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STATE: Medical marijuana regulation bill passes Assembly
On Thursday the California Assembly passed a bill to protect access to medical marijuana and regulate the industry.
AB 2312, the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Control Act, passed the Assembly by a 41-30 vote.
Authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the bill would create the first statewide regulatory framework for the medical cannabis industry in California.
“Today's vote was significant because it represents a considerable shift that the Legislature is now willing to take responsibility for the effective regulation of medical cannabis in California, 15 years after voters passed Proposition 215,” said Ammiano.
He added, “With the continuing federal crackdown, we simply cannot afford to continue keeping our heads in the sand and pretend that everything is fine. AB 2312 is an opportunity for the Legislature to defend Proposition 215 by regulating and controlling an industry that has the support of over 80 percent of Californians."
AB 2312 creates the Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement within the California Department of Consumer Affairs to oversee and regulate the medical marijuana industry in California.
It also would authorize local governments to impose an excise tax.
Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast), who represents Lake County in the Assembly, spoke in support of a bill on Thursday and was among the 41 Assemblymembers who voted for it. He also is a coauthor of the bill.
“I support this bill because it would establish a statewide regulatory system that would remove ambiguities between state law, federal law and local regulations,” Chesbro said in a statement on the Floor of the Assembly today when Ammiano presented the bill.
“Many counties have assembled their own regulations, but the inconsistencies in those regulations put patients and dispensary owners at a disadvantage,” Chesbro said. “Good actors trying to follow state law and local regulations have been penalized for their best efforts to follow the law.”
He said the goal of AB 2312 is not to limit local control, but assist local governments in grappling with the differences in local, state and federal law. “Counties still have the ability to opt out of these regulations and ban the sale of medical marijuana in their counties.”
AB 2284, Chesbro’s bill to protect the public, forests and fish habitat from illegal, environmentally destructive drug producing operations on resource lands, also was approved by the full Assembly with bipartisan support and no opposition.
Both bills now go the Senate.
REGIONAL: Rash of agricultural diesel thefts hits Glenn County
The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in an effort to solve and prevent an ongoing rash of agricultural diesel fuel thefts which have occurred during the month of May.
Sheriff Larry Jones reported the thefts had resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars of diesel.
On Saturday, May 26, a total of 600 gallons of diesel was removed from two storage tanks located on property near Afton, according to Jones. Thieves cut the locks off of the storage tanks, taking diesel valued at about $2,000.
On Tuesday, May 29, approximately 200 gallons of diesel were removed from a storage tank located on State Highway 162 east of County Road Z. In that case, the suspects pulled up gate posts, with cable attached, in order to gain entry onto the property. The stolen fuel and the damage to property was estimated at $1,000, according to Jones.
On Wednesday, May 30, Namit Family Farms in the Butte City area reported theft and vandalism. Materials taken included 1,000 gallons of diesel, valued at $3,350; a single axle fuel wagon with 500 hundred gallon tank, yellow frame and silver colored tank valued at $3,500; a 100 gallon silver colored aluminum fuel tank valued at $600 were stolen; and $900 in damages done to fuel hoses.
Also on May 30 Vereschagin Farms near Orland reported the theft of 425 gallons of diesel fuel and the theft of a 500 gallon fuel tank from their orchard, Jones reported. The total value of those thefts was estimated at $1,750.
In an additional agricultural theft, a Towner brand 21-foot 2000 model field disc was stolen from a field north of Highway 162 and east of Butte City at the end of April or early in May, Jones reported.
The disc, yellow in color, would weigh several tons and whoever took it would have to have had a heavy trailer to place it on and a front loader to accomplish the theft, Jones said. The equipment is valued at more than $20,000.
Anyone with information regarding these, or similar crimes, or who may have observed suspicious activity in the areas of these thefts, is urged to contact the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office at 707-934-6431. Callers may remain anonymous.
Ranchers and farmers are also urged to take special precautions in an effort to deter fuel and equipment thefts.
New Lower Lake High School auto shop to offer entry to vocational careers
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A new educational facility at Lower Lake High School will offer students the chance to learn valuable career skills and also will help fill a need for well trained and certified automotive mechanics.
The high school’s new auto shop had its grand opening in a small ceremony on Wednesday evening.
Dana Moore, Konocti Unified School District’s director of classified services, said the new building is 3,600 square feet, with eight automotive repair bays, a classroom, tool room and locker room.
Funding for the automotive program and the shop itself came from Proposition 1D vocational money – Lower Lake High was one of the first schools in the state to receive the funds – as well as a grant written by Karen MacDougall, wife of Konocti Unified Superintendent Dr. Bill MacDougall.
Work began on the shop last September and was completed in April, according to Bill Gabe, the auto shop teacher.
Bill MacDougall said that five years ago – while he was still Carlé Continuation High School’s principal – he was asked by then-Superintendent Dr. Louise Nan to work with career tech educators in the district to create a premier school-to-career program.
A new automotive repair program – and the new facility itself – grew out of that effort, he said.
Lower Lake’s automotive program – the only one of its kind in Lake County – also will certify students as mechanics, said MacDougall.
“That will put our students ahead of the game,” he said.
Gabe said it was his dream to create a program that would fit into the modern day, and offer the most up-to-date education and qualifications for young people.
He said his shop will be a place where students will be able to take the test to become certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, or ASE.
Among the disciplines offered, Gabe’s students will learn every aspect of automotive repair, from taking work orders through body repair and painting techniques, with an emphasis placed on making cars safe.
He said the shop also has a muscle car project and is building a Jammer to compete at the Lakeport Speedway.
In addition to high school auto shop classes, the shop will host night college classes in automotive repair, Gabe said.
“I have never seen a shop quite like this, I have never seen a program quite like this,” said Gabe, adding that they also have enjoyed great community support.
Konocti Unified Board President Anita Gordon thanked her fellow board members – Bill Diener, Herb Gura, Hank Montgomery and Mary Silva – for their support for educational opportunities like the auto program.
“No matter what the state does to us, no matter how much money they take from us, no matter how much they try to strip our programs, this district believes in what’s best for the kids,” said Gordon. “And I liken us to a little engine that could. No matter what, no matter what happens, we manage to come up with money, grants – whatever it takes – to make a program like this for our kids.”
Lower Lake High School Principal Jeff Dixon said the new auto shop is one of several new additions to the campus over the last several years, including a new library and new gym.
“Not every kid is college bound, we know that,” he said. “But every kid is adult bound.”
Vocational and career technical programs help many young people advance to the next step in their lives and careers, and Dixon said the school plans to expand more of its offerings in those areas, including agricultural education. The school also is expanding its visual and performing arts classes and Advanced Placement classes, he said.
An entry point to a career
The project of bringing the new building to fruition had a lot of support from local businesses, including Clearlake-based A&B Collision, which donated a paint booth, which will be installed this summer; Lake Parts of Lakeport, which donated the paint system for the booth; and Martin Senour, which is donating the paint.
For A&B Collision owners Bill Stone and Alvaro Valencia – who advised the school on how to set up the facility – it’s hoped that the program will provide them with a qualified pool of mechanics and technicians from which to hire.
Stone told Lake County News that finding qualified employees has been one of his business’ biggest challenges, and has necessitated him bringing in staff from all around the state.
But finding well-trained and certified mechanics to fill high paying jobs isn’t just a Lake County problem, said Stone.
“It’s all across the United States,” he said.
On hand to show their support were members of the Lake County A’s, which presented $600 to the program. Clear Lake Car Club President Blue Miller also attended on behalf of his group, which raises money for scholarships for high school students.
Also present for the event was James Fairless, an educational representative for the NASCAR Technical Institute, a branch campus of the Universal Technical Institute.
He said the institute recently took a group of Lower Lake High automotive students over to tour UTI’s Sacramento campus.
Fairless said the new building signified “a lot of potential.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Lake County Teacher of the Year honors awarded to Schaut
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Richard Schaut, an English teacher at Middletown High School, has been selected as the 2012-13 Lake County Teacher of the Year.
Tim Gill, senior director of educational services at Lake County Office of Education, announced Schaut's selection.
Schaut will represent Lake County in the upcoming California Teacher of the Year competition.
Schaut holds a bachelor’s degree in English from University of California, Los Angeles, and a master’s degree in humanities, language and literature from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
He has been an instructor at Middletown High School since 1990 and currently teaches English 12, AP English Composition, Honors English 11 and English 9, as well as philosophy.
“Students know three things will happen when they go into Mr. Schaut’s classroom: 1) There will be energy from the teacher that will start before the bell and will run until the echo of the final bell that day; 2) As a student they will be challenged to open their mind and not be afraid to get better; and 3) Both the teacher and the student become better as a result of the interaction,” said Middletown High School Principal Bill Roderick.
Schaut explains his teaching viewpoint best. “Today my philosophy of teaching is that to teach well, we must love our subject, we must love learning, we must love the process of teaching, and we must genuinely care about our students. To do this well we must have patience, we must practice, and we must be persistent, both as teachers and as students. Teaching is about building relationships and explaining processes, passing on what we know to be true.”
Each year the school districts in the county select one exemplary teacher as their district teacher of the year. A committee of community leaders then interviews these candidates.
The criteria for selection of the Lake County Teacher of the Year is based upon the state and national requirements, which include professional development activities, commitment to the improvement of the educational system, personal attributes, creativity and ability to communicate ideas effectively, and professional skills in delivering curriculum and instruction to students.
This year’s selection committee members were Pamela Bordisso, Tim Gill, Marilyn Grock, Nyla Norris and Richard Smith.
The outstanding district teachers of the year for 2012-12 are Matthew Carpenter, Kelseyville Unified School District; Valerie Duncan, Upper Lake Union Elementary District; Teresa Dunne, Upper Lake Union High District; and Stacy Holland, Lakeport Unified School District.
Also acknowledged for excellence in teaching is Marlene Henry, Konocti Unified School District.
Schaut and the district teachers of the year will be honored for their exceptional achievement at an event this fall.
For more information on the upcoming award dinner, please contact Shelly Mascari at the Lake County Office of Education,
