STOCKTON, CA - A four-month collaboration between the Bureau and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Stockton police yielded 55 arrests, 84 firearms and 36 pounds of methamphetamine, among other narcotics, authorities say. PHOTOS:  ATF confiscates contraband in large-scale Stockton operation"Operation Gideon IV" involved undercover ATF agents and Stockton officers as well as county and federal prosecutors.According U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, the 44 facing federal firearm, narcotic and robbery allegations have a combined nearly 500 years in federal prison time served.Most of those arrested list Stockton addresses but others are from Manteca, Modesto, Ripon, Lindsay, Porterville, Oakland, Lockeford, Acampo, San Joaquin and Thornton.Eleven of those arrested face state charges.The weapons confiscated included six machine guns, four short-barrel rifles and two silencers.Twenty-one pounds of marijuana,
May 21 2013

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Authorities have arrested a Kelseyville man on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol following a Tuesday evening crash that sent both the man and an Oregon woman to a regional trauma center with major injuries. The California Highway Patrol said Michael Woodbury, 34, was arrested following the crash, which also injured Gael Thornton, 76, of Merlin, Ore. The wreck occurred at 7:34 p.m. on Highway 29 just north of Manning Flats, between Kelseyville and Lower Lake, the CHP said. The CHP report said Woodbury was driving a 2001 Toyota Sienna van southbound on Highway 29 at a high rate of speed, with Thornton coming from the opposite direction in a 2000 Toyota Solara at about 45 to 50 miles per hour. Woodbury, who allegedly was intoxicated, lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the solid double-yellow lines, hitting Thornton head-on, according to the report. Air ambulances flew both Woodbury and Thornton to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the CHP said. Both Woodbury and Thornton were wearing their seat belts, the report stated. The CHP said the collision remains under investigation. Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
May 22 2013

The City of Davis and UC Davis Arboretum will host a community meeting on Saturday, March 2nd from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to gather public feedback on planned improvements to the Putah Creek Parkway and the east end of the Arboretum. The improvements will include new native plantings, removal of invasive plants, new pathways and benches, habitat enhancement for wildlife and pollinators, wayfinding and educational signage, and safety and visibility enhancements. For the first hour of the event, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, participants will walk the site with project designers. The site walk will begin at the back of the Davis Commons (Whole Foods) parking lot. Starting at 2:00 pm, the second hour of the event will be a community design workshop held in the meeting room of University Park Inn and Suites at 1111 Richards Blvd.The City of Davis, the UC Davis Arboretum, and a number of partners have recently been awarded an Urban Greening Project Grant of $891,304 from the California Strategic Growth Council. The 5-acre project area includes 3.5 acres along the Putah Creek Parkway, where a bike path west of Olive Drive connects the bike tunnel under I-80 with the bike tunnel under the railroad tracks. This greenbelt follows the remnant north fork channel of Putah Creek which will be restored with native plantings as a unique natural habitat area near downtown. The project also includes 1.5 acres at the east end of the Arboretum near Aggie Village and the Davis Commons shopping center. This will be the site of a new California native plant garden focused on plants native to the Putah Creek watershed. The project will also fund the reconfiguration of bike and pedestrian paths to improve access and circulation and the installation of bio-swales and pervious concrete to capture parking lot storm water run-off.Most of the construction for the project will occur this summer with planting following this fall. By spring of 2016 – the grant deadline for project completion – the new plantings will be well-established and installation of signage will be complete.The project is the result of an innovative collaboration among the City of Davis, UC Davis Arboretum, UC Davis Administrative and Resource Management Division, Yolo CountyResource Conservation District, TreeDavis, Putah Creek Council, Fulcrum Capital, Cunningham Engineering, and private landowners to create a vibrant green space and a dynamic educational resource that will serve as a model for communities throughout California. The ultimate success of the project will depend on community support, both upfront during the design process and in the long run through volunteerism and donations.According to Joe Krovoza, mayor of Davis, “The Strategic Growth Council’s funding of this project is a testament to what can happen when diverse governmental agencies, non-profits, and private companies collaborate to improve our community. This project will become the heart of where the City intersects with the UC Davis Arboretum. The fusion of city greenbelts with the Arboretum will become a phenomenal example of bicycle and pedestrian corridors, drawing users for commuting, recreation, education, and the arts.”The project site is strategically located at a hub of bicycle and pedestrian circulation where routes to the Arboretum, downtown Davis, the UC Davis campus, and South Davis intersect. The project will include several major elements:The Putah Creek Parkway is a key bikeway linking South Davis with the UC Davis campus and downtown Davis. The project will improve wildlife habitat by removing invasive, non-native plants and trees; removing trash and rubble from the site; planting native riparian plants; and installing nesting structures for native pollinators. Interpretive signs will identify native plants and their habitat value and explain the history of the site. New pedestrian trails and benches will provide better access and comfort for visitors.A California Native Plant Garden will be an inviting space and major entry into the Arboretum from downtown. Teaching patios with themed plantings and interpretive signs will educate visitors about the regional flora and fauna, the history of the Putah Creek watershed and its current management, and how to create sustainable landscapes with native plants. A sculptural gateway element, funded by the City of Davis Municipal Arts Fund, will mark entry to the project site from downtown. Lighting along the garden's major circulation corridor will improve user safety.According to Assistant Vice Chancellor and Arboretum Director Kathleen Socolofsky, this grant “presents a great opportunity to share the wealth of the Arboretum’s innovative gardens and programs with more people in the community. This project reflects our vision for the City Arts GATEway, the section of the Arboretum that intersects with downtown Davis, as part of the UC Davis GATEways Project (Gardens, Arts, and The Environment).”The project will also implement green parking lot retrofits to demonstrate best practices in storm water infiltration and treatment. The garden site abuts a parking lot that serves the Davis Commons retail center. Parking lot runoff will be diverted into a “rain garden” biofiltration feature. In several parking stalls near the garden entry, asphalt will be replaced with a pervious, more reflective surface to help reduce urban heating. Interpretive signs will inform visitors about the use of pervious surfaces and vegetation to reduce and filter surface runoff.Circulation improvements will ensure safe access to the Arboretum and the Putah Creek Parkway for bicycles and pedestrians. Improvements will include realigning pedestrian and bike paths and installing wayfinding signage, to create a visible and accessible connection from the Arboretum to downtown Davis and the city-wide bicycle circulation system.Funding for the project comes from voter-approved Proposition 84 (the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006), which included $90 million for urban greening projects. In the second round of funding, the agency received 261 project concepts requesting $232 million; 54 applicants for large projects were invited to submit full proposals. Of these, 24 were funded, for a total of $15,337,825. The Davis project was ranked #1 in a tie with two other proposals out of the 24 large projects funded. The California Native Plant Garden is partially funded by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, the Stuart Foundation, the Thornton S. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation, and the Rotary Club of Davis, and by the UC Davis office of Campus Planning and Community Resources. Information: Emily Griswold, Director of GATEways Horticulture and Teaching Gardens, UC Davis Arboretum, ebgriswold@ucdavis.edu, (530) 754-8038.
May 16 2013

Type: bk Office: 3 Chapter: 13 Trustee: Skelton, David L. [Auto-docket of credit card] 22
May 15 2013

FFY 2011-12 STREET OVERLAY PROJECT Street overlay project at Thornton Road from Mosher Slough to Bear Creek, and Harding Way from Madison Street to El Dorado. The project includes base failure repairs, key cut grinding, removal and reinstallation of stripings and pavement markings, reinstallation of traffic loops and hand holes and installation of ADA curb ramps.due date: August 30, 2012open time: 2 p.m.published date: August 03, 2012last update: September 05, 2012bid orientation: August 21, 10 a.m., Municipal Service Center Conference Room, 1465 South Lincoln Street, Stockton, CA 95206
May 13 2013

Walter John is our chihuahua/dachshund mix rescue pup, says Lyn Thornton of La Quinta.
May 10 2013