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Faded At Four will play at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at Carlo's and Vinny's, 370 S. Main St. The cost to attend is $10 per person. The event is limited to those 21 and older.
The superstars-in-waiting – Jon Foutch, Brian Kenner, Martin “Martan” Scheel and Chris “Pencil” Sanders – are competing in the Bodog Battle of the Bands.
They will travel to Los Angeles in the next week and a half for the competition's regional finals. The band will perform at The Avalon in Hollywood on March 12.
A total of 4,500 bands from across the U.S., Canada and Europe began the competition last summer.
The winner of that competition will take part in the reality-based TV show “Bodog Battle of the Bands,” in which eight bands will take part in touring and music-based contests in hopes of winning a $1 million recording contract from Bodog Music.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) reported Friday that a single male light brown apple moth was found in a trap that was part of a 613-trap array deployed in the county as part of the state's detection program.
The tiny moth, native to Australia, has a mighty appetite, with hundreds of major crops – including winegrapes, pears and other North Coast commodities – among them.
The discovery trigged more trapping in the immediate area to determine if additional moths are present, CDFA reported. If they are, officials will carry out eradication efforts, and quarantines to limit movement of plants, produce and yard waste will be put in place.
That doesn't count the damage to interstate commerce, because many states have now issues restrictions on California produce because of the moth. Internationally, trade partners Mexico and Canada have imposed export regulations on California because of the moth infestation.
Those restrictions on trade with Mexico could have serious implications for local farmers if the moth were to be found here, because Mexico has banned pears that come from infested counties.
In an interview with Lake County News last May, Chuck Morse, the county's deputy agriculture commissioner, said a large quantify of local Bartlett pears are shipped to Mexican markets.
Currently, there are no detection traps in Lake County for the light brown apple moth, according to a CDFA report. In December, 126 had been reported in the county.
CDFA has categorized the moth as a “Class A” pest – it's most serious rating – because of the risks it poses to the state's multibillion-dollar agriculture industry.
Officials also warn the moth could damage the natural environment, causing damage to park lands and California's beloved redwoods, cypress and oak trees.
Since the discovery of a light brown apple moth was confirmed in the Bay Area in February 2007, more than 17,000 of the moths have been found in 14 counties.
Sonoma is the second of Northern California's major wine country counties to find the moth.
Last May, the moth was found in Napa County. Since then, a second moth has been found there, but CDFA said Friday that Napa's small, isolated infestation has been eradicated, thanks – in part – to a “twist tie” treatment that emits a pheromone to confuse the moth and prevent it from breeding. The twist ties also were used to rid Los Angeles of its own small infestation.
In response to the infestation, Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) introduced the Light Brown Apple Moth Act of 2007, which established the Light Brown Apple Moth Program in the CDFA and created an account from which the department can allocate funds to local agencies for eradication activities.
Last September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into the bill into law.
CDFA and the US Department of Agriculture are working together to conduct the light brown apple moth eradication program.
As part of that program, they've implemented aerial spraying of moth pheromone over Central Coast communities. The spraying has resulted in public outcry and hundreds of health complaints which the agencies have maintained are not related to the pheromone.
Aerial spraying is supposed to take part over some Bay Area communities beginning this summer as part of this year's eradication program, which has resulted in resolutions against the spraying by the city councils of Albany and Berkeley. Additionally, Berkeley is threatening to sue the state.
Last week, several Bay Area legislators introduced a suite of bills that would, among other things, place controls on the state secretary of agriculture's power to direct an eradication effort and require more notifications and studies before spraying in urban areas.
Earlier this year, USDA dedicated nearly $74 million to the effort, which will include a nationwide survey to see if the moth has spread to other states besides California and Hawaii.
Officials said they plan to closely look at the nursery industry, as it's believed the moth – like so many invasive species – entered the United States in imported plant materials.
A USDA study estimates that if California becomes generally infested, the moth could cause as much as $640 million annually in crop damage.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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A Lakeport Disposal garbage truck driver called Lakeport Police Tuesday morning just after 7 a.m. to report that he had knocked over the lamp post, located at 199 N. Main St. in front of Transitions, reported Lt. Brad Rasmussen.
“The pole went down and actually caused some damage to the business,” said Rasmussen.
The collision, Rasmussen explained, broke the lamp post off at the base.
“Since it was knocked down by a vehicle the city will be seeking restitution,” he said.
The Lakeport Main Street Association worked to raise money for the lamp posts, which are now maintained by the city's Public Works Department, said Lakeport City Engineer Scott Harter.
Harter said the lamp posts cost between $4,000 and $5,000 each. He didn't have a timeframe for when the lamp post might be replaced.
Another 12 lamp posts along Third Street and at the City Hall parking lot are due to be installed in conjunction with the first phase of the downtown improvement plan, said Harter.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – Looking at Tyler Hayes, the words “small but mighty” come to mind.
The 18-year-old Clear Lake High School wrestler's small, sculpted frame weighs in at 103 pounds. He's polite, soft-spoken and friendly, and has a firm handshake as an introduction.
But once he steps onto the wrestling mat, the fierce competitor comes out.
On Friday morning Hayes will begin competition at the State Wrestling Championships at Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena. He's the only Lake County wrestler to reach that competition this year.
He'll have to win two out of three matches on Friday in order to advance into the weekend competition, explained his coach, Mike Humble, who has guided the Clear Lake High wrestling team for eight years.
The entire Hayes family – including parents, grandparents and siblings – left Thursday to make the trip to Bakersfield.
He's had a strong career as a high school wrestler, medaling at the North Coast Section championships for three years. This year he was league champion for his weight group, the smallest of 14 weight classes, said Humble.
Wrestling takes dedication and stamina. After-school practices take place five days a week and last between three and a half and four hours, said Hayes. They include a 2.7-mile run, two hours of wrestling and, on some days, weight training. Then there are weekend tournaments.
Hayes competes in track and field and runs cross country, which has given him endurance, another good trait for a wrestler to have, Humble said.
While doing all of that, Hayes maintains straight As in his school work.
Assessing Hayes' talent, Humble pointed to his strengths. "For his weight class, he's very strong, so strength is a big factor in his abilities."
Hayes also walks onto the mat with confidence. When he loses, dad Gary points out, he tends to learn from it and come back, beating the same opponent he lost to in their next meeting.
“I have to go in with the attitude I'm going to win,” Hayes said.
His trip this weekend caps off some strong years for his team, which has struggled to fill all of its weight classes consistently, said Humble, who wrestled at Petaluma High School and works as a California Highway Patrol officer.
Yet, the 16-member team has been getting stronger, said Humble. “The kids that we get through here are quality.”
That may be helped by the middle school wrestling program. Hayes and Humble spent Wednesday afternoon working with the younger children, two of which included Hayes' younger sisters.
Hayes himself began wrestling at a young age, in the fourth grade, coached by Rob Brown and Ronnie Campos. His older brothers, Michael and Benjamin, also wrestled.
“It's fun,” Hayes said of his family's enthusiasm for the sport. “We all like it.”
That's despite the fact that Hayes has had his fair share of injuries, ranging from putting out his back to a separated shoulder and an injured ankle.
During the last few years local wrestlers have gone far, says Humble. In 2006, Steve Franklin of Middletown High and David Laird of Clear Lake High both competed at the state meet. Franklin went all the way to the National High School Wrestling Championships, while Laird finished ninth at state – just one slot away from a trip to nationals.
In 2007, Clear Lake wrestlers Justin Mills and Michael Knoppman competed at the state meet.
Hayes definitely wants to keep wrestling, so he's looking at attending Santa Rosa Junior College. Coach Humble said the school has a good record of getting wrestlers placed a colleges and universities. Hayes said he's thinking about enlisting in the Coast Guard.
What is it that keeps him working hard at this tough sport?
“I like that it's one on one,” said Hayes. “When you're out there, you make a mistake, it's on you.”
He added, “When you get your hand raised after a match, it's a great feeling.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Morgan Matthew Jack, 31, of Nice is being charged with the June 2007 murder of 39-year-old Paul Womachka.
On Feb. 15 the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported receiving an arrest warrant for Jack for Womachka's murder.
Womachka went missing after reportedly giving Jack a ride from Robinson Rancheria's casino to Big Valley Rancheria in the early morning hours of June 27, as Lake County News has reported. His body was found in his taxi minivan two days later, submerged in Big Valley Rancheria's marina.
On Thursday Jack was brought back to Lake County from San Quentin State Prison, where he had been housed after violating his parole for a 2001 conviction, which he received for possessing a blank check that did not belong to him.
Jack is being held on $530,000 bail for the first-degree murder charge. Booking documents showed that he is due to appear in court March 3.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Clearlake Oaks resident Leona Butts, a Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association board member, is devoted to fighting Schwarzenegger's proposal, which would close Clear Lake State Park, Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and 46 other parks around the state.
The petition drive began in January, within days of Schwarzenegger's announcement of the closure plan.
Butts said Thursday that her phone continues to ring with requests for more petition forms. In addition, she's receiving packs of petitions in the mail daily. People also come to Butts' home, bringing their completed petitions.
All of that started, she said, when she began circulating petitions with her return address at local meetings. She's also e-mailed hundreds of people about the effort.
Local businesses such as Umpqua Bank have petitions available for customers to sign, and Butts said they've forwarded her a stack of completed petitions as well.
Other places to find a petition include the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, the Lakeport Chamber of Commerce, Wild About Books in Clearlake and Watershed Books in Lakeport.
As of Wednesday, Butts had just under 1,500 signatures in hand, a number which doesn't count those gathered by some other groups around the county, such as the Sierra Club.
Butts said she hopes to gather several thousand signatures to help convince the governor to take his park closure proposal off the table.
For more information or an e-mailed petition, community members are invited to call Butts at 998-3027.
Petitions also can be downloaded at http://redwood.sierraclub/lake.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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