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- Written by: Lake County News reports
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris on Monday announced an innovative program with Yahoo! and Polaris Project to combat human trafficking by harnessing the power of the Internet to direct users to the national human trafficking hotline whenever certain terms related to human trafficking are searched through Yahoo!.
The goal of the initiative is to identify more victims of human trafficking by connecting survivors and community members to resources and support.
This program with Yahoo! and Polaris Project will provide Internet users with the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline number when they search for specific words or phrases.
If key search terms such as “human trafficking” are used when using Yahoo! Search, Internet users will see a banner that states: “Call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 to report sex trafficking, forced labor, or to get help.”
The Attorney General’s Office has also made available a Web site widget for download so that operators of any Web site can display a similar banner, which can be found at http://oag.ca.gov/widgets/human-trafficking .
Attorney General Harris pioneered this joint effort to combat human trafficking which has largely migrated online in the last five years.
Many human trafficking victims today are exploited through online advertising sites where their labor and bodies are advertised for purchase.
As human trafficking moves online, it is critical that victim services and law enforcement also respond online.
“Thousands of people are sold around the world, and trafficked into our country, every year for commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor,” said Attorney General Harris. “Human trafficking, often of children as young as 5 years of age, is a highly-lucrative enterprise for organized gangs who menace public safety. I commend Yahoo! for its moral leadership and Polaris Project for its commitment to identifying and serving victims of this intolerable crime. The efforts of Yahoo! and Polaris Project will improve the lives of untold people, and I hope that other search engines take similar steps to combat human trafficking.”
“As human trafficking moves into the online world, Yahoo! is in a unique position to have a positive impact on these terrible crimes,” said Michael Callahan, general counsel for Yahoo! “We believe this program and resulting activity will play a strong role in getting help to those in need.”
“This is an important step towards uncovering this hidden crime and providing human trafficking victims with a path towards freedom,” said Bradley Myles, Executive Director and CEO of Polaris Project. “To truly eradicate human trafficking from our communities, everyone must work together to increase awareness that this crime exists right here in the U.S. and to help survivors find the resources they need to reclaim their lives. We thank Attorney General Harris and Yahoo! for their leadership in recognizing that we are all part of the solution.”
The NHTRC hotline, operated by Polaris Project and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, received more than 19,000 calls last year, with more of those calls coming from California than any other state. Almost 20 percent of callers nationwide who reported potential human trafficking found the hotline number through an Internet search
The hotline is a toll-free, victim-centered number available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and in more than 170 languages.
Trained call specialists are on constant standby to link human trafficking victims to shelter and other resources that provide safety and protection.
The hotline also fields tips of suspected human trafficking cases and provides information, training and technical assistance to diverse audiences.
The NHTRC has built up a national network of more than 3,000 organizations and contacts who are working to fight and respond to human trafficking across the country.
With this comprehensive anti-trafficking referrals database, call specialists can connect callers to local service agencies or law enforcement officers who are ready to respond.
Attorney General Harris has made the fight against human trafficking a key priority throughout her career as a prosecutor. She co-sponsored the 2005 California Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act that first made human trafficking a felony in the state.
Attorney General Harris also served on the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force and the Department of Justice is currently updating the report “Human Trafficking in California,” which was released by the task force in 2007. The updated report is expected to be issued this summer.
Human trafficking is estimated to be a $32 billion industry, the world's third most profitable criminal enterprise behind drugs and arms trafficking.
Human trafficking involves the recruitment, smuggling, transporting, harboring, buying, or selling of a person for purposes of exploitation, commercial sex, domestic servitude, sweatshop labor, migrant work, agricultural labor, peonage, bondage, or involuntary servitude.
While human trafficking can be closely linked with the smuggling of human beings across international borders, tens of thousands of Americans are exploited in human trafficking situations inside the United States ever year.
Human trafficking strips people, especially women and children, of their freedom and violates our nation's promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights.
Polaris Project is one of the leading organizations in the global fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Named after the North Star “Polaris” that guided slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad, Polaris Project is transforming the way that individuals and communities respond to human trafficking, in the U.S. and globally.
By successfully pushing for stronger federal and state laws, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline (1-888-373-7888), conducting trainings, and providing vital services to victims of trafficking, Polaris Project creates long-term solutions that move our society closer to a world without slavery. Learn more at www.polarisproject.org .
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A crash on Highway 29 early Monday evening killed one person and sent another person to the hospital.
The crash, which happened at around 6:30 p.m. Monday, occurred near the Grange Road intersection just south of Putah and Guenoc lanes outside of Middletown.
Witnesses reported that Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire responded to the wreck, involving a red Chevrolet pickup and a silver Pontiac Grand Am.
The pickup was on its passenger side up against the Pontiac. The front of the Pontiac was smashed in.
The Pontiac's driver, said to be a male, died at the scene, according to witnesses.
The driver of the pickup, also said to be a male, had to be cut out of the vehicle, with firefighters slicing off the top of the cab to free him.
Firefighters then transported the pickup's driver to a landing zone set up about a half-mile down the highway, where he was picked up by a REACH air ambulance and flown to an out-of-county trauma center.
Specific information about the cause of the crash and the names of those involved was not immediately available as of 10:30 p.m. Monday.
More information will be posted as soon as it is available from the California Highway Patrol.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A clean up day and planting party was held at Clarks Island in Clearlake Oaks on Sunday.
The island has been the scene of a variety of cleanup and restoration efforts over the last several years, after the county of Lake purchased it.
The Clarks Island Sustainability Initiative, a group of community members and leaders, has led the effort to revitalize the area, which is a highly visible spot along Highway 20.
Supervisor Denise Rushing and a group of others worked on and around the island on Sunday, and checked on a floating island installed there.
Rushing said otters ate the cattail tubers off the living – apparently cattail root is an otter delicacy, she said. The otters swam underneath and munched from below.
The living dock itself wasn't damaged, and Rushing said otters apparently don't like the other vegetation in the island, including horsetail, iris and sedge.
She said they are planning to replant the island with vegetation that is not as tasty to otters, such as water irises.
For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clarks-Island-Sustainability-Initiative/131571996892818 .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Tabbies in a variety of colors, a Siamese and a calico cat are waiting for new homes at the county's animal shelter.
It's kitten season, so many kittens are offered along with the shelter's selection of adult cats.
Cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed and microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake .
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Female calico
This female calico is 1 year old.
She has gold eyes and a long, multicolored coat.
Find her in cat room kennel No. 4, ID No. 33123.
Orange tabby kitten
This male orange tabby kitten is 9 weeks old.
He has green eyes and a short coat, weighs just over 2 pounds and is not yet neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 16a, ID No. 33208.
Orange tabby cat
This male orange tabby cat is 5 years old.
He has a short coat, gold eyes and has been neutered.
He's in cat room kennel No. 20, ID No. 33143.
Orange and white tabby kitten
This male orange and white tabby kitten is 9 weeks old.
He has gold eyes and a long coat, weighs just over 2 pounds and has not yet been altered.
Find him in cat room kennel 23b, ID No. 33202.
Gray tabby kitten
This male gray tabby kitten is 9 weeks old.
He has a short coat and gold eyes, weighs 2 pounds and has not yet been neutered.
He's in cat room kennel No. 23c, ID No. 33203.
'Silver'
“Silver” is a 9-year-old male Siamese mix.
He has a short, multicolored coat, blue eyes and has been neutered.
Find Silver in cat room kennel No. 54, ID No. ID: 32995.
'Joey'
“Joey” is a 14-year-old male domestic short hair mix.
He has tan coloring, green eyes and a kinked tail. He has been neutered.
He's in cat room kennel No. 55, ID No. 32994.
Gray tabby kitten
This male gray tabby kitten is 12 weeks old.
He has a short coat, green eyes and has been neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 65b, ID No. 32840.
Male domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix kitten is 12 weeks old.
He has gray and black coloring and green eyes, and has been neutered.
He's in cat room kennel No. 65c, ID No. 32841.
Brown tabby kitten
This male brown tabby kitten is 12 weeks old.
He has a short coat and green eyes, and has been neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 65d, ID No. 32842.
White and gray tabby
This white and gray female tabby is 2 years old.
She has a short coat and gold eyes.
She's in cat room kennel No. 94, ID No. 33184.
Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.