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Californians overwhelmingly support election reforms proposed by Secretary of State Alex Padilla aimed at improving voter registration and voter turnout.
The results from a statewide survey, released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), found that 69 percent of California adults favor registering all eligible citizens to vote when they go to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The California New Motor Voter Act, AB 1461, proposes to do just that.
The bill, sponsored by Secretary Padilla and jointly authored by Assemblymembers Lorena Gonzalez, Luis Alejo, and Kevin McCarty, was approved by the State Assembly this week.
The poll also found 70 percent of California adults favor sending every registered voter a vote-by-mail ballot. Currently, California citizens must request a vote-by-mail ballot when registering to vote.
Also, more than eight in 10 California adults say that low voter turnout is a problem, and 59 percent called it a big problem.
“The results are undeniable – Californians want their government to make voter registration and voting easier,” Padilla said. “We can and should seamlessly register millions of California citizens to vote.”
Approximately 6.6 million California citizens are eligible but not registered to vote.
“Working Californians lead busy lives. Thirty percent of citizens who don’t always vote say it’s because they are 'too busy' or have 'no time.' By making voting more convenient in California, we strengthen our democracy,” said Padilla.
Padilla recently traveled to Colorado to meet with election officials and see firsthand how reforms – including mailing every voter a ballot – have increased voter turnout and reduced costs of elections. Colorado is considered a national leader in election administration.
Despite historically low turnout across the nation in 2014, Colorado had the third highest voter turnout in the nation.
Earlier this year Padilla announced his support for Oregon’s new voter registration law, calling it a good model for California.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Lucerne man has been arrested for felony drunk driving and hit-and-run causing injury following a single-vehicle wreck on Wednesday that injured him and his four passengers, one of them seriously.
The California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office reported that 28-year-old Christopher Zambrano was taken into custody Wednesday night, less than two hours after the wreck, which occurred at approximately 7:18 p.m. on Highway 29 south of Cruickshank Road in Kelseyville.
Zambrano was driving his 1995 Ford Explorer southbound on Highway 29 with four passengers, who the CHP identified as Troy Bailey, 22, of Clearlake; Adam Dixon, 21, of Lucerne; John Pommier, 22, of Upper Lake; and William McLeanstith, 22, of Lucerne.
For reasons that investigators have not yet determined, Zambrano – who was driving at an unknown speed – lost control of the Ford, which rolled at least once, coming to rest back on its wheels, the CHP said.
Pommier suffered major injuries, including head trauma. The CHP said it has not yet been determined if Pommier – who was not wearing a seat belt – was ejected during the rollover or if he jumped from the vehicle before the crash occurred.
After the crash, Zambrano fled the scene in his vehicle with his remaining three passengers, leaving Pommier behind, the CHP said.
Zambrano drove northbound on Highway 29, stopping just north of Live Oak Drive. There, after he stopped, the CHP said he and his passengers got into an argument.
The CHP said the three passengers subsequently fled on foot before law enforcement arrived. They were found later off of Live Oak Drive, near the CHP office.
Alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash, which the CHP said led to Zambrano's arrest. He was booked into the Lake County Jail late Wednesday, with bail set at $50,000.
Additionally, Bailey was arrested for trespassing, public intoxication and resisting arrest, the CHP said.
Three of the vehicle's five occupants appeared to have been wearing seat belts, the CHP said. However, the CHP only identified Zambrano and McLeanstith as having worn their seat belts, with the agency so far unable to confirm if Bailey and Dixon had.
Zambrano had minor injuries, including lacerations to his head, arms and hands, the CHP said. Bailey had minor cuts, Dixon had cuts on his face arms and hands, and McLeanstith suffered arm and hand lacerations. They were treated at the scene.
CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said Pommier was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital by REACH air ambulance for treatment of his injuries.
As of Thursday morning, Pommier was reported to be in stable condition, Reynolds said.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A candlelight vigil for a young woman killed late last month in a drunk driving crash took place Wednesday evening at Library Park in Lakeport.
Approximately 150 people attended the gathering to pay respects to Francesca Schetter, 19, who was killed in the solo vehicle wreck on May 22 near Lakeport.
The vigil also sought to raise awareness about drunk driving.
Friends, family and acquaintances shared memories of Schetter and personal tales with the assembled crowd, and implored people not to drink and drive or ride with inebriated drivers.
Schetter was riding as the passenger in a 1997 Honda Civic driven by 21-year-old Lakeport resident Nicholas Ivicevich when the crash occurred, the CHP said.
Ivicevich was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol before he was flown to a regional trauma center.
He has since been booked into the Lake County Jail, where he remains with bail set at $250,000, according to jail records.
At the site of the crash, Schetter's friends have set up a memorial with flowers, candles and other items.
A video of the vigil can be seen above.
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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Upper Lake Union Elementary School District Board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to approve a resolution to unify with the Upper Lake Union High School District.
The decision sets the stage for a separate vote by the high school district board next week and hearings that the Lake County Office of Education intends to hold later this month.
More than two dozen parents, teachers, high school board members and other community residents attended the 80-minute meeting, which took place in the Upper Lake Middle School cafeteria.
Much of the meeting involved parents raising concerns about the schools and asking questions about how various aspects of school operations would be impacted by the unification – from transportation to special education, insurance to parent teacher organizations, consistency in education to sports.
During public comment, Walt Christensen, a former district board member and a vocal critic of the unification proposal, told board members he was very opposed to the action.
He said costs are anticipated to rise in the first two years, and it's not certain if those costs will go down. There also are unknowns about future staffing and board membership.
“We don't know if this is going to help any of these kids,” he said, encouraging a no vote.
Parent Sara Sanchez told the board there were many reasons to unify the schools, and unknowns weren't a good enough reason not to do it.
The goal, she said, was to better the children and the schools. “I just hope that's where the decision is coming from.”
Another parent, Melanie Sneathen, also supported combining the two districts. “This unification would be so great for everybody here because it would make it a whole. It's sensible. It's a necessity.”
Upper Lake High School Principal/Superintendent Patrick Iaccino, who was in the audience with some of his board members, thanked the elementary district board. The two boards have met jointly over the last several months to discuss the unification.
“It's a tough decision,” Iaccino said, noting that they've spent a lot of time going through nine state-required criteria.
Michelle Villines, parent of a special education student, said she's watched numerous children leave the district, and asked the board to do what was right by the children.
She was concerned that special education wasn't receiving the attention it needs. “Special ed always seems to be on the bottom of the barrel here,” she said.
Originally, Villines said she opposed unification. Now, she said she is waiting to see what it might offer the special education program, which she said is not helping children or communicating with parents.
Valerie Duncan, who has taught in the Upper Lake Elementary District for 33 years and is a board member for the Upper Lake High district, said unification would open the door to articulate programs. Articulation and communication would be amazing to a K-12 program, she added.
Board President Mel O'Meara said the focus couldn't be just about cutting costs. The No. 1 concern, he said, was whether it was going to be better or students.
Board Member Don Meri, who acknowledged being on the board a long time, said this isn't the first time unification has come up, and he had concerns about what could happen.
Meri said there was nothing in the nine criteria that the two school boards reviewed that directly answered his concerns, so he went to the elementary school to talk to the teachers to get their feedback, which he said would inform his decision.
Upper Lake High School agriculture teacher Erica Boomer said there will be a lot of benefits from unification, from transportation to articulation between grades.
She called it a “no-brainer” and questioned why it hadn't happened years ago.
Upper Lake High School Athletic Director Sandy Coatney said that, from the athletic standpoint, unification will benefit students.
He said scheduling facilities will be easier, and coaches will now be able to move back and forth between schools, not having to undergo multiple rounds of fingerprinting and background checks, as they have to do now if they want to coach in both districts.
Board member Joanne Breton thanked parents for their involvement. Breton said that the unification isn't necessarily going to save money. “If unification takes place, it's going to be a slow process.”
However, she said she thought in the long run that it will strengthen special education and improve transportation, with the district now putting more money than ever into the former. She added that she was concerned that unification wasn't going to take place the way people think it will.
Frank Gudmundson, who has coached for 23 years in the local schools, emphasized a word he said he hadn't heard anybody else say: “consistency.”
“We need to come together as one. That's how we're going to get stronger,” he said.
Gudmundson continued, “This is one community. We need one unification, one district, to get things accomplished.”
He suggested more people will get involved if there is more consistency from kindergarten through 12th grade.
“Consistency, folks. That's all I ask for in this unification,” he said.
Responding to comments from the board, Sanchez said, “Progress is progress. Any amount of progress right now is awesome.”
Sitting next to Sanchez was Marie Henry, who also urged the board forward.
“Anything worth doing is not going to be easy. It never is,” said Henry, who has two children – one of them in the Upper Lake district, with the other going to another district.
Henry said she also was looking for consistency as a parent, coach and volunteer. By having all schools in one district, “You're sending a message to all your students,” she said.
O'Meara took a roll call when asking for the vote, with all five board members – Breton, Meri, Diane Plante, Ron Raetz and O'Meara himself – voting to approve the resolution to unify, which drew a round of applause.
Iaccino told Lake County News that the Upper Lake Union High School Board will meet to consider its resolution to unify Wednesday, June 10.
If the process continues moving forward, unification would occur in the 2016-17 school year, according to school officials.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – City officials are gearing up to host the 11th annual Clearlake Clean Up Day this weekend.
The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 6.
Check-in will take place at Austin Park, 14077 Lakeshore Drive.
The city will provide bags and tools.
Community members are encouraged to form teams of trash pickers, clean their businesses and get rid of electronic waste.
City officials reported that last year's event had more than 100 volunteers and collected more than 70 cubic yards of waste, plus electronic items.
The turnout this year looks to be even better, according to Deputy City Clerk Adeline Brown, who estimated that between 200 and 250 people will participate on Saturday.
“Participation seems to get better every year,” she said.
The weather is supposed to be good, Brown said, and the city will provide plenty of water for the warm weather along with hot dogs and chips to all who participate.
To sign up or for more information call Brown at 707-994-8201, Extension 111.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A gender pay equity bill authored by Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) was passed by the state Assembly on Wednesday with bipartisan support.
The legislation would require companies that contract with the state to have policies in place to help ensure gender pay equity and to provide data on employee income by gender and race to the state.
“We need to ensure people aren’t paid less for doing the same job simply because of their gender or the color of their skin. The advancement of gender pay equity has been overlooked for too long,” said Dodd. “This legislation takes a step towards closing the gender pay gap, and I will continue pushing for positive change.”
The gender pay gap amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime, and in 2013, the pay gap between men and women averaged nearly $11,000 annually in lost income.
Full-time working women in the U.S. have continued to earn an average of just 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts over the last decade.
The disparity is even greater for women of color, and numerous studies have found a gap persists even when controlling for factors like education and career field.
“While the gender pay gap is a problem for women, it’s also a problem for our entire society. If we fail to bring change, working women and families will continue to be shortchanged,” Dodd said. “Hard-working Californians and future generations, including my granddaughters, need us to step up.”
While aggregate data on the gender pay gap is available, more nuanced data is needed in order to help the state appropriately target its efforts to reduce and eliminate the wage gap.
Last year, President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor to collect the gender and race pay data from federal contractors to fill in missing pieces.
AB 1354 seeks to do the same for California, while also requiring policies and procedures that will help contractors avoid unlawful pay disparities.
The bill, which is co-authored by several legislators, including Sen. Lois Wolk and Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, will now move on to the Senate.
Other legislation by Dodd that passed the Assembly this week includes a bill that would develop the state’s first statewide framework for low income water rate assistance, a bill that would evaluate ways to ensure seniors can better access critical state services, and a bill providing relief to communities impacted by last year’s South Napa earthquake.
Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or portions of Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano and Colusa counties. Visit his Web site at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .