How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – A stretch of Highway 20 reopened just after midnight Wednesday after officials spent hours dealing with a hazmat issue that resulted from a crash.
The collision that triggered the closure occurred just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 20 at mile post marker 35, east of Clearlake Oaks.
The California Highway Patrol reported from the scene that an RV's hood had popped open while it was going down the highway, causing it to pull over. A tractor trailer carrying pears swerved, hit the RV from the rear and then also hit three other vehicles.
The Button Transportation semi went into Cache Creek as a result of the collision, coming to a rest on its side.
Several people were injured in the crash, with some of the victims suffering major injuries, according to the CHP. The truck driver was reported to be uninjured.
A short time after the crash Caltrans closed the highway between Highway 16 and Highway 53 as emergency medical personnel arrived.
Two REACH air ambulances transported two crash victims from the scene to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
With the truck in the creek, concerns about a fuel spill resulted in a call for hazardous materials cleanup. State Fish and Game and Lake County Environmental Health subsequently joined the effort.
About an hour after the crash officials were looking at putting a dike in Cache Creek to divert the spill. A request also reportedly was made to Yolo County to reduce the flow of water through the creek in an effort to contain the truck's fuel.
Two big rig tow truck were tasked with pulling the truck and its two trailers from the creek, an operation it completed shortly before 9:30 p.m.
With the truck out of the creek, Caltrans was able to finish roadway cleanup. Willits Tow is to repair approximately 100 feet of guard rail damaged by the wreck, the CHP reported.
The CHP noted that the highway reopened at approximately 12:07 a.m. Wednesday.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
A 42-year-old Mendocino County man died Aug. 21 with probable H1N1 influenza, according to Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Marvin Trotter.
Trotter said confirmatory tests are pending from the State Public Health Laboratory.
This man – who had a history of longstanding medical issues – is the first person in Mendocino County suspected of dying with the H1N1 virus, said Trotter, who extended his agency's deepest sympathies to the family.
“While we have identified 12 laboratory confirmed cases in Mendocino County through testing, we are following current state and federal testing recommendations which are to test only those hospitalized patients and deaths,” Trotter said. “We want to emphasize that there are hundreds of H1N1 cases in the county. The vast majority of these cases have mild or moderate illness, and the patients recover without medical treatment.”
As of Aug. 18, there have been 115 H1N1-related deaths in California, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control are reporting 7,983 hospitalized cases and 522 reported deaths.
In Lake County, three cases have been confirmed but there have been no deaths, according to Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
Mendocino County has been hit harder, with 12 hospitalizations in addition to the death.
“Unfortunately, it is anticipated that there will be more deaths and severe influenza illness throughout the United States and California before this pandemic ends,” Trotter said.
Officials have noted seeing a lot of H1N1 flu activity this year during the summer, which usually is down time for the seasonal flu. Trotter is concerned about more people becoming ill as the fall and winter months approach.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that the H1N1 vaccine is scheduled to be allocated in mid October.
Prioritization guidelines will be issued by the CDC and the state as there may not be enough H1N1 vaccine for everyone. Mendocino and Lake counties are both developing vaccination plans to address the most vulnerable populations, based on CDC guidelines.
Officials urge people to take precautions to avoid getting sick: Cough and sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and dispose of the tissue after each use; wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, even after washing your hands; avoid close contact with sick people; stay home from work or school when you are sick and don’t return until you have been free from a fever for 24 hours without any fever reducing medicine; and get your season flu shot.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE OAKS – Officials are estimating that Highway 20 will be closed until early Wednesday morning because of a crash that injured several people and left a big rig in a creek.
Several California Highway Patrol units were reported to be at the scene, where the crash occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m.
The crash occurred on Highway 20 at mile post marker 35, east of Clearlake Oaks, leaving the roadway closed down not long afterward, according to the CHP.
At 5:30 p.m., officials estimated that the highway will be closed for approximately eight hours.
Caltrans was closing Highway 20 at Highway 16 near Brooks in Colusa County and also was shutting down eastbound Highway 53. CHP units were being called to respond to turn traffic around at Highway 16.
The big rig, carrying pears, was said to be in Cache Creek, with Fish and Game and hazmat units called to the scene. Officials were discussing damming the creek to try to contain the spill.
County Environmental Health officers were on their way to the scene shortly before 6 p.m.
Two REACH air ambulances landed at the scene to transport several people injured in the head-on crash. Specifics about the number of injured were unavailable Tuesday afternoon.
More updates will be provided as information becomes available.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Mann, 62, said his retirement as judge of Lake County Superior Court's Department 3 will become effective Nov. 1.
“Although I am retiring, I am not quitting,” Mann said in a statement released from his office Monday afternoon. “I anticipate that I will remain working as a retired judge until my successor is selected.
“I wish to thank all the other judges that I have had the pleasure of working with as well as all the Court employees,” Mann continued. “I will miss working with my fellow judges and court staff as much as I will miss being a judge.”
Mann began his judicial career on July 10, 1979, when he was appointed judge of the Kelseyville Justice Court.
Since then, he's been a justice court judge, a municipal court judge and a superior court judge. In that capacity, he's heard everything from minor cases to cases involving murder.
“Being a judge is the best possible profession that I can imagine, and I always looked forward to going to work each day,” he said.
Mann and the rest of Lake County's Superior Court judges have six-year terms, which aren't up for reelection until 2012, according to the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office.
That means Mann's retirement will create a vacancy that is up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill, said Philip Carrizosa, spokesman for the state's Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco.
“Generally, the governor's office has a list of people who have filed applications for a judgeship,” Carrizosa explained.
The Governor's Office sends those names over to the California State Bar's Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation, said Carrizosa. The commission sends out questionnaires to people who may know that candidates, and conducts candidate interviews.
The application process is the governor is very detailed, and Carrizosa said the Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation's work in identifying a suitable candidate is confidential.
The commission assigns ratings to candidates on a scale including extremely well qualified, well qualified, qualified and not qualified, Carrizosa said.
The commission's evaluation of the candidates then go to the governor's judicial appointment secretary, which assists in deciding the best candidate for the position, he said.
Generally, the governor will wait until a position is officially vacant – in this case, November – before beginning the selection process, said Carrizosa. He said he would expect the governor to appoint a new judge sometime in early 2010.
It can take some time to fill a judgeship. The last judicial vacancy in Lake County occurred in July 2004, when Judge Robert Crone decided to retire. It was the following July before Richard Martin was sworn in as his successor.
An official with the Governor's Office wasn't available late Monday to confirm if they've started to receive applications from candidates.
Superior Court judges currently make $178,789 annually. However, local judges have agreed to take a nearly 5-percent pay cut in response to the state's decision to close all courts on the third Wednesday of the month as a cost-saving measure, as Lake County News has reported.
There so far have been no local members of the justice system who have stated they'll seek Mann's post.
However, one who said he won't apply is District Attorney Jon Hopkins.
“I don't think I would be as happy doing that as I am being a prosecutor,” said Hopkins, 63, noting he wouldn't want to be tied to a courtroom.
Hopkins added that being a judge is “a tough job. There's a lot of work involved with it.”
Mann ended his statement by thanking the community “for giving me the opportunity to serve them and I thank them for their support of the judicial system. As a retired judge I hope to continue serving the public.”
He also wished his successor good luck, “and I know that whoever succeeds me will have a rewarding career.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at