LAKEPORT, Calif. – A sixth candidate has joined the race for a seat on the Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Business owner Dan Camacho said that on Monday he completed the necessary paperwork to be a write-in candidate for one of the two four-year terms up for election in the race.

“I guess I'm looking to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Being on the school board is one way to do that,” Camacho said.

“He is a legally qualified write-in candidate,” Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley confirmed to Lake County News.

Fridley said there is a process to follow to be a write-in candidate for school district, but it only requires completion of a form, not gathering signatures.

She said write-in candidates have to educate the public about how the voting process works for write-ins.

Voters must write in the candidate’s name and then check the box next to it so it’s counted, she said.

Camacho now joins a field that includes incumbents Dennis Darling and Tom Powers, and a slate of candidates running together – Carly Alvord, Dan Buffalo and Jennifer Hanson.

Alvord, Camacho, Hanson and Powers are running for two four-year seats, while Buffalo and Darling are running for a seat with an unexpired term of two years.

The race this year has become particularly heated, beginning with questions about the Measure T bond funds and how they’ve been spent, with a key project for the community – a new swimming pool – not completed and not enough bond funds remaining for that project.

Then, earlier this month, the school board removed from her job Rachel Paarsch, the Terrace Middle School principal, reported to be a supporter of Alvard, Buffalo and Hanson.

Camacho said he’s not running in affiliation with any of the other candidates in the election.

Asked about why he was joining the race, Camacho said, “I was asked by a lot of people,” including parents, to do it.

Camacho, who owns an ice water company, has been involved with the schools for many years, including youth sports activities. He said he’s at the school almost every day on various errands.

Camacho also is a county planning commissioner for the Lakeport area.

He had applied to the district to fill Tina Scott’s seat on the board when she was elected to the Board of Supervisors.

Camacho said he has not specific campaign platform. “The school in general needs help,” he said.

He added, “I think we need to start with the kids first.”

Fridley, who has worked in the county elections office for 41 years, said this is only the second write-in candidate she’s seen in that time.

The only other was in 1982, when Betty Irwin ran for justice court judge as a write-in candidate, and won.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – First-grade students at Lakeport Elementary School received a big surprise on Thursday.

Chevron and local marketers – Redwood Oil Co., Flyers Energy and Colonial Oil – delivered several STEM-Challenge building kits and a “Botley the Coding Robot” set to the class as part of Chevron’s Fuel Your School program.

The new building materials and coding robot will help make learning about designing and engineering functional, as well as coding to electronics to perform specific functions, fun and engaging for Mrs. Swanson’s students.

This month, public school teachers from Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino counties who submit project requests on www.DonorsChoose.org could be funded by Chevron’s Fuel Your School program.

This year, in an effort to assist in the recovery of the region following the California wildfires, Chevron will not base its North Coast program funding on fuel sales in the area.

Instead, Chevron, with the help of Redwood Oil Company, Flyers Energy, and Colonial Oil, donated $100,000 to fund eligible classroom projects in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino counties posted www.DonorsChoose.org .

To date, Fuel Your School has helped fund 579 classroom projects at 96 schools in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino counties. 

For more information, visit www.fuelyourschool.com.

California’s 2018 citizen scientist-based sudden oak death survey, or SOD Blitz, indicates Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen known to cause SOD, infection is currently less prevalent in many wildland urban interface areas, though some locations are still experiencing significant outbreaks.

Overall, 3.5 percent of the trees (based on those areas sampled during the blitzes) were found to be P. ramoum positive, a threefold drop from 2017.

Yet, in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, infection levels were estimated to be as high as 19 percent, followed by 12.7 percent in the East Bay.

To date, SOD is found in the US in plants in the natural areas of California in Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Trinity Counties. It is also found in Curry County, Oregon.

Oak species known to be susceptible to P. ramorum/SOD include coast live oak, California black oak, Shreve’s oak, and canyon live oak. While not a true oak, tanoak is also susceptible to SOD.

The 2018 SOD Blitz surveys were held in Siskiyou, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.

Notable outbreaks were detected in Alameda (El Cerrito and Oakland urban parks, San Leandro, Orinda, Moraga), Marin (Novato, Day Island, Woodacre, Sleepy Hollow, McNears Beach, China Camp State Park, north San Rafael, Tiburon Peninsula, east and west peak of Mt Tamalpais, Marin City), Mendocino (south of Yorkville), Monterey (Carmel Valley Village, Salmon Creek Trail in southern Big Sur), Napa (east Napa city), San Mateo (Burlingame Hills, west of Emerald Hills and south of Edgewood Rd, Woodside ), Santa Clara (Los Altos Hills, Saratoga, Los Gatos, along Santa Cruz Co border), Santa Cruz (along the Santa Clara Co border, Boulder Creek), and Sonoma (near Cloverdale, east and west of Healdsburg, west of Windsor, east of Santa Rosa, west of Petaluma) counties.

Several popular destinations found P. ramorum positive during the 2017 Blitz were negative for the pathogen in 2018, including Golden Gate Park and the Presidio of San Francisco, the UC Berkeley campus, and Mount Diablo State Park.

Samples from San Luis Obispo and Siskiyou Counties were also pathogen free as were those from the southern portion of Alameda County.

“It is encouraging that SOD has yet to be found in the forests of California’s northern-most counties, San Luis Obispo County, and southern Alameda County. It is also encouraging to see that despite its continued presence in the state for more than 20 years, SOD infection rates drop during drier years. However, in 2018, we identified a number of communities across several counties where significant outbreaks were detected for the first time, and the Salmon Creek find in Monterey County is the southernmost positive WUI tree detection ever. Until the 2018 Blitz, only stream water had been found positive in the Salmon Creek area. We encourage everyone in affected counties to look at the Blitz results online and to attend one of the fall workshops to learn how to protect their oaks from SOD,” said Matteo Garbelotto, UC Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Cooperative Extension Specialist, Adjunct Professor, and SOD Blitz founder.

Twenty-five SOD Blitz surveys were held in 2018 in the WUI of 14 coastal California counties from the Oregon border to San Luis Obispo County and included three tribal land surveys.

The 304 volunteers surveyed approximately 13,500 trees and submitted leaf samples from over 2,000 symptomatic trees to the Garbelotto lab for pathogen testing.

SOD Blitzes are a citizen science program through which participants are trained each spring to identify symptomatic tanoak and California bay laurel trees in the WUI and to properly collect samples in the interest of generating an informative map over time of P. ramorum disease symptoms.

Samples are tested for the presence of the pathogen at UC Berkeley, and results are posted electronically each fall. Now in its 11th year, the SOD Blitz program is one of the first in the world to join researchers and volunteers in a survey for a tree disease.

SOD Blitz surveys were made possible thanks to funding from the US Forest Service State and Private Forestry, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and the PG&E Foundation.

The blitzes were organized by the UC Berkeley Garbelotto lab in collaboration with the National Park Service, Presidio Trust, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Save Mount Diablo, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, East Bay Regional Park District, Santa Lucia Conservancy, Sonoma State University, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Los Padres National Forest, City and County of San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and California Native Plant Society.

For information on the status of P. ramorum/SOD tree mortality in California wildlands, see the US Forest Service 2018 Aerial Detection Survey results at https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/forest-grasslandhealth/?cid=fseprd592767.

For more information on the SOD Blitzes, go to www.sodblitz.org or contact Katie Harrell at 510-847-5482 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information on sudden oak death and P. ramorum, go to the California Oak Mortality Task Force Web site at www.suddenoakdeath.org or contact Katie Harrell.

In California, an adopted child obtains all the same rights of inheritance as a biological child born to the adoptive parent.

He or she can inherit either from or through a deceased adoptive parent. Generally speaking an adopted child at the same time loses such inheritance rights from or through his or her biological parents.

Accordingly, the descendants of a deceased adopted person are heirs of the decedent’s adoptive parents but are not heirs of the decedent’s biological parents. (Note: Limited exceptions exist, including an exception for adoptions by a step parent who married a biological parent of an adopted child.)

In September, in Estate of Fusae Obata, the California Court of Appeal (1st Appellate District) decided whether California law recognizes a Japanese adult adoption practice called Yoshi-engumi when applying California inheritance law. Yoshi-engumi adult adoptions in Japan have very different motivations and purposes than adoptions in Western countries.

Unlike adoptions in Western countries – which usually involve minor children – Japanese adult adoptions are driven by Japanese concepts of extended family (or house), ancestor worship, and supporting one’s elderly parents.

When there are no biological sons, adult adoptions in Japan are often motivated by the desire to continue a house that would otherwise die.

In Estate of Fusae Obata, the opposing parties argued over whether the descendants of a deceased Japanese man – who while alive had been adopted as an adult in Japan through Yoshi-engumi – lost their right to inherit from the deceased man’s biological parents.

California looks to the law of the jurisdiction where a person is adopted to determine whether the foreign adoption is valid and looks to the law in the jurisdiction where a person dies to determine who is an heir.

Thus, the laws of two different jurisdictions are necessary to determine if an adoption outside California created or severed inheritance rights in California.

In Estate of Fusae Obata, the Court rejected the argument that the adult adoption created under the Japanese Yoshi-engumi adoption laws was not valid. It was immaterial that the Japanese adoption did not, “satisfy the elemental characteristics of adoption recognized in California”.

The very different natures and legal requirements between a Japanese adult adoption and a California adoption were irrelevant. All that matters for determining inheritance rights in a California probate proceeding is that under Japanese law, “the adopted person is considered a biological child for all purposes.”

Accordingly, the Court decided that, “the 1911 adoption severed the relationship between decedent’s [Japanese] father and his natural parent.”

Thus, the descendants of the Japanese man who was adopted could not inherit through him from his biological parents.

The foregoing, of course, is not limited to Japanese adult adoptions. California Probate proceedings where adoptions either in another state or in another country are relevant would likewise look to the law of the foreign jurisdiction where the adoption occurred on the adoption issue.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com.

The moon may be the key to unlocking how the first stars and galaxies shaped the early Universe.

A team of astronomers led by Dr Benjamin McKinley at Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions observed the Moon with a radio telescope to help search for the faint signal from hydrogen atoms in the infant Universe.

"Before there were stars and galaxies, the Universe was pretty much just hydrogen, floating around in space," Dr. McKinley said. "Since there are no sources of the optical light visible to our eyes, this early stage of the Universe is known as the 'cosmic dark ages'.”

In research published in the Oxford University Press Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society today, the astronomers describe how they have used the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope to help search for radio signals given off by the hydrogen atoms.

"If we can detect this radio signal it will tell us whether our theories about the evolution of the Universe are correct,” McKinley said.

McKinley said that in your car radio, you can tune into various channels and the radio waves are converted into sounds.

"The radio telescope, the Murchison Widefield Array which is located in the Western Australian desert far away from earth-based FM radio stations, takes the radio signals from space and which we can then convert into images of the sky," he said.

This radio signal from the early Universe is very weak compared to the extremely bright objects in the foreground, which include accreting black holes in other galaxies and electrons in our own Milky Way.

The key to solving this problem is being able to precisely measure the average brightness of the sky.

However, built-in effects from the instruments and radio frequency interference make it difficult to get accurate observations of this very faint radio signal.

In this work, the astronomers used the moon as a reference point of known brightness and shape.

This allowed the team to measure the brightness of the Milky Way at the position of the occulting moon.

The astronomers also took into account “earthshine” – radio waves from Earth that reflect off the Moon and back onto the telescope.

Earthshine corrupts the signal from the moon and the team had to remove this contamination from their analysis.

With more observations, the astronomers hope to uncover the hydrogen signal and put theoretical models of the Universe to the test.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A woman who is a person of interest in the city of Lakeport’s only unsolved homicide has been arrested along with her daughter for financial crimes against her former boyfriend.

Linda Ann Mafrice, 63, of Clearlake was taken into custody on Thursday, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.

Mafrice, whose occupation is listed as massage therapist, was arrested by a District Attorney’s Office investigator on Thursday morning and booked into the Lake County Jail early Friday morning, with bail set at $500,000 on a felony arrest warrant, according to jail records.

Anderson said Mafrice’s daughter, 29-year-old Meghan Mariana DeMarco of Kelseyville, also was arrested in the case on a $500,000 arrest warrant.

He said they are charged with financial elder abuse, grand theft, conspiracy, forgery and altering medical records. Additional charges are expected to be filed in the near future.

Both Mafrice and DeMarco have been placed on PC 1275 holds placed on them in order that they prove that any bail money didn’t come from the proceeds of the alleged crime.

On Friday afternoon, both remained in custody, according to jail records.

Anderson said he expects both women will appear in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on Tuesday afternoon.

Mafrice has long been a person of interest in the murder of Barbara LaForge in her downtown frame shop on Oct. 8, 2002.

That morning LaForge was opening up her Wildwood Frame Shop, located along with Inspirations Gallery at 165 N. Main St., when she was shot four times at close range with a .22-caliber firearm.

At the time of the murder, Barbara LaForge was married to Dan Hamblin, who was also romantically involved with Mafrice. Shortly after the murder Mafrice moved in with Hamblin. Anderson said Mafrice, in addition to being Hamblin’s girlfriend, was his health care provider.

Anderson said Hamblin is the victim in this financial elder abuse case.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed to Lake County News that both Mafrice and Hamblin remain persons of interest in LaForge’s murder.

“Nothing’s changed,” he said Friday, adding that his agency is continuing to work to resolve the homicide case.

“We haven’t given up on it and don’t plan to,” Rasmussen said.

Women alleged to have tricked victim into signing over property

Anderson said that on Thursday his investigators served search warrants at Mafrice’s residence at 10970 Mistletoe Lane in Clearlake and DeMarco’s residence at 6170 Gold Dust Drive in Kelseyville as part of an ongoing investigation of financial elder abuse.

He said a total of 11 search warrants were served on various banks and businesses to secure the documents necessary to prove the crimes.

On Friday, Anderson said search warrants were continuing to be served for safety deposit boxes and other items.

Because the investigation is continuing, Anderson said he can’t comment specifically on the evidence.

The District Attorney’s Office alleges that Mafrice and DeMarco coerced and tricked Hamblin into signing a deed to his residence at 10615 Fairway Drive in Kelseyville at a time when he did not have the mental capacity to consent to the transfer of his property. Additionally, they submitted forged medical records and other documents to ensure the transfer went through.

After having Hamblin sign over the deed, Anderson said Mafrice dropped Hamblin off at his brother’s residence in Sonoma County for the holidays. She then ended their relationship and did not allow Hamblin to return to his home.

Mafrice and DeMarco then sold the residence, keeping all of the profits, Anderson said.

An online sale history shows the home was sold in June for $175,000 and was relisted at the end of August for $259,000. Anderson confirmed that $175,000 was the sales price in this case.

Mafrice has a history of financial crimes for which she has served prison time, as Lake County News has reported.

In August 2002, the District Attorney's Office charged her with theft from an elder, theft by a forged or invalid access card and forgery.

That was followed up on Oct. 9, 2002 – the day after the LaForge murder – by the District Attorney’s Office filing a case against Mafrice involving 90 counts including forgery and grand theft for stealing funds from the Royale Shores Homeowners Association between February 2000 and August 2002.

Most of the charges in the Royale Shores case would be dismissed via a Harvey waiver – meaning they could be considered in sentencing but would not be prosecuted – and in July 2004 Mafrice was convicted in the case. She was sentenced to five years probation and 300 days in jail, and 200 hours of community service.

In the lead up to the sentencing in that case, Mafrice had claimed mental and physical health issues, and brought a forged doctor's note to court asking for her probation to be modified, as Lake County News has reported. She would later admit in court to the forgery.

Mafrice’s probation terms required her to repay $113,116.07 to Royale Shores, with credit for $65,000 that she had already paid back.

However, weeks before her probation was set to end in 2009, a bench warrant was issued for Mafrice’s arrest because she had failed to repay the money.

In an August 2010 court hearing, she admitted to violating her probation and not repaying the money, and was warned at that time by Judge Andrew Blum that she could face a maximum prison time of more than five years if she failed to make the restitution by Dec. 3 of that year.

When she reappeared in court in December 2010 and still hadn’t paid the restitution, Judge Blum permanently revoked Mafrice’s probation and sentenced her to four years, eight months in prison. Due to credits, she served about two years.

Murder case investigation continuing

Anderson said an investigation into the LaForge murder involving both the District Attorney’s Office and the Lakeport Police Department is ongoing.

He said that earlier this year he hired an experienced homicide investigator, Hank McKenzie, from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office to specifically re-investigate the LaForge murder.

The entire case has been re-evaluated, new technology in DNA analysis has been tested and used, as well as several people have been re-interviewed, including some in prison, Anderson said.

He said many new leads have been developed which were continuing to be investigated.

“Some of the results have been very promising,” Anderson said. “Hank is doing an extremely great job gathering the facts.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors gave the go ahead to county staff this week to begin researching how to permanently fill the registrar of voters job after the current registrar retires later this year.

County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson asked the board to consider what process to take in filling the job.

Huchingson said longtime Registrar Diane Fridley – “who has been incredible” – retires at the end of this calendar year. She’s had a 41-year career in elections.

“That will be a tremendous loss to Lake County elections,” Huchingson said.

Huchingson asked the board to direct staff to take the time necessary to explore the best model for filling the registrar’s position going forward.

“Many counties go about this in a different way,” she said, noting that Lake County some years ago had a different approach.

Many counties have a county clerk-recorder that oversees the function of recorder and elections, and it’s another elected classification, Huchingson said.

“It appears that a majority of counties use that model and others do it in different ways,” said Huchingson.

“What I’m recommending to your board is that we take the time to fully research best practice options before decisions are made about how to permanently fill this position and cover this function,” Huchingson said.

She said she thinks there is little doubt that in the face of the financial challenges on the horizon that the county of Lake is going to have to look at significant restructuring, and that it would be shortsighted to fill the job without looking at the broader scheme of how other offices are handled.

In the interim, Huchingson suggested the board consider arranging interviews of qualified staff for the interim appointment under the registrar’s current job classification, which would be on a future agenda.

In keeping with recommendations for other county offices, she wants to alter the job requirements to include a bachelor’s degree without the substitution of experience for a future permanent appointment.

Board Chair Jim Steele asked if there was any particular imperative for a degree or if that suggestion was for consistency with other department heads. Huchingson said it was the latter.

Fridley, who was present for the discussion, volunteered to be part of looking at consolidating the elections office versus leaving it freestanding.

She said the registrar’s office had been separated from the county clerk’s office for a few reasons. One was transparency, and the second was so the board would have control over the department head.

Fridley said there had been an incident in which the former county clerk and ex officio registrar of voters went door to door with a supervisorial candidate – who ended up not winning – during an election. She said she had advised that person that it wasn’t a good policy.

The change in structure ultimately was taken to the State Legislature. Fridley said state Sen. Wes Chesbro sponsored legislation to make elections a separate office and remove it from county clerk.

Separately, Fridley told Lake County News that the legislation in question, SB 195, passed in 2001 and went into effect in 2002, making the Registrar of Voters Office its own freestanding department.

Those changes were established in Board of Supervisors Ordinance No. 2580, with the chaptered bill included in Government Code Section 26802.5.

That code section, last amended by statute in 2013, says, “In the Counties of El Dorado, Imperial, Kings, Lake, Marin, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Riverside, San Joaquin, Solano, and Tulare, a registrar of voters may be appointed by the board of supervisors in the same manner as other county officers are appointed. In those counties, the county clerk is not ex officio registrar of voters, and the registrar of voters shall discharge all duties vested by law in the county elections official that relate to and are a part of the election procedure.”

“It’s worked quite well, being separate,” Fridley told the board on Tuesday. “Our office is transparent.”

Fridley said her office provides good public service, and she’s not sure if the county would save money in the long run, especially with lawsuits.

Steele congratulated Fridley for doing a stellar job heading the elections office, adding that he hears about her good work all the time.

Supervisor Rob Brown thanked Fridley for offering the historical perspective. He said he was the board member who brought it to the board previously to not have it run by an elected official.

He said the board has oversight of the elections office budget, but doesn’t control its decision.

“At that time, there were some really bad decisions being made,” he said of the former structure.

Brown said it would be a bad place to put an elected official, as there always would be a conspiracy. “As an individual elected official running that, I think it’s a bad idea.”

Fridley also asked the board about the proposed updated job classification, noting that her two staffers don’t qualify under those new standards.

Huchingson said the interim registrar would be appointed under the current job classification. She suggested to the board that they defer consideration of the updated job description, a proposal they followed.

Fridley told Lake County News that all of her 41 years working for the county of Lake have been spent in elections.

In 2002, after the Registrar of Voters Office became its own separate department, she moved from chief deputy county clerk registrar to registrar of voters.

She started work with the county on Dec. 12, 1977, and will officially retire as of Dec. 28.

Asked about how she plans to spend her retirement, Fridley replied without hesitation: “Riding my horses.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The three men who want to be elected to the Clearlake City Council this fall explained their priorities and goals at a forum on Thursday night.

Russell Cremer, Russell Perdock and Dirk Slooten participated at the forum held at Clearlake City Hall and hosted by Lake County News and the Lake County Economic Development Corp.

The three candidates spent an hour and a half answering questions about issues including the city’s homeless, roads, jobs, creating a business-friendly city, activities for youth, transportation, the city’s reputation and their goals should they be elected to the council.

The forum, moderated by Elizabeth Larson, editor and publisher of Lake County News, can be seen in the video above.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – At its Tuesday meeting the Lakeport City Council approved budget adjustments and the completion of the downtown tree project, and appointed two members to an ad hoc committee to help select members of city committees and commissions.

Finance Director Nick Walker presented to the council a report on the unaudited actuals for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which ended June 30, and an update on surplus revenues.

He said the general fund, and the water and sewer operating and maintenance funds all exceeded expectations and ended the year with surpluses.

Walker said the general fund is anticipated to have an operating surplus of $763,023, primarily from vacant police department positions, delayed capital projects and operational savings across departments.

The water operating and maintenance fund is expected to have a surplus totaling $269,540. Walker credited staff for its work to eliminate a budgeted deficit. Operational savings, operational revenues that outperformed the budget by 6 percent and delayed capital projects contributed to that budget outcome, Walker said.

In the sewer operating and maintenance fund, the operating surplus totals $1,951,954. Walker said the closeout of the US Department of Agriculture water project in this last fiscal year resulted in $1,153,000 of repayment to the operating fund for projects that were completed under the program. It also was helped by operational cost savings, delayed capital projects and operating revenues outperforming the budget by 7 percent.

Walker said staff asked for budget adjustments including $70,000 for the Library Park playground, $90,000 for two new police vehicles and an additional $28,500 for the downtown tree project.

He said there would be another $384,000 to put into reserve.

Regarding the police vehicles, Walker said the vehicles will be fully loaded Dodge Chargers, which cost about $45,000 each. He said the city is is looking to get another Chevy Tahoe patrol vehicle through a USDA grant.

In other business on Tuesday, City Manager Margaret Silveira asked for the council to award a construction contract Nate’s Electric Inc. in the amount of $68,500 for the city’s downtown tree well electrical project.

The work will include providing outlets for the future tree lights and electrical service that will be available to vendors during community events on Main Street.

This project was part of the city’s larger Downtown Improvement Project. However, Silveira said that, due to costs coming in higher than projected, the tree installation and electrical conductor work were deleted from the downtown project in 2016.

The city did move forward with the placement of conduit and electrical panels during the main project but no power source was installed in the tree wells. The trees were planted in 2017, Silveira reported.

“Now that the trees are planted, we would really like to see the project completed,” Silveira said.

The city’s engineer had estimated the tree project would cost $35,000, and it initially came in at $40,000 in 2016, Silveira said. It’s since jumped in cost, and now totals $68,500, with staff expecting the price could rise still higher if the city puts it off again.

Nate’s Electric, based in Kelseyville, was one of two bids submitted for the project, Silveira reported.

Councilman Kenny Parlet pointed out that, every time a capital improvement project is put off, costs go up.

“It was hard to get bidders for it,” Silveira acknowledged.

Mayor Pro Tem Tim Barnes asked staff if the work could be done in house, by city staff.

“We really don’t have the expertise to do this particular electrical-type work,” said Public Works Director Doug Grider, who added that there is a lot to the project.

Grider also told the council during the discussion that Nate’s Electric has done a lot of quality work for the city. “At least the money’s staying local,” and not going to a big out-of-area contractor, Grider said.

Parlet said that, right now, with the fire rebuilding going on around the region, contractors are in the driver’s seat.

Councilwoman Stacey Mattina said the downtown project turned out great, and the trees are integral to it. She said the tree project will be worth it.

Grider explained that vendors for downtown events like the Dickens Faire and Oktoberfest will be able to easily plug into outlets at the tree wells rather than having to use a lot of other equipment.

Mattina moved to award the bid contract, which Parlet seconded and the council approved 5-0.

The council then unanimously approved the amendment to the city budget as recommended by city staff, which included the tree project.

At Tuesday night’s meeting the council also approved establishing an ad hoc committee including two council members to make recommendations to the full council for appointments to the city’s commissions and committees, with terms expiring in 2018.

The recommendations will be for the Lakeport Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, Lake County Vector Control District Board of Trustees, the Measure Z Advisory Committee and the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board of Directors.

Mattina and Mayor Mireya Turner agreed to serve on the committee, with the council voting to approve their appointment to the ad hoc committee 5-0.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Wednesday, Oct. 31, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Rep. John Garamendi (CA-03) will come to Lake County to host a veterans town hall.

The town hall event will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Medeiros Veterans Center in Lakeport, 875 11th St.

This event will be an opportunity for veterans to ask questions and hear from the members of Congress and veterans from regional veterans organizations, including the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, the Oakland VA Regional Center, the Lake County Veterans Service Office, and the Lake County United Veterans Council.

All constituents of California’s Fifth and Third Congressional District are invited to attend.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man who in December 2016 shot his estranged girlfriend’s aunt to death and wounded other family members has reached a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office.

On Friday, Ezequiel Junior Bravo, 26, pleaded guilty to the murder of Theresa Sara Jones, and also entered guilty pleas for the attempted murder of his estranged girlfriend Shian Brown, assault with a deadly weapon on Robert Brown, assault with a deadly weapon on Stephanie Brown and assault with a deadly weapon on E.G., a minor, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.

In addition, Anderson said Bravo pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnapping of Shian Brown at the Lakeport Cinema three days prior to the home invasion and shooting.

Anderson, who personally prosecuted the case, said Bravo will return to court early next year, at which time he’s expected to be sentenced to 45 and a half years in prison.

Bravo’s attorney, Angela Carter of the Carter Brown Law Firm, said she and her client are satisfied with the outcome.

She said Bravo, had he gone to trial and been convicted, was facing five life terms plus 189 years if he went to trial.

Under California law, he’s considered a “youthful offender,” since the crime was committed under age 27. At the time the shootings occurred, the state cutoff for youthful offenders was actually lower, at age 25.

Carter said that 25 years from the time of his arrest he’ll be eligible for parole, which means he could be up for release in his 40s.

“This is a good outcome because he has the potential for being out,” she said.

It also is positive, she said, because all parties agreed to it, from the victims to Bravo and his family. “It’s been approved on a lot of levels.”

The case alleges that on Nov. 27, 2016, Bravo met with his estranged girlfriend, Shian Brown, at the Lakeport Cinema in order to exchange their children.

Anderson said Bravo had been in an abusive relationship with Shian Brown for several years and that she had ended the relationship a few days prior to that Nov. 27 meeting.

During the exchange of the children Bravo tried to force Brown into his car, Anderson said. Brown got away but Bravo threatened to get a shotgun and kill her family.

On Dec. 1, 2016, Brown was staying with her family at the Pomo Drive residence of Jones – Brown’s aunt – at the Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks, Anderson said.

At approximately 2:16 a.m. that day, Bravo went to the residence armed with a shotgun, kicked in the back door and demanded to know where Brown was, according to the investigation.

Bravo went to Jones’ bedroom, where he found her with her 6-year-old daughter, E.G. Anderson said that when Jones did not tell Bravo where Brown was, he shot her once in the face, killing her instantly, Anderson said.

Anderson said Bravo then went to the room of Robert Brown and Stephanie Brown, where he struggled with Robert Brown over the shotgun. Robert Brown was shot in the arm before Bravo fired another round, hitting E.G. in the arm.

Stephanie Brown ran outside and Ezequiel Bravo followed her. Anderson said they also got into a brief struggle over the shotgun when Bravo struck her several times then shot her in the upper chest, causing only moderate injuries.

Bravo then stole the Browns’ vehicle and fled the scene prior to sheriff’s deputies arriving, Anderson said.

Later that morning Ezequiel Bravo was spotted on the school grounds at Pomo Elementary School in Clearlake by Principal Diane Johnson. While at the school, Anderson said Bravo entered the classroom of his younger brother.

In a plan with Clearlake Police officers, Vice Principal Joe Madrid entered the classroom and asked to talk to Bravo outside. On leaving the classroom, Bravo was taken into custody without incident, Anderson said.

Anderson took the case to a criminal grand jury, which returned an indictment of Bravo on June 30, 2017.

The grand jury proceedings take place without the defense attorney, so Carter said she was not a party to what occurred there.

The case proceeded, with efforts to reach a settlement.

Carter said that Bravo always was accompanied to court by several of his family members, “and that’s unusual,” she said, noting that in her experience handling homicide cases, there are rarely family members there in support of the defendant.

She said his parents, who have five other younger children, were there for him. “It was so sad for me to see them at court every time,” she said, noting the heartbreak she saw in their eyes.

Carter said Bravo’s family didn’t make excuses for what occurred, and as his attorney she didn’t put on a defense of denial.

The first offer from the District Attorney’s Office was for 110 years, Carter said. That wasn’t accepted.

Carter said the efforts on the current plea deal started months ago, and took time while getting everyone to agree. There also were court appearances required to finalize it.

She said Bravo has been a really good inmate, and she has no reason to believe he’ll be a difficult prisoner, which will go in his favor for an eventual release.

Carter said that the plea, while a lot of time, gives Bravo a chance to eventually get out of prison and have some kind of life, which she said meant a lot to his family.

Anderson said Bravo is scheduled to return for sentencing on Jan. 22.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is holding off on approving an appointment to the Lakeport Fire Protection District Board as it seeks to research further how appointments should be made and whether procedures have been followed properly.

On the board’s Tuesday agenda was approval of a recommendation from the fire board to appoint Gary Hill to succeed longtime member Gerry Mills, who retired in September. Lakeport residents Cheryl Pick and Greg Scott also applied for Mills’ seat.

However, filling Mills’ seat has undergone additional scrutiny in the wake of the fire district’s decision last month to accept a budget that cuts three full-time firefighters, which led to widespread criticism and concern from the community, as Lake County News has reported.

With the other four fire district board positions set to be reappointed by the start of next year, the situation has led to questions about how seats have been filled and whether over the past 20 years the appointment process has been carried out properly, which caused the majority of supervisors to want to pull back and explore the matter further.

County Counsel Anita Grant explained that the Lakeport Fire Protection District covers both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the Lakeport community. In 1999, the Lakeport County Fire Protection District annexed the city of Lakeport Fire Department.

Grant said that, based on state law, the fire district board shall be elected by the Board of Supervisors and the Lakeport City Council.

Supervisor Rob Brown said he knows Hill, who he said is a nice man, well educated, knows the community and is a retired county employee. “So this is not about him,” Brown said of wanting to not make the appointment right away.

Rather, Brown focused on the process, explaining that in his time on the board – which began two years after the annexation was finalized – the Board of Supervisors has never recommended two fire board members, and has never interviewed them. In speaking with officials from the city of Lakeport, he said they communicated it was the same for them.

“I don’t think the process has been followed,” he said, adding that the fire district board can operate with the vacancy while it’s studied further.

Brown asked Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison if a fire parcel tax measure was going on the March ballot. Hutchison said at that point he wasn’t sure, adding it could be put on the ballot in May, but he confirmed one was being put before voters.

Following up, Brown asked if the district was going to ask voters if the fire district board should be elected rather than appointed. Supervisor Tina Scott said she went to the fire board meeting last week, and district officials said they hadn’t discussed it.

Grant told board members that appointing fire district board members is not a discretionary function but a ministerial one. She said they could encourage the fire district to go to an election process, but they can’t order it.

Brown said he understood Grant’s point, but nonetheless was unwilling to make an appointment yet.

“There’s some real big problems in Lakeport with the fire district,” he said, explaining that what happens with Lakeport Fire will affect every other fire district in the county, especially the neighboring districts like Kelseyville.

Board Chair Jim Steele said Brown made good sense of the issue in laying it out, and added he felt it was important that the Board of Supervisors get the appointment right. As such, Steele also suggested deferring board action, adding he wanted Brown and Scott to sit down with the appropriate groups and come back with a solution.

Scott said she didn’t know what more they could clarify, and she didn’t see an issue with accepting the fire district’s appointment recommendation.

Brown moved to defer a decision, develop a committee to work with the fire district, the city of Lakeport and the Board of Supervisors and come up with a plan for filling the district board’s five seats by the start of the year. Supervisor Jeff Smith seconded the motion.

Scott then made her own motion to appoint Hill to the fire district board, which Supervisor Moke Simon seconded.

Steele called first for the vote on Scott’s motion, which failed, 2-3.

The vote on Brown’s motion passed, 3-2, with Scott and Simon voting no.

Steele asked for a followup discussion to be timed for early November.

Grant urged the board to focus on using that timeframe to clarify the circumstances of filling the fire board district seats. She also told the board that she didn’t think the matter was as difficult to resolve as it sounds.

Fire board applicant Greg Scott told the supervisors that it’s important to have people on the fire district board who understand how to lead and grow the district, support the chief and look into the future.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.