In 1968, Apollo 8 placed humans into lunar orbit for the first time. As the astronauts in their spacecraft emerged from behind the Moon, they were surprised and enchanted by an amazing view of Earth rising over the lunar horizon. Bill Anders quickly snapped a picture of the spectacular Earthrise.

Humankind viewed their planet and saw not a jigsaw puzzle of states and countries on an uninspiring flat map – but rather a whole planet uninterrupted by boundaries, a sphere of dazzling beauty floating alone in the void.

Cameras on NASA spacecraft have treated us to intriguing perspectives of our home planet from various locales.

The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR mission, was launched to monitor the solar wind in real time, but it has also delivered these wondrous images of every continent peeking out from misty shrouds blanketing our ultramarine oceans.

Since mid-2015, DSCOVR has been snapping images like these of the fully-lit Earth, most days every 1 to 2 hours, from a stable point between the Earth and the Sun that is about a million miles (1.6 million km) away.

On Valentine's Day 1990, the Voyager spacecraft captured this photo of our planet from the amazing distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion km). This ‘Pale Blue Dot’ image, requested by Carl Sagan of the Voyager imaging team, showed the Earth as a single pixel and inspired Sagan’s book of the same name.

As Sagan wrote "The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena… this distant image of our tiny world … underscores our responsibility to … preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

A number of spacecraft have taken the opportunity to capture images and videos of Earth and the Moon when flying by Earth for a “gravity assist” to far-off bodies in our solar system.

Galileo did so in 1992 on its way to Jupiter, as did Juno nearly two decades later. In 2005, MESSENGER took these beautiful images of our home, then looked back again just before entering Mercury’s orbit five years later.

MESSENGER isn’t the only spacecraft to look back at home from its destination across the solar system.

On July 19, 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn's shadow and turned to image the planet, seven of its moons, its inner rings – and, in the background, our home planet. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has collected a treasure trove of data and discoveries about the Moon.

LRO’s camera also treated us to spectacular views of our planet from lunar orbit. Here’s one such image taken in October 2015.

Images of home have come back to us from Mars’ orbit and from the surface of Mars itself.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this picture of our planet and its moon on Nov. 20, 2016, when Mars was 127 million miles (200 million km) away from Earth.

This image, captured by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the surface of Mars on Jan. 31, 2014, showed ‘evening star’ Earth shining more brightly than any star in the Martian night sky. From the vantage point of Mars, Earth is visible either in the early evening or early morning, just as Venus is from the vantage point of Earth.

What might the caption be when a human stands on the surface of Mars and focuses the camera back on home?

For more views of Earth from both near and far, visit http://science.nasa.gov.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Just in time for Christmas, Lake County has a new Superior Court judge.

On Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown announced that he has appointed Lakeport attorney J. David Markham to succeed Judge Richard Martin on the bench.

“It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious appointment from the governor,” Markham said. “Judge Martin has left some very large shoes to fill and I will do my best to maintain the high level of integrity, fairness and dedication to justice that he displayed for so many years in the courtroom.”

It’s good news for the court, which has four full-time judge positions – plus several retired judges who assist on cases – with a heavy caseload.

“I am very pleased that the governor has made the appointment,” Lake County Superior Court Presiding Judge Andrew Blum told Lake County News. “I have worked with David Markham over the years and I am confident that he will be an excellent Superior Court judge.”

Martin retired in May, before the end of his term. As such, the California Constitution calls for the governor to appoint a successor to fill the vacancy until the seat next goes on the ballot. In this case, Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley said the seat will next be up for election in 2020.

The compensation for the judge’s position is $200,042 annually.

Markham, 48, earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Empire College School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis.

He served as a deputy district attorney at the Lake County District Attorney’s Office from 2001 to 2002.

From 2003 to 2004, Markham was an associate at Alvord and Ewing. He’s been a sole practitioner since 2004, handling both criminal and civil cases.

Earlier this year, Markham and Andrea Sullivan, partners at Lake Indigent Defense LLP, took over administration of the Lake County indigent defense contract.

In order to qualify for the judicial appointment, Markham had to undergo a rigorous months-long vetting process overseen by the Governor’s Office and the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Committee.

“What I will miss most about being an attorney are the relationships I have formed with the other attorneys in this county,” Markham said. Throughout my career, my colleagues, whether we worked together or opposed each other, have always been professional, kind and respectful. I wouldn't have been appointed without their support during this lengthy process.”

He added, “Lake County has been a wonderful place to practice law because of the quality of attorneys who practice here. I am grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing people.”

Markham’s appointment comes as a time when the Lake County Superior Court is facing significant personnel changes.

In addition to Martin’s retirement, in November Judge Stephen Hedstrom, now the most senior of Lake County’s full-time judges, announced he would not seek reelection in 2018. His third and final term will end in January 2019.

Following Hedstrom’s announcement, Markham said he was planning to run for Hedstrom’s Department 4 seat.

Then, earlier this month, District Attorney Don Anderson – who had said in November he would seek a third term in his current job – announced he also planned to run to succeed Hedstrom.

With Markham now appointed to the Department 3 judge’s seat, he said he was officially ending his 2018 judicial campaign, which leaves only Anderson in the race so far.

“I’m very grateful to everyone who supported my candidacy and I look forward to serving our local communities as Lake County’s newest Superior Court Judge,” Markham said.

Lake County Superior Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier said the court doesn’t yet have a date for Markham’s swearing-in ceremony.

Besides Markham’s appointment, on Friday Gov. Brown’s office announced that he also had finalized 32 other Superior Court selections across the state, including one each Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Kings, Lassen, Monterey, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Solano, Stanislaus and Ventura counties; two each in Napa, Orange, San Bernardino and Santa Clara counties; three in Sacramento County; and six in Los Angeles County.

The large number of appointees this month and in November – when the governor appointed another 34 Superior Court judges – arises from the extensive judicial vacancy backlog that California is reported to have.

Friday’s appointees include 17 men and 16 women, ranging in age from 37 to 65. Of the appointees, 23 gave their party preference as Democrat, with the remaining 10 – Markham among them – listed as without party preference.

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. – Clearlake Police’s acting chief has been appointed the agency’s interim head as the city prepares to begin a recruitment for a new chief in the coming month.

On Thursday evening, ahead of a special Clearlake City Council meeting, acting Police Chief Tim Celli was sworn in as interim chief of police by City Clerk Melissa Swanson.

“Interim Chief Celli has done a great job as acting chief and he will continue to guide the Clearlake Police Department during our recruitment for a permanent police chief,” said City Manager Greg Folsom.

The Clearlake Police Department currently as 17 sworn personnel – including Celli – and 10 nonsworn staff, including dispatch and records staff, two animal control officers, community services officer, and support services and animal control outreach technicians.

Celli, a lieutenant and veteran of the department, has been acting police chief since Dec. 8, 2015.

He filled the role after Chief Craig Clausen went on medical leave, city officials said.

Clausen, who has been with the Clearlake Police Department for more than two decades, was promoted to lieutenant in March 2007 and appointed interim chief in December 2010. The council voted to hire him as chief in February 2012.

Folsom told Lake County News that Clausen continues to be on medical leave. “We cannot comment further due to the confidentiality of both medical and personnel matters.”

The city will begin the process of recruiting for a new police chief in January, after the holidays, Folsom said.

As for his plans relating to the permanent chief’s job, Celli told Lake County News on Friday, “At this time, I do not plan to apply for the position.”

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An elderly couple from Clearlake Oaks were found with 60 pounds of high grade marijuana during a traffic stop in Nebraska on Tuesday, and they could face hefty penalties due to that state’s marijuana laws.

The York County, Nebraska, sheriff’s office reported that Patrick Gordon Jiron, 80, and Barbara Jean Jiron, 70, were found in possession of the marijuana.

The agency said that on Tuesday York County deputies observed a 2016 Toyota Tacoma failing to signal a turn and driving left of the center line and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle on Interstate 80.

When the deputies contacted the vehicle, they detected the odor of raw marijuana coming from inside of it, the sheriff’s office said.

When asked about the odor of marijuana, the driver, Patrick Jiron, admitted to having contraband inside the vehicle and consented to a search of the vehicle, according to the agency’s report.

Authorities said the deputies found inside the vehicle’s truck topper approximately 60 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of more than $300,000, along with multiple containers of concentrated THC.

The Jirons told deputies that they were traveling from California, making stops in Boston and Vermont to distribute the marijuana to family and friends as Christmas gifts, the York County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Photos released by the agency showed numerous large bags and plastic containers of trimmed marijuana that were recovered from the vehicle.

Officials said both of the Jirons were cited for possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and no drug tax stamp. Patrick Jiron was booked but his wife was released on cite.

Nebraska law does not allow for marijuana possession or cultivation, and there is no medical marijuana program in the state.

On Thursday York County Attorney Christopher Johnson filed a criminal complaint against Patrick Jiron, according to court records.

Johnson is charging Patrick Jiron with three felony counts: possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, with intent to distribute, a Class IIA felony; possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, more than one pound, a Class IV felony; and no drug tax stamp, also a Class IV felony.

A Class IIA felony has a minimum penalty of no imprisonment up to a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to the Nebraska penal code.

The penal code said a Class IV felony is punishable by a minimum of no imprisonment and nine months post-release supervision, and a maximum two years imprisonment and 12 months post-release supervision or $10,000 fine, or both.

Failing to have a drug tax stamp comes from the Nebraska Marijuana and Controlled Substance Act, which requires anyone who illegally acquires or possesses six or more ounces of marijuana to pay the Nebraska Department of Revenue $100 per ounce.

In the Jirons’ case, that would have required a $96,000 payment. Paying that tax also doesn’t provide immunity for a dealer from criminal prosecution under state or federal law, the state revenue department reported.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reported that one of its detectives was involved in a fatal shooting in Ukiah on Thursday night.

Sgt. Spencer Crum said the incident occurred at the Sunrise Inn, located on South State Street.

Crum said that at about 8 p.m. Thursday detectives located two armed suspects at the hotel.

An armed male subject leveled a gun towards detectives and the shooting ensued, Crum said.

One of the detectives shot an undetermined number of rounds and a male suspect was ultimately taken into custody, according to Crum.

Crum said the second suspect, a woman who was with the armed male, was found deceased in a hotel room from a gunshot wound.

The origin of the gunshot that killed her is under investigation, Crum said.

Crum said the incident is being investigated by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

NASA has a big list of projects that it’s planning to pursue in the new year.

The agency will celebrate its 60th birthday in 2018.

Among its projects are sending robot to Mars; visiting and asteroid; preparing to return to the moon; monitoring the Earth’s weather, ice and forests; rolling out new technological advances; pursing new partnerships; and more.

See a list of projects in the video above.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Members of local law enforcement agencies on Thursday once again set out on one of their happier duties of the year – delivering toys to a special group of children.

The Lake County District Attorney’s Office Victim-Witness Division led the 22nd annual toy drive for children who the agency has served this past year.

Victim-Witness staff collects wish lists for the children and then partners with the parishioners of St. Mary Immaculate Church in Lakeport.

Victim-Witness Program Administrator Crystal Martin said the church puts up a tree and the wishes of the children are placed on it. Parishioners then purchase and wrap the presents.

This year they needed some last-minute help with gathering presents. Earlier this week Martin put the word out over Facebook and within hours the need was filled.

“The response was overwhelming,” said Martin.

The Auditor’s Office also participates by adopting a family, staff said.

On Thursday Victim-Witness was assisted in the gift deliveries by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Clearlake Police, the District Attorney's Office and the Lakeport Police Department.

Victim-Witness thanked the community for once again helping make Christmas merry for the many children it serves around the county.

Videographer John Jensen contributed to this report.

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. – Lake County’s sheriff said he’s finalized the findings in the August death of a deputy.

Deputy Rob Rumfelt, 50, died on the night of Aug. 22 after he had responded to the scene of a domestic violence call in Lakeport, fought with a suspect and then left the scene, with his patrol SUV crashing into a tree. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

Sheriff Brian Martin told Lake County News that a medical examiner concluded that Rumfelt suffered sudden cardiac death 30 minutes after a stressful physical encounter.

There are two separate and official determinations made related to human deaths. The first is the cause of death – the specific medical condition or injury that led to a death – which is based on the finding of a forensic pathologist.

Although Rumfelt’s autopsy found he had a broken neck – likely from the vehicle crash, during which he was not wearing his seat belt – Martin said the medical examiner believed the heart attack had occurred first and that the broken neck was less likely to have been the cause of death.

Then there is the manner of death, which is how the injury caused the individual to die. The coroner determines that in consultation with the medical examiner.

Forensics experts say there are several different manners of death, among them accidental, homicide, natural, suicide and undetermined.

As to Rumfelt’s manner of death, Martin said he had to settle on “could not be determined.”

That wasn’t the conclusion he wanted to make, but it’s accurate. Martin said he ultimately doesn’t know what led to Rumfelt’s death.

Martin said he personally gave the conclusions on the cause and manner of death to Rumfelt’s widow.

Events leading up to the deputy’s death

On the night he died, Rumfelt – along with fellow Deputy Nate Newton – had responded to a domestic violence call at a residence on Healton Circle in the city of Lakeport, backing up Lakeport Police Sgt. Joe Eastham.

The deputies found Alex Michael Castillo of Nice attempting to walk away from the scene with his 2-year-old child after assaulting his wife. At that time Castillo was on probation for having assaulted the same woman months earlier, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Castillo fought with Rumfelt and Newton, who finally subdued and arrested him. Following the struggle, Rumfelt was reported to have been sweating and complaining of shortness of breath, according to the autopsy narrative.

The document said that Rumfelt spoke with other deputies for about 10 minutes before he got into his patrol vehicle and drove a short distance.

“His head was seen to slump and the vehicle stopped,” the narrative explained. “A short time later the vehicle accelerated and hit a tree.”

The autopsy report said CPR was started on Rumfelt, who subsequently was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital. It was there that he died at 9:15 p.m.

Martin said it’s believed that Rumfelt may have been having a heart attack when he was seen slumping, and that his foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal.

Rumfelt’s SUV hit a tree halfway down Hartley Street, between Boggs Lane and 20th Street, Martin said.

Martin said the damaged tree was taken down about a month after the crash, because it was leaning into power lines. A small memorial remains there.

The autopsy, conducted in Napa County two days after Rumfelt’s death, found that he had facial abrasions, scalp contusions, hemorrhages in his neck strap muscles as well as the fractured C5 vertebra, which forensic pathologist Dr. Arnold Josselson found to be the result of the crash.

“This injury is usually not fatal, but can be, as it depresses respiration,” Josselson said of the fractured vertebra, adding that he was unsure if Rumfelt would have survived had he not had the crash.

The report found that Rumfelt had several risk factors for sudden cardiac death, including mild hypertension, stress and a body mass index rating that determined he was overweight.

Concerns over carbon monoxide levels in SUVs also was explored in the case, said Martin, but ultimately determined not to have been a factor.

Domestic violence suspect reaches plea agreement

On the night of Rumfelt’s death, authorities arrested Castillo for a variety of charges, including manslaughter.

While Martin said there is a penal code section that makes resisting an officer resulting in death a crime, District Attorney Don Anderson ultimately decided he wouldn’t charge Castillo with manslaughter because he didn’t believe he could convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Castillo was responsible for Rumfelt’s death.

Martin said he agreed with Anderson’s decision not to pursue charges against Castillo for the death of the deputy.

Several weeks ago, Castillo reached an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office to plead guilty to making threats, resisting an officer, felony child endangerment and felony inflicting corporal injury on another person with a prior conviction, as Lake County News has reported.

On Dec. 13, Judge Stephen Hedstrom sentenced the 22-year-old Castillo to the maximum term of four years and eight months in state prison, Anderson said.

Martin said that with the death investigation concluded, he hopes Rumfelt’s family can move on with the grieving process.

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 this week approved an urgency ordinance that will allow marijuana cultivators to move forward in the the new state licensing process while the county continues to finalize rules for commercial marijuana cultivation.

The meeting video can be seen at online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.

County Counsel Anita Grant released the final copy of the urgency ordinance to Lake County News on Thursday. The document can be seen below.

The urgency ordinance went into effect immediately on Tuesday with the four-fifths vote of the board, according to the document language. Supervisor Rob Brown was the lone no vote.

“It’s effective for 45 days. Before that time period expires, the board must hold a noticed public hearing to extend it any further,” Grant said.

Community Development Department Director Robert Massarelli originally had gone to the board last week to ask for a temporary moratorium while staff completed the process of crafting permanent regulations.

However, at last week’s meeting, following an outcry from local growers who said they would be shut down for the coming year and unable to get the needed state permits, the majority of the board instead chose to consider an urgency ordinance.

Grant said the board is allowing people to move forward by applying for state licensure. However, the county doesn’t yet have the wherewithal under existing zoning to allow those who receive the licenses to cultivate.

She told the board that they’re allowing people to continue the process, “and essentially you’re hoping you’ll catch up.”

County officials have estimated that the full and permanent regulations should be in effect sometime in the first half of 2018.

The document states that for a 45-day period there is a moratorium against cultivation, distribution, transport, storage, manufacturing, processing, testing and sale of commercial cannabis in any unincorporated area of Lake County “pending further review and consideration of the impacts of recent State-issued cannabis regulations upon the development and implementation of a permanent County ordinance addressing commercial cannabis.

Those prohibitions are in effect except for individuals who have submitted a complete self-certification application under Article 72 of Lake County’s Zoning Ordinance and have submitted a signed affidavit of compliance with state and local law as of the ordinance’s effective date.

Those individuals will be issued an authorization letter to proceed with the application for state license Type 1, specialty outdoor, up to 5,000 square feet or a maximum of 50 mature plants; Type 1C, specialty cottage, up to 25 mature plants for outdoor, maximum of 500 square feet indoor or for mixed light up to 2,500 square feet; Type 2 licenses for small operations ranging between 5,001 and 10,000 square feet; and Type 3 licenses for medium operations ranging between 10,001 square feet and 22,000 square feet.

However, they get that go-ahead to proceed “with the caveat that said authorization shall only serve to acknowledge the applicant’s prior compliance with state and local law and present eligibility to pursue a local commercial cultivation license when the County’s permanent commercial cannabis ordinance is final. Said authorization is not an adjudication and is not a permit or approval of commercial cultivation at any particular location,” the ordinance reads.

The document also makes clear that the urgency ordinance doesn’t create or imply any right to claim any vested right for marijuana cultivators.

The ordinance also states that all registrations issued pursuant to the ordinance shall automatically expire when the ordinance does and/or is terminated or when a permanent ordinance is adopted, or whichever occurs sooner.

The limited registration is conditioned on the execution of a written acknowledgement by the registrant that they have no vested rights as a result of the registration. “All cultivators will be required to apply for and be granted a land use permit under the County’s permanent ordinance in order to cultivate.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Massarelli reported that the State Water Board has issued 65 permits for growers in Lake County, with many applications before the board that are not being processed.

He said 12 grower self-certifications have been received by the county. Of those, 11 growers have pursued both the state permit process and county self-certification.

Massarelli said his staff hasn’t yet assessed the 65 permits issued by the state to know if they comply with county zoning law and would even be allowed.

Speakers at Tuesday’s meeting urged the board to take action, as otherwise their hands were being tied on moving forward with their operations. They said inaction would hamper or altogether end their efforts to secure investment, and the board was reminded that additional steps needed to be taken before cultivation could even begin under the new state rules.

Growers also argued that the people who were in the room advocating for the urgency ordinance were the “good actors” – people who wanted to work within state regulations, not the growers who for years have done damage to the environment and caused problems in neighborhoods.

Grant told the board Tuesday that if after the urgency ordinance’s initial 45-day period the document doesn’t do what was intended, the supervisors can extend and alter it but will have to have another public hearing.

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.

 

121917 Lake County marijuana cultivation urgency ordinance by LakeCoNews on Scribd

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a supplemental disaster funding package for those affected by recent natural disasters, including the California wildfires.

The package delivers $81 billion in additional disaster relief.

“I’m pleased the House has passed the vital supplemental disaster relief that the communities affected by the fires need to get back on their feet,” said Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05).

“This funding package that I’ve been pushing for grants the state of California’s funding that will help our communities get back on their feet. This will give the State and local communities the tools they need to rebuild infrastructure, businesses, and housing, and help individuals affected,” Thompson said.

He added, “I’ll continue to work with my House colleagues to ensure our community has all the resources necessary to fully recover from this disaster.”

Thompson’s district includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, areas hit hard by this year’s fires.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Following a lengthy discussion and extensive public comment, the Lakeport City Council approved new guidelines that allow for commercial marijuana, or cannabis, operations in certain areas of the city.

The council had an initial discussion on both the commercial regulations as well as updated rules – with only minor changes – for personal cannabis cultivation, formerly referred to in city rules as medical marijuana, at its Dec. 4 meeting.

On Tuesday, the council unanimously passed the personal cultivation rules after a brief discussion, with no members of the public giving any comment.

The council then moved on to the matter of commercial marijuana, which took up about an hour and a half of the meeting, which ran just over two hours and 45 minutes. The council chambers were nearly full for the marijuana-related matters.

Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said staff had taken the council’s comments at its Dec. 4 meeting and worked proposed changes into the updated draft ordinance before them. That document begins on page 63 of the agenda packet published below.

The council ultimately approved an ordinance that had several more substantive changes, which City Attorney David Ruderman said will require a second reading at a regular council meeting in January.

Those changes included allowing only retail delivery, with no storefronts; removing a 5-pound limit for retailers to have on hand at a location; eliminating a cap of two retailers; eliminating limits of 50 square feet of product space and 1,500 square feet of store area; and prohibiting delivery-only retailers from C2 commercial zoning.

A total of 13 individuals spoke to the council regarding the proposed ordinance. Nine of them had various concerns about marijuana, ranging from not wanting storefronts to not wanting commercial activities legalized in the city at all. The other four – including two in the cannabis business – spoke in favor of the regulations.

Longtime city resident Stan Jones, a retired law enforcement officer, said it has taken him a long time to buy into medical marijuana and he still doesn’t buy into commercial uses. He asked for the council to ban storefront dispensaries.

City Planning Commissioner Michael Green, who also is a marijuana consultant, urged the council to accept the rules. “I’m proud of the ordinance that’s before you today,” which he said gives the city a clean and elegant start on cannabis regulations.

City resident Annette Hopkins felt just the opposite. “Be cautious in your decision making. Don’t be pushed, prodded or otherwise massaged into making decisions that will have lasting and, at this time, unknown impacts,” she said, also asking for the council to not allow for retail or dispensary activity.

Chris Jennings, owner of Lakeside Herbal Solutions in Clearlake, encouraged the council to move forward with the ordinance. He said he’s expanding his operations in Clearlake once he opens a greenhouse facility and begins manufacturing, and expects to make $1.5 million in the first year. He said he also wants to put a dispensary in Lakeport.

“Lakeport lives on family-oriented tourism,” said another city resident, Meredith Lahmann. She said retail storefronts with marijuana won’t help that, and while she would like to deal with the black market, she didn’t think allowing commercial operations into Lakeport is the way to do it.

Lakeport businessman Mike Ewing also was against commercial operations in the city. “I think it’s a bad idea,” he said of selling “dope” in downtown Lakeport.

When the council began its discussion following public input, Mayor Stacey Mattina said the ordinance before them wasn’t the one she thought would be presented. She said the city initially had a far more modest version with no retail, businesses allowed in industrial and C3 zoning with delivery allowed.

That original ordinance, which came from a city working group, was sent to the Lakeport Planning Commission. “Now we have this ordinance that looks nothing like what we started with,” she said.

She was concerned about not knowing the full risks to the city, and urged fellow council members to pull back and keep working on the rules in the new year.

However, other council members didn’t agree, and wanted to move forward with adopting the regulations, which they noted had been the focus of an enormous amount of effort.

Councilman Kenny Parlet acknowledged the built-in prejudice against marijuana, and then revealed that his adult daughter uses it to relieve her rheumatoid arthritis pain.

“Doing nothing would be a serious mistake,” he said.

However, Parlet was willing to pull retail operations out and require other commercial activities be located in C3 or industrial zoning.

“This is an industry that carries a lot of baggage with it. Nobody is going to argue about that,” said Mayor Pro Tem Mireya Turner, who also is a county planner who has worked extensively on marijuana-related issues.

She said she’s honed her own priorities, which include public safety balanced with safety for those who want to consume marijuana. Turner said she also wanted access to a safe product.

Turner said she believed the ordinance almost accomplished the goals of maintaining public safety and creating a regulatory system. “This a pretty big first step.”

Recognizing that retail was a concern, Turner said she was fine with a slow approach.

“We’ve got to come to terms with the fact that people are doing it,” said Councilman Tim Barnes, who favored putting in place regulations that can be enforced.

Mattina asked if he was open to a more modest approach and Barnes said yes, noting that retail was definitely off the table at that point.

With the agreed-upon changes, including not allowing for dispensaries and keeping commercial operations in C3 and industrial zoning, Barnes moved to approve the ordinance with Turner seconding and the council voting 5-0.

They will take the final vote on the rules next month.

In other business on Tuesday, the council elected Turner as the new mayor and Barnes as mayor pro tem; the Lakeport Main Street Association presented the winners of its annual holiday decoration contest; the council adopted the proposed resolution approving the city of Lakeport’s Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program grant application for the creation of a local hazards mitigation plan; the council received a report on the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, regarding unaudited actuals and provide staff direction on the treatment of any surplus revenues; a new email server and new HVAC unit at 916 N. Forbes, formerly the Lakeport Police station, were approved; and the council adopted a resolution declaring Dec. 27 a holiday for city employees.

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.

121917 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Confusion over wording in a city ordinance governing commercial marijuana rules has led to the calling of a special Clearlake City Council meeting this week to discuss an urgency ordinance banning marijuana cultivation on the west side of Highway 53.

The council will meet in closed session to discuss two potential cases of litigation beginning at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

Under council business, council members will consider an urgency ordinance, Ordinance No. 202-2017, placing the proposed moratorium on commercial marijuana, or cannabis, cultivation businesses west of Highway 53 in the city limits.

The need for the urgency ordinance arose following the council’s Dec. 14 meeting when staff sought clarification regarding the wording of Ordinance No. 200-2017, which was approved Oct. 26 and Nov. 27.

City Manager Greg Folsom said confusion arose pertaining to one passage about cultivation, Section 18-12.020 b.1, which read: “1. Commercial Cannabis Cultivation is allowed only in the CB zones when all cultivation activities are conducted entirely inside a building utilizing no natural light, or in a hybrid greenhouse east of State Route 53 in CB zones.”

Folsom said that inaccurate punctuation – specifically, lack of a semicolon – had led to different interpretations of that paragraph.

At the Dec. 14 meeting, Folsom asked to know what the council’s understanding of the wording had been. “We just want clarification, what was it the council meant so that we can go forward with that.”

The majority of council members said they interpreted the language to mean that cannabis cultivation – whether indoors or outdoors – was to be allowed only on the east side of Highway 53.

Mayor Russ Perdock said the intention had been to leave the area on the west side of Highway 53 out of cultivation in order to encourage retail, resorts and tourism, with the east side available for cultivation purposes.

As of the Dec. 14 meeting, Folsom reported that the city had received one application for cultivation in an existing enclosed building utilizing no natural light west of Highway 53. He said at that time that no licenses have been granted for cultivation activities, as they must go through a process involving the planning commission.

Now, with the council having clarified its position, Folsom said that in order to implement the council’s stated direction, the ordinance’s language “should be amended to clearly reflect the legislative intent.”

The process to amend the ordinance will require at least two meetings of the council for a first and second reading, plus required public noticing, Folsom said in his report for Thursday’s meeting.

“Because that amendment will take approximately two months to implement and at least one applicant has inquired regarding commercial cannabis west of State Route 53, staff believes the Council should consider a moratorium placing a temporary ban on commercial cultivation in this particular area,” Folsom wrote in his report.

He said the moratorium would go into effect immediately and would not allow any commercial cannabis cultivation west of Highway 53.

Folsom explained that, based on state law, the initial moratorium is only valid for 45 days but can be extended up to two years.

“Staff does not believe a lengthy moratorium will be needed as this amended ordinance would take its place in a few months if the amended ordinance, or some version thereof, is adopted by the City Council,” Folsom wrote.

In other business, the council will hold a public hearing for the presentation and closeout of the Community Development Block Grant as required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. That item originally had been scheduled for the Dec. 14 meeting but was held over at staff’s request.

Items on the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – consideration of a declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9 and ratified by council action on Oct. 12; consideration of continuation of a declaration of a local health emergency issued on Oct. 12 and ratified by council action on Oct. 18; and Resolution No. 2017-92 approving the commitment of Community Development Block Grant Program income funds.

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