The California Department of Public Health announced the first confirmed illnesses in California this year due to West Nile virus, or WNV.
The four illnesses occurred in Los Angeles, Kern and Riverside counties.
“West Nile virus activity in the state is increasing, so I urge Californians to take every possible precaution to protect against mosquito bites,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith.
West Nile virus is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of an infected mosquito. As of June 8, WNV has been detected in 14 dead birds from seven counties and four mosquito samples from three counties.
No dead birds or mosquito samples have so far been found in Lake County, based on state data.
Hot temperatures this month are contributing to increasing numbers of mosquitoes and the increased risk of virus transmission to humans, officials said.
So far this season, activity is within expected levels. The risk of disease due to WNV usually increases at this time of year and is highest throughout the summer and early fall, CDPH reported.
West Nile virus is influenced by many factors, including climate, the number and types of birds and mosquitoes in an area, and the level of WNV immunity in birds. The risk of serious illness to most people is low. However, some individuals – less than 1 percent – can develop serious neurologic illnesses such as encephalitis or meningitis.
In 2017, there were 553 reported WNV cases in California, including 44 deaths.
People 50 years of age and older, and individuals with diabetes or hypertension, have a higher chance of getting sick and are more likely to develop complications from WNV infection.
CDPH recommends that individuals protect against mosquito bites and WNV by practicing the “Three Ds”:
1. DEET – Apply insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 according to label instructions. Repellents keep the mosquitoes from biting you. Insect repellents should not be used on children under two months of age.
2. DAWN AND DUSK – Mosquitoes that transmit WNV usually bite in the early morning and evening so it is important to wear proper clothing and repellent if outside during these times. Make sure that your doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep out mosquitoes. Repair or replace screens that have tears or holes.
3. DRAIN – Mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water. Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property by emptying flower pots, old car tires, buckets, and other containers. If you know of a swimming pool that is not being properly maintained, please contact your local mosquito and vector control agency. Click here for audio
California’s West Nile virus Web site includes the latest information on WNV activity in the state. Californians are encouraged to report dead birds on the website or by calling toll-free 1-877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473).
When a person dies other persons may be living in the decedent’s residence and/or other real properties owned by the decedent.
This may include the decedent’s spouse, child, significant other, caregiver, rent-paying tenant or simply a friend.
What happens when such persons assert that they are entitled to live at the decedent’s residence and refuse to leave when asked to do so by the person administering the decedent’s estate?
This scenario often creates an expensive and time consuming problem for the person administering the decedent’s estate because it usually entails going to court.
The trustee administering the decedent’s trust, or the personal representative administering the probate estate, as relevant, is legally required to safeguard and to make productive the estate’s assets, and ultimately to carry out the terms of the decedent’s trust or will.
If the trustee, or personal representative, wrongly allows for persons living in the decedent’s residence to live rent free and/or to damage the premises then the trustee of personal representative has failed to carry out his or her legal duties. If so, the trustee, or personal representative, can be removed and can be penalized.
Sometimes, however, the occupants may have a legal right to remain in the decedent’s residence.
A person may have legal rights to remain at the residence either because they were already lawful “tenants” when the decedent died or because they became lawful tenants afterwards.
A person can become a tenant either formally, i.e., signing a lease agreement, or informally by oral agreement.
Accepting rent from an occupant will create a periodic tenancy at will and give them occupancy rights that will make removing them later more difficult.
Tenancies can also be inadvertently created. It is important to have legal counsel prior to negotiating with occupants.
A surviving spouse and/or dependent minor child (under age 18) who lived with the decedent have special protection.
California law allows for a so-called “probate homestead” to be established if a probate estate is opened that includes a residence if other requirement are met.
A probate homestead can allow the surviving spouse and/or minor children to remain in the residence for a significant period of time.
Also, if the decedent owned the real property in a trust, the trust may allow certain persons to reside at the residence.
The trust might allow a person to remain in the residence while it is being sold or it might allow for the person to have a life estate or a term of years to live in the residence.
The trust should also say what responsibilities the occupant has for maintenance and expenses (insurance, taxes, and utilities).
Otherwise, if persons are occupying the residence and not paying rent, the trustee or personal representative will have to proceed with an appropriate legal action.
In the case of a hold over tenant that would usually mean a civil action for unlawful detainer or an ejectment.
Otherwise, an action for ejectment or a so-called “850 petition” might apply. Which approach applies and is best in any given situation is an important decision to be made in consultation with a qualified attorney prior to proceeding.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com.
What's up in the night sky this month? Enjoy a ringside seat for Saturn, plus a night long parade featuring Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Vesta until dawn.
First up is Venus. It reaches its highest sunset altitude for the year this month and sets more than two hours after sunset.
You can't miss Jupiter, only a month after its opposition – when Earth was directly between Jupiter and the Sun.
The best time to observe Jupiter through a telescope is 10:30 p.m. at the beginning of the month and as soon as it's dark by the end of the month. Just aim your binoculars at the bright planet for a view including the four Galilean moons. Or just enjoy Jupiter with your unaided eye!
Saturn is at opposition June 27, when it and the Sun are on opposite sides of Earth. It rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Great Saturn viewing will last several more months. The best views this month will be just after midnight.
All year, the rings have been tilted wide open – almost 26 degrees wide this month – giving us a great view of Saturn's distinctive rings. The tilt offers us a view of the north polar region, so exquisitely imaged by the Cassini spacecraft.
Near Saturn, the brightest asteroid, Vesta is so bright that it can be seen with your unaided eye. It will be visible for several months. A detailed star chart will help you pick out the asteroid from the stars. The summer Milky way provides a glittery backdrop.
Finally, Mars grows dramatically in brightness and size this month and is visible by 10:30 p.m. by month end. The best views are in the early morning hours. Earth's closest approach with Mars is only a month away. It's the closest Mars has been to us since 2003.
You can catch up on solar system missions and all of NASA's missions at www.nasa.gov.
Elizabeth Gaunt and her son, Dane Shikman. Shikman has settled a federal lawsuit against the county of Lake, Calif., for $2 million for his mother’s August 2015 death by suicide in the Lake County Jail. Courtesy photo.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county of Lake has reached a $2 million settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by the son of a woman who died by suicide in the Lake County Jail in 2015.
The case involves the in-custody death of Elizabeth Dara Gaunt, 56, of Santa Rosa.
In the settlement, the county has agreed to pay $2 million to Gaunt’s son, Dane Shikman, while denying allegations of wrongdoing, according to case documents. The county’s settlement payment will be paid by its insurance.
“I believe it to be the highest sum ever recovered in the state of California involving the suicide of an inmate,” said attorney Michael D. Green of the Santa Rosa law firm Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery.
“It was just a fairly egregious case,” he said.
He said a settlement with the county’s private jail medical provider – identified in case documents as California Forensic Medical Group – is confidential. Neither Green nor Shikman could discuss it due to terms of that settlement.
“I brought this litigation not just to vindicate my mom but to expose what I thought was a problem in the system,” Shikman told Lake County News.
County Counsel Anita Grant told Lake County News that the Board of Supervisors approved the settlement following a closed session discussion earlier this year.
Grant did not have information about the settlement with the county’s jail medical provider, California Forensic Medical Group, noting it’s private.
The case had been set to go to trial June 4 at the federal court in Humboldt County. However, in May, the county signed off on the agreement to settle the case, which was then dismissed in federal court, Green said.
Federal court records showed the stipulation in which the parties agreed to the case being dismissed was filed on May 30.
Green litigated the case along with Matt Lilligren of Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery and Geri Green of the Law Office of Geri Green.
Last year, Green’s firm reached the $4.5 million settlement with the county of Lake over the Lakeside Heights subdivision landslide, as Lake County News has reported.
The basis of the lawsuit
Gaunt’s death occurred on Aug. 2, 2015, a day after she was taken into custody in Nice when deputies responded to a report of a suspicious woman banging on residential yard gates.
Authorities said she was arrested for giving deputies false identification and being under the influence of a controlled substance, later identified as methamphetamine.
Neither Shikman nor Green knows how she ended up in Lake County or why she had come here in the lead up to her arrest and death.
“I really wish I knew,” said Shikman. “It’s a missing piece of the story for me.”
During booking, Gaunt denied being suicidal and was placed in a sobering cell, where she was kept for more than 24 hours, according to a District Attorney’s Office investigation.
Green said jail staff had requested a medical clearance before placement due to Gaunt’s altered mental status.
He said she repeatedly made urgent requests to see a medical doctor but the county’s jail medical provider failed to contact a doctor and instead sent a licensed vocational nurse – not qualified to perform detailed evaluations, render a diagnosis or make treatment decisions – who met with Gaunt for only 30 seconds and failed to perform a detailed intake medical evaluation or required mental health screening.
The LVN failed to consult with a qualified medical professional prior to accepting Gaunt into the jail, despite acknowledging that Gaunt had a positive psychiatric history, Green said.
While Gaunt was placed into a sobering cell for close observation due to concerns about her safety, Green said jail staff failed to intervene properly.
At one point on the afternoon of Aug. 2, she began asking, then yelling for help, according to the district attorney’s report.
Green said Gaunt’s mental condition deteriorated significantly while in custody, and she began to experience hallucinations and became increasingly agitated and psychotic, which was documented by the LVN who last saw her at 2 p.m., shortly before she was found unresponsive. Green faulted the LVN for failing to perform a medical examination, obtain vitals or contact a medical doctor as required.
Minutes later, Gaunt used torn bedding to hang herself, which Green said wasn’t noticed because a correctional officer failed to enter the cell to make the required direct visual observation of Gaunt.
He said Gaunt was found unresponsive at the next cell check at 2:25 p.m., when, during another cell check, a correctional officer found her on the floor of her cell, a strip of her torn up cell blanket around her neck and also tied to the sink.
Despite attempts by jail staff and doctors at Sutter Lakeside to resuscitate her, Gaunt was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour after she was found unresponsive in her cell, according to case documents.
The autopsy found she died from asphyxia due to hanging, and had a potentially toxic level of methamphetamine in her system.
Seeking answers
Shikman said he was traveling abroad when his mother’s death occurred. He learned about it the day after he returned to his then-home in Washington, DC, when a police officer showed up at his door.
What followed, said Shikman, was a blur, as he called his father and uncle. “We just cried it out on the phone.”
The same day, he flew to California to try to learn what had happened. “None of the circumstances that have come to light during the process of litigation were disclosed to me at the time,” despite him asking, he said.
In the days that followed, Shikman moved quickly to handle his mother’s final arrangements and continue his quest for answers.
Within a week of her death, he traveled to Ireland, where he scattered her ashes off the western coast. He said she had always talked of Ireland as a spiritual home.
He said he exchanged about half a dozen emails with the county, trying to get information about her death. Shikman said the county either was unresponsive or officials said they couldn’t answer his questions.
In October of 2015, District Attorney Don Anderson completed his report on Gaunt’s death, concluding she had died by suicide but making no determination on wrongdoing,
Shikman said Anderson’s office gave him the report as well as a narrative of a video of his mother in her cell before she died. He said that narrative showed him there was serious wrongdoing. That’s when Shikman – an attorney himself – began consulting other attorneys about taking his case, eventually connecting with the attorneys who made up his legal team.
Filing suit
The suit was filed in 2016. It faulted the county and California Forensic Medical Group for failing to give Gaunt – who needed “acute mental health treatment” – a detailed medical screening, mental health evaluation or intervention by a medical doctor despite her repeated requests.
The suit cited seven causes of action, the first three of which referenced the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, which speaks to due process and equal protection under the law: deliberate indifference to serious medical/mental health needs and failure to protect Gaunt against harm; inadequate policies, customs and/or practices resulting in deprivation of medical/mental health care to Gaunt and failure to protect her against harm; and failure to train/supervise.
The other four claims included wrongful death arising from negligence; violation of California Government Code 845.6, which is the failure to furnish or obtain medical care for a prisoner; violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act for failing to accommodate Gaunt’s mental disability and discrimination against her based on that disability; and violation of the Unruh Act, which also alleged failure to accommodate for her disability and discrimination against her for it.
“We took about 30 depositions in the case,” said Green.
He said they went into great detail in looking at policies and procedures and where there are gaps where people can fall through.
“From our perspective, she should never have been kept in the jail,” said Green.
Gaunt, he said, “was having a mental decomposition” and should have been sent to an appropriate facility.
Green faulted correctional officers in particular for not doing a proper cell check at the time Gaunt’s suicide was occurring. “They should have gotten her out of there. They didn’t,” he said, adding that they should have appreciated the acute psychotic situation she was in.
In February 2017, as the litigation was under way, Green said the California Board of Vocational Nursing notified California Forensic Medical Group that its policy and practice of using LVNs to make disposition decisions at intake – such as the decision to send an inmate to the hospital for evaluation or instead clear for placement in sobering cell – violates the LVN’s scope of practice under California law.
At the time of Gaunt’s death, it was California Forensic Medical Group’s practice that an individual such as Gaunt who arrived to the jail on the weekend would not receive a required mental health evaluation until the following Monday, Green said.
Since initiation of this lawsuit, Green said that medical provider has revised its policies and practices to conform to California law.
Change also have come from the sheriff’s office, he said.
“I think Sheriff Martin has taken a more proactive approach,” Green said, noting those early changes made weren’t part of the settlement requirements.
Green said Martin – who at the time of Gaunt’s death had been sheriff for seven months – “stepped up relatively promptly” to make a series of changes.
“We did recognize that there were some improvements to be made,” Sheriff Martin told Lake County News.
Martin said that they increased the size of video monitors, replaced the old blankets with new tear-resistant ones that also are much harder to tie around things, added a system where correctional officers must go up to a cell to check them and added clocks within the booking area that go off at designated times to remind correctional officers to do inmate checks.
He said they’ve also implemented suicide and crisis response and intervention training. There have been no suicides since Gaunt’s death, and Martin credited those improvements – as well as interventions – with helping stop them.
Martin said there is always room for improvement. “There’s not a 100-percent foolproof system.”
Other improvements made at the jail cited by Green include a requirement that all inmates receive a mental health evaluation before being admitted into the jail, updates to written policies and inmate observation logs to better ensure the correctional officers are performing safety checks and inmates evaluations in a timely manner, and a requirement that supervisors review inmate logs closer and more frequently to ensure compliance.
Green said the suit ultimately was settled in a couple of pieces, one at the end of May, the other within the month previous.
He said the settlement amount was basically a forecast of what a jury would do. “The county and the county’s medical provider settled it because of the risk of trial.”
Shikman said he’s happy with some of the changes made by the county, including the use of tear-resistant blankets, mental health evaluations, and safety checks and observation logs. “That’s good to see.”
Authorities have to take responsibility for those they arrest, and people have a right to know that family members will be safe when police take them into custody. “That didn’t happen here.”
Shikman said he wants exposure of the structural inadequacies of the law enforcement system, where medical providers want to maximize profits and will skimp if they can. “That’s unacceptable.”
While there are many questions he still hasn’t found answers to, “As to the facts, yeah, I think I have everything I need.”
Green said this was the third lawsuit against Lake County involving a jail suicide. All were different in their circumstances, but similar in that the people who died shouldn’t have been in jail and that all of them, like Gaunt’s case, resulted in a large settlement.
Remembering the woman
For Shikman, it’s important that his mother be remembered as the fully formed person she was, a loving and involved mother, a good friend and a star student in grad school. He doesn’t want her to be defined for her death or for her struggles with substance abuse, which she faced just as millions of others do.
“She was just the best mom that anyone could ask for,” he said, explaining that his parents separated when he was 2 and she was a single mother. “She really devoted her whole life to being a mom to me.”
Gaunt was a social worker who was trained to be a licensed therapist and worked as a substance abuse counselor. She was effective in helping helped others who struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, serving the homeless and disabled, he said.
Prior to her death, Gaunt was preparing to apply for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, Green said.
“She was constantly thinking of others first,” Shikman said, noting that people who she had helped had written to her to tell her of how she impacted their lives.
Shikman said his mother also had integrity and unflappable principles, was uniquely intelligent, a constant reader and a woman with a great sense of humor.
“She was really goofy and laughed at herself all the time,” Shikman said.
He said his mother was a shining star who lit up every room she was in.
Shikman added, “Just because someone has drug or alcohol problems, doesn't mean they’re less than. I think we have a tendency in our society to think that.”
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.
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A fire was reported in a Clearlake Oaks home early Friday morning.
The fire, in the 11600 block of Lakeview Drive, initially was reported just before 3:15 a.m., according to radio reports.
Cal Fire and Northshore Fire units responded, based on scanner traffic.
The first unit on scene about 10 minutes after initial dispatch found one fully involved structure, with several others threatened and about a quarter-acre of vegetation burning.
A short time later, incident command reported that power lines had fallen. However, Pacific Gas and Electric did not report an outage in the area.
Forward progress was stopped on the fire just after 3:45 a.m., with two hours of mop up anticipated.
Additional details about the cause of the fire and extent of the damage were not immediately available.
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.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, June 20.
The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After another wet winter, warming temperatures and winds are quickly drying out the abundant annual grass crop.
The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting Cal Fire and Marin County Fire Department to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Solano, Yolo, Colusa and Marin counties.
This suspension takes effect June 18th, 2018 and bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves.
“This year is turning out to be just as volatile as last year. The public cannot let their guard down and must continue to be involved in preparation efforts for the upcoming wildfires,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director. “Again, this year the abundant dead grass will only serve as a fuse to the heavier vegetation still suffering the lasting effects of over five years of drought.”
Cal Fire Sonoma Lake Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones reminds residents “to avoid mowing on hot and dry days.” Mow early in the morning when the humidity is higher and the temperatures are cooler.
Since January 1, 2018 CAL FIRE and firefighters across the state have already responded to over 1,860 wildfires. While outdoor burning of landscape debris by homeowners is no longer allowed, Cal Fire is asking residents to take that extra time to ensure that they are prepared for wildfires by maintaining a minimum of 100 feet of Defensible Space around every home and building on their property and being prepared to evacuate if the time comes.
Here are some tips to help prepare homes and property:
• Clear all dead and or dying vegetation 100 feet from around all structures. • Landscape with fire resistant plants and non-flammable ground cover. • Find alternative ways to dispose of landscape debris like chipping or hauling it to a biomass energy or green waste facility.
The department may issue restricted temporary burning permits if there is an essential reason due to public health and safety. Agriculture, land management, fire training, and other industrial-type burning may proceed if a Cal Fire official inspects the burn site and issues a special permit.
The suspension of burn permits for residential landscape debris does not apply to campfires within organized campgrounds or on private property. Campfires may be permitted if the campfire is maintained in such a manner as to prevent its spread to the wildland.
For additional information on how to create defensible space, on how to be prepared for wildfires, as well as tips to prevent wildfires, visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Authorities have arrested an Upper Lake man for killing his wife.
William “Bill” Morton Henry, 64, was taken into custody Thursday morning for the murder of 51-year-old Cindi Henry, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes unit subsequently launched a search for Bill Henry, who was not at home at the time his wife’s body was discovered and had last been seen there by family between Saturday evening and early Sunday morning.
Paulich said an autopsy was conducted on Cindi Henry’s body on Wednesday. The findings confirmed that her death was a homicide, with the cause of death being mechanical asphyxiation.
Authorities so far have not given a time frame for when Cindi Henry died.
Paulich said Major Crimes unit detectives had obtained a probable cause arrest warrant for Bill Henry before the autopsy was completed.
Just after 9 a.m. Thursday, the sheriff’s office received information that Henry was at his residence in Upper Lake, Paulich said.
Deputies responded to the residence and contacted Henry, who they took into custody without incident, Paulich said.
Henry gave deputies a statement, but Paulich said they are not releasing the specifics of that statement at this time.
Paulich said Henry is in custody at the Lake County Jail on $1 million bail.
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.
An abandoned RV burned in Lucerne, Calif., late on the night of Wednesday, January 13, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
LUCERNE, Calif. – A fire in an abandoned RV on the side of Highway 20 in Lucerne temporarily closed the roadway and threatened a nearby structure late Wednesday night.
The RV, which had been parked at the corner of 12th Avenue and Highway 20 in front of a now-closed restaurant, was first reported to be on fire shortly before 11:30 a.m.
A large plume of smoke rose through town and was visible blocks away.
The RV fire caught utility lines above it on fire as well, but a nearby tree and the closed restaurant structure did not appear to be badly damaged.
At one point during the fire, before Northshore Fire personnel arrived, there was a loud explosion, likely from a propane tank inside of the vehicle blowing up.
The fire resulted in authorities closing Highway 20 in both directions for nearly an hour, starting shortly after 11:30 a.m.
Reports from the incident command stated the fire was contained just before 12:15 a.m. Thursday, with the incident terminated 15 minutes later.
A firefighter looks inside the burned out shell of an abandoned RV that burned in Lucerne, Calif., late on the night of Wednesday, January 13, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
The CHP reported that the utility lines that were damaged are being handled by Mediacom. No power lines were reported to be involved.
It was not immediately clear if the vehicle fire was an arson.
However, it was not far away from the site of another suspicious car fire, which occurred in January in an alley between 12th and 13th avenues, as Lake County News has reported.
The RV was reportedly parked in that location for more than a month, and had been red-tagged by both Lake County Code Enforcement and the California Highway Patrol.
A neighbor told Lake County News that he had made calls to both agencies about the vehicle, to no avail. Lake County News also sent a written request for information to the Community Development Department about the vehicle earlier this week but had received no reply.
Someone had painted “please tow” on the side of the vehicle last week, the neighbor reported.
The CHP was on scene at the incident early Thursday and was reported to be waiting for the vehicle to be towed.
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.
Firefighters at the scene of an abandoned RV fire in Lucerne, Calif., late on the night of Wednesday, January 13, 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office has issued an updated tally of ballots still to count in the June 5 primary.
The preliminary vote counts reported on election night are far from final, and getting to the final election numbers is the process Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley and her staff are now undertaking, one that includes a number of checks and balances.
“The process of certifying election results, also known as the official canvass, is mandated by state law to make sure the public can have confidence in the integrity of the final results,” Fridley said in her Wednesday update.
While Fridley said her office won’t be updating the election count until it’s finalized, she did give an update on the number of ballots to be counted during the official canvass and offered a breakdown by district.
She told the Board of Supervisors at its budget hearings this week that there is an increasing trend of absentee voters waiting to the last minute to vote, which results in her staff having more ballots to count during the official canvass period.
The updated number of vote-by-mail – or absentee – ballots remaining to be counted during the official canvass period is as follows:
– Vote-by-Mail, or VBM, ballots remaining to be processed and counted: 5,289. – Provisional ballots issued at the polls: 524. – Conditional voter registration provisional ballots: 62. – VBM ballots that require further review for various reasons: 187. – Grand total: 6,062.
Fridley explained that “polls provisional ballots” are cast at the polling places on Election Day.
She said there are a variety of reasons a voter is issued a provisional ballot, including the voter’s name being highlighted on the active voter roster list as a vote-by-mail voter and the poll worker being unable to verify if the voter has returned his or her vote-by-mail ballot; the voter has moved and the new address doesn’t match the Active voter roster list or the voter moved within the county but did not re-register to vote at his/her new address; voter is voting in the wrong voting precinct and not his/her assigned voting precinct; the voter is required to provide ID, but is unable to do so; and the voter’s eligibility to vote cannot be determined by the poll worker.
Fridley said “conditional voter registration provisional ballots” can only be issued to a person personally visiting the Lake County Registrar of Voters no later than the close of the polls (prior to 8 p.m.) on Election Day. These voters are Lake County residents who miss the voter registration deadline but they still have the option to vote in an election by conditionally registering to vote and casting a provisional ballot.
Fridley said polls provisional ballots, conditional voter registration provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots requiring further review may be entirely counted, partially counted or not counted.
The breakdown of ballots remaining to be counted by countywide offices, congressional districts, Supervisorial Districts 2 and 3, unincorporated county-Measure G, and Community Services District-Measure F is as follows:
– Countywide offices: 5,476 VBM and 586 provisional. – Congressional District 3: 2,260 VBM and 276 provisional. – Congressional District 5: 3,216 VBM and 310 provisional. – County Supervisor District 2: 605 VBM and 80 provisional. – County Supervisor District 3: 1,024 VBM and 131 provisional. – County of Lake - Measure “G”: 4,233 VBM and 445 provisional. – Butler-Keys CSD – Measure “F”: 16 VBM and 0 provisional.
Fridley’s office has 30 days from Election Day to complete the official canvass and certify the final election results.
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.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Golden State Water Co. reported that it recently filed to decrease water rates for all service areas to pass cost savings from the new lower federal corporate income tax requirement through to customers.
If approved as submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission, rates for residential customers in the Clearlake service area will decrease by 4.33 percent on July 1, the company reported..
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 lowered the nation’s federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2018.
As directed by the CPUC, Golden State Water is tracking the impact of the new corporate tax rate and other changes in tax law, and will submit a separate filing to credit customers for any revenue surplus resulting from the reduced tax expense during the period from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2018.
“Golden State Water is regulated by the state of California to ensure water bills reflect the full cost of providing water service and making capital investments that are critical to continue providing quality, reliable water service to customers,” said Denise Kruger, senior vice president of regulated utilities for Golden State Water. “The new tax law reduces our costs, and we are eager to pass along those savings to our customers.”
The new federal corporate income tax rate will also lower rates proposed in Golden State Water’s General Rate Case filing for 2019-2021.
Golden State Water is working with the CPUC to adjust the rate proposal and revenue requirement to reflect the lower tax requirement, which was signed into law after the rate case was filed in July 2017.
For more information regarding Golden State Water, customers are encouraged to call the 24-hour Customer Service Center at 800-999-4033, visit www.gswater.com or follow @GoldenStateH2O on Facebook and Twitter.
Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Lake County Library.
The monthly Know Lake County lectures feature speakers from a wide array of organizations and disciplines, each representing some aspect of Lake County.
Lake County PEG TV records each Know Lake County program, broadcasts it on cable Channel 8, posts it on YouTube and creates DVDs that become part of the Lake County Library’s circulation collection. More information about PEG TV can be found at www.lakecountypegtv.org .
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