News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities have identified the Clearlake woman killed after being struck by a car while walking along Highway 20 on Sunday night.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office identified the woman as 58-year-old Marla Simone Shaffer.

At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Shaffer was walking south, across Highway 20, toward the Pomo Pumps gas station near Robinson Rancheria in Nice.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office reported that she is believed to have walked into the westbound lane of the highway and into the path of a vehicle, where she was hit and mortally injured.

CHP Sgt. Joel Skeen told Lake County News that it appeared that Shaffer was walking from Robinson Casino and was going over to Pomo Pumps, as she has done in the past

“I can’t say if she misjudged traffic on the roadway or if she perhaps thought the vehicle that struck her was stopping or even turning,” Skeen said.

He added, “It was dark and very stormy, which was not ideal for anyone’s safety on the roadway.”

The CHP said that, so far, they do not know if drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in the fatal crash.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Cobb Community Center with support from Mountain Lions Club volunteers is now open as a warming center due to the ongoing power outage and winter storm damages.

The center — also known as the Little Red Schoolhouse — is located at 15780 Bottle Rock Road.

Volunteers will staff this center from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until further notice.

The public is welcome to come in, charge devices, warm up and access other services.

Lake County Behavioral Health Mobile Unit will be onsite from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7. The unit will offer emotional support and varied cold weather items. Questions can be directed to Carrie Manning at 707-274-9101.

On Wednesday, Feb. 7, showers will be available between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., provided by Adventist Health’s mobile shower unit. The hours were extended from the original end time in order to ensure children have an opportunity to access showers after school hours.

As of Tuesday night, hundreds of homes remained out of power in the Cobb area in the wake of the atmospheric river storms that culminated on Sunday.

On Monday, Sheriff Rob Howe declared a local emergency due to impacts from the winter storms, including excessive rainfall, high winds, and snow, resulting in downed trees and power lines, flooding, and other serious damage across the county.

Officials said the work to clear roads and restore power continues.

Lake County residents are urged to refrain from unnecessary travel, to treat all downed lines as live and report emergencies and check in on neighbors or family, especially those without power or who may not have access to the internet and/or phone.

For updates, follow Lake County Sheriff’s OES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lakecountyoes.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Town Hall, or MATH, will meet this week to discover community projects and new officers.

MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in the Middletown Community Meeting Room/Library at 21256 Washington St., Middletown. The meeting is open to the public.

To join the meeting via Zoom click on this link; the meeting ID is 869-1824-5695, pass code is 808449. Call in at 669-900-6833.

Items on the agenda will include projects before the planning department and Planning Commission, formation of a committee for the purpose of reviewing projects, the Caltrans Corridor Plan, the supervisor’s discretionary fund, care for stray animals and a spay/neuter program, the multi-use trail, and a discussion on traffic safety including flashing crosswalks and stop signs.

The MATH Board will present the year’s MATH officers and the group also will discuss MATH bylaws amendments.

MATH’s next meeting will take place on March 14.

MATH — established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 — is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.

For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Officials are urging boaters to exercise extra caution when operating motorboats throughout Clear Lake during the months of February and March due to floating and submerged debris hazards resulting from atmospheric river storm events that occurred Jan. 31 through the first week in February.

Floating and submerged debris such as trees, branches, full or partial floating docks, trash and other objects can cause significant damage if hit or come in contact with boats operating at normal to significant speed.

Lake County Water Resources Department advises boaters to maintain a safe speed and keep a clear line of vision ahead of their vessel, especially during times of fog or mist.

The Water Resources Department, in coordination with Lake County Marine Patrol, Department of Public Services and the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, are combining efforts to remove and dispose of debris and hazards.

However, officials said this will be a long, ongoing process and boaters should remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings and maintain a safe, slower speed when boating in Clear Lake.

For questions regarding this topic, or to report in-lake hazards such as debris, floating docks, or missing or found hazard buoys, please contact the Water Resources Department at 707-263-2344 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

On Monday, Lake County’s representative in the California Senate, Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, was sworn in as president pro tempore.

The ceremony included his family, members of the California State Senate and Assembly, Gov. Gavin Newsom and elected officials, past legislative leaders, and members of the North Coast communities he represents.

McGuire began by thanking the first responders who are helping Californians up and down the state facing the worst storm of the year.

“The storm is top of mind for all of us. Hundreds of thousands of Californians woke up without power this morning knocked out due to hurricane force winds, Southern California waterways are over their banks, dangerous mudslide conditions have taken hold and 100 year rainfall records are being broken,” McGuire said.

“While this is a day to celebrate California, we hold those communities who are impacted by the ferocious storm close in our hearts this afternoon,” he said. “And If I know one thing to be true — we are never better than we are right now… Helping our neighbors in need. This is the California way.”

McGuire is a third-generation Northern Californian whose family farmed prunes and grapes in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County for nearly half a century.

He served on his local school board, city council, and board of supervisors before joining the Senate. He lives in Sonoma County with his wife Erika, an elementary school principal, their son Connor, and their lazy pug, Gertrude.

“I was a kid from a broken home in rural California, raised by a divorced/working mom who gave everything she had to put food on the table and a roof over our head,” he said. “I didn’t come from a family with money or a name – but I took my grandma’s lessons that still stick with me today. Work hard, work together, and never take no for an answer.”

He added, “Never in a million years did I dream that a kid like me could be in this position — a position that all of us are in here in the Legislature — and have the ability to help millions across this great state achieve their own California dream.”

Since joining the Senate in 2014, Pro Tem McGuire has been a champion for improving wildfire prevention and response, enhancing the state’s infrastructure, facilitating and expanding climate goals, widening health care access, improving schools, creating more affordable housing, tackling homelessness, addressing the fentanyl crisis, and protecting businesses and communities.

Most recently, he has been a key member of Senate leadership, serving as majority leader since 2022.

“My core belief is this: The highest calling in life is to help others. To fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. And to work together — no matter your party affiliation — because working together is the only way to make progress stick,” he said. “California has always been the light of hope for America — the beacon of progress — and along with the Assembly and governor, we will continue to fight for all of us, always together, always forward.”

Last year, Senator McGuire authored legislation that ensures that aviation fuel used by firefighting aircraft can be transported beyond standard hours during a declared state of emergency; reforms cannabis licensing fees; requires sexual harassment disclosures to stop abuse at California’s public colleges; and expedites offshore wind development to meet California’s long-term electricity demand and climate goals.

He also wrote policy to protect wildfire survivors from having to pay state income taxes on settlement awards from Pacific Gas and Electric, which was included as part of the 2023-24 state budget, and secured millions of dollars in state funding for the communities of the North Coast.

“We will meet the challenges ahead with grace, courage, and determination. We will never stop fighting to make the promise of the Golden State possible for every Californian,” McGuire said.

He thanked Pro Tem Emeritus Toni Atkins for her support and the example she set. “You are one of the most effective and thoughtful leaders of our time — a California trailblazer, a role model for millions, and a dear friend.”

McGuire represents the North Coast of California, which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, including Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Clearlake woman died Sunday night after she was struck by a vehicle while walking along Highway 20.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office did not release the name of the woman pending the notification of next of kin.

The agency said the female pedestrian died at the scene of the crash on Highway 20 near Robinson Rancheria in Nice.

The fatal crash occurred at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, during a day of heavy rains and wind brought about by an atmospheric river storm. At the time of the crash, the CHP said conditions were rainy, dark and cool.

The CHP said Sarah Ann Whitman, 43, of Nice was driving a 2016 Toyota Corolla westbound on Highway 20, just east of Pomo Way, at approximately 40 miles per hour.

At the same time, the CHP said the pedestrian was walking south, across Highway 20, toward the Pomo Pumps gas station.

For reasons that the CHP said are yet to be determined, the pedestrian is believed to have walked into the westbound lane of the highway and into the path of Whitman’s vehicle, where she was hit.

The CHP said the woman hit by the car was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where she was declared deceased.

Neither Sarah Whitman nor her passenger, 19-year-old Emily Ann Whitman of Nice, suffered injuries, the CHP report said.

“It is unknown at this time if drugs or alcohol were a contributing factor in the cause of this crash,” the CHP said in its Monday report.

CHP Officer Jared Wade is leading the investigation into the crash.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.