LAKEPORT – Lake County has a new superior court judge.

Andrew S. Blum, 50, of Lakeport will succeed Judge Arthur Mann, who announced his retirement last August, as Lake County News has reported.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Blum's appointment to the judgeship on Wednesday.

Blum, who is a Republican, will earn $178,789 annually as a superior court judge, according to the governor's office.

A message left for Blum wasn't returned Wednesday.

Most recently, Blum has served as trial counsel for the Commission on Judicial Performance since 2003, according to his biography.

He earned a juris doctorate degree from the University of California, San Francisco's Hastings College of the Law and a bachelor of arts degree from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Blum was a research attorney for the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 1984 to 1985, moving on to work as a deputy district attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from 1985 to 1989.

He served the Lake County District Attorney’s Office as a deputy district attorney from 1989 to 1991 and chief deputy district attorney from 1992 to 1997.

From 1997 to 2000, Blum was the assistant attorney general, then the attorney general for Kosrae State, Micronesia.

Blum was a high school English teacher from 2001 to 2002 before joining the Commission on Judicial Performance, the governor's office reported.

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The event will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Cowpoke Cafe, 21118 Calistoga Road, Middletown.

Join the group after dinner for dessert and beverages.

All desserts will be made and presented by Chic Le Chef of Hidden Valley Lake.

The fundraiser will benefit the Campaign for Sheriff Mitchell 2010.

For more information visit www.sheriffrodmitchell.com or visit his new Facebook page, www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=133336933351072&ref=ts.

Pictured from left to right are Police Chief Dave Mendoza, Robinson Rancheria; Sgt. John Irwin Jr., Robinson Rancheria; Officer Tomas Riley, Hopland; Officer Phil Ginn, Hopland; U.S. Federal Judge N. Vadas; Officer Luis Espinoza, Hopland; Corporal John Hill, Hopland; Corporal Rich Mascherini, Hopland; Hopland Tribal Police Chief Brett Rhodes; Lt. John Larsen, Hopland. All of the officers are federally sworn. Courtesy photo.

HOPLAND – In an unprecedented arrangement, the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California have entered into an agreement under which Federal Magistrate Judge Nandor J. Vadas will hold federal court on the Hopland Indian Reservation.

Hopland Tribal Police Chief Brett Rhodes, who oversees the federally commissioned law enforcement department serving the Hopland Reservation, announced Tuesday that Hopland’s police officers – who are commissioned by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Justice Services – will have Central Violations Bureau misdemeanor citations heard by Judge Vadas utilizing the Hopland Reservation Court facility.

This is the first time that a federal court has arranged to hold regular court sessions on an Indian reservation in California, officials reported.

Judge Vadas will preside over bimonthly hearings on misdemeanor citations issued by both federally commissioned law enforcement departments at Hopland and Robinson Rancheria, the United States Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Forest Service.

The arrangement is a result of the combined efforts of Judge Vadas and the federally commissioned law enforcement departments at the Hopland Reservation and the Robinson Rancheria.

The chiefs of the two law enforcement departments approached Judge Vadas earlier this year with the idea of allowing federally commissioned officers to have misdemeanor citations addressed in Mendocino County, rather than requiring them to travel to the federal district court divisions in Eureka, San Francisco or Sacramento.

Judge Vadas agreed to travel to the Hopland Reservation to hold the court sessions. The court sessions on the Hopland Reservation will address misdemeanor citations for violations of federal law.

“It’s been a pleasure to have worked closely with Judge Vadas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and all participating federal law enforcement agencies in developing this agreement, I look forward to assisting in it’s continued development and success here in the region,” Rhodes said.

“This arrangement is not only of practical importance for the federal law enforcement officers working in the area, it is a clear recognition of the tribe’s federally commissioned law enforcement agencies efforts to build partnerships in order to improve upon the public safety services in Lake and Mendocino counties,” Chief David Mendoza of the Robinson Rancheria federally commissioned law enforcement department stated. “By allowing more efficient processing of the citations, the agreement will promote more effective enforcement of federal law on federal lands in Mendocino and Lake counties.”

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LAKEPORT – The very talented and versatile Pat Courtney is being featured in a one woman show at the Lakeport City Hall as part of the Lake County Arts Council's Art in Public Places program.

Courtney is exhibiting a wide variety of her work in both watercolor and acrylics.

She is a frequent artist at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport, and is a sought-after artist by collectors throughout the United States.

Courtney's work also has won regional competitions, most recently, the olive and pear festivals in Kelseyville.

Lake County can be proud to count Courtney as one of the many talented artists in Lake County.

Her work will be on display through August.

The California Highway Patrol arrested Bryan Troy Smith, 33, of Hidden Valley Lake shortly before 10 p.m. following an investigation of the incident, officials reported Wednesday.

“As of this morning he was placed on approved leave,” Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said regarding Smith.

Bauman said Smith had just started his swing shift Tuesday when the collision took place.

CHP Officer Steve Tanguay said Smith was on duty and driving in his patrol car shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, traveling northbound on Mountain Meadow Road North within Hidden Valley Lake, when the crash occurred.

Smith allowed the patrol vehicle to veer to the right and struck a parked vehicle, Tanguay said.

The CHP received both calls from the public and the sheriff's office regarding the crash, with the sheriff's office asking the CHP to handle the investigation, according to Tanguay.

When CHP officers arrived on scene, Tanguay said they observed that Smith was showing signs of impairment.

After an evaluation, CHP Officer Adam Garcia arrested Smith for suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication. Tanguay said a blood sample was obtained from Smith and he was transported to the Lake County Jail for booking.

Tanguay said both vehicles sustained minor damage from the crash, which reportedly occurred at a low rate of speed.

Smith was booked just after 11 p.m., with bail set at $5,000, according to jail booking records. He posted bail later and was released.

Bauman said Smith began as a correctional officer with the sheriff's office in 2002 and was promoted to deputy in 2007.

“We want the public to know we support whatever actions CHP took last night and whatever charges they determine need to be filed with the district attorney, if at all,” said Bauman.

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SANTA ROSA – A former Santa Rosa Police officer was sentenced on Tuesday to more than 30 years in prison for a series of armored car robberies from 2007 to 2009.

Judge Arthur Wick sentenced Robert Steven Starling, 35, of Windsor, to the maximum term of 30 years and four months in prison, according to Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua.

“We are pleased with the sentence in this case and with the fact that the judge acknowledged the serious danger this individual posed to our community,” said Passalacqua.

He said Starling used his specialized training and knowledge, as well as a firearm, to commit the robberies, which Passalacqua said were “brazen.”

Starling was convicted by a Sonoma County jury on May 4 of committing four armored car robberies with a firearm during a period between Sept. 27, 2007, and May 18, 2009, Passalacqua's office reported.

The jury also convicted him of two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and found that he was armed with a firearm during the course of the conspiracies, dissuading a witness through force and fear, wearing a mask and providing false reports to law enforcement, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

The first two incidents occurred in Santa Rosa, the third in Novato and the fourth in Sebastopol. Starling also was convicted of conspiring to commit a fifth robbery in Rohnert Park, but abandoned that robbery due to a large police presence in the area, officials reported.

At trial, Starling reportedly did not contest the fact that he committed the robberies. His defense rested around the sole issue of whether or not he used an actual firearm or a look-alike “air-soft gun.”

In reaching its sentencing decision the court found defendant’s testimony at trial that he did not use a real firearm “incredulous,” according to the district attorney's report.

Passalacqua said the court also took note of the serious risk to the community’s safety that defendant posed when he committed the robberies and characterized the armored car guards as heroes. The court found that the maximum term was warranted in this case.

Deputy District Attorney Marianna Green was the lead prosecutor. Santa Rosa Police Detective Mark Mahre and FBI Special Agent Noel Boswell were the primary investigators.

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