How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Siskiyou County woman died on Tuesday afternoon in a head-on collision on Highway 20 that resulted in the arrest of the other driver for driving under the influence.
The California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred at approximately 12:17 p.m. on Highway 20, east of Clearlake Oaks and near New Long Valley Road.
The CHP said the fatal crash victim was a 45-year-old Weed woman whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin.
The other driver, Raymondo Meza, 55, of Chico, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, CHP Officer Joe Wind said.
The woman who died in the wreck was driving a 2016 Honda Civic westbound on Highway 20 at an unknown speed, while Meza was driving eastbound at a high rate of speed in a 1990 Chevrolet pickup with an unidentified female.
The CHP said that Meza, for reasons not yet determined, allowed his pickup to cross over the highway's double-yellow lines, directly into the path of the Honda.
The Honda's driver could not avoid the crash, with the two vehicles colliding head-on and the woman sustaining fatal injuries, the CHP said.
Meza and his passenger both suffered major injuries and were transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, according to the CHP.
Wind said Meza is believed to have been under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash, based on the investigation so far.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County voters gave their support to school bond measures, a cannabis cultivation tax and a general sales tax in Lakeport, and preliminary results show that a road tax in Clearlake may be headed for victory.
Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley issued the preliminary tally of precincts and some early absentees early Wednesday morning.
The results won't become final for another month while Fridley and her staff work to count thousands of absentee and provisional ballots in order to certify the election, so there are expected to be some changes in voting percentages.
The preliminary results showed that Measure V, the city of Clearlake's latest – and most road-focused – attempt to pass a dedicated sales tax, had received strong voter support, with 1,736 yes votes, or 67.3 percent of the vote, as opposed to 842 no votes, or 32.7 percent of the vote.
Measure V is a one-cent specific tax expected to annually generate $1.6 million that would be used for road improvements. In order for a specific tax to pass, it needs a supermajority of at least 66.7 percent.
Because of the measure's slim margin in the preliminary returns, a conclusion about its passage will have to wait for Fridley's final election certification.
However, most of the rest of the measures that went before county voters in the general election appear to be assured of victory thanks to large voter approval margins.
The school bond measures must pass by 55 percent, with the remaining measures needing a simple majority to win.
Measure A, Lucerne Elementary's $4 million school bond measure, received 488 yes votes, or 68.9 percent, compared to 220 no votes, totaling 31.1 percent.
Measure B, which doesn't raise taxes but only increases the South Lake County Fire Protection District's appropriations limit, received 1,518 yes votes, or 70.9 percent, versus 623 no votes, totaling 29.1 percent.
Measure C, which would institute a cultivation tax on cannabis growing in the unincorporated county – but exempts growing for personal medical use – received 7,905 yes votes, or 62.2 percent, and 4,811 no votes, or 37.8 percent.
Measure Q, the Yuba Community College bond measure, reauthorizes $33.5 million in bonds approved by voters in November 2006 as Measure J. It received 3,500 yes votes, or 59.9 percent, versus 2,342 no votes, or 40.1 percent.
Measure Y, Konocti Unified's $29.6 million school bond measure, received 2,624 yes votes, or 66.8 percent, in the preliminary count, versus 1,304 no votes, or 33.2 percent of the vote.
The city of Lakeport's one-cent sales tax, Measure Z – expected to raise $1.5 million annually for roads and public services – received 825 votes, or 61.8 percent of the vote, while no votes totaled 510, or 38.2 percent of the vote.
Clearlake voters also had two other measures to consider, W and X, which proposed changing the city clerk and city treasurer posts, respectively, from elected to appointed positions. In the case of the city treasurer post, it's been almost a decade since anyone ran for the position, and its duties have since been rolled into the city manager's job.
Preliminary results showed that voters supported making the city clerk spot appointed, with Measure W receiving yes votes totaling 1,234, or 50.3 percent of the vote, while no votes totaled 1,218, or 49.7 percent.
However, there was an opposite result when it came to the city treasurer spot, with yes votes totaling 1,203, or 48.8 percent of the vote, versus 1,263 no votes, or 51.2 percent of the vote.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
ELECTION 2016: Aguiar-Curry wins Assembly seat; Thompson, Garamendi reelected in congressional races
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday, in the races for state and congressional seats representing Lake County, voters elected to send the mayor of a small valley city to the State Assembly and reelected two incumbents to the House of Representatives.
The Secretary of State's Office reported preliminary results for federal and state races early Wednesday that showed that Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was elected to the District 4 State Assembly seat, while John Garamendi and Mike Thompson – Democrats representing Congressional districts 3 and 5, respectively – easily won reelection to the House of Representatives against their Republican opponents.
In the race to succeed Bill Dodd in the Assembly 4 seat, with 100 percent of the district's 486 precincts reporting, Aguiar-Curry, a Democrat and the mayor of Winters, topped Esparto resident Charlie Schaupp, a Republican and retired lieutenant colonel in the Marines.
The race results showed that Aguiar-Curry received 71,862 votes, or 63.6 percent of the vote districtwide, while Schaupp received 41,172 votes, or 36.4 percent, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
The District 4 Assembly race was closer in Lake County, based on preliminary numbers released by the Registrar of Voters Office.
The county returns showed that Aguiar-Curry received 6,673 votes, or 53.8 percent, to Schaupp's 5,737 votes, or 46.2 percent.
Turning to the congressional races, the Secretary of State's Office reported that with all 569 precincts reporting in the District 3 race, Garamendi received 102,237 votes, or 59.5 percent, while his opponent, Dr. Eugene Cleek, had 69,563, or 40.5 percent.
Lake County's voting results mirrored those in the rest of District 3, with 3,888 ballots cast, or 59.2 percent, for Garamendi, while Cleek received 2,678 votes, or 40.8 percent.
In the District 5 race, Thompson had an even more decisive win over challenger Carlos Santamaria.
The Secretary of State's Office results showed that, with 100-percent of the district's 573 precincts reporting, Thompson received 147,902 votes, or 77 percent, compared to the 44,223 votes, or 23 percent of the vote, cast for Santamaria.
In Lake County alone, preliminary results showed that Thompson received 4,034 votes, or 67 percent, to Santamaria's 1,988 votes, or 22 percent.
On Tuesday night, Thompson thanked the district's voters for “the tremendous show of support.”
“With the campaign behind us I look forward to continuing our work together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but united as Americans behind our shared goal of building a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. A future in which every hard-working American has a fair shot at earning a college degree, getting a well-paying job and enjoying financial security in retirement. A future in which everyone has access to quality, affordable health care and every veteran and military family gets the benefits they’ve earned. A future in which we honor our heritage as a nation of immigrants and celebrate the diversity that makes our country strong. A future in which climate change no longer threatens to destroy our planet and no child goes to school fearing for his or her safety,” he said in a written statement.
He concluded, “I’m ready to get to work on behalf of everyone in our Congressional District to turn our vision for a better, safer and more prosperous America into a reality for all.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Tuesday night vehicle crash knocked a power pole and power lines down across Soda Bay Road, resulting in an extended, overnight closure.
The crash was first reported shortly before 8 p.m. in the 8700 block of Soda Bay Road, near Konocti Harbor Inn, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said first responders arrived to find one person on scene who had gotten out of the vehicle. Additional details about possible injuries and the cause of the crash were not immediately available.
The vehicle couldn't be removed immediately because it was in the lines, the CHP said.
Pacific Gas and Electric responded to the scene to make repairs. The company did not report any power outages in effect late Tuesday.
The Lake County Public Works Department told Lake County News that the downed power pole and lines resulting from the crash closed Soda Bay Road between Riviera West Drive and Konocti Harbor.
Officials said there was no estimate as to when the road would reopen, with the road expected to be closed all night and into Wednesday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Mendocino National Forest fire managers plan to conduct prescribed burns on the Grindstone Ranger District starting Wednesday, Nov. 9, and continuing through the week as conditions allow.
Crews anticipate burning approximately 240 acres on the Black Diamond conversion unit and 120 acres on the Diversion Dam unit. Both projects are in the general vicinity of Stonyford.
Smoke may be visible from Interstate 5, Highway 162, Stonyford, Elk Creek and surrounding areas. These units are predominantly grass and smoke should disperse quickly after ignitions are completed. If traveling in this area, please use caution and watch for fire crews and equipment.
The ignition of all projects is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, favorable weather, conditions that minimize smoke impacts as best as possible, and California Air Resources Board approval.
The local air quality district manages the number of acres available to burn during allotted burn days based on the amount of projects proposed
Fire managers follow a burn plan that outlines the “prescription” or environmental conditions such as temperature, wind, fuel moisture, ventilation, and relative humidity that need to be met before the project begins.
Fire crews implement, monitor, and patrol each project to ensure it meets the goals and objectives outlined in the prescribed burn plans.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Shannon Michele of Cache Creek Catering and Lake County Wine Studio are presenting a food and wine experience featuring gourmet appetizers paired with select Lake County wines.
Locally produced foods are proudly featured as key ingredients in recipes created by Cache Creek Catering.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. The per person cost is $30 and $25 for Wine Studio club members. Reservations are required.
Nov. 11 will feature a Thanksgiving menu of roast turkey with pan gravy, purée of potato and parsnip, mushroom-sausage dressing, cranberry pomegranate sauce with a side by side red selection of Olof Cellars Malbera blend and Chacewater Highlander blend.
The dessert course will be pumpkin crème brûlée with the Petite Sirah “Fire” dessert wine from Thorn Hill.
For reservations and additional information, contact Susan at 707-293-8752.
Lake County Wine Studio is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artists' shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.
The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. It is open Thursday through Monday, from 1 to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.
The art show on display for the month of November is designer quilts by Laraine Wade-Butter.
For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.