LAKE COUNTY
Redwood Community Services upcoming trainings
Please join us for a short presentation to learn about fostering in our communities. You will learn the different fostering options including short-term and foster-to-adopt, all from the comfort of your home.
Registration link: visit https://www.redwoodcommunityservices.org/training
RCS has been providing foster care services since its incorporation in 1995. Our Foster Care programs are designed to create a supported living environment for youth in the foster care system. Youth are placed with approved resource families, who are educated through a multi-faceted training program in order to prepare them for meeting the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of the youth in their care. To address the differing needs of the children and youth within the foster care system and the complexity of family dynamics, RCS offers an array of foster care options.
RCS provides foster care services in Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt, and Sonoma Counties.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.
Clear Lake takes the crown as best bass fishery in the country
After a year of record-setting catches and jaw-dropping tournament results, Bassmaster Magazine has unveiled its annual list of the 100 Best Bass Lakes in America for 2025 — and this year, a powerhouse lake returns to the top spot.
California’s Clear Lake takes the crown as the best bass fishery in the country, edging out some of the sport’s most celebrated waters. Topping Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes list in 2020, the 43,785-acre natural lake in northern California continues to churn out double-digit largemouth like clockwork — including a staggering 102.81-pound, 15-bass total landed by John Pearl in the WON Bass Open this spring. Biologists and anglers alike agree: despite heavy pressure, Clear Lake is a big-bass factory like no other.
“This fishery has endured decades of tournament traffic and still produces monsters year-round,” said B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland. “It’s a testament to both the ecosystem’s productivity and sound fisheries management.”
Rounding out the Top 3 nationally are Texas’ O.H. Ivie Lake, long regarded as a bucket-list destination for trophy bass seekers, and the ever-reliable Lake Fork, also in the Lone Star State.
The 2025 rankings were developed through a combination of tournament data, fishery reports from state wildlife agencies and feedback from thousands of anglers across the country. More than 500 bodies of water were evaluated in the process.
California leads the pack this year with an unmatched 10 lakes in the Top 100, followed by Texas with nine and New York with seven.
The full list — segmented by region and topped with the national Top 10 — showcases a wide diversity of waters, from sprawling Southern impoundments to remote glacial lakes teeming with smallmouth. Whether you’re chasing personal bests or scenic solitude, there’s a lake on this list calling your name.
Full rankings can be found in the July/August issue of Bassmaster Magazine and on Bassmaster.com.
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WASHINGTON
Legislators unveil new bill to require immigration officers to display clear identification
U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced new legislation to require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification during public-facing enforcement actions. The Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act of 2025 would strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability for the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and alarming immigration enforcement tactics that have terrorized communities across California and the nation.
Under the Trump Administration’s mass deportation agenda, civil immigration enforcement operations have increasingly involved Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers engaging with the public while wearing unmarked tactical gear, concealing clothing, and face coverings that obscure both agency affiliation and personal identity. Without visible badges, names, or insignia, members of the public often have no way to confirm whether they are interacting with legitimate government officials.
This lack of transparency endangers public safety by causing widespread confusion and fear, especially in communities already subject to heightened immigration scrutiny. It also increases operational and safety risks for law enforcement personnel by creating an opportunity for immigration enforcement impersonators and compounding uncertainty in high-stress situations. Clear, consistent, visible identification helps reduce miscommunication during enforcement encounters, strengthens officer credibility, and improves public cooperation, all of which are vital to mission success. The VISIBLE Act would place a critical check on the government’s power, ensuring basic transparency safeguards that protect public trust and legitimacy in immigration enforcement operations.
“When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability,” said Senator Padilla. “Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number — just like police and other local law enforcement agencies. The VISIBLE Act’s commonsense requirements will restore transparency and ensure impersonators can’t exploit the panic and confusion caused by unidentifiable federal immigration enforcement agents.”
“For weeks, Americans have watched federal agents with no visible identification detain people off the streets and instill fear in communities across the country. Reports of individuals impersonating ICE officers have only increased the risk to public and officer safety. The lack of visible identification and uniform standards for immigration enforcement officers has created confusion, stoked fear, and undermined public trust in law enforcement,” said Senator Booker. “The VISIBLE Act is a necessary response grounded in law enforcement best practices that will prohibit immigration enforcement officers from wearing face coverings and require them to display their name or badge number and the agency they represent. We must act to maintain trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and this legislation is a necessary step toward a more transparent, accountable, and safe immigration enforcement system.”
“This bill is an important step toward keeping immigration enforcement officers and all the people in America safe. Masked, plainclothes officers create an unreasonable risk of escalating violence and unnerve everyone who sees them,” said Scott Shuchart, Former ICE and DHS (Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties) Official. “As much as the cop in blues is a staple of American life, the masked bandit is a symbol of fear, and having government agents dressed like paramilitaries is un-American. Based on my experience in government, the VISIBLE Act makes good sense and would be straightforward for DHS officials to implement.”
The ongoing immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles County by unidentified federal agents have stoked fear and uncertainty throughout the region amid President Trump’s unprecedented escalation of militarized tactics. Recently at Dodger Stadium, plainclothes immigration agents parked outside of the stadium lot without identifying themselves. In Bell, masked agents wearing fatigues detained at least three people at a car wash, and in Pasadena, an agent exited an unmarked vehicle in the middle of the road and aimed his pistol at a group of pedestrians without identifying himself. From June 6 to June 22, immigration enforcement agents — many lacking identifying information — arrested 1,618 immigrants for deportation in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.
Specifically, the VISIBLE Act:
- Requires immigration enforcement officers — including DHS personnel such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), federal agents detailed to immigration operations, and deputized state or local officers — to display clearly legible identification, including their agency name or initials and either their name or badge number, in a manner that remains visible and unobscured by tactical gear or clothing;
- Prohibits non-medical face coverings (such as masks or balaclavas) that obscure identity or facial visibility, with exceptions for environmental hazards or covert operations; and
- Requires DHS to establish disciplinary procedures for violations, report annually to Congress on compliance, and investigate complaints through its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
The bill does not apply to covert or non-public facing operations, nor does it prohibit face coverings when necessary for officer safety. It also does not apply to enforcement actions conducted solely under criminal authority.
The bill is endorsed by the ACLU and Public Counsel.
A one-pager on the bill is available online at https://www.padilla.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/VISIBLE-Act-One-Pager-updated.pdf. Full text of the bill is available online at https://www.padilla.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Padilla-Letter-to-ICE-re-Masks-and-Uniforms.pdf
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