How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
NORTH COAST, Calif. — The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said it has identified the man who earlier this month attempted to kill a deputy and is the suspect in a series of burglaries in remote areas of Mendocino County.
Authorities said William Allan Evers, 40, was identified as the suspect by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Investigations Bureau.
Evers is described as a white male adult, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 180 pounds with brown eyes, brown hair and reddish facial hair.
He has at least one skull tattoo on his right upper arm, a “demon face” tattoo on his upper left arm and an unknown prominent tattoo on his chest. Officials said he may have changed his appearance and shaved his beard or head to prevent being located.
Evers is wanted for an active no bail arrest warrant by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for criminal threats and should be considered armed and dangerous.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Evers’ last confirmed sighting was in the area of Elk on May 12.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on May 12, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a report of a burglary occurring at a residence located in the 3000 block of Cameron Road.
The homeowner was away from the residence and noticed the presence of an unknown adult male inside the residence based upon live-time footage from a security camera.
Sheriff's deputies were responding to the residence when the homeowner reported the adult male had exited the residence. The deputies encountered the man outside of the residence and a short foot pursuit ensued until the adult male discharged a firearm multiple times at one of the pursuing sheriff's deputies.
The sheriff's deputy returned fire and no one was injured as a result of the exchange of gunfire. At that time, a search for Evers was unsuccessful.
Authorities said two residential burglaries were reported in the Pacific Reef Road area of Albion which were suspected of occurring sometime around May 18. Evers is believed to have been involved in those burglaries.
Authorities again searched the Elk area for Evers unsuccessfully on May 19.
Evers is known to be comfortable in wooded areas and is suspected of using rural roads and logging roads to transit the county.
Anyone who observes someone matching Evers’ description is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office by calling 911. Do not approach or attempt to contact evers if located.
If you have any information concerning the whereabouts, or had any recent contacts with Evers, contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 707-463-4086 and ask to speak to an available detective or patrol deputy.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A formal appeal has been filed with the county of Lake that’s seeking to overturn the Lake County Planning Commission’s decision last month to permit a large cannabis operation near the Hidden Valley Lake community, with a hearing set before the Board of Supervisors next month.
At its April 22 meeting, the commission voted unanimously to approve a major use permit and initial study sought by Zarina Otchkova, owner of WeGrow LLC.
Otchkova is planning the commercial cannabis cultivation operation on a portion of a 309-acre property she purchased in 2020 at 16750 Herrington Road, 17610 Sandy Road and 19678 Stinson Road in Middletown.
The project calls for 35 greenhouses, four 50-foot by 100-foot drying buildings, a 200-square-foot shed, four 2,500-gallon water tanks and fencing. The total cultivation area will cover nine acres.
The commission received input from numerous community members concerned about the project’s potential impact on quality of life and water supply, among other issues.
The Lake County Zoning Ordinance provides for a seven calendar day appeal period.
The Lake County Community Development Department’s Planning Division received the appeal on April 28, with the required $1,136.30 appeal fee, according to county documents.
The appellant is the Shadow Ridge Subdivision.
The appeal document — which says it is also filed on behalf of the Dohnery Ridge, Shadow Hills and Rim Ranch subdivisions, as well as numerous residents of Hidden Valley Lake and the Ranchos — cites numerous issues, chief among them, unpermitted building, inadequate water analysis, road maintenance, lighting, a site plan map that doesn’t match the one in the agenda for the commission’s public hearing, energy usage, sewage disposal, air quality and conformity with the Middletown Area Plan.
Otchkova’s consultant, Lake County Planning Consultants, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Johanna DeLong, assistant clerk of the Board of Supervisors, said the appeal will go before the board at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 8.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
At its April 22 meeting, the commission voted unanimously to approve a major use permit and initial study sought by Zarina Otchkova, owner of WeGrow LLC.
Otchkova is planning the commercial cannabis cultivation operation on a portion of a 309-acre property she purchased in 2020 at 16750 Herrington Road, 17610 Sandy Road and 19678 Stinson Road in Middletown.
The project calls for 35 greenhouses, four 50-foot by 100-foot drying buildings, a 200-square-foot shed, four 2,500-gallon water tanks and fencing. The total cultivation area will cover nine acres.
The commission received input from numerous community members concerned about the project’s potential impact on quality of life and water supply, among other issues.
The Lake County Zoning Ordinance provides for a seven calendar day appeal period.
The Lake County Community Development Department’s Planning Division received the appeal on April 28, with the required $1,136.30 appeal fee, according to county documents.
The appellant is the Shadow Ridge Subdivision.
The appeal document — which says it is also filed on behalf of the Dohnery Ridge, Shadow Hills and Rim Ranch subdivisions, as well as numerous residents of Hidden Valley Lake and the Ranchos — cites numerous issues, chief among them, unpermitted building, inadequate water analysis, road maintenance, lighting, a site plan map that doesn’t match the one in the agenda for the commission’s public hearing, energy usage, sewage disposal, air quality and conformity with the Middletown Area Plan.
Otchkova’s consultant, Lake County Planning Consultants, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Johanna DeLong, assistant clerk of the Board of Supervisors, said the appeal will go before the board at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 8.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council will hold a special Tuesday meeting to discuss a vicious dog abatement case.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25.
The agenda packet can be found here.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799. The webinar ID is 929 4762 5861, access code is 021538; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments prior to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25.
Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.
On Tuesday, the council will consider Maria Anderson’s appeal of the vicious animal abatement involving her two dogs, Bane and Bandit.
City documents show that the city has received numerous complaints about Anderson’s dogs from February 2020 through earlier this month.
The complaints include the dogs running loose, killing ducks, rabbits, chickens and cats, and breaking through a neighbor’s fence and acting aggressively toward an officer.
A third dog belonging to Anderson, named “Cissy,” was hit and killed by a car in July while running loose.
The hearing is expected to include several witnesses for Lake County Animal Care and Control and Lakeport Police, and witnesses on behalf of Anderson.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25.
The agenda packet can be found here.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799. The webinar ID is 929 4762 5861, access code is 021538; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to
Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council prior to the meeting.
On Tuesday, the council will consider Maria Anderson’s appeal of the vicious animal abatement involving her two dogs, Bane and Bandit.
City documents show that the city has received numerous complaints about Anderson’s dogs from February 2020 through earlier this month.
The complaints include the dogs running loose, killing ducks, rabbits, chickens and cats, and breaking through a neighbor’s fence and acting aggressively toward an officer.
A third dog belonging to Anderson, named “Cissy,” was hit and killed by a car in July while running loose.
The hearing is expected to include several witnesses for Lake County Animal Care and Control and Lakeport Police, and witnesses on behalf of Anderson.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
At McClellan Air Force Base on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted the recent addition of six Cal Fire Hawk helicopters to Cal Fire’s fleet and discussed his proposed $2 billion investment in combating wildfires and emergency preparedness – the largest in California history.
“Climate change has created a new wildfire reality in California, and we are proposing the single largest investment in wildfire preparedness in our state’s history – $2 billion for emergency preparedness,” said “With new investments in state-of-the-art firefighting technology and equipment and a focus on building resilience through fuel breaks, forest health projects and home hardening to protect our high-risk communities, the state is more prepared than ever to face wildfire season.”
Earlier in the day, the governor was joined by Cal Fire Director Thom Porter and CAL OES Director Mark Ghilarducci on an aerial tour of key fuel breaks in the Sierra Foothills made possible by executive action in 2019 to accelerate fuels management in California’s most wildfire-vulnerable communities.
The Governor’s California Comeback Plan proposes $2 billion for disaster preparedness, including urgent action to support wildfire suppression, improve forest health and build resilience in communities to help protect residents and property from catastrophic wildfires.
Investments include $48.4 million to phase in 12 new Cal Fire Hawk helicopters and seven large air tankers; $143.3 million to support 30 additional fire crews; and an additional $708 million to restore landscape and forest health to be more resilient to wildfires.
In partnership with the Legislature, the governor signed a $536 million early action wildfire package last month to give the state a head start on projects to restore the ecological health of forests and watersheds, fuel breaks and home hardening for at-risk communities, and improvements to defensible space to mitigate wildfire damage.
The California Comeback Plan includes expanded investments for sustainable approaches to thinning California’s vulnerable landscapes and funding to advance approximately 500 fuel break projects, building on the success of the expedited 35 emergency fuel reduction projects that played a critical role in containing wildfires last year.
Newsom last month announced that he is expanding and refocusing the Forest Management Task Force to deliver on key commitments in the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan issued in January.
The Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force of federal, local and tribal leaders builds on the state’s collaborative effort to improve the health of forests and reduce wildfire risk to communities.
More information on the progress to date by the Newsom Administration and the Legislature to address California’s forest health and wildfire crisis can be found here.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Another water company serving Lake County is urging its customers to conserve in response to a state emergency drought declaration.
The state of California issued an emergency drought that was expanded on May 10 to include Lake, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties.
Golden State Water Co. is advising customers in its Clearlake service area and other parts of the state to continue using water responsibly and make water conservation an important part of their everyday routines.
Earlier this month, California Water Service, which serves Lucerne, also asked its customers to conserve water, as Lake County News has reported.
“Our customers did a tremendous job reducing water use during the last drought, and most of them have continued those water-efficient practices and done a nice job making conservation a way of life,” said Paul Schubert, general manager of the Northern District for Golden State Water.
He said the announcement expanding the emergency drought declaration to include Lake, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties “is consistent with what the data is telling us. These areas are experiencing various levels of drought, and we must all work together to help protect water supplies.”
Customers are asked to limit outdoor irrigation and refrain from watering lawns and gardens during daylight hours to reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation.
Additionally, customers are reminded that the following practices that waste potable water are prohibited in California:
• Hosing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes.
• Washing a motor vehicle with a hose, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle.
• Operating a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is part of a recirculating system.
• Watering outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes excess runoff, or within 48 hours following measurable precipitation.
• Irrigation with potable water of ornamental turf on public street medians.
“Golden State Water has experts who have been monitoring and planning for this since the last drought ended; however, it’s important that each and every customer realizes the important impact we can make if we all work together to improve our water-use efficiency,” said Denise Kruger, senior vice president of regulated water utilities for Golden State Water. “Golden State Water offers numerous rebates and resources to help customers save water, and we encourage everyone to check our website to see what they may qualify for.”
Golden State Water will provide additional drought-related updates with customers as developments and conditions warrant. Customers are asked to visit www.gswater.com/conservation to learn more about programs and resources in their area, and follow @GoldenStateH2O on Twitter and Facebook for real-time information about the drought and local water service.
The state of California issued an emergency drought that was expanded on May 10 to include Lake, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties.
Golden State Water Co. is advising customers in its Clearlake service area and other parts of the state to continue using water responsibly and make water conservation an important part of their everyday routines.
Earlier this month, California Water Service, which serves Lucerne, also asked its customers to conserve water, as Lake County News has reported.
“Our customers did a tremendous job reducing water use during the last drought, and most of them have continued those water-efficient practices and done a nice job making conservation a way of life,” said Paul Schubert, general manager of the Northern District for Golden State Water.
He said the announcement expanding the emergency drought declaration to include Lake, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties “is consistent with what the data is telling us. These areas are experiencing various levels of drought, and we must all work together to help protect water supplies.”
Customers are asked to limit outdoor irrigation and refrain from watering lawns and gardens during daylight hours to reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation.
Additionally, customers are reminded that the following practices that waste potable water are prohibited in California:
• Hosing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes.
• Washing a motor vehicle with a hose, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle.
• Operating a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is part of a recirculating system.
• Watering outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes excess runoff, or within 48 hours following measurable precipitation.
• Irrigation with potable water of ornamental turf on public street medians.
“Golden State Water has experts who have been monitoring and planning for this since the last drought ended; however, it’s important that each and every customer realizes the important impact we can make if we all work together to improve our water-use efficiency,” said Denise Kruger, senior vice president of regulated water utilities for Golden State Water. “Golden State Water offers numerous rebates and resources to help customers save water, and we encourage everyone to check our website to see what they may qualify for.”
Golden State Water will provide additional drought-related updates with customers as developments and conditions warrant. Customers are asked to visit www.gswater.com/conservation to learn more about programs and resources in their area, and follow @GoldenStateH2O on Twitter and Facebook for real-time information about the drought and local water service.
As COVID-19 vaccinations continue, and cities and states move toward full reopening, many people are feeling reentry anxiety — an uneasiness about returning to the old normal of schools and offices, hugs and handshakes, and social gatherings large and small.
The American Psychological Association reports that Americans are experiencing the highest levels of stress since April 2020, and that half of surveyed adults are uneasy about returning to in-person interactions. It’s as if each of us, having spent the last year adrift in space, alone or in our small pods, now has to navigate a reentry into coexistence.
“Reentering the busy world will be a new type of stress, because we’re not used to it anymore,” said Elissa Epel, PhD, professor and vice chair in the Department of Psychiatry. “It simply has a lot of challenges embedded into it: being in traffic, getting to work on time, parking, managing family schedules, and having social interactions all day. Those are the small things that can add up to leave you feeling overstimulated or exhausted, making it an unpleasant transition.”
There’s no right or wrong way to handle reentry, but mental health experts offer some advice: communicate your needs, go at your own pace, and think of the changes as a way to build resilience.
A range of potential anxiety
Just as we all had different pandemic experiences, our reentry experiences will be diverse.
“There’s going to be a range of potential anxiety,” said Stacy Torres, PhD, assistant professor of Social Behavioral Sciences at the UCSF School of Nursing, “and we really can’t assume things in terms of people’s lived experiences, or of how they’ve been safeguarding themselves — or not — in the past year.”
This will show up in the most basic, everyday interactions. Epel tells a story which may soon be common: “I was talking to someone, but she was too close to me for my comfort. As I stepped backward, she stepped forward. With each step my anxiety was rising!” Epel said that though it may not be fully rational, given the new data about vaccination safety, but some of us need time to adjust to close encounters.
The solution? Communicate, early and often, Epel said. “What I learned from that is, I shouldn't be embarrassed to share my needs or my discomfort, and just simply say, ‘I'm used to talking at more of a distance, if you don't mind.’ There's nothing stigmatized about that.”
“People should feel permission to not conform to what others may be doing,” said Epel, “and to transition in the way that works for them. We’re reentering a different world, with new rules, and we are coming from different pandemic experiences. Decide what boundaries you want to have, what activities you are comfortable with, and communicate that to others.”
That flexible transition won’t be possible unless empathy extends beyond interpersonal relations, said Torres. Governments and businesses should find ways to account for a spectrum of needs. “That’s challenging for institutions in terms of thinking about bringing people back together or not,” she said. “Is that desirable? Is it practical?”
For some institutions, a year of telecommuting has reduced the pressure to rush back into crowded office spaces, said Torres. “Are you really going to travel three hours for a 45-minute meeting?”
The UCSF Employee Coping and Resiliency Program offers some tips for managers to support employees who may feel anxious about returning to in-person work.
“If you can, go slow,” said Epel. “If we are not rushing, we can appreciate the blessings of returning to freedom in so many ways.”
Adding to existing stresses
While the pandemic created its own difficulties, for many people, it also exacerbated previously existing stresses, such as food insecurity, housing issues and financial struggles, said Sarah Metz, PsyD, the chief psychologist for Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and director of Trauma Recovery Services for UCSF.
Metz said the Trauma Recovery Center provided 25 percent more individual therapy sessions during the first six months of shelter-in-place as compared to the baseline.
As we face another transition period, Metz said that seeking out or continuing mental-health services during reentry can help. And with telehealth becoming more common during the pandemic, it’s easier to access from home.
“If folks are really continuing to feel paralyzed or not able to leave the home, doing a lot of cleaning, hand washing, really preoccupied with fears of getting sick, I would recommend working with a therapist that specializes in phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorder,” she said. “For some, adding medication support could be helpful.”
Starting small
The experts agree that reentry can be gradual: Evaluate and adjust your comfort levels one encounter, one grocery-store trip at a time.
“Start small,” said Metz. “Maybe you go to a cafe with a friend who’s also vaccinated, or you have that friend over to your house for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes and see how you feel. Maybe you start the interaction with the window open and the fan on. Maybe after 10 minutes, you turn the fan off or close the window.”
Reentry may be an opportunity to cultivate resilience — the ability to rebound after challenges. Torres said the older adults she works with, in their 60s to 90s, have taught her a lot about resilience.
“Even though older people face particular risks with this virus, they're so resilient,” she said. “They drew on a lifetime of different hardships, different losses, different traumas, maybe they lost a spouse or a partner.”
They reminded Torres that even when the routines we carefully build and cultivate — before, during and after this pandemic — are broken, we can find the resilience to build new ones.
Brandon R. Reynolds writes for the University of California, San Francisco.
The American Psychological Association reports that Americans are experiencing the highest levels of stress since April 2020, and that half of surveyed adults are uneasy about returning to in-person interactions. It’s as if each of us, having spent the last year adrift in space, alone or in our small pods, now has to navigate a reentry into coexistence.
“Reentering the busy world will be a new type of stress, because we’re not used to it anymore,” said Elissa Epel, PhD, professor and vice chair in the Department of Psychiatry. “It simply has a lot of challenges embedded into it: being in traffic, getting to work on time, parking, managing family schedules, and having social interactions all day. Those are the small things that can add up to leave you feeling overstimulated or exhausted, making it an unpleasant transition.”
There’s no right or wrong way to handle reentry, but mental health experts offer some advice: communicate your needs, go at your own pace, and think of the changes as a way to build resilience.
A range of potential anxiety
Just as we all had different pandemic experiences, our reentry experiences will be diverse.
“There’s going to be a range of potential anxiety,” said Stacy Torres, PhD, assistant professor of Social Behavioral Sciences at the UCSF School of Nursing, “and we really can’t assume things in terms of people’s lived experiences, or of how they’ve been safeguarding themselves — or not — in the past year.”
This will show up in the most basic, everyday interactions. Epel tells a story which may soon be common: “I was talking to someone, but she was too close to me for my comfort. As I stepped backward, she stepped forward. With each step my anxiety was rising!” Epel said that though it may not be fully rational, given the new data about vaccination safety, but some of us need time to adjust to close encounters.
The solution? Communicate, early and often, Epel said. “What I learned from that is, I shouldn't be embarrassed to share my needs or my discomfort, and just simply say, ‘I'm used to talking at more of a distance, if you don't mind.’ There's nothing stigmatized about that.”
“People should feel permission to not conform to what others may be doing,” said Epel, “and to transition in the way that works for them. We’re reentering a different world, with new rules, and we are coming from different pandemic experiences. Decide what boundaries you want to have, what activities you are comfortable with, and communicate that to others.”
That flexible transition won’t be possible unless empathy extends beyond interpersonal relations, said Torres. Governments and businesses should find ways to account for a spectrum of needs. “That’s challenging for institutions in terms of thinking about bringing people back together or not,” she said. “Is that desirable? Is it practical?”
For some institutions, a year of telecommuting has reduced the pressure to rush back into crowded office spaces, said Torres. “Are you really going to travel three hours for a 45-minute meeting?”
The UCSF Employee Coping and Resiliency Program offers some tips for managers to support employees who may feel anxious about returning to in-person work.
“If you can, go slow,” said Epel. “If we are not rushing, we can appreciate the blessings of returning to freedom in so many ways.”
Adding to existing stresses
While the pandemic created its own difficulties, for many people, it also exacerbated previously existing stresses, such as food insecurity, housing issues and financial struggles, said Sarah Metz, PsyD, the chief psychologist for Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and director of Trauma Recovery Services for UCSF.
Metz said the Trauma Recovery Center provided 25 percent more individual therapy sessions during the first six months of shelter-in-place as compared to the baseline.
As we face another transition period, Metz said that seeking out or continuing mental-health services during reentry can help. And with telehealth becoming more common during the pandemic, it’s easier to access from home.
“If folks are really continuing to feel paralyzed or not able to leave the home, doing a lot of cleaning, hand washing, really preoccupied with fears of getting sick, I would recommend working with a therapist that specializes in phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorder,” she said. “For some, adding medication support could be helpful.”
Starting small
The experts agree that reentry can be gradual: Evaluate and adjust your comfort levels one encounter, one grocery-store trip at a time.
“Start small,” said Metz. “Maybe you go to a cafe with a friend who’s also vaccinated, or you have that friend over to your house for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes and see how you feel. Maybe you start the interaction with the window open and the fan on. Maybe after 10 minutes, you turn the fan off or close the window.”
Reentry may be an opportunity to cultivate resilience — the ability to rebound after challenges. Torres said the older adults she works with, in their 60s to 90s, have taught her a lot about resilience.
“Even though older people face particular risks with this virus, they're so resilient,” she said. “They drew on a lifetime of different hardships, different losses, different traumas, maybe they lost a spouse or a partner.”
They reminded Torres that even when the routines we carefully build and cultivate — before, during and after this pandemic — are broken, we can find the resilience to build new ones.
Brandon R. Reynolds writes for the University of California, San Francisco.