UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The two men who represent Lake County in the State Legislature have weighed in on the proposal to close the only bank branch serving the Northshore, urging the state to not let the closure take place.

Assemblyman Bill Dodd and Sen. Mike McGuire have sent letters to the California Department of Business Oversight to register their concerns about Westamerica Bank's plans to shutter its Upper Lake branch – located at 9470 Main St. – this spring.

Westamerica filed a complete notice about the branch closure with the Department of Business Oversight in January – which it is required to do because it is a state-chartered bank – and notified customers the same month, as Lake County News has reported.

While the bank told regulators that impacts would be limited, customers could easily move their transactions to the Lakeport branch and that it would only affect Upper Lake, a groundswell of support for keeping the bank soon showed that community members from across the Northshore would be impacted.

Department of Business Oversight Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen indicated to the bank in a Feb. 13 letter that she would not raise an objection to the closure, initially scheduled to take place on April 24.

However, the circulation of petitions – including an online petition at http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/upper-lake-bank-customers – along with letters from county and community leaders, and a March 4 town hall meeting brought the issues of the branch's closure into sharper focus.

As a result, Owen followed up with a letter to Westamerica on March 6 saying her department was now reopening its consideration of the closure.

Westamerica has refused to answer questions from the media or the community about closing the branch, which in its letter to the state was attributed to “low transactional volume which does not support having a branch in the current location.”

The letters to Owen from McGuire and Dodd – dated March 12 and 16, respectively – reiterate the issues raised by community members

In his letter, McGuire wrote that “the planned closure of the single bank in town could have a devastating impact on local business and on our larger Lake County community. ”

Noting that Upper Lake has had a bank on its Main Street for nearly a century, McGuire pointed to the larger impact, explaining that Westamerica’s Upper Lake branch “is the only bank along Lake County’s Highway 20 corridor, with more than 15,000 people residing in the area. ”

With the Department of Business Oversight reopening its review of the matter, McGuire wrote, “I believe it is imperative that the impact the bank’s closure will have on the entire Northshore region, its businesses and its residents, be taken into consideration. ”

McGuire further asked Owen that if her agency decided to grant Westamerica permission to close the
Upper Lake branch, that an extended time frame be required.

“If there is potential interest from other financial institutions to open a branch in Upper Lake, they need to be given an appropriate amount of time to do so, without the community having to suffer an extended period with no financial institution nearby,” McGuire said.

In his letter, Dodd raised issues of the branch closure's potential effect on businesses, seniors and working families in Upper Lake and across the Northshore.

Referring to the Department of Business Oversight's reopening of its review, Dodd said he appreciated the department “fulfilling its legal obligation” to consider new information brought forward by the community.

“However, I am disappointed that the Department was not more proactive in its initial outreach and evaluation of the significant hardship posed by the closure of this bank branch,” Dodd added.

As the Department of Business Oversight conducts its review of the new information, Dodd said the impact the bank's closure will have on the thousands of Northshore residents “necessitates significant consideration.”

Like McGuire, Dodd also asked the agency to consider an extended timeframe if it approves the closure in order to allow for another financial institution to locate in the area.

In her March 6 letter to Westamerica, Owen asked the bank to grant her agency a 30-day time extension for the consideration.

Tom Dresslar, a special assistant to Owen, told Lake County News this week that Westamerica agreed to the time extension.

Dresslar, who attended the March 4 town hall in Upper Lake that focused on the branch closure, confirmed that the review is under way.

Owen's letter anticipated that the review would be completed and a decision made on or before April 15.

State financial code requires Owen to “consider whether the closing or discontinuance of the branch office will have a seriously adverse effect on the public convenience or advantage.”

Businesswoman and Upper Lake Community Council President Debbie Hablutzel, who has worked to rally community support for keeping the bank, was glad to hear of the efforts of Dodd and McGuire on behalf of keeping the bank.

Despite facing big odds, “I'm still hopeful,” Hablutzel said.

She said employees at the Upper Lake branch have told customers that the branch closure has been delayed to May 22.

Separately, Dresslar said his agency has received no word from the bank about any delay in the planned Apr. 24 closure.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Konocti Regional Trails (KRT) team is pleased to announce that the KRT Web site at www.KonoctiTrails.com has been awarded the Social Media, Websites and Technology Award from the California Trails and Greenways Foundation.

The award is given for “achieving excellence in design and creative approaches in developing trails or greenway information systems using technology, social media or Websites.”

The KRT Web site was first created in 2010. This past year, the site was updated by Lake County Trails Coordinator Gigi Stahl, partnering with the Lake County Marketing Program with the intent to increase tourism and economic development.

Through the creative use of social media, calendaring, blog posts, videos, phone apps, electronic newsletters, QR codes and downloadable trails maps, the group has been able to maximize a global presence, drawing recreational enthusiasts to Lake County with minimal expense.

KRT's use of Google Analytics propelled the Lake County Marketing Program to place more emphasis on trails and outdoor recreational activities.

Working together, KRT has promoted local recreational retail and rental businesses, outdoors events such as the well-known Konocti Challenge and the local Road Scholar wildlife and birdwatching tours, as well as support of local photography and music talent.

All KRT outreach combines information on outdoor activities, blended with cultural, historical, geographical and environmental facts, providing each visitor with a better understanding and appreciation of Lake County's special qualities.

KRT also has encouraged regional destination tourism by collaborating with neighboring trails organizations through links, blog posts and events.

“Receiving a California Trails and Greenways Conference Merit Award is a great honor, and we're very grateful to our supporters,” said Stahl. “This year's competition included large California entities with deep resources. The KRT Website was put together with a part time trails coordinator and a core of generous, dedicated volunteers.”

The award will be presented at the annual California Trails and Greenways Conference Awards Dinner on April 23 at the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite. This year's theme is on “Building Connections: Enhancing the Links between Communities and Trails.”

The mission of the California Trails Conference Foundation is to inspire recreational trail leadership through the annual California Trails and Greenways Conference in collaboration with California Dept. of State Parks.

The California Trails and Greenways Conference Awards acknowledge and show appreciation for worthy individuals, organizations, agencies and businesses that, through their hard work, integrity and social responsibility, have made outstanding contributions to promote, enhance or expand public awareness and use of trails and greenways in California during the year.

The Web site is located at www.KonoctiTrails.com . Besides locating trails for hiking, horseback or bike riding, and paddling, visitors can sign up for the email/newsletter distribution list, trails events notifications and volunteer opportunities.

Lakeport, Calif – The Lakeport Police Department is investigating a solo vehicle crash that occurred early Wednesday morning and which is suspected to have been the result of drunk driving.

Damon Thomas Wooldridge 22 of Lakeport, was identfied by police as the driver and was flown to a regional trauma center.

At approximately 1: 12 AM this morning, Lakeport Police Officers were dispatched to investigate the report of a traffic accident heard-followed by sounds of someone screaming in the area of the Lakeport Unified School District. 

Two Lakeport Police units responded immediately to the area and located a red 1992 Ford F150 pick-up upside down on its roof west of the west roadway edge of Lakeshore Blvd north of Lange Street. Officers located the adult male driver and solo occupant pinned inside of the vehicle. 

Lakeport Fire Protection District (LFPD) Fire Fighters responded and began working on extricating and providing medical aid to the driver. 

The extrication process took approximately one hour, after which the male was transported by LFPD ambulance to Sutter Lakeside and then transferred to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital by helicopter. 

The injuries received by the driver are believed to be serious but not life threatening. 

The Lakeport Police investigation of this incident is still ongoing however the preliminary report identified Wooldridge as the driver in the solo vehicle accident with evidence showing that alcohol and unsafe speed are combined factors in the collision. 

Officers believe that Wooldridge lost control of the pick-up while it was traveling north on Lakeshore Blvd, north of Lange Street at a high rate of speed. The pick-up is then believed to have hit the west roadway curb, flipped sideways, went airborne and collided with a large Oak tree before coming to rest on its roof. 

The Santa Rosa Police Department assisted in this investigation by arranging a legal blood alcohol test to be taken from Wooldridge. 

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As California enters its fourth year of historic drought conditions, fire officials are reminding residents to create and maintain 100 feet or more of defensible space around their residences and outbuildings.

This reminder comes months earlier than normal.

“Now is a critical time to clear a large portion of the required defensible space around your home,” said Cal Fire Unit Chief Scott Upton.

“Remove brush and any dead material from within 100 feet or more while temperatures are cooler, when there is less chance of igniting a wildland fire in dry vegetation,” Upton said. “Please help us by doing your part to protect your property and increase safety for both the homeowners and firefighters.”

The intent of defensible space is to increase the survivability of a “building or structure” that resides in grass, brush, and forest covered lands in the State Responsibility Area.

Defensible space is required in the California Public Resource Code 4291 and local ordinances.

The following is a list of the regulations:

– Maintain 100 feet of defensible space around all structures of all dead or dying vegetation.
– Remove all leaves and pine needles from rain gutters or on top of roofs.
– Remove dead trees or shrub branches that overhang roofs, and below or adjacent to windows.
– Keep branches a minimum of 10 feet away from chimney and stovepipe outlets.
– Relocate firewood piles outside the 30 foot zone unless covered with a fire resistant material.
– All exposed wood piles must have a minimal clearance of 10 feet down to bare mineral soil in all directions.
– Remove all flammable vegetation or items that could catch fire from adjacent to or under combustible decks, balconies and stairs.
– Dead and dying woody surface and aerial fuels shall be removed within the 100 foot zone.
– Loose surface litter consisting of leaves, pine needles, and twigs shall be permitted to a maximum depth of 3 inches.
– Cut annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
– Liquid propane gas storage tanks shall have a minimum 10 foot clearance down to bare mineral soil and no flammable vegetation for an additional 10 feet.

For more fire information on preparing for wildfires and defensible space visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org .

Other fire prevention tips can be found at www.preventwildfireca.org .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County is receiving funds through a new state grant program to prevent quagga and zebra mussel infestations.

The Quagga and Zebra Mussel Prevention Grant Program, managed by the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways, is funded by a recent boating registration fee increase.

It is providing funds on a biennial basis in an effort to “aide in the infestation prevention of the dreissenid mussel in California reservoirs,” according to the grant's Web site.

The funding is going to protect water bodies that are not already infested, the state reported.

On Wednesday, Lake County Water Resources received word that the state had awarded it $189,649.60 for its mussel prevention efforts, according to Carolyn Ruttan, Lake County Invasive Species Program coordinator.

“The reason that we were funded is because we have such a strong prevention program in place,” Ruttan said.

Ruttan said the grant is going to be used to strengthen the county's current mussel prevention plan by providing part-time seasonal staff managed by two coordinators to monitor primary county and city public launch ramps.

County personnel will monitor all water vessels and trailers for compliance with the mussel prevention plan, provide informational handouts and be ambassadors for the county’s mussel prevention efforts, Ruttan said.

She said ramp monitors shall be trained according to the “Uniform Minimum Protocols and Standards for Watercraft Interception Programs for Dreissenid Mussels in the Western United States,” established in January 2012.

For more information on Lake County's mussel prevention program, visit http://www.nomussels.com/ .

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The District Attorney's Office on Tuesday dismissed its case against a San Francisco man who had gone on trial earlier this year with his brother for a 2013 Clearlake Oaks home invasion robbery that ended in a man being shot and the attempted shooting of a police officer.

During an afternoon hearing before visiting retired Placer County Judge James Garbolino, District Attorney Don Anderson told the court that his office would not seek a retrial for Gregory Elarms, 30.

Elarms' attorney, Doug Ferguson, said later Tuesday that he was pleased with the dismissal and that “it was the right result for my client.”

Elarms stood trial along with his brother, Dion Davis, 27, for the June 26, 2013, home invasion at the home of Ronnie and Janeane Bogner, during which their adult son, Jacob, was shot by Davis, who also shot at Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department during a police pursuit.

On March 2, a jury returned a verdict convicting Davis of armed robbery, burglary, assault with a firearm on Jacob Bogner, assault with a semiautomatic firearm on Bogner, mayhem on Bogner, grand theft of a firearm, vehicle theft, vandalism, making threats of violence to Tim Celli, assault with a semiautomatic firearm on Celli, assault with a deadly weapon on Celli, negligent discharge of a firearm, accessory to a robbery or burglary, and conspiracy to commit a robbery or residential burglary, and 21 special allegations.

The jury hung on two charges of attempted murder, with Anderson asking for those charges to be dismissed against Davis.

However, the jury had hung on all 10 charges against Elarms: robbery, burglary, two firearms assaults on Bogner, two firearm assaults on Celli, grand theft, vehicle theft, vandalism and conspiracy.

At that time, Garbolino had tentatively scheduled Elarms' retrial for April 29, along with the Tuesday status conference.

Both Elarms and Davis appeared in court on Tuesday with their attorneys, Ferguson and Bill Conwell, respectively. Before the hearing, Garbolino met with Anderson, Conwell and Ferguson in chambers.

The first order of business at the hearing was for Garbolino to speak to a male juror who had left the deliberations after the first day.

Once the man left the jury and an alternate had been selected, deliberations had to begin over again. However, Garbolino needed to confirm the former juror's verdicts on counts of vehicle theft and vandalism, which he ordered set aside at the end of the hearing.

When it came time to discuss Elarms' case, Anderson told the court, “The people have decided not to retry Mr. Elarms and move to dismiss.”

Garbolino subsequently ordered the case dismissed and said Elarms was to be released.

As for Elarms' brother, Davis is to return for sentencing on May 20, at which time he's facing an estimated 30 to 40 years to life, Anderson said Tuesday.

Conwell told Lake County News on the day of the verdict that by the date of sentencing he intends to have a motion for a new trial ready to present to the court.

During Davis' court appearance, Garbolino also noted the need to reduce a charge of grand theft of a firearm from a felony due to a misdemeanor, a result of changed guidelines established last fall under Proposition 47.

Garbolino also set aside one of the charges for which Davis was convicted, accessory to a robbery or burglary, a charge that hadn't pertained to him but which hadn't been caught in the charging documents, Anderson explained.

Ferguson thanked the court.

“Good luck, Mr. Elarms,” Garbolino said in ending the hearing.

Elarms, who first had to be returned from the jail, was released from custody later Tuesday afternoon.

Anderson told Lake County News following the hearing that considering the nearly even split by which jurors deadlocked in Elarms' trial, he didn't believe he could overcome it in a new trial with the evidence he had to offer.

He explained that in a second trial, “The odds of getting a conviction are less than what we had.”

The case against Elarms had faced several challenges, including the fact that, unlike his brother and three other co-defendants, Elarms wasn't taken into custody in connection to the case until July 2014, more than a year after the robbery.

On the day of the robbery, Davis – along with his girlfriend Jenaya Jelinek, and Sean Foss and Tyler Gallon – had all been arrested in Clearlake following a pursuit and standoff with police.

Another issue arose because, originally, Janeane Bogner has misidentified another man in a police lineup. When that man, Dexter Currington, was arrested, he remained in jail for six months, even after providing sheriff's Det. Doug Dahmen with alibi information.

Dahmen's handling of the case – including failure to follow up on the Currington alibi, loss of or failure to make a recording during Janeane Bogner's interview in which she misidentified Currington, and other issues – were the subject of testimony and even a special hearing for the judge and attorneys to question Dahmen again.

Anderson said some of the jurors he spoke to found both Dahmen's testimony and the original misidentification of Currington problematic.

Ferguson told Lake County News on Tuesday afternoon that he had been in negotiations with the prosecution following the end of the trial, and that Anderson had offered Elarms an agreement in which he would plead to felony conspiracy and receive credit for time served.

“My client said he wasn't there so he rejected the offer,” Ferguson said.

As a result, “I wasn't sure of what was going to happen today,” said Ferguson, who had appeared surprised in court when Anderson moved for the dismissal.

Ferguson said he appreciated the prosecution's integrity in not attempting to push the case against Elarms forward.

Two of Davis' co-defendants in the case, Tyler Gallon and Sean Foss, are to be in court on April 1 for a management and settlement conference. Jelinek pleaded out to a lesser crime of second degree burglary last year and is now out of custody. She also testified in Davis' and Elarms' trial.

Anderson told Lake County News that he has offered a plea agreement to Foss, which so far hasn't been accepted, although he has not yet made an offer to Gallon.

If Foss doesn't accept the agreement, Anderson said he anticipates setting trial dates for both Foss and Gallon on April 1.

“We're either going to settle it or set the trial,” Anderson said.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Prices in Lake County's real estate market are continuing to show signs of improvement.

The Lake County Association of Realtors, or LCAOR, reported that the median sales price of single family residences for Lake County rose from $159,000 in January 2015 to $180,000 in February, a 13.2-percent increase.

Similar sales in February 2014 had a median sales price of $162,450, which LCAOR said indicates there was a 10.8-percent increase when comparing year to year sales.

The number of units selling in February 2015 decreased by 20.4 percent when compared to February 2014 falling from 54 units in 2014 to 43 units in 2015, according to LCAOR. With fewer units selling the months of inventory increased from 6.5 to 7.4.

In January there were 305 single family residences listed for sale and in February there were 318. It is not uncommon to see fewer units available during the winter months, LCAOR reported.

LCAOR's report showed that in 2014 the maximum number of units for sale in any one month was 505 in August and the low was 318 in January.

“Despite the lower number of sales real estate activity has been on the upswing,” said Yvette Sloan, 2015 President of LCAOR. “The next few months will be a good indicator of how the rest of the year will go.”

Distressed sales, homes sold after foreclosure or for less than what was owed, declined slightly from the January percentage, 18.6 percent from 19.2 percent. However, LCAOR reported that the decline was significant – 18.6 percent from 42.6 percent – when compared to February 2014.

Cash only purchases were down to 18.6 percent of the sales, which LCAOR said is the lowest percentage in a few years. Conversely conventional loans rose to 41.9 percent of the sales, up from 32.7 percent in January.

USDA loans were the next most common type of loan used with those making up 16.3 percent of the transactions, LCAOR said. USDA loans have qualifying factors such as income and the selling price of the home. Potential buyers should contact a qualified lender to determine if they qualify for this type of loan. All loan types have qualifying factors, but they vary from loan type to loan type.

The median time that a property was on the market increased from 81 days in February 2014 to 118 for the same month in 2015. In January 2015 the median days on market was 112, LCAOR reported.

It is not substantiated but one possible reason for the increased days on market offered by LCAOR was the possibility that fewer transactions are being purchased with cash and more are being purchased via loans which have a processing time not associated with cash transactions.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Lake County, February 2015

Median price: $180,000
Median days to sell: 118
Units Sold: 43

Lake County, January 2015

Median price: $159,000
Median days to sell: 112
Units Sold: 45

Lake County, February 2014

Median price: $162,450
Median days to sell: 81
Units Sold: 54

Visit LCAOR online at www.lcaor.com/members/ .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Operation Tango Mike – which stands for “Operation Thanks Much” – will mark 12 years of shipping care packages and supporting military personnel on March 19.

The all-volunteer nonprofit group began in 2003, when founder Ginny Craven was sending care packages to friends deployed to Afghanistan.

Since then, the group has grown and is now headquartered at Umpqua Bank in Lakeport and holds packing parties on the third Thursday of each month at 6 p.m.

Every month, 75 to 100 care packages are packed by volunteers. After the boxes are stuffed, taped and addressed, children decorate each one.

The organization has been in existence long enough to have seen volunteers graduate from local high schools and become care package recipients.

One example is Cpl. Bradley Mayer, who became a care package recipient during a 2014 deployment to Afghanistan.

In a recent note Mayer wrote, “I remember coming off patrol and being told I have mail, first time receiving mail and it was a bunch of care packages for me and my fellow Marines. I can’t express to this day how grateful I was to receive them, and speaking for my fellow Marines, it made our whole deployment. When things would get hectic, we would end up receiving a care package.  I won’t keep on babbling but I want to say it’s the little things that make a difference and the best thing to support the warriors, is actually being there and caring.”

A recent post on the Operation Tango Mike Facebook page read, “Hello OPERATION TANGO MIKE! This is SSG Linden Henry II, dropping by to give sincere thanks for the care packages sent to me, here in West Africa. I appreciate you guys!!!!!”

Currently, Operation Tango Mike care packages are shipped to personnel in eight countries.

Volunteers also have hosted many welcome home celebrations over the years, as well as assisting local families of fallen military personnel.

Operation Tango Mike relies on donations and fundraising to pay the monthly shipping fee of $15.90 per care package, and to purchase the needed food and hygiene supplies. Monthly costs for shipping and supplies exceed $2,500.

In commemoration of 12 years of community support, Operation Tango Mike will host an open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The regular monthly packing party will follow.

To add someone to the care package recipient list, you may call 707-349-2838 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Other inquiries may be directed here as well.

Donations may be made by mailing checks to 5216 Piner Court, Kelseyville, CA 95451. You may also make electronic donations via PayPal at www.operationtangomike.org or via www.gofundme.com/operatiopntangomike . Donations may also be made at Umpqua Bank.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Napa County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday issued an update into its investigation of a murder-suicide that occurred on Monday near Yountville.

Emad Rasmy Tawfilis, 48, of Los Gatos was shot by Fairfield resident Robert Dahl, 47, owner of Dahl Vineyard at 6155 Solano Ave., where deputies were dispatched late Monday morning, according to a report from Capt. Doug Pike of the Napa County Sheriff's Office.

Pike said that, based on the facts of the investigation and witness interviews, investigators concluded that the two men had a business relationship and were currently involved in some civil litigation.

The men had been scheduled to meet with each other on Monday at Dahl Vineyards for a possible settlement conference, without their attorneys, Pike said. “During the meeting, something tragically went wrong.”

Investigation of the scene and eyewitness interviews indicates that the assault began inside the winery building. From there, Pike said Tawfilis fled, on foot, southbound through the vineyard with Dahl pursuing him in his black 2014 Toyota SUV.

As he was being pursued, Tawfilis was on a 911 line with dispatch reporting that he had been shot and that “Robert Dahl” was coming after him in his truck and was trying to kill him, according to Pike's report.

As he was chasing Tawfilis, Dahl was believed to be firing repeatedly at Tawfilis with a .22 caliber semiautomatic handgun, Pike said.

After making his way to the intersection of Hoffman Lane and Solano Avenue, the wounded Tawfilis fell to the ground as Dahl exited his SUV with the handgun, walked up to the victim and appeared to execute him just as the deputies were arriving, Pike said.

Pike said that Dahl – seeing the approaching sheriff's units – then ran back to his SUV and fled the scene, at a high rate of speed, northbound on Highway 29, with deputies in pursuit.

While one of the arriving deputies attempted to render aid to Tawfilis, Pike said the other deputies – who were soon joined by officers from the Napa Police Department and a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol – continued the vehicle pursuit.

The pursuit ended on Wall Road after Dahl crashed through a gate onto private property and came to a stop in a heavily wooded area, Pike said.

After Dahl crashed through the gate, deputies briefly lost visual contact of the suspect vehicle. Pike said that because deputies had lost temporarily lost sight of Dahl they did not know if he was still in the vehicle.

On scene deputies then established a perimeter and requested SWAT teams from both the sheriff’s office and the Napa Police Department, Pike said.

Pike said that, upon arrival, the SWAT teams located Dahl in the driver’s seat of his vehicle deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The autopsies for the two men were scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Pike said.

As California enters a fourth year of drought, a new statewide poll reveals that the vast majority of Californians – some 90 percent – are willing to make significant changes to conserve water both inside and out.

In addition, more than 80 percent believe it’s important to conserve water regardless of whether the state is in drought or whether conservation is mandated by local water agencies.

The statewide poll of 801 registered voters – commissioned by the Association of California Water Agencies in partnership with the statewide conservation education program Save Our Water – also found that more than 80 percent of Californians view the drought and water shortages as “extremely” or “very” serious problems.

Some 86 percent of polled residents believe that California is in a state of persistent water shortage.

The polling also indicates that Californians nearly universally agree that the drought is the most pressing problem facing the state and is more concerning than the economy, education, health care costs and taxes.

“California is indeed a dry state that can expect to see persistent droughts in its future. This polling underscores the fact that a vast majority of Californians understand this new normal,” said ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn. “But the poll also shows that an overwhelming majority of Californians are willing to significantly change their water usage whether we are in a drought or not. This is a sea change in public opinion and bodes well for our future.”

Mark Cowin, director of the Department of Water Resources, noted that the poll indicates over three-quarters of Californians have been getting the message about the state’s ongoing drought. DWR is a partner with ACWA in the Save Our Water program.

“Clearly, Californians understand the magnitude of this drought,” said Cowin.  “Just as important, they understand that they can help California cope through the collective power of individual actions. If we all shut off sprinklers, make the effort to fix a leak, and urge friends and neighbors to do the same, it will make a difference.”

The poll of registered voters was conducted Feb. 22 to March 1 by the polling firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, or FM3.

Its findings arrive as the State Water Resources Control Board prepares to act on proposed new emergency water conservation regulations today and extend existing ones as the state remains locked in a grinding fourth year of drought.

The Sierra snowpack is at record low levels and January was among the driest months on record.

“This poll’s findings stand out among our many years of tracking water issues in California,” said Dave Metz, principal and president of FM3. “We’ve never seen such a huge majority recognize the severity of the water crisis as well as such a large group that views the water problems as ongoing and warranting continued conservation.”

Metz noted that 83 percent of those polled said conserving water is “extremely” or “very” important whether or not water agencies are requiring water conservation, suggesting that for Californians “conserving water has become more of a core value than simply a reaction to regulations, restrictions or other external factors.”

A summary of the poll’s findings can be found below.

March 2015 - California poll on water use

ACCUWEATHER GLOBAL WEATHER CENTER – AccuWeather reports that on Friday, March 20, the vernal equinox will occur once again, marking the gradual return to warmer days in the Northern Hemisphere and winter's official astronomical end.

However, for 2015, the spring equinox will transpire amidst two other celestial events: a total solar eclipse [for some areas] and a new supermoon.

“You could call it a cosmic coincidence,” Slooh Observatory Manager Paul Cox said, adding that he will be traveling to the Faroe Islands as part of Slooh's expedition for the rare eclipse.

Slooh will be broadcasting the entire event live from the Faroe Islands, located in the northern Atlantic Ocean, which will serve as one of the best land-based locations for viewing the full effect of the eclipse as the moon slides in front of the sun.

“Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, in nature is as powerful and spectacular as the totality of a solar eclipse,” Slooh Astronomer Bob Berman said.

“Sadly, they only happen every 360 years on average for any given location, which means that a very low percentage of the population has ever seen one.”

While the total eclipse will only be visible from areas of the northern Atlantic Ocean, the farther north a person is located in Western Europe, the better visibility they will have, Cox said.

For example, those living in northern Scotland can expect approximately 95 percent of the sun to be blocked during the eclipse, while those as far south as Rome, Italy, can expect more than 50 percent, he added.

Some people are even raising concerns about the eclipse's impact on power grids due to the sudden drop in solar power during the event, the Associated Press reported.

“Experts say the country's electricity grid, which relies increasingly on renewable energy, faces a crucial test on the morning of March 20, when the moon will pass in front of the sun and block up to 82 percent of its light across Germany,” the Associated Press reported.

The eclipse will be partially visible for portions of Africa, eastern Europe and northern Russia as the Earth rotates.

Because the darkest part of the shadow, or umbra, will pass northward over the Atlantic Ocean and toward the North Pole, the Faroe Islands offers one of the only land-based spots on Earth to experience the eclipse's full effect. However, those at sea in the Atlantic could catch a better glimpse of the rare celestial event.

As the Earth rotates at nearly 1,040 miles per hour, it completes its revolution around the sun at nearly 67,000 miles per hour.

The beautiful Blue Planet we call home travels an elliptical orbit at a 23.5 degree tilt, or obliquity, from the sun which is responsible for the change in seasons.

This is marked twice each year by an equinox and twice by a solstice.

“The vernal equinox is when the most direct rays of the sun are directed on the equator,” said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Dan Kowlottski.

Continuing through the spring and into summer, daylight builds in the Northern Hemisphere with the sun's direct rays moving farther north of the equator until the summer solstice, the day with the longest duration of sunlight in the entire year, occurs.

In addition to the vernal equinox and the eclipse, a new supermoon will also occur Friday. The supermoon is either a full moon or a new moon that occurs during the moon's closest approach to Earth on its elliptical orbit.

This proximity results in the appearance of a larger lunar disk, around 15 percent larger, during a full supermoon as seen from the planet.

With the solar eclipse happening simultaneously with a new supermoon, astronomers will be able to view the new moon's silhouette, something that is normally impossible, Cox said.

“It gives us the ability to see a rare supermoon,” Cox said. “This is the one opportunity to see a truly new moon.”

It will also provide a slightly longer time window, a little more than two minutes, for Cox's team to catch the totality of the eclipse for their broadcast, he added.

While a supermoon and solar eclipse occurring together is a rather rare celestial event, the coupling of a solar eclipse and the vernal equinox is not as rare, Cox said.

“It's cyclical,” he said. “There are usually four or five together [over a period of 19 years].”

The first occurrence of another solar eclipse during the vernal equinox will be seen after a 19-year interval from Friday's event (in 2034), followed by another in 2053 and a third of these grouped events in 2072.

The next series of solar eclipses transpiring on the day of the vernal equinox will not happen again for more than a century following 2072's eclipse.

Those seeking to watch the eclipse should exercise caution and not look directly at the sun.

Those who plan on viewing the event directly should use protective eclipse glasses or build a safe viewing device.

Michael Kuhne is a staff writer for www.AccuWeather.com .

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – A Guerneville man was seriously injured in a motorcycle wreck near Hidden Valley Lake on Friday night.

Rene Barron, 39, was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital following the crash, which occurred just after 8:30 p.m. Friday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Wind.

Barron was riding his 1989 Kawasaki X3 northbound on Highway 29, half a mile north of Spruce Grove Road South, when he went off the road and overturned, Wind said.

Wind said Barron had major injuries and subsequently was transported to the regional trauma center.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, Wind said.

Wind said CHP Officer John Geer is investigating the crash.

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