How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Fog and icy road conditions resulted in county road workers and California Highway Patrol officers keeping an eye on the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff on Tuesday.
A thick morning fog came off Clear Lake in that area of the Northshore, resulting in icy roads, said Lake County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland.
“We didn’t have any accidents to our knowledge,” said Stangland.
Stangland said the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff is the busiest of the roads that Lake County maintains, and his staff gives it extra attention as a result.
A county sand truck on Tuesday spent part of the day sanding the cutoff, and the CHP set out flares to warn drivers of icy areas, Stangland said.
Stangland said the county has three road districts, each of which has a staff member who starts work at 4 a.m. – ahead of commuter traffic – to monitor areas like the cutoff, Bottle Rock Road and Point Lakeview Road for ice, downed trees and other road hazards.
With the fog lifting, Stangland said he’s not anticipating Wednesday to replicate Tuesday’s icy conditions.
The National Weather Service is predicting chances of showers increasing through the end of the week.
Stangland said the cloud cover and chance of rain will mean slightly warmer temperatures and less chance of icy roadways.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
The corporation said it hasn’t yet determined which stores will be closed.
"Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” said Chief Executive Officer Lou D'Ambrosio. “These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail – at the store, online and in the home.”
The corporation reported that it operates 1,307 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 890 full-line Sears stores.
There are no full-line Sears stores in the Lake County area, with the closest being in Santa Rosa, according to the Sears Web site.
However, the corporation Web site showed there are “hometown stores” – not reported to be slated for closure – in Lakeport and Clearlake. Lakeport also is home to a Kmart.
The proposed closures are expected to generate $140 to $170 million of cash as the net inventory in these stores is sold, along with additional cash proceeds from the sale or sublease of the related store real estate, the corporation said.
Sears Holdings Corp. said it expects to reduce its 2012 peak domestic inventory by $300 million from the 2011 level of $10.2 billion as a result of cost decreases in apparel, tighter buys and a lower inventory position at the beginning of the fiscal year.
The Tuesday report attributed Kmart's sales decline to decreases in the consumer electronics and apparel categories and lower layaway sales, while Sears’ declines were primarily driven by the consumer electronics and home appliance categories, with apparel sales flat and Lands' End in Sears stores up by mid-single digits.
D'Ambrosio said the corporation plans to take several specific actions to improve its situation, including focusing on improving gross profit dollars through better inventory management and more targeted pricing and promotion; reducing fixed costs by $100 to $200 million; and carefully evaluating store performance going forward.
“While our past practice has been to keep marginally performing stores open while we worked to improve their performance, we no longer believe that to be the appropriate action in this environment,” the corporation said in its Tuesday statement. “We intend to accentuate our focus and resources to our better performing stores with the goal of converting their customer experience into a world-class integrated retail experience.”
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
In October 2010, Harris filed a lawsuit against 10 companies for engaging in price fixing of LCD panels from 1999 to 2006 that resulted in higher prices for California residents and businesses, as well as government agencies.
Tuesday’s settlements resolve Attorney General Harris' claims against seven companies, along with those of seven other attorneys general and a national class action.
As part of the settlements, the companies that engaged in price fixing will provide a fund for consumers and businesses in 25 states, including California.
The settling companies also have resolved claims brought by Attorney General Harris for civil penalties under California's Unfair Competition Law, as well as restitution for government agencies that purchased the flat screen LCD panels.
Attorney General Harris is joined in these settlements by the attorneys general of Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as a class action brought on behalf of private claimants in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Settling defendants include: Chimei Innolux Corp., Chi Mei Optoelectronics USA, Inc., Chi Mei Optoelectronics Japan Co., Ltd, HannStar Display Corp., Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Hitachi Electronic Devices, USA, Inc., Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Semiconductor, Inc., Sharp Corp. and Sharp Electronics Corp.
The California case was originally filed in San Francisco Superior Court, where litigation continues against AU Optronics Corp., AU Optronics Corp. America, Inc., LG Display Co. Ltd., LG Display America Inc., Toshiba Corp., Toshiba Mobile Display Co. Ltd. and Toshiba America Electronics Components Inc.
In 2008, two companies – LG Display Co., Ltd. and LG Display America, Inc. – pleaded guilty to federal charges for price fixing TFT-LCD panels and paid $400 million in federal fines. Defendants AU Optronics Corp. and AU Optronics Corp. America, along with several employees, have been indicted on federal charges of price fixing.
The criminal trial is scheduled for January 2012 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
California consumers and government entities will receive a significant portion of the more than $500 million settlement, with an exact percentage to be determined later.
Following completion of the litigation, California consumers and businesses can file claims for monetary relief.
Information about how to file a claim will be available at the Attorney General's Web site at www.oag.ca.gov or by calling 800-952-5225.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News reports
