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The California Highway Patrol reported that two small vehicles were involved in a head-on collision at approximately 10 a.m. on Highway 29 just north of Hofacker Lane between Lower Lake and Hidden Valley.
The roadway was completely blocked as rescue personnel and tow companies were called to the scene.
Rescue units were reported to be en route to the hospital, according to CHP, although initial reports were not clear about how many people were injured or where, precisely, they were being taken.
One lane of the highway was reopened just after 11 a.m., with both lanes reopened by approximately 11:19 a.m., the CHP reported.
Lake County News will follow up with more information as it becomes available.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Congressman Mike Thompson and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco announced that $572,545 in grants were awarded to three housing projects, including the Clearlake Habitat Housing Project II and III in Lake County, which received $140,000 in Affordable Housing Program funding; Palisades Apartments in Calistoga, which received $212,545; and the Transitional Opportunities Toward Independent Living House in Ukiah, which received $220,000.
The three projects are expected to create 52 new affordable housing units. The Affordable Housing Program grants will be leveraged to support total construction costs of $8.2 million on the three projects.
Since 2000, the First Congressional District has received a total of $5.4 million dollars in Affordable Housing Program grants that have helped finance 29 projects and create 677 new rental and 85 owner-occupied units, the Federal Home Loan Bank reported.
The bank reported that it delivers low-cost funding and other services that help member financial institutions make home mortgage loans to people of all income levels and provide credit that supports neighborhoods and communities. It's one of 12 regional banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System.
Lake County Habitat for Humanity President Richard Birk said this is the third such grant the organization has received from the Federal Home Loan Bank, with all three grants totaling $260,000.
Birk said it's a highly competitive process to receive the money, with Habitat competing with about 100 other organizations. Habitat goes through the lengthy application process to the bank every two years for the grants.
The funds will be applied toward the construction of seven houses that Habitat now has in the development stages, said Birk. Permits on the houses will be submitted in the coming weeks, with completion expected in about a year and a half.
The grant will supply $20,000 to offset costs of building each of the houses, which cost about $70,000 to build when counting all costs – land, permits and materials, said Birk.
In turn, the grants help keep Habitat's no-interest mortgages low, in the $200 to $250 per month range, said Birk. “This will keep that mortgage payment down to where we can reach to a lower household income level.”
Habitat for Humanity targets families who earn 50 percent of the federally determined median income, said Birk.
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department listed median income as $53,800 for a nonmetro area in California in 2008. That would mean a family would be eligible for the Habitat program if they earned around $26,900 annually.
Habitat plans to build four homes this year and five the following, he explained.
“We're just finishing up on our 10th home here in the county,” said Birk.
While Habitat's charter covers all of Lake County, all of the homes the organization has built so far have been in Clearlake, the center of the largest need.
Property owners in Clearlake also have been willing to donate land to Habitat. Birk added that the organization wants to branch out to other areas in the county.
The Federal Home Loan Bank provides one of the biggest sources of income for Habitat for Humanity's local chapter, said Birk.
A grant through U.S. Housing and Urban Development pays for Executive Director Lisa Willardson's salary, as well as for the group's construction manager, Habitat's only two paid staffers in Lake County.
Birk said the organization will always be volunteer-based, and is constantly looking for more volunteers. You don't need to work in construction; they also need bookkeepers and help in the office.
The group also wants to find more people who want their own homes. Birk said they're in the process of selecting five families for future building projects. Two of the families have already been chosen, he added.
Birk said Habitat also is working on creating formal partnerships with the county's and the city of Clearlake's redevelopment agencies to work on meeting housing needs.
He said he wants Habitat for Humanity Lake County to be the go-to nonprofit when it comes to providing housing, with the group's goal being to make a significant dent in the county's low-income housing needs.
If you know a candidate family for a Habitat for Humanity home, or if you would like to volunteer or otherwise offer your support, contact the group at
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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On Thursday Thompson (D-St. Helena) – who chairs the Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence Subcommittee – joined with Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alton), chair of the Intelligence Community Management Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to introduce the bill, which bans the US government's use of waterboarding.
The Senate on Wednesday had passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 on a 51 to 45 vote. The bill included a provision banning the use of waterboarding.
The new bill by introduced by Thompson and Eshoo takes a harder line on waterboarding, according to Thompson's Washington spokesperson, Anne Warden.
She explained that the new bill explicitly bans waterboarding, and amends criminal code to make it illegal.
Warden reported that the Army Field Manual specifically authorizes 19 interrogation techniques and specifically prohibits eight techniques – including waterboarding, forced nudity, denial of food and water, and beatings.
In a joint statement issued Thursday, Thompson and Eshoo said, “It’s time to make a clear statement for the world to hear and understand, and for the Bush Administration to obey: Waterboarding is torture and Americans will not participate in it.”
Thompson and Eshoo said their bill is meant to ban waterboarding once and for all, making it clear that it's a form of torture and cannot be used by any US government entity, including the CIA.
In addition, anyone using waterboarding in the future would subsequently be subject to criminal prosecution, according to the measure.
They said that it's time for Congress to step in because the Bush Administration has refused to take waterboarding “off the table permanently.”
“As General David Petraeus stated: ‘What sets us apart from our enemies ... is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect. While we are warriors, we are also all human beings,'” Thompson and Eshoo stated.
They also quoted presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, himself a torture victim during Vietnam, as saying, “People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.”
Criminalizing waterboarding isn't a new practice, the two members of Congress reported.
They cited a 1947 prosecution of a Japanese military officer for carrying out a form of waterboarding on a U.S. civilian during World War II. The man was convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
In addition, they stated that the US military has prosecuted American military personnel for subjecting prisoners to waterboarding, including sentencing a US Army major to 10 years at hard labor for subjecting an insurgent to waterboarding in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.
“For those who might say that this bill will lead to the prosecution of officers who relied on the guidance of the Justice Department, we note that our bill is prospective,” they stated. “Now, from this day forward, let the world know that the United States of America will practice what it has always been revered for: Dignity, democracy and the rule of law.”
Thompson and Eshoo's bill is likely to face tough opposition.
The White House already has threatened to veto the bill passed by the Senate Wednesday over the waterboarding ban. McCain himself also voted no on that bill, according to Congressional voting records.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The group met at the Lake County Courthouse on Jan. 18.
Commissioner Steve Buchholz discussed state budget reductions possibly affecting Lake County's Juvenile Hall finances.
Buchholz, the county's retired chief probation officer who is still working on an interim basis, indicated that any cuts to the county's programs would not be determined until August.
He added that the state has already budgeted a significant amount of funds available statewide to counties in need of upgrades of juvenile facilities. Buchholz said Lake County will continue to pursue funds to improve or replace the crowded north Lakeport facility.
Guest speaker Joan Moore updated the board on the Lake County Youth Center in Clearlake.
The center, open five days a week between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., offers a safe setting for after school activities for students 7 to 17 years of age. The center is a place to do homework, read books or play pool, Moore reported.
During regular hours 25 to 40 students per day utilize the facility located at the site of old Redbud Park Senior Center, Moore said. Persons seeking more information or wanting to offer donations can call Moore at 994-7281.
Valerie LaBonte, a regular guest of the commission, informed the board of the progress being made within the private sector to provide tattoo removal services to young men and women transitioning from gang-related lifestyles. Commission members expressed their willingness to participate and advance the effort by exploring funding assistance.
Also on the agenda and addressed at the meeting was the upcoming Gang Awareness Town Hall meeting, to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 6 at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church.
The general public is invited to attend the March 6 meeting. All those that share concern for or simply want to learn about local gang related problems are encouraged to attend. The meeting is co-sponsored by the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission and the California Highway Patrol. Contact Kathleen Sheckells at 262-1611, Extension 111, for more details.
The commission invites the public to attend its next meeting, planned for 12:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at the courthouse, in Conference Room B on the first floor.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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Carlos Gaona, 34, of Clearlake and Rodger Branch, 48, of Willits were arrested just before 10 p.m. Feb. 5 after a traffic stop on Highway 1 in Fort Bragg, according to a Monday report from Lt. Rusty Noe of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Branch was driving, with Gaona riding as a passenger, when Mendocino deputies stopped the vehicle, Noe reported.
Noe said Branch allegedly was displaying signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance, and was asked to step out of the vehicle. He ultimately admitted to having used methamphetamine earlier in the day.
During the stop deputies were advised that Gaona had an active $10,000 arrest warrant for his arrest out of Napa County, Noe said.
Gaona was subsequently arrested for the warrant and deputies searched the vehicle, according to Noe's report.
During the vehicle search deputies found approximately 39 grams of methamphetamine and a scale used to weigh the drug, Noe said.
Noe said the 39 grams of meth was a “good-sized” find. The drug is valued at about $100 per gram, which in this case totals $3,900.
Branch and Gaona were arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance for sale, Noe said. Branch additionally was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Both men were taken to the Mendocino County Jail where they were booked and bail was set at $35,000 each.
Noe said the case is still under investigation.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The fire broke out at about 7 p.m. in a home on Lemon Circle in the Orchard Shores subdivision, said Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins.
The home, said Robbins, is shared by a mother and daughter. One of the women was cooking and left some grease on the stove top while she walked into the living room. While she was out of the room the kitchen caught fire.
Two engines, a utility vehicle and a Northshore Fire battalion chief quickly responded to the scene, assisted by a Cal Fire unit, said Robbins.
Firefighters contained the fire within minutes, said Robbins.
“They made a really good save on it,” Robbins said.
The home's kitchen was extensively damaged, Robbins reported, with smoke damage in the rest of the home.
The home's two residents will be displaced for a few days, but Robbins said that, with some clean up, they should be able to move back into the home soon.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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