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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has several new dogs up for adoption this week.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of boxer, Chihuahua, dachshund, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever and pit bull.

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.

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”).

This male pit bull terrier is in kennel No. 13, ID No. 12043. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short brown and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 13, ID No. 12043.

“Soy” is a male German Shepherd in kennel No. 15, ID No. 12107. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Soy’

“Soy” is a male German Shepherd with a medium-length black and brown coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 12107.

This male pit bull terrier is in kennel No. 20, ID No. 11958. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 20, ID No. 11958.

“Dollar Bill” is a male dachshund in kennel No. 23, ID No. 12115. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Dollar Bill’

“Dollar Bill” is a male dachshund with a short tan and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 12115.

This male boxer is in kennel No. 24, ID No. 12123. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male boxer

This male boxer has a short tricolor coat.

He’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 12123.

This female pit bull is in kennel No. 28, ID No. 11950. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female pit bull

This female pit bull has a short brown and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 11950.

This male Chihuahua-terrier mix is in kennel No. 29a, ID No. 12112. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Chihuahua-terrier mix

This male Chihuahua-terrier mix has a short black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 29a, ID No. 12112.

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever in kennel No. 34, ID No. 11986. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Bear’

“Bear” is a male Labrador Retriever with a short black coat.

He’s already been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 34, ID No. 11986.

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, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.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.
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The California Office of Traffic Safety is asking everyone participating in Cinco de Mayo festivities this weekend to celebrate responsibly by planning ahead for how to get home safely.

Cinco de Mayo is on a Sunday this year, and law enforcement agencies across the state will have additional officers on patrol looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

“Unfortunately, Cinco de Mayo has become a deadly holiday for impaired driving, which is why it is important for everyone to celebrate with caution and make smart decisions about how they get home,” OTS Director Rhonda Craft said.

“Designate a sober driver before the party, whether it is ride-share, a friend or taxi.”

Although alcohol consumption is more of an issue during the Cinco de Mayo holiday, the number of drug-impaired driving crashes continues to rise.

The OTS wants to remind drivers that a “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and marijuana can all be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can lead to a DUI.

Many people will be hosting or attending Cinco de Mayo parties, and the OTS offers a few tips to make sure everyone has a fun, safe time:

• Playing party host? Offer nonalcoholic drinks. Monitor who is drinking and ask how they are getting home.

• If you plan to drink, choose a sober way to get around. Use ride-share, a designated sober driver, taxi, or public transportation to get home.

• If you are hosting a party and someone who is clearly impaired tries to leave, offer them a sober ride home or have them stay the night.

“Any level of impairment while driving puts everyone around you, and yourself, at risk,” Director Craft said. “Being sober is the safest bet behind the wheel.”

Whether by car, motorcycle, bike, scooter or walking, the OTS wants everyone to “go safely.” To learn more about ways to stay safe on the go, visit www.gosafelyca.org.

The OTS administers funding for traffic safety programs statewide with the goal of reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – In the aftermath of October 2017’s Sulphur fire, the Lake County Board of Supervisors acted quickly to protect survivors by instituting $20,000 fines to deter rental housing price gouging.

Instituted via Ordinance No. 3067, county officials said the action was effective, in that the District Attorney’s Office had no prosecutions for price gouging, nor were any significant state efforts required to respond to reported issues.

On Tuesday, April 23, the board acted to rescind the ordinance, a decision that is expected to allow property owners to make modest price increases necessary to cover increasing costs.

Rental housing price gouging is common following major disaster events, due to the influx of insurance funds in affected communities, and the often widespread need for people to relocate.

In the wake of the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires of 2015 and the Clayton fires of 2016, the county had received reports of rent gouging, property owners significantly raising rents or even evicting tenants in order to take advantage of reduced housing supply and lucrative insurance reimbursements.

Ordinance No. 3067 was an important preventive measure, the county reported.

District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown asked to have the item rescinding the ordinance placed on the board’s agenda. “The folks we were trying to protect have places to live,” he said.

Brown suggested that rescinding the ordinance would enable property owners to make necessary increases in rents to fund deferred maintenance and other costs.

“The ordinance, as initially planned, is no longer needed,” Brown said.

District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier reminded the public that landlords are still bound by regulations protecting tenant rights, and that property owners will not be “free and clear to double or triple rents,” as a result of the board rescinding the ordinance.

The board’s 5-0 vote to rescind is a statement that the emergency conditions that required its enhanced consumer protections no longer exist.

“The ordinance was well intended,” said Brown, “but rescinding this is a part of us getting over the disaster.”
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Astronomers have put together the largest and most comprehensive "history book" of galaxies into one single image, using 16 years' worth of observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The deep-sky mosaic, created from nearly 7,500 individual exposures, provides a wide portrait of the distant universe, containing 265,000 galaxies that stretch back through 13.3 billion years of time to just 500 million years after the big bang.

The faintest and farthest galaxies are just one ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see.

The universe's evolutionary history is also chronicled in this one sweeping view. The portrait shows how galaxies change over time, building themselves up to become the giant galaxies seen in the nearby universe.

This ambitious endeavor, called the Hubble Legacy Field, also combines observations taken by several Hubble deep-field surveys, including the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the deepest view of the universe. The wavelength range stretches from ultraviolet to near-infrared light, capturing the key features of galaxy assembly over time.

"Now that we have gone wider than in previous surveys, we are harvesting many more distant galaxies in the largest such dataset ever produced by Hubble," said Garth Illingworth of the University of California, Santa Cruz, leader of the team that assembled the image. "This one image contains the full history of the growth of galaxies in the universe, from their time as 'infants' to when they grew into fully fledged 'adults.'"

No image will surpass this one until future space telescopes are launched. "We've put together this mosaic as a tool to be used by us and by other astronomers," Illingworth added. "The expectation is that this survey will lead to an even more coherent, in-depth and greater understanding of the universe's evolution in the coming years."

The image yields a huge catalog of distant galaxies. "Such exquisite high-resolution measurements of the numerous galaxies in this catalog enable a wide swath of extragalactic study," said catalog lead researcher Katherine Whitaker of the University of Connecticut, in Storrs. "Often, these kinds of surveys have yielded unanticipated discoveries which have had the greatest impact on our understanding of galaxy evolution."

The video begins with a view of the thousands of galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and slowly zooms out to reveal the larger Hubble Legacy Field, containing 265,000 galaxies.
Credits: NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz) and G. Bacon (STScI)
Galaxies are the "markers of space," as astronomer Edwin Hubble once described them a century ago. Galaxies allow astronomers to trace the expansion of the universe, offer clues to the underlying physics of the cosmos, show when the chemical elements originated, and enable the conditions that eventually led to the appearance of our solar system and life.

This wider view contains about 30 times as many galaxies as in the previous deep fields. The new portrait, a mosaic of multiple snapshots, covers almost the width of the full Moon. The XDF, which penetrated deeper into space than this wider view, lies in this region, but it covers less than one-tenth of the full Moon's diameter. The Legacy Field also uncovers a zoo of unusual objects. Many of them are the remnants of galactic "train wrecks," a time in the early universe when small, young galaxies collided and merged with other galaxies.

Assembling all of the observations was an immense task. The image comprises the collective work of 31 Hubble programs by different teams of astronomers. Hubble has spent more time on this tiny area than on any other region of the sky, totaling more than 250 days, representing nearly three-quarters of a year.

"Our goal was to assemble all 16 years of exposures into a legacy image," explained Dan Magee, of the University of California, Santa Cruz, the team's data processing lead. "Previously, most of these exposures had not been put together in a consistent way that can be used by any researcher. Astronomers can select the data in the Legacy Field they want and work with it immediately, as opposed to having to perform a huge amount of data reduction before conducting scientific analysis."

The image, along with the individual exposures that make up the new view, is available to the worldwide astronomical community through the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). MAST, an online database of astronomical data from Hubble and other NASA missions, is located at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.\

This Hubble Space Telescope image represents a portion of the Hubble Legacy Field, one of the widest views of the universe ever made. The image, a combination of thousands of snapshots, represents 16 years' worth of observations. The Hubble Legacy Field includes observations taken by several Hubble deep-field surveys, including the eXtreme Deep Field (XDF), the deepest view of the universe. The wavelength range stretches from ultraviolet to near-infrared light, capturing all the features of galaxy assembly over time. This cropped image mosaic presents a wide portrait of the distant universe and contains roughly 200,000 galaxies. They stretch back through 13.3 billion years of time to just 500 million years after the universe's birth in the big bang. Credits: NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth and D. Magee (University of California, Santa Cruz), K. Whitaker (University of Connecticut), R. Bouwens (Leiden University), P. Oesch (University of Geneva) and the Hubble Legacy Field team.


The Hubble Space Telescope has come a long way in taking ever deeper "core samples" of the distant universe.

After Hubble's launch in 1990, astronomers debated if it was worth spending a chunk of the telescope's time to go on a "fishing expedition" to take a very long exposure of a small, seemingly blank piece of sky.

The resulting Hubble Deep Field image in 1995 captured several thousand unseen galaxies in one pointing. The bold effort was a landmark demonstration and a defining proof-of-concept that set the stage for future deep field images.

In 2002, Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys went even deeper to uncover 10,000 galaxies in a single snapshot. Astronomers used exposures taken by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, installed in 2009, to assemble the eXtreme Deep Field snapshot in 2012.

Unlike previous Hubble cameras, the telescope's WFC3 covers a broader wavelength range, from ultraviolet to near-infrared.

This new image mosaic is the first in a series of Hubble Legacy Field images. The team is working on a second set of images, totaling more than 5,200 Hubble exposures, in another area of the sky. In the future, astronomers hope to broaden the multiwavelength range in the legacy images to include longer-wavelength infrared data and high-energy X-ray observations from two other NASA Great Observatories, the Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The vast number of galaxies in the Legacy Field image are also prime targets for future telescopes. "This will really set the stage for NASA's planned Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)," Illingworth said. "The Legacy Field is a pathfinder for WFIRST, which will capture an image that is 100 times larger than a typical Hubble photo. In just three weeks' worth of observations by WFIRST, astronomers will be able to assemble a field that is much deeper and more than twice as large as the Hubble Legacy Field."

In addition, NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will allow astronomers to push much deeper into the legacy field to reveal how the infant galaxies actually grew. Webb's infrared coverage will go beyond the limits of Hubble and Spitzer to help astronomers identify the first galaxies in the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, or STScI, in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

This graphic compares the dimensions of the Hubble Legacy Field on the sky with the angular size of the Moon. The Hubble Legacy Field is one of the widest views ever taken of the universe with Hubble. The new portrait, a mosaic of nearly 7,500 exposures, covers almost the width of the full Moon. The Moon and the Legacy Field each subtend about an angle of one-half a degree on the sky (or half the width of your forefinger held at arm's length). Credits: Hubble Legacy Field Image: NASA, ESA, and G. Illingworth and D. Magee (University of California, Santa Cruz); Moon Image: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center and Arizona State University.
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Dennis Fordham. Courtesy photo.

Must special assets – such as businesses, farms and ranches – held in trust always be sold when there are multiple trust beneficiaries?

Disagreement and litigation amongst trust beneficiaries can arise over a special asset that some want preserved and others want sold and distributed as cash.

The answer depends both on the trust and how it is administered.

In Trolan v. Trolan (2019), 31 CA5th 939, the 6th District Court of Appeals, recently addressed this question.

In Trolan, the settlors established a trust with income producing assets for the benefit of their six children. Each child was entitled to receive full distribution once the child turned age thirty. Five of the six children wanted to continue to hold the income producing assets in trust but one wanted the assets sold and the net proceeds distributed.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal ruled that the Trolan Trust unambiguously required distribution but that it did not require liquidation (sale) of the assets.

Thus, while the trust had to be terminated, the distribution in satisfaction of the beneficiaries’ shares could either be made in cash or in-kind to the beneficiaries. In-kind distributions involve distributing either a partial or complete ownership interest in an asset.

Disagreements over whether to continue to own or to sell assets often involve a going business, a farm, a ranch, or a residence, such as the family home or vacation home. How can an owner of such assets ensure that these assets are not sold?

One approach is to hold the asset in further trust, after the owner’s death, for a period of time, up to ninety-years in California; at which time the asset is either distributed to the beneficiaries or is sold.

For example, a family home can be held in house trust that provides for the sharing of the enjoyment and expense amongst the beneficiaries and their families. If the house were instead distributed outright to multiple beneficiaries – as tenants-in-common – then any one or more beneficiaries, or their judgment creditors, could compel the sale of the property.

Another approach is to make offsetting gifts of money, or other assets, to those beneficiaries who do not want an on-going interest in the subject asset.

If it is not possible to make such an offsetting gift then it may be possible for the Trustee to make a loan – at the trustee level – that is secured against the asset and is later paid-off in installments funded by the income generated from the asset or by another beneficiary (who may secure their own financing).

With a family business that the owner wants to see go to their next generation, there will be those children who are interested in being part of the business and other children who want out.

The parents will need to consider whether they want to equalize out the children’s inheritances with other assets in their estate (including life insurance) or make the children who receive the business as a going concern purchase out the other children’s interests over a period of years using the business income.

When a business is concerned years of advance planning is often necessary to achieve a desired outcome.

Estate planning with special assets, therefore, is more complicated because the owner may not want the trustee to simply sell the assets and distribute the net proceeds amongst the beneficiaries.

The owner may have to balance the competing goals of treating beneficiaries fairly whom they love equally versus ensuring the special asset continues intact into the next generation.

This balancing may require subjective reconsideration as to whether all beneficiaries – e.g., one’s children – should receive an equal share of the estate when doing so may or may not be feasible.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
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John King, water resource engineer for the California Department of Water Resources, Snow Survey Section and Cindy Holbus from DWR, weigh the snow measurement during the fifth snow survey of the 2019 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The survey recorded 47 inches of snow at this site, which is 188 percent of average. The site is approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County, California. Photo taken Thursday, May 2, 2019. Josh Baar/California Department of Water Resources.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Department of Water Resources on Thursday conducted the fifth and final Phillips Station snow survey of 2019.

The manual survey recorded 47 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent, or SWE, of 27.5 inches, which is 188 percent of average for this location.

Statewide, California’s snowpack sits at 31 inches of SWE, which is 144 percent of average for this time of year. Snow water equivalent is the depth of water that theoretically would result if the entire snowpack melted instantaneously.

Thursday’s readings will help hydrologists forecast spring and summer snowmelt runoff into rivers and reservoirs. The melting snow supplies approximately one-third of the water used by Californians.

"California’s cities and farms can expect ample water supplies this summer,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “But it’s critical that it’s put to use replenishing groundwater basins and storage reservoirs for the next inevitable drought. Every resident and business can also help California by using water as efficiently as possible.”

The snowpack’s water content is the most important factor for water managers and hydrologists to measure because it is tied directly to water supply. Water content, however, varies from year to year depending on the air temperature and intensity and amount of precipitation.

After a storm, the snow settles, compacts, and gets increasingly dense. As more snow falls, the snow beneath it will further compact.

John King, water resource engineer for the California Department of Water Resources, Snow Survey Section plunges the long aluminum snow depth survey pole into the snow during the fifth California Department of Water Resources snow survey of the 2019 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The site is approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County, California. Photo taken Thursday, May 2, 2019. Josh Baar/California Department of Water Resources.


April 1 is typically the height of the year’s snow water content. However, it is not until late spring and early summer when the intense sunshine becomes the key factor in snow melt and run-off.

This year has been an extremely good one in terms of snowpack, according to Jon Ericson, DWR chief of the Division of Flood Management. “Based on our surveys, we are seeing a very dense, cold snowpack that will continue to produce run-off into late summer.”

The 2019 snowpack reached its peak on March 31 and is the fifth largest on record, based on more than 250 manual snow surveys conducted each month by the California Cooperative Snow Survey Program.

Both rain and snowpack runoff feed California’s reservoirs. The state’s largest six reservoirs currently hold between 96 percent (San Luis) and 128 percent (Melones) of their historical averages for this date. Lake Shasta, California’s largest surface reservoir, is 108 percent of its historical average and sits at 93 percent of capacity.

DWR conducts up to five snow surveys each winter – near the first of January, February, March, April and, if necessary, May – at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada just off Highway 50 near Sierra-at-Tahoe.

The Phillips snow course is one of hundreds that is surveyed manually throughout the winter. Manual measurements augment the electronic readings from about 100 snow pillows in the Sierra Nevada that provide a current snapshot of the water content in the snowpack.

A drone provides a view of the fifth California Department of Water Resources snow survey of the 2019 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The survey recorded 47 inches of snow, which is 188 percent of average at this site. The site is approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County, California. Photo taken Thursday, May 2, 2019. Josh Baar/California Department of Water Resources.
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“A Day in the Life” by Nalani Marlowe. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that local judges have selected Nalani Marlowe from Kelseyville High School in Lake County as the 2019 Fifth Congressional District Art Competition grand prize winner.

Her art piece, “A Day in the Life,” will hang in the halls of the United States Capitol for one year and she will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. next month.

“Proud to announce that Nalani Marlowe is this year’s Grand Prize winner for the Fifth Congressional District Art Competition,” said Thompson. “She displayed great skill and talent with the use of scratchboard in the final piece she produced. ‘A Day in the Life’ will be an excellent representation from our district to everyone who walks the halls of the Capitol and I look forward to seeing it each time I walk to vote. Congratulations, Nalani!”

“A Day in the Life” was created using scratchboard and represents Nalani with her dog relaxing on her front porch – a glimpse into her everyday life.

Marlowe and a guest will receive plane tickets to Washington for a ceremony honoring winners from across the nation next month.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
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The International Space Station is sporting a new “light fixture.”

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation, or GEDI, will beam down laser light on Earth from the orbiting laboratory to reveal more about our environment and how it is changing.

NASA’s GEDI sends laser pulses into tree canopies and precisely measures the light reflected back.

The timing and intensity of light that bounces back to GEDI’s telescope will reveal the height and density of trees and vegetation, and the vertical arrangement of the leaves and branches within the overall canopy.

Dr. Ralph Dubayah, GEDI principal investigator at the University of Maryland said, “This instrument will map forests in high resolution and three dimensions, revolutionizing the way researchers monitor them.”

Forested areas are an important part of our planet. Not only do forests provide a habitat for many species and a source of raw materials for human use, such as paper and lumber, they also play a key role in the Earth’s carbon cycle.

Deforestation and forest degradation, in addition to other types of forest disturbances such as fires and insect outbreaks lead to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Forest regrowth sucks that carbon back down into trees and soils.

Knowing how forests grow and change over time can allow us to better understand the contribution that forests make to Earth’s carbon cycle and help people better manage this important resource.

GEDI is the first spaceborne instrument designed specifically to perform sustained mapping of the spatial distribution of the carbon content of forests.

Dubayah noted, "One of the most poorly quantified components of the carbon cycle is the net balance between forest disturbance and regrowth. GEDI will help scientists fill in this missing piece by revealing the vertical structure of the forest – information we really can’t get with sufficient accuracy any other way.”

GEDI will provide scientists with insights into the amount of carbon stored in forests. When combined with current and historical records of changes captured by Earth-orbiting satellites such as Landsat, this information will enhance the ability of researchers to identify changes happening across our planet.

Researchers also will incorporate GEDI’s observations, along with those of the ECOSTRESS instrument on the station, with data from other current and future Earth-observing sensors. These data will address important questions about relationships between forest structure, function, composition, and changes in carbon content.

Combining all of these data will allow researchers to gain an unprecedented understanding of ecosystem dynamics and the role plants and trees play in Earth's global carbon cycle. These new insights could be used, in turn, to improve models for forecasting future ecosystem changes, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and climate.

GEDI was launched to the station aboard SpaceX CRS-16 on December 5, 2018.

For more about how NASA uses the power of light to understand our world – and beyond – visit http://science.nasa.gov.
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The California Department of Water Resources is taking formal steps to withdraw proposed permits for the WaterFix project and begin a renewed environmental review and planning process for a smaller, single tunnel project that will protect a critical source of water supplies for California.

Thursday’s actions implement Gov. Gavin Newsom’s direction earlier this year to modernize the state’s water delivery infrastructure by pursuing a smaller, single tunnel project through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The project is needed to protect water supplies from sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion into the Delta, as well as earthquake risk. It will be designed to protect water supply reliability while limiting impacts on local Delta communities and fish.

This action follows the governor’s recent executive order directing state agencies to develop a comprehensive statewide strategy to build a climate-resilient water system.

“A smaller project, coordinated with a wide variety of actions to strengthen existing levee protections, protect Delta water quality, recharge depleted groundwater reserves, and strengthen local water supplies across the state, will build California’s water supply resilience,” said Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot.

DWR Director Karla Nemeth took action on Thursday to rescind various permitting applications for the WaterFix project, including those in front of the State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and federal agencies responsible for compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

Documents related to these actions are available here.

DWR will work with local public water agencies that are partners in the conveyance project to incorporate the latest science and innovation to design the new conveyance project, and work with Delta communities and other stakeholders to limit local impacts of the project.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who formerly represented Lake County in the State Assembly, lauded the action. He serves as co-chair of the Legislative Delta Caucus.

“I applaud Gov. Newsom and the Department of Water Resources for formally withdrawing the permit applications for the twin tunnel project, which was fatally flawed,” said Dodd. “By closing this chapter on the euphemistically named WaterFix, I believe we can move to a thoughtful, collaborative approach that meets our water needs while safeguarding the environmental and economic vitality of the Delta. I look forward to partnering with the governor on measures that will benefit the Delta and the entire state, such as strengthening levees, restoring ecosystem habitat, improving water quality and efficiency, and increasing recharge and storage.”
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Mourning doves are one of the most common and abundant species of bird in the country and this is due in part to the fact that the birds are highly adaptable and can have up to six broods in a single year. Photo by Mary K. Hanson.


Coo-hoo-woo-woo-woo. It’s an easily recognizable sound.

The gentle cooing of the Mourning Dove (Zenaida marginella) is most often performed by the male of the species when he’s courting a female or reestablishing a bond with a mate. The doves are generally monogamous, especially if they don’t participate in any form of migration.

Some individuals migrate, others do not. (Some have actually shown up in Canada and Great Britain!) It’s very often the availability of food sources that determine their migration status.

So, keeping platform-type bird feeders available to them in your yard or garden year-round will encourage them to stay. Bear in mind that the doves eat most often from the ground, so if you have feeders around, keep your cats indoors.

The mourning doves will on rare occasions eat garden snails, but otherwise their diet consists exclusively of different kinds of seeds.

Usually, they’ll gobble up as many seeds as they can in a single seating and store them in their crop, a muscular pouch-like expansion of the esophagus. Once the crop is full, the dove will fly off to a secure area to rest and continue with the digestion process.

The exception to the 99-percent-seed diet applies to the doves’ young, called “squabs.” The newborns cannot digest seeds, so for the first few days of their lives, the parents feed them “crop milk,” a special gooey secretion the parents regurgitate for them.

The cottage-cheese-looking milk is high in protein and fat, but it lacks carbohydrates or calcium. Both the males and the females, who co-parent the young, can produce the milk which along with nutrition, provides the baby birds with the immune-building antibodies they need to survive and grow.

What’s additionally fascinating about the milk is that it appears in the adults a day or two before the eggs hatch, so it’s ready for the squabs as soon as they need it.

When the squabs are old enough to eat seeds, the parents’ milk gradually shuts itself off. Doves aren’t the only birds that produce the crop milk; some species of pigeons and flamingos do, too, as do male emperor penguins.

The mourning dove’s recognizable coo is most often performed by the male of the species when he’s courting a female or reestablishing a bond with a mate. The bird’s throat expands with an intake of air just before the coo is emitted. In this photo you can see the blue coloration on the top of the male’s head. Photo by Mary K. Hanson.

Not only do both mourning dove parents feed their young, both parents also incubate the eggs, so often you’ll find the male sitting on the nest.

Like many birds, male mourning doves have coloring the females do not, but much of their extra color is somewhat subtle. The males’ breast and neck have a somewhat pink hue to them, and the top of the head bears a grayish blue cap. Otherwise, the sexes look very much the same.

Mourning doves are one of the most common and abundant species of bird in the country, even though they are hunted regularly, and this is due in part to the fact that the birds are highly adaptable and can have up to six broods in a single year.

Egg-laying can last from mid-February to early October; more than any other bird. Usually, each brood consists of two eggs which are laid in a nest that often looks too thin and flimsy to contain them.

The doves aren’t the greatest architects when it comes to nest construction. Males usually scout out nesting sites – usually a branch with foliage around it or some flat surface that has some form of protection on at least one side – and then he escorts the female around to the sites until she chooses one she likes.

While the female sits on the spot she like best, the male will go in search of fine twigs and grasses and carry them to her to arrange as she pleases.

At each landing and takeoff, you’ll hear a bright whooshing-whistling sound emanating from the dove. This isn’t made by the bird’s vocal equipment; it’s made by the air rushing through the doves’ feathers. Mourning doves are actually strong flyers and can reach speeds up to 55 mile per hour.

You can help the doves with nesting sites by providing them with simple wire- or twig-mesh nesting cones in the trees around your house or property.

The construction of these cones is simple enough for children to produce, and detailed instructions including the optimal places to secure the cones can be found online at Nest Watch.

Mary K. Hanson is a Certified California Naturalist, author and nature photographer, living with terminal cancer. She developed and helps to teach the naturalist program at Tuleyome, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland. For more information, see their website at http://tuleyome.org/.
Here you’re seeing a female mourning dove sitting on a spot she’s chosen for her nesting site. Once she’s chosen a site, the male will go in search of fine twigs and grasses and carry them to her to arrange as she pleases. Photo by Mary K. Hanson.
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Artist Laura Kennedy explores the new location for the Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park in Middletown, Calif. Photo by Middletown Art Center staff.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a Challenge America grant of $10,000 for workshops to support outdoor sculpture projects in the Middletown area.

The funds were awarded to EcoArts of Lake County, doing business as the Middletown Art Center.

“We are thrilled to receive recognition from a prestigious federal organization and be included in the Arts Endowment’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019,” said Middletown Art Center Director Lisa Kaplan.

Challenge America grants support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations – those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability.

“Our project, ‘Locus,’ focuses on sculptural expressions to revitalize and promote community use of Middletown Trailside Park and Rabbit Hill, both burned in the Valley Fire,” Kaplan said.

As Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, said, “The arts enhance our communities and our lives, and we look forward to seeing these projects take place throughout the country, giving Americans opportunities to learn, to create, to heal, and to celebrate.”

“We are really pleased that the NEA recognizes the quality and importance of our continuing fire recovery efforts,” said Kaplan. “‘Locus’ extends our work from the Resilience and Restore projects to further engage community with artists and collaborative art making.”

In Locus, Kaplan said artists will lead creation and installation of artwork for the June 1 reopening of the EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park and for Phase II of the Rabbit Hill Art Trail.

The Rabbit Hill project Phase II is scheduled to open in November, marking the end of fire season and commemorating the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise, Kaplan said.

The community is invited and encouraged to join one or many Locus activities in the coming months as makers and collaborators.

“Together, we can further renew our sense of place, and create a legacy of high quality artwork and local pride,” added Kaplan. “Especially during this coming month of May, as we prepare to reopen the Sculpture Walk at the park, we encourage folks who like to work outdoors, who have an interest in revitalizing our shared outdoor spaces and/or have landscaping skills, to assist in site preparation, installation, or maintenance of exhibits at Trailside Park or Rabbit Hill. Please contact the MAC if you would like to help in any way.”

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118

Upcoming workshops in May include Marcus Maria Jung’s collaborative sculpture created from felled trees found at the park on Saturday, May 4, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; “Eclipsopy” led by Layna Joy­ – a collaboratively made canopy shade structure to assist regrowth on Sunday, May 12, from 1 to 5 p.m.; and “New Growth” with Sherry Harris – a sculpture from woven Mulberry branches date and time to be announced.

To learn more or to participate in the Locus project visit www.MiddletownArtCenter.org/Locus.

The NEA is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit www.arts.gov/news.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in the heart of Middletown.
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Dr. Rebecca Salato, the new Konocti Unified School District superintendent, following the school board meeting on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, in Lower Lake, Calif., during which her contract was accepted. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – On Wednesday evening, the Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to finalize the hire of the new district superintendent.

In two separate votes, the board confirmed the job offer to Dr. Rebecca Salato and then approved her three-year contract.

Salato was on hand for the meeting, with the board asking her to lead the flag salute. She had spent the day in the district, meeting with administrators and beginning a tour of schools.

Her newly approved contract runs from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2022.

Under its terms, Salato’s base salary in year one is $155,000, rising to $158,875 in year two and $162,846 in year three. She will annually receive $15,600 in health insurance.

The contract entitles her to travel expenses for district-related business before July 1 up to $1,500, with moving expenses reimbursement up to $2,000.

Regarding performance, the board is to complete a written evaluation of the superintendent no later than the first regular meeting of each June.

If the district terminates the superintendent with cause – for failing to perform her duties – there is no requirement to pay salary beyond the termination date. However, should the board terminate “for convenience” – or without cause – it must give 90 days’ notice and pay the superintendent for every month still left on the contract.

The district board had announced Salato’s hire at a special April 17 meeting, as Lake County News has reported.

Salato begins work officially on July 1, the day after current Superintendent Donna Becnel’s retirement goes into effect.

Before then, Salato told Lake County News there will be a transition process as she visits the district and works with Becnel to prepare to take the reins. She plans to relocate to the county in June.

Salato currently is the chief operating officer of Action Learning Systems. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, a master’s degree in special education and a doctorate from Pepperdine University in educational leadership, and has 22 years of experience in K-12 education ranging from teaching to administration.

Earlier this year, Konocti Unified hired Education Leadership Solutions LLC to lead the superintendent search after Becnel announced her plans to retire.

Salato said she was looking for a specific type of district, one where the community is involved, there already is strong leadership and forward progress.

“This checked all of the boxes for me,” she said of Konocti Unified.

For the superintendent’s job, the district drew a field of 14 applicants from around California and Montana. Six of those candidates were interviewed separately by the board and a 16-member community committee who narrowed the field down to two finalists who were interviewed on April 7, with Salato emerging as the board’s choice.

On Wednesday, Salato said she was at the district all day, meeting with principals and the management team, and starting to visit some schools.

She said she will spend Thursday visiting other schools in the district.

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.

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