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To kick off Sunshine Week, State Controller John Chiang updated his public employee compensation Web site with the latest wage and benefit data for local special district employees.
The site – www.publicpay.ca.gov – offers maps, search functions, and custom report-building tools. It also allows users to download raw data for their own research.
This update covers calendar year 2012, the fourth full year of data for special districts, as well as other local governments, available on the site.
"In addition to cities and counties, special districts also provide some of the most critical services in local communities throughout California," said Chiang. "The vast majority of special districts have filed their wage reports on time, but I will continue to use my office's audit authority to make sure this data is publicly available from all districts."
Special districts are local agencies formed to provide specific services, from health care to public transit.
This latest update adds wage and benefit data for 140,391 special district positions, with more than $6.84 billion in wages paid in 2012.
For this update, 96.9 percent of the state’s special districts submitted information on time.
The controller contacted more than 100 noncompliant districts late last year, warning them that repeatedly failing to file could indicate a lack of internal controls at the local government, and may be cause for the controller to initiate an audit.
Among the delinquent special districts is Reclamation District 2070, located in the Upper Lake area, which the county of Lake intends to disband, as Lake County News has reported.
Since the public pay site's launch in 2010, it has registered more than 7.3 million page views online. The controller completed an overhaul of the public website in late 2012, adding additional search, browse, and mapping functions.
The Controller’s Office expects to make additional updates within the next three months that will include 2013 wage data for the State and the University of California. The 2012 figures for all state employees, along with cities and counties, were added last year.
Those visiting www.publicpay.ca.gov can view compensation levels on map graphics; search for compensation by region, develop charts, trend-line and trend graphs; quickly see lists of top earners at cities, counties, and other local governments; generate side-by-side comparisons of local government payrolls; create local agency summaries; export custom reports or raw data from the site.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The investigation into a burglary at a local school has led to the arrest of a Napa County woman.
Shellby Gael Dunlap, 21, of Napa was arrested on Saturday morning, according to a report from Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, March 11, deputies responded to the Lake County International Charter School, located at 15850 Armstrong St. in Middletown, on the report of a burglary, Brooks said.
Brooks said it was reported that the suspect, or suspects, had entered the school and stolen four Dell laptop computers and eight Apple iPads that the school had acquired through a grant.
Detectives assisted patrol deputies with the investigation by conducting followup interviews, obtaining video surveillance and canvassing the area for witnesses and evidence, Brooks said.
Detectives learned that a Twin Pine Casino player card in the name of Shellby Dunlap had been recovered at the charter school, according to Brooks.
Brooks said detectives also learned Dunlap had an arrest warrant out of Napa County for drug-related charges. Detectives provided this information to patrol units requesting they be on the look out for Dunlap.
During the early morning hours of Friday, March 14, a patrol deputy was conducting a walk-through at Twin Pine Casino. Brooks said the deputy observed two handbags near the security booth. The deputy was advised the bags had been left at the casino and had been there for more than 24 hours.
The deputy showed the security officer a photo of Dunlap. The security officer confirmed Dunlap was the person who left the bags, Brooks said.
Brooks said the deputy inspected the bags and observed two Dell laptop computers. The deputy checked the computers, confirming the laptops were two of the four that had been stolen from the charter school.
Sheriff’s detectives continued to conduct followup on the case, Brooks said. Detectives learned that Dunlap had been arrested on March 11 for unrelated drug charges in Sonoma County and was in custody there. Dunlap also had one of the stolen iPads in her possession when she was arrested.
Detectives made arrangements with the Sonoma County Jail to pick up Dunlap, Brooks said. On Saturday, March 15, Lake County Sheriff’s detectives picked up Dunlap and transported her back to Lake County.
Dunlap told detectives she knew the laptops and iPad were stolen, but denied being responsible for the theft, Brooks said.
Dunlap was booked into the Lake County Jail for burglary and possession of stolen property. She remained in custody on Monday afternoon with a $50,000 bail, according to jail records.
Anyone with information regarding the burglary to the charter school is requested to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Members of the Callayomi County Water District's Board of Directors are uncertain where their well supplying water to Middletown will be located in the future. But they are certain that it won't be in the Butts Canyon Road area.
That much became clear during a public meeting at the Middletown Senior Center on Thursday night attended by 30 Middletown citizens.
The citizens were adamant in their opposition to placing a well near the Butts Canyon area site, located about three miles southeast of Middletown.
The site previously served as a waste disposal facility where 17 companies and agencies had disposed of geothermal wastes – i.e., drilling mud from exploratory/developmental drilling and wastes from power generation operations at The Geysers energy field – from 1976 to 1986.
The facility, which consisted of evaporation ponds and solid waste disposal, was closed after Geothermal Inc., its former operator, went bankrupt. Pacific Gas and Electric subsequently took over responsibility for the facility.
The site's closure was accomplished between 2003 and 2006 and was overseen by the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board. The cleanup included disposing of seven evaporation ponds in the area.
The meeting on Thursday night concluded with the appointment of Callayomi Board President Steve Bishop and Director Kimberly Haynie to investigate properties and contact their (mostly private) owners when they identified a prospective well site.
Once they do, they will map it out and work with a hydrological engineer to determine its water potential, then have the property appraised, Callayomi District General Manager John Hamner said.
Bishop and Haynie will begin this process this week, according to Hamner, who added, “It's a long, drawn-out process into which $54,000 has already been invested.”
While some citizens present at the meeting expressed concerns that a tentative $3 million grant from the California Department of Public Health, referred to as State Revolving Loan Fund Grant, is restricted to an existing aquifer at Diamond D Ranch on Big Canyon Road, Hamner said that is not the case.
“We will not lose the grant, but at the same time, time is of the essence and we need to find something in a reasonable amount of time or there is a possibility that we'll lose it,” Hamner said.
Much of Thursday night's meeting was consumed with concerns about the Butts Canyon area site, where elevated levels of boron, sulfate, chloride and totally dissolved solids have been detected.
“I came here as a machinist and when they first started fighting about the pollution and everything,” said Jim Bolander, who once worked at the Butts Canyon disposal site. “What I was told was that the stuff they were putting in there wouldn't hurt you.
“But I talked to a biologist and the information he gave me was that when they mix all the chemicals and the iron and the peroxide the composition of all these chemicals would cost $10 million to clean it up. If they ever get a leak in there I don't want my kids or my grandkids and the people in my community to drink any water,” Bolander added.
“We want the truth about what they put in the ground,” said Moke Simon, representing the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians.
Simon recalled playing at the Butts Canyon disposal site as a child. “If there's a way for PG&E to get around it they'll get around it … We currently buy bottled water on the reservation.
“I'm not saying that water is perfect, but our reason for (buying) it is we know what went into that site. We saw – physically saw – it and we don't want to disturb that stuff,” Simon added. “So we're against it and want to be on record and make the community know that.”
Said Linda Diehl-Darms, who has driven a petition in opposition of the Butts Canyon area site, “When the cleanup of the waste site was first proposed I asked that they remove the waste completely. PG&E worked along with the Regional Quality Control Board and said it wasn't fiscally feasible for them to remove the waste out of our area. Then I asked, 'Could you put a lining between the waste and he earth?' That was not fiscally feasible either.
“Do the agencies supplying the funds have knowledge of the Title 27 noncompliant cleanup site approximately two miles upstream from the proposed well?” she asked.
But Hamner insists that consideration was never given to the Butts Canyon Road site.
Among sites that are being considered, he said, are a couple near the Middletown Union School District and Long Valley.
But of the school, he added, “We've already got some wells out there and they don't produce water very well,” and one of the Callayomi directors is opposed to the Long Valley site.
Email John Lindblom at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission will meet this week to discuss updates to the city's housing element.
The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, in the council chambers at 14050 Olympic Drive.
The meeting's primary agenda item is a workshop on the housing element update and contemplated zoning code amendments.
Housing element update consultant Gary Price will present the commission with a draft update to the document.
City Manager Joan Phillipe's report to the commission said that the workshop is being conducted to obtain more input from the public and various affected public agencies on housing information and policies contained in the current 2009-14 Housing Element, with that input to be used for the update in the 2014-19 planning cycle.
“This is also an opportunity to review any new information that needs to be updated regarding the City's housing characteristics and future housing needs and to provide the Commission an opportunity to weigh in on the document and provide the staff/consultant team input on areas in the document that need to be changed to bring it current,” Phillipe wrote.
Staff is not suggesting any action by the commission at the meeting other than to take public comment on both the housing element update and zoning amendment.
Commissioners include Chair Alvaro Valencia and Vice Chair Bill Perkins, and Al Bernal, Carl Webb and Cheryl Hutchinson.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week Lake County Animal Care and Control is offering two cats for adoption.
“Batman” and “Iris” are the two domestic short hair mix cats ready for new homes.
In addition to spaying or neutering, cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
'Batman'
“Batman” is a male gray tabby cat of undetermined age.
He has green eyes and a short coat. Shelter staff did not report if he has been altered.
Visit with Batman in cat room kennel No. 54, ID No. 39193.
'Iris'
“Iris” is a 2-year-old female brown tabby.
She has a short coat, weighs 9 pounds and has been spayed. She is missing her left eye.
Find Iris in cat room kennel No. 91, ID No. 39077.
Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Junior Giants Baseball is coming to Clearlake.
Sign-ups for players, coaches, coordinators, assistants and other volunteers takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at Lake County Youth Services, 4750 Golf Ave., next to Redbud Park and the Little League fields, in Clearlake.
“Anybody who can help, I will find something for them to do,” Junior Giants Commissioner Ken Cowden said.
Junior Giants is the flagship program of the San Francisco Giants Community Fund.
It is a free, noncompetitive, innovative baseball program for boys and girls ages 5 to 18 years old.
A Junior Giants League based in Kelseyville, and overseen by the Sheriff's Activity League, has been active for about 15 years.
The program is all-inclusive regardless of skill level, experience or disability, including that of volunteers.
“Whatever the situation might be, it is our job to work around it,” Lake County Youth Services Volunteer Director Joyce Overton, who is also serving as assistant commissioner, said. “The purpose of this program is to make sure everybody can participate.”
According to its Web site, Junior Giants was created to provide at-risk children with a meaningful partnership with community-based organizations while providing an alternative to drugs, gangs and crime.
It welcomes children of all backgrounds and aims to encourage them to live healthy and productive lives by getting outside and playing baseball.
“It lets them start dreaming of tomorrow, today,” Cowden said.
The league is noncompetitive and places higher value on character than on wins and losses.
Cowden, who helped organize Junior Giants in Corning, said increased self-esteem and confidence are immediately apparent in participants.
“Once they get into the program, you see them change,” he said. “That's the reward for me.”
The program provides all the uniforms, equipment and training necessary to run the program. Cowden said volunteer coaches will have the opportunity to attend a professional training session provided by the Giants in San Francisco.
He said volunteers are essential for the program to succeed and encourages anyone, regardless of skill level or disability, to join the effort.
Volunteers will be subject to a background check by both the Giants organization and Lake County Youth Services, Cowden said.
In addition to the fundamentals of baseball, the program focuses more intently on the four bases of character development: confidence, integrity, leadership and teamwork as well as education, health and violence prevention.
Cowden said children can earn prizes by reading and through other educational incentives. He said he would like to get the library involved in the project and welcomes any community partnerships.
“We are working with Southshore Little League and we got Lake County Youth Services on board, now we are looking for more (partners),” he said.
Cowden is reaching out, in particular, to participants and volunteers in the south county area as the program will be based in Clearlake.
The program also provides game tickets so children can experience a live Major League Baseball game.
Cowden said, while participation is at no-cost, this where the youth have to ban together and raise funds to cover transportation costs.
The program will run through August with two to three practices a week plus one game.
The league is divided into age groups with a senior league for older players.
For more information about participating, call LCYS at 707-994-KIDS (5437).
Email Denise Rockenstein at