How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKE COUNTY – With the Fourth of July holiday around the corner, the fun will get started this weekend.
If you don't already have something planned, check out what's going on in the coming days, which offer everything from worm races to dancing, barbecues and fireworks.
Saturday, June 30
Clearlake Independence Day Festivities
The City of Clearlake takes the lead this year, holding its Independence Day Parade – with Congressman Mike Thompson as this year's grand marshal – beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday. The parade begins at Redbud Park, 14655 Lakeshore Drive, leading down to Austin Park, 14077 Lakeshore Drive.
At Austin Park, following the parade, there will be a street fair, kinetic sculpture racing, live music, car show, arts and crafts, barbecue, children’s activities and lots more.
And, of course, it wouldn't be July in Clearlake without the 40th annual International Worm Races, also at Austin Park.
United Veterans Council barbecue
The United Veterans Councils is sponsoring a fundraiser barbecue in conjunction with the parking lot sale at the Riviera Shopping Center.
The barbecue will will serve up Italian sausages and hot dogs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, and Sunday, July 1.
Proceeds will support the Military Funeral Honors Team of Lake County, going to repair rifles and replace worn uniforms.
Hospice Services of Lake County Anniversary Celebration, Lakeport
Every year, Hospice helps hundreds of families, offering medical care and comfort to those in the end stages of life, and counseling to their families.
Hospice is celebrating its 27th anniversary this year, and will hold a special night of disco dancing, dining and celebrating from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Fritch Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., Lakeport. Tickets cost $75 each. Hospice can be reached at 263-6222.
Maxine Sherman Memorial Fireworks, Clearlake Oaks
The Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Business Association will hold its fourth annual fireworks display in honor of the late Maxine Sherman, a business association member who supported the annual fireworks displays by holding numerous fundraisers.
The fun starts at dusk at Wigeon Bay. Info: (707) 998-4210,
Monday, July 2
Robinson Rancheria Fireworks Show, Nice
Robinson Rancheria will add some holiday excitement to Monday, with a fireworks that can be viewed from the parking lot in front of the casino.
The free show starts at dusk. Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino is located at 1545 E. Highway 20. For information call 800-809-3636.
Tuesday, July 3
Fireworks Show and Barbecue, Hidden Valley Lake
The Hidden Valley Lake Association’s Greenview Restaurant staff will host a late afternoon barbecue with music and fireworks to be launched from the dam.
The barbecue takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The fireworks start at dusk, and are best viewed from the lake area, beaches and marina at Big Beach Park, 18174 Hidden Valley Road. For information, call 987-3138.
Wednesday, July 4
Lakeport Independence Day Festivities, Lakeport
Independence Day in Lakeport begins with an all-day street fair, arts and crafts, plus music and food at 11 a.m. at Library Park.
The fun lasts until throughout the day, with the event culminating in the lighted boat parade at 9:30 p.m. and fireworks over Clear Lake at dusk.
American Legion Fourth of July barbecue, Kelseyville
The Kelseyville American Legion Post No. 194 will hold its 41st annual Fourth of July barbecue from noon to 5 p.m. at the Legion Hall, located at Second and Gaddy Lane.
On the menu is barbecue beef and chicken, beans, salad and garlic bread. The requested donation is $8 for adults, $4 for children under 12.
Proceeds from the event go to support community programs such as nurses scholarships, Boys and Girls State, environmental camp for kids, and the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary's Fourth of July and Christmas parties at the Yountville Veterans Home.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
LAKEPORT – A Kelseyville man will spend the next four years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender.
Charles Henry Sparks Jr., 40, was sentenced to four years in state prison June 22 for failing to register as a sex offender, according to Deputy District Attorney John R. DeChaine, who prosecuted the case.
Sparks has been required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290 since he was convicted of rape in 1995, according to DeChaine.
On April 6, Sparks pleaded guilty to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290, DeChaine reported.
Failing to register as a sex offender carries a maximum prison sentence of three years; however, Sparks also admitted to having served a prior prison term, thereby enhancing his prison commitment to a maximum of four years, according to DeChaine's report.
Sparks had been out of custody on bail of $15,000 prior to June 29, reported DeChaine, when he was sentenced and remanded into custody.
Judge Richard Martin presided over the taking of the guilty plea as well as the June 22 sentencing hearing, DeChaine noted, and Det. Mike Curran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
LAKE COUNTY – With the Angora fire still endangering South Lake Tahoe, firefighters from here in Lake County are at the fire now, working to contain it.
The fire, which broke out Sunday, has burned 3,100 acres south of Lake Tahoe and east of Fallen Leaf Lake, according to the US Forest Service's Incident Information System.
So far, 251 homes have been destroyed and three people injured, the US Service reported. The fire is 55-percent contained, with containment expected July 3.
On scene are 164 engines, 51 crews, 21 helicopters, four dozers and 15 water tenders, staffed by an estimated 2,174 personnel.
The fire is under federal jurisdiction, which means fire resources from National Forests have been called from around the state.
Hinda Darner, a fuels technician with the Mendocino National Forest's Upper Lake Ranger District, said Thursday that the district sent and engine and a hand crew – consisting of about 20 people – to the Angora fire. The group left at the beginning of the week, she said.
The Upper Lake district is rating fire danger as high, especially with the big weekend and the Fourth of July holiday around the corner, said Darner. During that time, she said, “We get a lot more public use and campfires.”
Darner said the district has a responsibility to make sure they have enough resources, which means not sending off more firefighters than they can spare.
So far, 32 firefighters and logistical personnel and five from the Mendocino National Forest have gone to work the Angora Fire, said Punky Moore, a spokesperson for the forest's main office in Willows. The forest employs a total of 260 staff – including firefighters – during the summer season.
Moore said some of the personnel who had gone to Tahoe already have returned from the fire. There was a “big push” to contain the fire on Wednesday, Moore said. The Forest Service reported that fire crews on Wednesday night increased efforts to secure firelines around the fire's perimeter.
During the “ramp up” period of a fire, when it's just getting under way, Moore said it's important to get as many people on scene as you can. Now, however, the effort appears to have reached its peak.
“At this point we're not sending more people unless more orders come in,” Moore said.
A report from the Cal Fire Command Center noted that Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit has sent a total of five engines manned by 20 personnel, plus a hand crew strike team – consisting of another 30 firefighters – to work the Angora fire. However, they don't anticipate sending any more because no new orders for crews have come in.
Cal Fire is an important responder on many fires, as seen in the Westwind mobile home park fire early Wednesday morning.
Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Jim McMurray reported that Cal Fire's staffing remains strong in Lake County, which is important as the local fire season ramps up. “It hasn't been real bad yet, but it's starting very early,” said McMurray, who noted that the weather is much drier much earlier.
McMurray is hoping things will “stay quiet,” as they approach the July 4th holiday, when fireworks are a problem.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
WASHINGTON – The day after three dozen members of Congress from Oregon and California called for an investigation into Vice President Cheney's role in the death of 80,000 spawning salmon, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee announced he will hold a hearing.
In response to a letter by 36 Democratic members of Congress, among them Rep. Mike Thompson, Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) released the following statement:
"This Committee has already begun examining the penchant for this Administration to favor politics over science in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, which was highlighted during a May 9th hearing and in the resignation of the Interior Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks over the fiasco.
"In light of the revelations being made over the situation in the Klamath River Basin, it is my intention to again convene the Committee to delve into the issues raised by the Members of Congress from California and Oregon. It certainly appears this Administration will stop at nothing to achieve political gain from natural resources disasters. Ultimately, it will be hardworking Americans and their healthy environment that will lose if we fail to act."
The request by West Coast Democrats came after a Washington Post investigative report found that Vice President Cheney instigated the damaging water policy that resulted in the largest salmon kill and fishing disaster in our nation's history.
The Post indicates that Cheney manipulated scientific evidence in order to win votes from farmers who would benefit from the diversion.
"I am pleased that Chairman Rahall is committed to getting to bottom of the vice president's involvement," said Thompson. "The courts found that this water policy was in direct violation of the Endangered Species Act, and the American public should know if their vice president caused science to be manipulated for petty political gain."
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
LOWER LAKE – An early morning fire on Wednesday burned three mobile homes at a Lower Lake mobile home park.
The fire broke out at the Westwind mobile home park at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, reported Chief Jim McMurray of the Lake County Fire Protection District. The park is located on Konocti Vista Drive off of Pt. Lakeview Road.
McMurray said two mobiles were completely destroyed, with a third burned but not as seriously as the others.
Two more homes were in the fire's immediate path, said McMurray, with many other homes in the park jeopardized as well.
No injuries to residents or firefighters were reported.
A total of five engines, three water tenders, one rescue and one medic unit were on scene, said McMurray, with units coming from his district as well as Kelseyville, Lakeport and Cal Fire.
Cal Fire, said McMurray, remains well-staffed in Lake County despite resources that are needed to fight Lake Tahoe's Angora fire.
McMurray estimated that 25 firefighters battled the blaze, which was contained by about 3:30 a.m., with all equipment returned to quarters by 6:30 a.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, McMurray reported. “They had a lot of debris to go through to make a determination.”
Information about the individuals who lost their homes was not available by publication time.
In situations where people lose their homes to fire, Georgina Lehne, executive director of the Lake County Community Action Agency, said the Red Cross is the first responder.
However, those in need can receive food from the agency's emergency food pantry as well as clothes, Lehne said. LCCAA can be reached at 995-0495.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
LAKEPORT – After five years, numerous trial reschedulings, one trial that ended in a hung jury and another that stretched over the past nine weeks, it took a jury just an hour and a half to convict a Clearlake man of a 2002 murder.
The jury in the trial of Edward James Munoz, 26, accused of the 2002 murder of Leah Leister, came back with a guilty verdict at 3 p.m. Wednesday, reported Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Munoz was accused of the March 11, 2002 murder of the 26-year-old Leister, a single mother whose body was found in her Clearlake apartment.
Munoz pleaded not guilty to the crime, as Lake County News previously reported.
Hinchcliff said Munoz stabbed Leister 16 times, cutting her throat several times as well. “When he finished that, he duct-taped her hands together and her feet together,” said Hinchcliff, who has been with the case since its beginning five years ago.
Hinchcliff said Munoz initially told investigators that he was ordered to kill Leister by Nortenos gang leaders out of Pelican Bay State Prison because she was stealing drugs from the gang.
But at trial, Munoz changed that story and claimed he was lying initially, said Hinchcliff.
Speaking of the trial, Hinchcliff said, “It was a frustrating, long, tiresome ordeal.”
The same can be said of the entire process that led to this point.
Munoz has been in custody in the Lake County Jail since April 2002. Hinchcliff said there were numerous changes of attorneys, either at Munoz's request or when attorneys chose to leave the case. The result was that his trial was rescheduled 13 times before it finally started in Judge Arthur Mann's courtroom last fall.
George Boisseau, a private criminal defense attorney from Santa Rosa, came to defend Munoz, and was the man at his side during last year's trial, which ended on Oct. 11 in a hung jury, 11-1, over the issue of Munoz's guilt.
Boisseau was again at the defense table for the retrial, which Hinchcliff said started jury selection on April 24 and began two weeks later. During the past nine weeks, Hinchcliff estimated he called about 20 witnesses to the stand, some testifying for as few as 15 minutes, some for a day or longer.
This time, the jury came back in short order with a conviction, finding Munoz guilty of first degree murder with a special gang allegation. “The jury was firmly convinced of his guilt,” Hinchcliff said.
Munoz's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 27, although Hinchcliff said it's a date that likely will be changed.
“There's a good chance that it's going to take probably about four months to get him sentenced just because of motions the defense is likely to file and we'll have to respond to,” said Hinchcliff.
Among those, Hinchcliff expects Boisseau will file a motion for a new trial.
Munoz, however, is not facing the death sentence, said Hinchclif, who explained that the District Attorney's Office is instead seeking life without the possibility of parole.
Death penalty cases, said Hinchcliff, must meet certain statutory guidelines, including multiple homicides or the murder of a peace officer, and a defendant's extensive prior criminal record. “It was our opinion that this case didn't satisfy the factors, so we were not seeking the death penalty.”
Going through the retrial process, Hinchcliff said, “My main concern was for the victim's family and her mother, and how frustrating it was for her.”
Leister's family wanted closure and for Munoz to be held accountable for the crime. “Finally, that's done for them.”
Next, the family must decide if they'll give victim impact statements at Munoz's sentencing, said Hinchcliff.
Munoz's conviction brings with it another tragic backstory. His older brother, Richard Munoz, is currently serving a 25-years-to life sentence for a murder that took place in the late 1990s. Retired Clearlake Police Captain Ron Larsen said Richard Munoz, while still a juvenile, cut the throat of a 14-year-old boy at Clearlake Commons Apartments.
This isn't the first case that Hinchcliff has seen to a conclusion after years of delays and investigation. Last summer, he won a murder conviction in the case of Paul James Smiraglia, 47, who was found guilty of murdering 43-year-old Diedre Coleman in July 2002. The jury in that trial, which lasted about a month, also returned a verdict quickly, deliberating only two hours.
Hinchcliff said he has some other homicide cases to prepare for, and will next go to trial in a home invasion burglary case Sept. 5.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
