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Berg's bills, AB 2149 and AB 2150, crack down on the use of trumped-up credentials that unscrupulous sales people use to gain quick credibility with the older customers.
The new laws by Berg, D-Eureka, require real, verifiable training in order to use titles like "senior specialist" or "certified senior advisor.”
"If you want to call yourself an expert, you'd better really be one," said Berg. "If you want to use a title, you have to earn it."
Agents or brokers who violate the laws could lose their licenses or have them suspended.
Elder financial abuse is a growing problem in California and across the nation. More than a quarter million older Californians fall prey to some sort of abuse each year.
In 2007, a New York Times investigation found that the number of "certified" senior experts in insurance and financial product sales increased by 78 percent in the last five years.
While some of these agents are legitimate, many have obtained the credentials through dubious means, or simply invent a title themselves.
Some insurance companies and state regulators have begun to change the rules governing how sales agents can behave.
In 2007, Massachusetts prohibited financial advisors from using titles like "certified senior advisor" unless they were recognized by an accreditation organization or the state. But in most states agents can use any title that they choose.
"If you think there's an epidemic of abuse now, just wait," said Berg. "With the aging of our baby boomer generation, California's population of older adults is going to double in less than 15 years. We had to take these common sense steps now to stop these scams before they start."
Both laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2009.
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KELSEYVILLE – Increasing road safety and partnering with the community to save lives are just two of the goals that Lake County's new California Highway Patrol commander has in mind as he begins his tenure.
Lt. Mark Loveless, 46, is taking the helm as commander of the CHP's Clear Lake area office in Kelseyville. He succeeds Lt. Dane Hayward, who retired this past summer.
Loveless, whose most recent assignment was in Redding, is no stranger to Lake County. He served as an officer in the Clear Lake office for two and a half years in the late 1990s.
He and his wife, Lori, have been married 25 years, and have two children – Megan, 23, and Drew, 20.
Loveless started "late" as a CHP officer; Loveless was 29 years old and had a career in forestry when he decided to join the CHP. His interest was piqued by a friend who was a CHP officer. It's that kind of word of mouth, Loveless added, that is the CHP's best recruitment method.
Loveless started his CHP career out of the academy in East Los Angeles, where he spent five years before transferring to Lake County in 1996 and then on to Redding's Northern Division CHP office.
While in Redding, and still a member of the CHP, he took an assignment for three years with the Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
From there it was back to the Redding area office, then on to Susanville, and back to CHP's administrative division in Redding, where he was an administrative sergeant. After serving there for two years, the Lake County assignment became available.
Loveless is part of a younger generation of CHP administrators who are challenged to do more with less, because the budget isn't as strong as it was five years ago. He said that requires some creativity, including working closely with local allied agencies to make the best use of resources.
The CHP's ranks – with 8,000 officers statewide – also has grown very little historically, said Loveless, in comparison to the vast growth of the state population. Locally, the CHP office has 25 officer positions, with three of those slots not filled or about to be empty due to retirement.
But when it comes to Lake County itself, home to the largest lieutenant-run division in the CHP's vast Northern Division – reaching from Lake County north to the Oregon border – Loveless said the county has challenges regarding public safety that aren't different from anywhere else.
One of those challenges is finding good recruits. New cadets are seldom brought from the academy directly to Lake County, said Loveless. In an effort to change that his approach to recruitment is to draw interested applicants from the community, because area residents know the needs and will come back here to work and live.
A goal for Loveless is promoting increased education and safety for motorcycle riders. He said there is a growing trend of more people riding motorcycles, which he believes is due in part to higher gas prices.
With the growing number of riders comes an increase in motorcycle-related collisions. That may be partially an issue of inexperience, as many of the collisions have been the fault of the motorcyclists, said Loveless.
To address that, Loveless said he's pursuing a grant that will support a combination of education and enforcement efforts in an effort to drop the collision rate.
He's also working on getting a full-time auto theft investigator for his office. From 2006 to 2007, vehicle thefts in Lake County increased 4.8 percent while the county's CHP office had a 13.1-percent increase in the number of stolen vehicles it recovered. The most popular cars to steal, he said, remain Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys.
One of the most important things for people to understand about the CHP is that the agency needs the community to be involved in the work of making the roads safer. That includes wearing seatbelts and properly using child safety seats, and sharing a common goal of saving lives.
"Most of us get into this to help people," Loveless said of CHP officers.
He said the drop in the death rate on the highways can be attributed to many factors – including the CHP getting the word out on safety measures and the resulting community involvement.
With his new job, comes a whole new level of responsibility. "There's no passing the buck from here," Loveless said.
A lot of his work from now on will have a more formal, administrative flavor. A CHP commander's desk is liable to have huge stacks of paperwork, and then there's the business of managing officers and staff.
However, Loveless said his heart "is still on the road," and he'll be out there on the highway whenever he gets the opportunity.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The origins of this cold soup are disputed. Although evidence shows some version of leek and potato soup has been in existence since at least the 1800s, the evolution of the cold, pureed version has a couple of claimants to its creation.
The version that most people put faith in is that it was created in 1917 by Chef Louis Diat at the Ritz-Carlton in New York. This ascription, although the most popular and with the most “facts,” has been found full of holes by the “Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink.” So at best the story is anecdotal, and most likely the story was reverse engineered to fit the situation like a Nostradamus quatrain.
The only thing we know of for sure is that the cold pureed version first appeared in the U.S. during the early 20th century. The name Vichyssoise was changed to “Crème Gauloise Glacee” for a short time after World War II since the soup was named after the town of Vichy, France. This town had collaborated with the Nazis during the war and Americans love to punish the French by renaming food; remember “Freedom Fries”?
Most versions of this soup contain chicken stock and massive amounts of cream. In order to make this soup a little healthier and available to my vegan readers, the following recipe of the popular summer soup is one I adapted myself. Since I couldn’t find soy or vegan cream anywhere locally, I decided to make my own with silken tofu and soy milk: three-quarters of a cup of silken tofu, one-quarter of a cup of soy milk, 2 teaspoons white sugar and a pinch of salt. Put it all in a jar and shake until smooth (about one minute). You end up with a reasonable replacement for cream.
Even non-vegetarians will notice that after eating true vichyssoise your mouth has a slimy feeling from the massive amount of fat from the cream. This recipe avoids that fatty consistency while providing the body the soup needs. Vichyssoise served with a dollop of sour cream is fantastic, but in all of my experimenting with silken tofu, vinegar, lemons and sugar I couldn’t come up with a sour cream substitute ... sorry, but I am still trying.
The good news is while developing this recipe (don’t even ask about the version made with coconut milk) I broke my stand blender, so I get to go shopping for a new blender!
Unfortunately, cooking potatoes and leeks renders them about as nutritious as cardboard, but you at least will be getting a good amount of fiber and a tasty cool soup. You can have some fun and jazz vichyssoise up by adding little things here and there like crab, lobster, asparagus and cucumbers; I’ve even seen recipes with oysters. It also makes a great hors d’ouvres by serving it in shot glasses. This recipe will serve four.
Vegan Vichyssoise
3 Idaho baking-type potatoes
3 leeks (white and light green parts only)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 and a half cups soy milk
1 cup soy cream (see above)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Salt to taste
Chopped chives for garnish
Peel and slice the potatoes and boil them in slightly salted water. Meanwhile cut the roots off of the leeks and cut the leaves off where the leaves start to split away. Split them lengthwise and wash them (I like to put them in a gallon ziptop bag with several cups of cold water and then shake like a salsa dancer); after a minute remove the leeks and dump the sandy water on the houseplants. Chop the leeks into a medium dice (approximately one inch squares). Heat the olive oil to medium in a frying pan and add the leeks. The purpose is to sweat the leeks, but not brown them or give them any color. Cook them until slightly translucent.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain in a colander and then return to the pot they were boiled in. Add the leeks, soy cream, soy milk and white pepper. Stir for a minute to combine, then blend with a stick blender (you can also ladle mixture into a regular stand blender). When it has been blended mostly smooth, process soup through a food mill, chinoise or strainer. The objective is to remove any leek fibers and have a perfectly smooth soup. Add salt and white pepper to taste, and then chill. Serve topped with the chives.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
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The event will be held at the Finley Grange, 1510 Big Valley Road in Finley on Saturday, Oct. 4, beginning at 3 p.m., with dinner served at 4 p.m.
KPFZ has been back on the air since April 25 after a three-year hiatus. To celebrate the return to the air and to raise funds for ongoing expenses KPFZ will hold the blues dance party and barbecue.
Blues Diva Bettie Mae Fikes will perform her inspirational and one-of-a-kind blues stylings. Fikes is known worldwide; she's performed at Carnegie Hall and has recently returned from a State Department-sponsored tour of Turkey. She has frequently performed in Lake County, most recently at the Blue Wing Blues Festival in Upper Lake.
Joining Fikes will be Levi Lloyd and The 501 Band. Lloyd is a veteran in the world of blues music and has opened for B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and Joe Louis Walker, to name a few.
Rounding out the evening will be the band Without a Net with KPFZ’s own Herb Gura, who is a programmer at the radio station.
Lake County Community Radio is a nonprofit, noncommercial radio station. This will be one of the station's biggest fundraisers of the year.
The admission price to Blues and Barbecue includes all the music and a barbecue dinner with all the fixings. A vegetarian meal will be available. There also will be a no-host bar.
Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Tickets for children ages 7 to 11 are $10, and tickets for those under age 7 are free. Advanced tickets can be purchased at The Healing Earth, 350 N. Main St., in Lakeport or Java Express, located at 14624 Lakeshore Dr. in Clearlake.
For more information call 263-3640.
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On Thursday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Sen. Joe Simitian's (D-Palo Alto) bill, SB 28, which specifically bans the use of an electronic wireless communications device to write, send or read a text-based communication while driving a motor vehicle.
The bill would impose a base fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense.
“Building on legislation already helping save lives in California, I am happy to sign this bill because it further encourages safe and responsible driving,” said Schwarzenegger. “Banning electronic text messaging while driving will keep drivers’ hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road, making our roadways a safer place for all Californians.”
SB 28 compliments an existing law which Gov. Schwarzenegger signed in 2006. SB 1613, also by Sen. Simitian, requires motorists to use hands-free devices while talking on a mobile phone when driving a motor vehicle.
On Friday, CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow issued a statement in support of the governor's action.
“All of us who are charged with keeping our roadways safe applaud Gov. Schwarzenegger for signing this much needed legislation,” Farrow said. “I think most people understand that text messaging is just not compatible with safe driving. Drivers need to keep 100 percent of their attention on the
road.”
The law takes effect January 1, 2009.
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The public may notice smoke in various parts of the forest during the next few months, forest officials reported this week.
As cooler weather and higher humidity move in, bringing to a close the hot and dry wildfire season, there is an opportunity to bring fire into the forest in a controlled setting.
Prescribed fires are used to clear the forest floor of small fuels and brush without burning or killing large trees.
During prescribed burning season, fire crews also burn piles of wood debris and fuel that are the result of fuel reduction activities in the Forest. This year the Grindstone Ranger District also plans to burn a pile at the Chico Genetic Research Center.
Prescribed burns are conducted when there is a window of opportunity and specific conditions and criteria are met before, and will be sustained during and after the burn. These include temperature, wind conditions, relative humidity and fuel moisture levels. The forest also takes air quality into consideration.
The season traditionally runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 as weather permits. The burning operations are monitored and patrolled frequently to ensure public safety.
“Prescribed burning is an important tool for the forest to use for hazardous fuels reduction and forest health improvement, including wildlife habitat,” said Grindstone Fuels Officer Matt Ellis. “The fires are intended to be slow, low-intensity creeping fires on the forest floor. Although there are only a few opportunities for prescribed burns, they produce less smoke and there aren’t the resource impacts typically created by large wildfires.”
In addition to the pile burning in Chico, there are plans to burn additional piles across the Grindstone Ranger District. The district also plans to conduct prescribed burning activities on approximately 1,650 acres, including understory burning in Alder Springs, Oak Ridge and Little Stony, and a combination of pile burning and understory burning for vegetation type conversion maintenance.
On the other side of the Forest, the Upper Lake and Covelo Ranger Districts are also entering the fall prescribed burning season. There are plans to conduct prescribed burning activities in areas including Elk Mountain Road, Howard Mill, Deer Valley, Boardman Ridge, High Valley, Horse Mountain, Tar Flat, Newhouse Ridge, Pine Mountain, Lake Pillsbury, and the vicinity of the 2005 Hunter Fire (Buckhorn and Skidmore Ridge).
Selected campgrounds, guard stations and miscellaneous pile burning also will be included in the prescribed burning operations.
Prescribed burning announcements will be placed at local Ranger Stations prior to ignition.
For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest Grindstone Ranger District at 530-934-3316, the Upper Lake Ranger District at 707-275-2361 or visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino.
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