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LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Thursday law enforcement agencies from around Lake County joined the Lake County District Attorney's Victim-Witness Division in its annual effort to to spread Christmas cheer.
Victim-Witness' annual toy distribution benefits children whose lives have been affected by crime, including sexual assault and domestic violence.
St. Mary's Catholic Church in Lakeport hosts a wish tree with tags for the children, which Victim-Witness, the California Highway Patrol, Clearlake Police, District Attorney's Office, Lakeport Police and Lake County Sheriff's Office then distribute to families.
In the video above, meet the people who make holiday wishes come true for the children.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Mendocino College staff gathered for the annual campus holiday party and celebration.
During the festivities, Mike Adams, Karen Chaty and Betty Antoni were all honored for their distinguished careers and accomplishments as they retire from Mendocino College.
Collectively, they leave the college after contributing nearly 100 years of service to the district.
President Arturo Reyes presented each retiree with a plaque and provided the opportunity for the retiring staff members to recall their individual memories from Mendocino College.
Adams started his career at Mendocino College in 1985 as the assistant to the superintendent/president followed by director of facilities and ultimately became the director of facility planning. This position included providing direct oversight of the Measure W Bond Program.
Adams played an integral part in the overall design and look of the buildings and facilities at Mendocino College, and also was a guiding force in establishing the new Mendocino College Lake Center Campus on Parallel Drive in Lakeport.
A Kelseyville resident, Adams is very active in the community, and holds the post of executive director of the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport.
Thirty-seven-year employee Karen Chaty began her career at Mendocino College in 1976 as a secretary and quickly moved up to personnel specialist, personnel technician and ultimately director of human resources.
“She has seen tremendous change in employment practices and the law over her professional career,” said President Arturo Reyes.
Chaty added that she will miss all the people she has met over the years.
Betty Antoni was hired in 1979 as a temporary clerical assistant and completes her career as a human resources technician.
Antoni recounted how much she has loved her job and meeting all of the new employees over the years.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Thursday announced a $2.1 billion multistate and federal settlement with Ocwen Financial Corp. and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC over alleged mortgage servicing misconduct.
The settlement makes California homeowners eligible to receive up to $268 million in first lien principal reductions and nearly $23 million in cash payments to borrowers.
“This settlement will help homeowners who've been misled while trying to modify their Ocwen mortgages,” said Attorney General Harris. “But our work isn't done. Too many California families are still coping with uncooperative banks and mortgage service providers. My office will continue to fight on their behalf.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Ocwen engaged in robo-signing, “dual tracking” of borrowers seeking loan modifications, and other misconduct in the course of its mortgage servicing activities.
The settlement also resolves similar allegations against Homeward Residential Inc. and Litton Loan Servicing LP, which Ocwen acquired.
Ocwen holds nearly 390,000 loans in California, of which 12 percent are underwater. Ocwen holds approximately 6 percent of all California underwater loans.
The national settlement requires Ocwen to pay $125 million to borrowers whose homes were foreclosed between 2009 and 2012 and commit to $2 billion in first lien principal reduction loan modifications over the next three years.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was the lead agency for the negotiations. The settlement was signed by 49 states and the District of Columbia, including California.
Joe Smith, who served as the monitor for last year’s National Mortgage Settlement, will monitor the settlement nationally and Katie Porter, who heads the California Monitor’s office, will monitor the settlement in California.
The Ocwen settlement does not grant immunity from criminal offenses and would not affect criminal prosecutions.
The agreement does not prevent homeowners or investors from pursuing individual, institutional or class action civil cases.
It also preserves the authority of state attorneys general and federal agencies to investigate and pursue other aspects of the mortgage crisis, including securities cases.
In some cases, Ocwen will contact borrowers directly regarding principal reductions. However, borrowers should contact Ocwen to obtain more information about principal reductions and whether they qualify under terms of this settlement.
A settlement administrator will contact qualified borrowers associated with foreclosed loans regarding cash payments.
The settlement is the latest in a series of actions taken by Attorney General Harris and the California Department of Justice against bad lending practices in California.
In February 2012, Attorney General Harris secured a commitment from the nation’s five largest banks which has resulted in more than $20 billion for struggling California homeowners.
Following the settlement, Attorney General Harris sponsored the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, a landmark package of legislation that restricts dual-track foreclosures, guarantees struggling homeowners a reliable point of contact at their lender and imposes civil penalties on fraudulently signed mortgage documents. In addition, homeowners may require loan servicers to document their right to foreclose.
This legislation was signed by Gov. Brown in July 2012 and took effect on Jan. 1, 2013.
Most recently, Attorney General Harris announced a settlement with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. over its misrepresentation in residential mortgage-backed securities sold to California’s public employee and teacher pensions. The terms of the settlement resulted in California recovering nearly $300 million in damages.
This past February, Attorney General Harris filed a lawsuit against Standard & Poors, one of the nation's major credit rating companies, for inflating its ratings of structured finance investments, which caused California's public pension funds and other investors to lose billions of dollars.
Created in May 2011 by Attorney General Harris, the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force continues to lead the charge in investigating and prosecuting misconduct at all stages of the mortgage process.
For more information about the settlement, CA Ocwen borrowers can call 1-800-337-6695 and email
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Marine Core Reserve Toys for Tots program is busy collecting toys and getting ready to give them out to families in need this weekend.
The gifts that the organization collects will be distributed to families from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Lake County Fire Protection District station, 14815 Olympic Drive in Clearlake, Hubbard said.
Santa's helpers – clad in firefighter uniforms – were out this weekend assisting with toy collection for Toys for Tots program.
“This is our final push” on collections, said Kelseyville resident Dave Hubbard, the Lake County Toys for Tots coordinator.
At Walmart in Clearlake a Lake County Fire Protection District ladder truck was on display both Saturday and Sunday, with Cal Fire personnel and a fire truck on hand at Kmart in Lakeport both days, said Hubbard.
In addition to collecting toys, children had the chance to have their pictures taken with the equipment.
This was the first year that Cal Fire has taken part, Hubbard said, adding that Cal Fire was invited as Lakeport Fire already is conducting its own toy drive.
Hubbard said 450 toys were collected during the two days at Kmart and 559 at Walmart. On Wednesday he said he hadn't yet finished picking up toys at all of the collection boxes around the county.
This Saturday, the toy distribution will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no preregistration, Hubbard said.
He said families should bring with them proof of income eligibility, for example, a child's Medi-Cal card.
No children will be allowed into the distribution, he said.
Hubbard and his wife, Pat, started the local Toys for Tots effort seven years ago.
He said they started by collecting toys for Lake County Tribal Health, where his wife works.
Last year the local Toys for Tots distributed 3,400 toys to local children, according to Hubbard.
He estimated that the organization serves at least 600 families on an annual basis, guessing the number may be higher this year.
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Saving lives by securing vehicle occupants throughout the state is the objective behind the California Highway Patrol’s “Vehicle Occupant Restraint Education and Instruction III (VOREI III)” grant.
In 2013, California achieved one of the higher seat belt usage rates in the nation at 97.4 percent.
Through education and enforcement, the CHP is hoping to increase the seat belt usage rate while simultaneously reducing the number of people killed and injured in collisions.
“Every day, someone is killed in a collision simply because they were not properly secured in their vehicle,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Seat belts save lives, and our goal through this campaign is to ensure that every person traveling on California’s roadways is buckled up and protected in their vehicle.”
According to 2011 data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, 27 percent of vehicle occupants killed in collisions in California were not properly restrained. In addition to the 434 lives that were lost that year, more than 8,000 others were injured under similar circumstances.
“Buckling up is the most effective action a person can take to protect them from being injured or killed during a collision,” added Commissioner Farrow.
In order to accomplish the goal of increasing seat belt usage and preventing further injury and death, the CHP plans to inspect a minimum of 12,250 child safety seats; conduct 50 child passenger safety educational classes; and purchase and distribute 2,500 grant-funded child safety seats to people in need. Activity related to the VOREI III grant continues through September 30, 2014.
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of safety, service, and security to the people of California.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport administrative offices and daily city department operations – including Lakeport City Hall, public works and police records and administration – will be closed due to the holiday season and staff work furloughs.
The closure will take place from Friday, Dec. 20, through Sunday, Dec. 29; Tuesday, Dec. 31; Wednesday, Jan 1; and Friday, Jan. 3.
Lakeport Police officers will remain on duty to provide the necessary police patrols and be available to handle all calls for service throughout the office closure and can be reached at the police department. For emergencies call 911, nonemergency calls for police response call 707-263-5491, Extension 32.
For any questions or information regarding the release of towed and stored vehicles and sex offender registrations or other nonemergency but urgent concerns, contact the duty patrol officers or duty supervisor at 707-263-5491.
Any emergency regarding streets, water or sewer should be directed to the Public Works Department public number at 707-263-3578. The city has procedures in place to ensure that all emergency situations are responded to as quickly as possible.
For further information contact city administration at 707-263-5615, police administration at 707-263-5491, or Public Works administration at 707-263-3578.