LAKEPORT
Arraignment set for Lakeport man charged with hit-and-run resulting in injury
A Lakeport man who was arrested in January for a hit-and-run accident recently appeared in court.
The Court, pursuant to the request of the defendant, Al Scott James, ordered this matter be continued.
The defendant’s arraignment hearing has been set for March 21, 2023.
James, 63, has been charged with a hit-and-run – resulting in injury.
The charges stem from an incident in January when, according to the California Highway Patrol, a collision occurred at North Main Street in Lakeport, striking a female pedestrian in the lanes.
Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to the scene of the accident, which involved a vehicle and a pedestrian.
Upon arrival of the officers, the driver of the vehicle had left the scene.
The female pedestrian was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital as she remained conscious and alert. She was later transported by air ambulance to a hospital out of Lake County.
According to police, they later arrested Al James and he was charged with felony hit-and-run. He was booked into the Lake County Jail with bail set at $10,000.
The defendant has since bailed out and is no longer in custody.
—Lori Armstrong
LAKE COUNTY
Lake County Office of Emergency Services to host Local Hazard Mitigation Plan update public information session Thursday, March 23
Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District at 19400 Hartmann Road, Hidden Valley Lake, CA 95467
Purpose of the Public Meeting: The Lake County Office of Emergency Services invites the public to learn more about the 2023 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update.
Hazard Mitigation Planning forms the foundation for a community long-term strategy to reduce disaster-related losses, by breaking the repeated cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction.
There will be a brief presentation followed by discussion and opportunity for public input and feedback.
—Submitted
CALIFORNIA
Housing battles on the horizon
By now most of us have been here ourselves: Gavin Newsom’s press team texted reporters last night to say that the governor has COVID again — describing his symptoms as mild and later saying he’ll isolate for at least five days.
He’d better rest up, given the number of political battles on his to-do list. Among them: another round with Huntington Beach.
On Tuesday, the city council in the Orange County city, a regular fount of anti-Newsom sentiment, followed through on its pledge to pass an ordinance blocking a contentious state housing law within its sun-soaked borders.
The as-yet untested law, known as “the builder’s remedy,” allows developers to construct what they like where they like — so long as 20% of the new units are affordable —in any city that’s defying state-set housing production goals.
Defiers such as Huntington Beach.
- City attorney Michael Gates: “There are currently approximately 280 cities out of housing compliance…Yet Huntington Beach is being picked on…. We’re the focus of enforcement while the other 280 cities aren’t.”
- Councilmember Natalie Moser, who voted no: “Well, we’re passing an ordinance that goes against state law. That would be a reason to pick on us.”
Gates is right that hundreds of cities and counties across the state have yet to provide housing plans that pass muster with state regulators — nearly 250 as of Wednesday.
But Moser is also correct in noting that Huntington Beach has been uniquely bold-faced about it.
A subtler approach: Though the Marin County city of Sausalito is known for its houseboats, its housing plan — which listed among the local sites for possible development dozens of parcels that were, in the words of one developer, “mostly underwater” — has raised the eyebrows of pro-housing advocates. While the state reviews the city’s plan, those advocates are taking the affluent ‘burb to court.
For its more flagrant approach, Huntington Beach is all but certain to wind up in court too. That will be a return to form: In one of his first actions as governor, Newsom had his administration sue the city for failing to permit enough housing in 2019.
Just a few weeks ago, Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the city to abandon its planned ban, warning that his office was “ready to take action.” After Tuesday’s vote, the governor’s office struck a similarly ominous tone: “The leaders of Huntington Beach refuse to build their fair share of housing and are flagrantly breaking state law. These actions are selfish and make our homeless crisis worse. The city has tried these antics before. They lost then and they will lose now,” Bonta’s office tweeted.
—Ben Christopher, CALMatters
SACRAMENTO
BLM California welcomes new Associate State Director and State Fire Management Officer to leadership team
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) welcomes Federica Lee as the new Associate State Director, and Peter Kelly as the State Fire Management Officer in California. These two additions to the BLM state leadership team bring with them more than 50 years of combined public service and an unwavering dedication to BLM’s mission for responsibly managing public lands for current and future generations.
Lee, a California native, brings with her more than 36 years of public service. Kelly, originally from Minetto, New York, has been a seasoned fire management professional for over 25 years. Lee began her new role on March 6. Kelly started his new position Feb. 1.
“We are pleased to have Federica and Peter join our BLM California leadership team,” said Karen Mouritsen, State Director for BLM California. “Federica consistently provides positive and valuable insight into state-wide leadership discussions, and Peter has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a dedication for fire prevention and firefighter safety in California for nearly 20 years.”
Lee started her career in Human Resources with the Army Corps of Engineers before moving to BLM California in 1998 as a Human Resources Officer. In 2006, she accepted a position as the Deputy State Director for Support Services for the agency and served as Acting Associate State Director from 2018 to 2022. Lee is an avid runner and enjoys traveling and being outside with her husband and two children.
As the BLM’s associate state director, Lee will lead a team that administers 15 million acres of public lands and 42 million acres of minerals and energy resources in California, as well as 1.6 million surface acres in northwestern Nevada. BLM public lands extend across coastal areas, rangelands, forests, high mountains and deserts making California one of the most diverse states in the nation.
Kelly started his career in the Army as an infantryman, where he earned the Army Expeditional Medal. He received his B.S. in Natural Resource Management and Forestry from the State University of New York’s School of Environmental Science and Forestry. His firefighting career started in 1997 when he worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a fire engine crew, later accepting a permanent position developing a fire management program in the Pine Barrens in Long Island, NY. In 2004, he accepted the Fire Management Officer position in Los Banos, CA at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Since 2019, Kelly has served as Deputy Regional Fire Management Coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kelly served as Chair to the California Wildland Coordinating Group, Operations Committee from 2020-2021, and remains an active member.
In his new position as State Fire Management Officer, Peter Kelly will be responsible for overseeing fire operations on 16 million acres that are directly protected by BLM California. He will lead the fire management program throughout California which conducts a broad range of actions to protect communities, recreation areas, wildlife habitat and other resources, in addition to conducting fire prevention operations.
Kelly is supported by his wife, two daughters, and two dogs in central California along the Tuolumne River. In their spare time, they enjoy fishing, hiking, and looking for new adventures together.
—Submitted
