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A 42-year-old Mendocino County man died Aug. 21 with probable H1N1 influenza, according to Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Marvin Trotter.
Trotter said confirmatory tests are pending from the State Public Health Laboratory.
This man – who had a history of longstanding medical issues – is the first person in Mendocino County suspected of dying with the H1N1 virus, said Trotter, who extended his agency's deepest sympathies to the family.
“While we have identified 12 laboratory confirmed cases in Mendocino County through testing, we are following current state and federal testing recommendations which are to test only those hospitalized patients and deaths,” Trotter said. “We want to emphasize that there are hundreds of H1N1 cases in the county. The vast majority of these cases have mild or moderate illness, and the patients recover without medical treatment.”
As of Aug. 18, there have been 115 H1N1-related deaths in California, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control are reporting 7,983 hospitalized cases and 522 reported deaths.
In Lake County, three cases have been confirmed but there have been no deaths, according to Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
Mendocino County has been hit harder, with 12 hospitalizations in addition to the death.
“Unfortunately, it is anticipated that there will be more deaths and severe influenza illness throughout the United States and California before this pandemic ends,” Trotter said.
Officials have noted seeing a lot of H1N1 flu activity this year during the summer, which usually is down time for the seasonal flu. Trotter is concerned about more people becoming ill as the fall and winter months approach.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that the H1N1 vaccine is scheduled to be allocated in mid October.
Prioritization guidelines will be issued by the CDC and the state as there may not be enough H1N1 vaccine for everyone. Mendocino and Lake counties are both developing vaccination plans to address the most vulnerable populations, based on CDC guidelines.
Officials urge people to take precautions to avoid getting sick: Cough and sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and dispose of the tissue after each use; wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, even after washing your hands; avoid close contact with sick people; stay home from work or school when you are sick and don’t return until you have been free from a fever for 24 hours without any fever reducing medicine; and get your season flu shot.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – Officials are estimating that Highway 20 will be closed until early Wednesday morning because of a crash that injured several people and left a big rig in a creek.
Several California Highway Patrol units were reported to be at the scene, where the crash occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m.
The crash occurred on Highway 20 at mile post marker 35, east of Clearlake Oaks, leaving the roadway closed down not long afterward, according to the CHP.
At 5:30 p.m., officials estimated that the highway will be closed for approximately eight hours.
Caltrans was closing Highway 20 at Highway 16 near Brooks in Colusa County and also was shutting down eastbound Highway 53. CHP units were being called to respond to turn traffic around at Highway 16.
The big rig, carrying pears, was said to be in Cache Creek, with Fish and Game and hazmat units called to the scene. Officials were discussing damming the creek to try to contain the spill.
County Environmental Health officers were on their way to the scene shortly before 6 p.m.
Two REACH air ambulances landed at the scene to transport several people injured in the head-on crash. Specifics about the number of injured were unavailable Tuesday afternoon.
More updates will be provided as information becomes available.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Mann, 62, said his retirement as judge of Lake County Superior Court's Department 3 will become effective Nov. 1.
“Although I am retiring, I am not quitting,” Mann said in a statement released from his office Monday afternoon. “I anticipate that I will remain working as a retired judge until my successor is selected.
“I wish to thank all the other judges that I have had the pleasure of working with as well as all the Court employees,” Mann continued. “I will miss working with my fellow judges and court staff as much as I will miss being a judge.”
Mann began his judicial career on July 10, 1979, when he was appointed judge of the Kelseyville Justice Court.
Since then, he's been a justice court judge, a municipal court judge and a superior court judge. In that capacity, he's heard everything from minor cases to cases involving murder.
“Being a judge is the best possible profession that I can imagine, and I always looked forward to going to work each day,” he said.
Mann and the rest of Lake County's Superior Court judges have six-year terms, which aren't up for reelection until 2012, according to the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office.
That means Mann's retirement will create a vacancy that is up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill, said Philip Carrizosa, spokesman for the state's Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco.
“Generally, the governor's office has a list of people who have filed applications for a judgeship,” Carrizosa explained.
The Governor's Office sends those names over to the California State Bar's Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation, said Carrizosa. The commission sends out questionnaires to people who may know that candidates, and conducts candidate interviews.
The application process is the governor is very detailed, and Carrizosa said the Commission for Judicial Nominees Evaluation's work in identifying a suitable candidate is confidential.
The commission assigns ratings to candidates on a scale including extremely well qualified, well qualified, qualified and not qualified, Carrizosa said.
The commission's evaluation of the candidates then go to the governor's judicial appointment secretary, which assists in deciding the best candidate for the position, he said.
Generally, the governor will wait until a position is officially vacant – in this case, November – before beginning the selection process, said Carrizosa. He said he would expect the governor to appoint a new judge sometime in early 2010.
It can take some time to fill a judgeship. The last judicial vacancy in Lake County occurred in July 2004, when Judge Robert Crone decided to retire. It was the following July before Richard Martin was sworn in as his successor.
An official with the Governor's Office wasn't available late Monday to confirm if they've started to receive applications from candidates.
Superior Court judges currently make $178,789 annually. However, local judges have agreed to take a nearly 5-percent pay cut in response to the state's decision to close all courts on the third Wednesday of the month as a cost-saving measure, as Lake County News has reported.
There so far have been no local members of the justice system who have stated they'll seek Mann's post.
However, one who said he won't apply is District Attorney Jon Hopkins.
“I don't think I would be as happy doing that as I am being a prosecutor,” said Hopkins, 63, noting he wouldn't want to be tied to a courtroom.
Hopkins added that being a judge is “a tough job. There's a lot of work involved with it.”
Mann ended his statement by thanking the community “for giving me the opportunity to serve them and I thank them for their support of the judicial system. As a retired judge I hope to continue serving the public.”
He also wished his successor good luck, “and I know that whoever succeeds me will have a rewarding career.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Wiggins, who served as a Santa Rosa City Council member and then in the Assembly for six years before being elected to the Senate in 2006, said that rather than seeking re-election next year, she will look for other avenues for assisting people living on the North Coast.
Wiggins has had to overcome a variety of health-related issues during her years in office, including a hearing impairment that forced her to wear a headset during committee and floor debates.
“My commitment to fight for the people of the North Coast has not diminished a bit,” Wiggins said. “But, the physical demands of representing a district that stretches from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay, have become progressively more challenging for me.
“I am proud of my legislative accomplishments. I know I have made a difference with my votes and the measures I have carried for my district,” she said. “I am equally proud of the message I have been able to send to everyone who is physically-challenged.
“When I first considered running ran for the Assembly, some people discouraged me because of my hearing problem. But I was determined to set an example, both as a representative and as a person who refuses to let disabilities get in the way. A dozen years later I am pleased to say I believe I have succeeded on both fronts.
“However, it is also true that my years in office have taken their toll. I think it is now time to move on rather than going through one more campaign,” she said.
Wiggins said she has a lot of people to thank for their support and assistance during her time in the legislature. “This is not a one-person job. Our effectiveness can be traced to outstanding staff assistance and to the many people throughout the North Coast who have shared their time, talent and ideas.
“I look forward to working with all of them in other capacities after my term in office ends,” she said.
Among Wiggins' legislative accomplishments over the years, she founded the Smart Growth Caucus in the Legislature; prevented the coastline of the Hearst Ranch from being subdivided; enacted AB 857, said to be the most comprehensive state land use and infrastructure law in 30 years; provided $1 million dollars for Russian River restoration projects; worked to expand affordable housing opportunities; established the California School-to-Career Grant Program to help those students who don’t go directly to college; provided an assortment of laws to protect people from identity theft.
While in the Senate, she worked with the California Rural Caucus to acquire $22 million from the Federal Communications Commission for the California Telehealth Network to improve rural health care through the expansion of telemedicine technology; worked to protect open space; authored SB 562, which provided $5.3 million for coastal salmon and fishery restoration projects to preserve and improve their habitat; through SB 1690, protected the crab fishery by creating an industry task force to make recommendations to the Legislature on how to best regulate the crab industry to prevent fishery depletion like that of the salmon industry; and chaired the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Other legislative efforts made significant progress in cleaning up the more than eighty rusting WWII ships sitting in Suisun Bay and raised food standards – specifically, creating the first in the nation olive oil standards based on existing international standards.
Wiggins also urged Congress to pass the salmon relief bill to provide $60 million in relief for commercial salmon fishermen and the related industries due to the failure of the 2006 salmon fishing season, and succeeded in having the Joint Legislative Audit Committee direct the California State Auditor to inspect the Yountville Veterans Home, which led to findings that the home needed to make major improvements to its health care services as well as major improvements to its compliance with the American Disability Act requirements.
Visit Wiggins' Web site at http://dist02.casen.govoffice.com/ .
Tom Carter and Brett Bassignani were arrested Aug. 18 on charges of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, as Lake County News has reported.
An informant had allegedly made a purchase deal with Bassignani and referenced Carter in the transaction, but last week Carter's federal defense attorneys filed a document in which they challenged the charge, saying they were weak and should be dismissed.
Court document reveal there were additional arrests as well – those of Carter's neighbors, Scott Feil and Diana Feil, and Diana Feil's stepfather, Steven Swanson. The charges against the Feils and Swanson, however, are not elaborated in the documents that Lake County News was able to obtain Monday.
A US Attorney's Office spokesman could not be reached for comment on the case Monday.
Scott Feil was the former manager of the United Medical Caregivers Clinic medical cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, and has been fighting a federal forfeiture case for several years, according to Dale Gieringer, PhD, coordinator for California NORML, a group dedicated to reforming marijuana laws.
Gieringer said the Upper Lake situation is significant because, although there have been about three or four other DEA raids involving that are alleged to be medical marijuana collectives, this is the first time arrests were made and federal charges filed since President Obama came into office in January.
Earlier this year, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would no longer prosecute marijuana offenses that are legal under state medical marijuana laws. Since then, the DEA has raided two or three dispensaries in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but without making any arrests, according to California NORML.
Gieringer said the 154 plants seized from Carter's property – which Carter's wife, Jamie Ceridono, said were covered by medical recommendations – is a small number and is in keeping with what would be found at a medical marijuana collective.
“It sounds like the key to this whole case is this informant who was setting something up,” said Gieringer.
California NORML, which has kept track of all federal marijuana arrests since they started, denounced the federal government for continuing to interfere in California's medical marijuana laws in the wake of the Upper Lake arrests.
The group reported that more than 100 medical marijuana defendants have been charged under federal law.
Gieringer called for concrete changes in federal law, and said the Obama administration so far hasn't announced any changes in federal laws or regulations.
Obama appointees haven't yet replaced Bush appointees – who Gieringer called “marijuana-hostile” – in the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Northern California.
The locals arrested last week were transported to the Bay Area. Feil is due for a detention hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in San Francisco. Carter's detention hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, and Ceridono said she and supporters plan to attend.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The fire, which officials reported broke out near the rancheria's water tank, was dispatched shortly before 5 p.m. Northshore Fire officials turned the fire over to Cal fire about an hour later.
Fire Capt. Jeff Gahagan of Cal Fire said the fire was only a quarter-acre in size.
He said Cal Fire sent a five-engine wildfire response to the blaze.
By 7 p.m. mop up was completed and everyone was back in quarters, Gahagan said.
Gahagen said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
