How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Bird enthusiasts are once again preparing to take part in an annual nationwide effort to document avian species.
The annual Clear Lake Christmas Bird Count will be on Saturday, Dec. 27.
This year's local count is being held a little later than usual – one week after Christmas instead of one week before, which has been the usual time.
The Christmas Bird Count is a traditional project of Audubon societies around the country.
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 available online.
The Christmas Bird Count 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.
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.
Last year's local count included 135 species, which was reported to be below the 10-year average. A full report on the 2013 count is here: bit.ly/19wsK98 .
This is Audubon’s longest running wintertime tradition, and the 40th year it has taken place in Lake County.
After the count, participants are invited to a pizza dinner at 5:30 p.m. at Kelseyville Pizza on State Street to join in the count compilation, where the tally of the day’s sightings is compiled.
Prior to the bird count, Redbud Audubon will present an extensive slide show and discussion of distinguishing features of birds that are often seen during the annual count.
This event takes place at the monthly meeting on Thursday, Dec. 18, Glebe Hall, St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Kelseyville, starting at 7 p.m.
If you are interested in participating in the bird count on Dec. 27, please call 707-263-8030, leave a message and someone will return your call.
Visit the Redbud Audubon Society online at http://www.redbudaudubon.org/ .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As expected, last week’s storm brought heavy rains, strong winds, localized flooding and power outages, resulting in widespread damage throughout Lake County.
You may have experienced flooding in your home or business, become inundated with debris, or had your daily routine changed by damage to public infrastructure.
The Lake County Office of Emergency Services, or Lake OES, is working to compile damage information from all municipalities, businesses, and home owners.
If your property has sustained damage related to the flooding, here is a short list of what to do to report these damages:
• Take pictures of everything – before you begin to cleanup or make repairs, during clean up and repair, and after.
• Document all items that were damaged that you had to dispose of.
• Save written quotes, estimates or receipts for repairs.
• Contact your insurance company or the property owner (rentals) – contacting Lake OES or your local government is not a substitute for those contacts.
• Complete any cleanup or repairs you can. Don’t wait for “FEMA funding” to do your repairs because, at this time, we have no information that we will be given assistance.
Please report damages to your respective municipality – within the city of Clearlake, contact 707-994-8201; within the city of Lakeport, contact 707-263-5615; and within the unincorporated areas of Lake County, contact 707-263-2382.
Please include quotes/estimates/receipts for damages and any other information you would like to share along with your name, home address (location of the damaged property), and contact information.
You may also post your storm photos to the Lake OES Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-OES/307452049434603 .
At this time, Lake OES is simply collecting this information so that it may create files and report to local and state officials. There is no promise of reimbursement from FEMA or any other entity.
Lake OES said that, if by chance it is able to procure financial assistance, those who have reported damage and information to the OES office will be the first to be notified.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission will hold a special meeting this week to discuss two project proposals.
The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The commission met Dec. 10 but had to reschedule the hearings on the projects due to issues with the mailings of project notices to affected property owners.
On the agenda is a public hearing on a project proposed by Jason K. Norris of the House of Living Rhythm.
Norris is seeking a use permit to allow the reestablishment of commercial activities in conjunction with an existing residential use, and has submitted an application for a zoning permit to allow the occasional presentation of acoustic-based live entertainment at a renovated church building at 100 N. Forbes St. The property is owned by Carlos and Nancy Guevara of Santa Rosa.
As part of the mixed use – commercial and residential – of the building, Norris wants to use the second floor assembly area for educational activities including wellness-based and community-building events.
The commission also will hold a public hearing to consider an application from Kathy Fowler Chevrolet for architectural and design review to build a 547 square foot sales office and a 43-space paved parking lot to display used vehicles at 1277 Parallel Drive and 1305 Todd Road Extension.
Fowler also has submitted an application for a use permit to allow the outdoor display and vehicle sales activities, according to the staff report.
The commission's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 14.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne man was arrested Sunday night after witnesses said he shot at several people following a domestic dispute.
Marcus Ray Gregory, 20, was arrested for attempted murder, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, terrorist threats, resisting arrest and exhibiting a deadly weapon, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At 6:50 p.m. Sunday deputies responded to a report of multiple subjects arguing and shots being fired at the Riviera Motel, located at 6900 E. State Highway 20 in Lucerne, Brooks said.
As deputies arrived, Brooks said they observed a male subject with a handgun run into one of the motel rooms.
The subject, later identified as Gregory, jumped through a rear window of the motel room and attempted to run from the scene. Deputies, who had already set up a perimeter, took Gregory into custody a short time later, Brooks said.
During the investigation, deputies learned that Gregory was involved in a domestic dispute. Brooks said Gregory was seen by several people hitting a female victim and attempting to choke her while they were both inside a vehicle, which was parked at the motel.
One of the witnesses pulled Gregory off the victim; Brooks said that witness then was assaulted by Gregory.
Gregory then retrieved a handgun from his motel room, started pointing it at everyone standing outside and said he was going to shoot them, Brooks said. Witnesses reported that Gregory had also pointed the handgun at several children and threatened them as well.
Gregory then started shooting at people as they ran to get away from him. Witnesses estimated Gregory fired his handgun five to seven times, according to Brooks' report.
Deputies located damage caused by several bullet holes to the exterior of the motel. They also collected evidence from the scene which included expended shell casings, a bullet which was lodged in one of the exterior motel room doors and a firearm, Brooks said.
Gregory was arrested and, prior to being transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility for booking, he was treated by Sutter Lakeside Hospital staff for a laceration he sustained from jumping through the window at the motel, according to Brooks.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Forecasters are predicting a week of rain ahead, but with estimated totals to be far less than those seen in last week's severe storm.
The National Weather Service's updated forecast for Lake County expects rain until next Saturday around the county, with conditions clearing slightly on Sunday.
On Monday, rainfall totals are estimated to be between half and three quarters of an inch during the day, with chances for another half an inch during the night.
Chances of showers on Tuesday are estimated at 80 percent, with predictions for rain also extending from Wednesday through Saturday.
There also will be light winds during the week, with temperatures falling into the low 40s at night and low 50s during the day.
More rain should help Clear Lake's level, which jumped up from less than 0.0 feet Rumsey before the storm started to 1.58 feet Rumsey on Sunday afternoon, according to the US Geological Survey.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A final public meeting sharing the findings and climate change adaptation strategies for vulnerable state routes in Caltrans District 1 will be held on Thursday, Dec. 18, in Eureka and Webcast to designated locations in Mendocino and Lake counties.
The meeting will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. in the council chambers at the city of Eureka, 531 K St.
A live Webcast of the meeting will be viewable in Lake County at the Lake County Board Chambers, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport, and in Mendocino County at the Mendocino County Administrative Center, Conference Room C, 501 Low Gap Road, Ukiah.
The meeting also will be broadcast on Access Humboldt and available for review a day after the meeting at https://archive.org/details/access_humboldt , under the title “Caltrans District 1 Climate Change Adaptation Project Findings.”
State routes in Lake, Mendocino, Del Norte and Humboldt County were the focus of this study, which considered the potential impacts of sea level rise, increased flooding and erosion, increased landslides, and increased wildfire as projected by current climate change modeling.
The study is one of 16 pilot studies across the U.S. being funded, in part, by the Federal Highway Administration.
The District 1 Climate Change Pilot Study is a joint project of the Caltrans District 1 and the Humboldt County Association of Governments, with the collaboration of the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission, Mendocino Council of Governments and the Lake County/City Area Planning Council.
The study is funded by the Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans.
More information about the study is available at www.northcoastclimatechange.com .
For more information about the Webcast, contact Rebecca Crow of GHD at 707-443-8326.