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Written by: Lake County News Reports

Published: 28 January 2009

THE GEYSERS – County residents who spot smoke near The Geysers on Thursday don't need to worry – Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit will be conducting a control burn in the area.

The prescribed control burn will be conducted between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and will incorporate sections along John Kincaid Road in northern Sonoma County.

The return of cooler temperatures will enable Cal Fire to implement the wildland vegetation management tool of prescribed burning to bring the benefits of low intensity fire to specific wildland areas, Cal Fire reported.

Prescribed vegetation management burns are carefully planned and controlled burns that must meet strict criteria of ecological benefit, weather parameters, smoke management and fire safety guidelines.

When all conditions (prescriptions) are met, trained wildland firefighters burn while monitoring the set criteria, fire behavior and designated fire control lines.

The benefits of low intensity fire in the natural environment include:

• Cleansing of the wild land debris. Excessive dead and down branches, brush and small trees are burned converting fuels that are hazards in the summer into rich soil nutrients for larger species of vegetation.

• Providing habitat. Removal of decadent fuel encourages the growth of seasonal grasses and leafier plants which affords highly nutritional food and habitat to a wider range of animals.

• Killing disease. Low intensity fire helps eliminate and control diseased plants and trees.

• New growth. Controlled burning encourages the healthy growth of new plants, especially those fire dependent for renewal or seed dispersion.

• Reduces opportunity for destructive fires. Prescribed controlled burns decrease the size and frequency of large uncontrolled destructive wildfires. Prescribed burns are safer for firefighters and area residents.

For more information about fire safety or prescribed fire and its benefits, visit the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov.

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Written by: Lake County News Reports

Published: 28 January 2009

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives voted Wednesday in support of a comprehensive economic recovery package to provide funding for a major infrastructure spending program and tax benefits targeted at individuals and small businesses.

Developed with the Obama administration, this job creating package is meant to rebuild America, give 95 percent of working families an immediate tax cut and invest quickly in the economy.

Congressman Mike Thompson's (D-CA) office reported that he helped draft key provisions of the bill and voted in favor of the legislation, which passed the House by a vote of 244 to 188.

“There isn’t a day that goes by without new signs that our economy is grinding to a halt,” said Congressman Thompson. “This bill provides desperately needed funding and tax relief to help working families cope with these challenging times. By making these critical investments, particularly in rural communities like those in our district, we are not only putting people to work in the short run, but also strengthening our economy for the long haul.”

H.R. 1 includes $275 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses, and $550 billion in carefully targeted investments in infrastructure, education, clean energy and health care.

California alone will receive a minimum of $32 billion in recovery funds in addition to the billions of dollars in tax cuts that will flow to citizens of the state.

Independent economist Mark Zandi estimates that this will save or create over 800,000 jobs in California.

The legislation also includes key provisions to ensure that rural communities are not left behind and receive their fair share of assistance.

Locally, the possible benefits aren't yet known, according to county officials.

Some of the key job creating provisions of H.R. 1 include:

• $90 billion to repair and modernize roads, bridges, transit and waterways, including $4.5 billion requested by Congressman Thompson for the Army Corps of Engineers;

• $145 billion for a Making Work Pay tax credit which will cut taxes for more than 95 percent of working families;

• $20 billion in targeted tax cuts for American businesses, large and small, to spur job creation;

• $41 billion for local school districts to repair and upgrade their facilities;

• $63 billion for increased food stamps, unemployment benefits, and job training to assist those who have lost their jobs;

• $73 billion in new funding and tax incentives to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas, including several alternative energy tax provisions authored by Congressman Thompson that will provide billions of dollars in tax incentives to expand the use of renewable energy;

• $6 billion to expand broadband Internet access in rural and underserved areas;

• An unprecedented level of transparency, oversight and accountability will ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely.

During drafting of H.R. 1 in the Ways & Means Committee, Thompson was able to include key provisions of legislation he authored (HR 546) that will allow state and local governments to help homeowners and businesses more easily finance the purchase of solar systems and provide $2.4 billion in new qualified energy conservation bonds to finance state and local government programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, the Thompson provisions will provide grants to incentivize businesses to invest in renewable technology today, rather than waiting until the economy improves.

“The solar energy tax provisions I authored will make it easier for businesses and homeowners to have solar panels installed,” said Congressman Thompson. “This has the twin benefits of creating green jobs while at the same time reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

The Senate is expected to consider companion economic recovery legislation next week with the expectation that a House-Senate Conference will be convened the following week to negotiate a final bill. House and Senate leaders have said that they expect to send this legislation to the president by President’s Day, Feb. 16.

To learn more about H.R. 1, please visit the following web links:

www.speaker.gov/newsroom/legislation?id=0273

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/MoreInfo.asp?section=50

http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-21-09.pdf

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 27 January 2009

LAKEPORT – The Lake County Sheriff's Office is searching for the suspect in a violent assault that left a local man with serious head and facial injuries.

Sheriff's Capt. James Bauman said that 49-year-old Dale Andrew Pirlo of Cobb was assaulted in an incident that was reported shortly before 12:30 a.m. Jan. 23 outside of the Jack in the Box on Soda Bay Road.

"Our deputies got on scene and found him with multiple lacerations, contusions, about his face and head," said Bauman. "He was pretty delirious although he was conscious."

Pirlo, a part-time Jack in the Box employee, initially was unable to describe the attack, said Bauman. However, when Lakeport Fire Protection District staff put him in the ambulance to transport him to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Pirlo began to recount what occurred.

Bauman said Pirlo stated that a white male adult with short black hair who was riding a bicycle approached him as he was leaving the fast food restaurant following his shift. The suspect reportedly asked Pirlo to hold open the locked door so he could go inside and use the restroom.

When Pirlo refused, the suspect attacked him, said Bauman.

At the hospital, Pirlo was determined to have not just contusions and lacerations to his head and face but also multiple facial fractures, said Bauman. Sutter Lakeside discharged Pirlo at about 4 a.m. that same morning.

Pirlo told Lake County News Tuesday night that doctors told him that his nose and sinuses are broken, his jaw is out of alignment and he has suffered a concussion.

While Pirlo was on his way to the hospital, a man believed to be the suspect in Pirlo's assault was spotted across town, said Bauman.

At about 1:10 a.m. a Lakeport Police officer called in a male subject who fled from him on foot behind Bruno's Shop Smart on Lakeport Boulevard, Bauman said.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the area, said Bauman, with the California Highway Patrol also later sending backup.

During the search for the suspect, sheriff's deputies located an overturned dumpster behind the UPS store in the Bruno's shopping center, Bauman said. The dumpster appeared to have been used to get over a nearby fence and into the Shoreline Self Storage on Kimberly Lane.

Police, deputies and CHP officers spent the next hour looking for the man, but were unable to locate him, said Bauman. The suspect was described as wearing gray sweats and a black hooded sweatshirt.

Bauman called the two incidents "more than likely connected."

He said that there are other good leads in the case helping to match the assault suspect with the man who fled police across town, but he did not want to offer details at this time, as the case is actively being investigated.

Frances Pirlo of Kelseyville, Dale Pirlo's mother, said he was "beaten to a pulp."

"I certainly hope they get him," she said of the suspect. "He's a very dangerous person."

Dale Pirlo said that investigators told him the incident may have been an attempted robbery.

"He thought he'd killed me and left me for dead," Pirlo suggested in discussing the suspect.

Pirlo, a single father of two who has been working three jobs, said he remembers only the initial confrontation with the suspect, who approached him as he was leaving work and called out to him to hold the door.

The restaurant was closed, said Pirlo, who works a swing shift at Jack in the Box four nights a week. Pirlo said he refused to hold open the door and continued walking, carrying a milkshake and egg rolls in his hands, as he ended his shift for the night.

The suspect, who Pirlo said he'd never seen before, began cursing him. The last thing Pirlo remembered was seeing a body in front of him.

He said he doesn't know how long he was lying on the pavement. "Eventually, something woke me up. I was in a pool of blood."

Pirlo got up and pounded on the doors of the restaurant, as some of his coworkers were still inside. They then called for help.

He's making a round of local doctors to have the damage to his face surveyed. A Wednesday trip to a local doctor will determine if surgery to reconstruct his sinuses is necessary.

"I have challenges to overcome," Pirlo said.

Anyone with information on the incident or the alleged suspect should call the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 262-4200.

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

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