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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sailors braved winds and choppy waters on Saturday to take part in the 30th annual Konocti Cup on Clear Lake.
In the video above, catch some of the action and meet the people who make the annual event what it is.
The full results are below. (Note, the heading incorrectly states that these are the 2013 results.)
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Two local men arrested earlier this month for a cannabis oil lab that led to an apartment fire entered guilty pleas in the case on Monday.
Matthew Richard Carr, 24, of Lakeport and Dylan Alex Nevarez, 22, of Clearlake pleaded guilty to Health and Safety Code violations including storage, handling or disposing of hazardous waste causing unreasonable risk of fire or explosion, and unlawful disposal of hazardous waste, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
Carr and Nevarez were arrested on April 7 following an apartment fire at Adagio Apartments in Clearlake, as Lake County News has reported. Nevarez was slightly burned in the fire.
After Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters extinguished the fire, they found what they considered to be suspicious items and notified the Clearlake Police Department, according to the original police report.
In the apartment, a detective found butane bottles and other apparatus used in the manufacture of cannabis oil, or honey oil, police reported.
Carr and Nevarez also had been in the apartment with four children, ranging in age from 1 month to 2 years, police said.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 16. Anderson said the maximum sentencing for these crimes is three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Anderson said the District Attorney’s Office is making every effort to prosecute environmental crimes, especially related to marijuana grows and illegal drug manufacturing, with the resources they have available.
He said the case involving Carr and Nevarez is the kind of environmental crime that his office will actively seek out and prosecute.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The service of a search warrant in Kelseyville last week led to three arrests, as well as the seizure of marijuana plants and concentrated cannabis.
Arrested were Paige Leann Polley, 24, and 27-year-old John Joseph Darnell, both of Kelseyville, and 27 year old Charles William Knipp of Chico, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Last Friday, April 25, narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for a residence located in the 5000 block of Caddo Court in Kelseyville. At 10 a.m. that day detectives served the warrant at the home, Brooks said.
Brooks said that upon entry into the residence, detectives located and detained Polley, Darnell and Knipp without incident.
During a search of the home, detectives located two separate areas where the occupants were in the process of extracting the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, from the marijuana using butane gas. Brooks said this method produces an end product which is referred to as “honey oil.”
The subjects had multiple hot plates inside the house, which were actively in the process of burning off the butane gas. Brooks said this process is extremely dangerous and has been the cause of multiple fires and explosions in Lake County.
Detectives located a hoop-style greenhouse in the backyard which contained 59 marijuana plants, Brooks said. They also located an indoor grow in one of the bedrooms which contained 157 marijuana plants.
Brooks said detectives eradicated a total of 216 marijuana plants from the residence. They also located and seized 21 ounces of honey oil, which has an approximate street value of $29,700.
During a search of the garage, detectives located numerous PVC and glass cylinders which are used during the honey oil extraction process. Brooks said they also located more than 200 empty butane cylinders and two new unopened cases of butane.
Detectives found numerous bags and plastic tubs containing marijuana, which they seized. The marijuana was later weighed and had an approximate gross weight of 301 pounds, according to Brooks.
Central Dispatch conducted a records check of Polley and advised she was on probation out of Butte County for possession of a controlled substance, which was transferred from the state of Illinois. Brooks said dispatch also advised that Polley had an outstanding arrest warrant from Illinois for possession of a controlled substance.
Polley was arrested for manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale, the cultivation of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, possession of concentrated cannabis, violating the terms of her probation and the arrest warrant from Illinois, Brooks said.
Darnell was arrested for manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale, cultivating marijuana and possession of concentrated cannabis. Brooks said that during the search, detectives located a recent arrest report written by the U.S. Forest Service, listing Darnell as the suspect arrested. Darnell was apparently arrested on March 28 in Trinity County for possessing 288 pounds of marijuana.
Knipp was arrested for manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale, cultivating marijuana and possession of concentrated cannabis. Brooks said a records check revealed Knipp was also on probation out of Butte County for the possession of marijuana for sale and was arrested for violating the terms of his probation.
All three subjects were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.
Jail records indicated that all three remained in custody on Monday. Darnell is being held on $100,000 bail, while Polley remained in custody on a felony probation violation and a fugitive from justice warrant, with Knipp being held on a felony probation violation.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Department of Water Resources snow surveyors Thursday will take the year’s final measurement of water content in the Sierra snowpack.
Near-record low numbers are expected as California’s drought pushes through its third year.
The May 1 survey is taken after the snowpack – which normally peaks in early April – has begun to melt into streams and reservoirs with warming spring weather.
Statewide, the April 1 “peak” this year was a dismal 32 percent of average water content for the date. And with the spring melt well under way, statewide electronic readings today indicate that statewide, snowpack water content is just 21 percent of the historical average.
Even worse, electronic readings show a dismal 9 percent of average water content for the northern Sierra snowpack that helps fill the state’s major reservoirs which currently are only half full.
Electronic water content readings for the central and southern Sierra are 26 and 22 percent of normal, respectively.
Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s (SWP) principal reservoir, was at only 53 percent of its 3.5 million acre-foot capacity (66 percent of its historical average for the date) on Monday.
Shasta Lake north of Redding, California’s and the federal Central Valley Project’s (CVP) largest reservoir, also is at 53 percent of its 4.5 million acre-foot capacity (62 percent of its historical average).
San Luis Reservoir, a critical south-of-Delta reservoir for both the SWP and CVP, is at 47 percent of its 2 million acre-foot capacity (52 percent of average for this time of year).
California’s severe drought also is reflected in rainfall totals, measuring just over to below half of historic amounts in key watersheds.
With most of the wet season behind us, it is unlikely late-season storms will significantly dampen the effects of the three-year drought on parched farms or communities struggling to provide drinking water.
On April 25, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order to strengthen the state’s ability to manage water and habitat effectively in drought conditions and called on all Californians to redouble their efforts to conserve water. In January, the governor declared a drought state of emergency.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's unemployment picture remained mostly unchanged in March, according to a recent state report.
The California Employment Development Department's monthly report on the workforce showed that Lake County's March unemployment was 11.5 percent, unchanged from a revised 11.5 percent in February and below the March 2013 estimate of 13.2 percent.
Statewide, March unemployment was at 8.1 percent, also unchanged from the previous month, but down from the 9.2 percent figure recorded in March 2013, the report showed.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,504,000 – up by 5,000 over the month, but down by 211,000 compared with March of last year, the report said.
Despite the state's flat unemployment picture, the Employment Development Department said nonfarm jobs in California totaled 15,365,500 in March, an increase of 11,800 jobs over the month, according to a survey of 58,000 businesses.
From March 2013 to this past March, the Employment Development Department calculated an increase of 325,100 jobs, or 2.2 percent, across California.
A federal survey of 5,500 California households showed an increase in the number of employed people, estimating that 17,156,000 Californians held jobs in March, an increase of 43,000 from February, and up 252,000 from the employment total in March of last year, the Employment Development Department said.
Nationally, the picture was the same, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that March unemployment was at 6.7 percent, the same as February, but down from the 7.5 percent recorded in March 2013.
Once again, Marin County had the lowest unemployment statewide in March, 4.7 percent, with Colusa County registering the highest, at 24.5 percent.
March industry unemployment figures for Lake County showed an 8.1-percent loss in total farm jobs – amounting to a decrease of 70 jobs. Overall, total nonfarm jobs rose by 0.6 percent.
Total jobs for the county in March were 15,140, up 20 from February, according to the data. There were 3,080 unemployed people in Lake County in March, down 10 from February.
Besides Colusa, Lake's neighboring counties ranked as follows in March, according to the Employment Development Department: Glenn, No. 42, 12.9 percent; Mendocino, No. 16, 7.8 percent; Napa, No. 5, 6.0 percent; Sonoma, No. 8, 6.2 percent; and Yolo, No. 29, 10.1 percent.
The Employment Development Department reported that there were 510,919 people receiving regular
Unemployment Insurance benefits during the March survey week, compared with 539,062 in February and 532,831 in March 2013.
New claims for unemployment insurance were 52,755 in March, compared with 65,494 in February and 58,842 in March of last year, the report showed.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert early Monday morning as authorities searched for a child taken from the Huron area.
Tanya Ruiz, 3, was reported abducted Sunday at 7:45 p.m., according to the alert.
The man who is reported to have taken her has so far not been identified. He is described as a Hispanic male with long hair, about 30 years of age, with height and weight unknown. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and red hat.
The little girl is described as a Hispanic female, 3 feet tall, 33 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown shirt with flowers, blue jean shorts and white sandals.
Anyone who sees the girl is asked to call 911 or the Huron Police Department at 559-945-2348.