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- Written by: Lake County News reports
In the first month since launching, more than 544,000 Californians have submitted a voter registration application using the Secretary of State’s online system.
This is peak registration season; Californians must register to vote by October 22 if they want to participate in the Nov. 6 election.
“Given all of the important issues on the November ballot, I am delighted so many Californians want to make their voices heard,” said Secretary of State Debra Bowen, California’s chief elections officer. “Since registering to vote is easier than ever with the quick online option, there is no excuse for not being ready to vote on Election Day.”
While more than 544,000 people used the online application, and many more are submitting paper applications, county elections officials still must verify eligibility and check for duplicate records before adding someone to the official voter roll, Bowen’s office reported.
Further, many of the applications are registration updates and not first-time registrants, so 544,000 online applications does not equate to 544,000 new voters. Finally, Bowen’s office said official statistics for all registrations will be available Nov. 2.
In California, voter registration application volume peaks each October before a November statewide general election (which comes in even-numbered years).
Hundreds of thousands of registration applications are submitted in the final weeks before a voter registration deadline, especially in presidential election years.
Voter registration applications must be submitted by midnight 15 days before the election. Postmarks count for paper applications, and online applications must be submitted – not started – by midnight on the Oct. 22 deadline (online registration records are time-stamped upon completion).
Voter records are maintained by county elections officials, who will use the next few days after the wave of last-minute applications on Oct. 22 to process and verify every one.
After all 58 county elections officials send their registration data to the Secretary of State, the secretary will compile the final statewide numbers with breakdowns by political district, political party, and more in the final Report of Registration on Nov. 2.
The official California voter registration application is at www.RegisterToVote.ca.gov . Paper applications are available at post offices, public libraries, many government offices and more.
Lake County residents may register to vote at the Lake County Registrar of Voters office, Room 209, Courthouse, Lakeport, or may phone the Registrar of Voter’s office at 707-263-2372 for information.
Keep up with the latest California election news and trivia by following @CASOSvote on Twitter.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new bill signed by the governor will establish new fees on boats in an effort to increase quagga and zebra mussel prevention efforts around California.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s office reported that on Sept. 23 he signed AB 2443 by Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara). The bill goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2013.
Williams’ bill would impose additional fees of up to $20 – over the current registration fees owners of water vessels pay to the state – which would be used for the implementation of dreissenid mussel monitoring, inspection and infestation prevention programs, according to the Legislative Counsel’s digest.
Dreissenid mussels – including quaggas and zebras – began appearing several years ago in Southern California water bodies.
They’re considered particularly devastating to ecosystems, and fears about their impacts have led to the establishment of inspection and sticker programs in Lake County in order to protect Clear Lake, Blue Lakes and other waterways.
State officials said the funds AB 2443 generates will be directed primarily to two agencies – the Department of Boating and Waterways and Department of Fish and Game – each of which will be administering a separate grant program.
Gloria Sandoval, spokesperson for the Department of Boating and Waterways, said AB 2443’s main purpose was to create a new and dedicated funding source for mussel monitoring and prevention programs around the state.
Sandoval said Boating and Waterways will take the lead in the formation of an advisory group that will set the amount of the new water vessel fees.
The fees that will go to Boating and Waterways will go into the Harbor and Watercraft Revolving Fund, she said.
The agency will administer grants to agencies that manage eligible lakes and reservoirs, according to Sandoval.
Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game, said that agency also will receive a percentage, which it intends to distribute through a separate grant program.
“We’re going to create a new grant program that does not exist now,” said Hughan, noting that current grant administration staff will take on the duties associated with the new program, with no new staff to be added.
He said each public agency that maintains a body of water will be able to apply for a grant that’s specific to mussel prevention efforts.
Hughan estimated that grants won’t be available until sometime in 2015 in order to give the state time to accumulate the new funds.
“It will take us a year at least to get up and going,” said Hughan.
He said the funds from AB 2443 won’t be going into Fish and Game’s prevention program. “We have our quagga program established and we have that built into our program.”
Hughan said Fish and Game wants to be more aggressive in preventing the spread of the mussels. “We want to do everything we can to help other jurisdictions,” which includes assisting with prevention and public education.
Department of Fish and Game wardens do some enforcement – as is the case in Lake County on Clear Lake – in the midst of their other duties, said Hughan.
“We rely on the local jurisdictions to really step up, which they have been,” Hughan said.
Because the bill is so new, Carolyn Ruttan, invasive species program coordinator with Lake County Department of Water Resources, said the local agency is not yet sure of how the new bill may benefit Lake County’s prevention program.
She said there is the concern that the money will be largely directed to affected lakes and waterways in Southern California rather than to prevention efforts in Northern California.
At the same time, she said Lake is hoping to form partnerships with the neighboring counties of Mendocino and Sonoma – all big players in terms of water resources – in order to consider mussel prevention from a regional standpoint.
“We need to think about this problem together,” Ruttan said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Although there has been a 25 percent decline in large truck-involved fatal collisions from (2007-2010) nationally, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is working daily to save even more lives through enforcement and education.
To further enhance that progress, the CHP will join forces with other law enforcement agencies throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's Operation Safe Driver, October 14-20.
This operation targets unsafe and aggressive driving by both passenger and commercial vehicle drivers by conducting high visibility enforcement operations and public outreach.
The CHP, in a partnership with the California Trucking Association, will conduct high-visibility enforcement operations and public outreach during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Operation Safe Driver week. CHP will conduct enforcement activities statewide on highways and local roads.
In California, there has been a 40 percent decrease in the number of collisions involving a commercial vehicle that resulted in the death of a motorist between 2006 and 2010.
“By participating in education and enforcement efforts such as Operation Safe Driver, the CHP is striving to continue to reduce the number of people killed and injured on California’s roadways,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.
The CHP joins with the CVSA by encouraging motorists to keep in mind the following safety tips when driving near a big truck:
- Stay out of the No-Zone. A No-Zone is an actual blind spot where the car “disappears” from the view of the truck driver.
- Stay visible! Large trucks need a much longer braking distance than a car. Do not cut into a truck’s space; if this happens, it reduces a truck’s much-needed braking distance and restricts evasive action.
- Do not tailgate a truck. The further you are away from a truck the less likely you will be involved in a collision.
- Do not speed. Obey all speed limits.
- Allow plenty of room. Large trucks are almost as wide as your lane of travel. Following too close behind one prevents you from reacting to changing traffic conditions and patterns.
- Buckle up. Wearing your safety belt is the single most important thing you can do to save your life in a crash.
“Protect yourself and your passengers by learning how to share the road safely with large vehicles,” added Commissioner Farrow.
The CVSA, in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state and local law enforcement launched the Operation Safe Driver campaign in 2007 to combat the number of deaths resulting from crashes involving large trucks, buses, and passenger vehicles.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A big rig carrying drilling equipment up Geysers Road toward Cobb Mountain overturned on Monday morning, blocking the roadway for several hours.
The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. in the 13000 block of Geysers Road, on the Sonoma County side near Cloverdale, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said the driver was uninjured in the wreck, which completely blocked the roadway.
Officer John Float of the CHP’s Santa Rosa Area office said the 35-ton International truck was carrying drilling equipment up the hill. Reports from the scene said the truck was loaded with pipes and augers.
Float didn’t have information about where the equipment was headed.
Bottle Rock Power Plant said the equipment wasn’t headed there; Lake County News was unable to reach the Northern California Power Agency or Calpine to see if their geothermal plants on Cobb Mountain had been the destination for the equipment.
Float said that tow trucks arrived on the scene at 2:30 p.m. to remove the truck.
“The road is closed,” Float said shortly before 3 p.m.
He said the Sonoma County Road Department was providing traffic control in the area.
Email Elizabeth Larson at