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SB 562, authored by Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), designates $5.3 million to the state Department of Fish and Game to aid coastal salmon and steelhead fisheries restoration projects. Schwarzenegger signed the bill Friday.
On Thursday the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council completely closed commercial and sport Chinook fisheries off California and most of Southern Oregon because of the Sacramento River fall Chinook's “unprecedented collapse,” and the exceptionally poor status of coho salmon populations from Oregon to Washington.
“This is a disaster for West Coast salmon fisheries, under any standard,” Council Chairman
Don Hansen said in a Thursday statement. “There will be a huge impact on the people who fish for a living, those who eat wild-caught king salmon, those who enjoy recreational fishing, and the businesses and coastal communities dependent on these fisheries.”
Schwarzenegger also declared a state of emergency on Thursday in reaction to the salmon crisis.
SB 562 is an urgency measure, and takes effect immediately, according to Wiggins' office. SB 562's urgency clause required a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
The nearly $5.3 million Wiggins' legislation allocates to help fish comes from Proposition 84 – the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act – approved by voters in 2006, according to the bill's language.
“I thank the governor for his prompt action on this bill, which will help protect California’s $100 million dollar salmon industry,” Wiggins said in a statement. “And that industry is not just about fishermen – it extends to tackle shops, processors, ice suppliers, restaurants, native tribes and tourism.”
Enactment of SB 562 will also allow the state to leverage up to $20 million federal dollars for salmon this spring, according to Wiggins' office.
Pacific Fishery Management Council reported Thursday the reasons for the Sacramento fall Chinook stock's sudden collapse aren't readily apparent, however overfishing is not blamed for the situation. Rather, several possible causes – from changing ocean temperatures to human-caused and natural factors are believed to be responsible.
The council has asked the National Marine Fisheries Service’s West Coast Science Centers to lead a multi-agency task force to research about 50 potential causative factors and report back to the council in September.
The California Fish and Game Commission reported that it took emergency action because of the salmon situation, which resulted last week in the closure of the April 5 sportfishing openers south of Point Arena to the U.S.-Mexico Border.
Salmon populations around California face challenges. In February, the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network reported that endangered coho salmon populations in Marin County had plummeted. The group reported that coho have already gone extinct in 90 percent of California streams where they once were found.
In the Eel River watershed – the headwaters of which are above Lake Pillsbury in Lake County – coho salmon are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the Eel River Salmon Restoration Project.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Jose Manuel Arroyo, 25, of Clearlake was arrested shortly before 1 a.m. Friday after he tried to escape from a California Highway Patrol officer following a traffic stop, according to CHP Officer Josh Dye.
CHP Officer Robert Hearn was driving southbound on Highway 29 when he stopped Arroyo's vehicle south of Kit's Corner at about 12:30 a.m., Dye explained.
Arroyo allegedly took off, heading south on Highway 29 at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour with Hearn in pursuit, said Dye.
Other CHP units went out to place a spike strip on the highway south of Kelseyville, according to Dye. However, Arroyo turned off into Kelseyville before reaching the spike strip and, at a lower speed, made his way to an apartment complex on Gaddy Lane.
There, Hearn quickly subdued Arroyo, who Dye said had been alone in the car. The chase was over before sheriff's deputies dispatched as backup could get there.
Arroyo, whose occupation was listed as a laborer, was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of obstructing or resisting a peace officer, evading a peace officer and driving without a license, and a no-bail immigration hold.
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On Thursday Principal Chris Heller sent a letter to parents, which also was released to the media, indicating an arrest had been made in the case.
On Tuesday, a message left at Middletown High School indicated a bomb had been planted in one of school's lockers, as Lake County News has reported.
Several hundred students, along with teachers and administrative staff, were evacuated while sheriff's deputies, Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire Protection District officials checked the school, officials reported.
The threat, according to officials, eventually was ruled to be a hoax.
Heller's letter, a copy of which was sent to Lake County News on Friday, stated: “In conjunction with the investigators from the Sheriff’s department, a suspect was taken into custody based on solid evidence. We will take appropriate action to insure that this type of situation is dealt with seriously.”
Heller praised students and staff for acting calm during “a potential crisis situation,” and added that student safety is the school's priority and added that Middletown High “will continue to provide a safe educational environment in the future.”
The Lake County Sheriff's Office had no information on the arrest of the suspect when contacted Friday.
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After nearly two months of testimony, the seven-woman, five-man jury found James Wade Roberts, 46, guilty of murdering 63-year-old Ruth Donaldson – with a special allegation of using a deadly weapon – after less than a day's deliberation.
But the trial isn't over yet, said District Attorney Jon Hopkins.
That's because Roberts entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which necessitates a sanity trial, said Hopkins.
"The poor jury was crestfallen when they were told they had to come back for more," Hopkins said.
The trial has lasted several weeks longer than originally anticipated. Hopkins said the trial began Feb. 13 but has encountered delays.
Roberts was alleged to have stabbed Donaldson once with a knife on Oct. 15, 2006, at the home they shared on Mullen Avenue in Clearlake. Hopkins alleged that as Roberts stabbed Donaldson he moved the knife around, damaging her heart and lungs and causing her to bleed to death.
Besides stabbing her, Roberts is alleged to have strangled Donaldson with a 3-foot-long cord, Hopkins added.
During closing arguments on Wednesday Stephen Carter, Roberts' defense attorney, argued that Roberts was delusional and mentally ill, claiming that God told him to kill Donaldson, statements Roberts also had made on the stand.
Roberts' delusions, according to Carter, also included a vast conspiracy theory involving Sept. 11, 2001, the Iraq War and Armageddon.
Carter's psychological expert, Dr. Albert Kastl, diagnosed Roberts with schizophrenic affective disorder, a mixture of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Carter noted during closing arguments.
While Roberts spoke with Kastl, he did not speak with two doctors brought in by the prosecution, Carter said. Those doctors contradicted Kastl's diagnosis, with one suggesting that Roberts' actions were the result of psychosis induced by alcohol and methamphetamine.
Kastl's conclusion – which Hopkins put under rigorous scrutiny on Tuesday, keeping Kastl on the stand the entire day – was reportedly backed up by 18 out of 20 individuals who have evaluated Roberts, according to Carter.
While Carter argued that Roberts had a long history of mental illness and psychotic episodes, Hopkins asserted that Roberts was faking his mental illness – or "malingering" – in order to avoid another prison sentence.
Roberts had admitted to five previous strikes on his record, including a robbery and four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, said Carter.
Hopkins added that one of the four assault with a deadly weapon counts resulted in great bodily injury, which landed Roberts in Pelican Bay State Prison.
The trial's sanity phase will begin next Tuesday and possibly wind up by Wednesday, said Hopkins. “I expect it will be rather quick because we've already had all the psychological and psychiatric testimony and we don't have to repeat it all.”
Carter said Judge Richard Martin told the jury the sanity phase is likely to finish by Thursday, but added that it's always difficult to predict how long such proceedings might take.
If Roberts is found sane, he would face a minimum 51 years to life in prison, said Hopkins.
Added Carter, “He's looking at a life sentence under any scheme because of five strikes on his record.”
However, if found insane, Roberts would go instead to a state mental hospital, and could eventually be released on an outpatient basis, said Hopkins. "If he's found insane he won't go to prison."
Carter maintains that his client is mentally ill and that the insanity plea was appropriate for the case.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
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Judith Green, 55, was injured in the crash, which took place at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Officer Adam Garcia of the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake office.
Garcia reported that Green was driving her 2002 Lincoln westbound on Soda Bay Road/Highway 281 west of Inca Way when she drove over the double-yellow lines.
Green's vehicle collided head-on with a 2000 Nissan Xterra driven by 29-year-old Ame Bland of Clearlake, Garcia explained.
Garcia said Green sustained severe injuries and was transported by air ambulance to Sutter Hospital in
Santa Rosa. Bland, who was moderately injured, was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital. David Bland was a passenger in the Nissan Xterra and was not listed as injured.
Both of the vehicles involved sustained major front collision damage, Garcia said.
CHP continues to investigate why Green crossed over the double yellow lines, Garcia reported. CHP Officer Craig Van Housen is investigating the incident.
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From there, the scene pans to rescuers retrieving crash victims, transporting them to hospitals or, in some cases, the morgue. Family notifications follow, with grieving parents, siblings and friends.
Over the past two days hundreds of Lower Lake High School students watched as the drama of "Every 15 Minutes" unfolded before their eyes in specially planned assemblies.
"Every 15 Minutes" is a staged reenactment of a fatal crash caused by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It attempts to prevent young people from making deadly – and preventable – mistakes when it comes to their lives and the lives of others.
The name behind the program, which began in the early 1990s, is the statistic that every 15 minutes a person in the United States dies as the result of an alcohol-related traffic collision.
Students are shown the broad, bloody swath of destruction that can follow the decision to drive drunk – including the mangled wreckage of human flesh and dreams.
The presentation this week was the culmination of months' worth of work for California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia and participating parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, businesses and students. Garcia said organizing the event began last September.
As part of "Every 15 Minutes," a number of students take part in recreating crash scenes, with others being separated from their class as the symbolic victims of the crashes that are said to claim the lives of people every quarter-hour.
On Tuesday, the mock collision took place. On Wednesday, it was time for the "funeral" assembly, held in the high school's gym, which was attended by students, parents, law enforcement and rescue officials.
The student victims were led in by the scythe-bearing Grim Reaper, who watched over them as they took their places away from their family and friends.
The hour-and-a-half-long assembly included a video presentation of students at school having fun and talking about their plans for the future.
It then moved to a video of the Tuesday crash scene, with rescuers retrieving bloodied bodies from the wreckage. The crushing scenes that followed included parents identifying a dead child.
Making the story chillingly real is the participation of actual law enforcement and first responders – everyone from fire personnel on the scene of the crash to jail officials who take part in booking a mock DUI suspect.
The mock DUI "suspect" this year was Kevin Freeman. The video showed him being tested for DUI before being summarily arrested and taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was put through the booking process and left in a cell.
Freeman also was show making a court appearance in Lake County Superior Court, wearing a black and white jumpsuit. He went before Judge Richard Martin, who listened as District Attorney Jon Hopkins read out the charges against Freeman. In the mock sentencing, Freeman received a 20-year, eight-month sentence for causing the death of several classmates.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell told the assembly that the two-day event was a labor of love, a gift from men and women who have seen the damage from DUI crashes and want to stop what he called “preventable” tragedies.
Mitchell recalled having to tell parents their children had died in a crash. It's the worst kind of duty, one he said he never forgets.
"Your time is precious," he told students. "Don't waste it."
Being back at Lower Lake High, he said, brought back memories of Lower Lake High student he tried to help resuscitate after a crash on Dam Road. The young man died.
CHP Commander Lt. Dane Hayward was similarly moved by emotion during his presentation.
"The big question is, why are we here today?" he asked.
The answer was simple: Hayward said he never wants to have to see another grieving family or attend another funeral for a DUI crash victim.
"When one of you dies in a car crash, our community dies a little bit," he said, reminding students that they're the future.
"I don't want to add one more tragic story to my memory, not one more," said Hayward, his voice catching.
He said law enforcement cares about keeping young people safe. "Your parents love you. We love you."
The basic message, said Hayward, was not to drink or use drugs and drive a vehicle, or ride with anyone who does.
If the sheriff and commander's words weren't a solemn enough warning, the short speech offered by 20-year-old Joshua Farris and his mother, Laura, of Clearlake Park added a whole new dimension to the story of consequences.
On June 21, 2001, Farris and a friend got into a car with the friend's stepfather, who was high on methamphetamine and alcohol. They were hit broadside when the stepfather ran a stoplight.
Josh Farris died three times at the scene as rescuers were trying to revive him, his mother explained. Finally, he was placed in a body bag. Miraculously, he began to move again, and he was rushed to a hospital.
He was in a coma for six months, with his mother staying at his side.
Although Josh lived, he suffered serious injuries that make his walking and speech difficult, although he recalls what happened that night.
"Any one of you could be in his predicament," Laura Farris told the students.
She advised parents not to be angry if their children call them to ask for help if they've been drinking. Instead, she counseled, help them and talk about it later, when they're sober and will remember what you have to say.
Lower Lake High Principal Jeff Dixon told students they were all loved, valued and respected.
He shared the experience he had 12 year ago near Chico, when he and his family were hit by a drunk driver. Luckily, they walked away from the crash with no serious injuries.
But Dixon said he's had to announce a DUI-related death of a student, faculty member or community member one too many times, and it's a duty that he – like Mitchell and Hayward – doesn't want to repeat.
Driving under the influence is a choice with lifelong consequences, he said.
He urged his students to find alternatives to getting behind the wheel while impaired or riding with someone under the influence.
"Call your friends," he said. "Call your parents. Call me. I won't judge you. I want you to grow up."
Dixon asked students to take the event's message with them, and not just leave it behind once the assembly ended.
Garcia said afterwards that the two-day event reached about 800 local students. Each of the local high schools participates once every four years, he said, to make sure that all students experience it at least once during their high school career.
Laura Farris said after the event that four years ago she and Josh started participating in the "Every 15 Minutes," events. Their appearance Wednesday was the second they've made at Lower Lake, which is where he attended high school.
She said his message is an important one that she said is changing lives. After the presentation a young woman told Farris that she had taken the car keys away from her drunk sister as she was trying to leave in her car.
Looking at her son, Laura Farris said, "He did come back to life for a reason.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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