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The “Greening Your Business” workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 12, at the Scotia Inn, 100 Main St., Scotia.
Featured speakers will be Jonelle Tannahill, rural tourism program manager, California Travel &
Tourism Commission; Matt McCarron, California Department of Green Business; Tim Thornhill, Mendocino Wine Co./Parducci Wine Cellars; and Toni Tacoma, Eco Ring/ Eco-Tourism and Education.
Presented by California's North Coast Tourism Council, the workshop will discuss green ways to increase your bottom line.
The information you’ll hear will give you knowledge and confidence to become a green certified business. Come meet other business owners who have become a certified green business. Share
your questions at the interactive workshop, and take home resources that can directly benefit your business.
Inquire about the group's GeoTourism Web site launch gala on March 11 where you can meet Mike Fay, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic.
The workshop costs $25 for pre-registration or $35 at the door.
For more information call 800-525-3743.
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"As the State Bar's Director of Real Property, Pearl methodically embezzled more than $600,000 to bankroll a lavish lifestyle," Brown said. "Under today's sentence, Pearl will spend the next two years and eight months in prison and will be required to repay the State Bar and the State of California in full."
In April 2009, Brown filed seven criminal charges against Pearl in Alameda County Superior Court, including one criminal count of embezzlement for violating section 504 of the state Penal Code and six counts of filing false tax returns for violating section 19706 of the state Revenue and Taxation Code.
Pearl pleaded no contest to all charges in December 2009.
As part of Friday's sentence, Pearl was ordered to pay:
$615,790 in restitution to the State Bar;
$167,422 in staff, audit and attorney costs to the State Bar; and
$116,652 in taxes, penalties, interest and investigation costs to the Franchise Tax Board.
Pearl has already paid $393,212 of the $615,790 owed to the State Bar in restitution.
In 1999, the State Bar purchased an office building at 180 Howard St. in San Francisco for its headquarters. The State Bar inherited tenants who leased retail space in the building. As the director of real property, Pearl handled building management and collected rent from the building's tenants.
As early as 2002, Pearl began to embezzle a portion of the rental funds she collected. As part of her scheme, Pearl directed some tenants to make their rent checks payable to "PLOT-The State Bar of California." Unknown to the renters, "PLOT" stood for the Piedmont Light Opera Theatre.
Pearl deposited the checks into accounts held by the Piedmont Light Opera Theatre. Because she was a signatory on the theater's accounts, she could then transfer funds from the theater accounts to her personal bank account.
Pearl used the embezzled funds to pay for spa treatments, designer clothes, lavish meals and fancy hotel rooms. Because the State Bar did not track its rent payments, Pearl was able to continue her scheme for several years.
In 2008, the State Bar finally uncovered Pearl's scheme when she requested a check for what she claimed was a tenant's security deposit refund. Because there were no records that the tenant had ever paid a security deposit, the State Bar launched an internal investigation into the financial discrepancies.
The State Bar ultimately discovered that Pearl was maintaining two sets of books, and the investigation was referred to Brown's Special Crimes Unit for prosecution.
The State Bar was created by the Legislature in 1927 and is a public corporation within the judicial branch of government, serving as an arm of the California Supreme Court. It admits attorneys for practice in the state, provides continuing education classes and conducts disciplinary hearings.
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- Written by: JoAnn Saccato
Co-op members and email recipients received advance view of the survey over the weekend.
The public is invited to take the survey by following the link on the LCCC's Web site at www.lakeco-op.org .
Additionally, LCCC member volunteers will be out in communities around the lake during the month of February taking random surveys.
Those without Internet access may call the Co-op at 707-993-4270 for more information and assistance.
The CCCD received grant funding that included a feasibility study for the LCCC in their 2009-10 funding cycle.
The feasibility study will determine whether a storefront for the co-op is feasible in Lake County, and if so, what specific locations in Lake County would most likely be successful.
The co-op currently operates a buying club with emphasis on purchasing locally grown organic produce for their members on a weekly basis.
Members also can participate in monthly online ordering of bulk natural foods through www.azurestandard.com .
For more information, go to www.lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.
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FINLEY – Growers and others involved in the North Coast tree fruit and nut industry are invited to attend the upcoming workshop, “Irrigating orchards efficiently,” to be held Wednesday, Feb. 17, from 8:30 a.m. until noon at the Big Valley Grange, 1510 Big Valley Road, Finley, a wheelchair accessible facility.
The workshop is sponsored by University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the East Lake and West Lake Resource Conservation Districts.
Topics include choosing the most efficient irrigation system, water use monitoring to schedule irrigations, efficient irrigation system operation, and NRCS cost-share programs to encourage efficient water use and protect water quality.
There will also be a hands-on demonstration of soil- and plant-based moisture blocks and pressure bomb.
There is no charge for the meeting and refreshments will be served.
For information or directions to the meeting location, please contact UCCE at 707-263-6838 or