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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday gave its support to a new welcome sign for the city and approved assessing penalties on dozens of properties where marijuana was grown without the required permits.

The Rotary Club of Clear Lake is proposing to place a new welcome sign on Highway 53 at Lakeshore Drive.

The sign originally was constructed by the Lions Club and has been in place for many years, according to City Manager Greg Folsom.

Both Folsom and Mayor Bruno Sabatier reported that the Lions Club has given its blessing to the updated sign proposal.

Sabatier said he presented the plan to the Lions Club on Monday. The basic concept features the new city logo, which has the words “City of Clearlake” and the date of incorporation against a colorful background of Clear Lake and Mt. Konocti, with a person in a tule boat, a bass and a stylized sun.

Sabatier said the Lions Club only asked that the words “welcome to” be added to the sign, and to consider in the future adding a board where service group logos can be affixed.

Folsom said the city has a permit with Caltrans for the sign’s maintenance and they want to to back to that agency for approval on the changes.

Rotary Club President Dirk Slooten, also the city’s planning commission chair, was on hand to speak for the proposal.

“I've been driving by that sign and it looks awful,” he said.

Slooten said the newign will make the city’s entrance look better and more beautiful.

The council thanked Slooten for his efforts.

Slooten said he would return to the council with an updated design adding the “welcome to” phrase and club logos.

Councilman Russ Cremer said he understood Rotary also was looking at another location for a future sign.

Slooten said yes, that they are looking at placing a new sign on the north side of Highway 53 and Old Highway 53 near the bus yard.

During public comment a community member suggested they consider adding lighting so the sign can be seen at night.

Also on Thursday, the council held a public hearing and approved assessments totaling $33,500 for administrative penalties on 72 properties where outdoor marijuana cultivation permits hadn’t been obtained in accordance with city rules. The listed penalties were $300 to $500 per property.

The only tree property owners who spoke – all seniors with health challenges – said they either didn’t know about the rules because they were new or someone else had grown the plants. Each asked to be able to set up payment plans to pay the penalties.

On Thursday the council approved sending a letter of support for State Sen. Mike McGuire’s bill, SB 897, which is meant to get more insurance reimbursement for residential wildfire victims.

Council members also came out against the “Tax Fairness, Transparency and Accountability Act of 2018” that would restrict local taxing authorities, and would raise the threshold for passing general taxes from 50 percent plus one to 66.7 percent.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton said the bill would limit the city on just about everything. “This bill is a bad, bad bill.”

The council also had a review with City Clerk Melissa Swanson regarding norms and procedures, including use of an ad hoc committee for selecting planning commission members. Council members reached consensus to only use the ad hoc committee to winnow applicants down in cases where there are very large numbers of people seeking a seat.

In other business, the council supported Sabatier’s proposal to change his mayor appointments slightly by having Overton serve as the primary representative to the League of California Cities with Cremer as the alternate.

Council members also approved of the second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 205-2018 approving a development agreement with Clearlake Growth Fund I, II and III LLC for a commercial cannabis operation at 2395 Ogulin Canyon Road, an item pulled from the consent agenda because it needed a minor language change.

On Thursday there also will presentations honoring Public Works employee Javier Macias on his retirement after 22 years with the city, and proclamations declaring Public Safety Telecommunications Week, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month and Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

There was no reportable action out of the council’s closed session for negotiations regarding properties at 14360 Olympic Drive and 14130 Tuli Lane, and one potential case of litigation.

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.
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The Milky Way, our own galaxy, stretches across the sky above the La Silla telescope in Chile. Hidden inside our own galaxy are trillions of planets, most waiting to be found. Credits: ESO/S. Brunier.


Step outside on a clear night, and you can be sure of something our ancestors could only imagine: Every star you see likely plays host to at least one planet.

The worlds orbiting other stars are called “exoplanets,” and they come in a wide variety of sizes, from gas giants larger than Jupiter to small, rocky planets about as big around as Earth or Mars. They can be hot enough to boil metal or locked in deep freeze. They can orbit their stars so tightly that a “year” lasts only a few days; they can orbit two suns at once. Some exoplanets are sunless rogues, wandering through the galaxy in permanent darkness.

That galaxy, the Milky Way, is the thick stream of stars that cuts across the sky on the darkest, clearest nights. Its spiraling expanse probably contains about 400 billion stars, our Sun among them. And if each of those stars has not just one planet, but, like ours, a whole system of them, then the number of planets in the galaxy is truly astronomical: We’re already heading into the trillions.

We humans have been speculating about such possibilities for thousands of years, but ours is the first generation to know, with certainty, that exoplanets are really out there. In fact, way out there. Our nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri, was recently found to possess at least one planet – probably a rocky one. It’s 4.5 light-years away – more than 25 trillion miles (40 trillion kilometers). The bulk of exoplanets found so far are hundreds or thousands of light-years away.

The bad news: As yet we have no way to reach them, and won’t be leaving footprints on them anytime soon. The good news: We can look in on them, take their temperatures, taste their atmospheres and, perhaps one day soon, detect signs of life that might be hidden in pixels of light captured from these dim, distant worlds.

The first exoplanet to burst upon the world stage was 51 Pegasi b, a “hot Jupiter” 50 light-years away that is locked in a four-day orbit around its star. The watershed year was 1995. All of a sudden, exoplanets were a thing.

But a few hints had already emerged. A planet now known as Tadmor was detected in 1988, though the discovery was withdrawn in 1992. Ten years later, more and better data showed definitively that it was really there after all.

And a system of three “pulsar planets” also had been detected, beginning in 1992. These planets orbit a pulsar some 2,300 light-years away. Pulsars are the high-density, rapidly spinning corpses of dead stars, raking any planets in orbit around them with searing lances of radiation.

Now we live in a universe of exoplanets. The count of confirmed planets is 3,700, and rising. That’s from only a small sampling of the galaxy as a whole. The count could rise to the tens of thousands within a decade, as we increase the number, and observing power, of robotic telescopes lofted into space.

How did we get here?

We’re standing on a precipice of scientific history. The era of early exploration, and the first confirmed exoplanet detections, is giving way to the next phase: sharper and more sophisticated telescopes, in space and on the ground. They will go broad but also drill down. Some will be tasked with taking an ever more precise population census of these far-off worlds, nailing down their many sizes and types. Others will make a closer inspection of individual planets, their atmospheres, and their potential to harbor some form of life.

Direct imaging of exoplanets – that is, actual pictures – will play an increasingly larger role, though we’ve arrived at our present state of knowledge mostly through indirect means. The two main methods rely on wobbles and shadows. The “wobble” method, called radial velocity, watches for the telltale jitters of stars as they are pulled back and forth by the gravitational tugs of an orbiting planet. The size of the wobble reveals the “weight,” or mass, of the planet.

This method produced the very first confirmed exoplanet detections, including 51 Peg in 1995, discovered by astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. Ground telescopes using the radial velocity method have discovered nearly 700 planets so far.

But the vast majority of exoplanets have been found by searching for shadows: the incredibly tiny dip in the light from a star when a planet crosses its face. Astronomers call this crossing a “transit.”

The size of the dip in starlight reveals how big around the transiting planet is. Unsurprisingly, this search for planetary shadows is known as the transit method.

NASA’s Kepler space telescope, launched in 2009, has found nearly 2,700 confirmed exoplanets this way. Now in its “K2” mission, Kepler is still discovering new planets, though its fuel is expected to run out soon.

Each method has its pluses and minuses. Wobble detections provide the mass of the planet, but give no information about the planet’s girth, or diameter. Transit detections reveal the diameter but not the mass.

But when multiple methods are used together, we can learn the vital statistics of whole planetary systems – without ever directly imaging the planets themselves. The best example so far is the TRAPPIST-1 system about 40 light-years away, where seven roughly Earth-sized planets orbit a small, red star.

The TRAPPIST-1 planets have been examined with ground and space telescopes. The space-based studies revealed not only their diameters, but the subtle gravitational influence these seven closely packed planets have upon each other; from this, scientists determined each planet’s mass.

So now we know their masses and their diameters. We also know how much of the energy radiated by their star strikes these planets’ surfaces, allowing scientists to estimate their temperatures. We can even make reasonable estimates of the light level, and guess at the color of the sky, if you were standing on one of them. And while much remains unknown about these seven worlds, including whether they possess atmospheres or oceans, ice sheets or glaciers, it’s become the best-known solar system apart from our own.

An illustration of the different missions and observatories in NASA’s exoplanet program, both present and future. Credits: NASA.


Where are we going?

The next generation of space telescopes is upon us. First up is the launch of TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. This extraordinary instrument will take a nearly full-sky survey of the closer, brighter stars to look for transiting planets. Kepler, the past master of transits, will be passing the torch of discovery to TESS.

TESS, in turn, will reveal the best candidates for a closer look with the James Webb Space Telescope, currently schedule to launch in 2020. The Webb telescope, deploying a giant, segmented, light-collecting mirror that will ride on a shingle-like platform, is designed to capture light directly from the planets themselves.

The light then can be split into a multi-colored spectrum, a kind of bar code showing which gases are present in the planet’s atmosphere. Webb’s targets might include “super Earths,” or planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune – some that could be rocky planets like super-sized versions of our own.

Little is known about these big planets, including whether some might be suitable for life. If we’re very lucky, perhaps one of them will show signs of oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane in its atmosphere. Such a mix of gases would remind us strongly of our own atmosphere, possibly indicating the presence of life.

But hunting for Earth-like atmospheres on Earth-sized exoplanets will probably have to wait for a future generation of even more powerful space probes in the 2020s or 2030s.

Thanks to the Kepler telescope’s statistical survey, we know the stars above are rich with planetary companions. And as we stare up at the night sky, we can be sure not only of a vast multitude of exoplanet neighbors, but of something else: The adventure is just beginning.

Calla Cofield works for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Measure Z Advisory Committee will meet next week to get the latest information on the sales tax measure’s revenues and expenditures.

The committee will meet beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

Measure Z is the sales tax the city’s voters approved in November 2016, as Lake County News has reported. The committee meets quarterly.

On the agenda is a presentation and review of proposed Measure Z revenues and expenditures for the 2018-19 budget.

Also on Wednesday’s agenda is election of officers.

The secretary will receive nominations for chairperson and vice chairperson, with the recommended term ending Dec. 31 in order to correspond with member seat terms.

In other business, the secretary will present the 2018-19 calendar of meetings.

The meeting also will offer a chance for public input.

The committee’s citizen members include Annette Hopkins, Susan King, Dennis Rollins, Nathan Speed and Tim Wynacht, and staffers, City Manager Margaret Silveira, Finance Director Nick Walker and City Clerk/Secretary Kelly Buendia.

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.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino County officials said Friday that a woman who was driving an SUV that went off a cliff, killing her and several of her family members, was over the legal limit for alcohol.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office released the new findings in the March crash that killed the Hart family of Woodland, Wash.

Authorities say Jennifer Jean Hart, 38, was at the wheel of the GMC Yukon SUV that was found by a passerby in the ocean at the bottom of a 100-foot cliff at the edge of a dirt turnout along Highway 1 south of Juan Creek in Westport on March 26.

Firefighters arriving at the scene found Hart and her wife, Sarah Margaret Hart, 38, still inside the vehicle, while three of their children six children – Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14 – were located outside of the vehicle.

The California Highway Patrol, which is conducting the crash investigation, said that it appears the crash may have been intentional, as there were no signs of braking or skid marks in the turnout.

On Friday, Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said the agency’s coroner's division received preliminary blood alcohol and toxicology analysis results connected to autopsies that were previously performed on the bodies of the Hart family members who have been recovered.

He said those preliminary results showed Jennifer Hart had a blood alcohol level of 0.102, which is above California’s legal limit of 0.08.

The tests also revealed that Sarah Hart and two of the children had a positive toxicology finding in their blood for diphenhydramine, an active ingredient in Benadryl, he said.

The coroner's division is still awaiting the blood alcohol and toxicology analysis of the third child whose body was recovered on March 26, Van Patten said.

Van Patten said Friday that the coroner's division was not releasing the names of the children associated with these toxicology findings.

Meanwhile, efforts to find the Harts’ other three children – Devonte Hart, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12 – have continued since the wrecked SUV was found.

Last Saturday, the body of a black female, whose age and identity couldn’t be confirmed – was found in the surf near the crash site, as Lake County News has reported. All of the Harts’ adopted children are black.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office this week continued its shoreline searches for signs of the missing children or physical evidence from the crash, but Van Patten said they didn’t find anything.

He said searches of the Mendocino County coastline will continue with on-duty patrol deputies as calls for service allow.

Mendocino County Search & Rescue divers won’t deploy to the crash site area until ocean conditions improve, he 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.
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Plaques honoring library donors are displayed on the commemorative wall in Middletown Library in Middletown, Calif. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Library.


MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown branch of Lake County Library located at 21256 Washington St. is celebrating its first five years since moving from the historic Gibson Library across the highway.

Come on it and see what the library offers to the public.

The library supplies books and so much more to the community.

The library’s resources and programs include free high-speed wifi, public computers, downloadable digital content, storytime at 11:30 a.m. each Tuesday and a book club that meets at 3:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.

The Middletown Library features more than 20,000 books, DVDs, audiobooks and other materials.

Through the shared library catalog and circulation system, Middletown library patrons can also borrow from the collections of the Lake, Sonoma and Mendocino County Libraries.

The library shares the building with the Middletown Senior Center and the Middletown Community Center. The meeting room is available for programs.

When modern library needs and increased usage rendered the Gibson Library obsolete, the new library was planned.

Nearly a decade and a half went into planning, raising the necessary funds and construction on the new 5,500 square foot library, which was dedicated April 13, 2013.

Chauncey W. Gibson, an Oakland businessman and philanthropist who owned property and vacationed in southern Lake County, donated the money to build the Middletown Library and a similar library in Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood.

The Gibson Library served Middletown from 1930 to 2013.

Gehlen Palmer spoke at the new Middletown Library dedication on April 13, 2013. Palmer grew up in Middletown, Calif., and has worked at the Middletown Library since 1994. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Library.

In the 1970s, the Gibson was one of Lake County’s town libraries that joined together in the newly-formed Lake County Library.

After Middletown’s new library opened, the Gibson Library started its new life as the Gibson Museum and Cultural Center.

The Friends of Middletown Library, or FML, have supported the library for many years with funds raised from book sales large and small.

They contributed $20,000 toward the building’s construction and paid for the patron donation wall in the lobby.

FML made possible the library’s exterior painted quilt block on the Lake County Quilt Trail. The group helps fund the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for preschoolers and in 2017 donated $10,000 for children’s books, CDs and DVDs.

The next FML meeting will be on May 15 at 4 p.m. at the library.

After the Valley fire in 2015, the library and senior center temporarily served as the headquarters for a local assistance center, housing several relief and recovery agencies.

The library continued to serve the community in the days afterward, making available public computers to submit claims and winning a grant from the state to provide books and other materials to help with the relief effort.

The Lake County Library is on the internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov, http://library.lakecountyca.gov and www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary.

Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.
The dedication of the Middletown Library in Middletown, Calif., in April 2013 drew a crowd of library supporters and friends. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Library.
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An updated analysis of California’s water resources shows that investment, innovation and infrastructure will be necessary to achieve the state’s goal of sustainable groundwater management.

The Department of Water Resource on Thursday released the final Water Available for Replenishment, or WAFR, report, which shows that water available for aquifer recharge may be limited in many regions, except in years of high precipitation.

Developed with extensive stakeholder involvement, the report provides an estimate of the amount of water available to replenish groundwater basins to help inform development of local groundwater sustainability plans for critically overdrafted basins by January 2020.

“The WAFR report makes it abundantly clear that a diversified water resources portfolio is needed at the local, regional and state levels,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said. “If California is to simultaneously bring sustainability to its groundwater basins, cope with climate change, and meet future demands, water managers must embrace a comprehensive, innovative approach.”

DWR estimates that 1.5 million acre-feet of water may be available to replenish groundwater basins in an average year. With additional investments in programs such as water storage, conservation, recycling, stormwater capture, desalination, and conveyance improvements, more water could be available for replenishment in the future.

Water deliveries from the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project have reduced groundwater overdraft in many basins in the state; however, average deliveries have declined in recent years due to drought and regulatory requirements to protect water quality and critical species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and tributaries. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate these challenges.

The WAFR report shows that constructing additional storage north and south of the Delta and improving Delta conveyance infrastructure as proposed in the California WaterFix project would limit the decline of water project deliveries and provide a more reliable supply of surface water for replenishment and other purposes.

The WAFR report analyzes water supply, demand, and runoff in 10 regions of the state to estimate how much surface water could be available to replenish groundwater basins.

It provides a visual depiction of supply and demand in each region, as well as a range of potential water available for replenishment estimates.

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act directs DWR to prepare the WAFR report to help newly formed local groundwater sustainability agencies develop sustainability plans for critically overdrafted basins by January 2020.

The final report incorporates public comments submitted in response to the draft report published last year.

Water Available for Replenishment - Final Report by LakeCoNews on Scribd

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Forecasters said the rainy season isn’t yet over, with another storm heading in over the weekend.

The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office said that a cool storm is expected to arrive over Northern California late Sunday into Monday, bringing valley rain and mountain snow.

The specific Lake County forecast predicts showers will begin during the day Sunday, with between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of rain anticipated.

Rain is expected to continue on Sunday night, combined with winds and gusts topping 20 miles per hour.

Showers are forecast to continue on Monday, clearing by Monday night. Forecasters say chances of rain will be back in the forecast on Wednesday.

Nighttime temperatures are forecast to dip into the low 30s in the new week, with daytime temperatures into the low 70s by Friday.

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.
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Lia Nicole Long, 16, was last seen by her family on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in Lakeport, Calif. Courtesy photo.


LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is continuing its efforts to locate a missing teenager who was last seen by her family on Tuesday.

Police are looking for Lia Nicole Long, 16, with the help of the FBI, numerous state and local law enforcement agencies and the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

Over the last several days Lakeport Police officers have followed up on many leads and have investigated individuals who may have been with Long since Monday afternoon.

One of those individuals, Antonio Malik Walls and his vehicle, listed in earlier police reports, are no longer being sought for investigation, police said.

Police said numerous California and nationwide alerts for Long have been issued and are currently being targeted to the public in the Williams, Sacramento, San Francisco Bay and the Los Angeles areas.

They also are continuing to seek the identity of a light-skinned white or Hispanic male and a black male adult who they believe Long left Williams with in a blue- or silver-colored BMW, possibly a late 1999 or early 2000s 7 series model, on Tuesday between 4 and 8 p.m.

Police said they continue to be concerned for Long’s safety.

Long is described as a light-skinned American Indian female, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 125 pounds, with long black hair and brown eyes.

She has one dermal (dimple) piercing on both her right and left cheek, the words “Forever in my heart Alyssa 05/23/17” are tattooed on her right clavicle and an upside down crescent moon on her right thigh.

Police ask anyone with information regarding her location or activity to contact your local law enforcement agency or the Lakeport Police Department via Facebook, anonymous text message from your cellular phone by texting the words TIP LAKEPORT followed by your message to the number 888777 or by telephone at 707-263-5491.
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Kevin Leon Morris, 37, of Clearlake, Calif., was arrested on Monday, April 9, 2018, on weapons charges, and is expected to also face charges for having been found with 30 stolen computers. Lake County Jail photo.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was arrested earlier this week following a vehicle stop in which he was found in possession of weapons including an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, with additional charges against him expected to be filed for the 30 notebook computers stolen from a local school district that police also found in his vehicle.

Kevin Leon Morris, 37, was arrested on Monday night, according to a report from Sgt. Rodd Joseph of the Clearlake Police Department.

Joseph said that just after 9 p.m. Clearlake Police Officer Michael Perreault conducted a traffic stop for a simple equipment violation – an inoperative taillight – on a black Mercedes in the 13400 block of Lakeshore Drive.

The Mercedes’ driver was identified as Morris, Joseph said.

The traffic stop led to a search of the vehicle, where a the AR-15 rifle and ammunition were located in the vehicle’s trunk. An additional small caliber semi-automatic handgun and ammunition were also found concealed in a backpack in Morris’ possession, according to Joseph.

In addition to the firearms found in the vehicle, approximately 30 Samsung brand notebook computers, previously stolen from the Konocti Unified School District, were located in the vehicle’s trunk, Joseph said.

Joseph said Morris has a conviction for a violent felony and is not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

Morris was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of an illegal short-barreled assault rifle, possession of a firearm with a violent felony conviction and transportation of an assault rifle, Joseph said.

Morris was booked into the Lake County Jail, where he remained in custody on Thursday. Joseph said Morris’ vehicle was towed from the scene.

A passenger in Morris’ vehicle, identified as 32-year-old Edward Collins, was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. Joseph said Collins was cited and released on scene for a misdemeanor violation of possession of drug paraphernalia.

At this time, it is not believed that Collins was involved or had knowledge about the illegal weapons or stolen computers, Joseph said.

Joseph said that Clearlake Police School Resource Officer Stephanie Green is working with the Konocti Unified School District in obtaining details on the theft of the notebook computers.

Once that portion of the investigation is complete, Joseph said additional charges against Morris and anyone else identified in the theft will likely be forwarded to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
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Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Friday announced the creation of the California Complete Count Committee, a statewide panel of community members that will guide California’s outreach for the 2020 federal census.

“It is vitally important for California to do everything it can to ensure that every Californian is counted in the upcoming census,” said Gov. Brown.

The 25 committee members represent a diverse cross-section of the state with participants from both the public and private sectors.

Gov. Brown appointed 23 individuals to the committee, and Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon each appointed one member to the Committee.

Friday’s executive order creating the California Complete Count Committee can be found here.

California Complete Count Committee members are listed below.

Gita Amar, 48, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Amar has been senior director at PMK BNC since 2016. She was a self-employed senior media relations consultant from 2004 to 2016, a senior consulting producer at Fleishman-Hillard Communications from 2001 to 2016 and a senior media relations consultant at Golin Harris from 2004 to 2006. Amar was a producer at National Public Radio from 2002 to 2003 and an executive producer at Fox News Channel and Fox News Online from 1996 to 2001. She is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. Amar earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Syracuse University College of Law and a Master of Arts degree in television, radio and film from the Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Amar is a Democrat.

Tho Vinh Banh, 44, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Banh has been supervising attorney and supervisor of the multicultural affairs outreach unit at Disability Rights California since 2015, where she has held several positions since 2001, including staff attorney and advocate. She was a legal intern at the Lindesmith Center, Drug Policy Foundation through the University of California, Hastings College of the Law’s Civil Justice Clinic in 2001. Banh earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Banh is a Democrat.

Carolyn Coleman, 56, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Coleman has been executive director at the League of California Cities since 2016. She was senior executive, director of federal advocacy at the National League of Cities from 2006 to 2016, vice president and of counsel at B&D Consulting from 2005 to 2006 and deputy mayor and director of the Department of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis from 2000 to 2005. Coleman was an attorney at Baker and Daniels from 1997 to 2000. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Coleman is a Democrat.

Kathleen Domingo, 43, of Pasadena, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Domingo has been a director in the Office of Life, Justice and Peace at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 2013. She earned a Master of Arts degree in theology from the John Paul II Institute. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Domingo is registered without party preference.

Basim Elkarra, 38, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Elkarra has been an executive director at the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations since 2004. He is a member of the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees, chair of the City of Sacramento Community Policy Review Commission and an executive board member of the California Democratic Party. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Elkarra is a Democrat.

Efrain Escobedo, 43, of Pomona, has been appointed by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Escobedo has been vice president for education and immigration programs at the California Community Foundation since 2015. He was manager of government and legislative affairs for the Los Angeles County Clerk’s Office from 2009 to 2015 and senior director of civic engagement at the NALEO Education Fund from 2008 to 2009. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Escobedo is a Democrat.

Amy Fairweather, 53, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Fairweather has been a policy director at Swords to Plowshares’ Institute for Veteran Policy since 2005. She was a policy associate at the Trauma Foundation from 1999 to 2003. Fairweather is a member of the California Association of Veteran Service Organizations. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Fairweather is a Democrat.

Nicholas Hatten, 43, of Stockton, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Hatten has been executive director at the San Joaquin Pride Center since 2011. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hatten is a Democrat.

Lisa Hershey, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Hershey has been an executive director at Housing California since 2016, where she was associate director in 2016 and a sustainable communities coordinator from 2014 to 2015. She was an associate and program manager-director at the Public Health Institute from 2009 to 2014 and a chief in the Office for Obesity Prevention at the California Department of Public Health from 2007 to 2009. Hershey served in several positions at the California Department of Health Services from 1993 to 2007, including special assistant to the state public health officer, chief, program coordinator and program director. She was a health educator at Sacramento County Health and Human Services from 1990 to 1993 and health educator specialist at the California Department of Health Services from 1988 to 1990. Hershey earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Loma Linda University School of Public Health. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hershey is a Democrat.

John Joanino, 25, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Joanino has been a senior communications associate at Advancement Project California since 2017. He was an account associate at RALLY from 2016 to 2017 and a partnerships associate at Omaze.com from 2014 to 2016. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Joanino is a Democrat.

Alex Johnson, 37, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Johnson has been managing director at Californians for Safety and Justice since 2017. He was executive director at Children’s Defense Fund-California from 2014 to 2016. Johnson was assistant senior deputy for education and public safety in the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas from 2012 to 2014, where he was deputy for education and public safety from 2010 to 2012. He was an attorney at the New York City Department of Education from 2008 to 2010 and an assistant district attorney in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office from 2005 to 2008. Johnson is president of the Los Angeles County Board of Education and a member of the Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network Board of Directors and the Wiley Center for Speech and Language Development Board. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the American University College of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Johnson is a Democrat.

Loren Kaye, 61, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Kaye has been a foundation president at the California Chamber of Commerce since 2006. He was a partner at KP Public Affairs from 1996 to 2005, an undersecretary at the California Trade and Commerce Agency from 1993 to 1996 and cabinet secretary in the Governor’s Office from 1991 to 1992. Kaye was a director of issues and research for Governor Pete Wilson’s campaign in 1990, a deputy cabinet secretary in the Governor’s Office from 1987 to 1989 and director of writing and research for Governor George Deukmejian’s campaign in 1986. He was a policy advocate at the California Taxpayers Association from 1983 to 1985, where he was a senior research analyst from 1981 to 1982. Kaye was a research director for Pete Wilson’s Senate Campaign Committee in 1982 and a policy analyst for the California State Senate Republican Caucus in 1980. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Kaye is a Republican.

Kate Kendell, 57, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Kendell has been executive director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights since 1994. She was a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah from 1990 to 1994. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah College of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Kendell is a Democrat.

Jesus Martinez, 57, of Clovis, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Martinez has been a founding member and chair at the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative since 2014. He was a coordinator of the Central Valley DACA Project at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center from 2012 to 2015, an independent consultant from 2008 to 2013 and a postdoctoral fellow at El Instituto de Investigaciones Dr. Jose Maria Luis Mora from 2009 to 2010. Martinez was a director general at the Michoacán Institute for Michoacanos Abroad from 2007 to 2008, state legislator at the Michoacán State Congress from 2005 to 2007 and an assistant professor in the Chicano and Latin American Studies Department at California State University, Fresno from 2000 to 2004. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in ethnic studies and a Master of Arts degree in Latin American studies from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Martinez is a Democrat.

Gerald McIntyre, 74, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. McIntyre has been special counsel at Justice in Aging, formerly the National Senior Citizens Law Center, since 2016, where he was directing attorney from 1993 to 2016. He was a lecturer and staff attorney at Cornell Law School from 1991 to 1992. McIntyre held several positions at the Monroe County Legal Assistance Corporation from 1973 to 1979, including counsel and project director of the Southern Tier Legal Services Unit and of the Flood Disaster Relief Project. McIntyre was a staff attorney at Bronx Legal Services from 1970 to 1973 and a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1967 to 1970. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Yale Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. McIntyre is a Democrat.

Margie Mejia, 61, of Atwater, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Mejia has been chairwoman at the Lytton Rancheria of California since 1995. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mejia is a Democrat.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, 52, of Long Beach, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Oakley has served as chancellor of the California Community Colleges since 2016. He was superintendent and president at Long Beach City College from 2007 to 2016, where he was executive vice president of administrative services from 2004 to 2006 and vice president of administrative services from 2002 to 2004. He was vice president of college services at Oxnard College from 2001 to 2002 and an assistant vice president at Keenan and Associates from 1999 to 2001. Oakley was a program coordinator and adjunct instructor at Golden West College from 1994 to 1999 and a manager of risk services at the Coast Community College District from 1993 to 1999. He was appointed by Governor Brown to the University of California Board of Regents in 2014. Oakley is a member of the LA 2028 Board of Directors and Rework America Task Force and a board member of the California Chamber of Commerce and the College Futures Foundation. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Irvine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Oakley is a Democrat.

Jennifer Rodriguez, 41, of Davis, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Rodriguez has been executive director at the Youth Law Center since 2012, where she was a staff attorney from 2009 to 2012 and a fellow from 2007 to 2009. She held several positions at California Youth Connection from 1999 to 2007, including youth organizer, chapter outreach coordinator and legislative and policy manager. Rodriguez earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Rodriguez is a Democrat.

Tom Saenz, 51, of Alhambra, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Saenz has been president and general counsel at MALDEF since 2009. He was counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from 2005 to 2009. Saenz is a board member of the Campaign for College Opportunity, Los Angeles County Board of Education, Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Saenz is a Democrat.

Lee Salter, 76, of Redding, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Salter was president and chief executive officer at the McConnell Foundation from 1989 to 2016 and an attorney at Carr, Kennedy, Peterson from 1977 to 1989. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Salter is a Republican.

Daniel Torres, 44, of Sacramento, has been appointed chair of the California Complete Count Census Committee. Torres has served as director of immigrant integration in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. since 2016. He was chief of the Immigration Branch at the California Department of Social Services’ Welfare to Work Division from 2015 to 2016. He was deputy director of programs and new initiatives and program director at California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. Torres was an attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center from 2008 to 2010, at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 2005 to 2008 and at the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation from 2001 to 2005. He was a clinical instructor at the University of California, Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic from 2004 to 2005. Torres earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Torres is a Democrat.

Angie Wei, 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Wei has been chief of staff at the California Labor Federation since 2011, where she has held several positions since 2000, including legislative director and public policy director. She was a program associate at PolicyLink in 2000, policy analyst at the California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative from 1998 to 1999 and policy director at the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights from 1996 to 1998. Wei earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Wei is a Democrat.

Regina Brown Wilson, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Wilson has been a director at California Black Media since 2013. She was a statewide education and faith-based outreach manager for Census 2010 and head of communications in the California Secretary of Education’s Office from 2007 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Wilson is registered without party preference.

Christopher Wilson, 51, of San Diego, has been appointed by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Wilson has been an associate director at Alliance San Diego since 2015, where he was a director of civic engagement from 2010 to 2015. He was principal consultant at CRW Enterprises from 2006 to 2010, general manager at KeytoChange Publishing Inc. from 2003 to 2006 and an independent consultant at Jones and Associates Consulting Inc. from 2002 to 2009. Wilson was a senior field service engineer at ITT Gilfillan from 1992 to 1999 and an air traffic control RADAR technician for the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 to 1992. He is a member of the Urban League of San Diego County Board of Directors and the Engage San Diego Mobilization Fund. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Wilson is a Democrat.

Tom K. Wong, 36, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Complete Count Census Committee. Wong has been an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego since 2017, where he served as an assistant professor from 2012 to 2016. He served as an advisor to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2016. Wong is a member of the California Immigrant Policy Center, New American Leaders and Alliance San Diego. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in political science from the University of California, Riverside. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Wong is a Democrat.
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The annual Winefest is fun for all and helps the Lake County Symphony. This year's event takes place on Saturday, June 16, from noon to 5 p.m. at Library Park in Lakeport, Calif. Photo collage by Merry Jo Velasquez.


LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Members of the Lake County Symphony Association Wine Club are looking for home brewers and garage winemakers who wish to participate in the 2018 Home Wine and Beer Makers’ Festival.

The festival will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 16, in Lakeport’s Library Park.

The Wine Club sponsors the event as a major fundraiser for the Lake County Symphony and Youth Orchestra.

Each year, amateurs from throughout Northern California show up to pour tastes of their homemade beverages, hoping to win a coveted “People's Choice” award from event attendees.

There is no booth fee for the amateurs, who have until June 8 to sign up for this year’s festival.

Amateur winemakers also have the opportunity to enter their creations for separate professional judging and the chance to win one of the wide range of ribbons offered.

Many of Lake County’s leading commercial wineries will be on hand as well to pour samples, although they won’t be eligible for prizes which are restricted to amateurs. It is one way they show support for the symphony while giving locals a taste of the exceptional wines made from Lake County grapes.

Names of participating commercial wineries will be posted on the Web site and on Facebook (Lake County Home Wine and Beer Makers Festival) as soon as they are known.

Symphony Association President David Velasquez urges potential amateur participants to contact Winefest chairman Ed Bublitz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-289-4163 for details or visit www.homewinemakersfestival.com.

“June 8 is the cutoff date for entries,” said Bublitz. “It will be here before you know it.”

Now in its 17th year, the Winefest (as it has been abbreviated) also attracts artists and artisans who offer their wares for sale, along with musicians who provide live entertainment.

This year, music will be provided by the ever-popular David Neft Duo, featuring David Neft on keyboard and Steve Dubois on drums.

Additionally, the Norcal Aircooled Group vintage car club will be on hand with more than four dozen car owners showing off their unique collectibles.

There is no charge to visit the food or craft vendors or to explore the antique automobiles.

Adults eligible for tasting wines and beers are charged $30 at the gate or $25 in advance.

For advance tickets, several outlets are listed on the webpage as well as a link to Eventbrite. Tickets are also available through the chamber of commerce. Each ticket includes a commemorative wine glass.

This year, the Winefest pairs with the Kelseyville Baconfest for a reduced price for those planning to attend both events over the weekend.

Discount lodging rates are also available from select establishments for that weekend and are listed on the Web site.
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Nicholas Troy Brooks, 38, of Clearlake, Calif., is now facing an attempted murder charge in addition to charges in a human trafficking case. Lake County Jail photo.


LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man charged with human trafficking for forcing his fiancée to prostitute herself is now accused of the attempted murder of one of the woman’s customers, and his alleged accomplice in this new case was involved in a 2011 shooting that killed a child and injured five others.

The new charges were filed against Nicholas Troy Brooks, 38, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.

The complaint Anderson’s office filed against Brooks includes charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at an occupied vehicle and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

News of the new case against Brooks came on Wednesday, the same day that he was in Lake County Superior Court for trial on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle, Anderson said.

Brooks also is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking for prostitution, pimping, procuring a person for prostitution, inflicting traumatic injury on a person, threats to kill or produce great bodily injury and solicitation of perjury, Anderson said.

The attempted murder and other new charges against Brooks have their roots in the human trafficking case, for which Brooks had been arrested by Lake County District Attorney’s Office investigators in February, as Lake County News has reported.

Anderson said Brooks was prostituting his then-fiancée in that case.

Brooks is accused of taking almost all of the proceeds of the prostitution transactions; in return, his girlfriend would receive small amounts of money and drugs for her work. In order to get the girlfriend to comply with his orders he would threaten, coerce, menace and force her into prostitution, Anderson said.

On March 14, a judge ordered Brooks to stand trial in the human trafficking case at the end of a preliminary hearing.

Anderson said that evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing that Brooks had beaten this girlfriend on at least two occasions with a cell phone and a flashlight.

Even though Brooks was in the Lake County jail for some of this time, Anderson alleged that Brooks would force the woman to bring him the money and place it on his books at the jail or phone cards. Within a several month period she placed at least $3,500 on his books at the jail.

There was additional information at the preliminary hearing that on one occasion a customer got physical with the girlfriend – pushing her out of a vehicle – and did not pay her the agreed-on amount, Anderson said.

Anderson said Brooks had set up this customer on the next meeting with the girlfriend, and ended up firing several rounds into his truck while he was fleeing.

Brooks made an arraignment appearance on April 3. At that time his attorney, Tracy Gatlin, argued for a motion to dismiss the charges against him.

Gatlin accused the District Attorney’s Office of lying to her and failing to disclose that Brooks’ ex-fiancée had been taken into protective custody, as she was wanted as a witness in the case.

In return, District Attorney Don Anderson said his office had no requirement at that point in the proceedings to disclose the location of the victim, whose life was in “grave danger” from Brooks, according to a statement Anderson submitted to the court.

Judge Stephen Hedstrom denied the dismissal motion after about an hour of argument.

Ongoing investigation leads to new charges

The ongoing investigation into the shooting incident involving one of Brooks’ girlfriend’s customers – known in court documents as “J.S.” – produced enough evidence to charge Brooks with attempted murder, Anderson said.

The new complaint filed against Brooks alleges that he attempted to kill “J.S.” by shooting at the man while he was in his own vehicle with the trafficking victim, Anderson said.

Anderson said the attempted murder case against Brooks includes a second suspect, Kevin Ray Stone, 35, who is charged with being an accomplice and aiding and abetting in the attempted murder.

In 2011, Anderson personally prosecuted Stone, who was convicted of being an accomplice in the murder of 4-year-old Skyler Rapp and shooting five other people – including the child’s mother and her boyfriend – during a barbecue in Clearlake.

Stone was recently paroled from prison after serving his sentence for his limited involvement in the murder, Anderson said.

Stone’s co-defendants in that murder case, Paul Braden and Orlando Lopez, remain in prison, where they are serving sentences of 286 years to life.

Anderson said Brooks’ bail for the new charges was set at $1,260,000. Brooks is set to be arraigned on April 24.

Gatlin, Brooks’ defense counsel, has been relieved, with Lakeport attorney Mitchell Hauptman now appointed to the case, 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.

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