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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. — Lakeport’s longtime police chief was celebrated by the Lakeport City Council, colleagues and community members on Tuesday night before formally handing over the reins to his successor.
After 35 years with the Lakeport Police Department — 14 of them as chief — Brad Rasmussen officially stepped into retirement on Tuesday during the Lakeport City Council meeting.
His successor will be department veteran Dale Stoebe, selected by City Manager Kevin Ingram this spring.
The standing room-only crowd that assembled for the meeting included dignitaries Sheriff Rob Howe, Undersheriff Luke Bingham — who also is Lake County’s sheriff-elect — along with Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora, Lt. Ryan Peterson and Lt. Martin Snyder of the Clearlake Police Department, retired Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Rich Hinchcliff, much of the Lakeport Police staff and Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall.
While he’s ending his law enforcement career, Rasmussen isn’t leaving public service. Rather, he’s about to embark on a new career: That of the District 4 representative on the Lake County Board of Supervisors. He’ll take that seat in January.
At the supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday morning, Rasmussen also was lauded for his service by his near-future colleagues with the presentation of a proclamation.
During the Tuesday night meeting, Councilwoman Stacey Mattina read a proclamation outlining Rasmussen’s decades of service, and recognizing his leadership that extended beyond law enforcement to address issues such as homelessness and mental health issues, and advocating for community-oriented policing.
He also led the department in securing its new police department facility on South Main Street, he established the city’s National Night Out event and has been active in service organizations.
Rasmussen said he was proud to have been part of a team promoting positive change. He found both challenges and rewards in the many roles he filled over the years.
He added that it was an incredible honor to serve the community, and was proud to contribute to safety and improvements in Lakeport.
Council members offered their thanks, with Mattina noting that, while she would like to say she would miss him, “I think we’re going to be working together a lot.”
Councilwoman Kim Costa highlighted Rasmussen’s gentle spirit and kindness, and his responsiveness.
Mayor Michael Froio said Rasmussen is a visible presence in the community, a great listener and always willing to step up.
Froio said Rasmussen was the best candidate for the District 4 supervisor seat and he expects Rasmussen to excel in that position.
During public comment, Rasmussen was praised by fellow Kiwanis Club member Dennis Rollins, who said Rasmussen brought the club good ideas for service that made both the club and the community better.
Hinchcliff recounted working with Rasmussen for nearly 30 years, noting his hard work, common sense and diligence.
Sheriff Kendall — who had attended the police academy with Rasmussen and Sheriff Howe — joked that Rasmussen’s body doesn’t produce adrenaline. As a result, he said Rasmussen is a good listener and problem solver who remains calm.
Rasmussen’s wife of 32 years, Karyn, showed two badges he had just given her as a gift to commemorate being both a chief’s wife and an officer’s wife.
The city has been their family, she said. Karyn Rasmussen’s family moved to the city in 1978 and her father, Arlin Pischke, was elected to the Lakeport City Council and served as mayor.
She recalled how she had worked at Sprouse-Reitz along with his mother. He came in a lot, and she thought he was visiting his mother, but it was really to see her.
In recounting their lives together, she said, “I cannot believe we are at retirement stage.”
She added, “Happy retirement, husband,” before he rose to give her a hug.
As his last official act, Rasmussen had the opportunity to administer the oath of office to Stoebe, who has been his second in command. As Rasmussen explained, it’s an unusual situation for the outgoing chief to be able to swear in his successor, because there is usually an interval of time between retirements and new hires.
He said he’s confident in Stoebe’s ability to move the department forward, and said the community is in good hands.
In his comments after taking the oath, Stoebe noted, “It’s an interesting turn of events to find myself here.”
He credited Rasmussen with being one of the biggest reasons he is now in the job. He thanked Rasmussen for his patience, wisdom and tough love. “You endured a lot in your time as chief.”
As part of the ceremony, Stoebe’s partner of nearly nine years, Kati Galvani, pinned on his new chief’s badge.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership, or GRIP, grant was awarded to a consortium that includes the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Independent System Operator, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and Southern California Edison.
The agencies, grid operator and utilities will partner on the California Harnessing Advanced Reliable Grid Enhancing Technologies for Transmission, or CHARGE 2T, program, which will expand transmission capacity and provide interconnection improvements to increase and accelerate equitable access to clean energy resources across the state.
“Once again, the Biden-Harris Administration is not just talking the talk, they’re walking the walk. This funding is critical to our efforts to build a power grid that ensures all Californians have access to cleaner, cheaper, more reliable electricity,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The project will:
• Support more than 300 direct jobs.
• Enhance more than 100 miles of transmission lines with advanced conductor technologies that will help connect more clean energy resources than the existing grid can accommodate at this time.
• Deliver an estimated $200 million in energy savings from improved grid efficiency.
• Create economic and community benefits for disadvantaged communities.
• Invest in workforce training programs for the next generation of energy and utility workers.
• Develop a portal to improve transparency and efficiency in the interconnection process.
“As California grapples with increasingly extreme weather as a result of the climate crisis, bolstering our transmission network is essential for protecting public safety and ensuring a successful clean energy transition,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. “To meet the challenges we face, we must modernize our grid, and there is no better way to achieve that than through reconductoring. Thanks to this historic investment in our state’s CHARGE 2T program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re updating our transmission lines to efficiently, reliably, and affordably deliver clean electricity while creating new green jobs.”
Tribal collaborations
A Northern California electrical grid project, led by the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Karuk Tribe, and Yurok Tribe, also received $88 million in GRIP funding, which — with matching funds from various sources — will ultimately total about $200 million.
The result of years of collaboration between California tribes, the state, and other public-private partnerships, this project will develop an innovative network of community microgrids to ultimately create a highly reliable, resilient, and decarbonized system.
The communities affected currently rely on the Hoopa 1101 circuit — one of the least reliable circuits in the PG&E service territory, seeing average outages twice the duration of most other circuits.
The project’s innovative approach — developed in collaboration with a new grid services laboratory at Cal Poly Humboldt — addresses the difficulties posed by rugged, rural, and wildfire-prone environments, and will allow communities to move away from relying on fossil fuels.
California’s clean energy leadership
The world’s fifth largest economy is being powered by more clean energy than ever before, breaking records and accelerating our progress towards 100% clean electricity by 2045.
At 10,379 megawatts (MW), the state has increased battery capacity by 1,250% since the beginning of the Newsom Administration — up from 770 MW in 2019.
California’s power grid has set a series of clean energy records this year. For at least 100 days this year, clean energy has exceeded grid demand consumed at some point during the day.
Thanks to new clean energy resources and the surge in battery storage, California’s power grid withstood this July’s record two-week heat wave – and even exported power to other states.
Find clean energy projects in your community at https://build.ca.gov/.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The hearing follows three scathing state audits of the University of California and California State University systems since 2019.
California’s state auditor has conducted three audits: a UC audit undertaken in 2019, a second UC review in 2021, and a CSU survey and report in 2022.
The CSU audit revealed collections of more than 700,000, although not all campuses had undertaken required inventories.
UC also held sizable collections, particularly on the UC Berkeley campus, and auditors reported additional collections were found as campuses reviewed their inventories.
Governmental institutions and museums are bound to return Native American human remains and artifacts by the 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, and its 2001 California counterpart, CalNAGPRA. Return of the items and human remains is described as repatriation.
The hearing was conducted by the Select Committee on Native American Affairs chaired by Assemblymember James C. Ramos and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.
“While I am pleased that at long last, the UC and CSU systems are beginning to establish policies to direct the return of our ancestors’ remains, both systems have significant work ahead of them to comply with their legal responsibilities,” said Ramos, who also chairs the California Native American Legislative Caucus. “The legislature will continue to aggressively monitor compliance and take steps to ensure the UC and CSU systems pursue compliance on a considerably quicker pace.”
He added that the remains and objects should not be treated as archeological or academic trophies because they are human remains of ancestors.
Redding Rancheria Chairman Jack Potter, who spoke at a news briefing on the subject, said, “If you want to study an Indian, I’m right here. It takes money to do a lot of things but it should just take your heart. You hear the heart of these people crying from these shelves,” referring to shelves where universities store remains in boxes.
Ramos noted that his bill, AB 226 requires additional audits of the UC system, and it strongly urges UC to make annual reports to the legislature about its NAGPRA compliance.
He also cited AB 389 that required the CSUs to undertake the recommendations proposed by the state auditor in their 2022 review of the system. Both measures were signed in 2023.
In addition to Potter, other tribal leaders testifying at the oversight hearing included Lynn Valbuena, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Charles Martin from Morongo Band of Mission Indians; Leo Sisco, chair, Tachi Yokut Tribe; Councilmember Catalina Chacon, Pechanga Band of Indians; Lorelle Ross, vice chair emeritus, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Tribal Governance and Indian Child Welfare Act consultant; and Buffy McQuillen, tribal heritage preservation officer, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.
UC and CSU witnesses included CSU Chancellor Mildred García; California State University, Chico President Steve Perez; UC Vice President for Research and Innovation Teresa Maldonado; UC Executive Director of Research, Policy Analysis & Coordination Deborah Motton; UC System-wide Repatriation Coordinator Glenys Echavarri; UC Berkeley Chancellor Richard Lyons and UC Berkeley Director of Repatriation Alex Lucas.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
“As the father of a deputy sheriff, I’ve seen firsthand the acts of bravery our nation’s law enforcement engage in each day. It’s only right that Congress recognizes all that these men and women risk in the line of duty,” said Thompson. “I’m honored to be appointed to the review board for the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Award.”
Congress passed the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act in 2008, establishing an award to honor exceptional acts of bravery in the line of duty by members of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement.
The act created the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery and the State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery awards.
Medals are awarded annually by the U.S. attorney general and are presented by the recipients' Congressional representatives.
To meet the definition of an act of bravery, nominees for the Congressional Badge of Bravery must have either:
Sustained a physical injury while engaged in the lawful duties of the individual, and performing an act characterized as bravery by the agency head who makes the nomination, and being at personal risk; or
Although not injured, performed an act characterized as bravery by the agency head who makes the nomination that placed the individual at risk of serious physical injury or death.
Each award’s Board reviews nominations, makes recommendations for recipients to the Attorney General, and addresses other responsibilities required under the Congressional Badge of Bravery Act.
Thompson was honored to be jointly appointed to the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Review Board by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Speaker Mike Johnson. He will serve a two-year term.