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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control has dogs of a wide variety of ages and types needing homes.
The shelter has 48 adoptable dogs listed on its website.
This week’s dogs include “Jean,” a 2-year-old female Labrador retriever mix with a black coat with white markings.
The shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the shelter at 707-762-6227, email
This week’s adoptable dogs are featured below.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: PRESTON DYCHES
What’s up for December? Venus, Jupiter, and Mars shine brightly; the stars of winter and their pointy little friend; and "Meteors, meet the Moon."
Starting off with the planets, Venus is hard to miss in the southwest after sunset — it's that dazzling bright "evening star." You’ll find it getting a bit higher in the sky each evening through the month.
Saturn is visible toward the south beginning at nightfall. Look for it to track a bit farther to the west as the weeks go by.
Meanwhile, Jupiter reaches opposition on Dec. 7, meaning it’s at its brightest for the year and visible all night long. You’ll find it rising in the east-northeast as darkness falls, among the stars of the constellation Taurus.
Mid-month, around Dec. 14, watch for Jupiter sitting between the nearly full Moon and Taurus's brightest star, orange-colored Aldebaran.
Next, Mars will also be putting on its own show, doubling its brightness during December as it heads toward its own opposition in January.
Early in the month, it rises about four hours after dark, but by New Year’s Eve, it’s rising just about 90 minutes after sunset — always shining with its distinctive reddish hue.
And on Dec. 17, you’ll find the Red Planet super close to the Moon, which will be just two days past its full phase.
The stars of winter are making their grand entrance in December. As evening falls, you’ll see the mighty hunter Orion rising in the east, with Taurus the bull above it, and the stars of the twins in Gemini to their left.
These constellations host some wonderful sights — like the Crab Nebula and Pleiades star cluster in Taurus and the misty Orion Nebula, which hangs below Orion's belt. If you look to the western sky soon after dark, you can still spot the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle getting quite low on the horizon. But as they depart, three bright stars of winter bring their own prominent triangular shape to mark the season.
Once you spot Orion's distinctive belt of three stars, you’re well on your way to finding what we call the Winter Triangle. Just follow the belt stars to the left and slightly downward — they point right to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Then look upward and to the left of Sirius to spot Procyon, and back up toward Orion to find reddish Betelgeuse at its shoulder. These three bright stars form an equilateral triangle that’s visible throughout the season.
The Geminid meteor shower peaks after midnight in the early morning of Dec. 14, and they’re usually one of the best meteor showers of the year under good conditions.
This year, the nearly full Moon will wash out the fainter meteors on the peak night. Still, the Geminids are known for bright meteors, and it’s common to spot their shooting stars up to a week before the peak.
If you’re up before dawn that week, it’s worth looking up, just in case you spot a speck of dust from space streaking through the morning sky.
Preston Dyches works for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Peerliss Christopher Brooke, 23, was sentenced to 40 years to life and lifetime sex offender registration during a Sept. 30 hearing before Judge J. David Markham.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Rich Watson said Brooke’s sentence was the result of a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office in which Brooke pleaded no contest to sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a victim under 10 years old.
While the 40 years to life sentence is a lengthy one, Brooke’s agreement to the plea deal is explained by the fact that he was facing 100 years or more in prison upon conviction at trial, Watson said.
Watson said the Brooke matter was “up there with the worst that I have dealt with” among sexual abuse cases.
“It’s really twisted,” Watson added.
Brooke had no criminal history before the case, said Watson.
He also had been a standout football player and wrestler at Lower Lake High School, based on online school sports reports.
FBI investigation leads to arrest
Watson said the investigation into the Brooke case started on Sept. 21, 2023.
The case began as the Federal Bureau of Investigation was following a lead in a child pornography case involving a male subject on the North Coast, Watson said.
That subject was on Facebook Live with a male in Clearlake — later identified as Brooke. Watson said Brooke was in the midst of sexually assaulting the child while filming it and the other man was instructing him on what to do with images and video.
Watson said the FBI identified a 7-year-old female victim they believed lived in Lake County and they contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Clearlake Police Department.
With the child identified, authorities went to the child’s home and notified her mother. Watson said that led to a forensic interview with the child victim on that same night at the Multi-Disciplinary Interview Center, which is part of the District Attorney’s Office.
That interview, Watson said, involved a trained forensic interviewer who asked nonleading questions in a manner that would allow the statements to come in in a court proceeding. It’s a process followed with child victims.
During that interview, the victim identified Brooke, said she knew him and that she had made videos with him, Watson said.
The next day — Sept. 22, 2023 — Clearlake Police Det. Leo Flores and an FBI agent executed a search warrant at Brooke’s home. Watson said when they reviewed his social media accounts, they found images and video of Brooke sexually assaulting the girl.
Watson said investigators confronted Brooke about the sexual assault and showed him a picture of the victim. Brooke told them that a person on Instagram offered him money for the photos, but he didn’t know her name and she never paid him.
The Clearlake Police Department arrested Brooke the same day as the search warrant service. Watson said Brooke was arraigned on Sept. 26, 2023. Defense attorney Tom Quinn, then a public defender with Lake Indigent Defense, was appointed to represent Brooke.
When contacted about the case, Quinn did not wish to offer comment for this story.
Watson said that the DA’s Office immediately made its plea offer to Brooke, although it wasn’t initially accepted.
A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 11, 2023, but Watson said that was waived, and it was set for jury trial, initially in May of this year, then it was continued to August.
On Aug. 16, a settlement conference was held, Watson said. “The offer never changed and he ended up pleading to it that day.”
Watson said Brooke pleaded no contest to sexual intercourse with a victim under 10 years old, which carries a statutory term of 25 years to life, and oral copulation on a victim under 10 years old, which has a 15-years-to-life statutory term. Those terms were made consecutive, leading to his aggregate total of 40 years to life in state prison, plus the lifetime sex offender registration.
That led to Judge Markham’s sentencing of Brooke on Sept. 30, Watson said.
Youth offender rules may allow for earlier parole hearings
On Oct. 3, Brooke was transported to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The agency’s inmate locator said he is serving his time at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.
Brooke’s parole eligible date currently is set at September 2047, but the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website entry on Brooke said that is subject to change, noting that Brooke will be eligible for a parole suitability hearing as a youth offender because he committed his “controlling offense” while under the age of 26.
“The incarcerated person’s first parole hearing will be scheduled during his or her 15th, 20th, or 25th year of incarceration, depending on the sentence imposed by the court,” the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website said.
State penal code allows for such exceptions in youth offender cases when the sentence is 25 years to life.
The penal code also allows for the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to authorize state inmates in circumstances such as Brooke’s to obtain an earlier youth parole eligible date
There are more parts to the investigation that began with the FBI that are still underway, said Watson, who noted that the FBI’s involvement showed how big the investigation is.
“There’s ongoing investigation into the other parties that were involved with the Instagram images and videos involving Peerliss Brooke and this victim,” said Watson, with multiple law enforcement agencies involved.
Watson said he is now preparing to charge the other man who was involved with instructing Brooke over Facebook Live during the child’s sexual assault.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Chamber of Commerce said it has selected its next executive director.
Amanda Martin, a Lake County native, has been hired for the job.
The chamber said Martin “brings a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to community service to her new role with the chamber.”
Martin previously served as the executive director of the Lake County Land Trust and president of the Middletown Art Center, and was a board member for the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
She also has experience running a consulting practice primarily serving nonprofits, worked as an event coordinator for New Paradigm College, and participated as a subcommittee member for the Blue-Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake.
“The board and I were very impressed with Amanda’s experience, initiative and passion for Lake County,” said chamber interim Administrator Greg Folsom. “She has some great ideas for how the chamber can positively impact businesses throughout Lake County that are in line with the board’s vision for the future. With Amanda’s leadership, I see great things happening for the Chamber and for Lake County businesses.”
The Lake County Chamber of Commerce serves its members through small business programs, government affairs, networking, educational opportunities, member development, advertising, special events and collaboration.
The Lake County Chamber of Commerce and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce will hold a joint mixer on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 5:30 p.m. at the Riviera Hills Restaurant, Lounge and Recreation Club located at 10200 Fairway Drive, Kelseyville where Martin will be introduced to the public.
Please call the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092 to RSVP for the Dec. 11 event.
