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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The March median sales price of single family residences in Lake County decreased by 4.6 percent when compared to like sales in February, according to the latest report from the Lake County Association of Realtors.

According to statistics taken from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, the number of single family residence sales in March (51) was down 5.6 percent over like sales in February (54).  

The median sales price in March 2014 came in at $155,000, with February’s median showing $162,450. The Lake County Association of Realtors said the median sales price for March 2013 was $140,000.

Quarterly statistics help to paint a more definitive picture of 2014 versus 2013, according to the association report.

For the first quarter of 2014, the median sales price was $157,000 and the number of sales was 141.  The 2013 numbers were a median price of $132,500 and the number of sales was 191.  

These statistics show an 18.5-percent gain in median price for the first quarter of 2014, but the number of sales decreased by 35.5 percent.

“It appears that the laws of supply and demand are coming into play,” said Lake County Association of Realtors President Rick White.  

“There is a dwindling availability of properties priced under $100,000 and that is evident when comparing Q1 2014 sales to Q1 2013 sales,” White said. “In the first quarter last year over 30 percent of the sales were under $100,000, but they only made up 17 percent of the sales in this year’s first quarter.  Today’s buyers are showing a willingness to pay more to purchase the properties that they desire.”

Other notable trends when comparing quarterly statistics are the decrease in distressed property sales – foreclosures and short sales.

In the first quarter of 2013 these made up 53 percent of the sales, but in 2014's first quarter they accounted for 38 percent, the association reported.

Sales financed by cash decreased from 41.4 percent to 36.2 percent with conventional loans increasing from 26.2 percent of the sales to 32.6 percent, according to the report.

Lake County's House of Representatives members, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Rep. John Garamendi (CA-3), on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of representatives in voting against H.Con.Res. 96, the House Majority’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (WI-1).

The budget resolution passed by a vote of 219-205.

No Democrats voted for the resolution and 12 Republicans voted against the resolution.

The Senate will not pass H.Con.Res. 96, and if they did, the president would veto it, the congressmen reported.

“This reckless spending plan will kill jobs, end the guarantee of Medicare for America’s seniors, raises taxes on middle-class families while rewarding the wealthy and corporations that ship jobs overseas, gut our education system and make college more expensive for hard working families,” said Thompson. “The American people deserve a better path forward – one that shrinks our deficit and strengthens our middle class by creating jobs, cutting spending and asking everyone to pay their fair share. I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass a responsible budget that grows our economy and gets our fiscal house in order.”

“If enacted into law, this extreme Tea Party-inspired budget would wreck havoc on my district and communities across America,” said Garamendi. “Construction on levees in flood prone Sacramento Valley communities would be delayed. College students would shoulder even more debt. Agricultural researchers at UC Davis would see their groundbreaking work halted. Seniors in Rio Vista would see their health costs skyrocket. Struggling families in my district would see food, housing, and health care taken away from them.”

According to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, the cuts made in the House Majority’s budget will cost the economy three million jobs and decrease economic growth by 2.5 percent in 2016. The budget makes cuts to job creating investments in infrastructure, clean energy, education, research, innovation, and manufacturing.

Garamendi and Thompson also faulted the House Majority’s FY 2015 budget for proposing to end the Medicare guarantee by transforming Medicare into a privatized voucher program. Under this program, rather than having guaranteed coverage of benefits, seniors would receive a voucher and would need to use that voucher to purchase private insurance or traditional Medicare.

The budget also increases the costs of prescription drugs and preventive care for seniors. The plan repeals the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which would re-open the Medicare Part D “donut hole” and end free preventive services such as cancer screenings that seniors now receive under the health care reform law.

Since the enactment of the ACA, 7.9 million people with Medicare, including more than 358,000 Californians, have saved over $9.9 billion on their prescription drugs. And, in 2013, an estimated 37.2 million people with Medicare took advantage of at least one free preventive service thanks to the ACA, Thompson's office reported.

The budget also jeopardizes nursing home care for tens of thousands of seniors in California by cutting federal Medicaid funding for California by more than $95 billion over the next 10 years.

The budget cuts the top corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent at a cost of $1 trillion, and taxpayers with income exceeding $1 million in 2015 would receive an average net tax decrease of more $200,000 that year. These cuts and tax breaks are paid for by increasing taxes on middle class families with children by an average of $2,000 per family.

H.Con.Res. 96 cuts college student aid and support by a total of $260 billion over the next 10 years. Pell Grants, which 10 million students depend on to pay for college, are cut by $145 billion over 10 years. Pell Grants currently help students cover one-third of the cost of attending a four-year public college. College students in California will receive more than $246 million less in Pell Grants, and 51,350 fewer California students will receive Pell Grants needed to help pay for college.

The budget plan also increases the cost of college loans by charging interest on college loans while students are still in school. This will raise the cost of student loans by $41 billion over ten years.

Additionally, 21,140 fewer children in California would receive Head Start services under the House Majority’s Budget.

Under the House Majority’s budget passed Thursday, 175,300 Californians would lose training and employment services, and 313,200 Californians would lose job search assistance. Nearly 7,000 California children could lose access to child care. And, 1,315 fewer victims of domestic violence in California would be served through the STOP Violence Against Women Program.

H.Con.Res. 96 now goes to the Senate for their consideration.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Sheriff's narcotics detectives have arrested two Santa Rosa men for an illegal marijuana grow near Lower Lake, and seized 275 marijuana plants and a firearm.

Sylviano Fuentes, 50, and Antonio Hernandez-Lemus, 23, were arrested on Wednesday, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday members of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force were asked to assist Lake County Code Enforcement with a possible illegal marijuana grow site, Brooks said.

Code Enforcement officers said they had located a hoop-style greenhouse containing marijuana plants on a parcel of property in Lower Lake. Brooks said detectives responded to the property which was located in the 15000 block of Joseph Trail.

As detectives approached they could clearly see at least 100 growing marijuana plants inside the green house, Brooks said.

Brooks said detectives contacted two subjects on the property who were identified as Hernandez-Lemus and Fuentes. Detectives explained why they were there and it was illegal for them to cultivate marijuana on a vacant land parcel.

Hernandez said the marijuana was not theirs and he was just assisting with the grow site. Detectives said the property appeared to be used solely for the purpose of cultivating marijuana, according to Brooks' report.

Brooks said the detectives reported that there were no structures on the property, but there was a travel trailer. Due to the fact that marijuana grow sites are frequently occupied by several people, detectives conducted a protective sweep of the travel trailer, where they found a shotgun sitting on the bed with several shotgun shells.

Detectives entered the greenhouse and located 275 growing marijuana plants. Brooks said the plants were approximately 3 feet in height and were in the vegetative state, the stage in a flowering plant’s life cycle before the appearance of its fruiting structures.

Brooks said the greenhouse was covered in a clear plastic and had a large black tarp next to the structure. These types of greenhouses are commonly used for light deprivation which is used to control the amount of sunlight the plants receive and control flowering.

Posted on the greenhouse were two medical marijuana recommendations, which Brooks said were for two people who were not at the property.

Based on the amount of marijuana plants located and the shotgun found in the travel trailer, detectives secured the scene and wrote a search warrant for the property. Once the search warrant was signed, detectives eradicated the 275 marijuana plants and seized the shotgun as evidence, Brooks said.

Hernandez-Lemus was arrested for cultivating marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. Sylviano Fuentes was arrested for cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and for being armed in the commission of a felony, according to Brooks.

Brooks said both men were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

Jail records on Thursday indicated that Hernandez-Lemus, whose bail was set at $15,000, posted the required 10 percent of bail and was released, while Fuentes remained in custody on an immigration hold.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Lower Lake woman whose home was burglarized in February while she was at the hospital with her dying husband received some good news this week, as two suspects in the case were arrested.

Patrick William Mullen, 50, and 26-year-old Randy Hopper, both of Lower Lake, were taken into custody on Tuesday, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Mullen and Hopper are alleged to have broken into the Big Bear Road home of Naomi and David Richmond of Lower Lake.

David Richmond, a disabled Vietnam veteran, was transported by medics to the hospital on the night of Feb. 16.

His wife had left to go to the hospital to be with him and the break-in occurred afterward, as she explained in a letter to Lake County News: http://bit.ly/1dDlGvE .

Brooks said the burglary was reported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 16 and the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit has been actively investigating the case since then.

He explained that detectives were able to gather multiple statements from various neighbors in the area and served search warrants at two Lower Lake residences.

A neighbor located some of the drawers to a jewelry box, which had been taken during the burglary, Brooks said. The drawers were thrown off a bridge on Big Bear Road.

Another neighbor told detectives that one of the suspects had admitted to participating in the burglary and was laughing as he explained how he kicked in the front door, Brooks said.

Through the investigation, Brooks said detectives were able to recover a ring and a bracelet belonging to Richmond, and also identified two suspects responsible for the theft.

On Monday, arrest warrants were issued by the Lake County Superior Court for Hopper and Mullen. Brooks said detectives located and arrested both men on the warrants on Tuesday.

Hopper and Mullen were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. Both remained in custody Thursday, with bail set at $50,000 each.

Jail records indicate both are scheduled to appear in court on April 15.

The Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit is still attempting to locate and recover stolen property taken from the burglary, Brooks said.

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690.

The California Highway Patrol is joining with the California State Transportation Agency and California Department of Transportation to observe National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week April 7 to 11, and bring attention to the dangers of traveling through work zone areas.

“Work zones on our state’s highways can be complex, especially in urban areas. There are often bright lights, workers near the traffic lanes, and slow-moving or parked vehicles. Awareness and planning are keys to safe driving,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “We would like to encourage motorists to slow down and drive cautiously in work zones.”

Safety on the highways is paramount for all motorists. In work zone areas this is especially true where there can be multiple pedestrians, bright lights or parked vehicles, as fast traffic whizzes by.

It only takes a split second of inattention to destroy the life of someone working on California’s roads.

According to data from CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, the number of collisions in construction zones has risen from 1,155 in 2010, to 1,322 in 2011.

In 2011, those collisions resulted in the deaths of 44 people and more than 2,000 people injured.

Since 1921, 182 California Department of Transportation workers have been killed in work zone area incidents.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our workers, contractors, and the traveling public. National Work Zone Awareness Week is a reminder that safety is a year-round priority, and everyone can help by staying alert and slowing down in work zones,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.

California law requires drivers to move over or slow down when a parked emergency or Caltrans vehicle is flashing emergency or warning lights. Change lanes safely or, if unsafe or impracticable, slow to a speed that is safe for existing conditions.

The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of safety, service, and security to the people of California.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Police officers arrested a Santa Rosa man on Tuesday after they found him in possession of a number of narcotics, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and prescription drugs.

Luis Ramirez Arroyo, 28, was taken into custody shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to a report from Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

Joseph said two alert Clearlake Police officers on patrol noticed a suspicious black 2013 BMW sedan in the Walmart parking lot, located at 15960 Dam Road. The car was parked away from other vehicles and the windows were fogged up.

The officers contacted the car's occupant, identified as Arroyo, who appeared to have been sleeping, Joseph said.

During the contact with Arroyo, the officers searched Arroyo with his consent and found five small bags of suspected narcotics in Arroyo’s pants pocket. Joseph said three of the bags appeared to contain methamphetamine and the other two, heroin and cocaine.  

Joseph said Arroyo subsequently was arrested.  

During a subsequent inventory and search of the BMW, officers located an additional approximate one-quarter pound of suspected methamphetamine and suspected prescription drugs which were not prescribed to Arroyo, Joseph said.

Arroyo was charged with two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance for sale, and later booked into the Lake County Jail, Joseph said.

The estimated street value of the recovered narcotics is between $5,000 to $12,000, depending on how the drugs were to be packaged and sold, according to Joseph.