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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.
Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEG TV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments prior to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
On the agenda is a discussion regarding an exclusive negotiation agreement for the sale of property at 2890 Old Highway 53.
City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explains that a subdivision was started at the 29-acre property several years ago but the project fell apart due to the Great Recession.
The city now has interest from two parties, one of them the previous developer, in restarting the project.
The council will consider an 180-day exclusive negotiation agreement with one of the two parties, both of which are proposing a 20-lot development.
Proposals have been submitted by Robert Adelman and Mark Flamer, who are offering $100,000 and a five-year option to purchase; and TJG/Summitt Development Corp., whose president is developer Barry Johnson, with a proposed purchase price of $150,000 and an agreement to close escrow within 30 days of the approval of the tentative subdivision map.
In other property-related business, the council will discuss extending the proposed letter of intent with King Management LLC, which is interested in purchasing a portion of the city’s Pearce Field airport property at 6356 Armijo Ave. and 6393 James St. to develop for a hotel.
Flora’s report said the council signed the letter of intent with King Management for the property on July 16 and recently signed another letter of intent with the firm, which wants to develop another hotel on a portion of Redbud Park.
“King Management would like to develop the Redbud project first and then focus on the Airport site,” Flora noted, adding that due to the city’s current efforts at the airport property, “the timing seems to make sense for this phased approach.”
He said the current letter of intent will expire on Jan. 12, 2021, with King Management requesting an extension of the letter for an additional 180-day period to July 11, 2021.
Also on Thursday, consulting city engineer David Swartz will update the council on the improvement project on Pearl, Emory and Mullen streets.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – are warrant registers; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action March 19, 2020; adoption of the 2020 Conflict of Interest Code, Resolution No. 2020-61; disposal of surplus vehicles, Resolution No. 2020-63; approval of the reimbursement agreement with the Lake County Watershed Protection District for total maximum daily load and storm water permit compliance approve reimbursement agreement; and adoption of design review standards, a resolution of the Clearlake City Council rescinding Resolution No. 2020-50 and adopting the city’s design standards.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire Protection District’s firefighters are planning to bring some Christmas spirit to the city this Friday.
At 6:30 p.m., the firefighters will begin a lighted parade throughout the city, as shown in the map above.
The fire department will host Santa Claus in the parade.
The firefighters wish to end this year on a positive and uplifting note.
Recognizing that so much of 2020 has brought us a very different world, Lakeport Fire’s volunteers are holding the parade to help spread the Christmas spirit.
Anyone wishing to view the parade is asked to please observe COVID-19 guidelines.
For more information about the parade, visit the Lakeport Fire Department’s Facebook page.
Any businesses who would like to enter the parade are asked to call Brandon Morin at 707-972-1904 for details.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The National Weather Service said there are chances of rainfall on Thursday morning before conditions clear and the sun returns.
The National Weather Service’s observation stations reported the following 24-hour rainfall totals in inches through 1:40 a.m. Thursday:
– Bartlett Springs: 0.92.
– Cache Creek near Lower Lake: 0.38.
– County line (at Colusa side): 0.43.
– Hidden Valley Lake: 0.44.
– High Glade Lookout (above Upper Lake): 0.72.
– Kelseyville: 0.50.
– Knoxville Creek: 0.45.
– Lyons Valley (northwest of Lakeport): 0.82.
– Soda Creek: 1.04.
– Whispering Pines: 0.80.
The local forecast calls for winds of up to 14 miles per hour on Thursday, with lighter winds on Thursday night and continuing through Saturday.
Conditions are forecast to be mostly sunny and clear through the middle of next week, the forecast said.
Daytime temperatures over the coming week are expected to rise into the low 50s, with conditions at night seeing temperatures in the high 30s.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster said he plans to ask an appellate court to review the reduced sentencing handed down Wednesday for a Caspar woman who shot a dog in what a probation officer said was a “sickening” case of cruelty.
Eyster criticized Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Clayton Brennan for his actions during the sentencing in Fort Bragg of Katie Rhiannon Smith, 35, with Eyster’s office calling Brennan’s sentencing decision “a travesty of justice.”
In April Eyster personally charged Smith with felony animal cruelty, as well as a sentencing enhancement for personally using a firearm in the course of that crime.
Smith was charged for shooting a German Shepherd in December 2019.
The injured and abused dog, who became known as “Thunder the Wonder Dog: The Cone Dog from the Woods,” was found wandering in Jackson State Forest in Mendocino County and rescued by two horseback riders.
The veterinarian who saved Thunder’s life found that he was suffering from gunshot wounds, dehydration and malnutrition, and opined that the cause of Thunder’s severe malnourishment was likely owner neglect since he was able to return to a healthy weight following multiple surgeries to repair injuries inflicted by the bullets.
The investigation concluded that Smith took Thunder out on a remote logging road in the Caspar area and shot him multiple times in a botched attempt at do-it-yourself euthanasia. At the time of the shooting, the dog was being forced to wear a plastic cone around its neck and head.
The gunshots severely injured the canine, but did not kill him. The gravely injured dog fled Smith and went into the woods, where he wandered injured for a week before the good Samaritans rescued him, officials said.
On Oct. 5, the day before jury selection was set to begin in her trial, Smith pleaded no contest to felony animal cruelty. The personal use of the firearm enhancement was dismissed when Judge Brennan told the parties that he would exercise his discretion to strike and dismiss that enhancement after trial if found true by the jury.
Leading up to Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Smith was ordered to cooperate with a background investigation by the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department.
As required by law, the probation officer prepared a written summary of her findings and submitted a written sentencing recommendation based on all available information.
In this case, it was the Probation Department’s recommendation that the defendant be sentenced to the maximum term allowed by law for felony animal cruelty – 36 months in the local prison.
The assigned prosecutor also prepared in advance and filed a 16-page brief that analyzed the people’s evidence and applicable sentencing laws.
Citing the callous nature of Smith’s cruelty and her dishonesty throughout the course of the investigation, Deputy District Attorney Josh Rosenfeld independently concluded that the defendant’s cruelty – and justice for Thunder – mandated that the defendant receive the modified maximum term allowed by law.
Smith returned to the Fort Bragg courthouse Wednesday afternoon for her formal felony sentencing hearing.
During the course of the four-hour sentencing hearing, the reporting deputy probation officer characterized this case as one of the worst cases she had seen in her 15 years of public probation service and she referred to Smith’s cruelty as “sickening.”
Probation stuck by its written recommendation asking for 36 months in jail, the District Attorney’s Office said. Likewise, the prosecutor stuck by his written arguments and orally argued for the maximum sentence.
Near the end of the sentencing hearing, Brennan unexpectedly invited Smith’s public defender to make a motion to have her felony conviction immediately reduced to a misdemeanor. That motion was made and Judge Brennan granted the reduction over the prosecution’s objection.
Brennan then placed Smith on a grant of unsupervised probation for a term of 36 months, understanding that come Jan. 1 that 36 months may be reduced to 12 months as a matter of law pursuant to Assembly Bill 1950.
Judge Brennan also decided that Smith need not serve any jail time for her now-reduced conviction. Instead, he sentenced her to 360 days in jail but suspended execution of that time. This means that Smith will not serve a single day in jail as a result of her cruelty unless and until the prosecution is able to prove sometime in the next 12 months that she has violated her probation.
As for the terms of Smith’s unsupervised probation, Judge Brennan ordered that she submit to a Fourth Amendment waiver – a search clause – and that she attend counseling so she can avoid committing animal cruelty in the future.
Judge Brennan denied the prosecution’s request that Smith be prohibited from owning or possessing animals during the term of her probation.
He also declined to address the prosecution’s request that the defendant be ordered to reimburse the county for all or part of the cost of the legal services provided to her by the taxpayer-funded public defender, despite the defendant’s self-reported income of $11,000 per month.
Brennan ordered Smith to complete 500 hours of community service, but the District Attorney’s Office said he suggested that Smith be allowed to serve her hours working side-by-side with the kind-hearted volunteers who save and protect abandoned and neglected animals at the Mendocino Coast Humane Society.
At Eyster’s direction, the prosecution has filed a notice of appeal seeking appellate review by the higher court.
When asked for comment, DA Eyster paused, shook his head and then said, “It is tough to find justice for victims and the community when there are two defense attorneys in the courtroom – one sitting at counsel table and one wearing a black robe. Today’s actions by the coast judge diminish ongoing community and law enforcement efforts to hold animal abusers accountable for their crimes. What kind of message does this send? Not a good one.”