How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – On Friday, the state announced a proposal to close 70 state parks, with the list topped by Anderson Marsh State Historic Park in Lower Lake.
The California State Parks Department said Friday that the closures are necessary to achieve an $11 million reduction in the 2011-12 fiscal year and $22 million in fiscal year 2012-13.
The cuts were mandated by AB 95, passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in March, state officials said.
“We regret closing any park, but with the proposed budget reductions over the next two years, we can no longer afford to operate all parks within the system,” said California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman.
The 70 parks slated for closure out of a total of 278 were selected based on a variety of factors, officials said.
The closure methodology's three primary goals, according to the State Parks Department, included protecting the most significant natural and cultural resources, maintaining public access and revenue generation to the greatest extent possible, and protecting closed parks so that they remain attractive and usable for potential partners. The methodology was part of AB 95.
“Closing state parks is not a task that gives anyone joy, but we are experiencing turbulent times that necessitate deep – almost unthinkable – cuts to public services,” Gov. Jerry Brown said in a Friday statement released by his office. “I will work hard in the coming weeks to reach an agreement that will allow us to avoid deeper and more disruptive reductions.”
Anderson Marsh is the home of the Old Time Bluegrass Festival, which takes place each September as a fundraiser for local schools.
Lake County News was not able to reach representatives of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association for comment on Friday evening.
This is the third time since 2008 that Anderson Marsh has been included on a proposed park closure list. Each time volunteers and supporters have campaigned strenuously against the proposal.
The park, run mostly by volunteers, was estimated in a 2008 California State Parks Foundation report to be visited by more than 43,000 people annually, generating just over $2,000 in revenue each year.
Clear Lake State Park also had been included on a proposed 2008 closure list. Since then it has not been listed, as its revenue numbers are well over $300,000 annually with more than 100,000 yearly visitors.
Coleman, who visited Lake County April 2 for the dedication of the new Clear Lake State Park Education Pavilion – an effort spearheaded by the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association – said that the partnership between the state and the interpretive association “is the reason this park is still open,” as Lake County News has reported.
The California State Parks Foundation said Friday that it strongly opposes the proposed closures, which would constitute 25 percent of the entire park system and 40 percent of the state's historic parks, and affect parks in 36 of the state's 58 counties.
“Although park closures have been threatened before, this constitutes the first time in the 100 year history of California state parks that a serious, deliberate effort has been made to significantly reduce the state parks system,” said California State Parks Foundation President Elizabeth Goldstein. “The message to our children and grandchildren is that we can’t save their natural and historic legacy. They can no longer expect to have access to a public trust resource that should, by all rights, be theirs.”
Goldstein added that the proposal “shuts the door to a vital part of our economy. Closing these parks is going in the wrong direction.”
The list of parks proposed for closure around Northern California include Henry W. Coe State Park in Santa Clara County, which is the second largest state park in the entire state park system and the largest in northern part of the state; Annadel State Park and Jack London State Historic Park, the home of the native author and adventurer, in Sonoma County; Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park in Napa County; Benbow Lake State Recreation Area, Grizzly Creek Redwoods and Fort Humboldt State Historic Park in Humboldt County; Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park in Chico; Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park in Del Norte County; the Governor's Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento; William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park and Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area in Tehama County; and Point Cabrillo Light Station and Jug Handle State Natural Reserve in Mendocino County.
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Tuolumne County, which the parks foundation said has served as a backdrop for more than 200 films, also was listed.
The State Parks Department said among the 208 parks that would remain open, the closure plan would preserve 92 percent of current attendance and 94 percent of existing revenues.
“With this announcement, we can begin to seek additional partnership agreements to keep open as many parks as possible,” said Coleman. “We already have 32 operating agreements with our partners – cities, counties and nonprofits – to operate state parks, and will be working statewide to expand that
successful template.”
However, the California State Parks Foundation said it questioned the state's ability to effectively close the parks proposed for closure.
Parks with nominal staffing already suffer vandalism, and the group said that fully shutting down
state parks will only make matters worse, and will threaten the preservation of vital resources.
The group invites community members to join its Save Our State Parks Campaign at www.savestateparks.org/ .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man who is the focus of several ongoing criminal cases has been arrested on drug-related charges following a search of his home this week.
On Thursday, May 12, Clearlake Police officers served a search warrant at the 19th Avenue home of Michael Tremell Mitchell, 25, according to a report from Sgt. Tim Hobbs.
Hobbs said Officer Travis Lenz – one of two officers assigned to the Community Oriented Policing beat in which Mitchell’s residence is located – has taken numerous complaints in the past several months regarding allegations of disturbances and illegal sales of narcotics and controlled substances at Mitchell’s residence.
Court records show that Mitchell has 11 active criminal cases currently, and is named in a wrongful death civil suit regarding the November 2005 shooting death of Eric Moss, an incident which occurred during a house party. A criminal prosecution has so far not been filed in the case.
On May 2, Mitchell was arrested for allegedly being a felon in possession of a firearm, a restrained person in a restraining order in possession of a firearm and possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, Hobbs said.
Based on that May 2 arrest, Lenz obtained a search warrant that authorized a search of Mitchell and his residence for firearm-related items, Hobbs said.
During the search no firearm related items were located, however Hobbs said large amounts of marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy, drug paraphernalia, scales, packaging material and a deadly weapon – a billy club – were located.
Det. Ryan Peterson, who Hobbs said was assisting Lenz with the search, obtained an additional search warrant that authorized the seizure of marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy, drug paraphernalia, scales, packaging material and deadly weapon.
Mitchell was booked into the Lake County Jail for possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of a controlled substance (ecstasy), possession of marijuana for sales, cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, Hobbs said.
A bail enhancement to $250,000 was obtained on Mitchell, who remained in the Lake County Jail on Saturday.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The work of Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail K-9 narcotics detection teams led to the arrests of two local men and the seizure of cocaine, methamphetamine and money this week.
Joseph Lee Williams, 61, of Clearlake and 57-year-old Luther Gene Weathers of Clearlake Oaks were arrested on drug-related charges, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Bauman said that on Thursday, May 12, at approximately 4:40 p.m., a Sheriff’s K-9 team assigned to the Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail stopped a black Chevy Camaro being driven by 52-year-old Cheryl Denise Lewis on Old Highway 53 in the city of Clearlake.
Lewis did not have a valid driver’s license but Williams, who was riding as her passenger, told the deputy he possessed a valid license, Bauman said.
While waiting for sheriff’s dispatch to confirm his license was valid, Williams consented to a search. Bauman said Williams began removing articles from his pockets and was found to have a quantity of “crack” cocaine in one of his pants pockets.
Williams was arrested and booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility for possession of a narcotic controlled substance. He later posted the $10,000 bail and was released, according to jail records.
On Friday, May 13, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail deputies were patrolling the Clearlake Oaks area when they spotted Weathers driving his blue Ford pickup truck on Third Street near Keys Boulevard, according to Bauman.
Deputies knew Weathers’ driver’s license had been suspended and initiated a traffic stop, Bauman said. As Weathers stopped his truck, he abruptly got out and ran around the truck with his hand in his pocket in an apparent attempt to conceal or dispose of contraband.
Weathers was detained and determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance. Bauman said deputies searched Weathers and recovered a bag of methamphetamine and a glass “meth” pipe from his pants pocket. More than $600 also was seized from Weathers as the suspected profits of drug sales.
Due to the furtive movements Weathers made when he exited the truck, Bauman said deputies searched the area around the truck and located a white plastic cylinder in the grass approximately 15 feet from the truck. The cylinder was believed to have been tossed by Weathers and deputies found that it contained over a third of an ounce of methamphetamine packaged in several plastic bags.
Weathers was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility where he was booked for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sales, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and being under the influence of a controlled substance, Bauman said.
Weathers was arrested on March 14 for similar offenses when a search warrant was served at his home by the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force, Bauman said. A quarter ounce of methamphetamine, numerous narcotic medications, and over $1,000.00 in currency were also seized during that arrest.
He was out of custody on bail from that arrest when deputies stopped him on Friday. Bauman said that due to multiple prior arrests for sales of controlled substances, Weathers remained in jail on Friday with an enhanced bail of $150,000.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
The reserved life estate is an example. You retain the use of the property during the remainder of your lifetime while giving the property away. Let’s examine the life estate.
One may transfer his or her real property (while alive) and keep the right to use, live-in and rent the same property for the rest of one’s lifetime. The gift is completed (irrevocable) when made. And so, like any other lifetime gift, avoids probate at one’s death.
While alive, the life estate owner remains responsible for the property’s upkeep and paying the real property taxes. The grantee who takes subject to the reserved life estate, i.e., the “remainderman,” has a vested legal ownership right.
If the remainderman predeceases the life tenant then that vested ownership remains part of his or her estate, or part of a living trust estate if conveyed by the remainderman into a probate avoidance living trust, and passes to his or her heirs or beneficiaries.
No reassessment of real property taxes occurs during the life tenant’s life. If the remainderman is a surviving child or spouse then the applicable exclusion prevents subsequent reassessment for property taxes.
Nowadays, the life estate has lost much of its usefulness and appeal due to the advantages of the living trust. But, in certain situations the life estate can provide a better solution.
Most importantly, under current law, a person receiving Medi-Cal can transfer his or her home subject to a retained life estate. Doing so will avoid Medi-Cal estate recovery against the transferred home after death, under present law.
When the life estate terminates Medi-Cal cannot recover against the home because ownership was transferred during life; typically to the surviving children.
If one knows, as close to an absolute certainty as is humanly possible, that he or she will continue to live in his or her residence till death; that he or she will not change his or her mind about who should inherit the house; that he or she will not need to tap into an equity line of credit on the house, or a reverse mortgage, to supplement his or her income; and that transferring ownership outright to the intended beneficiaries will not have negative implications for them in the future; then transferring the home subject to a retained life estate may be desirable as a simpler and less costly solution than the living trust.
Unfortunately, such absolute certainty is seldom possible.
Typically, the living trust approach is far superior to the retained life estate because of its flexibility. The trust approach is much more flexible and forgiving because a living trust allows the following major options (not found in the retained life estate approach): selling the home if necessary or desirable (e.g., relocating); using the equity in the residence to live-on; and changing who inherits the house, and under what terms, as family circumstances evolve.
In sum, under existing law, the reserved life estate is sometimes relevant as an important Medi-Cal planning tool, but it is not typically a desirable estate planning tool, given the flexibility of the living trust.
The decision to use any estate planning approach requires careful examination of one’s own particular circumstances and objectives.
This should be done in consultation with a qualified estate planning attorney who can evaluate and advise as to different available options, and who can properly implement any chosen solution.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man is facing up to 35 years in prison after a jury convicted him on Thursday of five felony counts relating to the molestation of his stepdaughter.
The jury returned the conviction on Christopher Adam Sanders, 30, whose trial began on April 20 before Judge Stephen Hedstrom in the Lake County Superior Court's Clearlake Division, according to Deputy District Attorney Edward Borg.
Sanders' attorney, Chris Andrian of Santa Rosa, did not return a call seeking comment.
Borg said the jury deliberated only a short time before finding Sanders guilty on all five charges against him, which included a lewd act with a child, two counts of lewd act with a child by duress, continuous sexual abuse of a child and statutory rape.
“It really didn't take much more than an hour for us to return a verdict,” said Esther Oertel, one of the trial's jurors who also writes the weekly “Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News.
“The jurors were all agreed pretty quickly,” she said.
During trial testimony, Sanders was alleged to have begun sexually assaulting his stepdaughter late in the summer of 2005, when she was 11 years old, Borg said.
Sanders reportedly told the child that if she reported the abuse she would be the one to get into trouble, and that she would be taken away from her mother and never see her mother again, according to Borg.
Borg said the sexual assault was alleged to have continued on a repeated basis until December 2008, when the victim was 15 years old.
The abuse came to light on Jan. 4, 2009, after the young victim had a conversation with a friend who also had been sexually assaulted. Borg said the girl then reported the ongoing abuse to her mother.
The abuse subsequently was reported to the Clearlake Police Department. Borg said then-Det. Tim Hobbs – since promoted to sergeant – led the investigation, which resulted in Sanders' arrest shortly after midnight on Jan. 5, 2009.
During an interview after his arrest, Sanders – who Borg said had been fully advised of his rights – admitted to investigators he had multiple sexual contacts with his stepdaughter, but claimed she had initiated the encounters.
At trial, Roberta Bell, a registered nurse who performed a forensic examination of the victim, testified that she observed abnormal findings which were consistent with the history of sexual abuse the girl described, Borg said.
According to Borg, District Attorney’s Victim Witness Department Victim Advocate Crystal Martin provided support to the girl throughout the trial, and District Attorney Investigator Von McPherson also participated in the investigation.
Borg said the trial had been delayed by about a week due to an initial juror shortage, but added, “Generally speaking, it went pretty smoothly.”
He said Sanders' family showed up to support him throughout the trial, and there were tensions and hard feelings between them and the family of the victim.
Out of concern that those tensions might turn into hostility during the verdict reading Thursday, Borg said Judge Hedstrom had requested extra deputies be on standby.
However, “Nothing much really happened,” said Borg, noting the bailiff was able to keep order.
Oertel said the six-man, six-woman jury – which ranged in age from a young woman in her 20s to a woman in her 60s – took their charge “very, very seriously,” and she was impressed by how hard they worked to reach a verdict.
“While it was a difficult trial to sit through because of the subject matter, we feel justice was done,” Oertel said.
Following the verdict, Sanders was taken into custody and booked into the Lake County Jail, Borg said.
Because of the nature of the charges, Borg said Sanders won't be eligible for probation.
Borg said Sanders will face between 15 and 35 years in prison when he appears before Hedstrom for sentencing at 1:15 p.m. July 1. Lake County Probation will prepare a report with sentencing recommendations.
Sanders will have to serve 85 percent of whatever sentence Hedstrom gives him because four of the five counts he's been convicted of are violent felonies, said Borg.
Borg said the District Attorney’s Office commended the girl for her courage in coming forward and testifying in open court regarding Sanders' abuses.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The sunrise ceremony will begin at 5 a.m. near the Bloody Island site, located off of Reclamation Road near the Bloody Island marker, a mile and a half east of Upper Lake. Drive a quarter of a mile down Reclamation Road and park on the roadside.
Organizers say the event is held to honor the Pomo Indian people who were killed by US Army forces in May of 1850.
The massacre was in retaliation for the December 1849 murders, on the other side of the lake in what is now Kelseyville, of Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone, who had brutalized local Indians.
According to historical accounts, some of those Indians fled to the Bloody Island area – known as “old island” or Badon-napo-ti – which was the site of an established village.
Captain Nathaniel Lyon led a US Army company to Lake County in the spring of 1850 to punish Chief Augustine's band of Pomos for Stone's and Kelsey's deaths.
They didn't find the band in Big Valley, and then traveled to Upper Lake, where they found and attacked the band at Bloody Island using whaleboats and two small brass cannons from the Benicia Army arsenal, according to historians.
The estimated number of casualties is between 60 and 100, based on varying accounts.
The Saturday ceremony will be followed by a potluck breakfast with speakers and dancers at the Oddfellows Hall in downtown Upper Lake.
The community also is invited to participate in an all-night campout and dancing ceremony on Friday, May 13. Meals will be served at 6 p.m. and midnight, with a fire at 9 p.m. To get to the camp area, enter Robinson Rancheria on Pomo Way, go to end of road and turn left
Following the Saturday events, dancing at rancheria will continue from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information, to donate or to be part of the agenda, contact Clayton Duncan at 707-274-6788 or
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .