How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKE COUNTY – An emergency call that reported a potential hostage situation this week ended with arrests for marijuana cultivation.
A report from Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office explained that Ukiah resident Laurz Taylor Settera, 18, placed a 911 call on Wednesday at 8:35 a.m.
Laurz Settera reported that he and his father, Marcus Settera, 44, had been held in their home for four hours by two armed men, Brown reported. The young man also reported that the two men shot his father in leg, put his father in his father’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and drove him away from the home in Clearlake Oaks.
Brown reported that seven patrol deputy sheriffs began searching for Marcus Settera's vehicle, with one detective participating in the search from a helicopter.
Deputies contacted Laurz Settera, said Brown. They found him to be extremely excited, and difficult to understand. He had minor injuries, which he said he sustained while fleeing the residence.
The deputies went with Laurz Settera to the residence, where they found a significant marijuana growing operation inside the home. He told the deputies that he and his father lived in Ukiah and that they rented the home in Clearlake Oaks for the purpose of growing marijuana.
At 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, Sgt. James Beland and Deputy Thomas Andrews located the Jeep Grand Cherokee in Lucerne, Brown reported. They conducted a high risk stop of the Grand Cherokee, as they believed one or more suspects may be inside.
Deputies contacted Marcus Settera in the Grand Cherokee, according to Brown. He said that he had an appointment that morning, had been away from home for more than two hours, and hadn't been shot or abducted.
Settera added that he had not been confronted or held by armed men in his home, Brown reported.
Laurz Settera and Marcus Settera were arrested for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales. They were booked into the Lake County Jail, and have since posted bail.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, members of both houses of Congress reached out to help National Guard and Reserve physicians maintain their practices during lengthy overseas deployments.
Members of Congress introduced legislation that would exempt physicians serving in the Armed Forces overseas from a Medicare law that currently places a 60-day restriction on the amount of time one physician can fill in for a colleague on a leave of absence.
This limit creates serious hardship for physicians in the National Guard and Reserves, who are absent from their practices for longer than 60 days when they are called for active duty.
The House version was introduced by Representatives and Vietnam combat veterans Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Sam Johnson (R-TX), who authored the temporary version of the bill (HR 2429), which in May passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 422-0.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) introduced the Senate version Wednesday.
"When our Reserve and Guard physicians are deployed, they don't just leave behind their families - they also leave their patients," said Thompson. "Doctors taking care of our troops overseas shouldn't have to worry that their patients aren't being cared for here at home. This bill will help thousands of physicians protect their patients and practices when they're called to serve."
"Every day members of the National Guard and Reserve are asked to put their jobs and their lives on hold to serve their country in harm's way overseas, and this includes thousands of doctors who save countless lives on the battlefield. The least Congress can do is ensure that, in leaving home, these brave men and women aren't also asked to sacrifice their medical practices," said Wyden. "I commend Congressman Thompson for his leadership and his commitment to passing this important legislation."
Medicare currently allows physicians to enter reciprocal billing arrangements, whereby replacement physicians can care for the absent physician's patients and bill Medicare accordingly.
However, these arrangements cannot last longer than a 60-day period. After 60 days, a second replacement must be found. Securing replacement physicians is an expensive and difficult process, especially for practices in remote and rural areas.
Physicians who cannot secure multiple replacements during their absence can either lose their patients to other doctors or their patients must go without care.
HR 2429 suspends the 60-day cap for physicians filling in for members of the National Guard and Reserves who are called for duty through the rest of the calendar year.
This bill has been endorsed by the American Medical Association and is supported by the Reserve Officers Association.
{mos_sb_discuss:3}
- Details
- Written by: Editor
Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke reported that the Wednesday autopsy of the teen, who died Sunday, revealed that his death resulted from injuries he sustained in a Friday car wreck.
The 14-year-old gang assault victim was one of four teenagers riding in a car along Bell Hill Road, as Lake County News previously reported.
A 15-year-old Lower Lake boy was driving the car, went through a stop sign at a high rate of speed and ended up going off the road and into a tree. The three male teens fled the scene, leaving behind a 16-year-old female who claimed to be driving.
On Saturday night, the 14-year-old and another male juvenile who had been in the car showed up at the hospital to seek treatment. The 14-year old died early the next morning,
The 15-year-old boy who was driving the car was arrested Sunday morning for felony hit-and-run, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The car accident came two days after the incident in which the teen was assaulted by a gang of juvenile males as he walked along 11th Street on the evening of July 4. Lakeport Police said it was a gang-related incident.
Police have since arrested a 16-year-old teen who is a documented member of the Nortenos street gang for the assault.
Because of the sudden manner of the boy's death, Burke had been concerned that the gang assault case might turn into a homicide investigation.
But with the autopsy report's conclusions, Burke said, “We're going to investigate the original attack as an assault with a deadly weapon,” which was his department's original course.
“Even though the victim has now passed away we still have a strong case and are going to continue pursuing that investigation,” he added.
Burke said previously that he has four department members assigned to the case, and they are aggressively looking at new leads, which could lead to more arrests.
The 16-year-old charged with assault with a deadly weapon will undergo a fitness hearing in three weeks in which the District Attorney's Office will argue that he be tried as an adult, said Burke.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
THE GEYSERS – A 3.0 earthquake hit The Geysers area early Wednesday.
The quake occurred at 7:15 a.m., and was centered one mile west northwest of The Geysers and six miles west southwest of Cobb. The quake was measured at a depth of 2.5 miles.
The larger quake was followed by a 1.3 magnitude quake at 7:48 a.m., centered two miles north northeast of The Geysers and four miles west southwest of Cobb, 2.1 miles deep. Another smaller quake, a 1.2, happened at 4 p.m. right at the location of The Geysers.
The Geysers has a consistently high amount of seismic activity, which US Geological Survey seismologist David Oppenheimer said is due to geothermal activity in the area.
As for quakes 3.0 and above, The Geysers and Lake Pillsbury areas had several of those larger quakes in the spring, but in recent months the greater magnitude activity has tapered off.
Small quakes continue on an almost daily basis at Pillsbury, which had a 2.0 quake at 1:45 p.m. three miles north northwest of Lake Pillsbury. That location is several miles from the epicenter of the larger quakes recorded this spring.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson