How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake welcomes adults and kids alike to its annual holiday open house at the museum.
Come celebrate the holiday season with a Christmas tree lighting, caroling, a visit from Santa Claus and free treats.
This year there will also be arts and crafts for children to make upstairs in the auditorium, including their very own ornaments to take home.
This year the event takes place on Friday, Dec. 9, with opening celebrations starting at 6 p.m.
This great event is sponsored by the Lower Lake Historical School Preservation Committee, the nonprofit that supports the museum and keeps the schoolhouse an active community center for all in the area to enjoy.
For questions about the event, please contact the museum at 707-995-3565.
The Schoolhouse Museum is located at 16435 Main St. Lower Lake and is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendo Lake Credit Union (MLCU) is partnering with several local agencies in a holiday collection effort to provide gifts to children in need this year.
MLCU invites the community to donate gifts to bring joy to boys and girls in Lake and Mendocino counties, said MLCU Director of Marketing and Community Outreach Jamey Gill.
Members of the credit union and the communities in which MLCU has branches are encouraged to stop by any one of the four branches to pick up a tag associated with a child, then later drop off gifts.
Gill announced that MLCU is partnering with the following community organizations:
• Redwood Community Services in Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Lakeport and Clearlake;
• Toys for Tots in Lakeport and Clearlake;
• Lake Family Resource Center, Lakeport;
• Soroptimist, Fort Bragg;
• Mendocino Coast Children's Fund, Fort Bragg.
Gift dropoff deadlines are Dec. 14 and 16, depending on the partnering organization. Details are available at the MLCU branches in Ukiah, Lakeport, Clearlake and Fort Bragg.
“We always look forward to partnering with our community organizations at this time of year,” said Gill. “From all of us at Mendo Lake Credit Union we would like to thank you and wish you a happy holiday season!”
Mendo Lake Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative and has been serving members’ financial needs since 1959.
For more information, contact the Mendo Lake Credit Union, 707-468-0161, or visit the “What’s New” page on the www.mlcu.org Web site.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Joining a community event presented by the Rotary Club of Clear Lake at Burns Valley Elementary School on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Worldwide Healing Hands health care volunteers will conduct free health screenings to individuals attending the event.
Dr. Paula Dhanda along with medical and community volunteers from Worldwide Healing Hands, or WHH, will be on hand to offer free health screenings and referrals to attendees of the Rotary Club of Clear Lake’s annual Community Christmas Celebration and Dinner.
The event is one of many health screening opportunities planned by the organization to assist Lake County’s residents this year.
WHH plans to conduct similar screening clinics to the underserved and those in need in the future.
Volunteers will continue to inform individuals about health care availability at upcoming sessions.
For information about upcoming screenings, Worldwide Healing Hands missions and volunteer opportunities, visit the WHH Web site, www.worldwidehealinghands.org .
In addition to WHH health screenings, visitors to the Rotary Club of Clear Lake’s free Christmas Celebration and Dinner event will also have the opportunity to participate in the Warm For The Winter free giveaway held in conjunction with the annual event.
Items to be given away include warm clothing, coats, hats, gloves, tents, and blankets.
If you wish to donate to this event, contact Joyce Overton at 707-350-2898, email
Donations can be dropped off at Highlands Senior Center, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 9, or at the Meals on Wheels Thrift Store at 14773 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) recently introduced new legislation to protect victims of mass fraud and identity theft.
The introduction of this legislation comes following the recent Wells Fargo scandal where millions of accounts were fraudulently opened without consent, using consumer’s personal information from existing accounts.
Dodd’s bill would help victims by eliminating the use of forced arbitration clauses in contracts that were fraudulently created. Such contracts prevent consumers from having their day in court to recover damages.
“It’s unacceptable for consumers to be blocked from our public courts to recover damages for fraud and identity theft. Allowing victims their day in court not only allows them to recover, it can prevent more victims by putting an end to illegal business practices,” said Dodd. “With quick federal action on this issue unlikely, it’s critical that California lead the nation to prevent these abuses.”
Earlier this year, Wells Fargo Bank came under massive scrutiny when information came to light that employees had fraudulently used their customers’ personal information to create more than two million fake accounts without consent.
Some of these fraudulent accounts incurred charges and fees totaling millions of dollars that were passed along to the unknowing victims. Many of the victims attempted to sue the Bank for damages and to recover their losses.
In response, Wells Fargo argued – and courts have upheld – that their customers had waived their right to sue when they previously opened their “legitimate” accounts with the Bank.
As a result, the victim’s only available recourse was through binding arbitration. Arbitration is typically a less costly resolution process for the defendant. Outcomes from arbitration also tend to benefit the defending party as they are able to select the arbitrator who will oversee the case. Wells Fargo has since received upwards of $150 million in regulatory fines for their illegal use of consumer information.
“Victims of fraud and identity theft can face many damaging and long lasting effects that can take years to be realized. The recent Wells Fargo case is a perfect example of that, and these victims deserve access to our public courts,” said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California. “I’d like to thank Senator Dodd for introducing this legislation that takes a stand for consumer protection and will act as a deterrent against devious acts of fraud committed against the public.”
Dodd’s bill, SB 33, will prohibit the use of forced arbitration in cases where any organization has wrongfully used consumer information to commit fraud.
Dodd’s bill has already gained support from the Consumer Federation of California, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and other consumer advocates. The bill will receive its first committee hearing early next year.
Last week U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Representative Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) introduced a federal bill with a similar aim to give customers the ability to go to court to recover damages from fraudulently created accounts.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is working to identify the person who shot a teenager in the leg during a Sunday night drive-by shooting.
Sgt. Travis Lenz said that just before 6:45 p.m. Sunday Officer Chris Kelleher was dispatched to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for a report of a gunshot wound victim.
On his arrival, Kelleher located a 17-year-old male who had sustained three apparent bullet wounds to his legs from an unknown caliber firearm, Lenz said.
Lenz said the victim told Kelleher that shots were fired at him from a passing vehicle while he and his friends were walking on Dam Road, near Lake Street.
The victim was unable to provide any other information, yet stated his two friends that were with him during the incident were located outside of the hospital, Lenz said.
Lenz said one of the victim's friends was contacted at the hospital and he added that the suspect vehicle was possibly an older black Jeep.
He was evasive in his responses to the officer’s questions, and seemed unwilling to provide a statement in detail about the incident, Lenz said.
When Officer Kelleher went to recontact him a few minutes later, it was discovered that he and the other friend on scene at the time of the shooting had left the hospital to avoid providing a statement to assist in the investigation, according to Lenz.
Officers responded to Dam Road near Lake Street, where the shooting was reported to have taken place, Lenz said. After an extensive search of the roadway, Officer Kelleher located one 9 millimeter spent shell casing in the roadway.
Lenz said the investigation is ongoing and more information will be released as it becomes available.
Anyone with information about this shooting is urged to contact Officer Chris Kelleher at 707-994-8251, Extension 516. Though it is encouraged that witnesses provide their name and contact information, they also may remain anonymous.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued an urgent weather and a freeze watch for parts of Northern California, including Lake County, warning of subfreezing temperatures early Wednesday morning.
The agency said a Canadian airmass is moving into the Northern California region and will bring cold overnight temperatures for the next few nights.
Forecasters expect late Tuesday night through about 7 a.m. Wednesday will likely be the coldest time, with temperatures expected to range from 28 to 32 degrees.
The specific Lake County forecast anticipates patchy frost beginning after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The freeze watch is in effect from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. Wednesday for areas below the 2,000 foot elevation mark.
Along with the freeze watch comes a reminder to take precautions to protect pets and livestock, plants and crops, and exposed pipes.
After 10 a.m. Wednesday, chances of rain are forecast in Lake County, with rain expected on Wednesday night and Thursday, with chances of rain also forecast on Friday and Saturday, the National Weather Service reported.
Temperatures from Wednesday through Saturday are forecast to range from nighttime lows in the low 40s to daytime highs in the mid 50s.
Email Elizabeth Larson at