LAKEPORT – On Tuesday county supervisors heard the observations and recommendations of economic development professionals on how to strengthen the county's business climate.

Officials with the 900-member California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) made the hour-and-a-half-long presentation to the board Tuesday afternoon.

In her report to the board Debra Sommerfield, the county's deputy administrative officer for economic development, said on April 28 the board agreed to host a CALED summit as part of its effort to attract commercial and resort investment to the county.

She reported that CALED President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Schell put together an advisory team whose members are experts in commercial real estate, site selection and infrastructure in an effort to help the county attract investments.

Along with Schell, advisory team members Al Gianini and Jim Renzas attended the meeting.

Sommerfield said Tuesday that the group had visited a number of potential investment sites around the county, including the Lucerne Hotel, Ceago Vinegarden, Holiday Harbor, the Work Right building and the former Kelseyville Lumber location.

Schell credited Lake County with being “way ahead of the curve when it comes to the economic development issues.”

California's business climate is challenging, he said. “It's just not easy to do business here.”

Because Lake County is remote, it also has its challenges, but Schell added, “I can't think of a rural county that's done redevelopment like you have,” pointing to the changes in the Northshore area.

There are more federal grants available to help rural areas, and Schell said he's only wanting to work with places that are helping themselves.

Renzas suggested the county needed to have a full-time staff working to retain existing businesses, which are the community's main job creators.

Gianini explained the opportunities on some of the sites they toured, primarily the Lucerne Hotel.

The hotel is located on seven acres and a total of nine parcels. Gianini said the appraisal on the building has just come in; County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox told Lake County News it values the building at between $2.8 million to $2.9 million, significantly less than its $4,990,000 asking price.

Gianini recommended that Cox or Board Chair Denise Rushing immediately meet with someone from the group – composed of several churches – that owns the building “and do whatever you can to make sure they keep that in one piece,” because the owners are preparing to start selling off pieces.

Cox said that, following a meeting with CALED officials at the Lucerne Hotel on Monday, he asked Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely to immediately contact the property owners.

Gianini said the building will require a developer to spend a lot of money to upgrade it, and a developer is unlikely to do that without a use already in mind.

Rushing asked the group if they were suggesting specific industries to attract to the county. Gianini said he was less concerned about the type of industry and more intent on what they pay, and if they will hire locally and pay sales tax.

“Look for successful businesses that are growing,” he said.

Replied Rushing, “I'm glad to hear you say that,” noting that the county isn't looking for a massive business to locate here.

Gianini suggested the former Kelseyville Lumber site has mixed use potential. He also was impressed with the airport and its buildings.

Supervisor Jeff Smith asked if Gianini would recommend the county pick up any property the Lucerne Hotel owners start to sell off. “I think that's something you should be open for, yeah,” he said.

The CALED members encouraged the board to have good data on the county as part of its marketing effort, which they suggested should be electronic.

Economic development, said Gianini, is a “longterm commitment.”

Supervisor Rob Brown pointed out that Mark Borghesani, whose family owns Kelseyville Lumber, was the only businessman there, and he questioned when the owners of the properties they were talking about were supposed to show up in the process.

He said the county had heard similar advice on economic development from many organizations, including the Business Outreach and Response Team (BORT), which no longer are around.

“What do we spend money on? We don't have a lot of money,” he said, explaining that he didn't want the county to become a real estate broker.

“I'm the last one to tell you you need to do another study,” Gianini responded.

Rushing said the board has been working on improving the lake and public spaces. She pointed to Clearlake Oaks as an example of how county investment in The Plaza and park drew private investment in that community.

Brown said he wanted to know if the CALED advisory team was making it suggestions based on experience and success.

Cox said CALED has contacts and resources that groups like BORT never had.

“It's a sales plan, which is nice,” said Rushing.

Schell suggested the county needed to be ready for opportunities. He said the fact that the county is willing to help businesses is a good signal to the community.

Gianini agreed with Brown's sentiments that the county is doing the heavy lifting. He said the business community “isn't as mature in being involved” as in some other areas.

The CALED officials also emphasized having broadband capability. Renzas said the Internet is the highway of the future, and the county needs to make sure it's up to speed.

Supervisor Jim Comstock said one of the county's biggest challenges is having the necessary retail business to serve the community. Many local residents do their shopping in Sonoma County, which he said gets fat while Lake County stays poor.

Rushing said the county has a sense of place and not many chain stores, which makes the county attractive.

Farrington agreed that the county needed to be proactive in its outreach efforts. “This is about long-term vision,” he said. “I believe in it.”

Schell urged the county to bring the local cities into the effort.

“Where's Clearlake? Where's Lakeport? They have a big investment in all of this,” he said.

He added, “You can't do this alone. You shouldn't have to.”

Schell suggested the county adopt a “hug a tourist” campaign that worked in an Oregon community, where young people were trained to share information and activities with visitors.

He said that, as good a job as the county is doing, it always can do more for its visitors.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

 

 

LAKEPORT – Two new investigators have joined Lakeport Police's effort to solve a nearly seven-year-old homicide.

Lou Riccardi, a retired homicide investigator from San Mateo County, and Destry Henderson, a Lakeport Police officer recently promoted to investigator, have been assigned to the unsolved murder of Barbara LaForge.

Riccardi and Henderson are working as a team on the murder, which occurred in LaForge's downtown frame shop on Oct. 8, 2002.

She was shot four times at close range with a .22-caliber weapon, with one of the bullets piercing her heart.

A $50,000 reward is being offered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

In April, Police Chief Kevin Burke asked the Lakeport City Council to give him $35,000 to hire a part-time, experienced investigator to try to bring the case to a conclusion. The council unanimously approved Burke's request at its April 21 meeting, as Lake County News has reported.

With that permission in hand, Burke hired Riccardi, whose first day was June 11.

“I think we're lucky to have a chance to have our staff work side by side with Lou Riccardi on solving this case,” said Burke. “We're welcoming him as a part of our staff.”

Burke said Riccardi brings with him an “extraordinary” level of experience to the case. “We've already seen a renewed sense of importance and energy in going forward with this case.”

Riccardi said he and Henderson hit the ground running, starting off their first day on the case by beginning an in-depth reexamination of several large binders filled with the investigative reports completed to date.

Riccardi and Henderson will bring two new sets of eyes to the investigation.

They'll also bring two different perspectives. Riccardi, 59, is from the Bay Area, and Henderson, 28, is intimately familiar with Lakeport's small town environment. Henderson, who has been with the department full-time since 2005, will have an opportunity to develop his skills as an investigator by working closely with Riccardi.

“We're going to look at some things and understand them differently,” said Riccardi, adding that he thinks their different experiences complement each other.

And, he emphasized, the LaForge case is going to be worked actively in the coming year.

“We're not going to be sitting at a desk five days a week,” said Riccardi.

In fact, once they're up to speed on the case's full and complex history, they'll be spending a lot of time on the street, speaking to witnesses and searching out leads. They'll also be meeting with District Attorney's Office investigators and a prosecutor so that agency can be ready to pursue a prosecution once an arrest is made.

Formidable experience and skills

Riccardi spent 20 years with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, beginning as a narcotics investigator in the early 1970s before moving into homicide work. His work took him from the the small, tight-knit coastal towns of Pescadero and La Honda to urban areas like Redwood City.

“I like the challenge of the homicide cases,” he said. “They put you to task.”

He also brings with him experience in solving another Lake County homicide.

In April 1981, Redwood City resident Donald Beardslee – a parolee who had served time for murdering a woman in 1969 – was involved in kidnapping Patty Geddling, 23, and 19-year-old Stacey Benjamin.

He and accomplices shot Geddling to death with a shotgun in a remote area of Pescadero, according to a San Francisco Chronicle account. Beardslee and his female roommate, Rickie Soria, then drove Benjamin to Lake County, where he cut Benjamin's throat.

Bob Morse, who worked for many years with Riccardi in the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office's homicide unit, told Lake County News that Riccardi's skills were put to good use in the case.

Morse, who drafted Riccardi into the homicide unit, said he was hitting walls in the case, so he brought in Riccardi, who helped develop leads that led to the recovery of the shotgun used in Geddling's murder.

Beardslee later led detectives to the top of the Hopland Grade, where they found Benjamin's body.

Beardslee was executed by lethal injection in January 2005.

Morse listed personality, loyalty and persistence among Riccardi's many skills. “No matter what problem I had, I'd just send him.”

From San Mateo's sheriff's office Riccardi moved to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, where he spent 10 years as an inspector.

He teaches a homicide class in the Robert Pressley Institute of Criminal Investigation at San Jose State University, and is past president and an executive board member for the California Robbery Investigators Association.

In 2005, he was involved in an extensive search effort to find the body of Christine Wilson, a 27-year-old woman who went missing after leaving a Placer County casino. Wilson's body was never found, but her killer, Mario Garcia, was convicted and sentenced to 59 years to life, according to press reports.

In his three decades in law enforcement, Riccardi estimated he worked on close to 100 homicide cases, solving about 90 percent of them.

“We're the victims' voice,” he said of law enforcement. “That's who we work for.”

He plans to keep a picture of LaForge up in the office – which is what he has done with all of the victims whose cases he's worked.

LaForge will present Riccardi with a new challenge. “It's a first for me,” he said, explaining he's never come in on a cold case before.

A need to be involved

How Riccardi came to Lake County, and ultimately joined the LaForge investigation, looks like a mix of hard work plus some good luck and serendipity thrown in for good measure.

Riccardi, an affable and approachable man, initially retired from San Mateo county in 2001. He and his wife moved to Lake County, where they had been visiting since the 1960s.

It was through Riccardi's wife that he came to the attention of Lakeport Police.

Earlier this year, the department began looking into the possibility of bringing on a part-time investigator, someone with homicide experience, said Lt. Brad Rasmussen. They also wanted to find someone living locally.

In March, they started talking to Riccardi, Rasmussen said.

Riccardi said Rasmussen filled him in on the details of the case. “The challenge was there,” said Riccardi.

Now a member of the Lake County community, Riccardi said he wanted to work on the case. “It was important to me that I be involved.”

Burke said of Riccardi, “His passion is the same as ours. He wants to solve this case. He wants to put a murderer, or murderers, in jail.”

The department moved quickly to get Riccardi on the case. The day after the council approved the hire, Riccardi's background process started. Rasmussen said it was completed May 26, and Burke made Riccardi a conditional employment offer.

Because he retired more than three years ago, Riccardi must complete a three-week Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) recertification program, which will reestablish his full police powers and allow him to write search warrants and make arrests.

Working in new directions

Riccardi emphasized that he's part of a larger department effort to see LaForge's case come to a conclusion.

Looking through the case files, he said they're thorough “and really well put together.”

He's aware of criticism the department has weathered about its handling of the case.

Riccardi said the department's officers and investigators have put forward their best efforts. A lot of hard work – and “righteous work” – has been done so far, including hundreds of hours of interviews, he said.

Time can work for and against an investigator in a cold case, Riccardi said, explaining that witnesses may no longer be available, recollections fade and crime scenes change. There can be frustrations and lots of obstacles as investigators work through what Riccardi called “muddy waters.”

However, in the case of the gallery, it still closely resembles the way it looked that October morning in 2002. It's still so important that the first thing Riccardi and Henderson did on their first day on the case was pay a visit to the gallery.

Riccardi and Henderson have their own plans for the case.

“We're going to take a different direction based on what's already been investigated,” said Riccardi.

In his nearly four years in the department, Henderson hasn't worked the case. “It's all new to me, just like Lou,” he said.

That's why they're starting at the beginning, reviewing the voluminous case files and preparing to follow the leads that come in.

Riccardi said there are many things people don't understand about homicide investigations, particularly the time that goes into them, and the complexity of investigations.

One lead can lead to five more, and from there to as many as 100, said Riccardi, explaining how one person's account can point to other potential witnesses and information sources.

All of those people need to be interviewed – some of them more than once, Henderson said.

Many people believe that one interview should lead to a case resolution, but Riccardi said that's simply not the case. “This is not CSI,” he said, referring to the popular crime show. “There's a lot of footwork, a lot of phone calls.”

Seven years later, the case may have some things going for it, including the advancement in forensic science.

“The technology has changed just in the seven years since this homicide,” he said, explaining there are new testing methods for evidence such as DNA.

But the most important component to solving the case may be involving local citizens.

“The community has to be part of this,” said Riccardi.

The often-discussed idea that LaForge's killer is still in the community is a real concern, he said.

“There's somebody that knows something,” said Riccardi.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Riccardi at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Henderson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The department also can be reached at 707-263-5491.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT – This week the Board of Supervisors will receive a status report on efforts to update the south county's sewer system.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. The meeting will be broadcast live on TV Channel 8.

Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger will take the matter to the board. The item is timed for 9:30 a.m.

Lake County Special Districts (LACOSAN) provides the sewer system for the city of Clearlake and part of Lower Lake, Dellinger told Lake County News. “That's our largest wastewater collection system,” he said.

The Highlands Harbor area – specifically Meadowbrook – has been an area of continuing wastewater spills in recent years.

Looking over a map of the city, Dellinger explained that Highlands Harbor, which is next to the creek, is in the lowest part of the collection system.

In heavy rains, when the soil becomes saturated, the wastewater that comes in from higher parts of the system outcompetes the gravity flows in Highlands Harbor and spills result, Dellinger explained.

The city's avenues and landfill all compete for limited capacity in that area of the pipeline, where spills have continued to occur, said Dellinger. That's despite the county spending a few million dollars for system upgrades over the past decade, including adding a new graving line, taking out a bypass, updating four pump stations and undertaking a sophisticated cleaning of the system.

“The improvements are not of the magnitude that you can see significant results of those improvements,” Dellinger said.

Dellinger said he plans to roll out a preliminary option for fixing the system at the Tuesday board meeting.

The county has spent eight months developing an interim master plan to address the system's needed improvements in the Highlands Harbor area, said Dellinger.

An earlier interim plan, completed in September 2008, had four alternatives, which did address Highlands Harbor but didn't do much to fix the system's hydraulics or accommodate longterm growth, Dellinger explained.

The fifth and leading proposal, which has been in development over the last few months, includes building a four-mile, 12-inch diameter pipe along Highway 53 from the city's pump station four – which is located by a bridge on the highway – down to the treatment plant on Pond Road, which Dellinger said has plenty of capacity.

He estimated that alternative also would provide 3,000 single-family home hookup equivalents plus commercial and airport development.

“I don't like to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to to have to respond to spills if we can come up with a solution,” said Dellinger.

He's been working with Clearlake City Administrator Dale Neiman since last fall on a solution.

“We all agree that's the kind of solution that should be implemented here,” said Dellinger.

At its June 11 meeting, the Clearlake City Council agreed to give Neiman go ahead with negotiating a cooperative agreement with LACOSAN to improve the system.

Neiman explained to the council that the county currently is under an abatement from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board due to an effluent spill from a manhole, and if the problems aren't solved the state could impose a development moratorium and additional fines. LACOSAN already has been fined $60,000 for that recent spill.

He suggested to the council that they commit $2.5 million from cash reserves to assist in the $5 million “global” solution that includes the four-mile pipeline Dellinger described. The plan also calls for the city redevelopment agency to take the lead on the improvement project.

At the Clearlake City Council meeting, Council member Joyce Overton said it's the county's job to put aside money for fixing the system. “I would like to know where that money is,” she said.

She added, “I don't mind helping, that's one thing, it's our community,” but she said she didn't think the city should put in half of the money. “They knew it was eventually going to happen.”

Neiman said a master plan should have been done on the system a long time ago. He said the landfill is contributing to the system and it should pay its fair share. If repairs aren't made there will be a development moratorium, which will impact the city and the redevelopment agency. “We're going to be impacted more than anybody else,” Neiman said.

Responding to Overton's comments, Councilman Curt Giambruno said it wasn't the time to be throwing “darts” at the county, and that Neiman was on the right track.

Supervisor Jeff Smith told the council that night that he believed the sewer system was inadequate when it was installed 20 years ago, and that it's a ratepayer-funded district. In order to build reserves, the county would have had to raise its charges, which it was reluctant to do because of low-income customers. But not raising the rates gradually over the years has hurt the system in the long run.

He suggested that in order to put aside sufficient reserves to fix the system they would have to double fees for ratepayers. Smith said that the county has about $2 million in reserves for that part of the district, but the Board of Supervisors needs to decide whether or not to use the funds.

“We're looking at trying to do what can be done to solve the entire problem hopefully so any development, housing or anything else is not going to be a question,” Smith said.

“Point fingers all you want,” Smith added. “We gotta fix the problem. That's all there is to it.”

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said there are a lot of improvements – from sewer to roads – that both the county and city need to do, but “there's not enough money to do everything,” which frustrates everybody.

The part of Clearlake's sewer system that's in question would provide collection to the city's airport property, officials said. The city has been engaged in longterm negotiations with a potential developer to bring commercial development to that area.

Both the county and city have need to develop that area, and since the city is proposing to develop the airport property, Cox suggested it's appropriate for them to contribute to the solution.

County Deputy Administrative Office Jeff Rein said a county rate study suggests raising rates and putting aside money for the fixes. He said the county has a pot of redevelopment money that can be put toward the project.

Dellinger said upgrading the system will cost more money that the county has.

However, if the county and Clearlake Redevelopment Agency can partner, “I think we're all going to be better served,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a budget tabulation for the next fiscal year, look at a new policy for stray cats and consider a request from the Mental Health Department to terminate some of its rental leases.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. The meeting will be broadcast live on TV Channel 8. Agendas can be found at www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/BOS_Agendas.htm .

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox will take to the board for its approval the budget tabulation for the fiscal year 2009-10, along with position allocations and authorization requests for certain fixed assets. The item is untimed.

Cox's report to the board states that public budget hearings will take place on the full budget in August.

Despite the budget downturn, Cox noted, “the County's traditionally strong financial position and absence of general fund debt enables us to weather the current economic storm without the need to lay off general fund employees or eliminate general fund programs.”

He said the board can be proud of that, since it was the result of years of financial management by the board.

The recommended total budget appropriation is $194 million, with 935 proposed employee positions, down from 969 in last year's budget. That net decrease came from midyear budget adjustments, the elimination of vacant positions and reorganizations in certain departments, Cox reported.

The proposed budget's impact on Lake County Animal Care and Control is prompting Director Denise Johnson to take to the board a proposed change in policy on stray cat pick ups. The discussion is untimed.

Johnson's report to the board explains that, due to the county's projected budget for the coming fiscal year, her department is having to cut back in several areas of service and staffing.

A staff shortage, coupled with an increased intake of stray, sick and feral cats, “is creating an overwhelming and unhealthy environment for our shelter population,” she said.

Johnson reported that the shelter currently is so overcrowded with cats that they're having to place them in cages in the shelter's carport, outside of the building, to try to slow the spread of disease.

She estimated that 45 percent of her officers' days are spent driving around to pick up stray cats, when their time can better be spent elsewhere.

To increase productivity and reduce the number of cats the shelter will deal with, Johnson is proposing a new policy that will require all stray cats be brought into the facility, and that officers only will pick up the animals for a $30 pickup fee.

At 10:45 a.m., the Mental Health Department will ask the board to consider issuing a termination notice on its lease agreements for property located at 991 Parallel Drive in Lakeport and 15145 Lakeshore Blvd. in Clearlake. Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services currently occupy the buildings.

Mental Health, which received the board's permission last month to eliminate 18 positions and also got rid of three extra help spots, has had to borrow money from the county due to budget difficulties emerging from having to pay back the state for overpayments as well as state funding decreases.

By terminating the leases, Mental Health plans to consolidate its office facilities and reduce rental expenses.

Mental Health Director Kristy Kelly's report to the board estimates that, if the termination of the rental agreements is given by July 1, the department will save a total for $204,504 for the 2009-10 fiscal year and $237,060 for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Other items on the agenda include the following.

Timed items:

9:30 a.m.: Status report and consideration of alternatives to address the Southeast Regional Collection System clean-up and abatement order and request for board direction regarding the use of the city of Clearlake’s consultant selection process; and proposed transfer of surplus bond funds to LACOSAN Capital Improvement Designation in Fund 250.

10:15 a.m.: Public hearing – discussion/consideration of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for funding of a Special Victims/Vulnerable Persons Unit.

10:30 a.m.: Hearing on a notice of nuisance abatement for 5677 Nason Road, Lucerne, Ulrich Wasem on property belonging to Kenneth Woo.

1 p.m.: Presentation and board workshop to be led by the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) on the topics of economic development success factors, observations on specific projects and discussion/consideration of recommendations to attract investment to Lake County.

Non-timed items:

– Update on the emergency action taken on Dec. 9, 2008, regarding the prohibition of fish stocking by the Department of Fish and Game in water bodies of Lake County.

– Consideration of proposed contract between the county of Lake and Jeri E. Owens, M.D. for specialty mental health services (maximum reimbursement in the amount of $144,000).

– Consideration of proposed resolution approving the standard agreement between the county of Lake and the state Department of Mental Health for state hospital beds, for fiscal year 2009-10, and authorizing the director of Mental Health to sign Agreement Number 07-77250-000 (total liability in the amount of $289,516).

– Consideration of recommendation for award of Bid No. 09-30 for the construction of State Street (Main Street to Gaddy Lane), Kelseyville, for pavement rehabilitation and accessibility improvements.

The board also will hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations and hold conference with legal council regarding Francisco Rivero's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claim against the county.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

CLEARLAKE – What began as a casual conversation at the Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake a year ago has blossomed into a series of connections that has fostered the development of agreements and partnerships between the county of Lake, the city of Clearlake, the Highlands Senior Service Center (HSSC), the Lake County Community Co-op (LCCC) and the Konocti Unified School District (KUSD).

While each partner in the project had envisioned the idea of a community garden, the recent wave of renewal of the local food movement, and particularly community gardens, whisked the idea into a working relationship that at this writing consists of a $40,000 allocation by the county of Lake for the creation of a community garden at the Clearlake Senior Community Center.

The provision, secured by Supervisor Jeff Smith, includes completion of the center landscaping and the bulk of the garden infrastructure.

The organic garden, which will be co-managed by the Highlands Senior Service Center and the Lake County Community Co-op, will consist of three different models to help meet the needs of the community.

One section will be reserved for the senior center to utilize for their daily meal programs that includes meals served on site at noon each weekday and the Meals on Wheels service to homebound seniors.

The additional fresh vegetables to the cuisine will not only add a refreshing flavor twist to the meals but will contribute to healthier nutrition for the center’s clientèle and help stretch the center’s food budget.

“Most of our clientèle grew up with gardens and fresh produce daily. A return to this in our community will boost more than nutrition – it’ll raise the spirits of our seniors, an unquantifiable benefit,” said Senior Center Executive Director Linda J. Burton.

Another section of the garden will be one that gardeners can work in exchange for food, as well as provide excess for local food programs, such as the Lake County Community Action Agency (LCCAA).

While the LCCAA’s budget has been hit hard due to the recent economic crisis, the demand for services has increased dramatically as the number of working poor continues to increase.

In addition, high school seniors in KUSD have recently been given a community service component requirement for graduation. They can take advantage of working at the garden as a means to meet this requirement, as well as develop connections with their food source. This model is nothing new to KUSD superintendent Bill MacDougall who fostered a school garden program and a community service component at Carlé High School where he was principal for 14 years.

In another section of the garden, small plots will be rented out to individuals, families and organizations desiring to custom design the types and number of crops grown.

Here, for a small annual fee that covers the cost of the plot, folks can plant anything they like, as long as it is legal and grown organically and/or biodynamically. Preference for these plots will be seniors aged 55 and over.

“With the large population of seniors just across the street, we’re hoping they’ll want to take advantage of the convenience the community garden offers,” noted Burton, referring to the senior housing complexes across the street from the center.

David Goolsbee, a director on the board of the LCCC and community garden project coordinator for the co-op, designed a concept vision of the garden that includes a water feature, benches and an ADA compliant raised bed design intended to help aid an easier process in gardening for the senior and disabled populations in Clearlake.

The committee that moves the project forward includes Clearlake City Councilman Curt Giambruno, who worked diligently in procuring the information needed to install the irrigation system and Clearlake Vice Mayor Judy Thein, who was instrumental in obtaining the well agreement from the adjoining property owner.

Many other members of the community are already involved including Thomas Vallot, Russell Kramer, Rainbow Agriculture and Ed Stromeyer, who have all worked with the city on the infrastructure plans, making it a community-wide effort.

Long-term hopes for the project are to include a solar-run operation that will also generate power for the community center building itself, which will further assist the city and the senior center in lessening their footprint as well as their ongoing operational costs.

The dead and dying walnut trees that once marked the property on Bowers Avenue in Clearlake have been cleared by the city of Clearlake Public Works Crew and volunteer Thomas Vallot.

City Public Works Supervisor Doug Herren facilitated the trees' removal and also assisted in procuring and cutting the smaller limbs for donation to needy seniors in the community.

A few loads are available and low-income seniors interested can contact Burton at 707-994-3051 through July 15 for an application. There is a need for a volunteer with a truck that would be willing to load and deliver the wood to those seniors that are unable to navigate the wood themselves.

Next on the project list is clearing the roots and tilling the soil, which will open the way to fencing the property. The co-op is committed to coordinating the community and donations as much as possible for the project. They now host a community garden page with a comprehensive wish list on their wikisite by following the links from www.lakeco-op.org .

With items needed that range from 3/4-inch PVC pipe, to 6-foot fencing, to seeds and pruning tools, to a co-op committee coordinator, there is ample opportunity for the community to co-create the project from start to finish.

And for those that want to contribute, but don’t have any of the items on the wish list, individuals and organizations are welcome to co-sponsor different projects on the site, such as benches, arbors, picnic tables, fruit trees, the green house, etc.

The co-op also plans to hold a design contest for the entrance gate that will utilize recycled material.

For more information and to donate directly for these projects, contact Goolsbee at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Burton at 707-994-3051.

The community garden in Clearlake is one of many efforts in the larger community to reconnect Americans to their food sources.

With the average meal traveling 1,200 miles from grower to plate, the local food movement has gained popularity in response to rising oil prices, peak oil and global warming issues.

“A deeper commitment to sourcing food locally contributes to the sustainability of our food production system,” added Goolsbee, “and a commitment to organic production, even more so.”

JoAnn Saccato is chair of the Lake County Community Co-op and masters student in SSU’s Hutchins School Action for a Viable Future program. E-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

Prohibition (of alcohol) made Lake County what it is today.

You might wonder what makes me say that and my reason is this: Lake County was considered the prime vineyard and winery area before the 18th Amendment took place.

Just before Prohibition, Lake County had between 5,000 to 10,000 acres of grapes and somewhere between 29 to 36 wineries in business (records of the time vary extremely). At that same time Napa had 140 wineries.

When Prohibition took effect Napa switched its focus to sacramental wines (wines for churches) which were still legal to produce. Several wineries did well but many had problems and by 1965 Napa had only 25 wineries still producing. Today Napa has more than 400 wineries, although due to regulations and other factors only about 75 of them are open to the public.

The funny thing is that it wasn’t federal Prohibition that killed the Lake County economy and made it essentially what we are today. It was the people of Lake County themselves who voted to make Lake County a dry county.

The county was bitterly divided at the time over the temperance issue. At one point the Board of Supervisors even passed a list of noted drunkards to local saloons and made it a misdemeanor to sell them alcohol.

Fights between “Wets” and “Drys” were commonplace. Kelseyville was so divided on the subject that there was a wet side of town and a dry side.

In 1912, eight years before the 18th Amendment was enacted, Lake County residents passed the prohibition of alcohol sales, service and transport into the county. Locally brewed beer was still legal, but only if it was directly delivered to the customer.

How close was the vote to make the county dry? The measure passed by two votes.

Curry’s Furniture store on Main Street in Lakeport can thank its success due to this measure. At the time of the prohibition debate, J.W. Curry was a cabinet maker and carpenter who overheard a fortuitous conversation with second-hand goods store owner D.L. Brooks.

Brooks was opposed to the measure and said, “If this place goes dry it is no place for me, and I’ll sell my business for $25.” The day after the election Curry bought the place for the $25 and the rest is history.

Federal Prohibition wasn’t as prohibitive as you might think. Citizens still had a right to make 200 gallons of alcohol at home for personal use annually. If you want to do the math it is just over 929 bottles of wine. Keep in mind this is per year for personal use so under federal law you could drink 2 and a half bottles of wine per day, every day, all year, under Prohibition. Us home winemakers aren’t lookin’ so eccentric now are we?

Some records show that Lake County also voted to be dry in 1892 and in 1921, so by the looks of it Lake County has had an on-again, off-again love affair with alcohol.

Most likely if Lake County had embraced alcohol like Napa and Sonoma did the county would probably be more successful than either of them today. Our soil, climate, air and altitude can and do produce superior grapes than they do.

Even today Napa Valley wineries buy Lake County grapes and blend them in small amounts to improve their wines, but don’t put so much in that they have to mention it on the label. They keep the Napa brand but do so with our grapes. If they use too many Lake County grapes they must label it as a Lake County wine.

I guess Napa considers Lake County to be that girl that you like to hang out with but when your friends show up you ignore her. Napa loves Lake grapes but then mocks the county at winery conventions.

One winery owner I spoke to said that a cork supplier was talking to him about grades of cork to use when bottling his wines and said, “You won’t want to use the most expensive grade of cork since it’s a Lake County wine.”

Not only does Lake County have superior terroir for grapes but we have recreational resources that Napa and Sonoma don’t have. So if Lake County had stayed wet it very well could have been more popular than Lake Tahoe is. Currently Lake County is what Napa was in the 1970s, so we are on the fast track to being California’s next big vacation destination.

A closer look at the AVAs

North of San Francisco is the North Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA) which includes Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino and Solano counties. It has more wineries than any other AVA in the state, and most likely more than any other in the country.

The North Coast AVA encompasses over three million acres and has over 40 smaller AVA’s (such as Clear Lake and Red Hills) inside it.

It was established in 1983 and claims cooler annual temperatures and higher annual rainfall than most of California. The entire area has a cooling influence from the Pacific Coast, which is the characteristic that binds the whole area into one AVA.

While Napa and Solano counties receive low altitude wind and fog from the bay area, Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino get direct low altitude coastal winds and fog. Lake County gets its cooling influence from high altitude winds from the ocean itself.

Inside the massive North Coast AVA is the Clear Lake AVA, which was established in 1984. It is itself a large AVA in which half the area is comprised by the lake itself.

One of its unique characteristics is the way that the lake moderates the temperature change at sunrise and sunset. While some AVAs have drastic temperature changes, Clear Lake acts like a buffer and slows the process of heating and cooling.

There are an estimated 9,000 acres of vineyards in the Clear Lake AVA, but it should be noted that there are a couple of smaller AVAs within the Clear Lake AVA that contain wineries that don’t consider themselves as part of the Clear Lake AVA as much as they identify with their smaller AVA.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular grape in the county with Sauvignon Blanc coming in second. While Rosa d’Oro is the only winery in Lake County that produces Italian-style wines, most wineries here use winegrapes and follow techniques of the Bordeaux and Rhone regions of France.

To create an AVA you must petition the federal government’s Alcohol, Tobacco, Trade and Tax Bureau for the title. Since county names automatically are listed as an AVA the “Lake County AVA” already exists, although nobody really uses it since it’s a little known fact.

Everyone in Lake County lives within at least one AVA and maybe even within several. For instance, someone living in Kelseyville not only lives in the North Coast AVA but also the smaller Lake County AVA and the even smaller Clear Lake AVA and the yet still smaller Red Hills AVA. If they were interested they could petition for their own even smaller “Mom’s AVA” if they wished.

Another AVA may join the local number soon. The Big Valley area is in the process to petition to become an AVA, and I will write about that once it is approved.

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.