LUCERNE, Calif. – The family of a Lucerne teenager is asking for information about his whereabouts after he disappeared on Saturday.

Wroehnyn – pronounced “Ronin” – Milks, 15, was last seen at about noon on Saturday in Lucerne, according to his father, Ramsey Milks.

“He took off with the clothes on his back and no one has seen him since,” according to Ramsey Milks.

He said his son has never left like this before.

Wroehnyn just got a report card with As and Bs, and is a member of the Upper Lake High School Academic Decathlon Team. “He's a good kid, never been in trouble,” his father said.

He said his son's friends also haven't reported hearing from Wroehnyn.

Late on Saturday afternoon the sheriff's office met with the Milks family and took a missing person's report, according to Ramsey Milks.

He said he spoke to the sheriff's office Sunday evening. “They don't have anything new, either.”

Wroehnyn Milks is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and has black hair. When he was last seen, he was wearing black jeans and a dark, sleeveless T-shirt, his father said.

Anyone with information about Wroehnyn Milks' whereabouts is asked to call Ramsey Milks at 707-350-4253 or the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 707-263-2690.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – “Lake County Live!,” the monthly showcase of talent and humor at the Soper Reese Theatre and on the air on KPFZ 88.1, Lake County Community Radio, will not air or be performed on March 30 as previously scheduled.

A number of logistical issues have occurred which required the cancellation of this month's performance.

It’s the first cancellation in the history of the show, which has so far had 27 monthly performances.

The show will return to the theater and on the air live on April 27 as previously announced.

If tickets were purchased in advance for this month's show, they will be honored for the April performance.

Lake County Live! regrets any inconvenience this may cause, and looks forward to seeing our devoted audience members again in April.

Visit the show’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLive for updates.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A law enforcement veteran slain Wednesday by an Oregon man on the run in the wake of committing several violent crimes will be remembered at a public memorial service planned for next week.

The services for Mendocino County Deputy Ricky Del Fiorentino, 48, will be held beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 26, at the Cotton Auditorium, 500 North Harold St. in Fort Bragg, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

A reception will immediately follow the memorial service at the Fort Bragg Middle School, located adjacent to the Cotton Auditorium, officials said.

The procession in Del Fiorentino's memory will depart at 7 a.m. and will travel approximately 60 miles along the routes of Highway 101, Highway 20 and Highway 1 before reaching the Georgia Pacific Mill site at 100 West Cypress St. in Fort Bragg.

A secondary law enforcement procession will depart the Georgia Pacific Mill site to travel to the Cotton Auditorium after the first procession arrives at the mill site.

Gov. Jerry Brown this week ordered that State Capitol flags be flown at half-staff in Del Fiorentino's honor.

“Deputy Del Fiorentino was killed upholding the oath he swore: To protect his community,” said Brown in extending his condolences to Del Fiorentino's family, friends, coworkers and the Fort Bragg community.

Del Fiorentino, a 26-year law enforcement veteran, was fatally shot on Wednesday morning by Ricardo Antonio Chaney, 32, of Eugene, Ore., according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Chaney had been wanted for an early Wednesday morning armed robbery, kidnapping of two people and carjacking of a BMW in Eugene, according to the Eugene Police Department. The two carjacking victims were able to escape a short time after the encounter with Chaney.

The Eugene Police Department said that it's believed that in addition to the carjacking and armed robbery, Chaney was a person of interest in the early Wednesday murder of 79-year-old George Bundy Wasson, who was shot and killed before his home was set on fire.

Following the carjacking, Chaney drove south to California, shot at a man at a business at Confusion Hill in Piercy, and led deputies on a high-speed chase on Highway 1 in the stolen BMW before Del Fiorentino confronted him shortly before noon on Wednesday on a subdivision road near Cleone, north of Fort Bragg, Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Greg Van Patten reported.

Del Fiorentino was shot multiple times and died at the scene, Van Patten said.

Fort Bragg Police Lieutenant John Naulty drove up behind Del Fiorentino’s patrol vehicle shortly after the shooting and engaged in a gun battle as Chaney, who was standing near Deputy Del Fiorentino’s patrol vehicle and was armed with an assault rifle, Van Patten reported.

During the course of the gun battle Chaney began to disappear into a bushy area beside a residence along the roadway. Fort Bragg Police Chief Scott Mayberry drove up behind Naulty’s patrol vehicle and provided cover as the pair began to retreat to a safer position, according to Van Patten's report.

A perimeter was established with several different local law enforcement agencies, and Van Patten said members from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrived to assist in the search.

Van Patten said Chaney was discovered a short distance away in the side yard of the residence behind the brush line near Deputy Del Fiorentino’s patrol vehicle.  

Chaney was pronounced dead from what appeared to be two separate gunshot wounds, Van Patten said.

Chaney was wearing a military-style ballistic vest and was in possession of two assault rifles, and a double-barreled shotgun was located inside of the BMW which had been reported stolen in Eugene, Van Patten said.

A second male subject who at one point was thought to have been involved was located hiding inside of a pump house building. He was determined to be an innocent bystander who had ran from the scene for his own safety, said Van Patten, adding that it was determined Chaney was the only suspect connected to the shooting incident.

At the request of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office assumed investigative control of the shooting incident per the county’s officer involved fatal incident protocol, Van Patten said.

Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster's office released a statement Friday explaining that, pending completion of the ongoing formal investigation, it did plan to comment on any of the details in the fatal shooting.

“A clear, concise explanation of the events surrounding the deaths will be outlined in a report at the conclusion of the investigation,” according to spokesman Mike Geniella.

Geniella said Eyster had indicated that “it is not a matter of days but weeks before such a report is expected to be completed and ready for public distribution.”

The report on Del Fiorentino's shooting, according to Geniella, will be of similar scope to the “exhaustively detailed report” completed on the case of Aaron Bassler, alleged to have shot Fort Bragg Councilman Jere Melo and Mendocino Land Trust staffer Matthew Coleman in August 2011 before leading authorities on a five-week manhunt that ended in his own fatal shooting in early October.

Del Fiorentino leaves behind his wife; four children, ages 21, 19, 18 and 6; a 29-year-old step-son; a 5-month-old grandson; step-grandchildren, ages 6 and 3; his parents; and siblings.

Anyone wishing to make monetary donations to the Ricky Del Fiorentino Memorial Fund can do so by contacting or visiting any of the Savings Bank of Mendocino County locations or by mail to P.O. Box 3600 Ukiah, CA 95482, telephone 707-462-6613.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown's Trailside Park is 107 acres of beauty at Middletown's west end.

The park has something for everyone with gracious grasslands, forested woodlands and seasonal wetlands, and also holds vernal pools.

The Lake County EcoArts' annual sculpture walk is held here each June through October.

There are restrooms, benches and picnic areas scattered throughout the park. The hike is flat and easy, with a 1.5-mile loop. As though that weren't enough, it's a bird watcher's paradise.

Among the many striking plants in the park is manzanita. Manzanita, or Arctostaphylos manzanita, is easily recognized by its beautiful, burnished mahogany trunk and limbs.

There are more than 100 species of manzanita, which thrive from British Colombia to Mexico.

Manzanita is often found in the chaparral biome, and is an evergreen tree, or shrub. Its wild branches and thick trunk are sometimes swathed in cinnamon-stick curls of bark, which aid in protecting the tree from insect damage.

Manzanita is also characterized by its thick olive-colored, oval leaves, and, in late winter, its white-to-pink clusters of flowers.

Honeybees thrive on these bell-shaped beauties. Hummingbirds can also be seen frequenting its flowers and quail love to hide out in secluded, shady spots.

The park's manzanita stands are quite thick and look to be impenetrable to large animals. However, according to V.K. Chesnut, in summer and fall, deer, coyote and bear browse on the manzanita's prolific berries.

The Spanish meaning for manzanita is “little apple.” This moniker refers to its small, apple-shaped fruit, which begins as a green color, then turns red.

American Indians traditionally prepared a cider from the treated berries and a tea from its leaves. The berries could be dried and stored for future use as well.

Other American Indian uses for manzanita were as a frame for a sturdy wood-carrying pack and children loved to place the blooms on their tongues for a sweet nectar treat.

A word to the wise: These wild foods, if not properly prepared, cause distress or illness.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.

Using more than two million images collected by NASA's orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, a team of Wisconsin scientists has stitched together a dramatic 360 degree portrait of the Milky Way, providing new details of our galaxy's structure and contents.

The new composite picture ( viewable at http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/glimpse360 ), using infrared images gathered over the last decade, was unveiled today (March 20, 2014) at a TED conference in Vancouver.

The galactic portrait provides an unprecedented look at the plane of our galaxy, using the infrared imagers aboard Spitzer to cut through the interstellar dust that obscures the view in visible light.

“For the first time, we can actually measure the large-scale structure of the galaxy using stars rather than gas,” explains Edward Churchwell, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of astronomy whose group compiled the new picture, which looks at a thin slice of the galactic plane. “We've established beyond the shadow of a doubt that our galaxy has a large bar structure that extends halfway out to the sun's orbit. We know more about where the Milky Way's spiral arms are.”

Lofted into space in 2003, the Spitzer Space Telescope has far exceeded its planned two-and-a-half-year lifespan.

Although limited by the depletion of the liquid helium used to cool its cameras, the telescope remains in heliocentric orbit, gathering a trove of astrophysical data that promises to occupy a new generation of astronomers.

In addition to providing new revelations about galactic structure, the telescope and the images processed by the Wisconsin team have made possible the addition of more than 200 million new objects to the catalog of the Milky Way.

“This gives us some idea about the general distribution of stars in our galaxy, and stars, of course, make up a major component of the baryonic mass of the Milky Way,” noted Churchwell, whose group has been collecting and analyzing Spitzer data for more than a decade in a project known as GLIMPSE (Galactic Legacy Infrared Midplane Survey Extraordinaire). “That's where the ballgame is.”

The new infrared picture, known as GLIMPSE360, was compiled by a team led by UW-Madison astronomer Barb Whitney. It is interactive and zoomable, giving users the ability to look through the plane of the galaxy and zero in on a variety of objects, including nebulae, bubbles, jets, bow shocks, the center of the galaxy and other exotic phenomena.

The survey conducted by the Wisconsin group has also helped astronomers understand the distribution of the Milky Way's stellar nurseries, regions where massive stars and proto-stars are churned out.

“We can see every star-forming region in the plane of the galaxy,” says Robert Benjamin, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a member of the GLIMPSE team.

“This gives us some idea of the metabolic rate of our galaxy,” explains Whitney. “It tells us how many stars are forming each year.”

Churchwell notes, too, that while Spitzer is helping astronomers resolve some of the mysteries of the Milky Way, it is adding new cosmological puzzles for scientists to ponder.

For example, the infrared data gathered by the GLIMPSE team has revealed that interstellar space is filled with diffuse polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon gas.

“These are hydrocarbons – very complicated, very heavy molecules with fifty or more carbon atoms,” Churchwell said. “They are brightest around regions of star formation but detectable throughout the disk of the Milky Way. They're floating out in the middle of interstellar space where they have no business being. It raises the question of how they were formed. It also tells us carbon may be more abundant than we thought.”

The new GLIMPSE composite image will be made widely available to astronomers and planetaria. The data is also the basis for a “citizen science” project, known as the Milky Way Project, where anyone can help scour GLIMPSE images to help identify and map the objects that populate our galaxy.

The data from the survey, Churchwell argues, will keep astronomers busy for many years: “It's still up there. It's still taking data. It's done what we wanted it to do, which is to provide a legacy of data for the astronomical community.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For the past five years local child care programs, children’s groups, organizations and elementary school classrooms have participated in the Paper Doll Project in honor of April as the nationally recognized Child Abuse Prevention Month and Month of the Young Child.

Approximately 3,000 paper dolls have been distributed throughout the county, displayed in participating businesses, showing their support of Lake County children.

This year, the project gains new energy with the Raise Your Hand and Take a Stand advocacy focus.  

The Lake County Child Care Planning Council is sponsoring the advocacy effort again, by providing supplies, materials, instructions and administrative support to any groups who would like to participate.

To request a packet of materials, please contact The Lake County Child Care Planning Council at 707-262-4162 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Additional April advocacy activities include the annual Advocacy Walk and Children’s Festival on April 12 in Library Park.  

The event begins with the inspiring Opening Ceremony at 10 a.m., followed by the Advocacy Walk and day-long festival with booths, resources and activities for families with children of all ages. All activities and events are free.

For more information, contact The Lake County Children’s Council at 707-262-4146 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.lakecoe.org .

Booth space is available for organizations. For more information on booth reservations, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The April Advocacy initiatives are supported by The Lake County Children’s Council, Lake County Office of Education, Lake County Child Care Planning Council, Redwood Children’s Servicers, Lake Family Resource Center, First 5 Lake, Easter Seals, and other supporting organizations.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown will host its "Revisit the '30s" gala the weekend of Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, to celebrate the opening of the Gibson Museum & Cultural Center.

That same small historic building was dedicated as the Gibson Library on the weekend of May 3-4, 1930.

Fun and games and laughter are not the first things that generally come to mind when the 1930s are mentioned. But those were hallmarks of the decade, along with a surprising degree of invention and enterprise during a period known as the Great Depression.

Talking movies and radio were new, and their stars became as well known as the neighbors. Music was available to everyone, and just about everybody danced. Radio meant everyone could enjoy major league sports. And share the same jokes.

Women gave up the rebellion of the 1920s and fashions went feminine again. Family games were the order of the day. Monopoly and Scrabble met instant success.

There's a lot to learn about our forebears. Chocolate chip cookies, Twinkies and Spam were introduced in the 1930s, along with frozen foods, instant mixes and a host of still familiar products. International flights and jet engines were new. So was Scotch Tape.

The lighter highlights of the 1930s will be featured in "Revisit the '30s" weekend.

Store windows and walls throughout Middletown will be filled during the celebratory weekend with posters of 1930s advertising, news events and personalities. A nod to the grimmer aspects of the news will be seen on a few of the posters, but for the most part it's a healthy dose of history as fun.

Most windows will be decorated or painted to resemble the market places of the time. Music and radio shows of the period will be playing all about. Visitors will be welcomed at events including a kids' carnival, a swing and jitterbug dance, a double feature with cartoon and newsreel, and random skits.

Vintage autos will cruise the streets, the drive-in will have carhops, and with a bit of luck you'll find a service station attendant to pump your gas and wash your windshield.

Middletown's pizza place will become a speakeasy (although prohibition ended in 1933, legal liquor was in scarce supply so moonshine and corn likker prevailed for several years).

Residents and guests are invited to don costumes and join a look-alike contest. Potential choices seem almost endless. There are movie stars, radio personalities, singers, dancers, jazz musicians, sports heroes, cartoon characters, newsmakers too many to name: Greta Garbo, Mae West, the Shadow, the Lone Ranger, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, King Kong, Frankenstein, Dracula, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Mickey Mouse, Gone With the Wind.

A lengthy list is offered on Gibson Museum's spinoff Web site, www.revisitthe1930s.com .

Thrift shops are setting aside 1930s-type clothing and artifacts, and antique dealers from far and wide are invited to bring 1930s memorabilia, to loan or to sell. A local merchant will convert a window to a milliner's shop early in April, to offer period hats for women.

There's more. Check it out at www.cgibsonmuseum.com or www.revisitthe30s.com .

This celebration may not feature a Salvation Army Band, as the long-ago library's opening did. But it's going to be a good party.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A Clearlake Oaks woman was injured in an early Saturday morning vehicle rollover near Lucerne.

Kathleen Wayland, 62, sustained moderate injuries in the crash, which occurred on eastbound Highway 20 east of Rosemont Drive.

Early morning radio traffic indicated Wayland herself called the crash in shortly after 4:30 a.m. Saturday.

The California Highway Patrol report on the crash said Wayland was driving her 2005 Chevy Malibu eastbound on Highway 20 at an unknown speed, and as she was rounding a left curve in the roadway she allowed her vehicle to drift onto the left shoulder.

The Chevy overturned and came to rest on its roof about 30 feet off the roadway, and that's how firefighters would find the vehicle shortly after 5 a.m. after searching for it along the highway for nearly 30 minutes, according to radio traffic.

When Wayland was found she was awake and alert, but firefighters on the radio said she had head trauma and needed to be extricated, which took about a half-hour to complete.

At the same time, REACH 6 came from Lampson Field, landing at Lucerne Harbor Park, where it picked Wayland up. The air ambulance lifted off for Enloe Medical Center in Chico at around 6 a.m., radio traffic indicated.

The CHP said Wayland was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor, the CHP said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Recently good came news for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic health conditions – like chronic diabetes, dementia and multiple sclerosis, to name a few – who require the skilled services that are covered by Medicare through skilled nursing homes, home health setting, or skilled outpatient therapy: No longer can they be denied or discontinued from Medicare coverage only because their condition is not improving or will never improve.

This is a result of the settlement to the federal case Jimmo v. Sibellius, a class action lawsuit in federal court.

The lead plaintiff – a lady whose leg was amputated because of complications from her diabetes – was denied coverage by a private Medicare contractor for skilled nurses and home health aides because her condition was “unlikely to improve.”

In Jimmino, the plaintiffs reached a settlement with Medicare, on Jan. 23, that the correct standard is whether the Medicare beneficiary needs skilled care and whether the skilled care is itself reasonable and necessary to treating the condition.

Importantly, the settlement does not create new Medicare regulations but reinterprets existing Medicare regulations correctly.

Previously, the skilled nursing homes and skilled home care providers have routinely required that a Medicare recipient must be able to improve and in fact make improvement. The “making improvement” standard was challenged in Jimmino.

The “improvement standard” has been widespread at skilled nursing homes where many people were told that they can no longer receive Medicare coverage for the first 100 days at a skilled nursing home, after being transferred from an inpatient hospital stay of at least three days, because they were not showing signs of improvement at the nursing home or could not improve.    

Accordingly, any Medicare beneficiary who requires skilled services to maintain his or her health condition or to prevent or slow its deterioration, regardless of the underlying illness, disability or injury, may get Medicare coverage for such skilled services provided they are reasonable and necessary.

This applies to Medicare Home Health, outpatient therapy and skilled nursing facility benefits, and applies to both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

There are limitations to the application of the Jimmino rule. First, it only applies to skilled services and not unskilled services.

Second, if the Medicare recipient is seeking skilled care for rehabilitation reasons only – i.e., only to restore lost function – then Medicare coverage would only apply if there is a favorable prognosis for recovery and the beneficiary improves through treatment.

Thus, Medicare coverage still does not apply when the Medicare beneficiary has no chance of rehabilitation or is not showing progress from rehabilitation.

Lastly, as the Jimmino settlement was agreed on Jan. 23 there are likely still some skilled nursing homes and skilled medical providers who do not know the correct Jimmino standard. For this reason it is important to be aware of the standard and to assert it when necessary.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, California. Fordham can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has four dogs cleared for adoption this week.

The dogs, two males and two females, range in age from 2 to 4 years of age, and include mixes of Rottweiler, pit bull and Labrador Retriever mix.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

'Duke'

“Duke” is a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever-pit bull terrier mix.

He has a short tan coat, is of medium size and has not been neutered.

Find him in kennel No. 9, ID No. 39266.

Rottweiler mix

This female Rottweiler mix is 2 years old.

She has a short black and brown coat, is large in size and has not been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 11, ID No. 39225.

'Chica'

“Chica” is a 2-year-old pit bull terrier mix.

She weighs 55 pounds, has a short blue brindle and white coat, and has not yet been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 13, ID No. 39248.

'Duke'

This male Rottweiler mix, also named “Duke,” is 4 years old.

He weighs 122 pounds, has a docked tail and has been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 33, ID No. 39158.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's unemployment picture showed a minor improvement in February, according to a Friday report.

The California Employment Development Department said that Lake County had an 11.4-percent unemployment rate in February, down from the revised 11.9 percent rate reported in January, and down from the February 2013 estimate of 13.7 percent.

California as a whole showed a slightly improved employment picture in February, with the Employment Development Department noting that the state's unemployment rate was at 8 percent, down from 8.1 percent in January and improved compared to the 9.4-percent rate reported in February 2013.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nationwide unemployment was 6.7 percent in February, up from 6.6 percent in January but down from 7.7 percent in February 2013.

The Friday report said that nonfarm jobs in California totaled 15,350,400 in February, an increase of 58,800 jobs  over the month and 336,600 jobs over the year, according to a survey of 58,000 businesses.

A federal survey of 5,500 California households showed an increase in the number of employed people. It estimates the  number of Californians holding jobs in February was 17,113,000, an increase of 45,000  from January 2013, and up 234,000 from the employment total in February of last year, the report said.

The number of people unemployed in California was 1,497,000 – down by 9,000 over the month, and down by 245,000 compared with February of last year, the Employment Development Department said.

Marin remained the county with the lowest unemployment, 4.8 percent, while Colusa registered the highest unemployment in February, with 24.2 percent, the report showed.

Lake County rated No. 35 for its 11.4 percent rate. The county's civilian workforce numbered 26,710 people in February, of which 3,050 were unemployed, compared to 26,750 people and 3,200 unemployed in January.

Local industries showing job growth included state government, 7.1 percent; total farm, 4.9 percent; mining, logging and construction, 3 percent; financial activities, 2.6 percent; and professional and business services, 1.7 percent.

Industries showing job loss were retail trade, -0.5 percent; and trade, transportation and utilities, -0.4 percent.

Lake's neighboring counties ranked as follows in February, according to the Employment Development Department: Colusa, No. 58, 24.2 percent; Glenn, No. 41, 12.8 percent; Mendocino, No. 16, 7.9 percent; Napa, No. 5, 6.1 percent; Sonoma, No. 7, 6.2 percent; and Yolo, No. 31, 10.4 percent.

The Employment Development Department reported that there were 539,062 people receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits during the February survey week, compared with 495,273 last month and 487,497 last year.

At the same time, new  claims for unemployment insurance were 65,494 in February 2014, compared with  73,040 in January and 41,698 in February of last year, the Friday report said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

New radar measurements of an enormous sea on Titan offer insights into the weather patterns and landscape composition of the Saturnian moon.

The measurements, made in 2013 by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, reveal that the surface of Ligeia Mare, Titan's second largest sea, possesses a mirror-like smoothness, possibly due to a lack of winds.

“If you could look out on this sea, it would be really still. It would just be a totally glassy surface,” said Howard Zebker, professor of geophysics and of electrical engineering at Stanford who is the lead author of a new study detailing the research.

The findings, recently published online in Geophysical Research Letters, also indicate that the solid terrain surrounding the sea is likely made of solid organic materials and not frozen water.

Saturn's second largest moon, Titan has a dense, planet-like atmosphere and large seas made of methane and ethane. Measuring roughly 260 miles (420 km) by 217 miles (350 km), Ligeia Mare is larger than Lake Superior on Earth.

“Titan is the best analog that we have in the solar system to a body like the Earth because it is the only other body that we know of that has a complex cycle of solid, liquid, and gas constituents,” Zebker said.

Titan's thick cloud cover makes it difficult for Cassini to obtain clear optical images of its surface, so scientists must rely on radar, which can see through the clouds, instead of a camera.

To paint a radar picture of Ligeia Mare, Cassini bounced radio waves off the sea's surface and then analyzed the echo. The strength of the reflected signal indicated how much wave action was happening on the sea.

To understand why, Zebker said, imagine sunlight reflecting off of a lake on Earth.

“If the lake were really flat, it would act as a perfect mirror and you would have an extremely bright image of the sun,” he said. “But if you ruffle up the surface of the sea, the light gets scattered in a lot of directions, and the reflection would be much dimmer. We did the same thing with radar on Titan.”

The radar measurements suggest the surface of Ligeia Mare is eerily still. “Cassini's radar sensitivity in this experiment is one millimeter, so that means if there are waves on Ligeia Mare, they're smaller than one millimeter. That's really, really smooth,” Zebker said.

One possible explanation for the sea's calmness is that no winds happened to be blowing across that region of the moon when Cassini made its flyby. Another possibility is that a thin layer of some material is suppressing wave action. “For example, on Earth, if you put oil on top of a sea, you suppress a lot of small waves,” Zebker said.

Cassini also measured microwave radiation emitted by the materials that make up Titan's surface. By analyzing those measurements, and accounting for factors such as temperature and pressure, Zebker's team confirmed previous findings that the terrain around Ligeia Mare is composed of solid organic material, likely the same methane and ethane that make up the sea. “Like water on Earth, methane on Titan can exists as a solid, a liquid, and a gas all at once,” Zebker said.

Titan's similarities to Earth make it a good model for our own planet's early evolution, Zebker said. “Titan is different in the details from Earth, but because there is global circulation happening, the big picture is the same,” he added. “Seeing something in two very different environments could help reveal the overall guiding principles for the evolution of planetary bodies, and help explain why Earth developed life and Titan didn't.”

Ker Than is associate director of communications for the Stanford School of Earth Sciences.