LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The board of directors of the Lake County Wine Alliance invites nonprofit organizations, agencies and programs in Lake County to apply for a share of the proceeds from the 2011 Lake County Wine Auction.

The 12th annual benefit will be held on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Ceago Vinegarden, on Clear Lake’s Northshore.

Applications must be postmarked or submitted online by March 1.

Seventeen nonprofit organizations, including agencies, programs and high schools, received $60,100 from the proceeds of the 2010 wine auction held last September at Ceago.

Awards are made in the fields of the arts, health services and the community.

The Wine Alliance has contributed $831,765 in proceeds to Lake County groups since the inception of the annual charity event in 2000.

Proceeds include ticket sales, donations from sponsorships, live and silent auction income, and sales of special edition, fine art posters by Lake County artist John R. Clarke.

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

Other Lake County and regional businesses provide support through sponsorships.

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

The Wine Alliance is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization of Lake County wineries, winegrape growers, and business and community supporters that annually presents the wine auction as a fundraising charity benefit.

Applications for funding may be obtained from the Wine Alliance Web site, www.winealliance.org, or by contacting Judy Luchsinger, chair of the Beneficiaries committee, at 707-263-3280, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Lake County Wine Alliance may be contacted by phone, 866-279-9463, or by mail to P.O. Box 530, Kelseyville, CA 95451.

Members of the Wine Alliance board are Margaret Walker-Stimmel, president; Marie Beery, vice president; Rob Roumiguiere, treasurer; and Kaj Ahlmann, Judy Luchsinger, Wilda Shock, and Janet Thompson, directors. Honorary chairman of the 2011 event is businessman Bill Brunetti of Lakeport.

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This spring, though an exact date is not yet set, TRICARE coverage will be made available to young adult military dependents out to the age 26, and that extra coverage will be available retroactively to Jan. 1 this year.

But for this expansion in TRICARE coverage, by as much as three to five years, these young adult dependents will have to pay a premium set high enough to cover the entire cost of the program.

The exact charge is not yet known but unofficial estimates have ranged from $1,400 to $2,400 a year or about $116 to $200 a month.

The bottom line is that Congress didn’t achieve for military families what was gained for other American families, at least on adult dependent coverage, through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The armed services committees rejected adding young adult coverage as just another subsidized feature of the TRICARE benefit. Doing so would have added $300 million a year to the burgeoning cost of military healthcare.

In debating national health reform in 2009, opponents had argued that a superior TRICARE program should not be impacted in any way. Only later was it noted that military families were left behind on the coverage of dependent children out to age 26. Dependent TRICARE coverage still ended when a child turned 21 or, if attending college full-time, at age 23.

With passage of the Affordable Care Act, some health insurance plans began last summer to offer children coverage out to 26. Others had to do so by mid-September or by this January, the next open season for beneficiaries, like federal civilian employers, to choose from among health insurance plans.

The cost of children coverage out to age 26 has been transparent to beneficiaries under most civilian insurance plans though it’s a safe bet they have begun to pay for it. But the cost will be very visible to the military.

Premiums under the TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) option are “in the process of being approved by DoD leadership,” said Austin Camacho, a spokesman for the TRICARE Management Activity headquartered in Falls Church, Va. “In general, the full-cost premiums will be based on the historical cost of TRICARE claims for a similarly aged cohort.”

TRICARE projects a modest “take rate” the first year of six percent – about 14,000 youth – out of an eligible population of 233,000 dependents.

By contrast, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that expanded dependent coverage to age 26 under national health reform will make health insurance available to 1.2 million more young adults.

Most of these families are under large group plans. HHS estimates that adding these children has bumped premium costs by an average of 0.7 percent, assuming the costs are spread across all plan participants. That means an increase in premiums only of roughly $62 to $149 a year.

Congress didn’t have that same option of spreading the cost of dependent coverage to age 26 across the entire military community, in part because parents who are active duty members now pay nothing for their health care and no one wanted to see that changed.

Even HHS officials concede that expanding dependent coverage out to age 26 does carry significant costs for some civilian families, a relatively small number who are under “non-group” health insurance policies.

HHS said enrolling these children – “about 75,000 in 2011 in non-group market of insurance plans” – will raise their annual premiums an average of $2,360 in 2011 and by $2,400 in 2012.

“To a large extent, premiums in the non-group market are individually underwritten, and … most of the premium cost will be borne by the parents who are purchasing the policy to which their child is added,” HHS officials explained. That situation echoes what military families will face.

Some military associations have blasted the premiums expected under the TYA program. Proponents on Capitol Hill argue TYA still will be more affordable than many commercial health insurance plans for young adults and TRICARE will provide more comprehensive coverage.

TYA coverage, at least initially, will be limited to TRICARE Standard or Extra.

Standard is the military’s fee-for-service option. It has no enrollment fee but families pay a deductible and face cost shares on treatment costs. But they can choose their doctor from an authorized list. TRICARE Extra offers discounts for narrowing doctor choices to the TRICARE network.

TRICARE Prime is the managed care option. It will be available under TYA at some later time, officials said.

To quality for TYA, young adults can’t be married or have access to employer-sponsored health coverage.

Applications will be submitted to their regional TRICARE contractor. They must agree to pay monthly premiums by credit card or electronic fund transfer from a checking or savings account.

When final regulations are published, dependents who want coverage back to Jan. 1 merely will have to pay back premiums and file retroactive claims. In the interim, they should use only TRICARE-authorized providers and save their medical receipts.

RAISING TRICARE FEES – Defense Secretary Robert Gates will ask Congress one more time to approve a “modest” raise in TRICARE fees for working-age military retirees, which would be the first increase in 15 years.

Gates only briefly outlined of his plan for TRICARE while announcing a lengthy series of department cost-savings initiatives, organization reforms and program cancellations to impose tighter controls on defense spending.

But Gates wants fees raised for retirees under age 65 and their families. He also wants their TRICARE fees raised automatically in future years to keep pace with medical inflation.

He noted that these retirees drawing “full pensions” while working in second careers and many are turning down employer-provided health insurance to use TRICARE. Meanwhile, federal civilian and private sector employees have seen health insurance costs “rise dramatically.”

Gates said his plan for health care, to be unveiled this month, would save the department nearly $7 billion over the next five years.

To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.

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A conjunction of the Moon and NanoSail-D over Buenos Aires, Argentina, photographed by Enzo De Bernardini on Jan. 27. On this occasion, the sail was not visible to the unaided eye. De Bernardini used a 3-inch refracting telescope to capture the 7th-magnitude streak.

It's a calm and peaceful night. Stars twinkle in the velvety darkness overhead as a distant plane blinks silently on the horizon. You could almost hear a pin drop.

That is, until the flare.

High overhead, out of the darkness, a bright light surges into view. For five to 10 seconds it outshines the brightest stars in the sky, mimicking a supernova, perhaps even casting faint shadows at your feet. The silence is broken by your own excited shouts.

Could this happen to you?

“It could, if you happen to be outside when NanoSail-D flies by,” said Dean Alhorn of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. “We think the spacecraft could produce this kind of display from time to time when sunlight glints off the reflective fabric of its solar sail.”

On Jan. 21, NanoSail-D unfurled a 10 m2 sail 650 km above Earth's surface, becoming the first solar sail to orbit our planet.

For the next few months it will skim the top of the atmosphere, slowly descending in a test of “drag sails” as a means of de-orbiting space junk.

If all goes as planned, the spacecraft will disintegrate like a meteor in April or May of 2011, dispersing harmlessly more than 100 km high.

Meanwhile, sky watchers should be alert for flares.

Many people have already seen Iridium flares – brilliant flashes of sunlight glinting off the flat antennas of Iridium communication satellites.

Some Iridium flares are so bright, they can be seen in broad daylight. NanoSail-D could be even brighter.

“The surface area of our sail is six times greater than that of a single Iridium antenna,” pointed out Alhorn. “Plus, we're closer to Earth. It all adds up to a much brighter flash.”

As NanoSail-D gets closer to Earth, it could theoretically produce flashes of light 10 to 100 times (2.5 to 5 astronomical magnitudes) brighter than the planet Venus. That's the sort of thing you can see even through city lights.

In between flares, however, the sail is fairly dim. Internationally-recognized satellite tracking expert Ted Molczan describes what he and others have been seeing:

“NanoSail-D can be a challenging object to spot, but by no means impossible,” said Alhorn. “At its faintest, it has been invisible even in large binoculars, but at its brightest, it has been seen easily with the un-aided eye. The great variation in brightness is due to its shape; it is a large, thin sheet of highly reflective material. Seen edge-on, it is faint, but seen face-on at a favorable sun-angle, it may rival the brightest stars.”

The reason for Iridium flares. Credit: SeeSat-L.

NanoSail-D flyby predictions may be found in several places on the Web: Heavens-Above, Spaceweather.com and Calsky among others. These sites will tell you when the sail will soar overhead – but not when it will flare. The orientation of the sail isn't known precisely enough for that.

“Because it is impossible to predict exactly when NanoSail-D will be bright, observers can increase their chance of success by watching over a period of least several minutes,” said Molczan. “A plot of its predicted path on a star chart, with annotations of the time at intervals of one minute or so, will help the observer stay focused on the satellite's approximate position as it moves across the sky. Observe with the unaided eye, or binoculars with a wide field of view, like 7x50s.”

The brightest flares are likely to occur when the spacecraft is near the horizon. Former NanoSail-D principal investigator Mark Whorton (previously at NASA, now at Teledyne) explains why.

“Early in the mission NanoSail-D will be tumbling, so it really doesn't matter where it is in the sky. Flashes might occur almost anywhere along its path,” said Whorton. “But later in the mission it will be aerodynamically stabilized: the flat surface of the sail will face forward, much like the sail on a terrestrial sailing ship. That means you will see it edge on (dim) when it is directly overhead and face on (bright) when it is closer to the horizon.”

So check the predictions, go outside and take a look. Said Alhorn, “You might see something worth shouting about.”

To encourage amateur astronomers to monitor the sail, NASA and Spaceweather.com have joined forces to stage a photo contest.

Cash prizes ranging from $100 to $500 are being offered for best images of NanoSail-D submitted between now and the time the sail disintegrates. High-resolution telescopic images of the spacecraft, wide-angle shots of NanoSail-D soaring overhead, and lucky-shots of flares are all eligible. Visit www.nanosail.org for complete details.

Visit the NanoSail-D home page at www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/nanosaild.html .

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

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A conjunction of the Moon and NanoSail-D over Buenos Aires, Argentina, photographed by Enzo De Bernardini on Jan. 27. On this occasion, the sail was not visible to the unaided eye. De Bernardini used a 3-inch refracting telescope to capture the 7th-magnitude streak.

SACRAMENTO – In the latest in a series of measures taken to address the state's fiscal crisis, on Tuesday Gov. Jerry Brown today issued a hiring freeze across state government.

“We have a $25 billion deficit, and we must do everything possible to save money and make government leaner and more efficient,” Brown said.

The hiring freeze is comprehensive, applying to vacant, seasonal and full and part-time positions.

It prohibits hiring outside contractors to compensate for the hiring freeze, converting part-time positions into full-time positions and transferring employees between agencies and departments.

This action is part of Brown’s efforts to save money this fiscal year and to cut $363 million in operational costs next fiscal year.

“The hiring freeze will be in effect until agencies and departments prove that they can achieve these savings,” Brown said.

The order allows for limited exemptions, subject to the approval of the Governor’s Office.

It permits agencies to fill positions that are critical to public safety, revenue collection and other core functions, in cases where these essential duties cannot be carried out at current staffing levels.

Examples include positions that provide hands-on patient support in 24-hour care facilities and those that respond to emergencies, disasters or other life-threatening situations.

The order will not prevent Brown from making senior-level appointments as he forms his new administration.

Earlier this year, Brown issued executive orders to cut state cell phones and the passenger vehicle fleet by 50 percent.

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SAN FRANCISCO – With millions of sharks killed annually only for their fins, new legislation is seeking to offer extra measures to stop the practice and protect the ocean's delicate food web.

Protection of sharks and ocean ecosystems is the focus of the new legislation introduced on Monday by Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Mountain View) and Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael).

Fong announced the legislation, AB 376, at a press event held Monday morning at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

He was accompanied by famed shark expert Dr. John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences. McCosker has spoken out before on the need to discourage the shark fin soup market and legislate against shark finning.

AB 376 seeks to reduce the demand for shark fins by targeting the market for fins in California, which reportedly has one of the largest markets for shark fins outside of Asia.

It would ban the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in the state, which is meant to close a major enforcement loophole in existing law.

Should this law pass, California would become the second state to ban the possession and sale of shark fins, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Hawaii enacted similar protections in July 2010 and similar legislation is now pending in the legislatures of Guam, Oregon and Washington.

“While shark finning is illegal in the U.S., consumption of shark fin soup in California contributes to shark finning in other parts of the world, a practice that is driving numerous shark populations to the brink of extinction, said Dr. Geoff Shester,” California Program Director at Oceana. “This bill will help reduce pressure on shark populations globally by ending the demand for shark fins in California.”

President Obama recently signed the Shark Conservation Act, which will crack down on the lucrative and abusive trade in shark fins and close critical loopholes in the federal law to improve enforcement, such as requiring boats to land sharks with their fins still attached.

The group Shark Savers reported that up to 73 million sharks are killed annually for their fins, with some shark populations declining by as much as 90 percent as a result.

Shark finning involves fishermen slicing off a live shark’s fins while at sea. The sharks are then thrown back into the water to die. Without fins, sharks will bleed to death, drown or are eaten by other species.

Experts report that removing sharks from ocean ecosystems can destabilize these systems and even lead to reductions in populations of other species, including commercially-caught fish and shellfish species lower in the food web.

Sharks are apex predators whose survival affects all other marine species and the oceans’ ecosystems. Unlike other fish species, sharks produce few pups, and thus, many species are endangered and/or threatened due to the fin trade.

Fins are currently being imported to the U.S. from countries with few or even no shark protections in place, Oceana reported.

“Thanks to Assemblymembers Fong and Huffman, California has the opportunity to send sharks a valentine and lead our country internationally in helping to balance the world's ecology and environment,” said Jennifer Fearing, California senior state director for The HSUS. “We must cease the senseless and cruel slaughter of one of the great predators of the world's oceans."

Oceana and several other groups including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Ocean Conservancy, WildAid and the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance, praised the introduction of the bill and commended the legislators for their efforts to protect species that have been swimming the world’s oceans for more than 400 million years.

Not commending Fong and Huffman was state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), who gathered with Chinese restaurateurs on Monday to decry what they said was an attack on cultural cuisine.

“I am very concerned with the plight of many shark species and the illegal shark fining trade,” Yee said. “That is why I support the federal law that bans the practice of killing sharks only for their fins and I would support state legislation to strengthen it. I would also support legislation to create greater penalties for and enforcement of illegally killing sharks or selling any product from an endangered species.”

But Yee said the proposed law to ban all shark fins from consumption “is the wrong approach and an unfair attack on Asian culture and cuisine.” He said some sharks are well-populated and many can and should be sustainably fished.

He called it the “latest assault on Asian cultural cuisine,” pointing to his fight last week against a proposal at the California Fish and Game Commission that would have banned frog and turtle consumption.

“I had to pass legislation last year just to allow for the production of Asian rice noodles, and similar bills were needed to allow for Korean rice cakes,” he said. “There have also been previous efforts to end live food markets, roasted duck, and several other cultural staples.”

AB 376 will be heard in policy committee in March.

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According to HUD and VA's assessment, nearly 76,000 veterans were homeless on a given night in 2009 while roughly 136,000 veterans spent at least one night in a shelter during that year.

This unprecedented assessment is based on an annual report HUD provides to Congress and explores in greater depth the demographics of veterans who are homeless, how the number of veterans compare to others who are homeless, and how veterans access and use the nation's homeless response system.

HUD's report, “Veteran Homelessness: A Supplement to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress,” www.hudhre.info/documents/2009AHARVeteransReport.pdf, examines the data in the department's annual report to Congress in-depth.

“With our federal, state and community partners working together, more veterans are moving into safe housing,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “But we're not done yet. Providing assistance in mental health, substance abuse treatment, education and employment goes hand-in-hand with preventive steps and permanent supportive housing. We continue to work towards our goal of finding every Veteran safe housing and access to needed services.”

Last June, President Obama announced the nation's first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, including a focus on homeless Veterans.

The report, “Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness,” puts the country on a path to end Veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015; and to ending homelessness among children, family, and youth by 2020.

Read more at www.usich.gov/PDF/OpeningDoorsOverview.pdf .

Key findings of the study

More than 3,000 cities and counties reported 75,609 homeless veterans on a single night in January of 2009; 57 percent were staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program while the remaining 43 percent were unsheltered.

Veterans represent approximately 12 percent of all homeless persons counted nationwide during the 2009 “point-in-time snapshot.”

During a 12-month period in 2009, an estimated 136,000 veterans-or about 1 in every 168 veterans-spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.

The vast majority of sheltered homeless veterans (96 percent) experienced homelessness alone while a much smaller share (four percent) was part of a family.

Sheltered homeless veterans are most often individual white men between the ages of 31 and 50 and living with a disability.

Low-income veterans are twice as likely to become homeless compared to all low-income adults. HUD and VA also examined the likelihood of becoming homeless among American veterans with particular demographic characteristics.

In 2009, twice as many poor Hispanic veterans used a shelter at some point during the year compared with poor non-Hispanic veterans. African American veterans in poverty had similar rates of homelessness.

Most veterans who used emergency shelter stayed for only brief periods. One-third stayed in shelter for less than one week; 61 percent used a shelter for less than one month; and 84 percent stayed for less than three months.

The report also concluded that veterans remained in shelters longer than did non-veterans.

In 2009, the median length of stay for veterans who were alone was 21 days in an emergency shelter and 117 days in transitional housing.

By contrast, non-veteran individuals stayed in an emergency shelter for 17 days and 106 days in transitional housing.

Nearly half of homeless veterans were located in California, Texas, New York and Florida while only 28 percent of all veterans were located in those same four states.

The report studied the path homeless veterans take into the shelter system and found most veterans come from another homeless location and few entered the shelter system from their own housing or from housing provided by family or friends.

Sheltered homeless veterans are far more likely to be alone rather than part of a family household; 96 percent of veterans are individuals compared to 63 percent in the overall homeless population.

For more information on VA's efforts to end homelessness among veterans, visit VA's Web page at www.va.gov/homelessness.

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California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Adams, 24, was killed in a head-on collision near Piercy, Calif., on Tuesday, February 15, 2011. Photo courtesy of the CHP.

MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol officer died Tuesday in Mendocino County following a head-on collision.

Officer Thomas Adams, 24, sustained fatal injuries following a head-on collision shortly before 2:30 p.m. on US-101, just south of Piercy, the CHP reported.

Adams is the sixth CHP officer to die in the line of duty since last May, according to CHP records.

On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown honored the young officer.

“Anne and I join all Californians in offering our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Officer Thomas Adams,” Brown said.

“Thomas spent the last two years as a Highway Patrol officer keeping Californians safe from the Bay Area to the Northern Coast,” Brown said. “His courage, service and sacrifice will not be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers are with those grieving this tragic loss.”

Adams is survived by his parents, Bruce and Karen.

In honor of Officer Adams, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff, the governor's office reported.

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A small vegetation fire caused by a mower broke out Sunday in the Hill Road area of north Lakeport.

The fire was reported at about 2:30 p.m., according to radio reports.

Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells said the fire – which had headed for a small stand of eucalyptus trees – was quickly contained at about three-tenths of an acre.

“The weather's working on our side right now,” Wells said.

Lakeport Fire, Kelseyville Fire and Northshore Fire each sent one engine, Wells said.

Wells said the fire's cause was attributed to a man using a flail mower in the area. He said it's believed the mower's metal blades may have hit a stump, sparking the blaze.

He said there was no property damage.

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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Fire officials are investigating the cause of a wildland fire that burned near Blue Lakes on Friday.

Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Pat Brown said the 20-acre wildland fire was located above Blue Lakes in a very steep area that runs along the Lake and Mendocino county lines.

Brown said Northshore Fire and Cal Fire responded to the fight the fire.

He said Cal Fire had two engines, two hand crews, one bulldozer, a helicopter and a battalion chief, while Northshore Fire responded with two engines and a battalion chief.

Brown said firefighters had very limited access to the scene due to road conditions. He said there were springs running over the road area as well as downed trees.

Northshore Fire's engines had to use their winches on the apparatus to gain access, Brown said.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Four people went to the hospital Sunday evening following a crash at a busy Clearlake intersection.

The collision occurred at approximately 8:17 p.m. at Highway 53 at Dam Road, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

Grace LeBlanc, 54, of Clearlake was driving a 1994 red Dodge Caravan and, according to the report, appears to have gone through a red light.

The Caravan hit a gray 2002 Dodge Durango driven by 31-year-old Leslie Bellah of Kelseyville, Joseph said.

Joseph said Bellah and her two passengers – one adult and one child – were transported by Lake County Fire Protection District to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for treatment. Also transported was LeBlanc, who was traveling alone.

He said both vehicles were towed.

“The investigation's ongoing,” Joseph said.

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Artichokes are the immature buds of a plant in the thistle family. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Oh, prickly globe of humble leaf

Grown on ocean cliffs so steep

You woo us with your inner heart

Your thorns shock fingers like a dart

We seek you for your tasty flesh

And love you when you’re on our dish

We dig through leaves for our reward,

That tender disc which thorns do guard

Oh, artichoke, how you please!

With oil, butter, or mayonnaise

We peel a leaf, we take a bite

(What’s left behind does look a sight!)

Oh, artichoke, you’re worth the time

It takes to eat your parts sublime

You make for us a mighty feast

With heart, and each and every leaf

Groaning aside, the artichoke is a vegetable worthy of an ode, don’t you think? It’s mysterious, after all, as well as metaphorical and unique.

As to mystery, who ate the first one? What prompted that curious soul to look past the thorns and discover tasty flesh inside?

Its thorny leaves and tender heart evoke endless metaphors:

You can’t judge a book by its cover.

Good things take time.

Life unfolds like the leaves of an artichoke.

One must dig deep for hidden treasure.

A thorny exterior belies a tender heart within.

Patience wins all.

And its uniqueness speaks for itself. There is no other vegetable quite like it.

Almost 100 percent of the U.S. artichoke crop is cultivated in California, with Monterey County – specifically Castroville and surrounding areas – accounting for a whopping 75 percent of it. Apparently the moderate coastal clime of that area and its fog-shrouded fields bode well for its growth.

Not surprisingly, Castroville, which has hosted an artichoke festival since 1956, has been dubbed the artichoke capital of the world.

And the town has an additional, if lesser known, claim to fame: Marilyn Monroe, then a barely recognizable starlet, was crowned Castroville’s artichoke queen in 1948.

Artichoke plants are large, with spiny, arching, ferny leaves that spread to up to 6 feet in diameter and stalks that grow to about three or four feet in height.

Edible artichokes are officially known as globe artichokes, and there are a number of varieties in varying sizes and shades of green and purple.

The part we eat is actually an immature bud which develops in various sizes depending on which part of the stalk it resides. The largest artichokes grow at the top of the stalk, medium ones grow from side shoots, and “baby” (or petite) artichokes grow at the base of the stalk hidden in the leaves.

“Baby” artichokes are fully mature but of a smaller size. The fuzzy portion near the heart doesn’t develop on them, making them easier to prepare.

If the buds are allowed to mature, they flower into a violet, thistle-like bloom, appropriate for this member of the thistle group of the sunflower family.

Artichokes grow wild in southern Europe and northern Africa and were first developed for cultivation in Sicily, Italy. They were later cultivated by the African Moors near Granada, Spain in about 800 A.D.

It was Spanish settlers who brought them to California in the 1600s, but they didn’t achieve popularity here until more than three centuries later, in the 1920s.

They were mentioned in the literature of the Greeks and Romans as far back as 77 A.D. In fact, shortly before his death, Pliny the Elder, an oft-quoted Roman author and naturalist, said they were one of “earth’s monstrosities.” Clearly he wasn’t a fan.

Artichokes contain more than nine powerful antioxidants that contribute to our health in a diverse array of ways, from promoting cardiovascular health to inhibiting the growth of cancer cells to aiding in the regeneration of liver tissue.

They’re also full of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium.

The best artichokes are globes that are heavy for their size with tight leaves. Don’t choose those that are dry looking or turning brown. If leaves are open, it means the artichoke is past its prime.

Artichokes may be stored in your fridge in a plastic bag, unwashed, for up to four days.

Before using, wash artichokes well, and if home grown, be sure to tap them upside down in the sink. This helps remove any critters that may have made the leaves their home.

Artichokes are most commonly steamed, but they can be boiled, grilled, or roasted. If using the latter two methods, I recommend parboiling them first to tenderize the leaves and then finishing on the grill or in the oven to infuse the rich, smoky flavor that these methods impart.

When steaming, the top half inch or so may be cut off to remove prickly thorns and, for the same reason, the tips of each leave may be trimmed with scissors. I often slice artichokes in half to reduce the cooking time. I clean out the fuzz near the heart before popping into the steamer.

Artichoke stems are tasty and needn’t be completely removed before cooking. A couple inches may be left intact and lightly peeled.

A garlic clove, bay leaf, or slice of lemon (even all three) may be added to the water that steams the artichokes to impart flavor.

Artichokes may be served cold or hot, and are often accompanied by mayonnaise (usually when served cold), melted butter, or garlic-infused olive oil. I especially love them with a sauce of mayonnaise, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and fresh dill.

In Italy and parts of France, raw artichoke hearts are shaved and tossed in salads with a vinaigrette dressing and shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

In Sicily, a mixture that includes bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, anchovies, and cheese is stuffed between the bracts (the official term for an artichoke’s leaves) and then baked in the oven.

Polish cooks braise artichoke hearts in white wine and garlic, while Moroccans bake them with lamb.

I have to say that the most unusual use of artichokes I’ve seen is in the Italian liqueur cynar. This bitter aperitif is made with 13 different plants, the most predominant being the artichoke.

If you’re looking for heart-themed meal ideas for tomorrow’s St. Valentine’s Day festivities, look no further than the cream of artichoke heart soup I offer below. Its delicate flavor and creamy texture marry well with a salad of hearts of Romaine lettuce tossed in simple vinaigrette.

The recipe is a spin on one by Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network. If frozen artichoke hearts are unavailable, canned or home-cooked ones may be used. (Just be sure the canned variety is not marinated.)

As to my ode, I may have broken some poetry etiquette through its creation. According to thinkquest.org, “An ode is a poem that is written for an occasion or on a particular subject. They are usually dignified and more serious as a form than other forms of poetry. Unfortunately, today's society has distinctly less respect for propriety, morality, and dignity. Modern odes include sarcastic poems about various subjects, including Velcro and vegetables.”

I hope you’ll forgive me. At least mine wasn’t sarcastic; I meant every word.

Cream of artichoke heart soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white part only, washed well and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small potato, peeled and chopped

1 (8 or 10 ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

2 cups stock of your choice

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ - ½ cup heavy cream

Heat olive oil in a heavy, large pot over medium heat.

Add the leeks and the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the artichokes, stock, salt, and pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Off heat, use a handheld immersion blender to puree the soup.

Add the cream to taste and blend again to combine.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed, and heat to serving temperature.

Makes about four servings.

Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Respect For All Task Force will meet Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1 p.m., at the Lake County Office of Education, 1152 S. Main St.

The group will be discussing plans for a youth summit, the development of a youth leadership council, and a draft of a resource rack card for pre-teens, teens and families.

The meeting is open to the public, and the task force welcomes participation by new members.

Members of the Lakeport Be the Change group have been invited to attend Wednesday’s meeting to give the task force an update on activities.

The Lake County Respect For All Task Force, a group of local individuals, is striving to increase awareness about safe and inclusive learning environments.

The group is working to identify possible actions to help the Lake County community. Task force members are focusing on reducing bullying in schools and providing students with information on resources.

The Respect for All Task Force is now on Facebook. Look for the “Lake County Respect For All Task Force” to access information.

In Lake County, the Respect For All Project was started approximately two years ago as a pilot project through GroundSpark and in cooperation with Lake County Healthy Start and Lake County Family Resource Center.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .