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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Lake County marks Wilderness Act's 50th anniversary
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County may have been the first in the United States to give official notice to a year of nationwide celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the landmark federal Wilderness Act.
After passage by an overwhelmingly nonpartisan Congressional vote, this legislation was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964.
It created America’s National Wilderness Preservation System, federal lands to be preserved permanently for “the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will ... provide for the protection of these areas and the preservation of their wilderness character.”
To commemorate the occasion, shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, newly elected Board of Supervisors Chair Denise Rushing read a resolution proclaiming the significance of our National Wilderness Preservation System to “America’s cultural, scientific, historical, cultural and spiritual heritage,” reflecting on the “profound influence of the great outdoors on our lives and our national character” and committing to “preserving them for generations to come.”
All or part of four designated wilderness areas (Cache Creek, Sanhedrin, Snow Mountain, and Yuki) lie within the borders of Lake County.
Rushing presented the proclamation to Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Ed Robey, who thanked the members of the board for their resolution, and expressed his gratification at the county’s extremely prompt recognition of this significant anniversary.
He then informed them that the Redwood Chapter, Lake Group’s parent organization, has prepared a guidebook to the 21 state and federal wilderness areas in northwest California, and promised to return on the earliest possible occasion to offer a complimentary copy to each supervisor.
Victoria Brandon is chair of the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter. She lives in Lower Lake, Calif.
Supervisors elect new leadership for 2014
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – There was a bit of chair switching on Tuesday as the Board of Supervisors established new leadership for 2014 at the first board meeting of the new year.
During the first order of business at the Tuesday meeting, Denise Rushing was elected chair for the new year, with Anthony Farrington to serve as her vice chair.
Outgoing Chair Jeff Smith told his colleagues, “I'm really proud of our board, the way we work together.”
Even when they disagree, the supervisors are able to come back together with no interruptions, he said, noting that some local boards and councils fight and don't get along.
“We’ve always gotten along and I really appreciate that,” he said.
The past year saw some controversial matters before the board, Smith noted. Yet, he felt the board members worked well and the vast majority of citizens were respectful.
Overall, he said it was a fairly easy term, and his colleagues congratulated him on his efforts.
He and Rushing then switched seats.
The board then continued with votes to place members on other boards and commissions.
Farrington was elected chair of the Lake County Board of Equalization, with Jim Comstock elected vice chair.
Farrington and Comstock also will be the representative and alternate, respectively, to the Rural County Representatives of California.
Rushing will chair the In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority, with Farrington as vice chair.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Lakeport City Council rejects wrongful termination claim from former city attorney
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council has rejected a wrongful termination and breach of contract claim filed against the city by its former attorney.
Following a closed session held before the council's regular Tuesday night meeting, Lakeport Mayor Kenny Parlet reported that the council had rejected the unlimited civil claim case Steve Brookes filed Dec. 30.
Brookes, 56, of Kelseyville had served as the city's attorney for 30 years by the time the council unanimously voted to terminate him during a closed session last July 2, as Lake County News has reported.
In addition to wrongful termination, Brookes alleges the city breached his contract – particularly as it related to payment of salary, health, retirement and other benefits – and failed to provide him with due process.
City officials have told Lake County News that they cannot disclose the reasons for terminating Brookes, who about two and a half years before his firing had been arrested for DUI and hit and run with property damage in Kelseyville.
The case later was settled as a misdemeanor DUI, but it would earn Brookes a public reproval by the State Bar in January 2012.
Brookes previously also had withheld comment on why he was terminated, but in his claim document he alleges that it was City Manager Margaret Silveira who urged the council to fire him.
He alleges that city officials “were presented with various allegations to support City Manager Margaret Silveira's desire to remove a potential rival as Claimant had exercised his free speech rights with respect to certain matters in which City Manager Margaret Silveira maintained a position contrary to that of Claimant.”
Silveira and city Finance Director Dan Buffalo are listed as the two principal witnesses to the issues that had arisen between Silveira and Brookes, according to the claim.
The most recent contract the city council had approved with Brookes in December 2012 – which had been good through the following December – gave him an annual salary of $50,796 and a retirement package of 2.5 percent at age 55 under the California Public Employees' Retirement System.
That same contract provided that if Brookes was terminated prior to Dec. 31, 2013, he was to be paid six months' compensation and accrued paid leave.
However, the contract also stated that Brookes wouldn't receive the six months' pay if he was terminated for a number of reasons, including malfeasance, dishonesty, moral turpitude, willful or corrupt misconduct, willfully causing damage to public property or wasting public supplies, acts or misconduct that bring scandal or disrepute to the city, insubordination or absence without leave.
Brookes' claim indicates he did not receive the six months' pay.
It states that he has lost six months of full salary as well as a variety of benefits – vested insurance, health insurance, retiree health coverage, vacation and sick time.
The California Tort Claims Act requires that claims against public entities be filed within six months for death or for injury to a person or to personal property, with all other claims to be filed within a year.
Based on the law, the council had 45 days to act after the matter was presented to it, and in fact took action just a week after the case was filed with the city.
Once a claim is rejected, the claimant has six months to file a lawsuit, according to the government code.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Board of Supervisors proclamation to launch countywide fitness challenge Jan. 14
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Board of Supervisors will help kick off a 14-week countywide physical activity challenge during their regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
The proclamation will be presented at 9:10 a.m. in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes S., Lakeport.
Move More 20+14 ( http://movemore2014.org ) is a first-time endeavor to engage Lake County residents with adding more physical activity into their daily routine.
The challenge takes advantage of the 2014 New Year as an ideal time for folks to consider how they can get 20 minutes or more of moderate physical activity daily for the next 14 weeks.
It only takes a few weeks to begin a positive habit, therefore participation in 14 weeks of this effort will be a fun way to establish a healthy habit that can continue indefinitely.
Regular physical activity has more positive benefits than nearly any other single choice one can make.
It’s an excellent way to feel better physically, mentally and emotionally by increasing energy levels, helping to maintain weight, calming stress, elevating mood and emotional well-being, improving sleep patterns and preventing a number of chronic health conditions from heart disease to diabetes, and various cancers – to name only a few.
It’s really not too difficult to add 20 minutes of activity to your day. You don’t have to get it all at once – climbing the stairs, walking around the block, taking a walk during lunch break at work, doing a few calisthenics at your workstation, parking your car a distance away from the store in the parking lot, taking a family bike ride – it all adds up.
The endeavor is one way to encourage building physical activity into daily routines in whatever way works for you. Small steps reap big rewards.
Stay tuned for more information about the celebration scheduled at the end of April for all who participate in the challenge.
Individuals, classrooms, and groups are encouraged to sign up to take the challenge at http://movemore2014.org .
If you would like a speaker to make a presentation about this challenge to your club, classroom, organization or business, send an email with your request to
Move More 20+14 is a collaborative activity across several organizations and stakeholders who are participating in a Community Transformation Grant awarded to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake by the National Centers of Disease Control as a means to reduce chronic disease and lift Lake County from its poor overall health ranking.