The Lake County prosecutors support Hopkins because he is the most experienced and qualified candidate for the position. Not only does Hopkins have over 30 years' experience as a top notch prosecutor, he is the only candidate with any experience prosecuting criminals.

Lake County’s Deputy District Attorneys include many experienced prosecutors who have been with the District Attorney's Office for many years. Members of the association have worked with all three candidates and it is only after careful consideration of each candidate’s qualifications that we make this endorsement.

We believe the position of district attorney should be filled by someone who is willing to take on the tough cases, not just the easy or convenient ones. We believe that our system of justice, with the right to a jury trial, is the best system in the world and the district attorney is in a unique position to see that justice is served.

Unfortunately, anyone can be the victim of crime. And when one’s family is torn apart by crime, the family deserves to have a lead prosecutor who is concerned with truth and justice and who does not bow to statistical wins and losses.

Jon Hopkins has proven himself over and over to be a prosecutor who does not assign the toughest cases to his deputies, but takes them himself – no matter how unpopular or controversial the case.

Certainly, a district attorney should not be judged by one case to the exclusion of all others. To do so would be short-sighted and, frankly, if Jon Hopkins is not reelected, Lake County will lose one of the best skilled prosecutors in the state.

What is the main reason we support Jon Hopkins? Experience. Hopkins has the experience that the other candidates do not come close to matching. Even the most inexperienced misdemeanor prosecutor has more prosecutorial experience than either of the other two candidates.

Not only has Hopkins proven himself as a career prosecutor, he has years of experience managing and mentoring other attorneys and staff – experience neither of the other candidates possess. He has experience successfully managing a multimillion dollar budget both as district attorney and previously as the chief deputy district attorney in Lake County – experience neither of the other candidates possess. When the safety of the community is at stake, you do not want someone in this position of responsibility struggling to learn the job as they go.

Jon Hopkins has practiced criminal law for nearly 38 years. Thirty-one of those years have been as a prosecutor. He has tried over 30 homicide cases and also has significant experience prosecuting cases involving sexual assault, child molestation and major fraud.

To fully understand the breadth of experience Hopkins brings to this office, it is important to examine a few of the cases that highlight his abilities. Hopkins was loaned to Lake County in 1997 by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office to prosecute a heinous murder that had occurred here. At the time, Hopkins was serving as chief deputy district attorney for Santa Cruz and was regarded as a highly experienced homicide prosecutor.

His task in coming to Lake County was to prosecute the three men responsible for the killing of a man who was the victim of a carjacking from a fast food restaurant in Clearlake. The three men forced the victim to drive them to a remote location where they knocked him out with beer bottles, loaded him in his truck bed, drove him to a very remote area, beat him to death with a bat, dragged him into a creek and tried to set his body on fire. They drove around in his truck until it ran out of gas and then set his truck on fire and walked home.

Hopkins skillfully brought each of the three defendants to justice in three separate jury trials, convicting each one of them. This is particularly impressive as there were no witnesses who could identify the three people who carjacked the victim and only the murderers witnessed the killing. Each defendant made a statement, but denied guilt. The cases hinged on circumstantial evidence and required expert trial skills to prevail.

Despite the difficulty inherent in cases such as these, Hopkins won all three trials and each killer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bringing these murderers to justice is just one of many examples where Hopkins’ experience and expert trial skills came through for the people of Lake County.

After becoming chief deputy district attorney in Lake County, Hopkins tried an elder abuse homicide case where a former police officer from Southern California was charged with killing his elderly parents at their home in Nice. The only evidence connecting the killer to the murder scene was a small amount of blood on a towel found in a bathroom.

The defendant claimed a full alibi – that he was at work in Southern California at a large aircraft company and had signed in to confidential meetings on the day the killing took place. Hopkins defeated the alibi claim by showing the jury that the defendant had the opportunity to sign in after he returned to work and had rented a car and put close to 1,100 miles on it in two days. It was, once again, through hard work, experience and dedication to the truth that Hopkins brought the killer to justice in a case that hinged on circumstantial evidence.

Experience counts when prosecuting serious and violent felonies such as murder, rape and child molestation. Throughout his time here, Hopkins has successfully prosecuted over 10 murder cases, including a case where neither the victim’s body, the murder weapon nor the chainsaw allegedly used to dismember the body were ever recovered.

A less experienced prosecutor might not have prosecuted that case. Hopkins did not shy away from his responsibility to the people of Lake County. Instead he pressed forward, investigating every lead. In the end, Hopkins methodically walked the jury through the available evidence and convicted the killer.

A community deserves a tenacious prosecutor who is willing and able to fight for truth in the courtroom despite the odds. Victims and victims’ families deserve no less and Jon Hopkins has repeatedly proven himself as the right person for the job.

But being district attorney is not only about being a proven prosecutor. The job also requires a skill set to manage a large organization. In that regard, Jon Hopkins has been involved with prosecution office management since 1986 and is the only candidate with experience managing the District Attorney’s Office. After all, he was chief deputy in the Lake County District Attorney’s Office from April of 1999 until he was elected district attorney in 2006. As chief deputy district attorney and district attorney, he has demonstrated his proficiency in dealing with personnel matters and budget issues, while procuring valuable state and federal grants which provide much needed additional funding to combat crime in our community.

Hopkins also has been instrumental in organizing and coordinating special prosecution teams within the Lake County District Attorney’s Office with attorneys, investigators and victim witness advocates. Hopkins has engineered these teams to help combat domestic violence, child sexual and physical abuse, and elder abuse. Thanks to Hopkins’ dedication to victims of crime, those special prosecution teams have supported victims, punished criminals and no doubt prevented crimes.

We are proud of the reputation that Lake County has earned among criminals – that if you are going to commit crime, do it somewhere else, not Lake County – because if you prey on the people of Lake County, this District Attorney's Office, under the leadership of Jon Hopkins, will not shy away from tough cases and we will not promise probation to criminals in felony cases, as the other candidates urge.

In closing, if you believe, like we do, that a prosecutor’s office should be run by a seasoned prosecutor and that trial and management experience count, then you will join us in reelecting Jon Hopkins for district attorney.

Susan Krones is a member of the Lake County Deputy District Attorneys Association, and is writing on the group's behalf.

On March 2, the Board of Supervisors will be meeting to decide whether or not to change Lake County’s General Plan to allow the Cristallago subdivision to move forward. I thought I would take some time to voice a few of my concerns about this project. I do want you to know that I’m not against development in Lake County, but as this subdivision is now designed it makes no sense to me at all.

Matt Boeger, when this whole subdivision came on board, made many references to the lake as being a “core amenity” which at the time it most certainly was. Since that time they have dropped the marina and fishing village from it completely. Are their heads screwed on right?

The NUMBER ONE ASSET WE HAVE is the Lake and now it’s out of the picture. This could have attracted many fishermen and fishing tournaments. They then could have used this as a selling point. This development must include the marina. Without it, it is destined for failure. They missed the boat here and should have tried to make these homes available to the common man, not golfers.

They continue to hold fast on the golf course and I truly believe this is because they have already given over $1 million dollars to Jack Nicklaus and another $1 million is committed to Jack Nicklaus Design Group. That’s $2 million dollars for a golf course. Wouldn’t that money have been better used to get the marina out of bankruptcy?

I believe this decision comes from not knowing what folks would want in a lake type resort development. None of the consultants they have used are from here or know what assets the county truly has. They must like golf better than fishing and think most people have the $125 to $ 200 to pay for a round of golf. The majority of Lake County residents will not even be allowed to play golf on this course. But wait, they will offer the residents of our county 20 Golf Club memberships. What nice guys!

They said this development would be geared to the retiring baby boomers. This was before they realized the extent of the asbestos in the soil. In talking with many of my friends in the Bay Area, they all were against purchasing any home that would be on asbestos-laden soil. Whether you cover it with 12 inches or 24 inches of soil, I truly believe that these men will not fully disclose to the new home buyers in detail what will happen to a child or adult if they disturb the soil.

Any way you look at it, this site for the most part is toxic. If there is one chance in 100,000 that a child could get cancer, it is not worth the risk. Lake County does not even have the staff to keep someone onsite at all times to try and monitor the situation. This looks to be clear cut case of the fox in the chicken coop.

This part of the development should be dropped completely. We are playing with fire here. No baby boomer will buy a house on this land. It just won’t happen. Can you imagine the negative publicity this subdivision will get throughout the years as they try and sell these homes? It makes no sense at all. Just look at the ongoing mess in El Dorado County where they built on asbestos-laden soil. Lawyers are making tons of money on all the law suits flying around. We are headed down the same path here.

They have continued to disregard the comments made by Doug Gearhart, the county's pollution control officer, even to the point of calling him “misguided.” If we let this go though, along with Provinsalia and the Valley Oaks developments, we will all have to get smog checks for our cars and trucks. This will also adversely affect every farmer that is left in the county. They don’t care about that, only the money for their pockets.

They have fought him tooth and nail on the solar panel issue and have tried to convince us that these homes will be “green.” Give me break! With the state and whole country going down the road of conserving energy, these homes will be obsolete before they are ever built. We have an opportunity as a county to prove to the rest of the state that we are one of the greenest counties in the country. Going “green“ is where our country is headed but I’m afraid these men just don’t get the point.

This is exactly what happens when you get developers from out of the county who only care about money. They are so far behind the times and this subdivision will take about 15 to 20 years to build out. Green homes will be the norm by then. But these men continue to stick their heads in the sand in an attempt to build outdated homes. They still think that by installing low flush toilets and florescent light bulbs makes the house top of the line. Requiring each of these homes to have solar panels and hook-ups for electric cars would be an excellent selling point.

Many long hours were put in by so many citizens and staff to develop a general plan that we all could live with. These men now want to change that for all of us. They have taken care not to let us see what this subdivision would look like during the day from Highway 29. This will be tract housing at its worst. This is not what we need in our county and they continue to try and tell us that this will be good for all of us. This is not country style living and I seriously doubt that this type of subdivision is what we want in our county. If you have ever been to Tuscany, you will clearly see that the homes they are proposing are not even close to Tuscany. Five homes per acre is just ridiculous. Country style living is not tract housing.

This whole project needs to go back to the drawing board. Limit the homes to around 100 and keep them off the serpentine soil, timeshares homes to 50. Make the golf course nine holes and most importantly get the marina and fishing village built. The marina and fishing village will create jobs and attract far more fisherman than golfers.

I hope all of you will join me at the meeting and hope that the Board of Supervisors will have the courage and integrity to SEND IT BACK to the drawing board

Norm Ihle lives in north Lakeport.

It was wet and we all certainly needed to drive carefully, but it never occurred to me that we would close our schools. After all, if we closed the schools while parents were expected to be at work that would really cause problems throughout our community.

Then it occurred to me: “When did daily attendance, rain or shine, happy or sad, stop being a common expectation?”

Now I fully understand that we have just gone through a difficult, worrisome flu pandemic. The Konocti Unified School District has recently spent a great deal of time, energy and money advising parents and students about healthy behaviors. This information and the change in healthy habits have been beneficial.

I’m not addressing contagious disease here; I’m addressing a mindset. It is the mindset that getting up every day and getting to work on time is simply what you are supposed to do. There is no, “Do I feel like going to school or work?” You go to school or work unless you are physically unable to do so. After all, “the early bird catches the worm” and “you must be present to win.”

We live in a world in which those with the greatest skills, knowledge and those who try hardest have the greatest success and have the greatest chance of employment. When you get to the professional level in sports, all of the athletes have a tremendous amount of natural physical ability. But they have reached the professional level only because they also worked very hard and put in huge amount of time to perfect their skills.

Our students are required to learn more, at an earlier age, than they have in the past. It just makes sense when you consider the advance in science, math, and that history books now include Clinton, Bush and 9/11. The third grade math standards now include elementary algebra, geometry and probability theory. Algebra is a requirement in the eighth grade. Our children need to put in the time and effort required to be successful and that requires daily attendance.

We are coming to the most important academic months of the school year. Every grade level and course in California has academic standards that students are required to master to be eligible to move on to the next grade or to pass the course. The majority of these standards, and certainly the most complex ones, are taught from November through mid-May.

Missing even one day during this time places a student behind. In fact, every day missed costs a student two days of learning. Not only is the missed day lost, but the student spends the return day catching up.

Studies have shown that if a student attends school less than 95 percent of the time, then his/her ability to learn the necessary standards is significantly reduced. Ninety-five percent attendance requires missing no more than one day per month.

The success of our children and our schools depends on excellent attendance. Students who fall behind cannot score as well on the standardized tests. When parents are looking at moving into an area, one of their main concerns is the quality of the schools. One of the ways that parents determine the quality of schools is test scores. Low test scores mean our community will have fewer residents coming into our area and businesses will suffer. Attendance directly affects our community’s economic well-being.

Our school also receives funding based upon Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Each 1 percent of ADA received brings over $150,000 to the Konocti Unified School District. This is the money that we use to pay teachers and other staff, keep class sizes low, buy materials, and provide athletics, music, drama, art and other enrichment. The less money we have, the less we can do for our students.

Student attendance affects our kids’ achievement, our schools and our community. We must make a strong effort over the next few months to have all of our children attend school daily. Any incentives that we can give our kids to encourage them to master this important life skill must be provided.

One of the first things we must teach them is that you must be present to win. In this case, it is a win-win because our schools and community benefit as well.

Dr. William MacDougall, Ed.D., is superintendent of the Konocti Unified School District.

Congressman Mike Thompson urges everyone to be counted in the 2010 US Census. Courtesy photo.

In just a few days, you will start receiving information about the United States Census in your mailbox.

Please don’t throw this information away. It may look like junk mail, but completing the census form is one of the most important ways you can help our community this month.

The Census is an important part of our democracy. Every 10 years it takes a snapshot of our population.

This is not an optional exercise, but something that is mandated by our Constitution.

It’s really based on the principle of fairness: in order to determine how we allocate federal representation and federal funding, we need to know how our population is changing. And by ensuring that everyone is counted, it ensures that everyone can participate in our democracy in a fair and equitable way.

The Census was written into the Constitution in order to determine how Congressional representation would be allocated between states.

But over the years, it has taken on much more importance.

The Census plays a key role in determining state and local funding. Census data guide the distribution of more than $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year. These funds go toward programs such as Medicaid, education, childcare, transportation and public safety.

On a local level, Census data help guide planning decisions, such as the placement of schools, hospitals, roads and job training centers. Census data are also used to determine locations for retail stores, new housing developments and other community facilities.

It’s important that you are counted. In California, our communities will lose $3,000 in federal funds for each person who is not counted next year.

And those who don’t fill out their forms will cost taxpayers a lot of extra money. The Census Bureau will be forced to go door-to-door to follow up with households who don’t return their forms. For every 1 percent of people that mails back the forms, the Census Bureau will save about $85 million in operational costs.

So when you receive your form in the mail – fill it out. There are just 10 questions. Then put it back in the postage-paid envelope that’s provided and send it back.

If you use a P.O. box to get your mail, you’ll get counted too – but your form will be hand-delivered.

Don’t worry – any personal data you provide is protected under federal law. Any individually identifiable information is completely private, and will not be shared with anyone.

The Census Bureau needs to receive your response by April 20 to make sure they don’t have to come to your door.

While it may seem boring, a lot is riding on those 10 questions. It’s your chance to make sure that our democracy functions correctly, and that our community will receive its fair share of federal funding.

Congressman Mike Thompson represents California's First Congressional District, which includes Lake County, in the US House of Representatives.

She paused in front of him, gave him a slow once over in all his bishop’s regalia, and cooed, “Not bad looking. Why don’t ya come up and see me sometime.”

Bishop Sheen reared up in righteous indignation, turned as purple as his pontifical mantle, and replied, “You wicked Jezebel! Don’t you know it’s Lent?”

As she sauntered off Mae West snapped, “Well, no I didn’t. But uh, why don’t you come up and see me when you get it back ...”

These days, Mae West is not the only one who doesn’t know about Lent. The mass media will have plenty of footage showing the revelry in New Orleans as Mardi Gras winds up its weeks of partying in the streets, but little mention of the “morning after,” Ash Wednesday and the 40-day observance of Lent.

Yet for Christians all over the world this is a time-honored tradition that dates back in one way or another to the earliest days of the church.

For Episcopalians, as well as Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians and some Protestants, Lent is a 40-day period of introspection and prayer in preparation for the celebration of Easter.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, when we gather in church to hear the Scriptures concerning the solemn fast, and present ourselves for the imposition of blessed ashes as a symbol of our mortality and a sign of our humble turning back to our loving Father. We then celebrate the Holy Eucharist, or Mass, as a pledge of Christ’s healing presence among us.

There is no one history of Lent (the name in English comes from the old Anglo-Saxon Lengten-tide, that is springtime, when the days are lengthening), but it began as a period of final preparation for those who were to be solemnly baptized at Easter. Later it was also a time of penance for those who had fallen away from the faith and wished to be reconciled so as to be able to receive Holy Communion on Easter.

Eventually the discipline to observe this 40-day period of prayer, fasting and almsgiving was required for all the faithful. The fifth century Bishop of Rome, Leo the Great, pointed out that fasting is a means and not an end in itself; its purpose is to foster pure, holy and spiritual activity. He coined the famous phrase: “What we forego by fasting is to be given as alms to the poor.”

Today we have regained much of the original focus of Lent as a preparation for baptism and the renewal of our baptismal vows at Easter. It is a time of self-examination on how we are living our lives in light of the promises we made at baptism and to “repent” or turn our hearts around and turn back to God.

In this we can be aided by the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer may be just creating an intentional space and time of silence to place ourselves in the presence of the Divine. Being more conscious of our eating habits, choosing only wholesome food in more healthy amounts; and reducing our “carbon footprint” may be an excellent way to practice fasting. Being aware of and responding to the needs of others, whether in our immediate circle or the catastrophic situation in Haiti, will nurture a deeper sense of compassion in us.

There is nothing we can do this Lent that will make God love us any more than God already loves us; but by simplifying our daily lives of the endless distractions so as to better focus on our consciousness of God and a just relationship with our fellow human beings we will better comprehend the depth of God’s love for us and for all creation.

The best image I can suggest for this Lent is to reflect on the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke’s Gospel. It is a story of coming to our senses and remembering whose child we are, as made known to us in our Baptism, and making our way back to the Father who is ready to meet us on the road and restore us to our rightful place in the divine household.

Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F, is parish priest of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lakeport.

Clearlake Oaks winegrape grower Clay Shannon says there's plenty to love and appreciate about Lake County. Courtesy photo.

Human nature is to protect one’s own or one’s own beliefs, which is what led me to my red-faced experience while reading a Monday article written and posted on the front page of the Press Democrat.

I ponder the following: The media is a powerful driver that influences readers and viewers alike. One eye-catching headline peaks the curiosity … drawing in even the strongest willed. Each line can lead you to wanting more, and can even lead you to changing your stance on certain subjects.

Being careful to state facts precisely, the journalist is generally considerate of all sides in an effort to relate to their target audience, creating interest in which the reader fully engages in the dialogue.

However, my experience when reading the Press Democrat had me angry, emotional and, above all, ready to defend the county in which I live.

The day before Lake County vintners were hyped in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, two weeks ago Shannon Ridge was named one of the “hot” California wine brands in 2009 at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. As far as the wine business goes, there are a lot of good things going on in Lake County. Our fruit is favorably modeled to be a sustainable North Coast ultra premium wine region.

Yes, it’s tough out there, it’s tough everywhere! And, in general, as I ponder, let’s focus on the bright things in life and in our county, not just on one person's experience in The Dollar Store. Let me remind you all that there is a Dollar Store in shi shi Healdsburg (which is where I am from) and I know some pretty shi shi people that shop there!

But back to business, the bright things. As vintners we have affordable land, affordable sites for tasting rooms, incredible soils, perfect climate to grow high end grapes, and WATER! We also have a progressive and supportive population with a county seat that actually knows how to and can successfully balance our budget within the county.

As a citizen who resides in Lake County I can proudly say we have the following: water, water, water, clean air, clean air, no pollution, no traffic, great hospitals, and affordable land, homes and home sites.

I question comments about unemployment. It is the change in unemployment that is a concern to me. Because it is affordable to reside in Lake County and we have many retired folks it may appear as a 9 percent increase, but this is the same rate as the balance of the USA.

It’s tough everywhere, but the way I was mentored growing up is, don’t throw rocks, don’t sucker punch, always give and be positive. What we should not be doing is bad-mouthing, this is no help for anybody. “Say something nice or don’t say anything at all.”

Sure, people are struggling, people are out of jobs everywhere in the US. We don’t have a lot of industry in Lake County, but people travel to work everywhere. The effect of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa closing is bad and good; it needed to be remodeled, out-of-county people stayed there and, in time, it will come back.

Bottom line, I am sick and tired of people bad-mouthing my home and the place I live. They talk about the lake, have you ever been out there? It’s beautiful and healthy, and yes sometimes it smells, have you ever smelled the ocean?

Talk about the mercury. I had my first bass barbecued last summer and it was fabulous. They talk about the trailers. Folks, there are trailer parks in St. Helena and all over Napa Valley and Sonoma County. They talk about unemployment. For me I don’t see a difference here in comparison to any other place.

They talk about foreclosures. That is sad, nothing to tease about, people are losing their homes. People are starving in this country and others, let’s help them. They talk about Colusa County being bad, too. Have you ever been there, it is a thriving agricultural community; not sure where the numbers are coming from there.

Business being down 30 to 50 percent is normal through the country. There are always bright spots … our January tasting room business is up 30 percent from last year.

Tourism will get better. Where else can you go water skiing, wakeboarding and fishing, and breathe some affordable, clean air? The US is in a bad cycle, times will change. Lake County wines are being accepted and recognized in the US marketplace as high value, quality wines that people can enjoy and afford in these tough times.

For now I am staying up here in Lake County, so I can watch our bald eagles fish from our creeks, our bears feed on the manzanita berries and a few grapes, our elk graze on the grassy range, our beavers try to build dams in Clear Lake, our bobcats chase gophers and jack rabbits.

Lake County is where I can drive 30 miles to anywhere and never be stuck in traffic, where new resorts are being built on the Northshore and our neighbors from the south are vacationing and enjoying our lakes and purchasing weekend retreats, where I can watch our valuable and abundant water go down our creeks to feed Yolo and other counties and our valued red rocks travel over the hill to the south to landscape yards and build roads, a much needed infrastructure for an ever crowding landscape.

Here we have a beautiful lake that can be seen filling and flooding our wetlands so the otters and beavers, ducks and geese can reproduce.

I am staying here where I can watch my sprinklers operate during frost protection season because we have water. I am staying here where when you look up into the evening sky you can truly appreciate the brightest shining stars you have ever seen.

Where else can I breathe fresh, clean air and think to myself, “God, life is great!”

Clay Shannon and his family live and farm in Clearlake Oaks.