A record number of U.S. children were covered by health insurance in 2011, mostly due to substantial increases in the enrollment rates of public insurance, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.

The new research is presented in the Carsey Institute brief “Record Number of Children Covered by Health Insurance in 2011” conducted by Michael Staley, a research assistant at the Carsey Institute and a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of New Hampshire.

“The increase in children covered by health insurance likely stems from policies enacted to increase participation in government-sponsored health insurance programs. In addition, we continue to see significant declines in private insurance and increases in public insurance, which reflects the economic and job market of 2011, four years after the beginning of the Great Recession,” Staley said.

According to Staley, between 2008 and 2011, the rate of private coverage among children decreased by more than 5 percentage points across the United States, while public rates increased by more than 9 percentage points.

“While unemployment rates have declined since 2008, research shows that some individuals are taking jobs with no health benefits, with health benefits that are not available to dependents, or with unaffordable premiums. Thus, many parents have turned to public programs such as Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or other state programs,” he said.

The key findings included the following:

• Rates of insurance coverage for children under age 18 increased from 90 percent in 2008 to 92.5 percent in 2011.
• With the exception of the Midwest, all regions experienced a modest increase in children’s health insurance coverage between 2010 and 2011.
• Rural places and central cities in the South and West experienced the greatest increases in rates of coverage since 2008.
• The proportion of children covered by public health insurance increased substantially for the fourth consecutive year in every kind of place – rural, suburban, and in central cities.
• Rates of private insurance coverage among children decreased for the fourth consecutive year.

“As more families turn to public insurance to provide coverage for their children, costs are likely to increase, despite cost-reducing measures required by the Affordable Care Act that go into effect in 2014. Some proposed policy changes would shift a greater proportion of the cost of care back to families, which could be particularly burdensome for low-income families, who may choose to forego care because of higher costs,” Staley said.

The complete Carsey Institute report about this research is available at http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publication/689 .

This analysis is based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates from the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 American Community Survey.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Director Cindy Strong has set the play list for the 15 acts that make up this year’s Winter Music Fest, and there clearly will be much great material to live up to its theme, which this year is “Makin’ Music.”

Shows will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

For more than two decades, the Lake County Arts Council has presented the Winter Music Fest in order to promote local music-makers and bring the best of the emerging artists to the public stage.

In this case, many of the “emerging artists” have already established sterling reputations for first-rate entertainment.

Among the most flamboyant and spectacular acts in the show will be the a Capella singing group, My Divas, made up of eight excellent singers presenting Renaissance songs.

They appear in court dress singing courtly songs in the first half of the second act, and in what they call “wench costumes” to sing tavern songs of the time at the end of the show.

Though the music they use has complex harmonies in several languages, they are wonderfully lively and always turn on the audience.

In the last year, Kevin Village Stone and Lindy Day have exploded on our musical scene with a huge variety of musical styles, from Native American flute music to rocking blues by way of classical guitar. Recently Day also has been playing blues-rock guitar with singer Kayla Bell.

In addition, the “Three Cathys” – Cathy Mallow, Cathy O’Connell and Kathleen Escudé – well known for putting popular songs across, will be appearing in various combinations.

The glorious Barbara Clark is appearing, as well as Suna Flores, Reiko Hattori of the amazing voice, Megan Smith and Dan Springer. These names are all rapidly becoming well-known around here.

Rounding out the musical palate will be the Mendo Lake Singers, whose many costumed members, singing four-part harmonies and winning competitions around the state, are solid senders we can be proud of.

Tickets are available now. All seats are $15 and available through the Soper-Reese Web site, www.soperreesetheater.com , or at the box office at 707-263-0577, at The Travel Center on S. Main in Lakeport, or at the door at the time of the show.

The Winter Music Fest is one of two fundraisers that the Lake County Arts Council presents each year, the other the Spring Dance Festival in early May.

Only 11 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or issued regulations to implement the Affordable Care Act's major health insurance market reforms that go into effect in 2014, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

Thirty-nine states have not yet taken action to implement these requirements, potentially limiting their ability to fully enforce the new reforms and ensure that consumers receive the full protections of the law.

These reforms include bans on denying people health insurance due to preexisting conditions, a minimum benefit standard, and limits on out-of-pocket costs.

According to the report, Implementing the Affordable Care Act: State Action on 2014 Market Reforms, by Katie Keith, Kevin W. Lucia, and Sabrina Corlette of Georgetown University, states that do not pass new legislation or issue new regulations may lack the authority and tools necessary to ensure that health insurance companies in their state are complying with the new rules, unless regulators have existing authority to enforce federal law.

If states fail to ensure compliance with the rules, responsibility for enforcement, the authors say, could default to the federal government.

“The reforms to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act are a huge boon to consumers, who for decades have been forced to buy health insurance in a marketplace where insurers can discriminate against anyone who is sick,” said Commonwealth Fund vice president Sara Collins. “This all changes in 2014. But because insurance regulation falls to the states, states need to take action to make sure they can enforce the law and ensure their residents can fully benefit from it.”

The health insurance market reforms that begin in 2014 apply to plans both inside and outside the exchange and include:

• Guaranteed issue: Requires insurers to accept every individual and employer that applies for coverage.
• Ban on waiting periods: Employers cannot impose waiting periods longer than 90 days before an employee can be eligible for coverage.
• Rating requirements: Insurers are restricted from using health status, gender, and other such factors in setting premiums.
• Ban on preexisting condition exclusions: Insurers cannot exclude or limit coverage for people with preexisting health problems.
• Essential health benefits: Requires insurers to cover a comprehensive set of health benefits.
• Out-of-pocket cost limits: Holds out-of-pocket costs to the level established for high-deductible health plans that qualify for health savings accounts.
• Actuarial value: Requires insurers to cover at least 60 percent of total costs under each plan and sell plans that meet new benefit tiers based on average costs covered.

For their study, the researchers reviewed actions taken by states and the District of Columbia to implement the 2014 reforms between January 1, 2010, and October 1, 2012. They found that states have taken the following steps:

One state, Connecticut, has passed legislation that addressed all seven of the new reforms. Another state, California, passed legislation on six of the seven reforms.

Nine states – Arkansas, Maine, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington – and the District of Columbia have passed laws or issued new regulations covering at least one of the seven new market reforms.

According to the authors, future state action is critical. Without new legislation, regulators in at least 22 states would be limited in their ability to use all of the tools they need to protect consumers under the Affordable Care Act.

The authors say that while states can use existing authority to promote compliance with many of the law's requirements, “questions remain about how effectively states can enforce the 2014 market reforms without new or expanded legal authority.”

“Because few states have taken formal action to date, we expect 2013 legislative sessions to be a critical time for state policymakers who wish to limit direct federal enforcement of the reforms and for consumers expecting to benefit from these new protections,” said Katie Keith, the study's lead author. “State legislators and regulators should consider whether new legislation or regulations – either to amend existing state law or to give their insurance department more authority – are adequate to ensure meaningful regulatory oversight and promote consumer protections at the state level.”

Moving forward

Despite finding that few states have acted to implement the 2014 health insurance market reforms, the authors expect additional state action in 2013.

A prior analysis of state action taken to implement the Affordable Care Act's 2010 health insurance market reforms found that nearly all states ultimately required or encouraged compliance with those reforms, which included bans on lifetime limits on benefits and dependent coverage for young adults up to age 26.

The authors note that uncertainty around the law due to last year's Supreme Court challenge and the recent presidential and congressional elections could have caused states to delay taking action on the 2014 market reforms.

In states that do not take new action, additional coordination may be required between state and federal regulators to address enforcement gaps.

As states contemplate new action, they are likely to look to how federal regulators define what it means for a state to “substantially enforce” these reforms, and whether this standard will demand that states have explicit enforcement authority.

“It is encouraging that nearly all states took action on the Affordable Care Act's early market reforms in 2010,” said Commonwealth Fund president David Blumenthal, M.D. “Now, it is critical that states do the same with these reforms, to help ensure that their residents benefit from secure, affordable health insurance coverage.”

The report is available at http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2013/Jan/State-Action-2014-Market-Reforms.aspx.

An interactive map showing state actions on the 2014 market reforms can be found at http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/site_docs/slideshows/StateAction/StateAction2014.html .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The “Catsnip” program, run by local vets to help reduce the county’s cat euthanasia rate, has ended.

Veterinarian Dr. Susan Cannon of Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport said Lake County veterinarians formed the Catsnip spay and neuter program in January of 2012 for feral and unowned cats.

Participating clinics agreed to spay and neuter two cats per week at no charge in an attempt to help reduce the county's cat euthanasia rate, which is the highest in the state, Cannon said.

The program ended as of Dec. 31, 2012. Cannon said a total of 253 surgeries were performed.

Participating in the program were Middletown Animal Hospital, Animal Hospital of Clearlake, Clearlake Veterinary Clinic, Main Street Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport and Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic.

The program represented the first trap, neuter and release program in Lake County, Cannon said. Similar programs have been used throughout the country to help reduce the number of unwanted cats.

Lake County Animal Care and Control has received grant money to run a similar program through the shelter's spay/neuter facility, which was constructed last year.

In order to qualify the cats must be unowned strays or “community cats.”

For more information regarding the Lake County Animal Care and Control trap, neuter and release program call 707-263-0278.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – It’s another interesting array of canines available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.

Airedales, Labrador Retrievers, terriers, a Scottish-cairn terrier mix, boxers and more can be found during a visit to the shelter.

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”).

Female terrier mix

This female terrier mix is 2 years old.

She has a short tricolor coat, a short tail, weighs 12 pounds and has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 4b, ID No. 35483.

Labrador Retriever mix puppy

This 10-week-old female puppy is a Labrador Retriever mix.

She has a short black coat, weighs just under 7 pounds and has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 5c, ID No. 35393.

Labrador Retriever mix puppy

This female Labrador Retriever mix puppy is 10 weeks old.

Like her littermate, she has a short black coat, weighs nearly 7 pounds and has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 5d, ID No. 35394.

‘Sasha’

“Sasha” is a 10 year old border collie mix.

She has a short black and tan coat, weighs 81 pounds and has been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 12, ID No. 35388.

American Bulldog mix

This male American Bulldog mix is 1 year old.

He has a short brown and white coat and floppy ears, weighs 70 pounds and has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 13, ID No. 35404.

‘Vader’

“Vader” is a 9 year old Scottish Terrier-cairn terrier mix.

He has a curly gray coat and erect ears, weighs nearly 18 pounds and has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 35470.

Boxer mix

This male boxer mix is 9 months old.

He has a short brown and white coat and he’s been neutered.

Visit him in kennel No. 16, ID No. 35380.

‘Jitsue’

“Jitsue” is a 9 month old female Labrador Retriever mix.

She has a short chocolate-colored coat, weighs 62 pounds and has been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 21, ID No. 35408.

‘Leo’

“Leo” is a 9 month old male Labrador Retriever mix.

He has a short buff-colored coat, weighs 70 pounds and has been neutered.

Find him in kennel No. 22, ID No. 35407.

Male terrier mix

This male terrier mix is 3 years old.

He has a short black and white coat, and has not yet been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 23a, ID No. 35472.

Chihuahua-terrier mix

This male Chihuahua-terrier is 2 years old.

He has a short black and brown coat, and has not yet been altered.

Find him in kennel No. 23b, ID No. 35473.

Pit bull mix

This male pit bull terrier mix is 2 years old.

He has a short brown and white coat, and has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 35471.

‘Annie O.’

“Annie O.” is a female Airedale terrier mix.

She is 3 years old, has a curly brown and black coat, and has not yet been spayed.

Visit with her in kennel No. 30, ID No. 35456.

Please note: Dogs listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Access to literacy is expanding once again for our youngest Lake County residents, thanks to a partnership between the Lake County Office of Education, the Lake County Literacy Task Force and St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.  

St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake has agreed to sponsor babies born in their hospital through a literacy program run by the Lake County Office of Education.

This partnership will provide a one  year scholarship to enroll in the Imagination Library for the first 175 babies born in the Clearlake Hospital.

Imagination Library was developed in 1995 by Dolly Parton to support literacy in her Tennessee hometown.  

Since that time, the program has spread nationwide and was recently adopted as a primary initiative of the Lake County Literacy Task Force.  

The goal of Imagination Library is to ensure that literacy begins at the earliest age possible with the child’s first teacher: the parent.  

Children enrolled in the program between the ages of 0-4 will receive a book each month through the mail to read, enjoy and keep in their home.  

Learning to read is a process that begins at birth.  Research shows that students who are successful readers by the age of eight are more successful citizens in their communities.  

“Supporting the community through literacy, beginning with our youngest residents, is a great way to ensure that all children are successful students and productive members of Lake County,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook.  

St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, the Lake County Office of Education and the Lake County Literacy Task Force are working to ensure that all children born in Lake County have a strong foundation in literacy.  

You can support Lake County’s Imagination Library by sending a donation of $25 to the Lake County Office of Education, c/o Literacy Task Force, 1152 S. Main St., Lakeport. CA, attention “Imagination Library.”

If you have any questions, or if you need further information about this program, please contact Stephanie Wayment at Lake County Office of Education, 707-262-4163 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Your donation is tax-deductible.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Wine Alliance has chosen Cole Creek Equestrian Center in Kelseyville as the venue for the 14th annual Lake County Wine Auction to be presented on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Organizers say the stunning facility is a perfect venue for Lake County’s premiere fundraising event.

Since its inception in 2000, the auction has raised $991,302 in proceeds to benefit Lake County groups and organizations.

John and Joanne Van Eck, owners of Cole Creek Equestrian Center, will be the honorary cochairs for the 2013 Wine Auction.

They will be assisted by an all-volunteer committee, cochaired by Judy Luchsinger of Lakeport and Sharron Zoller of Kelseyville.

The elegant, black tie-encouraged affair will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 11 p.m.

Tickets are $150 per person and may be reserved at www.winealliance.org or by calling 866-279-WINE.

Sponsorship information is available from Marie Beery, 707-278-0129.

A large selection of Lake County wineries, caterers and restaurants will feature a variety of wines and fine foods at the fourteenth annual benefit.

Five senior centers, five high schools, three high school programs and eight nonprofit organizations shared the $96,000 raised in 2012 from last September's Lake County Wine Auction.

This is the largest amount distributed by the sponsoring Lake County Wine Alliance in six years.

Local wineries, wine grape growers, restaurants, and other businesses and individuals are generous supporters through their donations to the live and silent auctions and to the food and beverages served at the gala affair.

Lake County and regional businesses provide support through sponsorships.

The charter of the Wine Alliance directs its efforts to foster the arts, benefit health services, and support the community, while promoting Lake County as a premier grape growing and fine wine region.

Members of the Wine Alliance board are Kaj Ahlmann, Lower Lake, president; Judy Luchsinger, Lakeport, vice president; Sharron Zoller, Kelseyville, secretary; Rob Roumiguiere, Kelseyville, treasurer; and Marie Beery, Kelseyville, and Bill Groody, Kelseyville, directors.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior.

This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars.

“This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August, another proud day for America,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. “The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars.”

The fresh hole, about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) wide and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock, can be seen in images and other data Curiosity beamed to Earth on Saturday.

The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone wet environments. In pursuit of that evidence, the rover will use its laboratory instruments to analyze rock powder collected by the drill.

For the next several days, ground controllers will command the rover’s arm to carry out a series of steps to process the sample, ultimately delivering portions to the instruments inside.

“We commanded the first full-depth drilling, and we believe we have collected sufficient material from the rock to meet our objectives of hardware cleaning and sample drop-off,” said Avi Okon, drill cognizant engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Rock powder generated during drilling travels up flutes on the bit. The bit assembly has chambers to hold the powder until it can be transferred to the sample-handling mechanisms of the rover’s Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device.

Before the rock powder is analyzed, some will be used to scour traces of material that may have been deposited onto the hardware while the rover was still on Earth, despite thorough cleaning before launch.

“We’ll take the powder we acquired and swish it around to scrub the internal surfaces of the drill bit assembly,” explained JPL’s Scott McCloskey, drill systems engineer. “Then we’ll use the arm to transfer the powder out of the drill into the scoop, which will be our first chance to see the acquired sample.”

“Building a tool to interact forcefully with unpredictable rocks on Mars required an ambitious development and testing program,” said JPL’s Louise Jandura, chief engineer for Curiosity’s sample system. “To get to the point of making this hole in a rock on Mars, we made eight drills and bored more than 1,200 holes in 20 types of rock on Earth.”

Inside the sample-handling device, the powder will be vibrated once or twice over a sieve that screens out any particles larger than six-thousandths of an inch (150 microns) across.

Small portions of the sieved sample will fall through ports on the rover deck into the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. These instruments then will begin the much-anticipated detailed analysis.

The rock Curiosity drilled is called “John Klein” in memory of a Mars Science Laboratory deputy project manager who died in 2011.

Drilling for a sample is the last new activity for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Project, which is using the car-size Curiosity rover to investigate whether an area within Mars’ Gale Crater has ever offered an environment favorable for life.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the ever increasing court calendars, jail population and decreased staffing levels, it has become necessary for the District Attorney’s Office to seek solutions to these problems.  

District Attorney Don Anderson said his office has contracted with Pacific Educational Services to provide educational programs to people in Lake County that face low level misdemeanors charges.  

If a person is eligible, they will be offered the opportunity to complete a one day class, said Anderson.

The defendant has 10 days to sign up for the program, Anderson said. If the defendant successfully completes the program and pays restitution to the victim, no criminal charges will be filed or if the charges have previously been filed they will be dismissed.

The program is only for low level misdemeanors and for defendants not having a significant criminal history, and not for hardened criminals, he said.

“These diversion programs are very powerful in the sense that it gives people a clear second chance, which is huge in terms of employment records, licensing and so forth,” Anderson said.

The classes have proven to be very useful in preventing further crime, by teaching life skills, anger management and alcohol and drug abuse, he said. “People completing the class learn something about themselves and the crime.”  

It is anticipated that those completing the program will experience a significant reduction of repeat offenses. In other jurisdictions the recidivism rate is averaging 18 percent less than those not taking the program, according to Anderson.

Anderson said there are no costs to the county for these programs; the defendant has to pay $250 for pre-filing programs or $285 for post filing programs. The costs of the diversion program is generally less than the fine a court would impose on the defendant if he is convicted of the offense.

It is anticipated that the sheriff, courts and District Attorney’s Office will have significant cost savings by having to process less people through the system, Anderson said.

He added, “We will be sending some people to class rather than court, so that we can concentrate our efforts on serious crimes.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With county residents concerned due to a recent murder as well as a series of break-ins and other property crimes, local officials last Thursday offered a series of safety tips that people can take on their own.

The proposals came during a town hall meeting at Kelseyville High School last week which Supervisor Rob Brown organized.

During the meeting, there also was an update on the investigation into the Jan. 18 murder of 33-year-old Kelseyville resident Forrest Seagrave, mortally wounded during a late night robbery, as well as general public safety issues.

Here are some of the key suggestions made during the meeting.

Start or join a Neighborhood Watch group

Undersheriff Pat Turturici said the sheriff’s office has reinstated its Neighborhood Watch program and is now forming groups.

For county residents, call the sheriff’s office at 707-262-4200.

The Lakeport Police Department also coordinates Neighborhood Watch programs in the city as part of its community oriented policing strategy. Lakeport residents interested in the program are encouraged to call Lakeport Police at 707-263-5491.

Clearlake residents should call the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251 to ask about program availability.

Be vigilant

Capt. Chris Macedo of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office urged people to always be aware of their surroundings.

It’s important to look around you, and not to be so distracted by phones or music – especially when wearing head phones – that you’re not aware of that is going on nearby, he said.

Consider a security system

Security systems can help keep a home safe, and also are more affordably priced these days.

For about $500, a home can be outfitted with a basic security system featuring cameras that can be checked via smart phone, according to Mike Gossett of Gossett Alarm.

The capability of video surveillance, Macedo said, can help law enforcement when investigating break ins.

Get a dog

A dog can be a great companion, and also can help discourage potential burglars.

Macedo said law enforcement doesn’t like to go into homes with snarling dogs – even small ones – so he didn’t imagine the bad guys do, either.

He said it’s important to make sure that there is adequate fencing and containment for dogs.

Brown said dogs, by alerting their owners through barking, can help give a person time to react if a break in is taking place.

If you’re looking for a dog, check out Lake County Animal Care and Control at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dogs_and_Puppies.htm , telephone 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.

Be mindful of visibility and lighting

Macedo suggested keeping shrubs and other vegetation around homes trimmed back so they can’t be used as hiding places for burglars.

He also urged that people have adequate lighting around homes.

Clean up graffiti

Gangs are active in Lake County, community members were told at the meeting.

In areas where gangs are active, graffiti often results. “That’s how they mark their territory,” said Macedo.

He said the best thing to do in response is to cover the graffiti up as quickly as possible.

Write down serial numbers

Another simple thing that many people know to do, but often don’t do, is writing down the serial numbers of valuables such as computers and other electronics, and keeping that information in a safe place, a practice Macedo encouraged.

When items are stolen and owners report the serial numbers, those numbers are put into a database, Macedo said.

In a recent case, a gun stolen from Lake County in 1993 was found in Tennessee, thanks to its serial number showing up in that database, Macedo said.

He encouraged people to take the time to write the information down, and even to take pictures of items to go with the numbers.

Report code violations

Brown said it can be easy to ignore code violations on properties, such as jacked up cars sitting in yards for extended periods of time.

However, leaving neighborhoods and homes to fall into disrepair can attract crime, he said.

Lake County Community Development Director Rick Coel encouraged community members to call his agency at 707-263-2221 to report code violations, including marijuana grows that are out of compliance or nuisances.

Learn about gun ownership, gun safety

For those wanting to own a firearm for self protection, Brown encouraged them to take hunter safety courses, which also are available for children.

Groups like the Lake County Rod and Gun Club are excellent resources for people who want to learn about gun safety, he said.

It also was pointed out that for those who have children, there are gun locks that keep the firearms safe from children but can still be made quickly available when needed by an adult.

There are other devices, including pepper spray, that also can offer a measure of protection, Macedo said.

Take a self-defense course

Learning to defend oneself through martial arts and basic self-defense courses can be empowering; it also can keep you safe.

Instructors Aaron Jameson and Fred Langston were both at the Thursday meeting to be available to talk to community members; there also are other martial arts studios in Lake County where community members can learn self-defense and stay fit at the same time.

For businesses: Enforce clothing rules

For business owners concerned about robberies, officials pointed out that it’s legal to set up rules for attire for those visiting a business.

The “no shoes, no shirts, no service” standard is well known; it’s also perfectly acceptable to ban items of clothing like hats and hoodies, which one Kelseyville business did after an armed robbery a few years ago.

Keep it locked

While many people living in rural areas like Lake County are used to leaving their homes and vehicles unlocked, locking doors is a basic, yet effective, deterrent.

Even Brown admitted that he’s having to change habits, after years of leaving his vehicle unlocked.

He also reminded people that they can’t leave tools or equipment unsecured in vehicles.

Doing so almost ensures they will be stolen; he said such property crimes are extremely time consuming for law enforcement.

Keep children busy

Despite the assertions by some that say there isn’t enough for children to do in Lake County, Brown argued against that notion, pointing to school and league sports, martial arts, the local BMX park, dance, 4-H and FFA, as well as outdoor activities.

He said he remembered an undersheriff who made fishing poles as a hobby, whose motto was that a child with a fishing pole in their hand doesn’t get into trouble.

“It takes involvement by the parents,” Brown 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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A young man raised in Lake County is facing the possibility that he will be deported from the United States – where he has lived for almost all of his life – due to an increasingly stringent interpretation of immigration law.

To those who know him, Carlos Solorzano is a kind-hearted, gentle, hardworking and decent man, a veteran who honorably served in the Marine Corps.

Solorzano, 27, was born in Mexico but has lived in the United States since he was a year old.

He grew up in Lake County, graduated from Lower Lake High School and did a three-year tour in the Marines.

About a year and a half ago, he and fiancee Danielle White moved to Alaska, where he works as a tattoo artist. Many of his clients serve in the military or are veterans like himself.

He’s on permanent resident status and is seeking to become a full-fledged US citizen.

“I’m an American, heart and spirit,” he said.

But Solorzano is facing the possibility of deportation due to what his attorney Margaret Stock says is an uptick in the government’s pursuit of deportation cases based on redefined criminal law terminology, combined with more stringent interpretation of immigration laws.

He’s been ordered to appear at a deportation hearing on Monday, Feb. 11.

“I’ve just really found myself in a precarious situation,” he said.

While Solorzano was in the military, he visited Virginia Beach, Va. On New Year’s Eve of 2006 he was involved in a bar fight. Solorzano said he was defending himself in a threatening situation.

Stock said Solorzano was charged and convicted with misdemeanor assault and battery.

Solorzano said he spent two days in jail before being sentenced to 365 days, with all but two days of that sentence suspended and the case settled with time served.

In Virginia, when jail time is waived by prosecutors in misdemeanor cases, the state isn’t required to provide defendants with criminal defense. But that creates the potential for deportation later.

He thought that the matter ended there. However, a recent visit to Mexico proved otherwise.

In December, as Solorzano was returning to the United States from Mexico, border agents flagged him, only allowing him back in the country on probationary status.

Based on their interpretation of his Virginia conviction, immigration officials concluded that Solorzano had an “aggravated felony” on his record, not the misdemeanor for which he had been sentenced.

In Solorzano’s case, the misdemeanor assault charge had the potential to carry a year or more in custody, which elevated it to the aggravated felony, a deportable offense, under immigration law, said Stock.

“The problem is that US immigration laws these days are very complicated,” explained Stock, a nationally recognized expert on immigration law who also is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Military Police, U.S. Army Reserve.

“They have redefined some of the normal terminology that people use in the criminal law field,” said Stock, who has been a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as an adjunct instructor at the University of Alaska.

The changes made it easier to deport people for relatively minor offenses, she said.

The law impacting Solorzano actually was changed in 1996, Stock said.

However, she said there has been an uptick in the pursuit of such cases under the Obama Administration, with Stock suggesting that the president is trying to convince people that he’s deporting a lot of criminals.

“They’re becoming draconian in their enforcement,” she said of the federal government..

Such actions, said Stock, are a huge problem in Virginia, where Solorzano was prosecuted.

A Washington Post article from January looked at the increase in immigrants in Virginia taking guilty pleas on what they believe are minor cases, only to later face deportation. The article points out that it’s also becoming an issue across the country.

Based on a 2010 US Supreme Court case, Padilla v. Kentucky, criminal defense lawyers are required to advise clients that guilty pleas could result in deportation. But Solorzano’s case predates that decision, and also is notable for his lack of a defense attorney while in Virginia.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s own statistics support Stock’s assertion that the enforcements are increasing.

Last year, the agency removed more than 225,000 aliens who had been convicted of crimes, nearly double the amount since 2008 and three times the rate reported in 2001. Overall, approximately 409,849 individuals were removed in 2012.

Late in December, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton sent out a memorandum to agency directors and special agents reinforcing the need to remain focused on removing individuals “whose removal promotes public safety, national security, border security, and the integrity of the immigration system.”

However, Morton’s memo still allows for resident aliens to be the focus of detainers if they have been convicted of past misdemeanors, including assault.

Service and citizenship

At the same time as he’s fighting his deportation, Solorzano is applying for full citizenship.

Because he served in the military under honorable conditions, Solorzano is eligible to naturalize, which no one previously had told him, said Stock.

Solorzano’s challenge isn’t unique, according to the group Banished Veterans, http://www.banishedveterans.info/ .

The group says there are thousands of veterans facing potential deportation for a variety of reasons. In other cases, some men have been deported from the United States after decades of residency due to relatively minor criminal offenses.

Solorzano – and veterans like him – could get some help from a bill that Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) plans to introduce in the coming weeks.

In the last session of Congress, Thompson introduced HR 3761, the Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act.

That bill, which died in committee, was meant to expedite the naturalization process for veterans, Thompson told Lake County News in a Friday interview.

Thompson, himself a Vietnam veteran, said he has a soft spot in his heart for people who serve in the US military.

“Any time someone serves in the military and puts their life on the line, I think they should be given credit for that,” he said.

As such, he plans to reintroduce the bill sometime in the next month.

Despite Solorzano’s challenges, “I think he’s got a very good case,” said Stock.

She said defending against such cases is difficult and expensive.

“This is a very complicated area of the law,” she said, and it’s difficult to find lawyers with the necessary expertise. As a result, many people lose their cases and are deported.

The process also is stacked against Solorzano, since the government isn’t required to give him a court-appointed lawyer, requiring him to entirely cover that expense, Stock said.

It doesn’t matter if the cases are strong, Stock said, noting that agents aren’t being tracked for how good their arrests actually are.

“The government agents that go after people don’t read court cases,” said Stock.

Stock believes that cases like Solorzano’s come up because there is an incentive program for government agents to go after potential deportations in order to improve their statistics.

She pointed to recent reports of agents receiving everything from cash bonuses to Home Depot gift cards for having good case statistics.

“It shows you how tough the current administration is on people,” with little sympathy shown to those who have served in the military, said Stock.
                  
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.

NASA has recently discovered a very strange planet.

Its days are twice as long as its years. It has a tail like a comet. It is hot enough to melt lead, yet capped by deposits of ice. And to top it all off ... it appears to be pink.

The planet is Mercury.

Of course, astronomers have known about Mercury for thousands of years, but since NASA's MESSENGER probe went into orbit around Mercury in 2011, researchers feel like they've been discovering the innermost planet all over again.

One finding after another has confirmed the alien character of this speedy little world, which you can see this week with your own eyes.

Mercury is emerging from the glare of the sun for a beautiful two-week apparition during the month of February 2013.

The show begins about a half hour after sunset. Scan the horizon where the sun's glow is strongest and, if the sky is clear, Mercury should pop out of the twilight, a bright pink pinprick of light.

Mercury itself is not actually pink, but it is often colored so by the rosy hues of the setting sun.

If you're looking on the evening of Feb. 9, scan the sky around Mercury with binoculars. A second planet is there, too. Glowing faintly red, Mars is barely a degree from Mercury. In binocular optics, Mercury and Mars form a charming little double-planet.

As February unfolds, Mercury will rise higher in the sunset sky, brightening as it ascends. From Feb. 11 through Feb. 21, the “pink planet” will be visible for as much as an hour after sunset.

Feb. 11 is a date of special interest: a slender crescent Moon will appear straight above Mercury, providing guidance for novice sky watchers.

Mercury circles the sun about three times closer than Earth does, rotating just three times on its axis every two Mercury-years.

This slow-spin under the solar inferno bakes Mercury's surface bone-dry and raises its daytime temperature to 425 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt lead.

This would seem an unlikely place to find deposits of ice, yet that is what the MESSENGER probe recently confirmed: Mercury has enough ice at its poles to encase Washington DC with a layer of frozen water two miles thick.

Ice on Mercury is possible because the tilt of planet's spin axis is almost zero – less than one degree – so there are pockets at the planet's poles that never see sunlight.

Shadowed areas at each end of the heavily-cratered planet turn out to be cold enough to freeze and hold water.

MESSENGER found something else: Much of Mercury's ice is coated with a mysterious dark substance.

Researchers don't know exactly what it is, but they suspect it is a mix of complex organic compounds delivered to Mercury by the impacts of asteroids and comets.

In some ways, Mercury itself resembles a comet with a long tail. NASA's twin STEREO probes, on a mission to observe the sun, spotted Mercury's tail in 2008.

The MESSENGER probe has since flown through it. The tail appears to be made of material blown off Mercury's surface by exposure to solar flares and the solar wind at point-blank range. The pressure of sunlight pushes the tail in the anti-sunward direction, just like the tail of a comet.

With the sun currently approaching the maximum of its 11-year activity cycle, Mercury is getting hit by the stormiest space weather in years.

This is a great time for MESSENGER to study the processes that turn Mercury into a “comet-planet.”

Mercury is a strange planet, indeed. When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and see for yourself.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.