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- Written by: Jamey Gill
LAKE COUNTY – This month saw an unprecedented in event in Lake County, with 19 institutions of higher education coming together to visit students at local schools.
Higher Education Week events that took place May 14-15 were sponsored by the Lake County College Going Initiative.
The initiative – a partnership between the Lake County Office of Education, University of California Office of the President, and University of California San Francisco – describes an effort to promote a college-going culture in Lake County.
The three-year strong partnership continues to gain momentum as more colleges and programs combine efforts to support Lake County students.
The 19 schools involved in this year’s Higher Education Week were: Mendocino College, Yuba College, CSU East Bay, Chico State, Humboldt State, Sonoma State, DeVry University, Pacific Union College, St. Mary’s College, University of the Pacific and Dominican University.
Eight of the 10 UC institutions also were present: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, Santa Cruz, San Diego and San Francisco.
Ruben Lubers of UC Davis stated in his presentation that “everyone who wants to attend college has the opportunity to do so. Financial aide and scholarships are available to all students.”
Lubers, once homeless, shared his inspirational story of becoming a college graduate, and encouraged Lake County students to follow their dreams no matter what obstacle crosses their path.
UCOP offered a tremendous amount of support in the organization of the event. Angel Max Guerrero, coordinator of Regional Academic Collaboratives at UCOP, was pleased that the number of participating colleges has more than doubled in size since the first Lake County Higher Ed Week in 2006.
Blas Guerrero, UCOP Director of Regional Academic Collaboratives, stated: “Higher Ed Week highlights a collaborative approach to student and family outreach by UC, CSU, community colleges, and private schools. It is an effort to increase the number of students that pursue higher education. I would like to personally thank the high school counselors and administrators, Dave Geck (LCOE Superintendent), and Jamey Gill (LCOE Coordinator for the College Going Initiative), for their support in the implementation of this event.”
AVID students at Clear Lake High school welcomed the traveling team of college reps with posters. Students at Oak Hill Middle School made a point of thanking the college reps, stating that, “they had never had a presentation like this before.”
Daniel Gildea, a junior at Clear Lake High School, has had his eye on attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with the goal of becoming a civil engineer.
After talking to UC Berkeley, Chico State and University of the Pacific representatives during the week, he said, “It is good to discover how many options I have.” He said he's excited now about investigating a program at University of the Pacific that will allow him to get hands-on experience working in the field with a civil engineer while attending college.
Higher Education Week is only one of the many activities offered to Lake County students by the partners of the Lake County College Going Initiative.
Many of the students attending this event have also participated in the UC Summer Algebra Academies, and many have attended a variety of student and parent workshops focused on college readiness skills and financial aide.
Last month, 57 of the 109 Lake County seniors accepted to four-year colleges attended the University Admit Reception.
“The hard work of all the partners, especially the high school counselors and administrators, has contributed to the success of this initiative,” said Dave Geck, superintendent of Lake County Schools. “Making a vision of helping all students gain access to higher education a reality requires the willingness to try new approaches and new strategies. ‘New’ means ‘change’, and ‘change’ means ‘hard work’. So I commend our high school counselors and administrators for their commitment to the future of our students.”
For more information please contact Jamey Gill, Curriculum Specialist and Coordinator for the Lake County College Going Initiative at the Lake County Office of Education, by e-mail at
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- Written by: Editor
UKIAH – At their May meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Mendocino-Lake Community College District awarded the first contract for facilities renovation under Measure W, the $67.5 million construction bond passed by voters in November.
The $967,476 contract for the re-roof of seven buildings at the Mendocino College Ukiah campus was awarded to Solano County Roofing Inc., the successful bidder out of five companies.
“We are very excited about beginning our first and much needed construction project under Measure W,” said Superintendent/President Kathy Lehner. “We are very busy in the planning and selection phase for several other projects, but this is the first construction project released.”
Re-roofing work will begin in June. The buildings to be re-roofed include the Child Care Center, Vocational Technical building, Physical Education complex and gymnasium, Fine Arts building, Agricultural Headhouse and Potting Shed.
For several years the current cement tile roofs have been leaking when it rains. The new roofs will be standing seam metal roofs that are expected to last 50 years.
“We are scheduling these projects to cause the least disruption to students and classes,” said Mike Adams, director of Facilities Planning. “However, several of these projects are large and will be in progress while summer classes are in session. For safety reasons, several areas will be fenced off. We ask that students and the public respect these boundaries.”
Other bond projects in the planning or selection phase include a new Integrated Information System (computer software), new Library/Learning Resource Center on the Ukiah campus, site selection for permanent centers in Willits and Lakeport, and a new Maintenance/Warehouse on the Ukiah campus.
In April, the College issued the first $30 million in bonds to fund projects and established the Bond Citizens’ Oversight Committee.
Additional information on Measure W activities is available online at www.mendocino.edu/bond.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE – The US Department of Labor has settled a two-and-a-half-year old civil suit against the owners of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
According to court documents obtained by Lake County News, the suit – which was filed in November 2004 – was resolved in a May 15 settlement conference presided over by Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman.
As Lake County News previously reported, the U.S. Department of Labor sued current and former trustees, the plan administrator and Local 38 of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Journeymen for diverting more than $36 million in assets of five employee benefit plans to renovate and operate Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa.
The employee benefit plans in question were UA Local 38's Pension Trust Fund, Scholarship Trust Fund, Health & Welfare Trust Fund, Apprentice & Journeyman Training Trust Fund and Vacation & Holiday Trust Fund.
Local 38 controls the UA Local Convalescent Fund, which has owned Konocti Harbor since 1959, according to court records.
The lawsuit alleged that the fund's trustees, including Lawrence J. Mazzola Sr., business manager and financial secretary-treasurer of Local 38, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by diverting the funds.
ERISA is a 1974 federal law that establishes protection to individuals covered by private industry health and pension plans.
Mazzola, son of labor leader Joe Mazzola – and namesake of Konocti Harbor's resort's indoor showroom – was named personally in the suit, as was his son, Lawrence Mazzola Jr.
In addition to the Mazzolas, about one dozen other men – who had fiduciary responsibility as members of the joint board of trustees that governed Local 38's ERISA plans – were named in the lawsuit.
James Baker, attorney for Mazzola and Local 38 in the case, confirmed this week that the case had been settled.
However, Baker declined to discuss the tentative settlement, preferring to wait until the details are finalized next month.
As part of the agreement, the Department of Labor will receive a $3.5 million payment, which will be covered by Local 38's insurance company, ULICO Casualty Co.
Judge Zimmerman noted in the settlement conference that a sale of Konocti Harbor is expected to be completed soon, with the funds from that sale going to reimburse Local 38 and the pension fund. (For the full story of the Konocti Harbor sale, see the related story, “Konocti Harbor sale in the works.”)
Other terms of the settlement include the Mazzola and the other named defendants' resignation from the joint board of trustees and installation of new trustees by Dec. 31, according to court documents.
Two of the named defendants, Lawrence Mazzola Jr. and Robert Buckley Jr., were not required to resign, court documents state; however, they have “agreed to complete a course of training in fiduciary duties as a condition of remaining on the board,” Zimmerman stated.
Mazzola Sr. also has agreed to resign from his position with the Plumbers Union's International Training Fund within the next two years, court documents reported.
The Department of Labor stipulated that those defendants who were required to resign from the joint board “be permanently barred from again being fiduciaries of any ERISA-covered plans or service providers.”
Other settlement terms include appointing an independent plan administrator to develop a system of controls over the ERISA plan's cash flows for a term of six years.
“This is an important moment for you,” Zimmerman told the defendants. “You will be closing, hopefully, a chapter, a long chapter in your life.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT – A Clearlake Oaks man accused of criminal threats, battery and elder abuse was acquitted of all charges this week.
On Wednesday, a Lakeport Superior Court jury returned not guilty verdicts on the charges against Joel Paulle, according to his defense attorney, Doug Rhoades of Lakeport.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson prosecuted Paulle's case. Abelson did not return a call seeking comment on the case.
Paulle was accused of a felony criminal threat against his neighbors, a charge of battery against a neighbor’s son, and two counts of elder abuse against his 82-year-old mother as a result of an April 2006 incident.
The neighbor and her son both testified against Paulle, but no charges were sustained, Rhoades reported.
Paulle’s mother had passed away while the trial was pending, which Rhoades said was due to health problems not related to the charges in the case.
The trial lasted only two days, Rhoades reported. After deliberating less than one hour, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all charges against Paulle.
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