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LUCERNE – The effort to remove another blighted building on Lucerne's lakeshore has hit a snag.
On April 28, Robert Affinito removed the Lucerne Motel which was located at 6339 E. Highway 20 on the lakeshore, which sits next door to the Lake Sands Resort, both owned by his family.
The aging Lake Sands resort building, now boarded up, also was slated for removal, but the county's Community Development Department reports that the building's demolition can't go forward due to nesting barn swallows.
The barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, is not an endangered or threatened species; it is, however, protected by the federal Migratory Birds Act, Community Development Director Rick Coel explained.
None of the birds had been found in the Lucerne Motel, but within the last week they've begun building nests on the stucco exterior of the Lake Sands Resort, said Coel. One of his staffers discovered the situation and brought it to his attention.
That caused Community Development to halt the next demolition, because Coel said Affinito could get into serious trouble with US Fish & Wildlife, which the department didn't want to see happen.
US Fish & Wildlife spokesman Steve Martarano told Lake County News that barn swallows have always been included in the Migratory Bird Act, first established in 1918.
“It's the most widespread species of swallow in the world,” said Martarano.
Fish & Wildlife reports that the original 1918 statute implemented a 1916 convention between the US and Great Britain, on behalf of Canada, to protect migratory birds, with later amendments adding in treaties with the US and Mexico, Japan and the Soviet Union/Russia.
The birds pass through Lake County on a seasonal basis, said Coel, who admitted his department doesn't often run into these kinds of issues.
Martarano said the birds have an incubation period of three weeks and two broods. “They should start hatching any time.”
US Fish & Wildlife estimates it will be August before the second brood is gone. The nests will need to be watched to make sure the birds are totally gone before anything can be done with the buildings, Martarano said.
From Lake County, the birds will head south around September, said Martarano.
“It's not all bad in terms of timing,” Coel said of the situation.
He said while they're waiting for the swallows to move on, Affinito can proceed with the prep work, gutting the interior and doing the asbestos study that's necessary on the older building.
Coel said older structures often have asbestos in their insulation and tiles. “That was an issue in the other building.”
“We think these birds out to be out of there sometime in August and we can pick up the pace again,” said Coel.
Affinito said the issue “kind of took me by surprise.”
However, he said he still has plans to draw for a new hotel property he wants to build there. “So it doesn't really affect me in any way.”
Affinito said that, with county permission, he may put up some cyclone fencing and banners to let people know what's going on.
Meanwhile, while it's been an issue for the town's human residents, the old building is a nice place for birds, with plenty of bugs to eat and a nice view of the lake. Coel joked that it's the “original mixed use” structure.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY – Several large projects will be under way on area highways this summer.
Caltrans reports that three safety projects – near Walker Ridge east of Clearlake Oaks, east of Robinson Rancheria in Nice and at the intersection of Highway 29 and Spruce Grove Road near Lower Lake – will be continuing in the months ahead.
The Walker Ridge Safety Rehabilitation project is located about 10 miles east of Clearlake Oaks on Highway 20 and is expected to be completed in July.
It's the largest summer highway project in Lake County, said Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie.
The project was awarded in September of 2006 to Argonaut Constructors of Santa Rosa, Frisbie said.
Frisbie said the project is realigning curves, and installing drainage and wider shoulders in that area, which has seen several major vehicle collisions – some of them fatal – over the last two years, as Lake County News has reported.
The high number of collisions in the area triggered an investigation, and the safety project resulted, said Frisbie.
“The main emphasis of that was to increase the site distance and make those curves not quite as severe so we could improve the safety,” said Frisbie.
Frisbie said Caltrans recently completed pavement testing in the area, using a towed trailer skid tester that is pulled behind a vehicle. He said the test involves wetting the pavement and applying brakes to the trailer to check friction on the roadway surface.
“It did not reveal any deficiency in the pavement,” he said.
Week before last, transverse rumble strips were installed across the eastbound lane of Highway 20 near speed advisory signs in the Walker Ridge area, said Frisbie.
He said the goal is that the rumble strips will draw drivers' attention to the 35-mile-per-hour speed advisory signs and slow down as they go through the area. The California Highway Patrol has determined that speed on wet roadways was the cause of many of the crashes in the area.
Frisbie said a passing lane terminates in that area, and Caltrans believes that speed may be an issue there because people are attempting to pass before the lane ends.
“Possibly that is causing them to approach that downhill at a higher speed that they should,” he said.
So sometime in the next few weeks, as soon as striping crews are available, Caltrans will restripe the passing lanes, reducing the number of lanes to one at the crest of the hill.
“We're still going to be continue to evaluate other things that can be done to improve the safety,” he said.
In other road projects, Caltrans reported that the Robinson Rancheria Safety project, located between the communities of Upper Lake and Nice on Highway 20, is on schedule.
Frisbie said the existing highway had very narrow to no shoulders. Contractor Argonaut Constructors of Santa Rosa is widening the highway and providing eight-foot shoulders. Caltrans expects the project to be completed this fall.
The final project is the Spruce Grove Road Safety Project between C Street and Clayton Creek Road outside of Lower Lake, said Frisbie. The contract will be awarded in June, with completion anticipated in the summer of 2010.
Frisbie said the Spruce Grove Road project will add left turn lanes and lighting to the intersection to
improve its safety.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream explores new ways of seeing the big sustainability, spiritual, and social justice challenges and opportunities of our time, according to the Pachamama Alliance.
“What’s different about this workshop is that we dig down to the real, interconnected roots of these challenges, both on a personal and cultural basis,” notes workshop host Sue Stiles in a recent statement.
“Then, we encourage everyone to shift to a whole new frame of reference – to see new solutions – from clean tech and eco-arts to local food and green collar jobs. It’s a transformative process that provides a lot of hope,” added workshop facilitator Alain Desouches.
The Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Workshop (ATD) is an initiative of The Pachamama Alliance (www.pachamama.org), a San Francisco-based nonprofit whose mission is to preserve the Earth’s tropical rain forests and contribute to a new global vision of sustainability and equity for all.
Via dynamic, inspirational video, participants hear from far-sighted community leaders including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Julia Butterfly Hill, Van Jones, Paul Hawken and more, on everything from the planet’s dwindling biodiversity to growing socio-economic gaps. The event also includes lively breakout groups and practical tools, according to the Pachamama Alliance.
The Pachamama Alliance was formed in the mid-1990s, when a group of North Americans visited a remote and intact group of indigenous people – the Achuar – located deep in the Amazonian region of Ecuador.
Through this chance meeting, a relationship was formed between the two groups and The Pachamama Alliance, initiated by the indigenous elders and shamans of the Achuar, was begun.
Because of the elders’ and shamans’ deep concern for the growing threat to their ancient way of life, coupled with their recognition that the roots of this threat lay far beyond their rain forest home, they actively sought the partnership of committed individuals living in the modern world the Pachamama Alliance states.
One purpose of the symposium is to “change the dream of the North,” since it is the desires and appetites of the North - “their dream" - which is driving the destruction of the rain forests around the world, according to the Pachamama Allicance.
Another purpose is to, "to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet," according to an introductory video on the symposium.
The workshop is open to all on Saturday, May 30, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Lakeport Senior Center, 527 Konocti Ave., Lakeport 95453. Call 707-263-9400 or visit http://awakeningthedreamer.org/symposium/1136/ for details and to register.
For a video introduction to the symposium, visit: http://vimeo.com/2217073?pg=embed&sec=.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
Rob Roy Golf Club and Creekside Grill & Lounge: 16451 Golf Road, Cobb, telephone 928-0121. Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner, Thursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Champagne brunch, Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations suggested for dinner and brunch.
I’m pretty stingy. I like to save money and consolidate every chance I get, so when my wife’s birthday came around and I wanted to take her out to dinner somewhere nice I thought to myself, “And if I can take her someplace we haven’t been before and do a review of the restaurant at the same time, that’s being frugal!”
When I was looking to purchase some property years ago I looked at some places on Cobb Mountain, and the one thing that kept going through my mind was, “This looks like Bigfoot country. If I lived here I’d be chasing Sasquatches off my deck every night.”
So I’ll admit that Cobb Mountain has been pretty intimidating to me and that’s one of the main reasons that I haven’t been to Rob Roy sooner. I know, sounds a little screwy but we all have quirks. If you do plan on eating there definitely have your route preplanned before you leave, the roads of Cobb are not accommodating for a seat-of-your-pants kind of navigator.
Reservations are recommended at Rob Roy’s so I made them under a fake name just in case someone would recognize mine. We were shown to our table with a view of trees and dense underbrush ... I could sense that Bigfoot was out there watching me right then.
The décor of the restaurant is nice if a bit spartan. You don’t feel like they are trying to impress you with their paintings or sculptures. It has the look of a typical golf clubhouse. There is a bar overlooking the golf course and a television above the bar. We were seated in the back and couldn’t see any of that from our table which added a more elegant feel to our setting.
The wine list was almost exclusively filled with Lake County wines which I was happy to see. We ordered a bottle of the Six Sigma Cabernet Sauvignon. After all, it’s cheaper than buying it by the glass.
For appetizers, I ordered the crab cakes and my wife went for the bruschetta, and for our entrees we ordered prime rib (available Fridays and Saturdays) and wild mushroom ravioli, respectively.
Our waitress Robyn was fantastic; much more professional than your average Lake County wait staff. She asked how I would like my prime rib and I said “Raw.” She confirmed that I would like it as rare as possible and then was off. She was very intuitive on our needs. It was as if she was present every time we needed her yet nowhere in sight when we didn’t. She was earning a very considerable tip, and if I weren’t such a cheapskate she would have gotten one.
The appetizers arrived faster than I expected, but as we did arrive early in the dinner service, there were very few other diners, however as the evening went on the dining room did fill up but the service was still exceptional.
The crab cakes were – and I’m being completely honest here – the best I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve eaten crab cakes all over the world and have always been disappointed until now.
The plate had four crab cakes drizzled with an aioli set on a mesclun greens salad that was dressed with an almost ethereal dressing. My wife (who’s not a seafood fan) tried the crab cake and said that they were better than ones that she’s had on Chesapeake Bay (where the crab cake is a signature dish).
The exterior of the crab cake was crispy, the interior soft but not doughy. You could taste the crab and red pepper, and the celery was cooked but not soft. I tried, I actually really tried to find fault with them but I couldn’t find any. They were fantastic!
My wife’s bruschetta was grilled and topped with tomatoes, red onion and basil in perfect proportions, nothing overwhelmed the other. There were six to the plate and they were all of good size so she wasn’t able to eat all of them; luckily I finished them for her so nothing went to waste. The only detraction from the appetizer was that tomatoes aren’t in season and so they were very bland. During the summer this would be a stellar item.
The main courses also arrived quite quickly and I was pleased to see that my prime rib was perfectly cooked. Like a balance of just warm and pink yet not quite a health code concern. It was accompanied on the plate with crispy fried cheese polenta and green beans with a roasted red pepper puree, and served with au jus and horseradish sauce on the side. I love horseradish sauce with prime rib because no matter how bad the meat is you can always cover it with horseradish.
I am thrilled to say I didn’t even taste the horseradish sauce for the sole reason that the au jus was – and I said this at the table to my wife – “The best jus I have ever tasted in my life.” I told her that I just wanted to drink the jus like a cup of coffee.
Honestly I felt like I was in sensory overload. The beans were perfectly cooked and the red pepper puree was unique and well matched. The crispy fried cheese polenta was excellent. Normally I expect fried polenta to be a bit oily but this wasn’t at all, and the flavor was perfectly balanced so that you could experience the cheese and the corn without losing one to the other. The exterior had a slight crispness to it without trying to intimidate you with a loud crunch.
Oh yeah and my wife was here also ...
Her plate of wild mushroom ravioli was large enough that as it was set on the table I commented to Robyn, “She’ll need a doggie bag for that.” The ravioli was covered in a tomato cream sauce, which was a nice change from the usual marinara. The pasta had a nice al dente texture, and the wild mushrooms were nicely seasoned, not too woody or wild tasting and still had good body to their texture.
Her ravioli started out as being very good and with a balanced flavor in which no one thing overpowered the rest in the dish, but as she got further into the meal she said it was all a little too balanced and it was becoming a little boring. I still insisted she take the leftover portion home. Waste not, want not!
Once her pasta was boxed up and my plate of food reduced to scraps of fat we looked at having dessert. As always I went for a glass of port, since I’m not a big fan of sweets. The Grahams Six Grapes port was great, a definite must have. My wife was hoping for some sort of flan or crème caramel but that evidently was served the day before. She went for the tiramisu but they were out of that also so she just dropped the idea of dessert altogether. Besides, we still had plenty of the Six Sigma left for her to drink while I had the port.
The prices for everything were high if compared to most Lake County restaurants but were quite fair for the meal and service delivered.
To give the meal a summary, I had the best meal I’ve had in over a decade, and my wife had a very good meal with charming company to pay for it. Israel Gonzales is the chef at Rob Roy and it was difficult for me to not ask to meet him and thank him for the amazing meal. But I will look at attending any events that he cooks for. After all I don’t think I’ve ever used the phrase “best I’ve ever had” twice in one meal EVER before.
So we happily went back to our car in the parking lot, on our way home and – what was that in the trees? It looked like a man, but big and hairy ....
(Note from Ross’ wife: Don’t let him fool you. Ross is a very generous tipper. Robyn was tipped about 30 percent. Ross loves the quote from the movie “My Blue Heaven”: “Actually it’s not tipping I believe in ... It’s over tipping.”)
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
Longevity has its place…
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
April 3, 1968
Many of the “Old Masters” in popular music have infused their career by the inclusion of younger players in their ensembles.
In Jazz, Art Blakey and Betty Carter always had a rotating cast of younger players in their respective bands. In the Funk realm, The Ohio Players, led by Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner and James “Diamond” Williams similarly keep their funky edge by adding new players who weren’t even born when the original music was recorded. Those are just a few examples of a widespread practice in the music biz. There is no shame in it.
The amazing vocal group the Spinners performed here at Robinson Rancheria Saturday night, May 16. Original member and lead singer on the classic hit “That’s What Girls Are Made For,” Bobbie Smith quipped on stage that they have their own stimulus package. Then the group went to work proving that point to the people.
Along with co-original member Henry Fambough, Smith has added young lions Charleton Washington, Spike Delong and Jessie Peck. The Spinners continue to present a dazzling show that features great choreography and great voices rivaling the diverseness of the legendary Temptations.
The backing band, The Spinners Ensemble kicked off the show at 8:10 p.m with a 10-minute instrumental medley of Spinners hits. The vocal ensemble hit the stage at 8:20 p.m. and launched immediately into “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love.” From the outset it was obvious the group still has great polish.
Working their way through many of there hits including “It’s A Shame,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Working My Way Back To You,” “Sadie” and “Mighty Love.”
Many of you connoisseurs of Spinners music know that several of the aforementioned tunes were recorded with the late, great Phillipe Wynne singing lead. I’m here to tell you that young lion Charlton Washington channeled every nuance of Wynne’s delivery. The crowd didn’t mind at all. In fact, they went wild when Washington came off the stage and into the crowd to dance with two different fans.
Founding member Bobbie Lewis was given a standing ovation after performing one of his signature songs.
Spike Delong did a great Sam Cooke medley and the group left the stage to thunderous applause. When they came back for an encore they had been on the stage well over an hour.
They concluded with the great hit “Rubber Band Man” and used giant rubber bands as props in conjunction with special effect lighting to dazzle the senses of the crowd. They finally left the stage again to another thunderous ovation after having been on the stage well over an hour.
Your CyberSoulman was able to secure a great interview with the group after the show – about the history of the Spinners including their stints with Motown and Atlantic Records – which will appear in next Sunday’s column. See you right here next week. Thanks for sharing your Sunday morning coffee with me.
Keep prayin’, keep thinkin’ those kind thoughts.
T. Watts is a writer, radio host and music critic. Visit his Web site at www.teewatts.biz.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – The Clearlake Oaks Catfish Derby hosted the inaugural Catfish Cook-Off Competition on Saturday as part of this year's Catfish Derby festivities.
The competition began at noon with entrants cooking their dishes at the Live Oak Senior Center then transporting them over to the derby headquarters at the Clearlake Oaks Firehouse for judging.
The judges included Dustin Brassfield, owner of High Valley Wines, chef instructor Robert Cabreros from Yuba College and Foodie Freak food columnist Ross A. Christensen.
The first place grand prize, which included a trophy, a $250 cash prize and a wine prize package consisting of several cases of Lake County wines generously donated by local wineries, was won by Glen Marks of Middletown. His dish was a Cajun-style catfish etouffee.
Second place was awarded to Joseph Capilla of Clearlake who made southern catfish with mango salsa. The second place prize consisted of a trophy, a $150 cash prize and a gift basket of wine provided by Lake County Winegrape Commission.
The third place prize was awarded to Rich Adams of Hidden Valley Lake, who made Asian catfish with slaw. His prize was a trophy, a $100 cash prize, and a bottle of Lake County pear champagne, donated by Mt. Konocti Growers.
Trophies also were presented to Rich Adams for most unique dish and to Glen Marks for traveler from the furthest distance.