has a designated circle of 15 miles in diameter and tries to cover as much ground as possible within a certain period of time.

The data collected by each count group are then sent to the National Audubon Headquarters in New York and is made available online.

Redbud Audubon invites all birders and nature enthusiasts to join in the upcoming Christmas Bird Count. Birders of all skill levels are encouraged to participate.

There will be two main groups that participants might wish to join: one will meet at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and the other will meet at the Visitor’s Center Parking lot at the Clear Lake State Park.

Both groups will meet at 8 a.m. and continue through to early or mid-afternoon.

After the count, participants are invited to a pizza dinner at 5:30 p.m. at Kelseyville Pizza on State Street in Kelseyville to join in the count compilation where the tally of the day’s sightings is compiled. 

If you are interested in participating in the bird count, call 707-263-8030, leave a message with your phone number and someone will return your call.

The Christmas Bird Count is Audubon’s longest running wintertime tradition.

It began more than a century ago when 27 conservationists in 25 localities, led by scientist and writer Frank Chapman, changed the course of ornithological history.

On Christmas Day in 1900, the small group posed an alternative to the “side hunt,” a Christmas day activity in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds and small mammals.

Instead, Chapman proposed to identify, count, and record all the birds they saw, founding what is now considered to be the world’s most significant citizen-based conservation effort – and century-old institution.

Scientists rely on the remarkable trend data of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count to better understand how birds and the environment are faring throughout North America – and what needs to be done to protect them.

Data from Audubon’s signature Citizen Science program are at the heart of numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies.

With all of the issues, including climate change and habitat loss, facing both local bird species and birds worldwide, there is no time like the present to start getting involved in local bird conservation and educating yourself about the numerous bird species we have right here in Lake County. The annual Christmas Bird Count is a fun way of doing this.

Bonnie Thompson is a member of the Redbud Audubon Society.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man who police said is a suspect in recent burglary cases was arrested Sunday morning after attempting to outrun police in a stolen vehicle.

Chad Brodie Pirtle, 38, was taken into custody in the case, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Hobbs.

Hobbs said at about 8:30 a.m. the Clearlake Police Department took a stolen vehicle report regarding a red 2005 Dodge Caravan that was stolen in the Clearlake Park area.

He said the initial suspect was believed to be Chad Pirtle, who at the time had two outstanding felony warrants for his arrest, with one being for a weapons violation.

Pirtle also is on Post Release Community Supervision, or PRCS, with the Lake County Probation Department and was the suspect in several recent theft/burglary cases in Clearlake, Hobbs said.

At 9:45 a.m. Sunday Sgt. Rodd Joseph was on patrol and driving north on Phillips Avenue near 26th Avenue when he saw the stolen vehicle being driven by Pirtle turn north on Phillips Avenue in front of him.

As the stolen vehicle turned west onto 32nd Avenue, Sgt. Joseph attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle by activating his patrol vehicles emergency lights and siren, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said Pirtle accelerated the minivan to speeds in excess of 55 miles per hour in the posted 30 miles per hour residential zone and failed to pull over.

Pirtle headed towards the west end of 32nd Avenue, which Hobbs said dead ends at Highway 53, though the two roadways do not intersect.

Hobbs said there is a cyclone – or chain link – fence at the west end of 32nd Avenue which parallels the east shoulder of Highway 53. Once at the end of 32nd Avenue, Pirtle drove through the fence and crashed into the steep embankment that leads up to Highway 53.

Pirtle exited the vehicle and fled on foot heading west to Highway 53, he then crossed over the highway and ran down the embankment on the other side towards Crawford Avenue, Hobbs said. Near the bottom of the embankment Sgt. Joseph caught up with Pirtle and was able to place him into handcuffs after a brief struggle.

During a search incident to his arrest, Pirtle was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and pepper spray, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said Pirtle was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for vehicle theft, felony evading, evading while driving on the wrong side of the road, resisting arrest, hit and run, driving with a expired driver’s license, being a felon in possession of pepper spray, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Pirtle remained in custody on Monday night on a no-bail hold as the result of a felony bench warrant. His booking sheet indicated he is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday.

The Lake County Sons In Retirement would like to express their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the following 17 sponsors of the Robert Lettus Memorial Bowling Tournament.

The sponsors' support made this a very successful event.

They include Aetna Springs Golf Course, BP Diddy, Cooper Tire Shop, Hong Kong Restaurant, Jimmy’s Deli, Lakeport Transmission, Mendo Mill, Napa Auto Parts, O’Mearas Brewery, Sanducci’s Café, Schurdell’s Drafting Service, Shoreline Coffee Shop, Smiley’s Realestate Office, Susie Q’s Donuts, Strong Financial, Guy Strohmeier's Auto Center and TNT on the Lake restaurant.

Bob Smart is “Big Sir” of Sons in Retirement Branch 168 serving Lakeport, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport Christian Center is planning several Christmas events this month.

The events are as follows:

• Thursday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.: LCC Preschool Christmas Program.

• Sunday, Dec. 18, 10:30 a.m.: Christmas concert featuring world-famous musician, Bob Kilpatrick, composer of the popular gospel song “Be Glorified” and many more.

• Sunday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m.: Christmas communion and carols.

• Sunday, Dec. 25, 10:30 a.m.: Casual Christmas morning service.

The church is located at 455 S. Forbes St. Visit the church online at http://www.lcchub.com/ .