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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Driving plays an important part in maintaining an active, rewarding lifestyle. It means independence, freedom and the pursuit of happiness at any age.
The California Highway Patrol understands how much seniors enjoy driving, and offers a program designed to help extend their driving years.
“Our ultimate goal is saving lives in California,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “To help accomplish this mission, our personnel are taking the ‘Age Well, Drive Smart’ program out into California’s senior communities. Not only is this program intended to save lives, but it is one way to help older motorists drive as long as possible.”
The recent receipt of a federal grant will enable the CHP to continue to offer this valuable traffic safety program to California’s growing senior population through Sept. 30, 2012.
“Age Well, Drive Smart” is a free, two-hour senior driver safety/mobility class offered by the CHP and focuses on educating drivers, aged 65 years and over.
Individuals can register for the course by contacting their local CHP office. In Lake County, the CHP office can be contacted at 707-279-0103.
The Keeping Everyone Safe (KEYS) III grant will also help fund a public awareness campaign using a variety of available tools to address older adult driving issues.
In addition, educational materials will be produced and distributed statewide. CHP personnel will also conduct educational presentations at various venues and will staff traffic safety booths at community events.
“Continued education through a program like this is an excellent way to help extend your driving years,” added Commissioner Farrow.
Funding for the KEYS III grant is provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A settlement the California Attorney General’s Office has reached with five banks is expected to bring tens of millions of dollars of assistance to Lake County homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis.
Last week Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the commitment of up to $18 billion by the banks to benefit hundreds of thousands of homeowners in California, the state hardest hit by the mortgage meltdown of the last several years.
The banks included in the settlement are Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial.
Those banks also are known under other trade names, including Countrywide (a trade name for Bank of America); Washington Mutual and EMC Mortgage (Chase); CitiMortgage (Citibank); Wachovia (Wells Fargo); and GMAC (Ally Financial).
“California families will finally see substantial relief after experiencing so much pain from the mortgage crisis,” Harris said in a written statement. “Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will directly benefit from this California commitment.”
The settlement calls for county-specific payments based on the number of homeowners and the depth of the foreclosure crisis in the particular areas.
The five counties expected to receive the largest benefit amounts are Los Angeles, $3.92 billion; Riverside, $1.59 billion; San Bernardino, $1.13 billion; Sacramento, $820 million; and Stanislaus, $368 million.
In Lake County, where thousands of homeowners have lost their homes or gone underwater on their mortgages, an estimated $43.7 million in relief is expected, the Attorney General’s Office told Lake County News.
Neighboring Sonoma County is expected to receive $267 million, while Napa is slated to receive about $79.3 million and Yolo $74.5 million.
Lake’s other neighboring county’s are estimated to receive less. Colusa’s expected amount is $8.9 million; Glenn, $7.3 million; and Mendocino, $25.8 million.
“The impact of the foreclosure on that community was one of the factors” in determining amounts counties would receive, said Linda Gledhill, an Attorney General’s Office spokesperson.
The settlement calls for more than $12 billion to reduce the principal on loans or offer short sales to approximately 250,000 California homeowners who are underwater on their loans and behind or almost behind in their payments.
If the banks fail to enact at least $12 billion in principal reductions for California homeowners, they face up to $800 million in payments to the state. The settlement also allows Harris to summon the banks to California state court to enforce the obligations.
In addition, $849 million is estimated to be dedicated to refinancing the loans of 28,000 homeowners who are current on their payments but underwater on their loans, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The agency said another $279 million will be dedicated to offering restitution to approximately 140,000 California homeowners who were foreclosed upon between 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011.
Other settlement terms include an estimated $1.1 billion to be distributed to homeowners for unemployed payment forbearance and transition assistance, and to communities to repair the blight left by about 16,000 recent foreclosures; $3.5 billion to relieving 32,000 homeowners of unpaid balances remaining when their homes are foreclosed; and $430 million in costs, fees and penalty payments.
Homeowners urged to prepare
The settlement does not start immediately, but must be approved by a U.S. district court judge, who has to name a federal monitor, according to the state.
However, in preparation for that final approval, Gledhill said homeowners should start to get their information together immediately in order to apply for assistance.
“We’re encouraging people to start this process now,” said Gledhill.
The Attorney General’s Office’s Web site has an in-depth frequently asked questions section on the national mortgage settlement at https://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement/faqs.
More information also is available at http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/.
Gledhill said homeowners seeking help first need to know who owns their mortgage. If it’s one of the five banks covered in the settlement, they should contact that bank directly and start talking to them about receiving assistance.
She said some of the banks involved have indicated that they will set up consumer assistance centers to aid homeowners in the process.
The Attorney General’s Office intends to make sure the banks follow through on the requirements, Gledhill said.
Harris has said she will appoint a monitor to follow how the banks enact the settlement in California.
The Attorney General’s Office also is expanding its Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, which currently has more than 42 members, to speed mortgage-related investigations and strengthen resulting prosecutions. It also will continue an investigative alliance with Nevada, which allows for the sharing of resources and strategies.
Harris’ office also announced that she plans to propose a comprehensive legislative agenda to protect homeowners in the mortgage market.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – A well-known and respected North Coast musician and his sister died in a vehicle crash in Southern Oregon Tuesday night.
Mark Albert Hansen, 59, of Talmage and his sister, Elise M. Hansen, 45, of Gloucester, Mass., died at the scene of the collision, which occurred on Highway 97 near Crescent, the Oregon State Police said in a Wednesday report.
According to Oregon State Police Sgt. Keith Taylor, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday Hansen was driving a four-door 1988 Honda Accord northbound on Highway 97 when he lost control on the ice-covered roadway.
Hansen's Honda crossed into the southbound lane and collided with a 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup driven by 47-year-old Lisa Daniel of Post Falls, Idaho, the report said.
Both Mark and Elise Hansen were pronounced dead at the scene. The Oregon State Police said they were both using safety restraints.
The report said Daniel and her 13-year-old daughter, Caitlin M. Brown, both suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported by ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
Both Daniel and her daughter were using safety restraints and the pickup’s airbags deployed. State police said two dogs in their vehicle survived and were taken by an Oregon State Police trooper to Deschutes County Animal Shelter.
Oregon State Police troopers from Bend, Gilchrist and Klamath Falls offices responded to investigate, the agency said.
Local area emergency responding agencies and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene. The roadway was closed for about four hours with a detour in place.
The investigation into the crash is continuing, according to the Oregon State Police report.
A guitarist, Mark Hansen was well known on the local music circuit, and “was one of our favorite musicians here at the Blue Wing,” said the restaurant's owner, Bernie Butcher.
Butcher said Hansen – who he called “a real pro” – had played his last gig at the Blue Wing in Upper Lake on Monday night with a group that included Tom Aiken on keyboards and Paul McCandless on wind instruments.
Editor's note: The official report from the Oregon State Police recorded the first spelling of Hansen's name as “Mark,” however his name appears in various other places as “Marc.” For the purposes of this article, the spelling reported in the crash report was used.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday St. Helena Hospital Clearlake today received a $25,000 contribution to assist with their Live Well program.
The grant, which was given to the nonprofit organization through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program, will be used to provide new expanded space for the many educational groups and outside community organizations throughout the Lake County region.
The new area will be used as a learning center for group meetings, one of the most important aspects of the Live Well program.
“The generosity of Walmart is greatly appreciated,” said Kimberly Tangermann, associate director of family health centers, St. Helena Hospital Clearlake. “The Live Well program values Walmart’s contribution to evolving the health of our community.”
Since opening its doors in early 2011, the Live Well program at St. Helena Hospital’s Clearlake Family Health Center has helped thousands to overcome or avoid chronic illness.
Live Well emphasizes the whole-person approach to chronic health issues. Based on St. Helena’s core value of treating mind, body and spirit together, Live Well incorporates patient education, physical conditioning, diet and lifestyle choices, and staff and peer support to help patients become active partners in their own health care and make meaningful life changes.
“The Walmart Foundation is very pleased to support St. Helena Hospital’s Live Well program, and is committed to helping those in need in the communities we serve,” said Clearlake Assistant Store Manager Coleen Lee. “We are hopeful that this grant will help St Helena Hospital Clearlake educate our community about healthy living so we can all live better.”
Live Well is located at the St Helena Family Health Center at 15230 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake. For more information about Live Well, call 707-995-4545.
To be considered for support, perspective grantee organizations must submit applications through the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program’s online grant application.
Applicants must have a current 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status in order to meet the program’s minimum eligibility criteria. Additional information about the program’s funding guidelines and application are available online at www.walmartfoundation.org/stategiving.
In 2010, in California, Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation awarded more than $29.1 million in cash and in-kind donations to local organizations in the communities they serve.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A 106-year-old woman escaped unharmed from her burning home Tuesday night thanks to a neighbor.
The fire, which broke out shortly after 7 p.m., occurred in a doublewide mobile home in space No. 18 at Sterling Shore Estates Mobile Home Park, located at 5830 Robin Hill Drive in Lakeport, according to Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells.
Wells said the woman was home alone that night – her family was away – when she noticed that in a corner of the residence flames were coming from a heating pad.
“The only thing she knew was to get low and start crawling out,” he said.
A neighbor came to the woman’s aid and helped her escape the structure, according to Wells. She was uninjured.
Two dogs did perish in the fire, he said.
Wells said two Lakeport Fire engines, assisted by an engine from Kelseyville Fire and an engine from Northshore Fire, responded, with a total of 19 personnel on scene.
The fire was contained shortly before 9 p.m., he said.
Wells said a Red Cross caseworker arrived at the scene and made the appropriate contacts to get the woman and her family emergency help and shelter.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday evening for a continued discussion on how to craft the coming year's budget in order to deal with $2.8 million in reduced funding.
The meeting will begin with a closed session at 5:30 p.m. in the Carol McClung Conference Center, located at 9430 B Lake St., Lower Lake.
The board will begin open session at 6:15 p.m.
The zero base budget model being crafted by district Superintendent Dr. Bill MacDougall and his administrative staff will be the focus of a board workshop on the 2012-13 budget.
MacDougall's report to the board explains that, despite having cut over $1 million annually from the district's budget every year since 2008-09, Konocti Unified will need to prepare for a $2.8 million cut next year.
That significant amount, according to MacDougall, is in part due to the governor proposing to eliminate the home to school transportation.
“This means that every dollar we spend on transportation next year will need to be offset by either staff reductions and/or elimination of services for students,” his report for the Wednesday meeting said.
Rather than taking the approach used in previous years to making cuts, MacDougall has used a zero base budget process, which he said requires the district “to begin with a vision of the services we want for our students and then to determine what are the minimum services, programs and positions required to achieve that vision. Instead of continually taking pieces off the original structure, we are developing a new foundation (zero base) and building a new structure. In short, we are planning for continued success.”
The board initially discussed the zero base model at a Feb. 1 meeting, as well as a special budget workshop last Saturday, as Lake County News has reported.
MacDougall reported that several question and answer sessions were held with parents, staff and other stakeholders earlier this month to explain the process and address concerns.
The Wednesday agenda calls for the board to review recommended transportation revisions in the zero base process and give direction to the administration regarding implementation of those revisions.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at