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The first quake, measuring 3.0 on the Richter Scale, occurred at 11:54 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Recorded at a depth of 2.5 miles, its epicenter was located two miles northwest of The Geysers, six miles west southwest of Cobb and eight miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, the survey reported.
By Thursday evening the U.S. Geological Survey had received a total of 10 shake reports from zip codes including Middletown, Burlingame, Calistoga, San Ramon, Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Citrus Heights and Sacramento.
The second quake, reported to have occurred at 9:21 p.m., measured 3.4 in magnitude according to an initial report from the U.S. Geological Survey.
As of Thursday night a seismologist hadn’t reviewed the report, which means the magnitude could be adjusted.
The quake occurred at a depth of 1.9 miles, and was centered one mile north northwest of The Geysers, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs.
Shake reports were submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey from Calistoga, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Cloverdale, Healdsburg and Paradise.
A 3.8-magnitude quake was reported Tuesday morning near Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, as Lake County News has reported.
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Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said 30-year-old Jamal Andrews of Redwood Valley was shot to death, with 33-year-old Bill Norbury, also of Redwood Valley, arrested on suspicion of committing the murder.
Just before 10 p.m. Tuesday the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 telephone call regarding a shooting incident in the 1700 Block of Road B in Redwood Valley, Smallcomb said.
Sheriff’s deputies, along with Redwood Valley Fire and other medical personnel, responded to the location and found Andrews outside of his residence, dead from a gunshot wound, according to Smallcomb.
Smallcomb said deputies spoke with the victim's girlfriend and learned that a possible suspect had fled towards his residence on an ATV. They subsequently learned the suspect lived close to Andrews.
Deputies proceeded to the possible resident of the suspect, identified as Norbury, and contacted him regarding the shooting, Smallcomb said.
While at Norbury’s residence, deputies observed in plain sight items that appeared to link the suspect directly to the shooting incident, he said.
Smallcomb said Norbury was arrested and booked into the Mendocino County Jail on a murder charge.
An autopsy was conducted on Andrews on Thursday. Smallcomb said the exam showed that Andrews had two gunshot wounds – one in the head, one in the shoulder.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s detectives are requesting anyone with information regarding this investigation to call them at 707-467-9159. Callers can remain anonymous.
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At around noon on Thursday an individual discovered a sprinkler or water alarm lying in a ditch along Clark Drive, according to Officer Kory Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol.
Reynolds said the alarm, which he guessed likely fell off the back of a truck, was a piece of PVC pipe with wires coming out of it.
The device also was emitting a high-pitched sound, he said.
The CHP closed the street for about 30 minutes while they investigated the device, Reynolds said.
At the same time, they asked schools to announce to parents that Clark Drive was closed, he said.
Reynolds said schools are on a minimum day today, and with the school bus normally passing through that area on its route the CHP asked the Kelseyville Unified School District to reroute the school bus.
Once CHP determined the device was harmless the road was reopened, Reynolds said.
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An estimated 219 workers at Calpine's geothermal plant at The Geysers are eligible to vote in the election, which will decide whether they will join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245.
The election, which began Wednesday, will have three more polling times at two locations on Calpine property on Thursday, according to Mike Farmer, a member of the Calpine Workers Organizing Committee.
Following the close of polling at 8 p.m. Thursday, the ballots will be counted at the Calpine Visitor Center in Middletown, Farmer said.
The union needs 50 percent plus one of the vote to win the secret ballot election.
Farmer, who was a polling observer on Wednesday night, estimated that 70 to 85 percent of the Calpine workers eligible to vote cast ballots on the election’s first day.
“I think a lot of people are anxious to get this over and see where we go from here,” he said.
In support of the effort, the organizing committee launched www.calpineworkerstogether.com.
The union drive has strong opposition from some employees.
Tim Janke, a power plant operator who has worked for Calpine for six years, agrees with Farmer that employees want the matter to be settled, but that’s one of the few opinions they share when it comes to union-related matters.
Janke launched a Web site, www.calpineunionfree.com, last month in an effort to provide the anti-union perspective.
The site has the signatures of 76 anti-union supporters, and highlights concerns about potential financial impacts for the workers.
“The 76 people on that union-free list are taking a lot of risk,” said Janke, adding, “We’re just out there by ourselves.”
Janke, who used to be in a union, says a union adds another layer of bureaucracy, and that fighting unionization is a risk worth taking for those who oppose IBEW coming in.
According to his calculations, Janke said some Calpine employees stand to lose up to $40,000 a year in stocks, yearly bonuses and other incentives if the vote goes in the union's favor. He said anti-union workers just want to keep what they have.
Asked for comment about the election, Norma Dunn, Calpine’s vice president of corporate communications, said Calpine greatly values its employees, and works hard to to maintain good, safe working conditions, competitive compensation and one of the best benefits packages in our industry.
“Calpine also respects our employees’ right to consider unionization as provided under the National Labor Relations Act in a process which assures employees make an informed decision,” Dunn said in a written statement.
Dunn added that Calpine, working directly with its employees, has provided and remains committed to providing industry-leading compensation, benefits, equity, career progression and safety programs.
A divisive process
Farmer, a 27-year Geysers employee – 12 years at Calpine, and 15 years for Pacific Gas and Electric before that – said that the effort to unionize began last summer, with the first general meeting held Sept. 1.
IBEW Local 1245 was the union that represented PG&E employees at The Geysers before Calpine came on the scene, and the union also represents workers at Northern California Power Agency’s operations at The Geyser, Farmer said.
“They’re just a natural fit,” he said. “They know the business. They know the issues.”
There had been a previous attempt to unionize with IBEW Local 1245, both Janke and Farmer said.
Janke said the union backed out; Farmer said employees circulated a petition not to hold an election after a new Calpine chief executive officer took over, with staff deciding to give him a chance.
Farmer said the most recent push to unionize grew out of concerns that the company can do whatever it wants, with no repercussions.
“We have no way of countering anything that they decide they want to do or take away,” he said.
For Farmer, it was a human resources investigation last year – in which he alleges that several people were railroaded – that led him to decide union representation was needed. He said his boss was demoted, another manager was relocated, and some rank and file employees were disciplined based on hearsay.
“It just made me realize how little protections we have without some representation,” he said.
Farmer said there also are inequities in wages and benefits that union representation would help work out. He said the pro-union workers “just want to stop the bleeding at this point.”
He said that three weeks ago the effort to unionize wasn’t looking so good, but since then there has been an increase in support.
“At this point I’m feeling extremely optimistic about it,” he said, adding that he feels the results will be close.
If the campaign has gained momentum, it is likely in part due to IBEW’s ability to gain the ear of Gov. Jerry Brown last month as well as that of former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who met with Calpine workers in Cobb Jan. 12 to urge them to unionize, as Lake County News has reported.
Farmer said he and other Calpine organizing committee members met with the governor for about 20 minutes, discussing with him their concerns that they were not being allowed a free and fair union election.
He said that anti-union consultants were brought in by Calpine in late October and staffers have been required to meet with them for 10 to 20 minutes once a week. Farmer said the consultants have told employees that unions are bad and are “just trying to stir up fear in people.”
Janke said the consultants are experts on unions, and said reports of intimidation are unfounded. The union-free team members “are just defending what we have.”
He and Farmer also have very different perceptions of the impact of the unionization effort on employee morale.
Farmer said there is tension, but it’s not widespread, and overall the moon has been civil. He said a small group is to blame for the tension that does exist.
Janke said the impact has been noticeably negative, with relationships between coworkers strained.
“It’s bad,” he said. “It’s not a good situation.”
He said three of the Calpine power plant workers with whom he works most closely are pro-union, but the divisions aren’t affecting their work.
“We’re professional and we don’t really even talk about it,” he said.
Janke worries that “all the emotions and distractions are going to get worse” if the union gets the votes it needs.
Farmer is hopeful that workers will continue to have positive relationships, however the vote goes.
“No matter how it turns out, we’re hoping that people can still be productive and respectful,” he said.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An early morning pursuit on Tuesday ended with the arrest of a man, after he lost control of his vehicle.
Jose Carlos Iniguez, 39, of Nice, was arrested following the rollover crash on Westlake Drive according to Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
At 2 a.m. Tuesday deputies were responding to a report of a home invasion robbery in Upper Lake. It was reported that the suspects involved in the robbery left in a vehicle, but the victim did not see the vehicle and was unable to provide a description, Brooks said.
Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Davidson, who was responding to the robbery, noticed a vehicle traveling southbound on Lakeshore Boulevard at a high rate of speed. Brooks said Davidson temporarily lost site of the vehicle and believed it had pulled off on a side street.
Davidson began searching the area with the assistance of the Lakeport Police Department. As he was traveling northbound on Lakeshore Boulevard near Miramonte Way, he relocated the vehicle ahead of him, Brooks said.
The vehicle was identified as a silver Chevy Impala. As Davidson caught up to the vehicle it crossed over the double yellow line and was traveling approximately 60 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone, according to Brooks.
Davidson activated his emergency lights and attempted an enforcement stop near the Hill Road East Intersection. Brooks said the vehicle slowed, but continued northbound on Lakeshore Boulevard.
He said the vehicle then accelerated to approximately 80 miles per hour, ran the stop sign at the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff and crossed onto Westlake Drive.
The driver turned off all of the vehicle’s lights and accelerated to approximately 90 miles per hour, driving in the opposite lane of traffic through a left turn, Brooks said.
The driver then lost control of the vehicle and drove off the right side of the roadway, Brooks said. The vehicle left the road, went up an embankment and rolled end over end, landing upside down on the roadway.
The driver, later identified as Iniguez, exited the passenger side door and started running southbound on Westlake Drive, Brooks said. Davidson took Iniguez into custody moments later.
Iniguez was booked at the Lake County Jail for felony evading a peace officer, a felony parole violation, and misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence, driving without a license and obstructing an officer. He was being held without bail due to the alleged parole violation, according to jail records.
Brooks said the California Highway Patrol is conducting the collision investigation.
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Attorney General Kamala Harris made the announcement on Wednesday.
That backlog had reportedly affected law enforcement agencies across the state, including here in Lake County, as criminal cases rely on the state’s testing services.
"DNA testing is a powerful law enforcement resource – a smart on crime tool that we're using in cutting edge ways in California," Harris said. "Public safety is too important not to embrace innovation and adopt technology where needed. Crime scene evidence is too important to sit unanalyzed for months, while the victims await justice."
Harris made DNA testing a priority in 2011, because of the direct link between timely investigations and successful prosecutions.
Along with committing resources and encouraging Department of Justice labs to improve their procedures, the attorney general introduced new technology that dramatically increased the speed with which cases are analyzed.
Using robotics, an extraction method in sexual assault evidence analysis that once took two days now takes just two hours.
As a result of these efficiencies, state forensic analysts – for the first time ever – eliminated the backlog of untested evidence.
In 2011, the Department's Bureau of Forensic Services analyzed 5,400 evidence samples – an increase of 11 percent from 2010 (4,800) and 24 percent from 2009 (4,100).
As part of the DNA analysis, evidence samples are run through the CAL-DNA Data Bank. A "hit" occurs when DNA evidence from an unsolved crime sample matches a DNA profile from evidence in another case or the DNA profile of an offender or arrestee in the data bank.
The Bureau of Forensic Services operates 13 regional laboratories, seven of which perform DNA testing of biological evidence to assist local agencies in solving sexual assault cases and other crimes of violence.
The seven DNA labs are located in Ripon (near Modesto), Fresno, Redding, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Barbara and Richmond. The Bureau serves 47 of California's 58 counties.
The CAL-DNA Data Bank contains the DNA profiles of 1.8 million offenders and arrestees in California, as well as crime scene evidence. It is the largest working DNA data bank in the United States and the fourth largest in the world.
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