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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake’s police chief has earned the highest educational certificate available from the organization that sets professional standards for California’s law enforcement agencies.
During Thursday night’s Clearlake City Council meeting, Maria Sandoval, assistant executive director for the Field Services Division of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, presented the organization’s Executive Certificate to Chief Andrew White.
Sandoval said POST sets the standards for 608 agencies and 97,000 police officers and dispatchers in California.
She said there are six POST certificates, with the Executive Certificate being the highest possible.
It must be earned; candidates must be full-time peace officers of a POST-participating agency who possess an Advanced Certificate, have earned a minimum of 60 semester units at an accredited college, served for a period of two years as the department’s head and who have completed the Executive Development Course.
Sandoval said less than 1 percent of the certificates POST gives are for the executive level. Since the organization was formed in 1959, approximately 1,738 of the Executive Certificates have been awarded. White’s is No. 1736.
White, who joined the city in the summer of 2018, thanked Sandoval for coming and for her assistance in helping his department host a POST-certified training course earlier in the week. She and White have reportedly worked together for many years.
“This isn’t really about me,” said White, crediting his department’s staff for their support and hard work.
He cited the previous day as an example, with officers helping to evacuate Hidden Valley Lake from the path of the LNU Lightning Complex during the course of the day and then going home, only to have to turn around and come back to work through the night due to a double-shooting. White said none of them complained.
As much as receiving the certificate is an accomplishment for White, he said it speaks to his staff’s support.
Council members lauded White for his achievement.
“We all feel very lucky to have you,” said Mayor Russ Cremer.
“We are very proud of Chief White’s achievement. His dedication to the Clearlake Police Department and to our community is beyond measure,” City Manager Alan Flora said in a Friday statement. “Chief White is a devoted leader not only to his team, but the entire organization. He maintains the continual desire to learn and improve personally in order to help make our city cleaner and safer.”
“I am grateful for the support I have received in my role as chief including from the members of the police department, city officials, the community and my family,” White said Friday. “I look forward to continuing to serve amongst a very dedicated and passionate team as we strive to continually improve.”
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen received the POST Executive Certificate in September 2014, and the following year one of White’s predecessors in the Clearlake Police chief’s job, Craig Clausen, also was awarded the certificate, as Lake County News has reported.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The August Complex had grown to 143,663 acres and 6-percent containment as of Friday night, according to the US Forest Service.
The complex is made up of 32 fires that have burned into 20 larger fires, officials said.
The Forest Service said 353 firefighters and 69 overhead personnel, 29 engines, two helicopters, five bulldozers, seven water tenders and six fire crews are assigned.
Officials said the Tathum and Cold Springs fires – located four miles west of Paskenta – have merged. The Forest Service is working in tandem with Cal Fire, which is constructing dozer lines along County Road 306 to protect the private homes and properties.
Mendocino National Forest officials said they have implemented a temporary area closure for the August Complex effective Friday.
The closure is to provide for firefighter and public safety due to extreme fire behavior and hazards associated with the complex, officials said.
“We understand it is hunting season and people want to go hunting and camping,” Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson said in a Friday statement. “However, this closure is necessary to ensure no one is injured within or near the fires or that visitors enter areas and find their egress compromised by dangerous fire activity. It will also help keep fire personnel safe while working on and near roads in order to contain the fires.”
Although this is a sizable closure and all National Forest System lands, inclusive of roads, trails, and campgrounds within the closure area will be closed until the hazards can be reduced to an acceptable level, officials said much of the forest remains open.
Officials ask visitors to please remember good camping etiquette and pack out everything that you pack in.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart said the smoke and haze visible around Lake County has so far remained outside of the populated areas of the Lake County air basin.
However, winds are expected to start shifting which could result in smoke from the Walbridge fire in Sonoma County, the LNU Lightning Complex in Lake, Napa, Yolo and Solano counties, and the August Complex in the Mendocino National Forest settling into the Lake County air basin.
All areas of Lake County may experience periods of “moderate” to “unhealthy” conditions primarily starting Saturday, depending on the wind, Gearhart said.
Gearhart said regional wind patterns are forecast to start moderate changes beginning overnight into Saturday. This forecast is based on the latest weather, monitoring, fire activity information and will be updated as necessary.
The district is actively monitoring the smoke impacts throughout the county. Go to www.lcaqmd.net and follow the link to “Current Air Quality Index at: purpleair.com” for current particulate levels around the county.
Current particulate levels in Lake County are in the range from “good” to “moderate.” Should particulate levels reach “unhealthy” levels, everyone needs to take steps to protect themselves from exposure, said Gearhart.
Concentrations of smoke may vary depending upon location, weather, and distance from the fire. Smoke from wildfires and structure fires contain harmful chemicals that can affect your health. Smoke can cause eye and throat irritation, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
People who are at greatest risk of experiencing symptoms due to smoke include: those with respiratory disease (such as asthma), those with heart disease, young children, and older adults.
These sensitive populations should stay indoors and avoid prolonged activity. All others should limit prolonged or heavy activity and time spent outdoors. Even healthy adults can be affected by smoke. Seek medical help if you have symptoms that worsen or become severe.
Follow these general precautions to protect your health during a smoke event:
• Minimize or stop outdoor activities, especially exercise.
• Stay indoors with windows and doors closed as much as possible.
• Do not run fans that bring smoky outdoor air inside – examples include swamp coolers, whole-house fans, and fresh air ventilation systems.
• Run your air-conditioner only if it does not bring smoke in from the outdoors. Change the standard air conditioner filter to a medium or high-efficiency filter. If available, use the “recirculate” or “recycle” setting on the unit.
• Do not smoke, fry food, or do other things that will create indoor air pollution.
If you have lung disease (including asthma) or heart disease, closely monitor your health and contact your doctor if you have symptoms that worsen.
Consider leaving the area until smoke conditions improve if you have repeated coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain, palpitations, nausea, unusual fatigue, lightheadedness.
“While we know that this is an added burden for everyone who has been dealing with the risks from COVID for all of these months, we definitely encourage folks to pay attention to the air quality and to take steps to protect themselves and their families,” said Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace.
Updated guidance from the CDC is available on reducing wildfire smoke exposure given COVID-19 considerations.
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- Written by: DENNIS FORDHAM
Expressly disinheriting, or simply omitting, a child as a beneficiary in one’s will or trust can occur for a wide variety of reasons; such as, a quarrel, an estrangement, not wanting to give more to a child who has plenty, or not wanting to give to a child who will abuse or squander their inheritance.
What happens when a decedent’s will or trust does not provide for a decedent’s child?
First, was the child born or adopted after the decedent’s testamentary documents were already executed?
In California, section 21620 of the Probate Code generally presumes that, “… a[n omitted] child of decedent born or adopted after the execution of all of the decedent’s testamentary instruments, … shall receive a share in the decedent’s estate … .” A testamentary instrument is a will or trust.
The statutory presumption has three important exceptions (section 21621): Did the decedent’s testamentary instrument itself show the decedent’s intention to omit the child; did the decedent give substantially all of the estate to the omitted child’s other parent; and did the decedent otherwise provide for the omitted child and express that intention in the testamentary instrument, by the amount of the other gift, or otherwise.
With after born/adopted children, therefore, California’s law generally favors an omitted child receiving a share except when the decedent’s contrary intention is apparent from the will or trust, other gifting, or otherwise. Other gifting includes death benefits from insurance and retirement plans and lifetime gifts.
If the presumption applies, the after born or adopted child receives an “intestate share” in the decedent’s estate. That is, what he or she would have received as an heir had the decedent died with no will or trust.
Second, was the omitted child already born or adopted at the time when all of the decedent’s testamentary instruments were executed. In California, section 21622 of the Probate Code provides if, “… the decedent failed to provide for a living child solely because the decedent believed the child to be dead or was unaware of the child, the child shall receive a share in the estate … .”
On August 3, 2020, in Kimberly Rallo et al., v. Virginia O’Brian (Case # B29052), California’s Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles addressed whether the general disinheritance provision – one that does not name the disinherited person(s) – in deceased actor Hugh O’Brien’s trust could defeat a claim brought under section 21622 by his children who were living when Hugh O’Brien executed his trust.
The children alleged that Hugh O’Brien did not know they were born and would have provided for them had he known. They argued that it was enough simply to show that he was simply unaware of their births and against the general disinheritance provision that said, “I am intentionally not providing for … any other person who claims to be a descendant or heir of mine under any circumstances and without regard to the nature of any evidence which may indicate status as a descendant or heir.”
The Appellate Court disagreed: “[A]n omitted child’s recovery under section 21622 is conditional: (1) the decedent must have been unaware of the child’s birth (or mistaken about the child’s death), and (2) the decedent must have failed to provide for the unknown child solely because of that lack of awareness (or mistaken belief).” The children failed the second requirement.
The court found that a general disinheritance provision showed that the decedent’s failure to provide was not “solely” due to his being unaware of a child’s existence or mistaken belief as to the child’s death. Rather, it was because he did not intend to give his omitted heirs a share.
Thus, at least in California’s Second District Court of Appeal (Los Angeles County), a general disinheritance provision defeats claims by omitted children whether they are born before or after the will or trust.
Anyone confronting the issues discussed above should consult an attorney for guidance.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, California. He can be reached at