LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control’s shelter is filled with dogs eager to get out and join new families.

The dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Akita, American blue heeler, Australian shepherd, Belgian malinois, border collie, cattle dog, German shepherd, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull terrier, Rottweiler and Siberian husky.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

Those dogs and the others shown on this page at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.

Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.

The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.

 

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — On Friday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) held a “Coffee with Our Congressman” community event for residents in the Middletown area to meet him and ask questions about the latest news out of Washington.

The event was hosted at The Twin Pine Event Center, with over 150 residents in attendance.

“My event today was open to the entire Middletown community. Residents from both parties showed up and it was clear from the beginning that many residents are concerned about the chaos coming out of the administration. As your Congressman, I’m working to fight back against the president’s unlawful actions in Congress, in the courts, and in the court of public opinion,” Thompson said Friday.

“Thank you to the over 150 community members who attended today's event, and the countless more who have written me, called my office, and raised their voices against this administration’s unlawful and unethical actions,” Thompson said. “There’s a reason that Republican leaders are urging their party not to hold town halls. Americans are rightfully angry over threats to their personal data, health care, veterans’ services, Social Security, and more. The president and his party are losing in the court of public opinion.”

Friday’s event was one in a series of community events Thompson has hosted across our district.

Since the president took office in January, Thompson has worked to combat the Administration’s unlawful actions and protect Americans’ sensitive data from DOGE.

Some of Thompson’s actions include:

Congressional action

Rep. Thompson voted no on the Republican Budget, which slashed Medicaid, nutrition funding and other services, and voted no on Congressional Republicans’ partisan Fiscal Year 2025 funding bill, which enabled deeper Trump-Musk cuts to programs Americans rely on every day.

Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to health care and nutrition programs add up to the exact cost for their planned tax cuts for the ultra-rich. Congressional Republicans are sacrificing the programs Americans rely on in order to fund tax cuts for the ultra-rich. That’s why Rep. Thompson has coauthored dozens of bills and letters to demand answers from the President and hold him accountable.

Rep. Thompson continues to use his position on the powerful Ways and Means Committee to hold the president’s feet to the fire. Rep. Thompson, alongside Ways and Means Democrats, has introduced a resolution of inquiry to obligate the Department of Treasury and DOGE to answer questions on their unlawful access to sensitive taxpayer information and the federal payment systems. He also joined his Democratic colleagues to introduce a resolution of inquiry to demand answers from the Social Security Administration on their proposed mass layoffs and closures of field and regional offices.

Rep. Thompson has also cosponsored the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, which will protect the nation’s payment system from reckless and unlawful interference and ensure that anyone who accesses the federal government’s central payment system with a personal financial conflict faces criminal penalties.

Court action

Rep. Thompson has joined House Democrats to support over 108 lawsuits against the president’s unlawful executive orders, including his firing of inspectors general and termination of civil servants.

Public opinion

Rep. Thompson stands with the millions of Americans who are outraged at the president’s unlawful actions. Since January, Rep. Thompson has held community events and posted updates online reaching over half a million people. Through town halls, coffees, press conferences, and online video updates, Rep. Thompson is working daily to update Americans about the chaos coming out of Washington and how Democrats are working to combat it.

Thompson said public pressure is yielding results. Already, Congressional pressure, litigation, and public outrage have:

• Stopped the funding freeze for federal programs.
• Forced the reinstatement of tens of thousands of federal workers.
• Prevented DOGE access to certain sensitive data.
• Stopped the president’s attempt to end constitutional birthright citizenship.
• Reinstated bird flu researchers.
• Reinstated nuclear safety engineers.
• Stopped efforts to remove air traffic control workers and other FAA employees making flying safer.
• Rehired some agriculture researchers including those doing smoke exposure research.

Thompson’s office said this is only the beginning, that he remains committed to working on behalf of Fourth District residents to protect the programs they rely on and strengthen our democracy.

Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — It’s because of Yuba College’s summer volleyball camp that Kellie Tongson fell in love with the sport.

During the Thea Post era (volleyball coach from 1986-2005), it was Tongson’s impressionable experience as a young camper that kicked off a playing career that ultimately led to coaching.

“That was a big piece of our summers,” Tongson said. “Me, my friends, my sisters, we loved it and looked forward to it. It makes me emotional just thinking about it … being able to bring that back to our community.”

In a full circle moment, with the approval of the Yuba College Board of Trustees on March 13, Tongson was appointed the women’s volleyball coach for the 49ers.

“This will be a new experience being at the college level, but I think she’s really going to enjoy working with the older athletes and taking them to another level with their skillset,” said Yuba College Athletic Director Erick Burns.

Coaching at the college level wasn’t on Tongson’s radar. As the River Valley High School and a club coach for a top 18s team, Tongson enjoys youth development, fundamentals and seeing their growth.

But she started to notice a trend: her graduating players weren’t staying local. In fact, a couple of years ago, her entire roster of 12 all went on to play in college, but no one went to Yuba College, the most local option.

Tongson wants to change that.

“I know that not everyone can afford to go away for college,” Tongson said. “I want them to be able to play and not feel like they have to commute so they can play. I guess it’s filling that need and rebuilding. Thea left a legacy and that’s super important to me.”

Tongson is building a local legacy of her own. She became involved, as both a player and a coach, with Yuba Elite Volleyball Club, a local competitive volleyball league.

With no home base, gym space was rented from Yuba College or local schools, which occasionally led to canceled practices due to school events taking precedence.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Tongson zeroed in on facility ownership. In 2022, she opened the Yuba Elite Sports Facility in Yuba City, creating a home court for her volleyball club along with creating opportunities for the community to enjoy, including youth and adult recreation leagues and fitness training.

As part of the club’s academy program, Tongson’s system is teaching 130 kids ranging from seven-years-old to teens, volleyball fundamentals in preparation for the junior high level and beyond.

“It’s led to some really good improvements in our club and our high school volleyball as well,” Tongson said.

Tongson prides herself in building a good culture and community within her programs, emphasizing to the young players to be good people first, then good athletes. If they play for Yuba Elite, they're expected to meet a certain standard; a standard Tongson will carry to the college level.

“We talk about having integrity, doing the right thing when no one is watching, being kind and being good daughters,” she said.

Burns looks forward to having Tongson’s positive energy in the Yuba College program.

“She’s very organized and energetic and has a vision for the direction of the program,” he said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a consumer alert urging Californians to learn about free or low-cost tax filing options.

As Tax Day approaches, many Californians may seek out assistance with filing their state and federal tax returns.

Through the IRS Direct File and CalFile programs, eligible California taxpayers can file their 2024 federal and state taxes for free.

“For many families, tax season brings an opportunity to get a catch up on bills, build some financial breathing room for emergencies, or finally take the car in for repairs,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Many consumers turn to third-party tax preparation services for help filing their tax returns and too often wind up paying when they could file for free. To keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets, I encourage Californians to file early and find out if they qualify for free tax help.”

IRS Direct File and CalFile allow eligible taxpayers to file federal and state tax returns, respectively, free of charge, quickly, and securely.

By removing barriers to filing, these programs may allow consumers to get tax refunds and claim critical tax benefits like California’s Earned Income Tax Credit and Young Child Tax Credit. After completing their federal return with IRS Direct File, California taxpayers are provided a link to CalFile to complete their state tax return for free.

• IRS Direct File is a free service that allows eligible taxpayers to electronically file their federal tax returns directly with the IRS. To see if you qualify, check here.

• Franchise Tax Board’s CalFile is California's free e-filing service for state tax returns. The FTB’s CalFile program allows qualified individuals to quickly e-file their state tax return directly to the FTB, free of charge. To see if you qualify, check here.

More tax preparation resources

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provides free tax help to people who make $64,000 or less annually, persons with disabilities, and people who do not understand English well. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those over 60, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues. More information on these programs is available here.

More cash in your pocket: You may qualify for cash back or a reduction of the tax you owe under the Earned Income Tax Credit and the California Earned Income Tax Credit programs.

Need more time to prepare? You can use IRS Free File to electronically request an automatic tax-filing extension, regardless of your income. You will then have until Oct. 15 to file a return. More information on how to request an extension can be found on the IRS website.

Find a reputable tax preparer: If you decide to hire a tax preparer, make sure your tax preparer is reputable and qualified to provide tax services. In California, only an attorney, certified public accountant, IRS-enrolled agent, or registered-tax preparer can prepare tax returns for a fee. To confirm whether a tax preparer is registered with the IRS, check here.

If you believe you have been the victim of a tax-related scam or other misconduct, you can file a complaint with our office at oag.ca.gov/report or with the IRS.

To learn about how to protect yourself and your loved ones against fraud, visit our website at https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/taxes.

Typically the settlor of a revocable living trust is also the initial trustee until they either resign or are unable to manage the affairs of the trust due to incapacity or death.

While the settlor is alive and competent, however, the settlor of a revocable trust may still direct the trustee’s administration of the settlor’s trust owned assets.

This is because assets in a revocable trust belong to the person who has the power to revoke the trust (usually the settlors) and own the assets free of trust.

With revocable trusts, the settlor may provide written directions, acceptable to the trustee, telling the trustee what to do with trust assets.

Alternatively, the trustee may delegate this power of direction over the trust administration to another person who can likewise direct the trustee’s actions (Probate Code section 16001).

Since January 1, 2024, with the California Uniform Directed Trust Act (Sections 16600 et seq. Probate Code), a power of direction over the trust is not limited to revocable trusts but may be expressly included within the trust document itself. That is, both revocable and irrevocable California trusts can be drafted as directed trusts to include a trust director with a power of appointment over, “some aspect(s) of the trust administration.”

The subject matter of the power of direction, for example, might be the power to direct investing the trust assets (brokerage accounts), to manage trust owned property (e.g., rentals), and to decide when and how to make distributions to or for the benefit of trust beneficiaries (section 16602(d) Probate Code).

With a directed trust arrangement, the directed trustee is required to take reasonable steps to implement the power of direction given by the trust director (section 16614(a) Probate Code). The directed trustee’s role (involvement) in the trust administration is, therefore, reduced to the same extent that authority is given to one or more trust directors.

The trust director’s power of direction (authority) needs to be clearly defined. One approach is to allocate certain trustee duties and/or powers wholly to the trust director. The trust could even appoint separate trust directors over separate aspects of the trust administration. Thus, settlors can appoint trusted advisors as trust directors.

A directed trust creates a decentralized administration of the estate where the trustee(s) and the trust director(s) collectively manage the assets and affairs of the trust estate as a team.

Whereas the traditional sole trustee administration makes the trustee responsible for all aspects of administration.

While the trustee can delegate some (not all) duties he is still responsible to supervise the delegated duties, with the limited exception of delegation to an independent investment advisor.

A directed trustee, however, is not responsible to supervise a trust director, and vice versa. In fact, the directed trustee and the trust director are relieved of liability for each other’s actions and inactions (Sections 16612 and 16614 Probate Code).

Moreover, the new law also applies to the co-trustee arrangement. That is, it is possible to segment the trustee duties or compartmentalize assets and duties amongst co-trustees.

Co-trustees otherwise are collectively and severally responsible for the entire administration of all trust assets and cannot delegate the entire office of trustee to one co-trustee.

Now, however, it is possible for a trust to narrowly segment (carve out) certain aspects of the overall trust administration and specifically allocate the same to one co-trustee (Section 16620 Probate Code).

Furthermore, it is possible for a trust to more broadly compartmentalize the administration of certain (special) assets and allocate all responsibilities over such assets to one co-trustee (a special co-trustee). Thus, co-trustees can now operate autonomously of each other with respect to some duties over all assets or with respect to all duties over special trust assets.

In sum, trusts can divide out responsibilities amongst several fiduciaries by taking authority from the trustee(s) and allocating authority to trust directors or co-trustees.

This new estate planning tool can provide creative and useful solutions where the estate planning goals are otherwise unattainable.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.

Three NASA-funded rockets are set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, in an experiment that seeks to reveal how auroral substorms affect the behavior and composition of Earth’s far upper atmosphere.

The experiment’s outcome could upend a long-held theory about the aurora’s interaction with the thermosphere. It may also improve space weather forecasting, critical as the world becomes increasingly reliant on satellite-based devices such as GPS units in everyday life.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks, or UAF, Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat, located 20 miles north of Fairbanks, and operates it under a contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, which is part of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The experiment, titled Auroral Waves Excited by Substorm Onset Magnetic Events, or AWESOME, features one four-stage rocket and two two-stage rockets all launching in an approximately three-hour period.

Colorful vapor tracers from the largest of the three rockets should be visible across much of northern Alaska. The launch window is March 24 through April 6.

The mission, led by Mark Conde, a space physics professor at UAF, involves about a dozen UAF graduate student researchers at several ground monitoring sites in Alaska at Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Toolik Lake, Eagle, and Venetie, as well as Poker Flat. NASA delivers, assembles, tests, and launches the rockets.

“Our experiment asks the question, when the aurora goes berserk and dumps a bunch of heat in the atmosphere, how much of that heat is spent transporting the air upward in a continuous convective plume and how much of that heat results in not only vertical but also horizontal oscillations in the atmosphere?” Conde said.

Confirming which process is dominant will reveal the breadth of the mixing and the related changes in the thin air’s characteristics.

“Change in composition of the atmosphere has consequences,” Conde said. “And we need to know the extent of those consequences.”

Most of the thermosphere, which reaches from about 50 to 350 miles above the surface, is what scientists call “convectively stable.” That means minimal vertical motion of air, because the warmer air is already at the top, due to absorption of solar radiation.

When auroral substorms inject energy and momentum into the middle and lower thermosphere (roughly 60 to 125 miles up), it upsets that stability. That leads to one prevailing theory — that the substorms’ heat is what causes the vertical-motion churn of the thermosphere.

Conde believes instead that acoustic-buoyancy waves are the dominant mixing force and that vertical convection has a much lesser role. Because acoustic-buoyancy waves travel vertically and horizontally from where the aurora hits, the aurora-caused atmospheric changes could be occurring over a much broader area than currently believed.

Better prediction of impacts from those changes is the AWESOME mission’s practical goal.

“I believe our experiment will lead to a simpler and more accurate method of space weather prediction,” Conde said.

Two two-stage, 42-foot Terrier-Improved Malemute rockets are planned to respectively launch about 15 minutes and an hour after an auroral substorm begins. A four-stage, 70-foot Black Brant XII rocket is planned to launch about five minutes after the second rocket.

The first two rockets will release tracers at altitudes of 50 and 110 miles to detect wind movement and wave oscillations. The third rocket will release tracers at five altitudes from 68 to 155 miles.

Pink, blue, and white vapor traces should be visible from the third rocket for 10 to 20 minutes. Launches must occur in the dawn hours, with sunlight hitting the upper altitudes to activate the vapor tracers from the first rocket but darkness at the surface so ground cameras can photograph the tracers’ response to air movement.

Rod Boyce works for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors has agreed to begin discussions this summer with the city of Clearlake regarding the governance of the Lake County Sanitation District as it relates to its operations in the city.

Supervisors Bruno Sabatier and Helen Owen took the city’s request for the discussions to their colleagues at the Feb. 25 meeting.

The city’s request for dialogue about the Lake County Special Districts, or LACOSAN, Southeast System initially was made in April 2024.

Their report said the city requested that the Board of Supervisors — sitting also in its capacity as the LACOSAN Board of Directors — “engage in discussions with City officials on a governance model that would provide greater involvement from the City in maintenance and operations of the District.”

LACOSAN is part of Lake County Special Districts.

Sabatier and Owen said in their written report that they’ve met and discussed the request with Special Districts, the Lake County administration and the city of Clearlake about this request. “We are requesting that the Board of Supervisors approve initiating discussions with the City of Clearlake delegation to seek various options on how future engagements will be handled between both jurisdictions.”

They requested that the county delegation for the discussions include themselves, one administration team member and Special Districts Director Robin Borre.

During the meeting, Sabatier noted there have been ongoing issues with LACOSAN’s operations, especially in the Highlands area of Clearlake. He said there has been a million gallons of raw sewage that has leaked out of the system, some of it going into the lake.

Sabatier said there is now a different relationship between the county and city, which he hopes is positive. He pointed out that LACOSAN is controlled by the county but operating within the city.

City Manager Alan Flora said he appreciated Sabatier and Owen for bringing the matter forward and he is looking forward to working together.

There was no public comment before the board began its deliberations, with Supervisor Brad Rasmussen leading off by saying he was in favor of approving the request.

Supervisor Jessica Pyska didn’t support the proposal, saying she didn’t see how it benefitted the county.

“We are in partnership and there have been some historical problems,” said Sabatier, adding that by approving the proposal, the board is saying they are coming to the table with the city to work together.

“We do need to look into this,” said Owen, noting there have been major spills, one of them in her district. “This is something that we do need to resolve.”

Borre said discussions with Clearlake could open it up for other groups to want to enter into similar discussions.

Pyska said that was her concern, and that it could result in unfair representation with LACOSAN. She said the county has a good relationship with the city, adding that she didn’t see it as benefiting the rest of the county, including her constituency.

Sabatier said the very first conversation should be the definition of the district, and he believes there are opportunities if they open up a dialog.

Borre said she would have to carve out time to have discussions, explaining she and her staff already spend a significant amount of time dealing with Clearlake issues.

Pyska said the county was in the midst of other work, including negotiations involving The Geysers pipeline, and she didn’t support diverting staff time. “I am not in favor of going down this road.”

Owen said they needed to take action and that she didn’t want to see any more overflows.

Borre said that, since she has worked for the county — she was hired in May of 2024 — there haven’t been significant overflows. She said there were a few minor spills in Clearlake in September but there were no spills during major storms, which she credited to her staff’s ingenuity and being proactive.

Board Chair EJ Crandell said that he also didn’t support the discussions because of staff’s work and deadlines on other matters.

Rasmussen made two motions, the first to approve initiating discussions with Clearlake, with Owen seconded and the board approved 3-2, with Crandell and Pyska voting no.

His second motion was to approve placing Owen, Sabatier, Borre and a member of the county administrative officer’s staff on the delegation to meet with Clearlake.

Pyska said she was concerned about the impact on the rest of the county and she wanted a different composition for the discussion group. She asked Rasmussen if he would be willing to sit on the delegation and he said he was open to it.

Sabatier, however, said he wanted to keep it to supervisors within that jurisdiction area.

County Administrative Officer Susan Parker told the board that her office is greatly involved in The Geysers discussions and the county budget until June 30, as well as working on issues related to the Potter Valley Project. As a result, she asked that the discussions begin after July 1.

Rasmussen, Owen and Sabatier were all OK with it. With Rasmussen’s motion amended to include that timeline, the board voted 3-2, again with Crandell and Pyska voting no.

Clearlake City Council gets update on action

At the March 6 Clearlake City Council meeting, Flora recounted how the council had adopted a resolution in April 2024 relating to the Southeast System, which is an independent system in which the supervisors serve as the board.

He said the city has had a number of issues and frustrations over operation of the system over the last few years.

When the city was incorporated, it should have been given seats as part of the governing board and that did not happen, Flora said.

Flora said those concerns led to the council’s approval of the April resolution seeking to discuss the Southeast System’s governance with the Board of Supervisors.

He said there was more discussion than he expected at the board meeting, and said it was “quite disappointing to see,” regarding the narrow votes to approve the city’s request.

However, the good news is that there will be a discussion starting after July 1, Flora said.

Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten said it was time the city gets involved, noting numerous spills and odor issues. He said the city needs to be proactive, and that the system is antiquated and needs to be brought up to standards.

Mayor Russell Cremer agreed with Slooten. He said he also was disappointed by the narrow vote in support. “This is affecting our city.”

Sabatier, who attended the council meeting, said he appreciated the request from the city and was glad the board gave approval to move forward. Cremer said he appreciated Sabatier advocating for the city.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.

NORTH COAST, Calif. — Authorities arrested two Lucerne women this week who they said were responsible for a series of vehicle burglaries in Ukiah.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Elizabeth Arnold, 39, and Sarah Simon, 48, early Tuesday morning.

The agency said that at 12:42 a.m. Tuesday, deputies were dispatched to investigate two suspicious subjects entering people's vehicles in the 3000 block of Estrella Court in Ukiah.

Upon arrival at the scene, deputies immediately observed a female who was driving a vehicle at a slow speed with all of the lights turned off. The female was stopped by deputies and identified as Sarah Simon.

Deputies also observed another female hiding behind a nearby vehicle in the driveway of a residence, who was identified as Elizabeth Arnold.

Both Simon and Arnold were detained, and deputies began their investigation by canvassing the neighborhood.

The deputies located multiple vehicles in the area with the doors open. Deputies contacted the homeowners where the vehicles were parked and learned several items had been stolen from the vehicles.

A search of Arnold, Simon and their vehicle revealed numerous items that had just been stolen, the sheriff’s office said.

Simon was also in possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and had an active warrant for her arrest out of Lake County for petty theft with two priors.

During their investigation, the deputies learned both Arnold and Simon were also suspects in similar thefts of numerous items taken from vehicles in the nearby neighborhoods of West Fork Estates and Lake Mendocino Estates, which occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 18.

Sheriff’s detectives assisted with this investigation and gathered additional evidence and statements which led to the execution of search warrants for additional stolen property.

In all, authorities said investigators determined there were five victims of the Tuesday burglaries.

During the investigation, Simon was placed under arrest for her felony arrest warrant out of Lake County, along with charges of felony conspiracy, possession of paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.

Arnold was placed under arrest for felonies of conspiracy and grand theft.

Simon was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held in lieu of $10,000 bail for the Lake County warrant and $15,000 bail for the current open charges.

Arnold was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held in lieu of $15,000.00 bail.

Anyone with information related to this investigation and thefts is requested to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 707-463-4086 (option 1).

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol has issued a report on a wreck earlier this week that claimed the life of a Lakeport man.

The crash, which took place just before noon on Sunday, led to the death of 88-year-old Edmund Joseph Slevin.

The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office said that at 11:50 a.m. Sunday, Slevin was driving his Hyundai southbound on Lakeshore Boulevard south of Rainbow Drive at an unknown speed.

Amely Ballesteros, 21, of Lakeport was driving a Jeep at a stated speed of 30 to 35 miles per hour, traveling northbound on Lakeshore Boulevard north of Beach Lane, approaching Slevin’s vehicle.

She saw Slevin’s Hyundai drift across the roadway centerline towards oncoming traffic, narrowly missing the vehicle in front of her, the CHP said.

The left front corner of Slevin’s Hyundai struck the left side of Amely Ballesteros’ Jeep, causing the Jeep to spin about where it came to rest, on its wheels, facing a southwesterly direction in front of a residence, according to the CHP report.

The CHP said Slevin’s vehicle continued further onto the northbound shoulder towards a residence, where it came to rest against a water main, facing in a south-easterly direction.

Slevin was unresponsive at the scene and did not regain consciousness, the CHP reported.

The report said Slevin was transported to Sutter Lakeside for medical treatment. Emergency room staff at Sutter Lakeside ultimately exhausted efforts to revive him and pronounced him deceased just after 1 p.m., the CHP said.

The CHP report said Ballesteros was uninjured.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.

This week, California completed its first phase of the new deliberative democracy platform, Engaged California.

Those who subscribed to participate in the first use case, focusing on Los Angeles fire recovery efforts, received invites to join the discussion.

Officials called this is a significant milestone in a brand-new program for the state of California.

Visitors to engaged.ca.gov will also find a new section of the website that informs survivors of the different phases in this process and where they can be involved. It sets a visual detail of the timeline and expectations for the outcome.

“The initial response from Californians has shown us that we need to create different options for how people interact with us. We’re now moving forward into a listening mode and bringing people together for a conversation that can help us change how we normally do things — which is exactly what Engaged California is supposed to do,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

This marks a major achievement in creating a new option for Californians to have their voices heard. People who opted into the conversation are now engaging with each other and starting to set the priorities for the deliberation. Invitations take participants into the space where they answer questions, can vote in favor of comments left by others, and respond to other comments. Participation in the space is anonymous and open for a limited time.

“Fire survivors are now actively communicating with us. And California is actively listening,” said California Government Operations Secretary Nick Maduros. “What we are seeing is the shaping of the conversation around recovery efforts from the people who are closest to the need.”

What is Engaged California?

Engaged California is a new platform that gives Californians a unique opportunity to share their thoughts and connect with other people on topics that are important to them.

It creates new opportunities for Californians to connect with their government to inform and shape policy through honest, respectful discussions.

The program was launched In February with the first use case focusing on the impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Ongoing conversations help keep policies useful and up to date by reflecting the ideas and needs of the community, rather than solely relying on one round of feedback.

Engaged California represents a deep collaboration between California and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Carnegie California is grateful to be on the ground floor, providing our expertise to inform the development of California's deliberative democracy program,” said Ian Klaus, founding director of Carnegie California. "It is wonderful that California is committed to grounding this work in best practices from knowledge partners in the state and around the globe to improve public engagement and strengthen democracy with digital tools."

This program was modeled after the successful efforts led by Audrey Tang, Taiwan's first Minister of Digital Affairs.

Speaking on a panel at SXSW 2025, Tang highlighted how technology can enhance civic engagement. She pointed to California’s role in leading this shift in the United States.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, Governor Newsom of California announced Engaged California with the same idea about plural listening on a very urgent topic—of how to recover from the wildfire in Eaton and Palisades in LA, and more topics afterwards,” Tang said. “So, we're now seeing a new wave grounded in individual ideas that people have, and resonance people have with each other, without AI stepping in to replace a human's role in decision making."

The long-term goal is to create a sustainable model for deliberative democracy that can be used to discuss other significant issues in California.

Want to join?

Getting involved is simple, and your voice can make a real impact. And remember, this isn’t just a one-time input.

Engaged California is a platform for ongoing dialogue where your ideas are heard and shared.

Stay tuned and get ready to participate. Sign up now at engaged.ca.gov to join the conversation.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County officials have continued to raise concerns about a new fire hazard map released by Cal Fire that has determined that thousands more acres of the county are at a higher fire threat.

On Feb. 10, Cal Fire released its new fire hazard severity zone map for “Local Responsibility Areas,” adding a total of 14,000 acres of Lake County land to the 'very high' fire hazard severity zone.

State law defines Local Responsibility Areas, or LRA, as “Areas of the state in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is the primary responsibility of a city, county, city and county, or district.”

The new map has entered a 90-day public comment period that began Feb. 12 and ends May 13.

Local governments are required to adopt the map by ordinance in 120 days; their deadline is July 1.

County and city officials, however, fear the new map could have major implications for the county, particularly in relation to fire insurance. They also have questioned the fact that the ratings on the map cannot be altered, regardless of local mitigation efforts.

This is not the first time that Lake County has dealt with concerns about the fire hazard severity zone map.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is required by law to classify both the state and local responsibility areas into moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones.

In April 2024, the updated mapping for State Responsibility Areas went into effect, despite local opposition expressed during the public hearing at the Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Then, in December, local officials — including supervisors, fire chiefs and city managers — were informed that the updated map for the LRA would soon be rolled out.

Regarding how federal lands might be impacted, the Bureau of Land Management said it coordinates with Cal Fire on wildland fire management throughout California and is jointly part of the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force, “working together to prevent catastrophic wildfires and manage healthy lands.”

“We defer to Cal Fire for more information about new fire hazard severity maps,” the agency told Lake County News about its involvement in the process.

‘Very high’ category significantly expanded

The release of the new LRA map marks its first update since 2011.

Compared to the 2011 version, this new map significantly expands the “very high” acreage in Lake County.

In Clearlake, the acreage rated as “very high” increases from 1,583 to 4,054 acres. In Lakeport, it rises from zero to 603 acres.

Meanwhile, unincorporated areas under county jurisdiction see the most dramatic jump, from just 5 acres to 10,881 acres.

Overall, the total acreage classified as "very high" has grown by 13,950 acres — from 1,588 to 15,538 acres — a total increase of approximately 878%.

In addition, the 2011 map was only required to show the “very high” category. The new map, however, also displays local areas rated moderate and high.

In December 2022, Cal Fire released an updated map for State Responsibility Areas or the SRA, classifying 366,812 acres in Lake County as "very high" fire hazard zones, accounting for 92% of the total acreage under SRA.

Lake County did not welcome it.

In January 2023, during a Cal Fire public hearing at a Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting, local officials, including supervisors and Lakeport Fire Chief Patrick Reitz, and the public voiced opposition, citing concerns about the map’s methodology and potential impacts on fire insurance.

Despite unanimous criticism during the meeting, Cal Fire proceeded with adoption in April 2024.



The purpose of the maps

Cal Fire said these maps assess long-term fire hazard potential statewide and are designed for governance purposes.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara also claimed that the maps are intended to “drive local planning decisions, not insurance decisions.”

“Fires are real,” said District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, acknowledging the necessity for Lake County to mitigate fire risks. “So we need to do good work to prevent fires from happening.”

However, local officials remain concerned about the map’s impact on fire insurance availability and rates in the already strained local market, particularly given Lara's recent policy that allows insurance companies to utilize “catastrophic models’ in setting rates.

“It’s not pragmatic for people who are living here,” said Sabatier of the map. “This is gonna have a huge impact."

“The fear is that it's just going to make insurability in the city much more difficult,” said Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora.

While the public comment period is underway, local government and fire leaders also are raising concerns about the mandatory and restrictive adoption process of the map.

Local governments must adopt the map as is or with a higher hazard severity rating, regardless of public input or fire mitigation efforts.

“It's kind of the state jamming this down everybody's throat,” said Reitz before the map was rolled out during a Lakeport Fire District board meeting in January.

A Feb. 12 county press release confirmed that local jurisdictions must approve the map by ordinance before July 1. It also stated that state government code does not allow any adjustment to a lower rating in the map.

The public can now direct questions about the maps to the Office of the State Fire Marshal at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 916-633-7655.

Public comment can be submitted to the county and two city councils:

• City of Clearlake: 14050 Olympic Drive, Clearlake. Email comments that apply within the city of Clearlake to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call City Manager Alan Flora at 707-994-8201.
• City of Lakeport: 225 Park St., Lakeport. Email comments that apply within the city of Lakeport to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call City Manager Kevin Ingram at 707-263-5615, Extension 102.
• County of Lake: 255 N Forbes St., Lakeport, Third Floor, Community Development Department. Email comments for County Jurisdiction areas to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Director Mireya Turner at 707-263-2382.

Public comment will close on May 13, according to Lake County Community Development Director Mireya.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors, City Councils of Lakeport and Clearlake will also host public hearings on the map. Exact dates have not yet been announced.

Detailed maps for the three jurisdictions in Lake County can be found here. More information can be found on Cal Fire’s webpage, under the “Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map” tab.



Concerns raised over map’s modeling method

For the map makers, the fire hazard severity zone maps are intended to reduce fire threat by ensuring building code compliance.

According to Cal Fire, the maps assess fire hazard based on “the physical conditions that create a likelihood and expected fire behavior over a 30 to 50-year period.”

Such long-term projection does not consider mitigation measures such as home hardening, recent wildfire or fuel reduction efforts.

When asked if zone ratings could change based on such efforts, Jim McDougald, assistant deputy director of Cal Fire’s Community Wildfire Planning & Risk Reduction, said it’s unlikely.

“It looks at the long term fire hazard; it’s the landscape and what it looks like,” McDougald told Lake County News. “So very few things change the map.”

Significant changes, he explained, happen only when wildland is developed into urban space. “There can be small changes, but you don’t see drastic changes unless it’s been built out,” he said.

“The only important part is, when people build in the wild land, we want them to build the appropriate mitigations to protect their home and their investment, right?” he said of the map’s intent. “That's what the maps are designed to do.”

“It's designed for where there's a hazard and where you need to have these building mitigations or defensible space,” he added.

But for Supervisor Sabatier, the problem is that such work of mitigation “doesn’t have any impacts on this map,” he told Lake County News.

A brief discussion was brought up in the Clearlake City Council’s Feb. 20 meeting about Woodland Community College Lake County campus’ fire mitigation effort after suffering smoke damage from the Boyles Fire that started last September.

Mayor Russ Cremer said that the campus went on to remove all trees and overhangings within five feet of their structures.

But still, that didn’t change the rating on the map.

“They did an enormous amount of work removing vegetation. You would expect that maybe you would get some credit or benefit from this mapping process as a result of that mitigation work,” Flora said during the meeting. “It's not gonna happen.”

As for future updates for the map, McDougald said there is no fixed timeline but estimated it would be “at least five years” before another revision.

“It’s been a long time since we updated them,” said McDougald of the 14 years between now and 2011 when the LRA map was last updated.

Still, Sabatier finds it difficult to reconcile that the map projects fire behavior over decades but is updated far more frequently than every 30 to 50 years.

“If you're going to redo these maps every five years, then why don't you just model five years?” he said. “It would make sense to me to model until the next one.”



Worries over fire insurance

When asked if the insurance companies can make their policies based on the maps, McGourald said, “They’re not supposed to. No.”

He emphasized that the map was designed “strictly around building fire-safe homes — it’s what it's for.”

But local officials worry its real-world impact may extend beyond that intent.

“We knew that folks in the unincorporated area outside of these LRAs were already experiencing some pretty tragic increases, if not complete denial for their home insurance,” said Supervisor Sabatier during a phone interview with Lake County News.

“And this will have a much deeper impact in the residential areas especially,” he added of the new LRA map.

Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram pointed to Commissioner Lara’s new regulations announced in December that allow insurers using catastrophic modeling in their decision making.

The policy Ingram referred to is part of the commissioner’s regulation kit of “expanding coverage for Californians in wildfire-distressed areas” which goes “hand-in-hand with forward-looking wildfire catastrophe models that can better predict future rates,” the commissioner’s Dec. 30 press release stated.

The new rules allow insurers to incorporate wildfire catastrophe models into ratemaking, if they also expand coverage in underserved areas.

For Ingram, that means insurance companies can now “utilize a whole plethora of information such as the fire hazard severity mapping in their decision on setting rates,” he wrote in an email to Lake County News.

“We know that the insurance companies were using them,” said Reitz in a preliminary discussion about the map at the Lakeport city council meeting on Feb. 18.

“But now it is absolutely permitted,” he said.

The Department of Insurance has not responded to Lake County News’ multiple inquiries through emails and phone calls since February on the map’s impact on Lake County residents’ insurance options and rates.

An automated voice message when calling the department’s press communication number says, “For the health and safety of our employees, we have limited the number of staff on-site. This line is being regularly monitored and we will return messages.”

For Flora, it's important to “get the word out,” he said in the Clearlake City Council meeting where “very few people” were in the room.

“Unfortunately the community probably is not going to respond or care about this as much as they should until they get a cancellation notice of their insurance, which, if they do nothing, is going to happen,” Flora said.



Adopting the map: A restrictive mandate

Even with the current 90-day public comment period, local officials feel the process is little more than a formality.

For one, public comment won’t change the fact that the county and cities “must” adopt the map, as required by state law.

It’s not by choice, said Flora, who also used the word “restrictive” to describe the lack of flexibility in the map: “We can increase the severity zones, but we can’t decrease them.”

“It is frustrating to be able to do a lot of mitigation work that still does not impact these severity zones,” Flora added.

“If you have ‘moderate,’ you can make a claim — ‘actually, it’s not moderate, it should be high,’” said Sabatier of the rule that he found peculiar. “I don’t know who would ever do it.”

During the Feb. 18 Lakeport City Council meeting, Chief Reitz expressed his frustration.

“We can’t do anything about it,” Reitz said. “They give us a public hearing process that's lip service only, so I don't see why I need to couch my remarks, because the state has basically thrust this down our throats and told us that there's no grounds for appeal.”

When asked about the “appeal” process, “There’s no such thing as appeals,” McDougald of Cal Fire responded in a follow-up call, saying that it’s not a rule created by Cal Fire for the map.

“That’s in government code,” said McDougald, citing Government Code 51179 that restricts local jurisdictions’ adjustment to the rating.



‘Zone 0’ policy

Just before the map was rolled out, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Feb. 6, directing Cal Fire to “accelerate” its work to adopt a new fire-prevention policy known as “Zone 0” which is tied to the updated LRA map.

Once implemented, Zone 0 will require both new and existing structures in “very high” fire hazard zones on the LRA map to maintain an “ember-resistant zone” within the immediate 5-feet of structures.

For Lake County, it will apply to any structures in the 15,538 acres classified as “very high” by the new map.

It means “no combustible materials within five feet of a home whether it's trees, grass, shrubs, or a fence, mulch, deck,” Flora explained at the Feb. 20 Clearlake City Council meeting. “So there's going to be some pretty significant impact.”

Ingram of Lakeport also expressed concerns at a Feb. 18 Lakeport City Council meeting, noting that it’s unclear how existing structures will meet the strict Zone 0 requirements.

While Ingram said the responsibility for inspections remains uncertain, Flora confirmed that local governments will handle enforcement.

“As the state likes to do, there’s going to be a number of additional regulations that come down,” Flora said during the Clearlake City Council meeting. “We have to enforce them; they are not going to do it.”

Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..