As Mark Twain once said, “Distance lends enchantment to the view.”

This definitely holds true for the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, a new space weather mission from NOAA that also carries NASA instruments to keep an eye on Earth.

Launched in February 2015, DSCOVR is now a million miles from Earth where it can look back and see half of our planet all at once. The view prompted President Obama to tweet:

“Just got this new blue marble photo from @NASA. A beautiful reminder that we need to protect the only planet we have.”

The first “blue marble” photos taken by Apollo astronauts nearly 50 years ago sparked a new awareness of Earth as a fragile sphere of dazzling beauty floating alone in a dangerous void, worthy of careful stewardship.

It energized grassroots green movements and inspired young scientists who would go on to investigate climate change, forecast weather, and much more.

None of the modern Earth observing satellites, however, can see the entire sunlit side of Earth all at once. They are too close.

Satellites in low-Earth orbit collect high-resolution images swath by swath on consecutive overpasses. To see the whole Earth, the pieces have to be ‘stitched’ together from pieces obtained at different instants all at the same local time (e.g., 13:30 for MODIS-AQUA).

Geostationary satellites can see the entire planet and let us watch the Earth evolve by using multiple satellites to build a full picture. These satellite systems typically only get observations during the day.

Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center says  “The DSCOVR mission provides a new and complementary view of Earth.”

DSCOVR “floats” at the first sun-Earth Lagrange point (L1), a sort of gravitational parking spot for spacecraft. Here the gravitational pull of the sun and Earth cancel out, providing a quasi-stable orbit. It’s the perfect spot for DSCOVR’s camera to capture full sunlit disk images of Earth in one picture all at the same instant from sunrise to sunset (synoptic images).

“By capturing full disk images in 10 wavelengths approximately every 1.8 hours, DSCOVR can answer questions about daily variations on the Earth. For example, it can help researchers understand the ozone layer and the variability of cloud cover from sunrise to sunset.”

DSCOVR will also help scientists track aerosols. Szabo tells us, “It can see massive dust clouds moving from the Sahara Desert to the southern US and Central America. And it can see smoke from large forest fires in remote northern Canada where nobody keeps an eye out.”

At L1, DSCOVR will also be in perfect position to look out for a very real external threat: the ionized pieces of the sun it hurls our way which are known as coronal mass ejections. DSCOVR will be the nation's first operational space weather satellite in deep space.

A partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the U.S. Air Force, this mission’s primary objective is, in fact, to help NOAA provide timely space weather alerts and forecasts.

The observatory also offers a rare view of the moon.

Because the moon is tidally locked to Earth, only one side is visible from our planet. The unseen far side was shrouded in mystery until 1959, when the Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft swung around the moon and photographed it from behind. This feat is repeated by the current high resolution US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera or LROC.

DSCOVR will observe the far side about twice a year as the observatory periodically crosses the orbital plane of the moon. DSCOVR’s first images of the Moon transiting Earth in July were a social media sensation.

Since DSCOVR began regular observations, NASA is posting daily color images of Earth to a dedicated public Web site.

These images, showing different views of the planet as it rotates through the day, will be available 12 to 36 hours after they are acquired.

These are the first true-color Earth images where the colors are adjusted to closely match what the average human eye would see.

Find DSCOVR's daily images at http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/ .

In 2013, Chang’e-3, an unmanned lunar mission, touched down on the northern part of the Imbrium basin, one of the most prominent of the lava-filled impact basins on the moon visible from Earth.

It was a beautiful landing site, said Bradley L. Jolliff, PhD, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, who is a participant in an educational collaboration that helped analyze Chang’e-3 mission data.

The lander touched down on a smooth flood basalt plain next to a relatively fresh impact crater (now officially named the Zi Wei crater) that had conveniently excavated bedrock from below the regolith for the Yutu rover to study.

Since the Apollo program ended, American lunar exploration has been conducted mainly from orbit. But orbital sensors mostly detect the regolith (the ground-up surface layer of fragmented rock) that blankets the moon, and the regolith is typically mixed and difficult to interpret.

Because Chang’e-3 landed on a comparatively young lava flow, the regolith layer was thin and not mixed with debris from elsewhere. Thus it closely resembled the composition of the underlying volcanic bedrock. This characteristic made the landing site an ideal location to compare in situ analysis with compositional information detected by orbiting satellites.

“We now have ‘ground truth’ for our remote sensing, a well-characterized sample in a key location,” Jolliff said. “We see the same signal from orbit in other places, so we now know that those other places probably have similar basalts.”

The basalts at the Chang’e-3 landing site also turned out to be unlike any returned by the Apollo and Luna sample return missions.

“The diversity tells us that the moon’s upper mantle is much less uniform in composition than Earth’s,” Jolliff said. “And correlating chemistry with age, we can see how the Moon’s volcanism changed over time.”

Two partnerships were involved in the collection and analysis of this data, published in the journal Nature Communications Dec. 22.

Scientists from a number of Chinese institutions involved with the Chang’e-3 mission formed one partnership; the other was a long-standing educational partnership between Shandong University in Weihai, China, and Washington University in St. Louis.

A mineralogical mystery

The moon, thought to have been created by the collision of a Mars-sized body with the Earth, began as a molten or partially molten body that separated as it cooled into a crust, mantle and core.

But the buildup of heat from the decay of radioactive elements in the interior then remelted parts of the mantle, which began to erupt onto the surface some 500 million years after the moon’s formation, pooling in impact craters and basins to form the maria, most of which are on the side of the moon facing the Earth.

The American Apollo (1969-1972) and Russian Luna (1970-1976) missions sampled basalts from the period of peak volcanism that occurred between 3 and 4 billion years ago. But the Imbrium basin, where Chang’e-3 landed, contains some of the younger flows – 3 billion years old or slightly less.

The basalts returned by the Apollo and Luna missions had either a high titanium content or low to very low titanium; intermediate values were missing.

But measurements made by an alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer and a near-infrared hyperspectral imager aboard the Yutu rover indicated that the basalts at the Chang’e-3 landing site are intermediate in titanium, as well as rich in iron, said Zongcheng Ling, PhD, associate professor in the School of Space Science and Physics at Shandong University in Weihai, and first author of the paper.

Titanium is especially useful in mapping and understanding volcanism on the moon because it varies so much in concentration, from less than 1 weight percent TiO2 to over 15 percent. This variation reflects significant differences in the mantle source regions that derive from the time when the early magma ocean first solidified.

Minerals crystallize from basaltic magma in a certain order, explained Alian Wang, PhD, research professor in earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University. Typically, the first to crystallize are two magnesium- and iron-rich minerals (olivine and pyroxene) that are both a little denser than the magma, and sink down through it, then a mineral (plagioclase feldspar), that is less dense and floats to the surface.

This process of separation by crystallization led to the formation of the Moon’s mantle and crust as the magma ocean cooled.

The titanium ended up in a mineral called ilmenite (FeTiO3) that typically doesn’t crystallize until a very late stage, when perhaps only 5 percent of the original melt remains. When it finally crystallized, the ilmenite-rich material, which is also dense, sank into the mantle, forming areas of Ti enrichment.

“The variable titanium distribution on the lunar surface suggests that the moon’s interior was not homogenized,” Jolliff said. “We’re still trying to figure out exactly how this happened. Possibly there were big impacts during the magma ocean stage that disrupted the mantle’s formation.”

Another clue to the moon’s past

The story has another twist that also underscores the importance of checking orbital data against ground truth. The remote sensing data for Chang’e-3’s landing site showed that it was rich in olivine as well as titanium.

That doesn’t make sense, Wang said, because olivine usually crystallizes early and the titanium-rich ilmenite crystallizes late. Finding a rock that is rich in both is a bit strange.

But Yutu solved this mystery as well. In olivine, silicon is paired with either magnesium or iron but the ratio of those two elements is quite variable in different forms of the mineral. The early-forming olivine would be magnesium rich, while the olivine detected by Yutu has a composition that ranges from intermediate in iron to iron-rich.

“That makes more sense,” Jolliff said, “because iron-enriched olivine and ilmenite are more likely to occur together.

“You still have to explain how you get to an olivine-rich and ilmenite-rich rock. One way to do that would be to mix, or hybridize, two different sources,” he said.

The scientists infer that late in the magma-ocean crystallization, iron-rich pyroxene and ilmenite, which formed late and at the  crust-mantle boundary, might have begun to sink, and early-formed magnesium-rich olivine might have begun to rise. As this occurred, the two minerals might have mixed and hybridized.

“Given these data, that is our interpretation,” Jolliff said.

In any case, it is clear that these newly characterized basalts reveal a more diverse moon than the one that emerged from studies following the Apollo and Luna missions.

Remote sensing suggests that there are even younger and even more diverse basalts on the Moon, waiting for future robotic or human explorers to investigate, Jolliff said.

Diana Lutz writes for Washington University in St. Louis.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for all of Lake County and other parts of Northern California due to concerns for heavy rains and winds, and the potential for snow.

The winter weather advisory went into effect at 10 p.m. Wednesday and continues until 10 p.m. Thursday.

The National Weather Service said a cold, quick-hitting winter storm is expected to bring low elevation snow through the region into Thursday night, with heaviest storm conditions expected from midnight through Thursday afternoon.

The forecast calls for snow falling as low as 1,500 feet elevation, with accumulations of 4 to 8 inches above 2,500 feet and up to a foot possible on higher peaks.

In Lake County, the National Weather Service anticipates that if snow falls there could between 1 and 2 inches in lower elevations and 12 inches in the mountains.

Roads across the region expected to be impacted by the anticipated snowfall include Highway 20 west of Upper Lake, Highway 175 over Cobb Mountain, Highway 162/Mendocino Pass Road, Interstate 5 north of Redding, and Highway 299 west of Redding over Buckhorn Summit and east of Redding over Hatchet Mountain Pass.

While snow is a possibility, Lake County's specific forecast calls primarily for heavy rainstorms with up to half an inch of rain possible in the day and up to a tenth of inch at night, and wind gusts up to 23 miles per hour. Nighttime lows will be in the low 30s and daytime highs in the mid 40s.

There also is a chance of rain on Christmas day, with sunny conditions during the day Saturday. Chances of showers are forecast to return on Sunday and will run into the middle of next week.

Those who will be on the road for the Christmas holiday are urged to plan ahead and be prepared for travel delays and stormy conditions. Those traveling through higher elevations should have chains on hand.

Call 1-800-427-7623 (ROAD) for road conditions or visit Caltrans' Web page at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ to check out current road closures and chain control requirements.

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.

Warning: Earth is surrounded by electrons that can be disruptive to our technology.

A population of high-energy electrons inhabits the Van Allen radiation belts high above Earth.

While these electrons pose no danger to humans on Earth’s surface, where we are protected by the atmosphere, they have been blamed for many spacecraft failures.

Electron swarms can penetrate and electrify the hulls of satellites and short-circuit sensitive electronics. Avoiding them is a good idea.

To avoid them, though, you have to figure out where they are. And that’s a problem because these electrons can be very elusive.

The Van Allen belts were discovered in 1958 and their discovery was one of the earliest scientific achievements of the space age.

During solar storms, high-energy electrons in the belts have been known to vanish – only to return a few hours later. This strange phenomenon was first spotted in the 1960s, and it has puzzled physicists ever since.

In 2012, NASA launched the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), which have since been renamed the Van Allen Probes. Rather than avoiding the radiation belts, these heavily-shielded spacecraft regularly fly right into them.

Their mission is to discover what makes the belts so dangerous and, moreover, so unpredictable.

In the few years since they have launched, the Van Allen Probes have made many discoveries—such as the occasional existence of a third radiation belt that no one knew about before.

The mystery of the vanishing electrons, however, has not been fully solved.

A popular idea among researchers is that the electrons precipitate into Earth’s upper atmosphere, depositing their energy high above our planet’s surface. But how? What could trigger such an electron “rainfall”?

To answer this question, the Van Allen Probes needed help – from below.

Since 2013, an international team of researchers led by physicist Robyn Millan of Dartmouth College have been launching research balloons from Antarctica, each standing more than 8 stories tall.

These mammoth balloons ride circumpolar winds around the South Pole, floating as much as 40 km high as they look for signs that electrons are penetrating the atmosphere overhead.

The name of the program is “BARREL” – short for Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses.

The electron rainfall, when it occurs, reveals itself by a telltale glow of X-rays. These X-rays are the by-product of electrons striking atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere. BARREL’s balloons are equipped with a payload of sensors to observe such emissions.

Occasionally, the balloons are in flight when the Van Allen Probes pass overhead. Such a conjunction is perfect for this research; the two Probes can track the electrons from above while the balloons do so from below.

There were two such conjunctions on January 3rd and 6th of 2014 – and researchers put them to good use.

Working together, the Van Allen Probes and BARREL were able to piece together a means of escape.

 “Electrons were gradually eroded away over the course of several days [in part] by interaction with plasmaspheric ‘hiss,’” wrote Millan and colleagues in a letter published in Nature.

“Plasmaspheric hiss” is a type of electromagnetic radiation or “plasma wave” , that can scatter these high-energy electrons down toward Earth. Looking up from Antarctica, BARREL could measure the electrons losing their energy in the form of relatively harmless X-rays. The plasmaspheric hiss was simultaneously observed by both Van Allen Probe satellites.

There may be other ways for the electrons to escape the Van Allen belts so the mystery is not fully solved.

As 2015 unfolds, the BARREL team has completed a third campaign of balloon flights over Sweden in search of more clues.

California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced on Christmas Eve that he has granted 91 pardons.

The individuals granted pardons all completed their sentences and have been released from custody for more than a decade without further criminal activity.

Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the governor for a pardon.

All applicants for a pardon who were eligible obtained a certificate of rehabilitation, which is an order from a superior court declaring that a person convicted of a crime is now rehabilitated.

A gubernatorial pardon may be granted to people who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction.

Pardons are not granted unless they are earned.

When a pardon is granted, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are notified so that they may update their records on the applicant.

The pardon is filed with the Secretary of State's Office and the Legislature, and it is a public record.

The majority of the cases involved drug-related convictions. Other crimes for which pardons were granted included burglary, robbery, driving under the influence causing injury, grand theft, manslaughter, vandalism, arson, kidnapping, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, carjacking, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a felon, carrying a concealed weapon, being an accessory after the fact, writing insufficient funds checks, forgery, vehicle theft, having a fraudulent ID, assault with a deadly weapon, bribery, perjury, attempted voluntary manslaughter, possession or manufacturing a dangerous weapon, making fraudulent insurance claims and violation of securities law.

Among the individuals to receive pardons this year was actor Robert Downey Jr., who was sentenced in November 1996 in Los Angeles Superior Court for possession of a controlled substance, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle with a prior conviction, driving under the influence with priors, and use or being under the influence of a controlled substance.

He served two years and eight months on probation, one year and three months in prison and two years on parole, and was discharged in December 2002. He returned to acting and since that time has enjoyed a successful career in the industry.

No former or current Lake County residents were included in this round of Christmas pardons, however, several cases from neighboring counties and other parts of Northern California did make the list:

– Napa: Dwight Castimore, now a resident of Minnesota, sentenced on Jan. 31, 1991, in Napa County Superior Court for driving under the influence causing bodily injury. He served eight months in prison and 11 months on parole.

– Robert Mahoney, who still lives in California, was sentenced in December 1999 in Tehama County Superior Court for arson of a structure or forest land and causing fire of a structure or forest land. Case information said Mahoney was present while another man set grass fires. He served 180 days in jail and five years' probation.

– David McBath, who still lives in California, was sentenced in May 1991 in Tehama County Superior Court for the crime of possession of a controlled substance for sale. He served 120 days in jail and three years' probation.

– Jeffrey Swank of California was sentenced in April 1995 in Napa County Superior Court for possession of a controlled substance. He served 190 days in jail and three years' probation.

– James Taylor of California was sentenced in Butte County Superior Court in August 1999 for driving under the influence with injury. He served nine months in prison and three years' parole.

– David Theissen of California was sentenced in Siskiyou County Superior Court in August 1978 for assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer. A police officer was called to settle a family dispute and Thiessen's gun discharged into the ground while he was speaking with the officer. He served 10 days in jail and two years' probation.

– William Wylie, now living in Washington state, was sentenced in Sonoma County Superior Court in June 1965 for forgery. He altered an $8 money order and cashed it for $80. He served one year and six months in prison, and one year and six months on parole.

Christmas 2015 California Gubernatorial Pardons

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport woman arrested Sunday for intentionally causing a crash that injured two people made her first court appearance this week.

Dana Marie Lindsey, 37, was arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

Hinchcliff said he has charged Lindsey with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a vehicle, driving under the influence causing bodily injury and mayhem.

Her bail remains set at $1 million, Hinchcliff said.

Lakeport Police said Lindsey's husband called law enforcement early Sunday morning to report that Lindsey said she was going to kill herself by running her car into another vehicle.

Police chased Lindsey southbound on Highway 29 from Lakeport Boulevard. She made two attempts to crash into other vehicles before she continued on and managed to hit a 2009 Toyota Corolla just south of the intersection of Highways 29 and 175 Hopland.

The 28-year-old driver suffered minor injuries and her 24-year-old male passenger was seriously injured and flown to an out-of-area trauma center, with Lindsey treated for minor injuries at Sutter Lakeside Hospital and released to officers, according to the Lakeport Police report.

At the time of the incident, officers suspected Lindsey of being under the influence of methamphetamine and ecstasy, police said.

Hinchcliff said the man injured in the crash was reported to be in serious condition, but he didn't have an updated status.

By the time of Lindsey's court appearance, Hinchcliff said he had received limited investigative reports from police.

The Lakeport Police Department had reported earlier this week that the investigation was continuing with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, and that officers were interviewing and seeking witnesses.

“The charges may chance down the road,” as more of the case documents are submitted, Hinchcliff said.

He said Lindsey has no prior criminal cases that he is aware of in Lake County.

At her Tuesday appearance, Hinchcliff said the court appointed attorney Mitch Hauptman to represent Lindsey.

Hinchcliff said Lindsey will return to court for the appearance of her counsel on Jan. 5.

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.

As part of its mission to save lives, the California Highway Patrol is informing people about several new laws signed by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. during the 2015 legislative session.

These new laws apply to various aspects of roadway safety and go into effect in 2016.

A list of the new laws is included below.

– Child safety seats (AB 53, Garcia). Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, children under two years of age must ride rear-facing in an appropriate child passenger safety seat. Children weighing 40 or more pounds or standing 40 or more inches tall would be exempt. California law continues to require that all children eight years of age or younger be properly restrained in an appropriate child safety seat in the back seat of the vehicle.

– Hit-and-run (AB 8, Gatto). A “Yellow Alert” notification system will be established as of Jan. 1, 2016, for specified hit-and-run incidents resulting in death or serious injury. As with AMBER, Silver, or Blue Alerts, the CHP will work with requesting law enforcement agencies to determine whether the hit-and-run meets the criteria for a Yellow Alert, including the use of the freeway Changeable Message Signs (CMS). Criteria established in the law include the availability of information about the hit-and-run suspect or the suspect’s vehicle, and whether disseminating the information will be helpful.

– Driving under the influence: Ignition Interlock Device (SB 61, Hill). This new law grants a one-year extension to a pilot project for the Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Tulare counties. The pilot was first instituted in 2010. Under the current law, a person convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) may be required to install an IID in their vehicle. If the IID registers alcohol on the driver’s breath, the vehicle will not start. The length of time the IID is required in the vehicle is based on how many prior DUI convictions the driver has had.

– Silver Alerts (AB 643, Nazarian). The “Silver Alert” notification system has been amended to allow the alert to be communicated on CMS when there is a vehicle involved in the missing person incident. The Silver Alert is an emergency system that allows law enforcement to broadcast regional or statewide alerts for seniors, or individuals with developmental disabilities or who are cognitively impaired, and are missing and may be in danger.

– Highway lane use (AB 208, Bigelow). The law requiring slow-moving passenger vehicles to pull over safely to let traffic pass has been amended to apply to all vehicles, effective Jan. 1, 2016. Bicycles will now be included in the legal requirement that slow-moving vehicles use the next available turnout or other area to let backed-up traffic – five or more vehicles – get by.

– Electronically motorized boards (AB 604, Olsen). The new law defines “electronically motorized board” as a wheeled device designed to be stood on and powered by electronic propulsion, going no more than 15 miles per hour. The electronically motorized boards can only be ridden on a highway with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less, or specific designated bikeways. The rider must be at least 16 years old and must wear a bicycle helmet. Cities and counties are authorized to restrict the use of the electrically motorized boards.

– Electric bicycles (AB 1096, Chiu). The new law, effective Jan. 1, 2016, creates three separate classes of electric bicycles, defined by their maximum speed and how much power is supplied by the motor. Classes 1 and 2 have a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour. A Class 3 electric bicycle has a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour. The operator of a Class 3 bicycle must be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet. Manufacturers and distributors must label the bicycles with the classification number, top assisted speed, and wattage. The new law sets up safety restrictions and regulates access on trails and paths.

For complete information on bills enacted in 2015, please refer to the Legislative Counsel Web site at http://LegInfo.Legislature.ca.gov .

“It is possible for any man, by good deeds, to enshrine himself as a Saint in the hearts of the people.” – L. Frank Baum, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

“In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child.” – L. Frank Baum

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – I wonder which holiday traditions our Lake County pioneers, such as the Andersons, who once resided in the ranch house at our own Anderson Marsh State Historic Park would have practiced?

The Andersons would have seen lots of mistletoe in the oaks surrounding their house.

The tradition of placing mistletoe in a strategic spot under which lovers were lured to kiss goes back to ancient times when, according to Norse mythology, it was drawn upon as a sign of friendship.

The Druids told of mistletoe's mystical luck-bringing powers and was used to keep evil spirits at bay.

Mistletoe, a parasite that requires water and nutrients from its host, is also poisonous. That being said, there is a variety of mistletoe which has been used medicinally for many purposes.

Holly and California holly, two different species, are both evergreen and produce red berries.

Holly is popular at Christmas time since the thorny leaves stand for the circlet Jesus wore upon his head at the crucifixion. The holly berries signify the blood he shed due to the thorny crown.

A plant found all over Lake County, and a California native, is toyon. Toyon is also known as California holly and produces a berry favored by birds.

Since toyon, or California holly once grew in abundance in the Los Angeles hills, the name Hollywood was born.

The candy canes we see at this time of year go back more than 250 years. First, the sweet treats were long sugar sticks given to assuage wiggly children at prolonged Christmas nativity services.

The shape of the candy cane into a “J” or hook came later, and is said to have come from the first letter of Jesus' name or possibly as the shape of a shepherd's hook.

In 1920 an American from Georgia, Bob McCormack, started Bob's Candies, who produced candy canes, and in 2005 the company was purchased by Farley and Sathers, who still make candy canes today.

wreaths can include pine boughs, pine cones, flowers, fruits or bay laurel. A wreath has been used for many cultural events around the world. There are maypole wreaths, crown wreaths and memorial wreaths.

Christmas wreaths made of evergreens are thought to represent strength, since they last so long. In Sweden decorations, such as wreaths, are placed beginning on the first day of Advent, and many Western traditions include a “hanging of the greens” ceremony.

It is believed that the tradition of a  Christmas tree was taken from a pagan tradition around winter solstice, which utilized evergreen boughs.

Then, in 1835 the words “Christmas tree” were taken from the German language and commonly used around the world.

The German tradition of the Christmas tree has been around since the 18th century, however. Some argue that Martin Luther started the tradition in the 16th century.

Another popular holiday tradition is the baking of gingerbread cookies. The gingerbread cookie tradition goes back to early America when gingerbread cakes were baked.

Children then were said to have loved gingerbread cookies the most of all the pastries. Gingerbread was hearty fare then, and could withstand lots of handling as it was baked in both brick ovens and cook stoves.

In Europe honey was added to the batch of gingerbread dough, while American cooks used molasses to create the charming, browned cookies.

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.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Upper Lake High School is one of 425 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the sixth annual AP District Honor Roll.

Upper Lake High received the honor for increasing access to AP course work while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams.

Reaching these goals indicates that a district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for the opportunity of AP.

To be included on the sixth annual Honor Roll, Upper Lake High had to, since 2013, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher

National data from 2015 show that among black, Hispanic and American Indian students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half of students are participating.

The first step to delivering the opportunity of AP to students is providing access by ensuring courses are available, that gatekeeping stops, and that the doors are equitably opened so these students can participate.

Upper Lake Union High School District is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

“That the committed teachers and administrators in this district have both expanded AP access and also helped their students achieve high levels of performance on AP Exams shows they’re delivering opportunity in their schools and classrooms, and it is a real testament to their belief that a more diverse population of young people is ready for the challenge of college,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of AP and Instruction. “Congratulations to these teachers and administrators, and to their hard-working students.”

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors.

Many districts are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to simultaneously expand access and improve student performance.

In 2015, more than 3,800 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement, and/or consideration in the admission process, with many colleges and universities in the United States offering credit in one or more subjects for qualifying AP scores.

Inclusion on the sixth annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2013 to 2015, looking across 34 AP Exams, including world language and culture.

The following criteria were used. Districts must:

– Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium
districts, and at least 11 percent in small districts;
– Increase or maintain the percentage of exams taken by black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and
American Indian/Alaska Native students; and
– Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2015 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2013 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A 3.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near The Geysers geothermal steamfield late on Christmas Eve.

The quake was reported at 9:54 p.m. Thursday, according to the US Geological Survey.

It was centered three miles northwest of The Geysers and 13 miles southwest of Clearlake, and occurred just at the earth's surface, based on the US Geological Survey report.

The survey received one shake report from the Clearlake Oaks area.

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. – Home Depot Foundation has awarded Habitat for Humanity Lake County a $100,000 grant in response to the devastating wildfires that destroyed so many homes in southern Lake County this year.

“The Home Depot Foundation has been a significant supporter of the home repair work we do for veterans in this county,” said Richard Birk, director of Habitat for Humanity Lake County. “This contribution is yet another step in our continuing relationship with them and we appreciate their generosity.” 

This money has been designated to build homes for qualifying fire victims and for repairs needed to make fire-damaged homes livable again. 

While more money will be needed to address the more than 500 uninsured homeowners and renters displaced in the fires, Birk said this significant grant will allow Habitat for Humanity to begin the rebuilding work these damaged communities need. 

Those low-income victims who lost their residences and have limited means to reacquire shelter should contact the Habitat for Humanity office at 707-994-1100, Extension 104, or visit www.lakehabitat.org to determine qualifications for homeownership.

Additionally, to donate to the fire rebuild fund or to sponsor a home build, you may do so by visiting the Web site or calling the number above for more information.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s property taxes in California increased sharply this year as the utility continued to make significant investments in its gas and electric infrastructure to improve safety and reliability for its customers.

PG&E recently paid property taxes of nearly $193 million to 50 California counties. These payments cover the period from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2015.

The payment to the county of Lake was for $694,533, according to PG&E.

Total payments for the tax year of July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, will be nearly $385 million – an increase of $40 million over the prior fiscal year, or 11 percent.

“Property tax payments are one of the important ways PG&E helps contribute to the local economies, supporting essential public services like education and public safety for the 16 million Californians we serve. This year’s higher payments reflect the substantial local investments we are making in our gas and electric infrastructure to create one of the safest and most reliable utility systems in the country” said Kent Harvey, senior vice president and chief financial officer for PG&E.

PG&E invested more than $5 billion this year to maintain and upgrade its gas and electrical infrastructure across Northern and Central California.

One such investment is the recently completed $40 million state-of-the-art electric distribution control center in Concord.

PG&E opened a $28.5 million-control center in Fresno last year and expects to open another control center in Rocklin in early 2016. PG&E also recently broke ground to construct a $75 million-gas operations technical training center in Winters.

These investments will result in additional property tax revenues in future years.

The amounts for each of the county follows.


FIRST INSTALLMENT PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS ON DEC. 10, 2015

ALAMEDA: $19,658,015

ALPINE: $59,283

AMADOR: $955,868

BUTTE: $3,320,701

CALAVERAS: $807,581

COLUSA: $4,213,442

CONTRA COSTA: $16,748,589

EL DORADO: $1,242,561

FRESNO: $14,431,766

GLENN: $673,957

HUMBOLDT: $2,635,236

KERN: $6,305,061

KINGS: $1,354,491

LAKE: $694,533

LASSEN: $34,176

MADERA: $1,948,970

MARIN: $2,751,855

MARIPOSA: $223,617

MENDOCINO: $1,354,151

MERCED: $2,748,132

MODOC: $237,069

MONTEREY: $3,041,742

NAPA: $1,995,743

NEVADA: $1,024,106

PLACER: $4,280,135

PLUMAS: $2,092,493

SACRAMENTO: $4,262,535

SAN BENITO: $596,308

SAN BERNARDINO: $1,070,988

SAN DIEGO: $9,596

SAN FRANCISCO: $11,304,100

SAN JOAQUIN: $8,910,801

SAN LUIS OBISPO: $14,126,226

SAN MATEO: $10,182,039

SANTA BARBARA: $909,345

SANTA CLARA: $21,907,530

SANTA CRUZ: $1,477,645

SHASTA: $4,567,520

SIERRA: $110,634

SISKIYOU: $112,143

SOLANO: $4,683,627

SONOMA: $5,481,752

STANISLAUS: $1,793,334

SUTTER: $1,107,174

TEHAMA: $1,041,243

TRINITY: $109,639

TULARE: $511,830

TUOLUMNE: $752,515

YOLO: $1,998,803

YUBA: $1,070,477

Total Payments: $192,931,076