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SACRAMENTO – The North Coast's new Assembly member was sworn in on Monday and says he's ready to get to work for the district.
Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) took his oath of office at the State Capitol, along with other recently elected or reelected lawmakers.
Chesbro is no stranger to state government. He served in the state Senate representing District Two from 1998 to 2006, which included a stint as chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.
An Associated Press report said there were 39 new members of the state Legislature; Chesbro is among 28 new Assembly members who previously served in the state Senate.
Chesbro succeeds Patty Berg, who served three terms but could not continue in the Assembly due to term limits. Her term of office ended Nov 30.
“I welcome the opportunity to represent the people of the First Assembly District,” Chesbro said. “The state is facing significant challenges and I am ready to tackle them head-on – roll up my sleeves and get to work.”
The First Assembly District stretches from just north of Santa Rosa to the Oregon border and includes part of Sonoma and all of Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt, Trinity and Del Norte counties.
For new legislators and those who, like Chesbro, have previous experience but are coming into new positions, there won't be a honeymoon period.
No sooner were Chesbro and his fellow legislators sworn in on Monday than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state fiscal emergency and called for an emergency legislative session, as well as a second special session to address the economy.
A previous special legislative session held late last month yielded no solution to the state's $11.2 billion revenue shortfall.
“Without immediate action our state is headed for a fiscal disaster and that is why with more than two dozen new legislators sworn in today – I am wasting no time in calling a fiscal emergency special session," said Schwarzenegger. "We must act now to address the current year revenue shortfall of $11.2 billion and we must implement an economic stimulus package to help retain and create jobs, keep Californians in their homes and fix the state's Unemployment Insurance Fund.”
Schwarzenegger added that he looks forward to working with the legislature to address the problems “head on,” which includes making what he called “difficult choices” the good of the state and its future.
Assemblyman Chesbro plans to maintain three district offices in Santa Rosa, Ukiah and Eureka. Details about the district offices will be made public as soon as possible.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The CHP reported that 33 people died on California roadways during the four-day holiday weekend this year compared to 41 people during the same period last year.
Locally, Lake County had no traffic deaths during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend this year. In 2007, the county had one fatality during the same period, said Officer Adam Garcia of the Clear Lake CHP office.
This year the county also had the same number of reported traffic collisions – eight – as it did in 2007, Garcia said.
“While I am thankful that fewer people died during the four-day holiday weekend, I am troubled that we continue to needlessly lose lives on the state's roadways,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “These statistics aren't just numbers; they represent real people with families and friends who mourn their loss.”
During the four-day Maximum Enforcement Period, all available CHP officers were on the road.
DUI arrests by CHP officers totaled 1,530 this Thanksgiving holiday compared to 1,628 last year. Locally, Garcia said there were nine DUI arrests in 2007 and five this year.
Of the 20 vehicle occupants killed on the state’s highways and unincorporated areas that fall under CHP jurisdiction, seven weren’t wearing seat belts.
“Those seven people might still be alive today if they had simply taken the extra few seconds to buckle up,” Commissioner Farrow said.
With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays fast approaching, the CHP warns that similar Maximum Enforcement Periods will be in effect during those holiday weekends.
“If people will heed our message – don’t drink and drive, obey the speed limit and always wear seat belts – upcoming holiday memories can be happy for everyone,” Commissioner Farrow said.
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The shooting, which Lake County News first reported late last week, left one man injured and resulted in a search for the two suspects.
Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Monday that 42-year-old Patrick Joseph O’Conner of Clearlake Oaks was shot in the chest.
The two men being sought in connection with the shooting are Patrick Dewin McDaniel, 44, and Cecil McDaniel, 37, both of Clearlake Oaks, said Bauman. Both McDaniels are wanted for attempted murder.
Bauman reported that deputies and rescue personnel from the Northshore Fire Protection District responded to the shooting at 8:20 p.m. Nov. 26.
Arriving at O'Conner's Second Street residence, they found him seated in front of the house with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest, said Bauman.
While O’Conner was treated at the scene, deputies learned that he allegedly had been shot by Patrick McDaniel during an argument at a neighboring residence, said Bauman. The reported argument also included O’Conner’s 23-year-old son, James O’Conner, also of Clearlake Oaks, and Cecil McDaniel.
Bauman said that James O’Conner told deputies the McDaniel brothers had walked through his father’s property to the neighboring home of 40-year-old Jill Robbins, who the McDaniels had apparently met earlier at a local bar.
The McDaniels and Patrick O’Conner had reportedly had words earlier in the day and when the McDaniels got to Robbins’ home, the two O’Conners could hear Patrick McDaniel yelling at Robbins so they went next door to her house to intervene, Bauman said.
During an argument that ensued between Patrick McDaniel and Patrick O’Conner, Cecil McDaniel reportedly swung at O’Conner but missed, said Bauman. Patrick McDaniel then allegedly pulled a handgun from beneath his clothing, struck O’Conner across the face with it and then shot O’Conner once in the chest before both McDaniels fled the area on foot.
Both O’Conners fled back to their home and remained until deputies arrived, according to Bauman.
Sheriff’s detectives were called out to investigate the scene, Bauman said, and for approximately five hours, additional deputies canvassed the Clearlake Oaks area for the McDaniel brothers but they could not be located.
The following day, on Thanksgiving morning, another resident on Second Street in Clearlake Oaks reported her 5-year-old son had found a small handgun in their front yard, a short distance from the location of the shooting, Bauman said. Deputies recovered the weapon and an analysis to determine any connection to the shooting is pending.
Both McDaniels are convicted felons, according to Bauman's report.
Patrick McDaniel is recently paroled from prison and is described as a 44-year-old black male adult, 6 feet tall, 235 pounds, and was last seen wearing a “puffy” jacket, dark pants and yellow shoes. Bauman said McDaniel has names tattooed on his left arm and a playboy bunny tattooed on his left arm.
Cecil McDaniel is described as a 37-year-old black male adult, 6 feet, two inches tall, 250 pounds, with bears tattooed on his left upper arm, said Bauman.
After being flown via air ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital Wednesday night, Patrick O’Conner was transferred to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he was reported to be in stable condition as of Monday.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of either of the McDaniel brothers should call the Investigations Branch of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department at 262-4200.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The US Geological Survey reported that the quake took place at 11:41 a.m. and measured 3.2 on the Richter scale.
Its epicenter was located one mile north of The Geysers, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake occurred at a depth of 2.3 miles.
The area's most recent quakes measuring 3.0 or above occurred on Nov. 21, when a 3.0-magnitude earthquake was recorded near Anderson Springs, and a 3.5-magnitude temblor on Nov. 12 near The Geysers, as Lake County News has reported.
The last few weeks have seen substantial seismic activity around the North Coast, most notably a 5.9-magnitude earthquake that took place Nov. 28 off the coast of Humboldt County. That quake was centered 142 miles west of Petrolia at a depth of 3.5 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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For the third straight year Lake County is ranked No. 1 for the area with the most plants eradicated.
The California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) and other participants in the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Field Division Offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of California, reported on the seizures.
The marijuana eradication season begins in July and continues through October, officials reported.
The 2008 CAMP season and Operation Green Acres 2 netted a record-breaking combined total of 5,249,881, according to the report.
CAMP alone reported a second year of record breaking numbers of marijuana plants eradicated during the 2008 season at 2.9 million. Of the 2.9 million plants, two million were seized from public lands while the remainder was seized from private lands.
This year's seizures included 3,641,328 plants – or almost 70 percent – that were eradicated from state and federal public land, according to the Department of Justice. That's down slightly from the 75 percent found on public lands last year.
“California is Ground-Zero for domestically produced marijuana in the United States; more than half of the domestically produced marijuana in the United States is grown in California,” said BNE Chief John Gaines.
Lake was the county with the highest number of eradicated plants, 499,508, according to the report. While leading the state, that number was down slightly from last year, when 507,000 plants were seized, but up from 2006, when officials eradicated 344,241 plants, as Lake County News has reported.
The other counties in the top five for illegal eradications this year were the same as last year, only in slightly different order, with Tulare and Humboldt County changing places. Tulare more than doubled its numbers and Humboldt's were halved.
This year, Tulare ranked at No. 2 with 395,489 plants (up from No. 5 and 160,591 plants in 2007); Shasta, 394,375 (No. 3 with 270,728 plants in 2007); Mendocino, 231,802 (No. 4 and 220,436 plants in 2007); and Humboldt, 145,762 (No. 2 with 271,056 plants in 2007). All counties listed, except for Humboldt, had an increase in the number of marijuana plants eradicated.
During the 2008 season, 143 individuals were arrested and 142 weapons seized, the Department of Justice reported. Those statistics are nearly triple the amount of individuals arrested and weapons seizures from 2007, which numbered 53 and 41 respectively.
CAMP and its partner agencies are part of an organized, collaborative effort which is yielding the seizures.
CAMP has been operating for 26 years as a multi-agency task force comprised of local, state, and federal agencies including, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Parks Service, California Department of Fish and Game, Office of National Drug Control Policy-National Marijuana Initiative, California National Guard and Office of Emergency Services. The program is designed to help counties eradicate illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking in California.
“Our forests and public lands cannot and will not be allowed to become safe havens for Mexican drug cartels operating massive marijuana cultivations. These criminal enterprises pose great risk to those simply seeking to enjoy these lands in the manner for which they were intended,” U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said.
In addition to the 2008 CAMP season, DEA conducted their second year of Operation Green Acres, a four-week, statewide operation that began in late July and was concluded in August 2008. The operation was conducted by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and primarily focused on marijuana grown outdoors.
As a result of Operation Green Acres 2, agents seized almost 1.4 million marijuana plants, with an estimated street value of $4.2 billion, according to the report.
Approximately 1.2 million of those plants were eradicated from public lands in California, a 73-percent increase from last year.
Additionally, 63 individuals were arrested statewide in connection with the operation, the report noted. Of those arrests, seven were charged in federal court in the Eastern District of California, while four were charged in federal court in the Central District of California. Nearly $200,000 in assets and 102 weapons were seized during the operation.
“Each year more marijuana is seized from California’s public lands. It destroys our national forests and threatens the safety of the residents and visitors who seek to enjoy California’s natural treasures. Only with collaborative law enforcement efforts, will we be able to make an impact against this serious problem,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Javier F. Peña.
Another important eradication effort, also undertaken last summer, was operation LOCUST, targeting large-scale marijuana cultivation in and around Sequoia National Park. This operation was spearheaded by Tulare County Sheriff Bill Wittman, BNE, along with DEA, U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. It resulted in the seizure of approximately 524,000 plants and indictments of 15 individuals in the Fresno Court of the Eastern District of California.
The CAMP program and its partner agencies continue to eradicate the large scale marijuana cultivations from public and private lands that cause deforestation, damage to wildlife habitats, and hazardous-chemical pollution.
Pesticides, chemical repellants, poisons, and fuels are often used in large-scale, outdoor marijuana cultivation. Attempts to irrigate the marijuana crops often harm nearby ecology including creeks, streams, and rivers. These plants are often under surveillance by their caretakers, who, in many instances, are heavily armed with pre-planned escape routes.
“Illegal marijuana cultivation is wreaking havoc on our public lands and causing extensive environmental damage of these precious resources,” said DEA Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. “DEA is committed to working jointly with our federal, state, and local partners in combating this growing threat to our parks and our communities.”
The continued success of the CAMP program is due in large part to the coordinated effort between local, state and federal agencies.
Gaines said the BNE vows to continue its “exceptional partnership” with local, state and federal counterparts to eradicate illegally grown marijuana and prosecute those individuals and organizations responsible for trafficking this drug while damaging the environment and endangering the lives of citizens.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – A bright autumn day was the backdrop for the sixth annual Dickens Christmas Market.
The community event – sponsored by the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce – sees downtown Lakeport transformed into a Victorian village, complete with singers and other performers.
Many people attended in the type of period dress right out of a Charles Dickens novel. Among them were David and Margaret Retherford, who came in costumes made by Margaret herself.
This year, 63 vendors lined Main Street in downtown, and were visited by people from around the county and beyond.
Eleven Roses Ranch returned this year with their trusty mules to offer wagon rides through downtown.
The day's weather was so good that by mid-afternoon some folks wearing costumes may have been wanting to trade their cravats and overcoats for T-shirts and shorts.
The day ended with the annual lighted parade through town, followed Hospice Services of Lake County's Light Up A Life tree lighting event in downtown.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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