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The National Weather Service had predicted a hard freeze on Wednesday.
County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said his road crews are on the job at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. every day to get ahead of commuter traffic and make sure arterial and major collector roads are clear.
Such was the case on Wednesday. With the hard freeze in the forecast, county sand trucks checked the Cobb area at 3 a.m. and again at 4:30 a.m., and reported there was no ice, with road temperatures at about 36 degrees Fahrenheit, Stangland said.
“They came down off the hill and went on the rest of their routes for the rest of that morning,” said Stangland.
And then, at around 6 a.m., the hard freeze hit, he said.
“It was just one of those freak things,” Stangland added.
Between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. a number of crashes were reported in the Cobb area, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Greg Buchholz.
“You couldn’t move, even on foot, it was so icy,” Buchholz said.
Buchholz said there were at least three crashes on Bottle Rock Road, with one rollover and another vehicle sliding into that first crash, and still another vehicle high-centered on the road shoulder.
County road crews had to wait for CHP to clear the road in order to be able to put down more sand, which was difficult for CHP “because we couldn’t move, either,” said Buchholz.
A tow truck driver was able to remove all three vehicles so that officials could finish clearing and reopening the roadway, he said.
Buchholz said they then proceeded down Highway 175 to Wildcat Road, where Caltrans assisted with a road closure while another overturned vehicle was put back on its wheels. That road was then reopened at around 9:30 a.m.
Even at slow speeds, the icy conditions proved particularly difficult and dangerous, said Buchholz.
The good news: He had no reports of any injuries.
Stangland said Caltrans also was caught off guard by the freeze, with Highway 175 to Hopland experiencing issues Wednesday morning due to ice.
The CHP reported that a crash in front of Granite Construction on Highway 175 outside of Lakeport just before 7 a.m. blocked the roadway for more than an hour.
There were weather-related issues elsewhere, too: Shortly after 11 a.m. vehicles were reported off the road on Elk Mountain at Soda Creek, according to the CHP.
The National Weather Service is predicting no more hard freezes for the rest of the week, with the forecast instead calling for rain and daytime temperatures in the 40s, dipping into the mid to low 30s at night.
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The advisory said a storm currently is moving through the Pacific Northwest, with the tail end coming through far Northern California.
Rain is expected Thursday, with up to 2 inches possible during the day, and on Friday, and also is likely on a daily basis through the weekend and into early next week, the agency reported.
Residents also are urged to be aware of the chance of gusting winds reaching speeds as high as 24 miles per hour from the southwest and south southwest, according to the weather forecast.
As for temperatures, daytime highs into next week are forecast to be in the 40s, and will dip into the low to mid 30s at night, the National Weather Service said.
The second storm is expected to move through interior Northern California on Thursday. Forecasters said rain should begin midday and continue through the evening.
That will be followed by another storm system – the strongest of the three – that will pass through the region from Friday evening to Saturday, bringing more rain, the National Weather Service said.
Travelers and those pursuing outdoor activities are urged to be prepared for the colder, cooler weather.
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Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) is one of several dozen members of Congress who have come out against HR 3261, the Stop Online Piracy – known more commonly as SOPA.
“Today, thousands of Internet sites such as Wikipedia and WordPress have gone dark, giving us a glimpse of what it could be like if the overly broad SOPA legislation became law. SOPA would stifle innovation, resulting in fewer new businesses, fewer new investments and fewer new jobs. From 2004-2009, 15 percent of our country’s GDP growth came from the Internet industry,” Thompson said in a statement released by his office.
SOPA would allow sites to be suspended through a court order if they were found to contain pirated material.
SOPA’s backers – many of which are in the film and recording industries – assert that the bill is aimed at foreign Internet sites suspected of committing or facilitating online piracy.
Opponents say that in reality SOPA would give corporations authority to shut down Web sites that are only accused – and not proven – to have published copyrighted material.
Thompson said the rules SOPA would impose would deal an enormous blow to the country’s innovation-driven economy.
“Startups wouldn't be able to handle the costs that come with defending their sites against a barrage of alleged violations,” he said. “Domestic companies could be held liable for unknowingly linking to rogue Web site content. And people won’t invest in Internet startups for fear their money will be tied up in litigation, not innovation. The next Facebook or Google could never get off the ground.
“While online piracy is something we must continually fight, SOPA is the wrong way to do it. That is why I am working with global leaders like Google and Twitter, to instead enact the OPEN Act, which still combats piracy but does so in a way that doesn’t let broad government oversight stifle the innovation and creativity that has been a driving force behind the Internet industry’s economic success,” he added.
On Wednesday, Thompson helped introduce the bipartisan Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act, H.R. 3782. He’s an original co-sponsor of the act.
Thompson’s office reported that the OPEN Act would enable holders of intellectual property to petition the International Trade Commissions (ITC) to launch an investigation into whether a foreign Web site’s only purpose is to engage in infringement of U.S. copyrights and trademarks.
While complex and difficult issues would take time to resolve, investigations into simple and obvious cases, like the worst foreign rogue Web sites, could be handled in a matter of days. In either case, the process would create a transparent system in which all parties would have a chance to be heard, Thompson reported.
If the ITC investigation finds that a foreign registered Web site is primarily and willfully infringing on the intellectual property rights of a U.S. rights holder, the commission would issue a cease and desist order that would compel payment processors, like Visa and PayPal, and online advertising providers to cease doing business with the foreign site in question, according to Thompson. He said that would cut off financial incentives for this illegal activity and deter these imports from reaching the U.S. market.
Thompson said the OPEN Act takes a much narrower and more targeted approach to combating online infringement than other proposed legislation such as SOPA by only targeting sites “primarily and willfully” engaging in infringement. By employing a clear and targeted definition of infringement, the OPEN Act will ensure that only legitimate cases are pursued, he said.
Other pieces of legislation such as SOPA employ broader standards that would require many Web site operators to employ lawyers to argue that it is not engaging in intellectual property infringement. Such broad definitions could be used to discourage innovation and quash free speech, Thompson said.
While SOPA would employ a one-sided process in which judges would only hear from rights holders, by putting the ITC in charge of intellectual property investigations, the OPEN Act would ensure a fair and transparent process in which all parties have an opportunity to be hear, according to Thompson.
Unlike SOPA, the OPEN Act does not go after sites or search engines that simply link to Web sites that host infringing content. Rather the OPEN Act would combat online infringement by cutting off a foreign site’s ability to profit from the sale of fake merchandise or content they don’t own, he said.
The OPEN Act is supported by a bipartisan group of 22 House Members and 3 Senators, as well as AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, twitter, Yahoo!, Zynga, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and www.netcoalition.com.
SOPA is still working its way through Congress, which according to a Pro Publica report contains more supporters of the bill than opponents.
Thompson is among 31 members of Congress who have taken a position against it, compared to 80 who are proponents of SOPA, according to the Pro Publica report, which can be found at http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/.
On the list of supporters are California’s two senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
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Chesbro State of the State Reaction from California Assembly Access on Vimeo.
SACRAMENTO – Following Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address on Wednesday, Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro said he shared Brown’s optimism for California’s future but was disappointed that he didn’t take up the issues facing the state’s rural areas, including the North Coast.
“He needs to pay more attention to how some of his proposals affect rural California,” said Chesbro (D-Arcata). “He didn’t address the new unfair fire fees imposed on rural residents. And he didn’t address the hardship caused by eliminating funding for school buses in rural school districts. These are inequities that need to be resolved.
“I strongly support putting Gov. Brown’s revenue proposal on the ballot because it is what my constituents want,” Chesbro added. “I spent most of this fall traveling throughout the First Assembly District. Everywhere I went constituents told me they want to have a voice. They don’t want cuts just forced on them. These are really tough choices. Voters really want to be involved.”
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State Sen. Noreen Evans, who represents Lake County in the state Senate, has decried a proposal to allow for-profits to seek concession agreements, because she asserted it would hurt the ability of local nonprofits to run parks that might otherwise have been closed.
But in a Jan. 13 letter to park supporters, friends and prospective partners, State Parks Director Ruth Coleman emphasized that isn’t the case.
Coleman said the state parks have three partnership options – donor agreements to help fund parks, operating agreements with nonprofits or concession contracts.
She said her agency is pursuing approval from the State Public Works Board to advertise 11 possible concession contracts.
According to the updated agenda for the State Public Works Board’s Thursday meeting, the parks in question are George J. Hatfield State Recreation Area and McConnell State Recreation Area, Merced County; Turlock Lake State Recreation Area, Stanislaus County; Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area, Tehama County; Brannan Island State Recreation Area, Sacramento County; Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Sonoma County; and Russian Gulch State Park, Hendy Woods State Park, Westport Union Landing State Park and Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area, all in Mendocino County.
In the letter, Coleman said State Parks “absolutely commits itself to continuing to explore all possible partnership options – whether with non-profits, local governments, for-profit companies or hybrids thereof – to ensure the maximum possible benefit for the public from keeping parks open and serving visitors. This mission-driven approach, and nothing else, will drive State Parks’ decision making.”
She also stated that the proposed action by the State Public Works Board at its Thursday meeting would allow State Parks to advertise for concessions, and doesn’t reflect an agency decision to use a concession at the listed parks.
Coleman said the State Parks Department “will continue its ongoing discussions with all parties, including nonprofits, cooperating associations and local agencies, aimed at finding the best possible partnerships to continue the operation of parks which the State can no longer afford to operate on its own.”
She added that the agency has no preference for concessions over operating agreements, and looks forward “to working with all potential partners to best serve California’s citizens and best protect the resources of the State Park System.”
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The male suspect was chased down Highway 29 to the outskirts of Lakeport by sheriff’s deputies at around noon on Tuesday. Outside of Lakeport he left his vehicle and fled on foot, with K9s deployed to look for him, as Lake County News has reported.
The suspect was described as a black male adult, wearing a red hat and white shirt, and armed, according to a reverse 911 call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office sent to area residents shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday. He was reported to be from out of the area.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his agency sent a unit to assist the sheriff’s office in the search.
California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds said the CHP sent a fixed wing aircraft from Napa to assist from the air.
However, as the day wore on, the search didn’t locate the suspect, with the CHP pilot reporting over the radio just before 3:30 p.m. that he had searched unsuccessfully for the man, noting that the area had a lot of outbuildings and trees.
About 20 minutes later, Central Dispatch reported receiving calls that a male subject was seen crawling along a fence line in the 900 block of Keck Road, behind Westside Community Park, in an area where sheriff’s units had previously been stationed.
At around 6:30 p.m. radio traffic indicated that someone in the search area called to say a fence had been knocked down and someone had gone through clothing in a nearby vacant home.
The suspect was reported to have shot off his weapon at one point, according to radio traffic. He also was reportedly being chased by some of the area’s residents.
Two CHP units were reported to have been sent in to assist with the search.
A helicopter was seen circling over the search area later in the evening. Radio traffic indicated a heat signature had been picked up in the area.
Sheriff's booking records showed that two other subjects were booked into the Lake County Jail Tuesday evening after having been arrested on first-degree robbery and conspiracy charges at around 1 p.m. It was not immediately clear if those subjects had a connection with the man being pursued outside of Lakeport.
More information on the search will be posted as it becomes available.
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