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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) will host a forum for Lake County small businesses on the Affordable Care Act in Kelseyville on Monday, July 15.
The forum will begin at 5 p.m. at Riviera Hills Golf and Country Club, 10200 Fairway Drive in Kelseyville.
Thompson will be joined by U.S. Health and Human Services Regional Director Herb Schultz.
The Affordable Care Act has already improved health care access for millions, and saved people across our district and nation billions of dollars on prescription drugs and health insurance premiums. Soon, the rest of the law will go into effect.
The forum will address questions about the law’s implementation and its effects on small businesses.
At the forum, consumers and business leaders will gain information about the law’s impacts and learn how small businesses can take full advantage of the new benefits.
Thompson represents California’s 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A man who defrauded Caltrans out of nearly $1.9 million is facing a nine-year prison sentence, loss of homes and the surrender of his valuable Star Wars collection after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Friday announced the sentence for 43-year-old Eric Hodgson of Elk Grove.
Hodgson agreed to a plea deal that in addition to the nine-year prison sentence, included forfeiture of his personal and real property, which includes two residences, two cars, several retirement accounts and a collection of Stars Wars items – including replica lightsabers, spaceship and character models – worth more than $10,000.
Hodgson was arrested in April on 22 counts of grand theft following a California Department of Justice investigation that began after Caltrans staff discovered fraudulent invoices for print advertisements that had never actually run in local newspapers as promised.
On Thursday, Hodgson pleaded guilty in Sacramento Superior Court to seven of the 22 counts as part of the plea deal.
Hodgson, as the owner of Phenix Print & Image, was hired by Caltrans to publicly advertise new construction contracts to bidders, as required by statute.
Caltrans employees discovered the alleged fraud during a routine request for information and proof of publication for the construction contract advertisements.
A subsequent internal review confirmed likely fraudulent activity and, as consistent with state law, the matter was turned over to the California Department of Justice for further investigation.
The investigation of invoices submitted by Phenix found two print advertising contracts, awarded in 2008 and 2009, that totaled more than $1.8 million.
Caltrans terminated a third contract, awarded to Phenix in 2011 for more than $800,000, before any invoices were paid.
The California Department of Justice investigation found that Hodgson defrauded Caltrans of nearly $1.9 million by using false and fraudulent documentation.
He instead used the money to pay off a mortgage, make purchases of toys and comics, and pay for exotic trips for him and his company staff.
Like a comet, the solar system has a tail. NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has for the first time mapped out the structure of this tail, which is shaped like a four-leaf clover.
Scientists describe the tail, called the heliotail, based on the first three years of IBEX imagery in a paper published in the July 10 edition of the Astrophysical Journal.
While telescopes have spotted such tails around other stars, it has been difficult to see whether our star produced one.
The particles found in the tail – and throughout the entire heliosphere, the region of space influenced by our sun – do not shine, so they cannot be seen with conventional instruments.
“By examining the neutral atoms, IBEX has made the first observations of the heliotail,” said David McComas, IBEX principal investigator at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, and the paper's lead author.
“Many models have suggested the heliotail might look like this or like that, but we have had no observations,” McComas said. “We always drew pictures where the tail of the solar system just trailed off the page, since we couldn't even speculate about what it really looked like.”
IBEX measures the neutral particles created by collisions at the solar system's boundaries. This technique, called energetic neutral atom imaging, relies on the fact that the paths of neutral particles are not affected by the solar magnetic field. Instead, the particles travel in a straight line from collision to IBEX.
Consequently, observing where the neutral particles came from describes what is going on in these distant regions.
“Since first light in 2008, the IBEX mission team has amazed us with its discoveries at the interstellar boundary, including a previously unknown ribbon of energetic neutral particles stretching across it,” said Arik Posner, NASA's IBEX program scientist in Washington. “The new IBEX image of the heliotail fills in a previously blank area on the map. We are first-hand witnesses of rapid progress in heliophysics science.”
By combining observations from the first three years of IBEX imagery, the team showed a tail with a combination of fast and slow moving particles.
There are two lobes of slower particles on the sides and faster particles above and below. This four-leaf clover shape can be attributed to the fact that the sun has been sending out fast solar wind near its poles and slower wind near its equator for the last few years.
This is a common pattern in the most recent phase of the sun's 11-year activity cycle.
The clover shape does not align perfectly with the solar system, however. The entire shape is rotated slightly, indicating that as it moves further away from the sun and its magnetic influence, the charged particles begin to be nudged into a new orientation, aligning with the magnetic fields from the local galaxy.
Scientists do not know how long the tail is, but think that it eventually fades away and becomes indistinguishable from the rest of interstellar space.
Scientists are testing their current computer simulations of the solar system against the new observations to improve our understanding of the comet-like tail streaming out behind us.
For more information about the IBEX mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ibex .
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Northshore business owner and former District 3 Lake County Planning Commissioner Marvin Butler has announced his candidacy for county supervisor.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, now in her second term, has announced she will not seek reelection next year.
“Lake County is facing many difficult and important challenges. I am seeking the office of county supervisor to provide the residents of District 3 with honest, dedicated and independent leadership to meet those challenges head on,” said Butler.
“Creating jobs and opportunities will be high priorities for me on the county board,” stated Butler.
He said he will use his business experience to expand tourism, support local agriculture and attract quality, environmentally-friendly employers to District 3.
Butler also plans to explore the opportunities and potential of the local colleges – Marymount, Mendocino College and Yuba College – to stimulate job creation and establish cutting-edge businesses. “I am committed to greater economic prosperity for District 3 and all of Lake County,” he said.
“Building a stronger local economy means protecting Clear Lake, our most precious economic and environmental resource” continued Butler. “As your new supervisor, I will work closely with our Northshore communities to protect the Lake’s fragile ecosystem from the quagga mussel. I’ll also be seeking greater public input and will engage multiple resources to help the county proactively address critical issues and projects such as lake algae, Lucerne water rate increases, the pending endangered species listing of Clear Lake Hitch, Walker Ridge Wind Farm and the Middle Creek Restoration project.”
Protecting public safety is another top priority of Butler’s. “On the county board, I’ll work hand in glove with our firefighting professionals to ensure the highest level of fire prevention service for Third District residents. And I will support an additional local sheriff’s substation to serve our Northshore communities.”
Butler said he’s looking forward to “an upbeat, engaging campaign and to personally connecting with District 3 residents and business owners.” He added, “I will work hard to represent you, your livelihood and your Lake County.”
Community leaders across District 3 have endorsed Butler’s candidacy.
“I’ve known Marvin for more than 15 years and he has always been an active community member with the community’s best interest at heart,” said Anne Garner, the owner of Eleven Roses Ranch and a fourth-generation Lake County resident.
Retired Lake County Redevelopment Agency Director Andrew Peterson called Butler “extremely knowledgeable on Northshore issues and thoroughly prepared to be a county supervisor.”
“Marvin is a leader who listens to people’s concerns and brings our communities together,” said Monica Rosenthal, who is serving as campaign chair for the Butler for Supervisor Committee. “He has the integrity, energy and independence to be an effective voice for the residents of District 3.”
A longtime resident of Clearlake Oaks and owner of the Garden Court Salon and Gift Shop in Nice, Butler served as the District 3 representative on the Lake County Planning Commission for five years. He was appointed as the planning commission’s delegate on updating the County Master Plan.
Butler is an active community leader, serving on the Upper Lake-Nice-Blue Lakes Area Plan Advisory Committee, the Lucerne-Glenhaven-Clearlake Oaks-Clear Lake Area Plan Committee and the redevelopment committees for the communities of Nice, Lucerne, Upper Lake and Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven. He also is a former member on the Lake County Fair Board of Directors.
A retired banker, Butler has two adult children.
LUCERNE, Calif. – A late night stabbing in Lucerne on Thursday resulted in one person being flown to a regional trauma center.
The incident was reported at about 11:45 p.m. at Country Club Mobile Home Park, located at 3630 Country Club Drive.
Firefighters were dispatched to the park on the report that a person had been stabbed in the abdomen, with the scene initially not secured and the suspect’s location unknown, according to radio reports.
Reports from the scene indicated that the victim, a male, was attempting to break up a fight when he was stabbed by another male suspect, who then fled the area.
At the request of firefighters, REACH 6 responded and landed at Lucerne Harbor Park to transport the stabbing victim.
When REACH lifted off at about 12:20 a.m. Friday, the air ambulance’s crew reported it was headed for UC Davis Medical Center.
Information about the search for the suspect and whether or not he had been apprehended was not immediately available early Friday.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was taken into custody earlier this week on a number of charges after he led a Clearlake Police officer on a high speed chase through the city.
Raymond Kaniela Lamb, 41, was arrested by Officer Elvis Cook with help from his K9 partner “Max” following the chase on Tuesday night, according to Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.
At 9:10 p.m. Tuesday Cook and Max were on duty and, along with several other Clearlake Police officers, were preparing to serve a felony warrant on a residence where Lamb was known to frequent, Celli said.
As the officers were preparing to make contact at the residence, Officer Cook saw Lamb driving a vehicle in the area of Pine and Davis avenues, according to Celli.
Cook knew Raymond Lamb from prior law enforcement-related contacts and knew that he had an outstanding felony warrant issued for his arrest. Celli said Cook also was aware that Lamb had a history of violence and resisting arrest, and that he was not licensed to drive.
Celli said Cook attempted to make a traffic stop on Lamb, but Lamb failed to stop, leading Cook on a vehicle pursuit with speeds reaching 100 miles per hour.
During the pursuit Lamb is alleged to have driven recklessly, failing to stop at stop signs and making unsafe turning movements. Celli said Lamb slammed on his brakes several times in what police believed was an attempt to cause the pursuing police car to crash.
The pursuit lasted for approximately two and a half miles, leading to an orchard area near Denman Road, Celli said. Lamb drove his vehicle through the orchard, attempting to cause the pursuing officers to crash into trees and rock piles.
Lamb eventually abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot near Old Highway 53. Due to Lamb having a felony warrant, his history of violence and his attempts to evade the police with reckless disregard for public safety, Celli said Cook deployed Max, sending him to apprehend Lamb.
Celli said Lamb failed to obey the warning given by Cook to stop and he continued running down to a creek and under a bridge where Max caught up with Lamb, biting him on the forearm.
Lamb continued to fight with Max for a period of time, ignoring orders from Cook to stop fighting the dog. Celli said Lamb eventually stopped fighting the K9 and he was taken into custody without further incident.
Lamb was discovered to be in possession of approximately 1.7 grams of methamphetamine and a hypodermic syringe, Celli said.
Medical personnel were summoned to the scene to provide first aid to Lamb, who Celli said was then transported to S. Helena Hospital Clear Lake by police officers for a medical clearance.
A search of the vehicle Lamb was driving revealed that he was in possession of pepper spray, Celli said.
Lamb was cleared for incarceration and was later booked at the Lake County Hill Road Jail for the felony warrant. Celli said Lamb additionally was charged with felony evading, assault with a deadly weapon, felony obstruction of a police officer, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of tear gas by a convicted felon.
Lamb remains in custody at the Hill Road Jail with bail set at $60,000, Celli said.