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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association said Tuesday it will postpone its seventh annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival as it works to negotiate with state officials on an agreement that would keep Anderson Marsh State Historic Park open.
AMIA wants to concentrate its efforts on preserving the park, which is on the list of proposed state park closures. If an agreement isn't reached, the park will close this July.
The organization currently is negotiating with the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into an agreement to operate the park so that it may remain open and available to the public, as Lake County News has reported.
“The negotiation process is lengthy and complex,” said AMIA President Roberta Lyons. “AMIA's goal is for the park to continue to be open on weekends, and at other times for school field trips, tours and other AMIA events, including the popular Old Time Bluegrass Festival.”
Lyons added, “AMIA realizes it must focus now on doing what is necessary to successfully carry out our new responsibilities.”
The purpose of AMIA – the nonprofit cooperating association for the state park – is to support the park and provide interpretive and educational programs.
If approved, the agreement will require AMIA to become involved in park maintenance, keeping trails open and paying for utilities and other operating costs.
Lyons said the need to focus AMIA's energy on keeping the park open forced the group to make the hard but necessary decision to postpone the Old Time Bluegrass Festival – held each September – for one year.
“AMIA is very thankful to all of the Lake County businesses and individuals who have participated in and supported the Anderson Marsh Old Time Bluegrass Festival,” said AMIA Secretary Gae Henry.
“For six years the festival has been the main fundraiser for programs at Anderson Marsh Historic State Park and has been a premier Lake County event,” Henry said. “For now, AMIA volunteers are devoting their time and energy to creating an operating agreement which we hope will be approved by spring.”
AMIA Treasurer Henry Bornstein assured the public that if the group is granted the operating agreement, the Old Time Bluegrass Festival will be back in September 2013.
“It is a great event for Lake County and an important fundraiser for the park,” said Bornstein. “At this time, however, because of the uncertainty of the park's status, the time-consuming nature of the negotiations and the work that will have to be done to operate the park during the first year, we felt it was best to postpone the festival.”
For information about how you can get involved with AMIA's effort to save Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, please visit www.andersonmarsh.org or contact AMIA at
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SACRAMENTO – On Tuesday the Governor's Office announced the appointment of a new tribal advisor and executive secretary for the Native American Heritage Commission.
Governor Jerry Brown appointed 54-year-old Cynthia Gomez of Sacramento to the position, which he established by executive order to bolster communication and collaboration between California state government and American Indian tribes.
The tribal advisor will serve as a direct link between the Governor’s Office and tribal governments on matters including legislation, policy and regulation.
Gomez has been the chief justice for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Tribal Court since 2010.
She was assistant secretary of environmental justice and tribal governmental policy for the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2008 to 2010, chief of the Native American Liaison Branch for the California Department of Transportation from 1999 to 2008, and a housing and community development representative for the California Department of Housing and Community Development from 1989 to 1999.
Gomez is a member of the Tribal and State Court Forum for the California Administrative Office of the Courts and has served as chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Native American Transportation Issues Committee.
She received a juris doctorate degree from the University of Northern California, Lorenzo Patiño School of Law.
These positions do not require Senate confirmation and the total compensation is $140,000.
Gomez is a Democrat.
For more information about the tribal advisor executive order, visit http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17222.
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SACRAMENTO – Assemblymembers Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) and Jared Huffman (D- San Rafael) have introduced new legislation to revive California’s ailing state parks system.
Assembly Bill 1589, the “California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012,” proposes to reshape the relationship between state parks and state government and establishes a blueprint to stop park closures and ensure their long-term viability.
“The recent parks closures disproportionately impact rural California, and nowhere is that more true than on the North Coast,” Chesbro said. “The economies of many of our small communities depend on state parks and the millions of visitors they draw every year. We must find a way to keep them open, safe and accessible. This legislation creates lasting security for the California State Parks system and saves the state money in the long-term.”
Key provisions of AB 1589 include:
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Encourages formation of a state compact that guarantees an ongoing level of state funding for operations and maintenance of state parks.
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Creates a State Park Enterprise Fund to be used for construction and installation of modern revenue and fee collection equipment and technologies to increase park visitation and revenues.
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Produces a California State Park environmental license plate that individual vehicle owners could purchase and have the fees go towards support of state parks.
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Provides the option for taxpayers to voluntarily purchase an annual state park access pass when they file their state tax returns.
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Requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to be more transparent on how it evaluates and selects specific parks for closure, and places a cap of 25 state park units on the number of park closures allowed from 2012 to 2016 without legislative approval.
“We have an opportunity with this legislation to not only prevent park closures, but to begin to reinvigorate our neglected California State Parks system,” Huffman said. “This bill is about charting a more sustainable approach to managing and financing our treasured state parks so that they will continue to be there for our economy and quality of life, and so that we can protect the valuable natural and cultural resources our parks contain.”
“Our local economy centers on visitor service and if we lose our only state park, Hendy Woods, every business in our community will be badly affected,” said Kathy Bailey, a member of the Anderson Valley Chamber of Commerce. “AB 1589 recognizes that closing parks should be the last choice, not the first, when trying to balance the budget. We’re very happy that the authors want the State to formulate common sense approaches to management reform and revenue enhancement before taking the drastic step of shuttering a vital component of our community’s economy.”
Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) is also a joint author of AB 1589.
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LUCERNE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol has identified the Lucerne man who died of injuries he sustained in a rollover pickup crash on Sunday night on the Northshore.
Kenneth Overstreet, 50, was mortally injured in the wreck, which took place on Highway 20 east of Rosemont Drive near Lucerne.
Overstreet – whose identity the CHP released to Lake County News Monday evening – was riding in a 2002 Toyota pickup driven by 24-year-old River Denning of Lucerne when Denning reportedly lost control of the vehicle.
The pickup rolled, fatally injuring Overstreet and leaving Denning with injuries that would later necessitate him being flown by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. CHP said later that Denning suffered minor injuries.
An unidentified woman reportedly gave Overstreet and Denning a ride from the crash scene to the Tower Mart in Lucerne, where paramedics administered first aid to both and unsuccessfully attempted to revive Overstreet, who died of his injuries, as Lake County News has reported.
Further details about the cause of the crash were not available Monday from the CHP.
However, CHP said alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the collision.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Caltrans invites the public to attend an informational open house to review a proposed project to improve the safety of the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 29 near Upper Lake.
The drop-in style open house will be held on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Upper Lake Middle School gymnasium, 725 Old Lucerne Road, Upper Lake.
The purpose of the project is to improve the safety of the Highway 20 and Highway 20 i intersection by reducing the frequency and severity of collisions.
The project is needed because the collision rate at the intersection is 3.7 times greater than the statewide average for similar intersections, Caltrans reported.
Caltrans is considering two alternatives: installation of traffic signals or installation of a roundabout.
The agency said the public will have the opportunity to review displays on these alternatives.
Caltrans said its staff also will be available to answer questions and receive comments or suggestions at the event.
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