Preservation and maintenance of the 9.5 acre site at 21281 Stewart St. in Middletown is the responsibility of Lake County Land Trust.

Volunteer Land Trust directors are developing a land management plan for the site including protection, educational and scientific use, passive recreational use and restoration.

Two studies essential to the land management plan include the vegetation survey by Paul Aigner and Cathy Koehler, co-directors of UC-Davis McLaughlin Reserve in Lower Lake, and a cultural resource investigation completed by Dr. John and Cheyanne Parker of Archeological Research in Lucerne. Cathy Koehler is also executive director of the Lake County Land Trust.

A formal bird survey is planned for this spring.

Pete McGee, Land Trust president, began removal of invasive tree-of-heaven trees on Rabbit Hill. This ornamental plant, originally from China, is undesirable because it crowds out native plants.

Other land management considerations for Rabbit Hill Nature Sanctuary are trails with maps, interpretative signs, and liaison with schools and other conservation groups.

Rabbit Hill is special to generations of Middletown area residents who received handmade gemstone rings when they started kindergarten from Hugo “Huck” and Juanita “Skee” Hamann, who lived on the site.

In a recorded oral history of Rabbit Hill, Middletown Librarian Gehlen Palmer remembers visiting the Hamanns as a youngster, playing scrabble during stormy weather, and listening to classical music.

The Hamanns left their land to Sonoma County’s Madrone Audubon Society, which later deeded the property to Lake County’s Land Trust for protection.

Public comments on how people would like to use Rabbit Hill, and their thoughts and stories about the site, are welcome. Please call 707-262-0707 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Land Trust directors are Christian Ahlmann, Clearlake; Jon Ambrose, Hidden Valley Lake; Michael Friel, Lower Lake; Brad Barnwell, Tom Gilliam and Kristi Groff, Lakeport; Roberta Lyons, Lower Lake; Nina Marino and Tom Smythe, Kelseyville; Pete McGee, Middletown; and Keith Peterson, Finley.

For more information, see www.lakecountylandtrust.org .

“This case highlights the fact that anyone with an e-mail account is vulnerable to identity theft” Attorney General Harris said. “One of the major goals of my office is to track down and prosecute every criminal who would stoop to stealing people's identities.”

George Samuel Bronk, 23, of Citrus Heights, faces six years in state prison after entering guilty pleas today in Sacramento Superior Court to seven felonies including computer intrusion, false impersonation and possession of child pornography. Bronk will have to register as a sex offender.

He will return to court on March 10 for further proceedings relating to his sentence.

From December 2009 through September 2010, Bronk accessed e-mail accounts and Facebook pages of people in 17 states, as well as residents of England. He essentially found answers to the women's e-mail security questions in information they had posted on their Facebook sites.

Bronk targeted his victims by scanning Facebook for women who also posted their e-mail addresses there. He then contacted the woman's e-mail service, pretending he was the legitimate customer, and claimed to have forgotten the password. Bronk was able to correctly answer security questions posed by the e-mail service by finding the answers on victims' Facebook pages.

Some of the security questions posed by e-mail providers included, "What is your high school mascot?" "What is your father's middle name?" "What is your favorite food?" and "What is your favorite color?"

Once Bronk gained access to the e-mail account, he changed the password and the victim was locked out.

Bronk searched the victim's "sent mail" folder for nude or semi-nude photographs and videos, which he often sent to the victim's entire e-mail address book. He also gained access to some victims' Facebook accounts by clicking the "Forgot Your Password?" link and asking for a new password to be sent to the victim's e-mail account, which he now controlled. In many cases, he posted the photographs to victims' Facebook pages and to other Internet sites and made comments on the Facebook sites of friends.

Bronk messaged one victim that he had taken over her e-mail account "because it was funny." In an online chat session with another victim using the name "xogreeneyesx3," Bronk demanded the victim send him more explicit photographs or he would post the photographs he already had more widely. The victim complied.

The investigation began after one victim contacted the Connecticut State Police, and the agency then contacted the California Highway Patrol because the suspect appeared to be operating here. The CHP requested the Attorney General's assistance.

On the hard drive of Bronk's desktop computer, which was confiscated from his Citrus Heights' home during a search in September, investigators found more than 170 files containing explicit photographs of women, including a film actress, whose e-mail accounts he had commandeered. Finding victims, however, proved a challenge. CHP and Attorney General agents were able to use location tagging information embedded on the photographs on Bronk's hard drive to assist in identifying victims, and e-mailed 3,200 questionnaires to potential victims asking them to come forward.

Some 46 victims did, including one who described Bronk's actions as "virtual rape."

Bronk was arrested in October and has been held since then on $500,000 bail.

Attorney General Harris reminded users of e-mail and social networking sites that security questions and answers need to be as secure as passwords. There are steps people can take to avoid being victimized by "security question" hacks. These steps include:

– Pick security questions and answers that do not involve any personal information that is available from social networking sites or any other sites.

– Try to switch the security questions you choose for password protection on e-mail services and social networks.

– Add numbers or special characters to your security answers. For example, the question "What was the name of your High School" could be answered "Middle02High@School."

Joining the Attorney General's office in this investigation were the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, the CHP, and the Connecticut State Police. The Attorney General's office prosecuted the case.

For more information about identity theft, please see http://ag.ca.gov/idtheft/.

Pruner extraordinaire, Allen Markowski, shows how to prune an apple tree. Markowski will lead a pruning demonstration in Clearlake, Calif., on Saturday, January 22, 2011. Photo by Lori Patotzka.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Lake Co Community Co-op's 2011 series of educational events is starting the New Year off with a free public pruning demonstration in Clearlake on Saturday, Jan. 22.

The demonstration will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at 15618 Brunetto Lane in Clearlake.

Active co-op member and volunteer, Allen Markowski, will share his pruning knowledge and skills on a variety of trees and bushes at a local residence. Participants can take part in pruning on a variety of sample branches as well.

Please bring pruning tools to use and to share if you have them.

This is a great no-cost opportunity to become more knowledgeable in pruning existing plants and trees in order to provide a more productive local and sustainable harvest. The public is welcome. Please dress warmly.

For more information contact Lori Patotzka at 707-994-1618.

Celebrating three years in community, the Lake County Community Co-op (LCCC) envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic and environmental responsibility. Member input and participation is encouraged for the continued success of its co-creation.

The LCCC supports and enhances the local food system while providing a forum for community activities.

For more information or to become a member of the LCCC, follow the links at http://lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.

The show will air from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Last year, the Clearlake City Council changed the city’s general plan and certified the Provinsalia environmental impact report.

It appeared as if the project would die a natural death based on the housing market and the economy rather that on the opposition.

Recently, however, Provinsalia developer Dick Price applied to the US Army Corps of Engineers, seeking a permit because of the wetlands located on the property, which runs along Cache Creek.

The corp invited public comment as they do when any “U.S. waterway” is to be altered and again the public awoke and wanted to be heard. Now with a new city council in place, it just might happen.

Join host Herb Gura and his guest, Victoria Brandon, as they discuss the latest happenings regarding the project.

Phone lines will be open. Call 707-263-3435.

NICE, Calif. – Come enjoy the third annual Lights of Love fundraiser for Upper Lake High School's solar light project on their football field on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Sons of Italy Hall.

The club will serve a tri-tip supper with all the fixings plus dessert at the club hall, 2817 E. Highway 20 in Nice.

The doors open at 5 p.m. with dinner served at 6 p.m.

Enjoy the music of Jim Williams, an indoor poker run, silent auction of fabulous items from local shops, salons and wineries plus a no host bar.

All tickets are $25 available at Judy's Junction, Finish Line or at the door the night of the event.

Everyone is welcome.