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“Every year, the state loses millions of dollars in revenue from California residents who unlawfully register their vehicles in other states or countries,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “With the help of the public, and our investigators, we’re able to return much needed funding to the state to help maintain our infrastructure.”
Last year, the “CHEATERS” program enjoyed its most successful year with more than $1 million in total fees collected from violators.
State law requires an owner to register their vehicle within 20 days of accepting employment or establishing residency in California. Failure to comply with the law will result in penalties.
Anyone who spots an out-of-state license plate can report it anonymously to the CHP’s Web site (www.chp.ca.gov).
When making reports it’s important to include the following:
State of plate;
License plate number;
Date and time observed;
Where it was observed;
Make, model and color of vehicle;
Any additional comments (decals, license plate frames, bumper stickers, etc.).
Once the information is submitted, it is automatically fed into the "CHEATERS" database. If there is enough information to prove that the owner or driver of the vehicle is a California resident, a compliance letter will be sent requiring the owner to properly register their vehicle.
“These violators are in California using our services, but not paying their fair share of the costs,” said Commissioner Farrow. “It’s time for vehicle registration cheaters to end their free ride, and pay
their fair share.”
In December, Kent Arndt – a stay-at-home father of three and former Hidden Valley Lake Association (HVLA) employee – submitted a complaint to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleging discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act.
HUD accepted Arndt's housing discrimination complaint on May 8, and referred it to the state three days later, according to agency documents.
Annemarie Billotti, a spokesperson for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, confirmed to Lake County News that the complaint – which she called “fairly new” – was now with their agency.
Because the matter is under investigation, Billotti could not offer any specifics about the situation.
Arndt alleged that the Hidden Valley Lake Association's practices are discriminatory against familial status, with rules that are too restrictive toward anyone under age 18.
Specifically, Arndt's claim alleges that the association's rules restrict children ages 13 through 17 from using the tennis courts, and the homeowners association's rules also state that “baby sitting children on the courts is prohibited.”
Arndt, who with his wife Bonnie has three children ages 1 through 7, said he was prohibited from bringing his children with him to the tennis courts on March 22, 2008.
In addition, Arndt alleged that the association's curfew rules are too restrictive toward minors.
The association has a curfew for children under age 18 between 10 p.m. and 6 p.m., which goes beyond the county's curfew for minors, which lasts from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. but also has many exceptions, Arndt said.
Arndt's 7-year-old daughter often visits friends who live three or four blocks away, but on June 25, 2008, Arndt said association officials prohibited his daughter from returning home by herself based on the rules.
The complaint names as respondents the Hidden Valley Lake Association and Jim Johnson, the association's general manager at the time of the complaint. Johnson was succeeded late last month by interim general manager, Charles Foster.
Department of Fair Employment and Housing investigator Michelle Partee was assigned to the case May 21 and has since begun working the case to determine if the association is discriminating against a “protected group” – which includes familial status, according to state law.
Late last month a draft conciliation agreement between Arndt and the association already was submitted to both parties for their consideration.
The terms of the agreement call for:
– Immediately allowing “all common areas of the community to be open to all residents regardless of age,” with possible exceptions for limits on the use of the pool and sauna, where one must be age 14 or older to use them unless supervised by an adult;
– Within 30 days of the full execution of the agreement, amending all rules to remove specific reference to age restrictions regarding the use of amenities, such as specified hours for tennis playing for teenagers and curfew. The association also would need to provide the Department of fair Employment and Housing “with written notification of all rules that have been amended/eliminated and how the residents of the community have been notified regarding the amended rules.”
– Removing all posted community signs which reference age restrictions in the common areas and tennis courts. The association must then submit photographic proof showing the sign(s) before and after removal of language specifying age restrictions within 30 days of the full execution of the agreement.
– Posting and maintaining the Department of Fair Employment and Housing fair housing poster in the clubhouse or association community area; the poster is supposed to be “prominently displayed so as to be readily apparent to all persons seeking and/or enjoying housing accommodations.” Within 30 days of the full execution of the agreement, the association must submit a photograph showing the displayed poster.
Arndt was told that if the complaint can't be worked out through an agreement, the department will complete its investigation and issue a decision on whether there was a violation of the law.
Foster said the association board received the materials last Thursday at their meeting.
“Outside of that they're reviewing it now and we have no other comment to make,” Foster said.
Arndt has lived in Hidden Valley Lake almost seven years, and was the association's activities coordinator from 2004 through 2008. During the course of his employment with HVLA, he spent a lot of time researching state and federal rules and regulations to make sure operations were in legal compliance.
He said questions such as those he raised in his complaint aren't new – similar ones relating to children and restrictions of their use of such facilities as the pool had been broached by other individuals. Such matters, he said, were “always being discussed.”
Arndt said his concerns came to a head after he became a parent – both through guardianship and adoption – in the course of a few years. Then it became evident to him that the rules were particularly restrictive against parents and families.
In February 2006, he informed then-general manager that Rick Archbold that he believed, based on his research, that some of HVLA's age restriction rules were potentially illegal and discriminatory against children, based on fair housing laws.
He said he received no response, and a month later he filed a complaint with HUD, which he later withdrew after the agency encouraged him to try to work it out with the community leadership first.
In November of 2007, the HVLA board reportedly discussed fair housing issues and sent them to their attorney to have the rules rewritten, but they never were, said Arndt.
He and his family filed a formal complaint with the association in May of 2007. He resigned from his job with the association in February of 2008, and three months later he and Bonnie took the matter to the association board of directors, where it was tabled.
“We followed the process and it went nowhere,” he said.
Eventually, after researching the matter further, he decided to take it to the government agencies. “For two years I've tried to bring this to the place where we are now, which is, 'Let's talk about this,'” said Arndt.
Arndt said Partee, who is acting as a go-between, has been candid in telling him that if the complaint process doesn't work there are other departments and agencies that might be able to affect some change. There's also civil court.
Billotti said when there is a complaint of discrimination against a homeowners association, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing has jurisdiction.
“We only deal with discrimination complaints,” she said.
Arndt acknowledged that homeowners associations often have their own rules, which he said he understands is “part of the experience” which helps protect the association against liability. But he alleges that state and federal law puts boundaries on what homeowners associations can do.
While Hidden Valley Lake got its start in the 1960s as a community marketed toward retirees and summer residents, it's since become a community filled with families, which Arndt suggested has been a difficult transition for some people and has resulted in resentment.
Arndt believes that the rules may be contributing toward a sense of prejudice toward families, which he said isn't good for promoting Hidden Valley Lake's community spirit.
“I believe Hidden Valley Lake can be a better, more enjoyable and more friendly community if these rules are fixed,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that Reynaldo Damian Corrales, 29; Amador Davila Garcia, 35; Juan Amezcua Cornejo, 24; and 32-year-old Carlos Barrera Hernandez were arrested late Wednesday on felony charges of cultivating marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale.
Bauman said that a sheriff's deputy on routine patrol spotted a pic-up truck backing out of a wooded area off of Highway 29 – south of the Konocti Conservation Camp in Lower Lake – on Wednesday at about 8 p.m. He said the deputy stopped to make sure the vehicle had not crashed into the brush.
One of the four men told the deputy they had been repairing a gate on the property and were just leaving but none of the men could say who the property owner was or how they could be contacted, Bauman said.
Once other deputies arrived to assist and detain the four men, the deputies checked the wooded area to determine why the men were really there, according to Bauman.
About 100 yards into the woods from the highway, deputies located a length of irrigation hose running from a water well up a hillside, said Bauman. Following the hose about 200 yards up the hill, they located a small handmade water reservoir dug in the ground and several hundred small marijuana plants growing from a seed bed.
Bauman said when the deputies returned to the truck and confronted the men about the marijuana plants, they were told they had been shown the grow site and provided the marijuana seeds by a man from Santa Rosa.
The men also said they started the grow about a month prior and were apparently told by the man who provided the seeds that once the marijuana they were growing was harvested, they would all be paid an unspecified amount of money, Bauman said.
Bauman said all four suspects were transported and booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of cultivating marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale.
Each of the men are held on a $10,000 bond, however Bauman noted that immigration holds were also placed on all four by federal immigration officials.
The association reported that on May 21 Jim Johnson was released from his employment agreement, which had been set to expire Dec. 31.
Succeeding Johnson is Charles Foster. Security Chief Charles Russ will be Foster’s backup, the board reported.
Foster told Lake County News that the board is now beginning to put together a package for a search for a new full-time general manager.
He anticipated that the search for a new manager will take at least a few months.
Residents with questions are urged to contact HVLA Board President Kathy Joseph at
Written messages also may be left for Joseph at the Hidden Valley Lake main office at 18174 Hidden Valley Road. Phone calls are discouraged.
This year’s Lake County Wine Adventure is once again being hosted by the Lake County Winery Association.
Adventurous wine enthusiasts will have an opportunity to discover “wine with altitude” and taste the reason why Lake County – with a grape-growing history that extends back to the mid-19th century – is fast becoming known for its award-winning wines, ultra-premium winegrapes, resort-style wineries and friendly tasting rooms.
Throughout the weekend, “wine adventurers” will taste wines from five of Lake County’s six distinct viticulture areas (AVAs) as they visit participating wineries, including: Ceago Vinegarden and Tulip Hill Winery in Nice; Brassfield Estate Winery in High Valley; Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery, High Valley Vineyard, and Noggle Vineyards & Winery in Clearlake Oaks; Villa La Brenta in Clearlake; Gregory Graham Winery, Ployez Winery, Terrill Cellars, and Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards & Winery in Lower Lake; Langtry Estate & Vineyards and Off the Vine at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown; Moore Family Winery on Cobb Mountain; Kelseyville Wine Co./Dusinberre Cellars, Rosa d’Oro Vineyards, Steele Wines, Inc., and Wildhurst Vineyards in Kelseyville. Shed Horn Cellars, Sol Rouge Vineyard & Winery, and Zoom Wines will be offered at Lake County Wine Studio, a multi-winery tasting room and wine bar located in the town of Upper Lake; Bell Hill vineyards will be offered at Focused on Wine, a wine bar located in downtown Kelseyville.
Adventure Tickets may be purchased online at www.lakecountywineries.org for $30 each. Each ticket entitles the holder to wine tasting and hors d’oeuvres at each winery, as well as a logo wine glass, winetasting booklet, and winery map. Several of the wineries also will offer barrel tastings, winery tours and entertainment.
Event-goers may leave their Adventure Tickets with the last winery they visit to be entered into a raffle for several prizes.
Event organizers promote responsible hospitality and encourage all participants to designate a driver. For more information, call (800) 595-WINE, (707) 355-2762, or visit www.lakecountywineries.org .
Lake County is part of the North Coast AVA, which also encompasses Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Within Lake County, five other AVAs exist – Clear Lake AVA, Benmore Valley AVA, Guenoc AVA, and the recently approved Red Hills AVA and High Valley AVA.
For those visiting from outside of the area, contact the Lake County Visitor Information Center at 800-525-3743 or www.lakecounty.com .
Close to 600 students are expected to be picking up their diplomas over the next week and a half at Clear Lake, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Upper Lake and Middletown high schools.
Upper Lake will kick things off with the first graduation for the Class of 2009.
The school will celebrate commencement this Friday, June 5. The ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. on the school's football field, 675 Clover Valley Road.
Approximately 90 students – a number which includes Clover Valley Continuation High School, whose seniors graduate with Upper Lake High – are expected to graduate, according to Tami Stogner, Upper Lake High's registrar.
Upper Lake has two valedictorians this year, both Academic Decathlon standouts – Belarmino Garcia Jr. and Kyle Coleman.
Stogner said the young men have grade point averages well above 4.0; following the final grade calculations being done now, both Garcia and Coleman could have GPA in the range of 4.6.
Coleman earlier this year also received a $20,000 Horatio Alger National Scholarship, as Lake County News has reported.
Hannah Johnson will be Upper Lake's salutatorian; Johnson has a 3.94 grade point average, Stogner said.
On Friday, June 12, the rest of the county's high schools plan to hold their commencement ceremonies.
Middletown High's senior class – 134 in all – will march to graduation beginning at 7 p.m. on the school's football field. The school is located at 20932 Big Canyon Road.
The school does not give out grade point averages, but reported that it has four valedictorians – Freza Paro, William Phelps, Nicholas Reed and Kelsey Welton. Salutatorian is Anthony Correia.
In Lakeport, Clear Lake High School, graduation will begin at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at the football field, according to counselor Paul Larrea. The school is located at 350 Lange St.
Larrea said 100 students will graduate from Clear Lake High this year.
The school's valedictorian and salutatorian have been chosen, but won't be announced publicly until the school's award ceremony, planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, in the high school gym.
Lower Lake High School's graduation also will begin at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at the Gordon Sadler Football Field, 9430 Lake St.
Approximately 141 student will pick up diplomas at Lower Lake's graduation.
This year's valedictorian is standout student Emmalena Illia, a member of the Academic Decathlon team and the student representative on the Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees. Illia has a grade point average of 4.02.
Her colleague at the podium will be salutatorian Jamie Dawson, who has worked to receive a 3.96 grade point average. Both Dawson and Illia have been active in sports during their high school careers.
Kelseyville High's graduation will begin at 8 p.m. June 12 at the football field, 5480 Main St.
Counselor Sue Samota said 132 students will graduate from Kelseyville High this year.
Samota said the high school has two valedictorians – Jonathan Bridges, with a grade point average of 4.14, and Maripaz Lozano, whose grade point average is 4.13. Both students received straight As throughout high school.
Megan Andre is this year's salutatorian, said Samota. Andre is just a few points away from Bridges and Lozano, with a 4.11 grade point average.
Samota said the Class of 2009 will receive about $120,000 in scholarships at the high school's annual awards night, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, in the student center. Samota said local dignitaries will be on hand for the presentations.
Local continuation high schools also are graduating this week and next.
Intermountain Continuation in Kelseyville will hold ceremonies beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, at the Gard Street Campus.
Loconoma Valley Continuation High School's graduation will be held at the campus, 21256 Washington St. in Middletown, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 9.
Natural Continuation High School in Lakeport is scheduled to hold graduation at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the Marge Alakszay Center, 350 Lange St.
Lower Lake's William C. Carlé Continuation High School will hold its graduation ceremony from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, at the campus, 9345 Winchester St.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
