LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the recent rains and cooler temperatures, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit announced that the 2013 fire season – which saw nearly twice the number of fires as last year – is coming to an official end.

The agency said it will transition out of fire season effective 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 16.

The onset of cooler, wetter weather allows Cal Fire to reduce staffing through release of seasonal employees, the closure of select facilities and release of local fixed wing aircraft.

However, Cal Fire said it is prepared to increase staffing and provide statewide response if weather or fire activity dictate.

The Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit responsibility area includes six counties: Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Yolo, Solano and Colusa.

During this fire season, the unit responded to more than 902 wildland fires within those six counties, year to date. Ninety-five percent of the 902 wildland fires were contained to 10 acres or less, due to aggressive initial attack by Cal Fire and local fire agencies.

That's compared to the 536 wildland fires Cal Fire responded to during the peak 2012 fire season, which ended Nov. 5.

The requirement for Cal Fire burn permits also expires with the end of fire season. Property owners interested in conducting control burns should check with their local fire agency and air pollution district to ensure they meet all fire and air pollution permit requirements, prior to burning.

Cal Fire said its mission is to prevent small fires from becoming large.

Residents living in the urban interface can increase the probability of their homes surviving a wildland fire by creating and maintaining a 100 foot of defensible space around their structures. The cooler winter months provide an excellent opportunity to work on defensible space projects.

Cal Fire is a full service fire department and will continue to provide response to local emergencies such as fires, traffic collisions, medical calls, and hazmat incidents through local agreements, as well as statewide or regional emergencies such as floods or earthquakes.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The issue of whether Upper Lake High School graduates and their counterparts at Clover Valley High, the district's continuation high school, should share the same commencement ceremony has arisen once again for the district's board of trustees.

The matter was scheduled for discussion, but no action, at the Upper Lake High School District Board meeting Wednesday night.

Newly elected Board President Keith Austin noted during the discussion that the issue needed to be addressed once and for all.

District Superintendent/Principal Patrick Iaccino said it will be discussed further at a board workshop on Saturday, Jan. 11, with a vote likely at the board's regular meeting on Thursday, Jan. 15.

The graduations for the two high schools have been combined for about a decade, Iaccino told Lake County News. He said it's a matter that comes up just about every year.

This year, so far two students at Clover Valley High are expected to graduate, Austin said.

Board members appeared split about the suggestion that the graduations be separated, raising concerns both about exclusion and accountability.

Students and teachers favored the separation, which was felt to be a matter of respect and discipline.

Teacher Alex Stabiner said holding a dual graduation ceremony degraded teachers' attempts both to maintain discipline and encourage students academically.

Annie Barnes, whose children attended Upper Lake High, said, “It really feels like a punishment.”

Christian McMilin, the student representative on the board of trustees, advocated for separating the ceremonies.

“We've worked to stay in school. We've worked not to be expelled,” she said of Upper Lake High's students.

Former board member Ron Raetz said every school in Lake County has a separate graduation, except for Upper Lake. He said having different graduations was not a punishment.

Teachers Anna Sabalone and Mike Smith, speaking on behalf of the teachers' union, said they and their colleagues wanted separate graduations, a measure they believed would bring more stability to Upper Lake High and prevent discipline from eroding.

They explained that close to 50 percent of the Clover Valley High students have no genuine hardship other than failing a class or a discipline issue.

Sabalone said she has been told by students that classes don't matter, and that they can redo the work at Clover Valley High and still graduate.

“A separate graduation would help reinforce the idea that you've earned it,” Sabalone said.

Board member Wanda Quitiquit didn't agree.

“I think that this is moving in a direction of exclusion,” said Quitiquit, adding, “I detest that.”

She asked what it mattered who the students walk with when they are on the stage at graduation. “I see this as one community,” said Quitiquit, adding that she didn't think the separation was justifiable.

Board member Rich Swaney questioned why Upper Lake High holds a joint ceremony with Clover Valley High, and he wanted to know if Upper Lake High's seniors had been polled on the matter. “It's their graduation.”

Pointing out that as a board member, he's not on the campus everyday, Swaney said, “The people who work here say that they don't like it. It's their work environment.”

The board, he said, is the body that decides to send students from Upper Lake High to Clover Valley High. He said separating the ceremonies was part of a culture change taking place in the district that also included the addition of a school resource deputy. “I'm definitely for it.”

Board Vice President Claudine Pedroncelli said the school needed to be united, and she felt separating the two graduations would be discriminatory.

“There are far more pressing problems within this school district” that should be addressed rather than looking at 30 minute ceremony that acknowledges completion, she said.

Iaccino, who noted he wasn't taking either side, told the board, “The ceremony has become more important than the diploma.”

He suggested that the board look at what level of achievement should qualify for participating in the graduation ceremony, and consider not allowing students to take part if their grade point average fell below 2.0.

Students below that grade point average aren't allowed to play sports, yet Iaccino said the district is handing out diplomas to students with grade point averages of less than 1.0.

“It doesn't matter what stage they walk, it matters that it's a diploma and it means something,” he said.

Stabiner said it wasn't a matter of exclusion, but of different standards, and he believed Iaccino was correct in his suggestion that they needed to reevaluate overall standards for the graduation ceremony.

“I think it's wrong, and I think it's a liability to the school,” Stabiner said of the combined graduation, adding, “It just undermines what we're trying to do at the school.”

Mary Ann Mathews, who works as a special education and support staffer, as well as a student advisor, suggested to the board that Clover Valley High should be given more recognition as a separate school so it can promote its achievements, much like Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake does.

Two ceremonies, she said, could allow Clover Valley High students' achievements to be acknowledged, and also recognize the transformations in some of the students.

Pedroncelli said she was overwhelmed with the stigma attached to Clover Valley High. “This whole discussion is much deeper than the graduation ceremony that takes one half hour or more,” she said.

Stabiner said that to parents, students and teachers, the dual graduation is one of the most important topics, and a divisive one. “I'm sorry you don't see it.”

Sandy Coatney, vice principal and dean of students, pointed out that Upper Lake High and Clover Valley High are separate schools. He said Upper Lake High doesn't invite Clear Lake High over to celebrate a dual graduation.

Acknowledging that there is a lot of emotion around the issue, Coatney added, “At the root of it, it's a different high school.”

Stabiner pointed out that Clover Valley High students have different colors and a different mascot, so they must don Upper Lake High's colors in order to take part in the graduation ceremony.

Austin said he was on the fence about the issue, and agreed that the board should be addressing other things. However, he said every topic should get its due, and suggested scheduling it for discussion in January. “We need to make a decision.”

Jordin Simons, a member of the associated student body leadership, said the board was missing the bigger picture, and that the issue came down to choices.

She said adults tell her all the time that her generation has become insolent. Allowing students who have been expelled to come back to Upper Lake High and go through a shared graduation ceremony is setting them up to have the same ideas later in life that resulted in them being sent to the continuation high school.

Simons said the two graduations should be separate. “They should walk their stage,” she said.

Swaney liked the idea of giving Clover Valley High a separate and distinct graduation ceremony that they could call their own.

“A lot can be said about ownership,” he said.

Also at the Wednesday meeting, Iaccino administered oaths of office to Pedroncelli and Quitiquit, who recently were elected to new terms on the board. Valerie Duncan, who also was reelected, was absent from the meeting due to a family emergency.

The board also elected Austin as president, Pedroncelli as vice president and Swaney as clerk.

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. – The University of California Regents are denying allegations that the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center failed to take precautions against a deadly bacteria and that a Lake County child died of legionnaire's disease as a result.

On Nov. 22, the University of California Regents formally responded to the lawsuit filed in late October by Hidden Valley Lake residents Rodd and Kellie Joseph, denying any wrongdoing on the part of the UCSF Medical Center.

The couple's 7-and-a-half-month-old son, Ryland, died of legionnaire's disease, a severe form of pneumonia, at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital on May 16, more than two weeks after he had undergone a successful bone marrow transplant to cure a rare disease, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.

After a doctor informed the Josephs that their son's engraftment surgery had been successful, the child abruptly took a turn for the worse, going into organ failure and dying days later.

The Josephs allege in their wrongful death suit that the hospital knew that the bacteria causing legionnaire's disease was in its plumbing system, and that the same diseases had killed two other boys who had been treated at the hospital in 1992 and 1998.

The hospital's response to the suit states that it “exercised reasonable diligence at all times,” suggests that the child's death was the result of the negligence of others, and that the hospital is immune because the child's death resulted from “the exercise of discretion vested in its employees.”

The suit response states that the child's death was “the natural course” of his condition or “the natural or expected” result of reasonable treatment rendered for his disease, and so the Josephs' claims are barred by California Civil Code.

The regents also claim immunity under Business and Professions Code sections 364 and 365, which require 90 days' notice before a legal action is taken, and the Fair Responsibility Act of 1986, which helps protect local governments in tort claims.

In a statement released to Lake County News, Josh Adler, MD, chief medical officer of UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, said the hospital learned on July 12 that the cause of Ryland's death was a form of pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria.

“We have expressed our sincerest condolences to this baby’s family. They have experienced a terrible loss,” Adler said.

“Patient safety is at the heart of what we do, and we take infections like this extremely seriously,” Adler continued. “In the ensuing months, our goal has been to understand what caused the illness in this child. Communication with the family has been a priority, and we updated them weekly throughout the investigations.”

However, the Josephs said hospital officials stopped talking to them in August, and their attempts to get answers from the agencies involved in the investigation also met with resistance and dead ends.

The Josephs have hired Baltimore-based attorney Steven Heisler, who specializes in legionnaire's litigation, who in turn brought on attorney Kevin Elder of the Bay Area firm Penney and Associates.

“I think our bottom line is, we don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s child,” said Heisler.

Elder emphasized that the suit does not claim medical malpractice, with the family believing that the doctors who treated their son did a great job.

“I am just hoping we get answers,” said Kellie Joseph. “We didn't do anything wrong, that's what we know.”

“Our biggest concern now is making the public aware that there is a deadly bacteria that lurks inside of this hospital,” said Heisler.

Added Elder, “Nobody should have to go through this.”

Seeking a cure

In February, the Josephs found out that their then-4-month-old son had Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, a rare disease affecting mostly boys, making them susceptible to deadly conditions including autoimmune deficiencies, leukemia and lymphoma. Children with the condition usually don't live past the age of 8.

The couple studied the condition and connected with other parents and support groups. They also joined Facebook and made the search for their son's cure a public journey that was shared by people around Lake County and beyond.

In April, it was determined that the Josephs' nearly 2-year-old daughter, Brooklynn, was a match, and would donate marrow to her baby brother.

The Josephs said they would have taken their son anywhere in the world for the surgery, but they chose UCSF Medical Center because of its excellent record in successful bone marrow transplant surgeries. Rodd Joseph said the hospital is a pioneer in dealing with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. The fact that the hospital was only two hours from their Lake County home was another huge benefit.

Ryland went into the hospital on April 17, and subsequently underwent 12 days of chemotherapy in preparation for the May 1 bone marrow transplant surgery.

Before the baby went into the hospital, the Josephs were given a complicated set of rules to follow in order to access the hospital floor where their son would be treated. A medical screener would check them before letting them on the floor, their clothes had to be heated in a special process and repeated hand-washing was instructed.

However, the Josephs were told they could not use the shower in their son's hospital room; they recalled a hospital staffer telling them the shower contained “a bug.”

“They alluded to the fact that there is something in the water lines,” Rodd Joseph added.

The couple didn't press hospital staff on that issue. “I trusted them,” said Rodd Joseph, adding he would have asked for a different room or gone to a different hospital if he had any idea that legionella was present.

Rodd Joseph remembered a doctor coming in to tell him on May 10 that Ryland was engrafting faster than any patient he had ever seen.

“You're going to be out of here sooner than later,” he remembered the doctor saying.

But that prediction came true in a way that none of them had contemplated.

Within the next few days, Ryland began to quickly decline. He suffered high fevers and his oxygen saturation levels dropped. On May 14, he was moved into the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit. He went into organ failure and died on May 16.

Ryland's original death certificate would give the cause of death as “probable fungal sepsis.”

“They didn't know what it was,” said Rodd Joseph.

However, that conclusion would change as a result of the autopsy that the couple agreed to on the day their son died.

Both of the Josephs are law enforcement officers – Rodd is a sergeant with the Clearlake Police Department, Kellie is a detective with the Lake County Sheriff's Office – and so for them approving the autopsy was a “no brainer,” according to Rodd Joseph.

“We’re so thankful that we made that decision,” he said.

The results of the autopsy – which the couple received in the middle of July, two months after their son's death – concluded that he had died of legionnaire's disease, an ailment that is particularly dangerous for children, the elderly and those who are immunosuppressed.

In Ryland's case, he ticked two of those three boxes. Despite the successful bone marrow transplant, his immune system hadn't yet fully recovered from the chemotherapy, his father explained.

The Josephs didn't exactly know what to do with the information about Ryland's cause of death, but one action they took was to get Ryland's death certificate modified. Eventually it was changed to list the cause of death as legionella pneumophila pneumonia.

In thinking back on the situation, Kellie Joseph said she's disturbed that not only did their son become ill, but their daughter had been in the hospital to give bone marrow and so also was potentially exposed to the disease.

Rodd Joseph said he was angered to find out that the room where Ryland had been staying was reopened to other patients a short time after his death, before the cause of his death had been identified.

With the exception of time he had a central line implanted and when he was taken out of the room to go to the pediatric intensive care ward, Ryland spent almost a month in his room at UCSF Medical Center.

Legionnaire's has a two- to 14-day incubation period once exposed, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Thus, his parents and their attorneys allege that he had to have contracted it at the hospital.

Heisler said the child didn't have the bacteria when he arrived. “There's no way he could have gotten it anywhere else.”

The Josephs are puzzled about how he did get it, as they said they followed the hospital's instructions precisely and never used the room's shower.

Explaining legionnaire's disease

Since Ryland's death, his grieving parents have searched for answers, and have educated themselves about legionnaire's with the same vigor that they researched Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.

Legionella, the bacterium that causes legionnaire's disease and related conditions like Pontiac fever, is naturally occurring in the environment, particularly water. A CDC fact sheet said the bacteria grows best in warm water environments like hot tubs, hot water tanks, cooling towers and large plumbing systems.

The US Department of Labor's Office Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that there are 43 legionella species, of which 20 are linked to human diseases.

People contract legionnaire's disease by inhaling water that contains the bacteria, according to the CDC. It is not spread from person to person.

The first documented outbreak of legionnaire's – which gave the condition its name – occurred in 1976 at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia, according to the CDC.

Since then, outbreaks have taken place at hospitals, retirement homes and nursing facilities, hotels, resorts and, earlier this fall, even a brand new Santa Clara County crime lab. However, health officials say most cases are isolated and involve single patients.

Most people exposed to the bacteria don't become ill – only an estimated 5 percent of those exposed contract legionnaire's, according to OSHA.

The CDC estimates that every year in the United States there are between 8,000 and 18,000 people hospitalized with legionnaire's disease, of which only about 3,000 cases are reported to the CDC, which suggests the occurrence could be higher.

At the same time, OSHA reported that there are an estimated 25,000 cases of the illness nationwide each year, with more than 4,000 deaths resulting. That 15-percent fatality rate is said to be similar to other forms of pneumonia.

Health officials say legionnaire's disease is treatable with antibiotics.

According to California Department of Public Health surveillance records, legionella cases quadrupled between 2000 and 2010, rising from 57 to 222 cases statewide.

However, Lake County Public Health Officer Karen Tait questions if those numbers truly represent an increase in cases, or if they are more a result of increased reporting and more awareness of the disease.

“I think some of it is probably that,” she said of increased awareness.

Cora Hoover, MD, director of communicable disease control and prevention in the San Francisco Department of Public Health Population Health Division, was involved in the inquiry into the child's death. She said it's “entirely possible” that increased awareness and monitoring helps account for more cases.

However, she said she wouldn't speculate on the trend's ultimate cause. “I think the reasons for that increase aren't known,” she said. “You really need a long period of years to be confident that you're seeing a trend.”

Agencies investigate

Adler said that when the hospital learned the cause of the child's death, it immediately initiated an investigation, which included alerting the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the California Department of Public Health. The hospital also consulted with CDC in the investigation.

Tait confirmed that she also was “in the loop on the investigation” into that legionella case, and was included in conference calls that involved a variety of agencies taking part in the inquiry, adding there was a “tremendous effort” to investigate the case.

Because of privacy rules, she could neither confirm nor deny Ryland's individual legionnaire's diagnosis. However, she did say that the county had a confirmed case of legionella this year in a resident.

Because Tait and her office weren't directly involved in the investigation, she did not offer further comment on the case's particulars.

The CDC also was involved, but the agency said it was not in a lead role.

“The CDC’s involvement was limited,” CDC spokesperson Darlene Foote told Lake County News in an email.

Other agencies “led, and we assisted with lab support,” she said, referring Lake County News to state and local health departments for additional information.

Hoover told Lake County News that public health departments like the San Francisco Department of Public Health, by law, receive reports of communicable disease.

There is a standard list of those diseases that have to be reported. “Legionella is one of them,” she said.

Depending on what the agency thinks is the public health significance of the case, they do more or less intensive followup. In this case, Hoover said a team approach was taken due to it originally being reported as a “hospital-related” infection, which she was careful to qualify does not imply its ultimate cause or origin.

San Francisco Department of Public Health's role in the case was not that of investigator, with Hoover explaining that UCSF Medical Center conducted the investigation; rather, the agency's role was collaboration, advice and consultation. The department's involvement in the case has since concluded.

She said UCSF Medical Center followed the appropriate process by notifying her agency of the infection. There were conference calls on the case that involved San Francisco Department of Public Health officials, UCSF Medical Center, CDC and the California Department of Public Health.

Hoover said the hospital also was transparent with public health officials. “If there hadn't been such robust cooperation, that might have been an issue” with regard to the level of the agency's involvement.

As to whether the legionnaire's case was contracted at the hospital, Hoover said that information was beyond what she could share, and that it involved privacy issues about the patient's case. She added that, based on all of the agencies that came together, the conclusion about the infection's origin shouldn't be assumed.

She said San Francisco Department of Public Health worked with UCSF Medical Center on enhanced surveillance, although she didn't have the details of the measures the hospital is taking. The hospital also did not respond to Lake County News' request for information on any new prevention measures it has taken in the last six months.

Hoover cautioned against drawing conclusions that the infection was hospital-related based on UCSF Medical Center agreeing to enhanced surveillance. “No matter the conclusion, it's still a very appropriate next step.”

Lake County News asked Hoover if the hospital had previous legionella cases. She said it was her department's understanding that it had more more than 15 years since there had last been a legionella case at UCSF Medical Center. As such, health officials did not consider there to be a pattern.

This case also didn't rise to the level of an outbreak, she said, which would have required a whole other level of response.

“Really, the focus was how can we keep this from ever happening again,” she said.

When asked if there was a conclusion about how to prevent future cases, Hoover said she had trouble answering that and didn't have details about any changes that have been made to the hospital's procedures.

“We feel they responded appropriately,” she said.

Lake County News also contacted the California Department of Public Health regarding the investigation.

Spokesman Corey Egel confirmed that the agency initiated an investigation into the child's death on Aug. 27. The state investigation is now closed and the findings were released to the hospital on Nov. 14. Egel said there were no deficiencies issued against the hospital.

A copy of the one-page report, released to Lake County News, stated that the inspection was limited to the specific incident “and does not represent the findings of a full inspection of the facility.”

The California Department of Public Health had three officials – a health facilities evaluator nurse, medical consultant and an infection control consultant – involved, and “was unable to substantiate a violation of Federal or State regulations,” the document said.

When the California Department of Public Health receives a report from a facility pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 1279.1 referring to adverse events, or a written or oral complaint involving a licensed health facility that indicates an ongoing threat of imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, it conducts an investigation of the reports and/or complaints, Egel said.

He said the agency also investigates cases of reportable diseases or unusual occurrence reports that threaten the welfare, safety or health of patients, personnel or visitors.

In Ryland Joseph's case, the California Department of Public Health's Licensing and Certification program’s investigation did not include conducting bacterial testing in water and plumbing systems at the hospital, Egel said.

Instead, he said UCSF “provided information during the investigation that the hospital contracted with an outside consultant to examine the water and plumbing systems,” and he referred Lake County News to the hospital to seek the testing results.

The hospital did not respond to Lake County News' questions about the testing results, and Elder said the Josephs asked UCSF Medical Center to voluntarily provide their testing information, but they didn't. “They're not willing to play friendly,” he said.

Egel said the California Department of Public Health Licensing and Certification program does not have any record of any previous reports of Legionnaires’ disease at UCSF Medical Center until the Ryland Joseph case, which was reported in July.

However, a 1992 Los Angeles Times story reported that a child being treated for a brain tumor at the hospital died of legionnaire's disease, with legionella detected in the sinks of both rooms where the boy stayed.

Heisler maintains that the 1992 case was a confirmed case of legionella – it's referenced in the lawsuit – and he believes it occurred on the same floor where Ryland stayed. He and the Josephs also have information that there was another legionella case in the same room in 1998.

“There's a history there of people getting legionnaire's,” Heisler he said. However, the hospital has refused to let the Josephs or their attorneys come in to test for the bacteria.

The state and county worked with CDC on the report into the case, a copy of which still hasn't been given to the family and their attorneys, said Elder.

California Department of Public Health spokesman Ronald Owens told Lake County News that the agency's Licensing and Certification program is responsible for communicating the outcomes of the investigation at the licensed facilities to the complainant and licensee.

“Only if the family member filed the complaint, then they would receive the outcome of the investigation,” Owens said.

Solutions and next steps

According to Adler's statement, “No other hospital-acquired cases of Legionella infections have been identified at UCSF or in San Francisco in the past two years. All deaths at our hospitals over the past 16 months in severely immunocompromised pediatric and adult patients were reviewed, and none were identified as the result of Legionella infections.”

He said numerous water samples throughout the hospitals were tested and the results did not show evidence of legionella in the water supply.

“Legionella bacteria are found in all man-made water systems. The City and County of San Francisco, like most municipalities, treats water with monochloramine,” said Adler.

The hospital did not respond to Lake County News' request for clarification on Adler's statement in relation to whether the plumbing system – not just the water supply – had been tested.

The recently filed lawsuit, however, states, “defendant asserts that it had a reasonable inspection system of the building water system and accordingly exercised reasonable care in maintaining and operating said system.”

Heisler, however, questioned how Ryland came down with legionnaire's if the hospital had effective prevention measures in place.

Adler said UCSF Medical Center takes further steps to mitigate exposure, consistent with industry best practices. It has a dual approach, which includes continuously heating water to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and simultaneously monitoring the monochloramine levels in city water at the entry point to the UCSF campus.

“UCSF continues to use those practices, and is committed to implementing any additional preventive measures as appropriate to protect our patients and staff,” Adler said.

Both Heisler and Elder question the effectiveness of the practices the hospital said it is using.

Chlorinating, they said, is a method that doesn't always work. Copper-silver ionization, a disinfectant process which costs $100,000 in a large system like the hospital's, is a cutting edge way to treat water and the system, and it works.

“This is preventable,” said Elder.

Heisler said the goal of the case doesn't include seeking a particular monetary amount. “How do you put a value on the life of a 7-and-a-half-month-old child?”

As for the case's status, “We’re just starting,” said Elder, noting that it could take two years to get to trial due to the backlog in the San Francisco courts.

San Francisco County Superior Court records show that a March 26 case management conference has been scheduled in the case.

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. – The annual Lake County Burn Ban for 2013 will be lifted on Monday Dec. 16, 2013, with Cal Fire declaring an end to fire hazard season, according to Lake County Air Quality Management District.

Lake County’s joint Fire and air quality management district’s open burning program has incorporated both fire safety and air quality management since 1987. The district credits the program with greatly contributing Lake County's superior fire safety and air quality.

Burn permits are required for all burning in the Lake County air basin. Contact your local fire protection agency for a burn permit, or the Lake County Air Quality Management District to obtain a Smoke Management Plan.

A smoke management plan is required for all burns over 20 acres in size, multiday burns, standing vegetation burns, whole tree or vine removals over one acre, and other burns where significant smoke impacts may occur or sensitive receptors may be impacted.

A fee is required for all burn permits, payable at the time the permit is issued. Burn permits (agricultural and residential) and smoke management plans are $24, while land development/lot clearing burn permits are $72.

Only clean dry vegetation that was grown on the property may be burned. Residential burn permits require a one-acre or larger lot, a burn location that is located at least 100 feet from all neighbors, and a burn location at least 30 feet from any structure.

Lot clearing burns require special permits available at your local fire agency. Burn only the amount of material that can be completely consumed during the allowed burning hours. Read your burn permit carefully and follow all the conditions.

Each day of the burning season is designated as a “no burn day,” a “limited burn day” or an “extended burn day.”

On “no burn days” all open burning is prohibited, unless an economic exemption has been given for a specific burn. Contact the Lake County Air Quality Management District for details.

On all permissive burn days, burning is generally allowed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. only. Extended burn days allow burning during daylight hours for certain agricultural burn permit holders with specific approval for extended hours. Read your permit for allowed hours of burning.

You can determine the daily “burn day” status by calling the phone numbers found on your burn permit.

Consider using the vegetative waste pickup provided with your waste collection services or composting as an alternative to burning leaves.

Improper leaf burning can produce excessive smoke creating a health hazard and potentially a public nuisance. Contact your local fire safe council for chipping information.

For residents of the South Lake Fire Protection District, go to www.southlakefiresafecouncil.org or your local fire station. For all other areas of the county, call 707-263-4180, Extension 106, or your local fire station.

The law requires that an able-bodied adult supervise all fires. Burning even a small amount of illegal material can result in toxic ash and smoke that contain cancer-causing substances and contribute to other health problems.

Burning prohibited materials can also result in significant fines. Some people have smoke allergies and/or respiratory problems and their health is degraded by even small amounts of smoke.

Please be considerate of your neighbors. A permit does not allow you to create health problems for others and you can be liable for health care costs, fines and other costs resulting from your burning.

As arctic air and record cold sweeps across the USA, amateur astronomers are looking at their calendars with a degree of trepidation.

A date is circled: Dec. 14. And below it says: “Wake up at 4 a.m. for the Geminid meteor shower.”

“It's going to be cold,” said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. “But that is the best time to see the 2013 Geminid meteor shower.”

Geminids appear every year in mid-December when Earth passed through a stream of debris from “rock comet” 3200 Phaethon.

Typically more than 100 meteors per hour stream out of the radiant in the constellation Gemini when the shower peaks on Dec. 13 and 14.

There is a problem, however.

This year a nearly full Moon will reduce the number of visible meteors two- to threefold. Most of the shower's peak will suffer from lunar glare. Most, but not all.

“There is a 'magic hour' of good visibility just before dawn on Saturday the 14th,” said Cooke. “The moon sets around 4 a.m. The dark time between 4 a.m. and sunrise is a great time for meteor watching.”

On Friday the 13th, Cooke will host a live web chat about the Geminids. He and colleagues Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw from the Meteoroid Environment Office will be on hand to answer questions from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

They will also be broadcasting live images of the sky over the Marshall Space Flight Center. Cooke expects to see dozens of Geminids during the broadcast.

“The Geminid meteor shower is the most intense meteor shower of the year,” noted Cooke. “It is rich in fireballs and can be seen from almost any point on Earth. Even a bright moon won't completely spoil the show.”

Moreover, the debris stream from rock comet 3200 Phaethon is broad, so the shower is fairly active all the way from Dec. 12 through Dec. 16.

“If you miss the magic hour on Saturday morning, try looking on one of the adjacent nights,” Cooke said.

Whichever night you chose, the Geminids are going to be cold.

Bundle up and enjoy the show.

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The holidays can be a time of anxiety, regret, depression, despair, relationship and financial stress, and the crippling grief of bereavement that overshadow the beauty, harmony, peace and joy that are meant to characterize the season.

There are simple techniques based on Chinese acupuncture that can help relieve such difficulties.

Author and teacher Carolyn Wing Greenlee will be demonstrating meridian stress release techniques at a free workshop this Saturday, Dec. 14, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Mendocino College Round Room, 1005 Parallel Drive, Lakeport. Please bring a bottle of water with you.

Greenlee will host a second free workshop on Sunday, Dec. 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, 5340 Third St.

The Sunday workshop will add the elements of prayer and scripture to the healing techniques.

Are are welcome to both workshops.

NICE, Calif. – A sheriff's deputy arrested a Northshore man for possession of drugs and a stolen pickup following a Thursday vehicle stop.

Jason Paul Boyd, 40, of Nice was arrested after the stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

At 3:30 p.m. Thursday a K9 unit was traveling westbound on Highway 20 in Nice when the deputy noticed a black pickup traveling southbound on Butte Street that failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of Butte Street and Highway 20, Brooks said.

He said the deputy followed the pickup and requested Central Dispatch conduct a records check of the vehicle. Central Dispatch advised that the vehicle's registration had been expired since December 2012. The deputy noticed the license plate on the vehicle displayed a 2014 tag, which did not belong to it.

Brooks said the deputy conducted an enforcement stop of the vehicle and contacted the driver, who was identified as Boyd.

While speaking to Boyd, the deputy noticed he displayed signs and symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance, Brooks said.

The deputy deployed his canine partner to conduct an exterior sniff of the vehicle. As the canine approached the passenger door of the vehicle, she produced a positive alert, indicating there was the odor of a controlled substance present, according to Brooks.

Brooks said the deputy conducted a search of the vehicle and located approximately 2 pounds of processed marijuana, a digital scale and packaging material. Several oxycodone pills also were located in Boyd’s possession.

Boyd was arrested for possession of marijuana for sale, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and displaying a false registration tab. Brooks said Boyd was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

After Boyd was booked, Brooks said it was discovered that the pickup he was driving was stolen, but had not been reported at the time of the enforcement stop. The charge of possessing stolen property was added to his booking.

Boyd remained in custody Friday night, with bail set at $150,000, according to jail records.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

Christmas trees are a popular holiday decoration this time of year, but fire officials warn that Californians must take several steps to ensure they don’t become an increased fire hazard inside the home.

In mere seconds, a fire can spark and quickly engulf a Christmas tree.

“The holiday season brings an increase of hazards into the home,” said State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. “The key to a safe Christmas tree is keeping it watered and away from heat sources.”

Christmas tree safety begins when you purchase your tree.

When selecting a tree from a sales lot, do the “tap test”: lift the tree up and tap it on the ground. If any needles fall off, it’s already too dry and you should look for another tree.

Cut trees can need as much as a gallon of water a day to help keep them from drying out too fast. Having your tree located too close to heat sources dries the tree quicker, making it a greater fire hazard.

Here are some additional fire safety tips:

• Choose a fresh tree with green needles.
• Recut the trunk at least two inch above the old cut as soon as you get it home. This allows it to continue to pull moisture into its foliage.
• Keep the trunk in water immediately after it is recut. Moisture is the key to keeping the tree fresh and thereby enhancing its fire resistance. If the tree will be kept outside for a few days, stand it in a bucket of water until you are ready to bring it indoors.
• Check the water levels daily. Never let the water level go below the bottom of the trunk. Commercial floral preservatives can also be added to the water to help keep the tree fresh.
• Locate any tree at least 3 feet away from sources of heat. Avoid placing any tree, live or artificial, near a heater outlet, wood stove or fireplace. If tree does dry out and become a hazard remove it from the home even if it's not yet Christmas. Its not worth the risk.
• Never place tree where it blocks exits.
• Use only UL approved and properly operating/maintain lights on trees. Don't overload outlets or light sets by connecting too many together. Use multiplug circuit type plug to prevent heat build up.
• Remove the tree immediately after the holidays. Even a properly cared for live tree will eventually die. Take it to a recycle center or leave for your refuse collector.

For more Christmas tree and holiday decoration fire safety tips visit the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov .

Chief Pimlott and the men and women of Cal Fire wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For those looking to give the gift of a home to a new four-legged friend this holiday season, Lake County Animal Care and Control is discounting adoption rates.

From now through Dec. 23, Animal Care and Control is waiving the county portion of the animal adoption fee, according to Director Bill Davidson.

Davidson said waiving the fee reduces the overall cost by $30 for dogs and $20 for cats.

Adoption costs are as follows:

Dogs:

• Males: $121
• Females, under 60 pounds: $131
• Females, over 60 pounds: $146 (price is higher due to increased costs of spaying larger dogs)

Cats:

• Males: $76
• Females: $86

Overall adoption costs include spaying and neutering, microchipping and vaccinations – including rabies, if the animal is old enough – and the county dog license. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

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.

Researchers from Brown University and the University of Hawaii have found some mineralogical surprises in the Moon's largest impact crater.

Data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter shows a diverse mineralogy in the subsurface of the giant South Pole Aitken basin.

The differing mineral signatures could be reflective of the minerals dredged up at the time of the giant impact 4 billion years ago, the researchers say.

If that's true, then the South Pole Aitken (SPA) basin could hold important information about the Moon's interior and the evolution of its crust and mantle.

The study, led by Brown graduate student Dan Moriarty, is published in online early view in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

At 2,500 kilometers across, the SPA is the largest impact basin on the Moon and perhaps the largest in the solar system. Impacts of this size turn tons of solid rock into molten slush.

It has been assumed generally that the melting process would obliterate any distinct signatures of preexisting mineralogical diversity through extensive mixing, but this latest research suggests that might not be the case.

The study looked at smaller craters within the larger SPA basin made by impacts that happened millions of years after the giant impact that formed the basin. Those impacts uncovered material from deep within the basin, offering important clues about what lies beneath the surface.

Specifically, the researchers looked at the central peaks of four craters within the basin. Central peaks form when material under the impact zone rebounds, forming an upraised rock formation in the middle of the crater. The tops of those peaks represent pristine material from below the impact zone.

Using Moon Mineralogy Mapper data, the researchers looked at the light reflected from each of the four central peaks.

The spectra of reflected light give scientists clues about the makeup of the rocks. The spectra showed substantial differences in composition from peak to peak. Some crater peaks were richer in magnesium than others.

One of the four craters, located toward the outer edge of the basin, contained several distinct mineral deposits within its own peak, possibly due to sampling a mixture of both upper and lower crust or mantle materials.

The varying mineralogy in these central peaks suggests that the SPA subsurface is much more diverse than previously thought.

“Previous studies have suggested that all the central peaks look very similar, and that was taken as evidence that everything's the same across the basin,” Moriarty said. “We looked in a little more detail and found significant compositional differences between these central peaks. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper has very high spatial and spectral resolution. We haven't really been able to look at the Moon in this kind of detail before.”

The next step is figuring out where that diversity comes from.

It's possible that the distinct minerals formed as the molten rock from the SPA impact cooled. Recent research from Brown and elsewhere suggests that such mineral formation in impact melt is possible.

However, it's also possible that the mineral differences reflect differences in rock types that were there before the giant SPA impact.

Moriarty is currently undertaking a much larger survey of SPA craters in the hope of identifying the source of the diversity.

If indeed the diversity reflects preexisting material, the SPA could hold important clues about the composition of the Moon's lower crust and mantle.

“If you do the impact scaling from models, [the SPA impact] should have excavated into the mantle,” Moriarty said. “We think the upper mantle is rich in a mineral called olivine, but we don't see much olivine in the basin. That's one of the big mysteries about the South Pole Aitken basin. So one of the things we're trying to figure out is how deep did the impact really excavate. If it melted and excavated any material from the mantle, why aren't we seeing it?”

If the impact did excavate mantle material, and it doesn't contain olivine, that would have substantial implications for models of how the Moon was formed, Moriarty said.

Much more research is needed to begin to answer those larger questions. But this initial study helps raise the possibility that some of the original mantle mineralogy, if excavated, may be preserved in the Moon's largest impact basin.

Carle Pieters, professor of geological sciences at Brown, and Peter Isaacson from the University of Hawaii were also authors on the paper.

The work was supported by NASA's Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research (LASER) program and the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's two members of the House of Representatives voted on Thursday in favor of a bipartisan federal budget bill.

Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and John Garamendi (D-Fairfield) cast votes in favor of House Joint Resolution 59, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013.

The resolution passed by a bipartisan vote of 332-94. It now goes to the Senate where it is expected to be voted on next week.

This legislation is a result of the deal struck by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA).

It legislation sets concrete spending levels for the next two fiscal years, partially replaces across-the-board sequestration cuts mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act and helps restore some needed funding to research, infrastructure, education, and support for struggling Americans, and makes it more likely that vital missions at Travis and Beale Air Force bases will be preserved.

The budget compromise also prevents a government shutdown for upwards of two years.

“This bipartisan budget deal doesn’t include everything I want, nor does it include everything Republicans want. It’s a compromise and both sides had to give,” said Thompson.

“While this deal is far from perfect, it provides our country with fiscal stability, allowing us to avert another costly government shutdown, and it eases the job-killing, across the board sequestration cuts,” Thompson said. “Now we need to build on this modest compromise and focus on finding a long-term budget solution that lowers our debt and deficit by creating jobs, growing our economy, cutting spending, and requiring everyone to pay their fair share.”

He added, “We also need to extend unemployment insurance since the House Majority refused to include an extension in today’s budget deal. Cutting off these benefits hurts families, is bad for our communities and our economy. That is why I have co-authored separate legislation extending these important benefits for one year.”

“This bipartisan compromise earned my support because it rolls back some of the job destroying sequester cuts that are holding back American businesses and workers,” said Garamendi. “More jobs will exist with this deal than without it. That being said, this agreement is woefully inadequate and uninspiring in vision.”

Garamendi said he is disturbed that the deal fails to extend unemployment insurance for Americans who are still struggling to find a job in a tough economy, and he thinks Congress should act on a comprehensive jobs package to expand the recovery to more hardworking Americans.

Last Friday, Congressman Garamendi held a Job Fair in Solano County in the 3rd Congressional District, where 971 people, including 146 veterans, waited in line in the cold for a chance at a job. Many of those jobseekers will lose their unemployment coverage on Dec. 28 without immediate Congressional action.

“At my job fair last week, I met hundreds of people who just want a chance at a job. People on unemployment insurance want to work; the jobs just aren’t available,” Garamendi added. “This Congress needs to extend unemployment insurance and develop a comprehensive jobs package, including Make It In America policies to rebuild American manufacturing, to make this economy work for everyone willing and able to contribute. The middle class is forged by an investment in manufacturing, advanced research, infrastructure, and job skills.”

Congressman Garamendi joined 165 other House Democrats in signing a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to allow a vote on a one-year extension of the unemployment benefits extension scheduled to expire on Dec. 28.

He believes such an extension has majority support in the House, but it requires action by the Republican leadership to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. However, this did not happen.

As reported by the Washington Post, in recessions in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, federal aid for the unemployed did not end until the long term unemployment rate had dropped to around 1.3 percent. It is currently around 2.6 percent.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Wreath-laying ceremonies to honor veterans at rest in five Lake County cemeteries will take place this Saturday, Dec. 14.

The commemorations will be held beginning at 9 a.m. sharp at Hartley Cemetery, 2552 Hill Road East, Lakeport; Upper Lake Cemetery, 780 Clover Valley Road; Kelseyville Cemetery, 3375 Bell Hill Road; Lower Lake Cemetery, 9040 Lake St.; and St. Mary’s Cemetery, 3280 Hopland Road/Highway 175, outside of Lakeport.

A total of 1,200 wreaths will be placed on grave sites at the five cemeteries.

Youth organizations and veteran organizations have volunteered to conduct the Wreaths Across America Ceremony this year.

Seven ceremonial wreaths will be placed to remember all soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served, honor their sacrifices, and teach younger generations about the high cost of freedom.

The Wreaths Across America’s mission is to “Remember, Honor and Teach”: Remember the fallen, honor those who serve including their families who sacrifice, and teach children the cost of the freedoms we enjoy each day.

Take an hour amid the hustle and bustle of this holiday season to attend one of these very special ceremonies that will be performed by members from Boy Scout Troops, Cub Scouts, Girl Scout Troops, Sea Scouts, 4-H, Royal Rangers, K-Corp and FFA.

On behalf of Wreaths Across America, Lakeport Boy Scout Troop 42, Kelseyville Boy Scout Troop 45, Lower Lake 4-H, and Upper Lake FFA thank the community for its sponsorships and for joining them in the Wreaths Across America mission.

Above all they thank our veterans, active military and their families for their sacrifices to preserve our freedoms. At many homes, there is an empty seat for one who is serving, or one who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

So bundle up and join them as they express appreciation for our veterans during this holiday season.

Visit Wreaths Across America – Lake County's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wreaths-Across-America-Lake-County/103251736433906 , or go www.wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information.