LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities in Southern California have arrested a Terrace Middle School teacher who is charged with attempting to meet with an individual who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
Ricardo Ruiz, 36, of Clearlake was taken into custody on Thursday evening in Brea.
He was arrested on felony charges of contacting a minor to commit a felony, arranging to meet with a minor for a lewd purpose and meeting with a minor for a lewd purpose, said Lt. Tony Barbosa of Brea Police Department.
Ruiz did not, however, actually meet a minor. Rather, he had been chatting online with an adult posing as a young teenage girl as part of a sting operation conducted by a private group called CC Unit.
Ruiz set up a meeting with the decoy and was in Brea to meet her when he was taken into custody.
Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent Matt Bullard confirmed to Lake County News that Ruiz is a district employee.
Bullard said Ruiz has been the Terrace Middle School physical education teacher since August.
CC Unit’s founder, who identified himself as “Ghost” to protect his anonymity and future operations, said his group never makes first contact with an individual.
He said Ruiz contacted the decoy through a messenger app on the night of Nov. 22 and over the course of their interactions arranged to meet her this week, over the winter break.
During their ongoing chats, Ruiz said he was 27 years old and “said a bunch of graphic stuff” of a sexual nature, Ghost said.
Ghost said he confronted Ruiz when he showed up for the planned meeting at a Target store in a shopping center in Brea on Thursday.
Barbosa said Brea Police Department was not working with CC Unit, but was notified that it was doing a recording of a sting operation at the Gateway Shopping Center.
Ghost explained that he livestreamed himself confronting Ruiz at the store. He said his group didn’t call police, adding he believed it was a livestream viewer who called them.
Officers took Ruiz into custody in the shopping center parking lot, Barbosa said.
Late Friday afternoon, Bullard sent out a letter to parents about the situation, explaining that the Brea Police Department had notified the district of Ruiz’s arrest.
“The District’s primary concern is the safety of our students, employees, and greater school community. As such, we will fully participate with all law enforcement investigations. Unfortunately, in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, we are unable to provide any additional information,” Bullard wrote.
“LUSD has been in contact with law enforcement and its legal counsel and will immediately implement a local investigation into the conduct and behavior of the teacher in question. This investigation will be partnered with immediate steps that will ensure the safety of our student body and school community,” Bullard’s letter continued.
Ruiz was immediately placed on leave status and will not be at Terrace Middle School when students return on Monday, Jan. 3, Bullard said.
Bullard asked parents to report any incidents or concerns involving Ruiz to the district office.
Ruiz, who was booked into the Theo Lacy Facility jail complex in Orange County following his arrest, was released from custody just before 5 p.m. Friday, online jail records showed.
CC Unit’s operations have resulted in one other arrest in Brea, Barbosa confirmed.
Separately, Ghost said their stings, which began in 2018, have led to numerous arrests and some convictions in other parts of the state.
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. — Early indications are that voters have rejected a proposal for the Kelseyville Fire Protection District to create a new community services district and levy special taxes to build a new fire station.
Kelseyville Fire Chief Joe Huggins confirmed to Lake County News on Thursday that the district’s Measure A fire tax appears to have failed to get the support of voters.
Huggins said the election’s outcome won’t be finalized until the last tally takes place on Jan. 4.
The district hired MK Election Services LLC for election administration services, including sending out the ballots based on information provided by the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office.
The measure needed to pass by a two-thirds majority of the ballots returned.
In a letter to the Kelseyville Fire Board of Directors this week, Kenneth Mostern, principal of MK Election Services, reported results for the initial count that put the measure at well below the necessary two-thirds majority.
Of the 7,289 ballots mailed to voters on Nov. 8, only 2,145 were submitted for the selection, the letter said.
The letter to the fire board noted that due to a data processing error on the company's part, 1,177 ballots were sent to addresses of registration rather than mailing addresses, necessitating them to be mailed out again on Nov. 18.
Altogether, there were 998 “yes” votes and 1,134 “no” votes, with two blank ballots submitted and 11 ballots rejected, according to the report.
That tally means the measure received only 46% support, 21% below the approval threshold.
Earlier this year, the district began moving toward the formation of a community facilities district, holding meetings and hiring a consulting firm, CivicMic, to assist with the process.
The district proposed the action to enhance fire and emergency medical services, including building a new fire station in the Soda Bay corridor, specifically, the community of Buckingham.
To fund building the new fire station — at an estimated cost of $2.4 million, plus more than $1.2 million in annual staffing costs and $200,000 in annual debt service and administrative costs — the district proposed to levy special taxes for residents and business owners and authorize a $4 million bond issuance.
Regarding the amount of increases for residents, the information on current tax rates was not made available by CivicMic. When Lake County News contacted the firm for information, it was referred back to the company’s website, where current tax rates were not reported.
Ballots were mailed out in early November and were due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21.
While the county elections office handled aspects like signature matching, MK Election Services took care of other duties, including having a hotline for voters, authenticating ballots and conducting the official count, or canvass.
The letter to the fire district board said 150 ballots remain “at large” due to needing to have their signature matched, lacking a signature on the return envelope or because the signature doesn’t match one on record with the Registrar of Voters Office.
“MK Elections will return to Kelseyville to reopen the canvass on Jan. 4, 2022, to complete the tally and provide final certification of the count,” Mostern wrote. “In the meantime, the election record is being sealed and signed by the canvassers and left in the custody of the District.”
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. — Forecasters continue to predict chances of snow across Lake County during the Christmas weekend and into the last week of the year, along with more rain.
The National Weather Service said more than half an inch of rain and winds topping 20 miles per hour are in the Friday forecast.
For Christmas Day, up to a quarter inch of rain is expected during the day, with chances of more rain plus snow on Christmas night.
The potential for snow is expected to continue into Sunday morning, falling to as low as 1,000 to 2,000 feet in elevation.
While no accumulation is anticipated in the lower elevations, heavy mountain snow is expected, the forecast said.
The National Weather Service said there are chances of rain again on Monday, with potential for snow showers from Monday night through Thursday.
Temperatures through the weekend and into next week are forecast to be in the high 30s to low 40s during the day and at night hovering in the low 30s until the middle of next week, when they could drop into the high 20s.
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.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has a full house of dogs waiting to go home with a new family.
The City of Clearlake Animal Association also is seeking fosters for the animals waiting to be adopted.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
The newest dogs are listed at the top of the following list.
“Holly.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Holly’
“Holly” is a female terrier mix with a beige coat.
She is dog No. 49159116.
“Isabella.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Isabella’
“Isabella” is a female Chihuahua mix with a short tan coat.
She is dog No. 49292130.
“Winnie.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Winnie’
“Winnie” is a female Doberman pinscher-Australian shepherd mix with a short tricolor coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 49228128.
“Andy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Andy’
“Andy” is a male American pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 48995415.
“Arnold.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Arnold’
“Arnold” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a short brindle coat with white markings.
He is dog No. 49029348.
“Bear.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male Labrador retriever-American pit bull mix with a short charcoal and fawn coat.
“Bear No. 2” is a male American pit bull mix with a short tan coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 48731556.
“Bella.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Bella’
“Bella” is a female American pit bull mix with a short gray brindle coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 48448381.
“Gingy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Gingy’
“Gingy’ is a female terrier mix with a tan and white coat.
She is dog No. 49228146.
“Levi.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Levi’
“Levi” is a male golden retriever-Labrador retriever mix.
He has a short golden coat.
He is dog No. 48975687.
“Maria.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Maria’
“Maria” is a female Shar-Pei mix with a short tan coat.
She is dog No. 49047315.
“Mitzi.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mitzi’
“Mitzi” is a female Australian cattle dog mix with a medium-length black and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 48443306.
“Nala.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Nala’
“Nala” is a 1-year-old female German shepherd mix.
She has a medium-length black and tan coat.
She is dog No. 48289638.
“Priscilla.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Priscilla’
“Priscilla” is a female Brittany spaniel mix with a white and copper coat.
She is dog No. 49089138.
“Sassy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Sassy’
“Sassy” is a female American pit bull mix with a short black coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 48443128.
“Snowball.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Snowball’
“Snowball” is a male American Staffordshire mix terrier with a white coat.
He is dog No. 49159168.
“Tanisha.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Tanisha’
“Tanisha” is a female Australian cattle dog mix with a short red and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 48443302.
“Terry.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Terry’
“Terry” is a male shepherd mix with a short brindle coat.
He is dog No. 48443693.
“Turk.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Turk’
“Turk” is a male chocolate Labrador retriever mix.
He is dog No. 48911836.
“Willie.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Willie’
“Willie” is a male Chihuahua mix with a short black coat and white markings.
He is dog No. 49141640.
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.
For many people, the holidays are a time of togetherness, celebration and traditions like a holiday meal.
Census Bureau statistics show that thousands of employees and several food industry sectors make this possible.
To give you a taste, we trace holiday food fare every step of the way from agriculture and manufacturing to distribution by wholesalers and retailers.
Manufacturing
There were 233,960 employees with an annual payroll of $8.1 billion in the poultry (turkey, chicken, and duck) processing industry in 2019, according to the most recent data available in the Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM), 2019. This includes poultry frozen, canned, cooked, or prepared fresh. The reported value of shipments that year: $64.9 billion.
The dairy industry is another important part of the holiday food ecosystem. Establishments that manufacture dairy products reported $122.1 billion in value of shipments and 149,282 employees in 2019.
Produce and dairy
Fruit and vegetable manufacturers across the country labor to provide fresh produce for the holidays. In California, the nation’s top fruit and vegetable manufacturer by sales and number of employees, the industry employed about 25,209 people with shipments valued at about $11.4 billion in 2019, according to the ASM.
In 2019, of the 149,282 people employed by U.S. dairy manufacturers, about 74.8% were production workers. Production workers that year spent about 227.4 million hours manufacturing dairy products.
Wisconsin is the top producer of dairy by sales and value of shipment which explains the nickname “Cheeseheads” for Wisconsin residents. The industry employed 23,664 workers in 2019. California, another leading dairy producer, employed about 18,536 dairy workers.
Wholesale workers play an important role in the distribution of holiday goods from farm to table. In 2019, there were 4,731 U.S. wholesale establishments (employing about 110,215 workers) that primarily distributed fresh fruits and vegetables, according to the Census Bureau’s 2019 County Business Patterns (CBP).
Dairy and poultry product wholesalers employed about 41,157 and 9,607 people, respectively, in 2019.
Grocery stores
In 2019, there were 62,932 supermarkets and other grocery stores in the U.S. employing about 2.6 million workers, according to the CBP.
These establishments typically employ workers in the double digits as cashiers, stock people and managers, and to perform other duties in special departments.
In some states, a large percentage of grocery stores have fewer than five employees. The state with the most small grocers is New York, where 63.9% of the grocery stores are establishments with fewer than five employees, according to the 2019 CBP.
Evergreen establishments
Restaurants and other eating establishments are lifesavers for those who opt for the no-fuss no-mess holiday meals. In 2019, there are 583,446 restaurants in the United States, employing about 11.1 million workers, according to the 2019 County Business Patterns .
These establishments ranged in size, with about 26.5% of the eateries employing fewer than five employees in 2019.
Meat consumption
Americans consume more than three times as much pork as turkey, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2021, per capita meat consumption in the U.S. was projected to be about 225 pounds, including 51.6 pounds of pork and 15.7 pounds of turkey.
More data on agricultural projections is available from the USDA.
Lynda Lee is a supervisory survey statistician in the Census Bureau’s Data User and Trade Outreach Branch. Derick C. Moore is a senior communications specialist in the Census Bureau's Communications Directorate.
Members and supporters of the Lake and Mendocino County chapter of the NAACP gathered for a raffle drawing to benefit the group on Monday, December 20, 2021, in Clearlake, California. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. CLEARLAKE, Calif. — A group of Lake and Mendocino county leaders gathered with the local chapter of the NAACP this week to mark the end of a fundraiser that will help the organization pursue a number of key projects in the coming year.
The little ceremony took place at Clearlake City Hall on Monday afternoon.
NAACP President Rick Mayo was joined by a number of dignitaries who have shown up for the group over the years to show their support.
Mayo said the chapter represents Lake and Mendocino counties and the St. Helena portion of Napa County.
The Lake County NAACP branch was formed in 1982. Mayo has been president of the group for 34 of its nearly 40 years.
The group that gathered on Monday included leadership from the California-Hawaii NAACP State Conference.
Making the trip to Clearlake were North Area Director Capt. David Smith and Vallejo NAACP Branch President Jimmie Jackson. They joined Mayo and his branch leadership Kenneth Bagsby, Bessie Bell, Paul Kolb and Greta Zeit.
Smith said he sees a sense of community that makes him proud every time he comes to Lake County, and so he considers it a pleasure to visit. He said people in Lake County don’t mind getting out and getting their hands dirty.
Jackson said it’s good to see camaraderie and people talking with each other, adding that Mayo is a good NAACP president and he wouldn’t have driven to Lake County in the rainy weather for anyone else.
The group also included Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall and Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin, both of whom serve on the chapter’s executive committee; Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White and Clearlake Police Officers Association President Trevor Franklin; District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier and District 3 Supervisor EJ Crandell; and Clearlake city staffers Tina Viramontes and Mark Roberts.
White thanked everyone for coming. “Rick keeps us all in line.”
Kendall said Martin introduced him to Mayo after he became sheriff of Mendocino County.
Rick Mayo, the longtime president of the Lake and Mendocino County chapter of the NAACP at a raffle drawing event for the group on Monday, December 20, 2021, in Clearlake, California. In the background is Bessie Bell, the group’s treasurer. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. “When you don’t have enough to go around, everyone has to help everyone out,” Kendall said, explaining the partnerships forged among local and regional organizations.
He said Mayo has been a voice of support, telling him when he’s had questions that he knows the right thing to do and to do it.
“It’s about all of us supporting each other,” Kendall said.
Sabatier said Mayo makes sure community leaders open their eyes to what is not obvious, and he’s looking forward to his continued leadership.
Bell said COVID-19 has stopped some of the branch’s efforts but they are getting back to work. She noted, she kind of likes “this Zoom thing.”
The point of the gathering was to draw tickets for a raffle that will fund the local NAACP branch’s future activities.
Like Bell, Mayo said COVID-19 has presented a challenge to the group.
So it’s planning activities including educating the community about the virus, advocating for the Voting Rights Act, working on housing and on Americans with Disabilities Act issues in the city and county.
Mayo said 1,000 tickets had been sold, but as of Monday they did not have the total amount of funds raised.
Mayo said the fundraiser was a great community effort.
“It was a great turnout. I’m really happy with it,” said Mayo, noting they’re looking forward to doing it again in the near future.
Kendall himself sold an estimated 200 of the tickets, which won a variety of prizes, from shirts and trophies to a smart television. Businesses that donated to support the raffle included Griffin’s Furniture, Lakeview Market, Big O Tires, Kevin Ness Jewelers and Walmart, among others.
Both Kendall and Martin helped with choosing the tickets, along with the dignitaries in attendance.
Mayo said any winners not in attendance would be contacted with the information on their tickets.
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.
From left, Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall and Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin pick raffle tickets at a special gathering of the Lake and Mendocino County chapter of the NAACP on Monday, December 20, 2021, in Clearlake, California. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
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