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On Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he had signed a gaming compact with the 210-member tribe, an important step in clearing the way for the new gaming facility, which will be located on Highway 20 next to the Upper Lake County Park.
“I am pleased we were able to reach an agreement with the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake that benefits the members of the tribe as well as the local community and the state,” said Schwarzenegger.
Tribal Chair Sherry Treppa Bridges said the new casino will have 349 slot machines, six table games, sitdown and fast food restaurants, and a retail shop in a roughly 34,000-square-foot facility, with about 175 employees.
But if the tribe wants to break ground on its new $25 million casino this fall in time for a scheduled spring opening, they must still receive the Legislature's approval, Bridges said.
Bridges said the tribe believes it has a legislative sponsor who will work to get the matter before the Legislature before its last day of business for the session, which is Sept. 11.
After the tribe's land was received into federal trust last fall, the Habematolel immediately began the compact negotiation process, Bridges said.
The 112-page compact Schwarzenegger signed with the Habematolel this week – which has an additional 111-page appendix based on federal regulations for internal gaming controls – follows a blueprint similar to other recently negotiated compact, according to Schwarzenegger spokesman Jeff Macedo.
The compact will run through Dec. 21, 2030, and allows a maximum of 750 slot machines at one gaming facility. Under the compact's terms, the tribe will share 15 percent of annual net win revenues with the state.
Macedo said recent compacts have varied in how they've determined how much of the gaming proceeds will go to the state. The 2004 compacts varied between different options, including per-device fees and two-tier systems.
He said each compact is negotiated as a package. “Each one is negotiated on a tribe-by-tribe basis,” Macedo said.”
The Habematolel's compact provisions calls for binding arbitration before a retired judge for disputes over patron injuries and gambling; environmental protections including a requirement that the tribe prepare an environmental impact report and negotiate mitigation of any off-reservation impacts with the county; the right for employees to collectively bargain; the participation in the state's worker’s compensation system and unemployment insurance program, compliance with federal and state occupational health and safety standards, and enhanced employment discrimination provisions.
In addition, the tribe has agreed to comply with standards that meet or exceed the federal National Indian Gaming Commission standards, will meet or exceed the California Building Code and Public Safety Code and address issues of problem gambling through training, advertising and signage.
The tribe also has agreed to pay into the state's Revenue Sharing Trust Fund when it operates over 349 slot machines. That fund provides $1.1 million annually to each of the state's non-gaming tribes.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox credited the tribe for its proactive approach to working with local government. “The tribe went out of their way from day one,” Cox said.
He said the Habematolel and the county have worked out a memorandum of understanding that will help cover law enforcement, traffic, fire and emergency services and more. The agreement was entered into in July of 2006.
“We didn't want them to pay any more than they would have to pay if they were a private business,” said Cox.
The tribe won't be paying taxes, but instead has agreed to an in-lieu contribution that would be an amount equivalent to the property tax value of their 11-acre site, Cox said.
The Habematolel also have agreed to pay a small contribution to the county's marketing department until they build a lodging facility, at which time they would pay an amount equal to the 9-percent transient occupancy – or bed – tax paid by accommodations, he said.
In addition, the tribe has contributed $378,000 to the Lake County Sanitation District, as Lake County News has reported.
Cox said those funds were used for capacity expansion in the Upper Lake area, which was needed regardless of whether or not the casino is built.
Bridges said tribal leaders have been extremely busy in recent weeks, trying to facilitate the necessary work in the Legislature.
Thursday was the last day to get a bill gutted and insert the language approving the compact, and Bridges said it was going to take some maneuvering to get it quickly through committees and to the floor of the legislative houses.
On Monday, when they started discussing the need for the bill with legislators, Bridges said they weren't totally welcomed. However, she added, “We have made some major movement in at least getting through the process.”
The tribe has other work to do in a short amount of time, including completing a few more steps before finalizing its environmental impact report on the casino, said Bridges.
“We expect to open the doors next spring,” said Bridges. “We're targeting May. We've got a very aggressive schedule.”
The groundbreaking is expected this fall, and the building will be handled by the general contractor that did Twin Pine Casino's major expansion, Bridges said.
To view the compact and related appendix please visit http://gov.ca.gov/pdf/press/2009UpperLakeCompactFinal.pdf and http://gov.ca.gov/pdf/press/2009UpperLakeCompactAppendixA.pdf .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Authorities also arrested at the scene 58-year-old Richard David Blount of Cobb, who appeared to be attempting to set a fire. However, Blount's actual role in the main fire hasn't yet been determined.
South Lake County Fire Protection Battalion Chief Rich Boehm said the fire was dispatched just minutes before noon. It was located in the area of Observation Road and Loch Lomond Road.
A total of about 45 firefighters from South Lake County and Cal fire, as well as inmate crews, responded and got to work quickly, said Boehm.
Several aircraft also had helped with the firefighting effort, Cal Fire reported.
There was a structure that a person was living in that “went real fast,” Boehm said. He estimated the amount of adjacent wildland that burned was about an acre in size.
Shortly after the fire was dispatched, the Lake County Sheriff's Office received a request for assistance from Cal Fire, which reported that two subjects were at the scene obstructing firefighters, according to sheriff's Capt. James Bauman.
Bauman said several patrol units responded to the fire. As deputies were on their way, Cal Fire further reported that the subjects were threatening the crews as they battled the blaze and one of the subjects was screaming that he “was the devil.”
When deputies arrived at the scene, Cal Fire personnel led deputies to an area of the fire line where the two subjects had apparently fled, Bauman said.
Bauman said deputies found Blount kneeling at the fire line trying to light matches. They confronted him and, following a brief struggle, took him into custody.
While he was being arrested Blount threatened to kill one of the deputies, said Bauman.
Blount was immediately transported from the scene of the fire and booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of arson and threatening a peace officer, as well as a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest, said Bauman.
He said it's unknown who was the second subject who had been reported to be obstructing Cal Fire crews at the scene, as that individual left prior to the deputies’ arrival.
Boehm said Blount is known to locals as having “some problems,” and his part in the actual fire isn't certain. Officials are continuing to investigate the cause, said Boehm.
Firefighters were expected to have completed mop up on the fire area around 5 p.m. Friday, Boehm said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Motorists need to make sure they do everything possible to ensure a safe and enjoyable weekend for themselves, their passengers, and everyone else on the road they share.”
The Labor Day weekend is a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) for the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Beginning Friday, Sept. 4, at 6:01 p.m. through midnight on Monday, Sept. 7, every available officer will be on the road keeping a vigilant eye out for errant drivers. They will be on the lookout for violators of the three major causes of highway deaths: speeding, drinking and driving, and not wearing seat belts.
Last year 40 people died statewide on Labor Day weekend on California highways. Of those killed in CHP jurisdiction, more than half were not wearing seat belts.
“Make sure that you and your family safely wrap up a great summer. Observe all laws, drive defensively and buckle up your loved ones,” stated CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.
According to the CHP, motorists can help assure their own safety by doing some very simple things when they get behind the wheel:
Buckle up, driver and all occupants, every time on every trip.
Observe all speed limits.
Never mix alcohol and driving. Choose a designated driver or be one for your passengers.
If you are making a long drive this weekend, leave early, make frequent rest stops to stay alert, and do not let delays change your driving behavior.
“We want everybody’s holiday to be filled with pleasant memories. Join the CHP in making that happen by driving safely throughout the Labor Day holiday,” said Commissioner Farrow.
Labor Day, 2009 is an Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E.), which emphasizes added patrols on interstate highways such as I-5, I-15 and I-80.
A discussion of unmarried couples must distinguish between two categories: persons who live
together (whether heterosexual or homosexual partners) and persons who are registered domestic partners (i.e., "RDPs").
Since 2005, under California law, RDPs have legal rights and responsibilities like married couples; but not so under federal law. Let's examine each category separately.
Unmarried persons who just live together – notwithstanding their confidential relationship – are "legal strangers" under the law. All property is each partner's separate property, even joint tenancy property.
Mutual contractual arrangements – such as cohabitation agreements and tenants in common agreements – govern each partner's rights and responsibilities to each other.
Reasonable and detrimental reliance by one partner on the other partner's promises, fair play under common law, often decide the outcome of any lawsuit for breach of contract.
Durable powers of attorney and health care directives must be in place to allow each partner control over the other partner's financial affairs and health care decisions during disability. Otherwise, avoidable legal battles (e.g., court conservatorships) over control may ensue between one partner's natural family and the other partner.
If real property is owned as tenants in common, a tenant's in common agreement is very advisable to
help manage their undivided property rights. Each partner may transfer their property rights into their own living trust. Joint tenancy may be used but it has significant drawbacks.
Next, RDPs, as of 2005, California RDPs have the same rights and Responsibilities to each together as married people. But the contrary remains true under federal law.
The Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") still treats California RDPs as legal strangers. The federal/state disparity has created some interesting challenges.
For example, although RDPs now have community property ("CP") rights just like married persons – with each RDP entitled to equal control over the CP assets – nonetheless, under DOMA, it appears that the creation of community property between RDPs would be treated as gifts as between legal strangers, and so subject to the Gift Tax.
Accordingly, IRS gift tax returns are required when such annual gifting exceeds the federal annual gift tax exclusion amount (i.e., $13,000 in 2009).
Moreover, RDPs do not get the "double step-up in basis" on CP assets when the first RDP dies, and so the surviving RDP may have to pay capital gains on appreciated assets sold shortly after the first RDP dies (whereas heterosexual married persons might avoid this due to the double step up in basis).
Also, unlike living trusts created by heterosexual married couples, living trusts created by RDP's must have taxpayer identification numbers and file federal annual income tax returns (i.e., IRS Form 1041's). Married couples, however, simply report trust income on their annual tax return(s) using their social security numbers.
The foregoing difficulty can be solved if each RDP creates his/her own living trust to hold title to each RDPs own property rights. If CP assets are involved, the other RDP must still be co-trustee to ensure that each RDP has joint control over the CP assets as required by California law.
Furthermore, RDPs who are joint tenants must keep meticulous records of their contributions towards purchasing joint tenancy property. Whereas a surviving married spouse is presumed to have contributed half of the purchase costs of a jointly held asset, federal law presumes that the deceased RDP paid everything.
Lastly, there are some planning opportunities available to RDPs which are unavailable to married persons. Specifically, as RDPs are not married the IRS will not make RDPs prove that sale transactions between themselves are at fair prices.
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 1st St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at
Lakeport Police arrested Brian David Drawdy, 40, of Kelseyville and Gloria Jean Mendez, 46, of Cobb Thursday evening, according to Lt. Brad Rasmussen.
Mendez is being held on a misdemeanor traffic warrant out of Siskiyou County, while Drawdy is charged with felony second degree robbery and felony use of force with great bodily injury likely to result because he allegedly hit a female Kmart employee with his car.
“Our investigation reveals that he intentionally struck her with the vehicle,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said two Lakeport Police units were dispatched to the incident at around 3 p.m. The situation initially was reported as a hit and run of a pedestrian at Kmart on S. Main Street.
As officers were responding they received additional information that the pedestrian actually was a Kmart loss prevention employee and that she had been struck by the vehicle – a blue Toyota hatchback – as it fled the store's parking lot, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the store employee, whose name was not released, had been working alone in loss prevention on Thursday. She obtained surveillance evidence that Drawdy and Mendez allegedly had been concealing items in their clothing before leaving the store without paying for the merchandise, which was worth about $20 total.
The staffer followed Drawdy and Mendez out of the store and into the parking lot, where she contacted them at the vehicle and interviewed them about the merchandise, Rasmussen said.
Mendez and Drawdy gave the store employee conflicting statements about buying the materials. Rasmussen said Mendez got in the car's passenger side, stating she was looking for the receipt, while Drawdy stood outside of the vehicle's passenger side.
When the Kmart staffer walked around the rear of the car toward Drawdy, he jumped into the car and put it into reverse, traveling at a high rate of speed backwards toward the woman, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said the Kmart employee was thrown up onto the back of the vehicle, where she stayed while Drawdy kept the car in reverse for another 20 to 30 feet. He then changed direction to take off, and the woman was thrown off the back of the car.
He said the woman was uninjured after being hit by the car and then thrown to the ground.
Rasmussen said witnesses at the scene described the incident in detail, and one of them even followed the vehicle to Kelseyville, where they stopped to report the vehicle to the California Highway Patrol.
A CHP unit located the Toyota traveling up Bottle Rock Road toward Cobb, said Rasmussen. When the CHP officer got behind the car, Drawdy turned onto Harrington Flat Road and drove evasively for a short time before yielding.
Both Mendez and Drawdy remained in the Lake County Jail Thursday night. Bail for Mendez is set at $5,000, while Drawdy is being held on $25,000 bail.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The agency said that the noncompliance “has caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients,” and in all cases constituted an “immediate jeopardy” for patients.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport and St. Helena Hospital Clearlake each received $25,000 penalties, the Department of Public Health reported. It was the first time such penalties were assessed to either facility, which reported the issues to the state.
The situations with the local hospitals both occurred last year, according to Department of Public Health documents.
Representatives from both of the local hospitals – which were notified of the assessments earlier this week – said they've taken action to address the situations that led to the penalties.
Other hospitals receiving penalties were Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton; Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Orange; Enloe Medical Center, Chico; Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach; Kaiser Foundation Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Vallejo; Los Angeles County/University of Southern California, Los Angelesy; Mark Twain, St. Joseph Hospital, San Andreas; Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Carmichael; South Coast Medical Center, South Laguna; and Southwest Healthcare Systems, Riverside.
Facilities that are assessed the penalties must immediately implement a plan of correction to prevent future incidents, according to the state.
“It is imperative that hospitals promptly respond to the issues identified by the Department of Public Health,” said Kathleen J. Billingsley, RN, the deputy director or the Department of Public Health's Center for Health Care Quality.
This is the eighth time the Department of Public Health has issued groups of penalties against medical facilities under the auspices of recent state legislation that aims to improve medical procedure compliance, Billingsley said.
In all, they've assessed 98 penalties on 67 different hospitals, for a total amount of $2.45 million. Not all of the penalties have yet been paid, she noted.
Billingsley said after a violation is substantiated, it's required that the facility immediately fix it and create a corrective plan.
The goal, she said, is to improve health care and eliminate surgical and medical errors.
In eight of the 12 cases reported Thursday – including Sutter Lakeside and St. Helena Hospital Clearlake – penalties arose from failure to follow surgical policy and procedures, which resulted in foreign objects, such as surgical sponges or instruments, being left inside patients during surgery.
Other hospitals were cited for failing to safely administer medications or continuously monitor patients, not following procedures for fall prevention or not complying with minimum staffing requirements for nursing care.
Sutter Lakeside case identifies policy issues
In the case of Sutter Lakeside, a female patient was admitted for a paraesophageal hernia repair and graft surgery that took place on May 21, 2008.
Sponges and instruments were counted both before the procedure and prior to closing, but seven days later an imaging report revealed a mini laparotomy sponge had been left in the patient's left upper abdomen. The sponge was surgically removed without difficulty, the report noted.
A review of hospital procedures found that the situation resulted because the sponge count policy had not been properly performed.
Diane Pege, M.D., Sutter Lakeside's vice president of medical affairs, said the state visited the hospital in June of 2008 and issued a report his past March in which it cited Sutter Lakeside for the occurrence.
“Our greatest priority is, and always will be, patient safety,” Pege said. “As such, Sutter Lakeside took immediate and aggressive steps to prevent this from happening in the future. We did not wait for the anticipated state visit, but promptly reviewed and revised our current protocols and procedures.”
The hospital was placed on an “immediate jeopardy” standing which Pege said put into place is a regulatory process to assure that the problem was immediately corrected. She said that, due to the hospital's prompt response, immediate jeopardy was lifted a short time after it was implemented.
Pege noted that the California Department of Public Health, other health care regulatory agencies and hospitals across the United States are giving special attention to the issue of “retention of foreign objects,” which she said is an infrequent occurrence at hospitals such as Sutter Lakeside, but one that requires special protocols and procedures to minimize occurrences.
St. Helena-Clearlake issue also involved procedures, surgery
St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake's case involved leaving part of an instrument in a patient's intestine during surgery.
“St. Helena Hospital Clearlake follows meticulous standards to prevent medical errors,” said spokesman Jeff Davis. “Following this particular incident, which we self-reported to the California Department of Public Health, a thorough investigation was conducted by the hospital, and our findings could not determine if the error was caused by medical personnel or related to the specific surgical device used during the procedure.”
The surgery, which removed the lower part of a male patient's colon, was performed on Oct. 28, 2008, according to the state report.
The physician was using a disposable stapling instrument to join the edges of the remaining portion of colon with surgical staples. The instrument came in two parts – one was placed above the upper cut edge of the remaining colon and the other part was inserted through the anus and placed at the lower cut edge before the instrument was fired.
However, when the instrument was removed, the surgical team didn't notice that one of the parts of the instrument was missing.
Four days later, the patient had a bowel movement and passed the upper portion of the stapling device, but did not experience increased pain or suffer any injury.
The physician, who had performed 50 such procedures, said he had not noticed the instrument was not complete when he handed it off to the circulating nurse. The report found that the hospital had failed to follow surgical policies and procedures regarding the accounting of all surgical equipment.
Chief Medical Officer Marc Shapiro, MD, said the hospital has implemented guidelines developed by the World Health Organization to add an additional layer of safety to all surgical procedures performed at the hospital.
“We are keenly focused on improving patient safety through the use of system improvements, patient-safety checklists, safety-enhancing practices and information technology,” said Davis.
Davis said patient safety and quality care is the hospital's primary focus. “We sincerely regret that this error occurred and are thankful that no harm was caused to our patient.”
Penalties to be used for improving health care
Billingsley said the money from the assessments is kept in a fund to assist in improving health care quality. To use it, the Department of Public Health must have the Legislature's approval.
Recently, the agency met with the California Hospital Association to ask for suggestions on how to reduce adverse events or medical errors, said Billingsley.
The agency will use that information in formulating a quality improvement effort that it can then take to the Legislature for funding approval through the appropriations process, Billingsley said.
She said officials have seen a dramatic improvement as a result of the work they've done through evaluating and assessment facilities. “I am extremely proud of the positive outcome we have had with the administrative penalties,” he said.
Billingsley cautioned, however, “We can't change things overnight.”
The administrative penalties were issued under authority granted by Health and Safety Code section 1280.1 which took effect January 1, 2007.
Facilities that received the penalties currently are in a 10-day appeal period, the Department of Public Health said. If they don't appeal and pay the penalties, they are only required to pay 65 percent of the assessment, or $16,250.
Silva said Sutter Lakeside will not appeal the assessment. Davis did not indicate if St. Helena Hospital Clearlake would appeal.
Going forward, facilities will face a doubling of the current fine amounts.
Officials said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year legislation to significantly increase the fine for administrative penalties for violations or deficiencies constituting an immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of patients.
The new law, which took effect Jan. 1, increases fines from $25,000 to $50,000 for the first violation.
The cases reported Thursday are not subject to the new fine amounts because they occurred in 2007 and 2008, before the new law took effect, the Department of Public Health stated.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at