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WASHINGTON – The day after three dozen members of Congress from Oregon and California called for an investigation into Vice President Cheney's role in the death of 80,000 spawning salmon, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee announced he will hold a hearing.
In response to a letter by 36 Democratic members of Congress, among them Rep. Mike Thompson, Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) released the following statement:
"This Committee has already begun examining the penchant for this Administration to favor politics over science in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, which was highlighted during a May 9th hearing and in the resignation of the Interior Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks over the fiasco.
"In light of the revelations being made over the situation in the Klamath River Basin, it is my intention to again convene the Committee to delve into the issues raised by the Members of Congress from California and Oregon. It certainly appears this Administration will stop at nothing to achieve political gain from natural resources disasters. Ultimately, it will be hardworking Americans and their healthy environment that will lose if we fail to act."
The request by West Coast Democrats came after a Washington Post investigative report found that Vice President Cheney instigated the damaging water policy that resulted in the largest salmon kill and fishing disaster in our nation's history.
The Post indicates that Cheney manipulated scientific evidence in order to win votes from farmers who would benefit from the diversion.
"I am pleased that Chairman Rahall is committed to getting to bottom of the vice president's involvement," said Thompson. "The courts found that this water policy was in direct violation of the Endangered Species Act, and the American public should know if their vice president caused science to be manipulated for petty political gain."
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LOWER LAKE – An early morning fire on Wednesday burned three mobile homes at a Lower Lake mobile home park.
The fire broke out at the Westwind mobile home park at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, reported Chief Jim McMurray of the Lake County Fire Protection District. The park is located on Konocti Vista Drive off of Pt. Lakeview Road.
McMurray said two mobiles were completely destroyed, with a third burned but not as seriously as the others.
Two more homes were in the fire's immediate path, said McMurray, with many other homes in the park jeopardized as well.
No injuries to residents or firefighters were reported.
A total of five engines, three water tenders, one rescue and one medic unit were on scene, said McMurray, with units coming from his district as well as Kelseyville, Lakeport and Cal Fire.
Cal Fire, said McMurray, remains well-staffed in Lake County despite resources that are needed to fight Lake Tahoe's Angora fire.
McMurray estimated that 25 firefighters battled the blaze, which was contained by about 3:30 a.m., with all equipment returned to quarters by 6:30 a.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, McMurray reported. “They had a lot of debris to go through to make a determination.”
Information about the individuals who lost their homes was not available by publication time.
In situations where people lose their homes to fire, Georgina Lehne, executive director of the Lake County Community Action Agency, said the Red Cross is the first responder.
However, those in need can receive food from the agency's emergency food pantry as well as clothes, Lehne said. LCCAA can be reached at 995-0495.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – After five years, numerous trial reschedulings, one trial that ended in a hung jury and another that stretched over the past nine weeks, it took a jury just an hour and a half to convict a Clearlake man of a 2002 murder.
The jury in the trial of Edward James Munoz, 26, accused of the 2002 murder of Leah Leister, came back with a guilty verdict at 3 p.m. Wednesday, reported Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Munoz was accused of the March 11, 2002 murder of the 26-year-old Leister, a single mother whose body was found in her Clearlake apartment.
Munoz pleaded not guilty to the crime, as Lake County News previously reported.
Hinchcliff said Munoz stabbed Leister 16 times, cutting her throat several times as well. “When he finished that, he duct-taped her hands together and her feet together,” said Hinchcliff, who has been with the case since its beginning five years ago.
Hinchcliff said Munoz initially told investigators that he was ordered to kill Leister by Nortenos gang leaders out of Pelican Bay State Prison because she was stealing drugs from the gang.
But at trial, Munoz changed that story and claimed he was lying initially, said Hinchcliff.
Speaking of the trial, Hinchcliff said, “It was a frustrating, long, tiresome ordeal.”
The same can be said of the entire process that led to this point.
Munoz has been in custody in the Lake County Jail since April 2002. Hinchcliff said there were numerous changes of attorneys, either at Munoz's request or when attorneys chose to leave the case. The result was that his trial was rescheduled 13 times before it finally started in Judge Arthur Mann's courtroom last fall.
George Boisseau, a private criminal defense attorney from Santa Rosa, came to defend Munoz, and was the man at his side during last year's trial, which ended on Oct. 11 in a hung jury, 11-1, over the issue of Munoz's guilt.
Boisseau was again at the defense table for the retrial, which Hinchcliff said started jury selection on April 24 and began two weeks later. During the past nine weeks, Hinchcliff estimated he called about 20 witnesses to the stand, some testifying for as few as 15 minutes, some for a day or longer.
This time, the jury came back in short order with a conviction, finding Munoz guilty of first degree murder with a special gang allegation. “The jury was firmly convinced of his guilt,” Hinchcliff said.
Munoz's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 27, although Hinchcliff said it's a date that likely will be changed.
“There's a good chance that it's going to take probably about four months to get him sentenced just because of motions the defense is likely to file and we'll have to respond to,” said Hinchcliff.
Among those, Hinchcliff expects Boisseau will file a motion for a new trial.
Munoz, however, is not facing the death sentence, said Hinchclif, who explained that the District Attorney's Office is instead seeking life without the possibility of parole.
Death penalty cases, said Hinchcliff, must meet certain statutory guidelines, including multiple homicides or the murder of a peace officer, and a defendant's extensive prior criminal record. “It was our opinion that this case didn't satisfy the factors, so we were not seeking the death penalty.”
Going through the retrial process, Hinchcliff said, “My main concern was for the victim's family and her mother, and how frustrating it was for her.”
Leister's family wanted closure and for Munoz to be held accountable for the crime. “Finally, that's done for them.”
Next, the family must decide if they'll give victim impact statements at Munoz's sentencing, said Hinchcliff.
Munoz's conviction brings with it another tragic backstory. His older brother, Richard Munoz, is currently serving a 25-years-to life sentence for a murder that took place in the late 1990s. Retired Clearlake Police Captain Ron Larsen said Richard Munoz, while still a juvenile, cut the throat of a 14-year-old boy at Clearlake Commons Apartments.
This isn't the first case that Hinchcliff has seen to a conclusion after years of delays and investigation. Last summer, he won a murder conviction in the case of Paul James Smiraglia, 47, who was found guilty of murdering 43-year-old Diedre Coleman in July 2002. The jury in that trial, which lasted about a month, also returned a verdict quickly, deliberating only two hours.
Hinchcliff said he has some other homicide cases to prepare for, and will next go to trial in a home invasion burglary case Sept. 5.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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SACRAMENTO – The amended version of Sen. Patricia Wiggins' bill to address the light brown apple moth's arrival in California passed the Assembly Agriculture Committee on Wednesday.
Wiggins introduced the bill last month, which originally proposed to create a task force to advise state Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura on the apple moth. The task force, which Kawamura would choose, would then submit a report to him by Sept. 1.
The bill passed the Senate by a 35-1 vote on May 29.
Since its introduction into the Assembly, Wiggins has amended the bill to give agricultural commissioners and the state the tools they need to eradicate the pest, according to a statement from Wiggins' office.
The light brown apple moth has so far reached nine California counties, as Lake County News previously reported. The latest report from the California Department of Food & Agriculture says that 4,292 moths have been found in those nine counties, with trapping activities continuing in 50 counties statewide.
“I said when I introduced SB 556 that it was a work in progress, intended to reflect the needs of the state in this situation,” Wiggins said in a written statement. “This bill will fully reflect the nature and scope of the effort to detect, control and eliminate the moth as a threat to California agriculture.”
The amended bill, called the Light Brown Apple Moth Act, calls for additional staffing and logistical support geared towards eradication.
New aspects of the bill include:
– Creation of the “LBAM Program” within the Department of Food & Agriculture, requiring Kawamura to provide appropriate levels of staffing and logistical support for eradication.
– Establishes an “LBAM Account” within the Department of Food & Agriculture Fund, and requires that funds be made available for the purpose of eradication.
– Requires the Department of Food & Agriculture report to the Legislature annually, beginning January 10, 2008, regarding its expenditures, progress and ongoing priorities in combating the moth.
– Contains an urgency clause that puts it into effect immediately should Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sign the bill into law.
The light brown apple moth was discovered in the Bay Area in February. It's known to damage as many as 250 host plants, fruits and trees.
Since its discovery in California, state and federal quarantines have been implemented to stop the pest spreading any farther.
One light brown apple moth was found in Napa County in May. Earlier this month, state and federal officials began eradication treatments in Napa and Contra Costa counties, using an organic insecticide in the hopes of protecting the state’s $38 billion agriculture industry.
David Miller, Wiggins' spokesman, said the bill may return to the Senate for approval of the amendments. He said Wiggins is hopeful that SB 556 will get to the governor’s desk soon.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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