LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will consider midyear budget adjustments and look at a proposal for a new employees unit.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

In an untimed item, the board will hold its midyear budget review.

As part of that process, supervisors will consider a resolution to adjust reserves, fund balance carry over, revenues and appropriations for the current fiscal year and also consider a resolution establishing new classifications and amending a previous resolution to amend the position allocations to conform to the mid-year budget adjustments.

In another untimed item, the board will discuss and consider establishing the Lake County Sheriff’s Management Unit.

In a memo to the board, Sheriff Brian Martin said sworn peace officer management staff at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is requesting to be recognized as a separate bargaining unit from the Management Unit.

According to county documents, the staff who would be represented by the new unit include the undersheriff, two captains and five lieutenants.

In other business, in items timed between 9:15 a.m. and 9:18 a.m., the board will consider continuing proclamations of local emergencies due to the Rocky, Jerusalem, Valley, Clayton and Sulphur fires, and the atmospheric river storm.

The full agenda follows.

CONTRACT CHANGE ORDERS

6.1: Consideration of Contract Change Order No. 1 for the CSA-2 Spring Valley Distribution System Improvement Project, Bid No. SD16-10.

6.2: Consideration of Contract Change Order No. 2 for the CSA-2 Spring Valley Distribution System Improvement Project, Bid No. SD16-10.

CONSENT AGENDA

7.1: Adopt the resolution of support for protection of our ocean and coast from offshore drilling and fracking.

7.2: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held Nov. 14, 2017, and Nov. 28, 2017.

7.3: Appoint the County Administrative Officer as the designated representative for unrepresented labor groups regarding salaries, salary schedules or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits.

7.4: Approve addendum to the commercial lease agreement between the county of Lake and Tri-Star Properties, L.P. for the lease of property located at 845 and 849 Bevins Street, Lakeport, CA 95453 in the amount of $1,845.26 per month and authorize the chair to sign.

7.5: Approve Amendment 3 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Ford Street Project for substance use disorder residential and detoxification services FY 2017-18, an increase of $30,000 and contract maximum of $80,000 and authorize the chair to sign.

7.6: Approve Amendment 3 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Center Point DAAC for SUDS Detoxification and Residential Treatment Services FY 2017-18, a decrease of $20,000 and a contract maximum of $10,000 and authorize the chair to sign.

7.7: Approve plans and specifications for the Mockingbird Lane at Robinson Creek Bridge Replacement Project; Bid No. 18-01, Federal Aid Project No: BRLO-5914(105).

7.8: Adopt resolution approving right-of-way certification for East Lake Elementary Safe Routes to School and CDBG Project - Federal Aid No. SR2SL-5914 (064), SRTSL-5914 (057) and SRTSL-5914 (097).

TIMED ITEMS

8.2, 9:15 a.m.: (a) Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to the Sulphur fire incident; and (b) update and discussion on the Sulphur fire recovery

8.3, 9:16 a.m.: (a) Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to wildfire conditions, pertaining to the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires; and (b) update on Valley Fire Debris Insurance Collection Project.

8.4, 9:17 a.m.: Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to Clayton fire.

8.5, 9:18 a.m.: (a) Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to the atmospheric river storm; and (b) update and discussion of the atmospheric river storm recovery.

UNTIMED ITEMS

9.2: Consideration of the Following Appointment: Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health.

9.3: a) Consideration of Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2017-124 to Amend the FY 2017-18 adopted budget by adjusting reserves, fund balance carry over, revenues, and appropriations; and b) consideration of resolution establishing new classifications and amending Resolution 2017-125 to amend the position allocations for FY 2017-18 to conform to the mid-year budget adjustments.

9.4: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors consideration of reappointment of Roger Bakke, Nancy Perrin and Cameron Reeves to the LCAQMD Hearing Board for three year terms, pursuant to Health and Safety Code.

9.5: Discussion and consideration for the establishment of the Lake County Sheriff’s Management Unit.

CLOSED SESSION

10.1: Conference with Labor Negotiator pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54957.6: a. agency negotiator: Carol J. Huchingson, CAO b. Unrepresented confidential and management employees.

10.2: Public employee evaluations title: Human Resources director.

10.3: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to Initiate Litigation Pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(4): Two potential cases.

10.4: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation Pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(4): County of Lake v. PG&E.

10.5: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): LCCOA v. County of Lake, et al.

10.6: Conference with real property negotiators pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.8: Property owner: Paul and Barbara Breunig/Edward and Tina Brown. County reps: Scott De Leon and Jeff Rein Properties: 2575 and 2585 South Main Street APNs: 005-053-18 and 005-053-19.

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. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday held a first reading of a commercial cannabis ordinance amendment to clarify language regarding where the activities can take place, with council members indicating they wanted to protect the Lakeshore Drive corridor.

City Manager Greg Folsom and City Attorney Ryan Jones brought the amendment to the council in order to address issues with an ordinance the council approved in October which, because of a missing semicolon, appeared to allow for growing on both sides of Highway 53.

In December, the council implemented an urgency ordinance to prevent commercial cannabis on the west side of Highway 53, where they had indicated at that time that they didn’t want the activities, as Lake County News has reported.

One of the key issues that emerged for the four council members during the discussion on Thursday was that they didn’t want growing activities along Lakeshore Drive.

That was the biggest concern for Councilwoman Joyce Overton, with Councilman Nick Bennett agreeing about protecting Lakeshore but adding that he also is concerned about Olympic Drive, the city’s other key thoroughfare.

Bennett said he wasn’t against commercial grows, as they’re now a reality. “We need to look into the future – five, 10, 20 years from now. What is the cutoff point, where are we going to limit it to?”

He said he believed it had been the Clearlake Planning Commission’s intent to keep the activities on the east side of the highway.

Overton said there appeared to be one spot on Olympic Drive in commercial zoning that would be acceptable.

Councilman Phil Harris said he believed the council should move forward with allowing commercial cannabis on all sides, excluding Lakeshore Drive.

During public comment, Jeremy Mayfield said permits can easily be revoked if necessary, and the real issue is seeing and smelling the plants. He suggested they decided on operations on a case-by-case basis.

Henry Bornstein suggested more precise language, noting that the amended ordinance would be clearer if it said grows could take place if they’re located to the east of the highway and if they comply with city rules.

Cannabis business owner Chris Jennings said he felt the ordinance was missing some important items, and should have added to it every license type, including microbusiness.

Jennings said people in his industry already are having to jump through hoops forward, backward and sideways. He suggested that instead the city should be encouraging people, noting the trend for people to want to come the area, work and make a living.

He said he already has nine full-time employees with more to come, and said he believed Bennett has the idea of the future wrong when it comes to cannabis, the potential for which he suggested could easily surpass all of the county’s agriculture production.

Jennings said any cannabis businesses and facilities proposed for Lakeshore or Olympic drives will be new or renovated buildings with a lot of investment.

“There’s a lot of good that comes from the cannabis industry, and it touches a lot of different areas,” he said.

In response, Bennett clarified that, in speaking about the future limits, he believed cannabis needed to be controlled so it doesn’t take over the city or negatively impact the community.

Mayor Bruno Sabatier said he didn’t disagree about not having cultivation on Lakeshore Drive, where he wants to see restaurants and retail. He said he also wasn’t against cannabis activities on Olympic Drive in C4 zoning, defined as heavy service commercial and light industrial.

Harris moved to approve commercial cannabis activities on both sides of Highway 53 when it’s entirely inside a building, and also allow it on the east side in hybrid greenhouses except in properties adjacent to Lakeshore and Olympic, with allowances for C4 zoning areas on Olympic.

A second reading will go before the council at an upcoming meeting.

In other business on Thursday, the council directed staff to work on a 15-year extension to the remaining five years on Southshore Little League’s contract for Haverty Field and the Redbud Park ball fields in order for the league to move forward on a number of proposed improvements.

The council presented a proclamation declaring February as Black History Month to Rick Mayo of the Lake County NAACP chapter, awarded a contract for design services for the Highlands Park Improvement Project to Melton Design Group for an amount not to exceed $94,420, and held a public hearing and approved a resolution approving committing Community Development Block Grant Program income funds for code enforcement and an updated program income reuse agreement.

The council also held a special meeting before the regular meeting for the purposes of the midyear budget review, and approved $395,000 in recommended budget adjustments.

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.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – It’s hard to ignore them when they’re shouting their loud, rasping “shreeep!” calls at one another.

The California Scrub Jays are also colorful and pretty much ubiquitous in our region. You can find them almost anywhere from deep oak woodlands to urban settings.

Although they are jays and they are blue, they’re not “Blue Jays”. The Blue Jay is actually an entirely different species not found at all in California.

That loud distinctive “shreep!” call is usually one used to indicate aggression, and often accompanies the bird flying from one part of its territory to another, ducking for cover from predators, or displaying to a rival.

But “shreeping” isn’t the extent of their language. The jays are believed to enunciate a least 20 different kinds of calls, including a deep throated “rattling” call and a soft “coo” (usually used between courting or mating pairs), bill-clapping “pops”, and loud “shrieking.”

Like crows, they may also have distinctive dialects, so the birds know who is from their area and who is from somewhere else.

According to a study done by Teresa Iglesias at UC Davis, the cacophonous shrieking behavior – usually started by one bird and then picked up by others in the vicinity – is used in part to alert other jays in the area to close-by predators (like owls) and also use to mourn their dead.

According to Iglesias’ study, “On encountering a dead jay, prostrate on the ground, jays flew into a tree and began a series of loud, screeching calls that attracted other jays. The summoned birds perched on trees and fences around the body and joined in the calling …”

This is somewhat similar to the calling behavior ravens use to summon their troops and communicate information to one another.

In such aggregates, territorial boundaries are often briefly ignored so all of the birds can come together and communicate in relative safety in one place.

With a brain-to-body ratio likened to that of whales, dolphins and chimpanzees, scrub jays, like other corvids (including crows and ravens) are considered to be exceedingly intelligent animals.

Studies indicate that they recognize other individuals in their groups, they can tell a decoy jay from a live bird, they plan for the future by caching seeds and other foodstuffs, and they can apparently remember the specific site of hundreds of caches AND what’s in them.

Some studies also seem to indicate that the jays are aware of the rate at which their cached food decays, and eat from the more perishable ones first. It’s this seed caching behavior, in part, which makes the jays one of the keystone species in their environment: by planting and moving seeds around, they reforest the areas within their territories.

Stealing is also part of the scrub jays’ repertoire of skills. They regularly observe other birds -- and squirrels -- note where those animals hide their caches, and then willfully pilfer from them. In some instances, the jays will even chase other jays and steal the food directly from them in flight – with a lot of raucous calling punctuating the thefts.

During the spring and summer the scrub jay’s diet is comprised mainly of insects, berries, vegetables and small frogs and lizards, but they’ll also eat eggs and the hatchlings of other birds – and, of course, human garbage is also sometimes on the menu. In the winter, their favorites are cached seeds and acorns.

It’s not unusual to see breeding pairs feeding food to one another as part of their courtship display and to maintain their pair bond. Although they are monogamous when breeding, and sometimes choose the same partners year after year, they don’t necessarily mate for life.

Here in our area, we can see the scrub jays almost daily as they are regular residents that do not migrate and can live up to fifteen years in the wild. So get out there and try some observations of your own.

The jays’ propensity for rambunctious noise, their blatant assertiveness, and their inquisitive nature makes them really fun to watch.

Mary K. Hanson is a Certified California Naturalist, author and nature photographer. She will be co-teaching a naturalist course for the public through Tuleyome in early 2018. Tuleyome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, Calif. For more information visit www.tuleyome.org.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a number of terriers plus mixes of Labrador and retriever available for adoption this week.

The dogs offered adoption this week include mixes of Chihuahua, golden retriever, Labrador Retriever, Maltese, pit bull, Rottweiler and terrier.

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

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in quarantine kennel No. 1, ID No. 9381.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.

Shelter staff said he already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 2a, ID No. 9396.

‘Rootbeer’

“Rootbeer” is a female Chihuahua mix.

She has a short black and gray coat.

She’s in kennel No. 2a, ID No. 9418.

‘Muffie’

“Muffie” is a terrier with a short black and tan coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 2b, ID No. 9419.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 2c, ID No. 9393.

Female Maltese-terrier mix

This female Maltese-terrier mix has a short brown and black coat.

She is in quarantine kennel No. 2d, ID No. 9394.

Male golden retriever

This male golden retriever has a medium-length gold coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in quarantine kennel No. 5, ID No. 9302.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in quarantine kennel No. 8, ID No. 9395.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female Labrador Retriever-Rottweiler mix with a short black and brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 17, ID No. 9375.

Male Labrador Retriever

This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat with white markings.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 9410.

Male terrier

This male terrier has a short tricolor coat.

He is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 9398.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28a, ID No. 9399.

Female terrier

This female terrier has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28b, ID No. 9400.

Male pit bull

This male pit bull has a short buff-colored coat.

Shelter staff said he is a lovely boy who will sit on command and give you a handshake.

He’s in kennel No. 32, ID No. 9369.

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.

A new study has found that the seven planets orbiting the nearby ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 are all made mostly of rock, and some could potentially hold more water than Earth.

The planets' densities, now known much more precisely than before, suggest that some of them could have up to 5 percent of their mass in the form of water – about 250 times more than Earth's oceans.

The hotter planets closest to their parent star are likely to have dense steamy atmospheres and the more distant ones probably have icy surfaces.

In terms of size, density and the amount of radiation it receives from its star, the fourth planet out is the most similar to Earth. It seems to be the rockiest planet of the seven, and has the potential to host liquid water.

Planets around the faint red star TRAPPIST-1, just 40 light-years from Earth, were first detected by the TRAPPIST-South telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in 2016.

In the following year further observations from ground-based telescopes, including ESO’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, revealed that there were no fewer than seven planets in the system, each roughly the same size as the Earth.

They are named TRAPPIST-1b,c,d,e,f,g and h, with increasing distance from the central star.

Further observations have now been made, both from telescopes on the ground, including the nearly-complete SPECULOOS facility at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, and from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Kepler Space Telescope.

A team of scientists led by Simon Grimm at the University of Bern in Switzerland have now applied very complex computer modelling methods to all the available data and have determined the planets’ densities with much better precision than was possible before.

Simon Grimm explains how the masses are found: "The TRAPPIST-1 planets are so close together that they interfere with each other gravitationally, so the times when they pass in front of the star shift slightly.

These shifts depend on the planets' masses, their distances and other orbital parameters. With a computer model, we simulate the planets' orbits until the calculated transits agree with the observed values, and hence derive the planetary masses."

Team member Eric Agol comments on the significance: "A goal of exoplanet studies for some time has been to probe the composition of planets that are Earth-like in size and temperature.

The discovery of TRAPPIST-1 and the capabilities of ESO’s facilities in Chile and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope in orbit have made this possible – giving us our first glimpse of what Earth-sized exoplanets are made of!"

The measurements of the densities, when combined with models of the planets’ compositions, strongly suggest that the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets are not barren rocky worlds.

They seem to contain significant amounts of volatile material, probably water [3], amounting to up to 5 percent the planet's mass in some cases — a huge amount; by comparison the Earth has only about 0.02 percent water by mass!

"Densities, while important clues to the planets' compositions, do not say anything about habitability. However, our study is an important step forward as we continue to explore whether these planets could support life," said Brice-Olivier Demory, co-author at the University of Bern.

TRAPPIST-1b and c, the innermost planets, are likely to have rocky cores and be surrounded by atmospheres much thicker than Earth's. TRAPPIST-1d, meanwhile, is the lightest of the planets at about 30 percent the mass of Earth. Scientists are uncertain whether it has a large atmosphere, an ocean or an ice layer.

Scientists were surprised that TRAPPIST-1e is the only planet in the system slightly denser than Earth, suggesting that it may have a denser iron core and that it does not necessarily have a thick atmosphere, ocean or ice layer.

It is mysterious that TRAPPIST-1e appears to be so much rockier in its composition than the rest of the planets. In terms of size, density and the amount of radiation it receives from its star, this is the planet that is most similar to Earth.

TRAPPIST-1f, g and h are far enough from the host star that water could be frozen into ice across their surfaces. If they have thin atmospheres, they would be unlikely to contain the heavy molecules that we find on Earth, such as carbon dioxide.

"It is interesting that the densest planets are not the ones that are the closest to the star, and that the colder planets cannot harbour thick atmospheres," notes Caroline Dorn, study co-author based at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

The TRAPPIST-1 system will continue to be a focus for intense scrutiny in the future with many facilities on the ground and in space, including ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

Astronomers are also working hard to search for further planets around faint red stars like TRAPPIST-1. As team member Michaël Gillon explains [4]: "This result highlights the huge interest of exploring nearby ultracool dwarf stars – like TRAPPIST-1 – for transiting terrestrial planets. This is exactly the goal of SPECULOOS, our new exoplanet search that is about to start operations at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile.”

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County’s newest Superior Court judge took his seat on the bench in a Friday ceremony.

Judge J. David Markham was welcomed to the bench by his fellow Super Court judges, along with several retired judges – including the man he is succeeding, Judge Richard Martin, who retired in May – and a standing-room-only gallery of friends, family and local officials.

Markham took his oath in the very same courtroom where, in January 2001, he came to work on his first case as an attorney.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced his appointment of Markham to the vacancy created by Martin’s retirement just days before Christmas, as Lake County News has reported.

Presiding Judge Andrew Blum, joined by judges Martin, Michael Lunas and Stephen Hedstrom, and Commissioner Douglas Thiele, welcomed Markham in remarks given from the bench.

Blum said Markham has the experience, intelligence and patience to do the job well, and said he had no doubt Markham would be an excellent addition to the bench.

“But Dave, remember the old phrase, ‘Be careful what you ask for,’” Blum said with a smile, as Markham sat at the defense table.

Blum and his colleagues would emphasize the demanding nature of the job, which is around the clock and every day of the week, and the countless – and challenging – decisions ahead that Markham will make that will impact people’s lives from birth to death.

“As one of four judges on the bench, you will have a major impact on the lives of the citizens of this county,” Blum said.

Resources are stretched thin and the caseloads are large, with Blum noting that two cases are already waiting for Markham’s attention.

However, Blum added, “It’s gratifying to do a challenging job and to do it well.”

Judge Lunas passed along to Markham a framed quote by Judge Learned Hand that is part of a tradition started by the late Judge John Golden. Written in calligraphy by Golden’s wife, Gail, the quote discusses the challenges and rewards of being a judge. It’s always given to the newest judge at their swearing in.

Lunas, who has held onto it for five years, said he’s reread the quote often, and told Markham he believed that Judge Hand overestimated how hard the job is and underestimated how good it is.

The retired judges in attendance also offered their congratulations and a word or two of advice.

Richard Freeborn urged Markham to emphasize order in his courtroom, and said the way to do that is to respect everyone, which he said will result in respect from others.

David Herrick had two key words for Markham – the first, patience, and the second, perseverance.

Robert Crone, who was sworn in as judge 34 years ago this week, wasn’t in attendance, but his remarks and good wishes were communicated to Markham. Crone had also administered Markham’s attorney’s oath to him when he began practicing law.

Hedstrom humorously recalled Markham’s pen-spilling skills – which he compared to a pistol-spinning scene in the movie “Tombstone” – before paying tribute to Markham’s skills as an attorney and his ethics.

He said he’s known Markham’s father, Jeff – a retired sheriff’s chief deputy who was in the courtroom for the event – for decades, and recalled how proud Jeff Markham has been of his son’s ethics and work, which Hedstrom also lauded in welcoming the newest judge.

Martin said he was very happy to have had Markham in his courtroom in the past, noting he is a good attorney with a good work ethic, who worked hard on every case.

Best of all, Martin said, Markham possesses the “judicial demeanor” necessary to demonstrate fairness in the work of a judge.

Martin said he believes Markham joins a good bench the members of which work well together.

He also pointed out that the fast-changing nature of society and technology – including computers, genetics and artificial intelligence – likely will bring Markham cases that have issues no one has ever heard before.

“You’ll have challenges that probably none of us have imagined,” Martin said.

Lunas guaranteed he would have days where, after up to 180 cases, Markham would go home and be too tired to eat. At the same time, however, Lunas told him he would still think such days were great, and would look forward to the next, with every day different.

He promised Markham that his door would always be open to him to offer help and counsel.

Judge Blum then came down from the bench to administer the oath of office to Markham. Afterward, Jeff Markham stepped forward and helped his son into his new judicial robe before giving him a hug.

David Markham then joined the rest of the judges on the bench while Martin joined the retired judges near the jury box.

Markham recalled making his first appearance in the same courtroom in January 2001.

“I’m humbled and honored to receive this appointment, and although I worked hard for it, I certainly didn’t do this on my own,” he said, thanking those who had supported him and giving credit to his parents for their support, love and encouragement.

He said Lake County has been a great place to live and work, and a place that has given him a great deal.

Markham said he has big shoes to fill in succeeding Martin, who is himself a great example of the judicial temperament, defined as exhibiting compassion, decisiveness, open-mindedness, sensitivity, courtesy, patience, freedom from bias and commitment to equal justice.

He called Martin a role model. “I only hope that I can fill the role of judge half as well as he has during his career.”

Markham promised to work hard, adding, “This will be how I give back to Lake County, a county that has given me so much.”

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 wind advisory has been issued for Lake County and other parts of Northern California in response to a forecast of gusty winds on Saturday.

The National Weather Service said the wind advisory will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

The agency said a wind advisory means that sustained winds of 25 miles per hour or higher or
gusts to 40 miles per hour or higher are expected.

The advisory said a weak weather system was anticipated to drop through the Pacific Northwest and into the Great Basin Friday night and Saturday morning, with breezy north winds developing behind the system.

The specific Lake County forecast calls for winds of up to 15 miles per hour during the day, up to more than 20 miles per hour at night, with gusts of up to 30 miles per hour Saturday night.

Winds will taper off to the single digits on Sunday, according to the forecast.

Conditions this weekend and into early next week are forecast to be clear and sunny, with daytime highs in the low 60s and nighttime lows in the high 30s.

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 3.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the south county on Friday evening.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 5:39 p.m. one mile north northwest of The Geysers, just inside northern Sonoma County, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Cobb, at a depth of just over two miles.

The survey received 11 shake reports from areas including Kelseyville, Lower Lake and Middletown in Lake County, as well as Geyserville and San Rafael.

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.

California Governor Jerry Brown on Friday met with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau in San Francisco, where the two leaders pledged to expand cooperation on climate action, trade and criminal justice reform.

“We've got a lot to do with Canada while our Washington government is temporarily missing in action. In terms of climate action, California and more than a dozen other [U.S.] states are taking real action. I'm looking forward to forging agreements with various provinces in Canada and particularly in zero-emission vehicles – electric cars, hydrogen cars,” said Gov. Brown at the opening of Friday’s meeting. “I'm hoping Canada, California and the rest of America can really commit to developing the technologies that will allow us to have zero-emission vehicles be a big part of our future.”

“It's a real pleasure to meet with Gov. Brown, an opportunity to talk about all the great connections between California and Canada,” said Prime Minister Trudeau. “Climate change has been an issue that the Governor has been a leader on and I want to congratulate him on that and thank him as well for the cap-and-trade system Ontario is part of and others and the fact that we have so much work to do together as friends and as a planet.”

The governor and prime minister discussed the importance of getting more zero-emission vehicles on the road, increasing cooperation between U.S. states and Canadian provinces ahead of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) and Canada’s participation in the Global Climate Action Summit, which will be held in San Francisco this September.

The two leaders also discussed ongoing NAFTA negotiations between the U.S., Canada and Mexico and Governor Brown and Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to explore opportunities for criminal justice reform experts from California and Canada to collaborate.

The governor’s office said Friday’s meeting builds on the long-standing cooperation between California, Canada and a number of Canadian provinces to combat climate change.

Last year, Gov. Brown welcomed Canada to the Under2 Coalition, a global pact of more than 200 cities, states and countries – representing 1.3 billion people and 40 percent of the world’s GDP – committed to limiting the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius, the level of potentially catastrophic consequences.

At last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23), Governor Brown joined Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, to affirm North America’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.

Additionally last year, Gov. Brown met with the Premiers of Quebec and Ontario – both members of the Under2 Coalition – and signed an agreement officially integrating their cap-and-trade programs.

California along with the states of Oregon and Washington and the province of British Columbia are members of the Pacific Coast Collaborative, a pact formed to strategically align policies to reduce greenhouse gases and promote clean energy.

The search for a new California Highway Patrol commissioner is over.

Warren Stanley, 56, of Sacramento has just been appointed CHP commissioner by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Stanley has been serving as acting commissioner since 2017, since the resignation of Joe Farrow.

Commissioner Stanley has been employed with the CHP since 1982, and is one of the distinguished few to hold every position from Officer to Commissioner within the CHP.

While working as a patrol officer, he served as a member of the Protective Services Detail and worked as a Field Training Officer. He excelled through the ranks, supervising the CHP’s Border Division Investigative Services Unit as a Lieutenant, and served as the Commander of the CHP Academy, where he was responsible for the leadership of 191 employees and the training of approximately 1,700 cadets. He promoted to the rank of Chief in 2008, and assumed command of the CHP’s Coastal Division followed by the CHP’s Southern Division. Stanley was appointed to the rank of Assistant Commissioner, Staff, in 2010, followed by the rank of Assistant Commissioner, Field, in 2012. Prior to his appointment to Commissioner, he served as the Deputy Commissioner and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the largest state law enforcement agency in the nation; a Department with more than 11,000 employees.

Commissioner Stanley released the following statement following today’s appointment:

“I would first and foremost like to thank Governor Brown for placing his trust in me and giving me this incredible opportunity to lead the California Highway Patrol. I am extremely honored and proud to accept this appointment and serve as your Commissioner. I vow to continue the CHP’s long and distinguished legacy of providing Safety, Service, and Security to the people of California, and lead a Department committed to earning the public’s trust every day.”

Commissioner Stanley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Executive Institute.

“CHP Commissioner Stanley has served the public for more than 35 years with the California Highway Patrol, excelling at every role from patrol officer to deputy commissioner where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the CHP,” said Acting Transportation Agency Secretary Brian Annis. “Warren has led the CHP’s response in the face of some of the worst natural disasters in this state’s history. We know that under his leadership the department will continue to uphold its mission.”

Commissioner Stanley is the first African American in the history of the CHP to hold the rank of Commissioner.

NASA engineer Manuel Vega can see one of the Olympic ski jump towers from the rooftop of the South Korean weather office where he is stationed.

Vega is not watching skiers take flight, preparing for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympic games. Instead, he's inspecting the SUV-sized radar beside him.

The instrument is one of 11 NASA instruments specially transported to the Olympics to measure the quantity and type of snow falling on the slopes, tracks and halfpipes.

NASA will make these observations as one of 20 agencies from eleven countries in the Republic of Korea as participants in a project called the International Collaborative Experiments for PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, or ICE-POP.

Led by the Korea Meteorological Administration, the international team will make snow measurements from the start of the Olympics on Feb. 9 through the end of the Paralympics on March 18.

Vega and the international team is studying how well researchers can measure snow from the ground and space and provide better data for snowstorm predictions.

The NASA team, along with U.S. colleagues at Colorado State University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will use a collection of ground instruments, satellite data, and weather models to deliver detailed reports of current snow conditions and will test experimental forecasts models.

NASA's observations and snow forecasts will be made at 16 different points near Olympic event venues and then relayed to Olympic officials to help them account for approaching weather.

"The Olympics provide a means to test some of our observation methods and help develop prediction models in a real-world applied environment and enable our observations to be used by the forecasters and Olympic planning folks as well," Vega said.

At times, the weather in this part of northeast South Korea is not much different from Greenbelt, Maryland, where Vega works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. But South Korea has much colder extremes.

The area is higher in elevation, windier because of the mountains, and also has very diverse terrain. In a matter of hours, Vega could travel from a coastal beach area to snowy mountains – and so could a snowstorm.

"We are interested in South Korea because we can improve our understanding of the physics of snow in mountainous areas to help improve the accuracy of our observations and models," said Walt Petersen, research physical scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. Petersen is in charge of coordinating the NASA ground instruments and science in the PyeongChang area with the ICE-POP international science community.

Petersen says a big snow producer for the PyeongChang area is a system he calls a "backdoor cold front."

Big domes of cold air travel over the Sea of Japan picking up moisture and energy and then hit South Korea on the northeast side.

The terrain on the east side of the Korean peninsula changes dramatically from the coastal area to the mountains.

With such a steep change in terrain, air flow can change rapidly and spur big snow events near PyeongChang – and that's what the team is hoping for in order to test how well they can observe and predict snowstorms.

Tracking snow in tricky terrain

South Korea's diverse terrain makes this project an exciting, albeit challenging, endeavor for scientists to study snow events.

Ground instruments provide accurate snow observations in easily accessible surfaces, but not on uneven and in hard to reach mountainous terrain.

A satellite in space has the ideal vantage point, but space measurements are difficult because snow varies in size, shape and water content. Those variables mean the snowflakes won't fall at the same speed, making it hard to estimate the rates of snowfall.

Snowflakes also have angles and planar "surfaces" that make it difficult for satellite radars to read.

The solution is to gather data from space and the ground and compare the measurements. NASA will track snowstorms from space using the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, or GPM.

The GPM Core Observatory, a satellite designed to estimate rainfall rates and detect falling snow from space, is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and coordinates with twelve other U.S. and international satellites to provide global maps of precipitation every 30 minutes.

The team will complement the space data with 11 NASA instruments observing weather from the ground in PyeongChang.

These instruments are contributing to a larger international pool of measurements taken by instruments from the other ICE-POP participants: a total of 70 instruments deployed at the Olympics.

A few of the NASA instruments are snow imagers that use high speed cameras and advanced software to image every single snowflake falling in its viewing area, useful for counting the snowflakes and determining how much water is falling at that moment.

Another ground instrument is NASA’s Dual-frequency, Dual-polarized, Doppler Radar (D3R) system that was lifted by a crane to the roof of DaeGwallyeong Regional Weather Office to measure the quantity and types of falling snow, such as sleet or light and fluffy snow.

The radar operates at very similar wavelengths to those used onboard the GPM Core Observatory to provide similar snow observations but from a different vantage point.

Improving weather forecast models

The data will help inform Olympic officials about the current weather conditions, and will also be incorporated into the second leg of NASA's research: improving weather forecast models.

NASA Marshall's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) is teaming up with NASA Goddard to use an advanced NASA weather prediction model to provide weather forecasts in six-hour intervals over specific points on the Olympic grounds.

NASA SPoRT, which regularly works with the U.S. National Weather Service at NOAA, specifically designed the ICE-POP model with two important improvements.

First, the model can better paint a picture of what the cloud is made of, and can provide specific details on whether the cloud is producing rain or snow.

In addition, the ICE-POP includes satellite data of the sea surface temperature surrounding the Korean peninsula from the NASA satellites Terra and Aqua and the NASA/NOAA/Department of Defense Suomi-National Polar Orbiting Partnership satellite, respectively.

Sea surface temperature data show scientists how much energy is available and how much moisture could be evaporated into the atmosphere and precipitated out as snow.

"This model includes a complex representation of clouds in atmospheric models to better characterize rain, ice, and snow content in clouds. It also includes one of the highest resolution sea surface temperature products available in real time," said Brad Zavodsky, the project manager for SPoRT at Marshall. "We're excited to see how well this high-resolution model will perform."

NASA SPoRT uses this information to provide Olympic officials experimental, real-time forecasts every six hours using the NASA Unified Weather Research Forecast model (NU-WRF) based at Goddard.

The SPoRT team will be providing four forecasts per day to the Korean Meteorological Administration, who will look at this model in conjunction with all the real-time forecast models in the ICE-POP campaign before relaying information to Olympic officials. The NU-WRF is one of five real-time forecast models running in the ICE-POP campaign.

"When you run these models together from the different agencies, you can see how one model behaves versus another one. You learn a great deal about your abilities to predict in a forecast model and how to improve it," Zavodsky said.

To improve the models, scientists will simultaneously run the NU-WRF model at Goddard's Mesoscale Processes Laboratory and examine how adjusting certain parameters in the model change the output, especially to match up with observations made from ground and space instruments.

“If we get an improved model, it opens the possibility of using the model to help improve satellite-based methods for estimating snowfall, and more generally, improves our understanding of clouds, climate, and the water and energy cycles," Petersen said.

In order to build a better model, Petersen's dream scenario at Pyeongchang is for the GPM mission and ground instruments to simultaneously obtain a good view of a few snowstorms. Then they will have enough information to compare different forecast models and observations, with the goal of improving both approaches to understanding and estimating mountain snowfall.

In short, Petersen hopes for what a lot of Olympic athletes want in PyeongChang: precipitation and perfection.

Kasha Patel works for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport’s newest postmaster has officially taken office.

Benjamin C. Lovato, 37, was sworn in as postmaster of Lakeport Post Office at the Lakeport Hartley Masonic Lodge No. 199 on Thursday evening.

In front of a crowd of around 50 people, retired Judge Richard Martin administered the oath of office to Lovato.

Seven postmasters from as far away as Garberville and Pt. Reyes attended the swearing in, along with Lovato’s family, staff and friends.

Lovato told the crowd, “I’m going to continue to make sure that Lakeport provides great customer service, like we always have. I strive everyday to make sure that my staff, myself, are a key component in this community. We want to make sure the community is happy with us.”

“Ben is going to make a great Postmaster,” said Judge Martin after the swearing in. “He’s good with the customers and goes out of his way to help. He’s good to his staff, they’re happy and it’s a more friendly environment since he’s taken over.”

“It is an honor,” Lovato said, “to come back to Lakeport where I first started with the Post Office back in 2005. I will continue my dedication to the Post Office, continue this great legacy of connecting America and this world, as we have been doing for 242 years, since 1776 when Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster.”

Lakeport’s first postmaster was sworn in 1867. Lovato, now the 28th postmaster of Lakeport, stands in good company in the long lineage of the United States Post Office.

Lucy Llewellyn Byard is a freelance correspondent for Lake County News. She lives in Lucerne.