LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The American Red Cross reported that it has moved its Clayton Fire Service Center to Lower Lake.

The center, which opened on Monday, is located at the Lake County Social Services building, 16170 Main St., Suite D.

It will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 through Friday, Sept. 2.

The American Red Cross Service Center gives families affected by the Clayton fire the opportunity to meet one-on-one with trained Red Cross caseworkers who will assess their disaster-caused needs.

Caseworkers will provide qualified residents with immediate disaster assistance as well as recovery planning and referrals to other agencies that may be able to provide additional assistance to impacted residents.

Please bring proof of your residence address – such as a utility bill – if possible.

Clayton fire survivors who need additional information are urged to call the Red Cross Information Hotline at 866-272-2237.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested Sunday night after authorities say he robbed and shot another man.

Jesse Rolando Banda, 27, was taken into custody following the incident, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

At 9 p.m. Sunday deputies were dispatched to the area of Spruce Grove Road and Cantwell Ranch Road in Lower Lake for a reported possible traffic accident with firearms involved. Units from the California Highway Patrol also responded to assist, Brooks said.

When units arrived on scene they located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound standing on the road, near his vehicle, according to Brooks.

Brooks said the shooting victim directed the units on scene to a vehicle that was down an embankment. The victim told the deputies that the person who shot him was down the embankment as well.

Deputies observed a male subject, who was later identified as Banda, crawling out of the vehicle that was down the embankment, Brooks said.

Brooks said the deputies saw a metallic object in Banda’s hand and ordered him to get on the ground.

As Banda was following the orders to lie down he tossed an object on the ground. Brooks said Banda was taken into custody and a handgun was found on the ground near him.

Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes detectives responded to the scene to assist with the investigation. Brooks said 19 pounds of processed marijuana was located in the vehicle Banda had been driving.

The victim was transported by air ambulance to an out-of-county medical facility with non-life threatening injuries, Brooks said.

Banda was booked at the Lake County Correctional Facility on charges of robbery, assault with a firearm and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He remained in custody on Monday afternoon with bail set at $100,000, Brooks said.

Brooks said the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is continuing the investigation into this incident and anyone with information is urged to contact Det. Richard Kreutzer at 707-262-4233.

Assembly Bill 2888, by California state legislators Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa), Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) and Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo and Santa Clara) passed the State Assembly on Monday by a unanimous 66-0 vote, and now goes on to Gov. Jerry Brown.

AB 2888 is in response to the shockingly lenient sentence given to Brock Turner by Judge Aaron Persky in the recent Stanford rape case. 

The bill will ensure that anyone convicted of sexual assault in California cannot be sentenced to probation. The legislators worked with Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen in crafting the proposal.
 
“Sexually assaulting an unconscious or intoxicated victim is a terrible crime and our laws need to reflect that. Letting felons convicted of such crimes get off with probation discourages other survivors from coming forward and sends the message that raping incapacitated victims is no big deal,” said Dodd. “This bill is about more than sentencing, it’s about supporting victims and changing the culture on our college campuses to help prevent future crimes. I urge Gov. Brown to join the legislature in standing with victims and building a culture that suppresses these reprehensible crimes.”
 
Under current law, not all forms of sexual assault involving penetration are included in the list of offenses that would trigger a mandatory denial of probation.

Current law clarifies that a defendant’s use of force triggers a mandatory prison sentence. However, when a victim is unconscious or severely intoxicated, the victim is unable to resist, and the perpetrator does not have to use force.
 
For example, a perpetrator at a college party who chooses to forcibly rape a conscious victim will go to prison. However, a different perpetrator at the same party who chooses to watch and wait for a victim to pass out from intoxication before sexually assaulting her may get probation.
 
“Rape is rape, and rapists like Brock Turner shouldn’t be let off with a slap on the wrist,” said Low. “Judge Persky’s ruling was unjustifiable and morally wrong, however, under current state law it was within his discretion.  Current law actually incentivizes rapists to get their victims intoxicated before assaulting them.  While we can’t go back and change what happened, we can make sure it never happens again.”
 
"We thank Evan Low, Bill Dodd, Jerry Hill and Gov. Brown for helping make California safer for women today. Mostly, we thank Emily Doe for her courageous letter. It gave all of us the inspiration to make sure the next Brock Turner either leaves the next Emily Doe alone, or the next Brock Turner goes to prison," said Rosen.    
 
In March 2015, Brock Turner, a Stanford University student was convicted on three felony counts of sexual assault of an intoxicated and unconscious woman.

Despite the fact that the defendant was eligible for a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, Judge Persky sentenced the defendant to six months in jail and three years’ probation. The sentence has been justifiably criticized by many as unethically lenient, given the horrific nature of the crime.
 
Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or portions of Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties. Visit his Web site at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – As the community of Lower Lake works to get back on its feet, residents are finding a place on Main Street that's open daily for meals, with healthy sides of fellowship and encouragement.

At the Brick Hall, owned by the Lower Lake Volunteer Firefighters Association, Susie Novak has been working seemingly nonstop for nearly a week and a half, preparing meals for community members.

Walking through the door on Sunday, this reporter was greeted by a friendly volunteer who asked, “Are you hungry?”

Novak, formerly owner of Susie's Grill, said after people started returning home on Aug. 19 from being evacuated during the Clayton fire, she went to the Lake County Fire Protection District and asked to open the Brick Hall as a temporary community center.

Her request was granted, and on Aug. 20 she set to work whipping up three meals a day, seven days a week, serving community members from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We have people who are hungry,” she said.

And it's not just hunger for food but for community, a place to meet with neighbors and connect in the midst of the town's devastating experience.

It's meant to be a place of comfort, as a big yellow sign on the exterior of the building that says “Community comfort zone” states.

At first it was just Novak and a few volunteers. “In the beginning, there was just a handful of us,” she said.

But a groundswell of support has occurred, with donations of help and food now pouring in, she explained.

On Sunday afternoon, Novak took a brief break in the midst of preparing the evening meal in the Brick Hall's kitchen to share details of the effort.

Just outside of the kitchen, Novak stood amidst tables piled with bread, English muffins and other supplies. Nearby, a few community members were getting free massage and Reiki treatments.

Novak said significant donations of food and other items have come from the Salvation Army, Foods, Etc., Walmart, St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, the Clearlake Gleaners, Lower Lake Coffee Co., Golden Gate Meat Co. and Clover Stornetta Farms. One of the donations included 400 pounds of chicken, which is part of the daily fare.

In addition to supplying food, St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake helped her secure another refrigerator since she filled up the one the hall had. Still another large commercial freeze at the fire station next door is being used for storage.

At times early on, Novak said it felt like being on the television show “Chopped,” which challenge chefs to come up with unique meals with odd ingredients. She’d be fixing a meal and would realize she needed something she didn’t have.

She recently made homemade meatball sandwiches but she only had American cheese – not mozzarella – to top them. As it turned out, the diners didn’t seem to mind about the cheese improvisation.

Thanks to the increase in donations, however, she said those shortages of essential ingredients aren’t as much of a factor.

Additionally, she said people are offering more help all the time.

Walmart staff have come to help serve, and the Lower Lake High School culinary class came in last week and will return to help prep this week, she said. The Kelseyville High culinary class also was reported to have helped out last week.

Novak has been grateful for the appearance of trained chefs – such as the one from St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake – to help with the effort.

“I'm just a fry cook,” she said with a grin.

However, the kind of solid, down-home style cooking Novak has been offering to her community has mattered.

So much so, that on Sunday she had some good news: The fire district had approved her keeping the Brick Hall open through the end of September.

“They just gave us the go-ahead,” she said.

Lake County Fire Protection District Board Member Mike Dean said he had secured the permit for operating the center from Lake County Environmental Health. That permit, said Novak, is good through Sept. 30.

Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta praised Novak for her seemingly nonstop efforts, noting that she's there early in the morning and doesn't leave until late at night.

Novak estimated that the hall has been serving meals to more than 100 people daily, including boxed to-go meals.

“We're having some of the same faces and new faces everyday,” she said, from firefighters needing a good, sit-down meal to any community member who happens through and is hungry.

On Sunday afternoon Frank Haas, chair of the Lower Lake County Water Works District, stopped in for a break, chatting with friends.

Haas lost his home in the fire while, at the same time, trying to protect the district's infrastructure, which for the most part appeared to have survived with little damage.

The district's boil water notice had just been lifted on Friday, and notices of that order's cancellation were placed around on the tables, as the hall has become a key place to share information with the community.

Novak continues to welcome additional help. For those interested in pitching in, she asks them to drop by the Brick Hall, 16374 Main St.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are in the early stages of developing a management plan for the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and invite the public to participate in community conversations about the monument.

The conversations are an opportunity for the public to express what they value in the management of the monument, or BSMNM.

Coordinating BSMNM planners Sharen Parker of the Mendocino National Forest and Jonna Hildenbrand of the Bureau of Land Management's Ukiah Field Office said they want to learn what is important to the community about the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.

“We hope you will join us,” they said in a joint statement.

The conversations are designed in an open format with resource specialists at individual stations to talk one-on-one with interested individuals.

The community conversations will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the following locations and times:

– Wednesday, Sept. 14: Grange Community Center, 9355 Government St., Upper Lake.
– Wednesday, Sept. 28: Winters Community Center, 201 Railroad Ave., Winters.
– Tuesday, Oct. 4: Holiday Inn Express, 545 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows.

The BSMNM was established in July 2015 to preserve the objects of scientific and historic interest on the lands of the Berryessa Snow Mountain area.

The 330,000-acre area is bounded on the north by the Snow Mountain Wilderness and on the south by Berryessa Mountain in north-central California.

Approximately 197,000 acres are administered by US Forest Service and 133,000 acres by the BLM.                  

For more information, http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mendocino/home/?cid=FSEPRD506559 .

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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The “Tree of Life” quilt block recently joined the Lake County Quilt Trail.

This 4-foot by 4-foot quilt block found a loving home on the garden wall of Middletown Art Center located on the corner of Highway 175 and Highway 29 in Middletown.

The owner of “Tree of Life,” Pat Novotny, dedicated this quilt block in memory and honor of her partner, Terry Casey, who passed away a few years ago.

Casey and Novotny shared two loves – horticulture and birds. The “Tree of Life” depicts both in its design.

The tree of life quilt pattern is one of the oldest in the United States. It symbolizes an ancient, universal image of growth, strength and connectedness.

Novotny, a survivor of the Valley fire, lost all her personal belongings except what she had in her motorhome, which has become her home since last September.

She left Lake County shortly after the Valley fire in her motorhome on a healing quest. Ironically, she returned to find the Clayton fire consuming areas of Lower Lake.

She is pleased to share “Tree of Life” with Middletown Art Center, who sadly has board members and
members who also lost their homes to the Valley fire.

It is only fitting for “Tree of Life” to find a home at MAC, which has become a critical healing center for Lake County residents as they continue to restore their lives and rebuild their homes lost in the recent fires.

The Art Center recently offered free healing art classes called “Community Works” to help soothe anxiety and PTSD as the Valley fire anniversary approaches.

“Tree of Life” has joined MAC to help community members connect, strengthen and grow out of a devastating, painful situation. Visit www.middletownartcenter.org for classes, events and membership
information.

The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.

The quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated volunteer quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.

For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or visit the group on Facebook.

LUCERNE, Calif. – The planets Venus and Jupiter came into conjunction on Saturday night, providing a beautiful show in the western sky.

The two planets were about 5 degrees apart when they were visible about 45 minutes after sunset.

Space.com reported that the two planets won't be that close again until 2065.

Above is a brief video of the two planets as they approached the western horizon, as seen from Lucerne.