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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Donovan Ryan passed away Thursday, July 14, 2016, in Lower Lake.
Graduated from Lower Lake High School, Donovan worked as a guard at several local casinos, was a chef helper at Yosemite National Park and worked as a truck driver.
He leaves many family and friends.
Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel.
Please share your loving memories of Donovan by signing his online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .
LUCERNE, Calif. – A wildland fire is burning actively in the hills above Lucerne, with state and local firefighters working to get it under control.
The Foothill fire was reported shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday above Foothill Drive, according to radio reports.
Northshore Fire and Cal Fire have responded to the fire, with Cal Fire air attack, tankers and helicopters hitting the fire from the air.
Just before 7:30 p.m., Cal Fire said the fire was at 40 acres, with no containment.
It was reported to be moving further up into the hills and away from the town.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that five homes have been evacuated, but said additional evacuations were not being ordered.
Authorities were asking people to stay out of the area while firefighters continued to work there.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A spring overflight led to the eradication late last week of two large illicit marijuana grow sites on federal lands and the arrest of a Bakersfield man.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said that on Thursday the Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit and law enforcement personnel from allied agencies eradicated 17,536 marijuana plants on Bureau of Land Management property.
Brooks said authorities also arrested Alvar Santis Alvarez, 32.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit conducted overflight missions in early April to locate and identify illegal marijuana cultivation sites within Lake County, Brooks said.
During the overflight detectives located two large scale marijuana cultivation operations on public land near Indian Valley Reservoir. Brooks said each site was estimated to contain several thousand marijuana plants.
On Thursday, after months of surveillance, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Detectives along with law enforcement personnel from the Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service and the California Department of Justice, conducted an early morning arrest operation, Brooks said.
Brooks said the law enforcement personnel were split into two teams, which conducted their operations on both cultivation sites simultaneously.
During the arrest operation on the northern cultivation site, detectives encountered Santis Alvarez tending to the marijuana plants, Brooks said.
Once Santis Alvarez noticed law enforcement was inside the cultivation site, he attempted to flee on foot. Brooks said Santis Alvarez was apprehended moments later by a law enforcement canine.
A second unidentified Hispanic male also fled the site and, after an extensive search, could not be located, Brooks said.
Brooks said the grow site was located on Bureau of Land Management public land.
The detectives noticed that the grow site was set up with a sophisticated gravity fed irrigation system, which was fed from a creek. Brooks said they also located a cooking area with a camp set up for two occupants.
The grow site contained 11,523 marijuana plants which were eradicated, Brooks said.
Brooks said the second cultivation site located on the east side of Indian Valley Reservoir also contained two Hispanic male suspects who fled on foot during the operation. Detectives searched the area and were unable to locate the suspects.
The cultivation site also was located on Bureau of Land Management public land and was set up with a sophisticated gravity fed irrigation system, Brooks said.
Detectives said the suspects were pulling the water out of a natural spring. Brooks said the detectives also located a cooking area with a camp which was set up for two occupants.
Brooks said a total of 6,013 marijuana plants were located and eradicated from the site.
Alvar Santis Alvarez was arrested for the cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and resisting arrest, Brooks said.
Alvarez was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, with bail set at $35,000. He remained in custody on Monday evening, according to booking records.
The California Community Colleges Board of Governors on Monday announced the unanimous selection of Long Beach Community College District Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, a nationally known innovator in public education, as the next chancellor to lead the largest and most diverse system of public higher education in the nation.
Oakley will become the first Latino to lead the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.
Lake County's residents are served by two colleges that are part of that system, Mendocino College and Woodland Community College.
“Today the Board of Governors continues the tradition of selecting great chancellors to lead the California Community Colleges,’’ said Board President Geoffrey L. Baum. “Eloy Ortiz Oakley is an innovative and tested leader who understands how to operate successfully in a large, complex system of public higher education. In Oakley we see a change agent – someone whose relentless focus on student success will help more students obtain certificates and degrees or transfer to four-year institutions on time. As a member of the UC Board of Regents and with his close ties with California State University, he is well positioned to foster greater collaboration that will benefit all students.”
Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. said, “Eloy Oakley knows California’s community colleges inside and out and has served at every level in the system – from teaching in the classroom to running a campus as superintendent. California’s 113 community colleges – and the 2.1 million students they serve – are in good hands.”
“The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges has made a spectacular choice. Eloy Oakley is a proven leader of national stature. He has been a valued partner in the President’s effort to provide free Community College to qualified students. I look forward to working with him in his new role,” said Ted Mitchell, under secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
Oakley was named superintendent-president of the Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) in 2007.
During his tenure, Oakley helped form the nationally recognized Long Beach College Promise, which engages high school administrators and teachers to work with college faculty and staff to create structured pathways for students to follow as they progress from one educational institution to the next.
Long Beach College Promise students are guaranteed a tuition-free year at Long Beach City College and preferred admission status to California State University, Long Beach after completing transfer requirements.
The Long Beach College Promise has inspired similar programs across the country. America’s College Promise, an initiative introduced by President Barack Obama in 2015, was modeled in part on the Long Beach College Promise.
“The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges has made a spectacular choice,’’ said Ted Mitchell, under secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. “Eloy Oakley is a proven leader of national stature. He has been a valued partner in the President’s effort to provide free community college to qualified students. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
"As a California native and a product of a California community college, I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead the largest and most diverse system of higher education in the nation,” Oakley said. “I wish to thank the Board of Governors, Governor Brown and the people of California for expressing their faith in me. I recognize that I would not have this opportunity but for the amazing faculty and staff that make up our community college system. As chancellor I look forward to working with our 113 colleges, public education advocates, civil rights organizations, education policy experts and business and civic leaders to better serve our students and to create value for our great state."
While at LBCCD, Oakley also helped establish Promise Pathways, a program that uses high school performance grades and transcripts to ensure students are placed in appropriate class levels. Promise Pathways also uses improved advising and enrollment practices to help students select the right classes to maximize their success.
To jumpstart the region’s economy, Oakley partnered with Goldman Sachs to launch the 10,000 Small Businesses Program to help small businesses grow and create jobs. This successful endeavor has taught more than 600 local business owners how to expand operations, increase profits and create more jobs in the region.
“No one is as uniquely qualified and prepared to deal with contemporary issues facing our community colleges today as Eloy Oakley,” said Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). “As a member of the AACC board of directors, I have seen first-hand his passion for the mission of the community colleges as well as a great understanding of the politics and policies that govern our institutions. I look forward to working with Eloy in this new role.”
Oakley is himself a community college success story. After serving four years in the U.S. Army, he enrolled at Golden West College. He then transferred to the University of California, Irvine where he received his degrees of Bachelor of Arts in environmental analysis and design and Master of Business Administration.
Oakley joined LBCCD in 2002, serving as the assistant superintendent/executive vice president of administrative services.
Previously, he served as the vice president of college services at Oxnard College; the assistant vice president of the Property & Casualty Division of Keenan & Associates and the manager of risk services at the Coast Community College District. Oakley also served as an adjunct faculty member for the Environmental Technology Certificate Program at Golden West College.
In 2014, Gov. Brown appointed Oakley to the University of California Board of Regents.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Eloy on UC’s Board of Regents where he has distinguished himself by always asking the right questions and his unwavering commitment to expanding access to higher education in California,” said University of California President Janet Napolitano. “As chancellor of the California Community Colleges, I know he’ll continue to do so. I look forward to working with him, especially on further improving the pathway to UC for California transfer students.”
“Eloy is an outstanding leader and partner in California public higher education,” said Timothy P. White, chancellor of California State University. He has dedicated himself to building pathways for students from K-12 to a college degree, university degree and beyond. Eloy challenges and empowers all of us to think deeply about higher education’s role in our society and act accordingly. He understands the needs of California’s communities and is dedicated to our shared success.”
Oakley serves on the boards and committees of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the California Forward Leadership Council, the College Futures Foundation, the American Association of Community Colleges, the YMCA of Greater Long Beach and the Long Beach Rotary Club. He also sits on the advisory board for the California State University, Long Beach Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership.
Oakley will begin his duties on Dec. 19, and replaces Chancellor Brice W. Harris, who retired in April after leading the community college system for nearly four years. Erik E. Skinner will continue to serve as interim chancellor until Oakley takes office.
In an ongoing effort to monitor and improve the services provided by the California Highway Patrol, the department is inviting the public to participate in a brief, online community service survey.
Using the survey results, the CHP will be able to address the public’s concerns, develop solutions to potential problems, and better serve the needs of the community.
“All professional organizations self-assess in an effort to improve the way they do business and ensure they are providing the highest level of service to its customers. It is no different here at the CHP,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “This community survey gives the public a voice and is an opportunity for the people we serve to evaluate us.”
To participate in the survey, the public is invited to visit the CHP’s Web site, www.chp.ca.gov .
Although the survey will be available on the Web site indefinitely, during the month of July, the link to the survey will be prominently featured on the CHP’s Home page.
Participation in the survey is anonymous.
“We hope the public will take the opportunity to participate in this important growth process,” added Commissioner Farrow. “Public surveys are an important resource, that give an organization a clear idea of what people think and the ability to pinpoint an issue that it may not even know exists.”
This is the first time the CHP has participated in an analytical, third-party online survey.
The CHP is committed to providing the highest level of safety, service and security to the people of California.
UKIAH, Calif. – For the past month, acclaimed playwright and performer Dan Hoyle has been in residence at Mendocino College working on his new play “Grow,” a dark comedy about cannabis, land and the American Dream.
The play will premiere at Mendocino College for one weekend only, running Aug. 4 through Aug. 6 in the college’s Center Theatre on the Ukiah Campus.
Hoyle's brand of journalistic theater has been hailed as "riveting, funny and poignant" (New York Times) and "hilarious, moving and very necessary" (Salon).
His acclaimed solo shows, all created and premiered at The Marsh Theater in his native San Francisco, have had more than 800 performance around the country and overseas, including Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, Culture Project, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre among many others.
According to college theater director and “Grow” producer Reid Edelman, “I am so excited to bring Dan Hoyle to Ukiah to work with our students. This project has been a tremendous opportunity for our students to participate in the creation of a new play in collaboration with a significant American theater artist.”
Hoyle describes his play as a dark comedy in the spirit of Fargo and the Coen brothers.
The cast includes 15 student performers, many of whom are participants in the college’s new Theatre Conservatory Cohort Group.
Set in an unspecified small rural town in the Emerald Triangle, the plot involves an eclectic collection of recognizable characters, all striving in their own way to navigate a changing world.
When asked if he has a specific point of view on the subject of marijuana, Hoyle responded, “Not really… mostly I am trying to capture the stories of people living in this particular place in a very interesting time, people influenced by this plant which has created enormous opportunity but not without some significant costs.”
The production features college Media & Communications professor Jody Gehrman in the role of Gina, a grizzled woman trying to turn a profit on an acre of land which belongs to her ex-husband Jim (played by college conservatory student Kevin Klay).
Themes of family emerge as their daughter Millie (played by college theatre student Lhasa Summers) is caught up in her parents’ antagonistic dynamic.
Meanwhile Millie’s boyfriend Kyle (played by theater student DonMike Chilberg) confronts the influx of Bay Area tech money into his native rural Northern California town.
College conservatory students Will Schlosser and Ricki Farah play Clark and Tiffany, two Bay Area investors who stir things up when they stumble off of their wine country tour into the play’s rural growing town.
Other actors in the play include Jimmy Page, Frank Braverman, Melany Katz, Theresa Etter, Patrice Phillips, Shadi Mahfoud, Liana Edington, Marcio Orozco and Vincent Collins-Smith.
The play is being produced by college theater director Reid Edelman and stage managed by conservatory student Ali Gully.
The production features scenery and lighting designed by college Theatre Technician David Wolf, and costumes by college Costume Instructor Kathy Dingman-Katz.
The play is recommended for mature audiences due to strong language, drug-related themes and some violence.
Performances will be for one weekend only: Thursday, Aug. 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 5, at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Aug. 6, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available in advance at the Mendocino Book Co., the Mendocino College Bookstore and online at www.artsmendocino.org . Tickets may also be purchased at the door subject to availability.
Admission is $20 with a discounted rate of $15 for students, seniors and ASMC cardholders. The performance on Thursday, Aug. 4, is a special discount night, with all seats costing only $10.
For more information, call 707-468-3172 or go to http://www.mendocino.edu/the-arts/theatre .