A surge in ground forces and a change of strategy, to have more U.S. troops dismount from vehicles more to mix with the Afghan populace, has produced a more target-rich environment for homemade bombs.

In 2008, IEDs killed 68 American service members in Afghanistan. The number rose to 168 in 2009 and to 268 last year, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center.

The number of IED wounded nearly tripled to 3371 in Afghanistan last year, up from 1211 in 2009 and 270 in 2008.

The Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), with its $2.8 billion annual budget, is responsible for countering the IED threat.

Mitchell Howell, deputy director of JIEDDO for rapid acquisition and technology, said in a phone interview that the organization has made steady progress against IEDs even though no “silver bullet solution” has been found.

He said the enemy adjusts tactics and techniques swiftly in response to whatever fresh countermeasures the U.S. military adopts.

“Those guys don’t have a long, drawn out materiel acquisition system,” Howell said.

When coalition forces devise a solution to one IED technology, “within weeks if not days, or sometimes hours, the bad guys change the manner in which they deploy” IEDs. “They are always watching what we do, and they change a bit more frequently than what our traditional acquisition system is designed to accommodate.”

Nevertheless, Howell said, JIEDDO’s combination of operations – training the force, uncovering and attacking IED networks, and developing tactics and technologies to defeat devices – has saved lives and steadily is making deployment of IEDs a riskier business for enemies.

“You can judge that by the methods insurgents tend to shift to,” Howell said. “We are seeing a shift back towards suicide-borne IED folks because we have limited their ability to explode IEDs on the roads in some of the villages.”

Suicide attacks are targeted thus more effective, Howell said. “But we are working very hard to be able to discern the personnel and vehicle borne IEDs at a distance, well before they get into critical areas.”

In an agrarian economy like Afghanistan, fertilizer and other bomb-making chemicals are plentiful.

Because almost every IED uses electrical blasting caps to detonate, one “silver bullet solution” would be the ability to “predetonate everything,” Howell said. But most IEDs are buried, making predetonation difficult.

“If you’re going to predetonate a buried item, you need to create enough of a residual charge between the two lead wires to cause that device to explode. To do that through a medium other than air is very difficult,” Howell said. “You would need an incredible power source.”

So far no tactical concept has been found to bring that sought of capability to a battlefield terrain like Afghanistan.

“It’s a daunting task,” said Howell. “That’s not to say we aren’t pursuing that. We are, and in great detail. But [given] limitations of physics and other scientific means, it doesn’t seem that’s a viable solution set.”

What about overhead technology to detect disturbed ground?

“There are many techniques and technologies we are currently applying that attempt to do just that,” Howell said. “I won’t get into the classified arena but there are things called ‘change detection’ on roads.”

JIEDDO has developed methods for gathering and fusing streams of intelligence to monitor and analyze “pattern of life” activities.

“If you look at satellite or other photos, and you find incidences of people driving around certain spots on that road, that would give you clear indications there’s probably something we ought to avoid,” Howell said.

On average, 1300 to 1500 IED attacks occur per month in Afghanistan. Twenty percent of them are effective, meaning they kill or wound coalition forces. Howell, a retired Army infantry officer, said the Taliban may be a largely illiterate “but they are certainly not dumb.”

They make swift and simple innovations to respond to IED countermeasures. Their first IEDs, for example, used radio frequencies to detonate. U.S. forces responded with electronics that created signal-jamming bubbles around vehicles. So IED makers began using “victim-operated” detonation switches that vehicles would run over.

Troops then began deploying rollers on the front of vehicles to predetonate IEDs, and the enemy shifted to using buried command wires and hidden spotters to trigger bombs by sight as the troops passed.

“We decided to put out dismounted patrols and search for those command wires because there are ways to find them [and then] roll up bad guys hiding behind the hills,” Howell said. Taliban now use multiple triggers including passive infrared receivers that detect the heat of passing vehicles.

“We have solutions for all of those,” Howell said. “But that’s just to tell you we have a living, breathing, thinking, innovated and agile enemy, and that makes the IED fight very difficult.”

Many billions of dollars have been spent to protect troops from IEDs, from redesigned vehicles like the mine-resistant MRAP to small blimps that carry sophisticated sensor suites that can detect IED-like activity on the ground, around the clock, in areas surrounding forward operating bases.

Another JIEDDO priority is to attack IED supply chains, smuggling routes and networks, which often are entwined with other criminal networks.

“What we want to do is get inside the enemy’s decision cycle, to take away the initiative. We are having an impact,” Howell said. Since June last years, he said, the effectiveness of IEDs in Afghanistan, as measured by incidents producing casualties, has fallen nine percent.

Training too is a critical JIEDDO mission, ensuring that deploying forces learn what assets are available to fight IEDs and how to use them.

“The kids have confidence in the equipment that we have provided for them. They are prosecuting this fight on the IED and this insurgency with complete resolution,'” Howell said. “We will get this job done.”

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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The quake occurred at 12:42 p.m., according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

It was recorded two miles north northeast of The Geysers geothermal steamfield, four miles west of Cobb and seven miles northwest of Anderson Springs, at a depth of 1.5 miles, the survey reported.

The US Geological Survey received two shake reports – one from Kelseyville, one from San Francisco.

A 3.3-magnitude quake was recorded in the Anderson Springs area on April 10, as Lake County News has reported.

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The California Regional Water Quality Control Board is requiring the cleanup at 4020 and 4030 Main St., the site of the district's older station and its newer facility, respectively, due to soil contamination that resulted from underground storage tanks removed from the sites in the 1990s.

Notices on the proposed cleanup plan for the site have begun going out to community members.

“Before our station was built here there used to be a gas station here and there were underground tanks,” said Fire Chief Mike Stone.

The state's notice on the environmental cleanup plan explained that three tanks were removed from the 4030 Main St. site – formerly the gas station – in 1991, and one tank used by the fire district was removed from 4020 Main St. in 1995.

The state's documents indicated that tests at the time showed there was soil contamination, and some of that soil was removed.

Stone – who took over as chief in 2009 – said the district believed that the site cleanup was completed before building the new fire station, which was completed in September 2006.

However, Stone said it was around 2007 that the California Regional Water Quality Control Board served the district with an abatement notice because it said contaminated soil remained under the station.

David Clegern, a spokesman for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, said that after underground storage tanks are removed, soil usually needs to be removed, too, in order to ensure there is no contamination.

When a contaminated site is identified, Clegern said the property owner will contract with a specialized firm to conduct the removal, with the process continuing until the state determines that the cleanup is sufficient.

With the state ordering a cleanup, Stone said the district has to comply.

“We're in the process now of cleaning up the soil,” said Stone. “It's really that simple.”

It will be an expensive process for the small district, which Stone said has an annual budget of around $2.4 million.

However, Clegern said the state generally helps pay for the cleanup depending on who the responsible party is.

That reimbursement comes through the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund, which the water board reported was created by the Legislature in 1989.

The state said the fund is meant to help underground storage tank owners and operators meet federal and state requirements, and also assists other entities “by providing reimbursement for unexpected and catastrophic expenses” associated with the cleanup of leaking underground petroleum tanks.

Stone said the state has allocated $3 million – $1.5 million per site – to reimburse Kelseyville Fire for its underground storage tank removal.

However, he noted, “They don't give it all out in one lump sum,” so the district is having to foot the bill up front. The hope, he said, is that the district will break even after the reimbursements come in.

Stone didn't have a calculation for how much the district has spent so far, but in this year's budget they've set aside $100,000 for the work.

Prior to Stone's arrival as chief in 2009, he said a number of monitoring wells had been drilled around the stations to see what kinds of hydrocarbons were in the soil and how concentrated they were.

About two weeks ago a contractor began drilling extraction wells around the station properties. When that process is completed, there will be 30 small wells, which Stone said will look like small, 8- to 9-inch manhole covers. The wells will be between 30 and 40 feet deep.

The drilling process, he noted, is very expensive, and will cost the district more than $100,000.

Stone said the drilling won't disrupt the district's activities, with plans made to respond out of different parts of the station according to where the drilling activity is taking place.

He said the extraction process will start within a month or two.

That process will involve a scientific way of breaking down the hydrocarbons in the soil. Stone said the contractor will inject a substance into the soil that will turn the waste material into vapor. That vapor, in turn, will be removed.

“It's a low impact cleanup,” he said, adding, “The noise is minimal.”

The extraction apparatus will be contained in a soundproof trailer behind the station. Stone said one of the concerns was keeping the cleanup as low-key as possible so it wouldn't impact the neighbors.

Once extraction is complete, Stone said soil testing will take place every six months to ensure that all of the soil is complete.

He said it still isn't clear how long the entire process will take.

Clegern said such cleanups can take a long time. “The remediation process can go on for several years,” with “a fair amount” of monitoring going on afterward to determine if the site is stable.

The public comment period on the cleanup, which began on April 22, closes May 22.

The documents can be found online at http://geotracker.swrcb.ca.gov , address 4020 Main St. (Global ID No. T0603300059), and 4030 Main St. (Global ID No. T0603300019).

For more information or to comment on the plan, contact Glenn Meeks of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, 11020 Sun Center Drive No. 200, Rancho Cordova, CA, 95670-6114, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-464-4708.

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Asparagus is a harbinger of spring, prized throughout history. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Whether it’s joining crab in an omelet, gracing an Easter platter or looking lanky on the grill, asparagus is a harbinger of spring.

When the first slender green stalks arrive at the local grocer, it feels winter is gone, whatever the weather outside.

If I had to choose just one word to describe asparagus, it would be elegant. However prepared, asparagus adds a touch of class to a plate just by being there.

This lovely vegetable has been cultivated for many thousands of years, being prized by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans.

Asparagus is pictured on an Egyptian frieze from 3,000 BC, and a recipe for cooking it is in the oldest extant cookbook, the De Re Coquinaria by Apicius, dating back to the third century.

While asparagus enjoyed great popularity in the ancient world, it fell out of favor during the Middle Ages. It regained its culinary status during the 17th century, when France’s King Louis XIV grew it in greenhouses specially built for that purpose.

This member of the lily family is said to have originated along the coastlines of Europe. It thrives in soils that are too salty for most weeds.

Asparagus has a treasure trove of nutrients in each low-calorie, low-sodium and high-fiber stalk. It’s a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium.

It’s quite possible asparagus contains a greater variety of vitamins and minerals than any other vegetable.

Asparagus should be eaten when the shoots are young and the buds are not yet open. Otherwise shoots may be too strongly flavored and woody.

Generally asparagus is green; however, there is a purple variety. White asparagus is common in Europe, created by mounding dirt around the stalks as they grow to prevent photosynthesis. This makes the stalks sweeter and more tender than their green counterparts.

It is not necessary to peel asparagus, though some prefer to do this, especially on the lower thick portion of the stem. The thinnest stalks of asparagus are often the least tender, being less fleshy with more skin, the most fibrous part.

Asparagus, which is grown in sandy soil, should be washed well prior to using. Rather than trimming the stems with a knife, hold the ends of each stalk and bend it. The asparagus will snap at the point where the stem is no longer woody.

It’s hard to go wrong when asparagus is the star, even with the simplest of preparations. Roasting spears in the oven – or tossing them on the grill – with an olive oil drizzle and a bit of garlic is an amazingly flavorful dish. Lightly steamed asparagus with a sauce of fresh dill and mayonnaise or melted butter and a squeeze of butter is just divine.

You can splash a bit of good balsamic vinegar on warm asparagus spears, or sprinkle them with a variety of homemade vinaigrette dressings, such as Dijon mustard, blueberry or sesame-ginger, for some magic combinations.

Asparagus may be cooked till barely tender in salted water, tossed with fruity extra virgin olive oil and paired with friendly flavors as diverse as pine nuts, thin strips of prosciutto, fresh shaved Parmesan cheese or cocoa nibs

Asparagus does well when doused with the bright taste of lemon, and a perfect match for it is the classic lemony French butter sauce, beurre au citron, that’s both rich and pleasantly tart. Recipes for this may be found online, though my favorite version is the one found in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Fresh and flavorful gremolata, a mixture of lemon zest, garlic and parsley, is a nice topping for sweet, nutty roasted asparagus.

Eggs and asparagus are a classic brunch match, and egg-based dishes such as quiche, frittatas, crepes and omelets are delicious when graced with asparagus.

Poached or hard-cooked eggs may be served atop asparagus, and when the spears are shortened to fit an English muffin, asparagus serves as an interesting replacement for ham in Eggs Benedict. The lemony Hollandaise sauce is perfect for them.

Seafood likes asparagus as much as eggs do, so foods such as crab or smoked salmon are welcome additions to egg dishes with asparagus. An array of interesting salads may be made with seafood and asparagus.

Creamy asparagus soup is among my favorites, and I’m a soup fanatic. Fresh lemon or lime juice for acidity and a bit of spiciness from cayenne may be added. These flavors shouldn’t overtake the asparagus, but merely provide a balanced back note. To intensify the flavor of the asparagus in the soup, save water from any asparagus cooked in your kitchen to make the stock.

There is no shortage of ideas for this wonderfully versatile veggie. Perhaps the most unique is a sandwich made with asparagus, thin slices of fresh Parmesan cheese and butter lettuce on crusty French bread.

Today’s recipe is one that utilizes cocoa nibs, little unsweetened nuggets of chocolate in pure form, prior to any processing. Nibs are the raw product from which cocoa butter, chocolate liquor and cocoa powder are extracted. They may be purchased at natural food or specialty stores.

This dish may be served as an appetizer or part of the main course. For my vegetarian readers, slivers of fresh Parmesan cheese may be substituted for the prosciutto. Enjoy!

Nibby asparagus with prosciutto

1 to 1 ½ pounds asparagus

2 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons cocoa nibs, lightly crushed with rolling pin

2 to 3 thin slices prosciutto, trimmed of excess fat and sliced into long, slender shreds

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Snap the woody ends from the asparagus, rinse and peel the stems (if you like). Cook the asparagus in boiling water just until barely tender and still bright green, three to five minutes.

Meanwhile, in a very small saucepan, warm the oil and crushed cocoa nibs over the lowest heat for two to three minutes to infuse the oil with the nibs’ flavor; do not simmer.

When the asparagus is ready, drain and spread out on layers of paper towels; let stand for a minute to absorb the excess moisture. Transfer the asparagus to a platter and toss with the crushed nibs, oil and prosciutto shreds.

Serve hot or warm as an elegant finger food or a plated first course.

Recipe courtesy of Bittersweet by Alice Medrich.

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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James Walter Nightingale, 31, went before Judge Stephen Hedstrom in the Lake County Superior Court's Clearlake Division for the sentencing hearing, which ran nearly three hours on Friday afternoon.

Nightingale was charged with felony hit-and-run resulting in death or great bodily injury, misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and driving on a suspended license in connection with a crash on Sept. 24, 2010, in which he hit 57-year-old Zino Mezoui at the intersection of Seigler Canyon Road and Highway 29.

In February Nightingale entered no contest pleas to the charges, and also admitted to violating his probation for two separate cases, one involving driving under the influence, the other driving on a suspended license.

Nightingale, who wasn't supposed to be driving on the day of the crash because he had a suspended license and was on probation, was said to have pulled in front of Mezoui, out on his motorcycle for the first ride in a long time.

After the collision, which reportedly caused the windows on Nightingale's Chevrolet Suburban to shatter, he drove around Mezoui and headed back up Seigler Canyon Road, telling authorities that he didn't have a cell phone with him and that he went back home to call 911. On the way to his home he reportedly heard the life flight helicopter heading to the crash scene.

But he said once he got to his home his phone didn't work, and when he called a cousin he was told to lie low and watch the newspapers. He would turn himself in five days after the crash after finding an attorney who helped arrange for him to surrender to law enforcement.

During a hearing that stretched through most of the court's afternoon session, Deputy District Attorney John Langan and defense attorney Jacob Zamora argued over whether Nightingale should receive probation and, if not, what kind of prison sentence he should receive.

Hedstrom heard the various arguments, posed questions and worked methodically through the legal questions as family and friends of both Mezoui and Nightingale looked on.

Mezoui's widow, Jan, and his eldest son, Zino Jr., gave victim impact statements to the court, asking for the upper term for Nightingale, who also would take the stand to try to explain his reasons for leaving the scene, which he attributed to fear and panic.

As Hedstrom himself would point out, “There is no perfect outcome here,” acknowledging the impact of Mezoui's loss to his family and friends.

During the hearing, Hedstrom paid particular attention to Nightingale's driving before the crash, which he said went to the degree of negligence. That point proved important because Nightingale had submitted a written statement to the court that attempted to offer justification for his actions.

Langan was prepared to try to challenge those statements by entering into evidence the preliminary hearing transcript, but Hedstrom said he didn't know how helpful it would be, and Langan later in the hearing withdrew that request after he had the chance to cross-examine Nightingale.

Zino Mezoui Jr., 23, told the court during his victim impact statement that he was a changed man after losing his father, who “lived a life full of love and compassion, his most powerful attributes.”

He said to Nightingale, “I implore you to learn from your life experiences in only the most positive of ways,” and asked the judge for the harshest penalty.

“I carry sadness with me at all times,” the younger Mezoui said, adding, “I intend to lead a life full of love and compassion, just as my father would want.”

Jane Mezoui's words for Nightingale were decidedly tougher. “May you see his face embedded in your mind every time you get into an automobile to drive.”

She said Nightingale had no regard for life, and showed what kind of person he was for not stopping to help her husband. “You fled the scene like the coward that you are,” she said, adding, “We know why you fled and why you didn't turn yourself in for five days.”

Since her husband's death, she said she has struggled to keep open their restaurant, Zino's Ristorante on Soda Bay Road, and his sons are working to finish their college, which was their father's dream.

When Nightingale took the stand, following a short side bar between the attorneys and judge, the correctional officer was called forward to remove the cuffs from his wrists.

Hedstrom wouldn't let Nightingale simply make a statement, instead requiring the question and answer format.

When Zamora asked him how he felt about Mezoui's death, Nightingale said, “It was tragic, a very sad thing that happened. Just a shocking accident and I feel that I don't think it could have been avoided."

He offered his condolences to Mezoui's family, explaining that he knows how hard it is to lose a loved one, having lost his mother when he was very young.

Zamora asked him about fleeing the scene. “I really just didn't know what to do that that time,” Nightingale said.

Adding that he was shocked, Nightingale said, “I was just horrified by the tragic accident that had happened, so I didn't know what to do, so I left and went back to my home.”

Langan got the chance to cross-examine Nightingale, which Zamora objected to, saying he had understood that Nightingale could make a statement without being questioned.

Langan questioned Nightingale closely on the details of his story. While Nightingale's written statement to the court claimed that Mezoui had come out of the shadows, which is why he said he didn't see him, Langan challenged that assertion, saying that at 10 a.m. on that Friday Mezoui should have been visible in bright sunlight as he approached the intersection.

Nightingale said he went to call 911 but didn't have a phone, and ended up walking through the woods on the back roads of his family ranch near Lower Lake, getting home around noon or 1 p.m.

Later he reportedly called his family members from a pay phone in Lower Lake, getting the advice to lie low.

Nightingale denied a witness' testimony offered during the preliminary hearing that he was at a business in Lakeport between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. the day of the crash, trying to sell his Suburban.

Langan also questioned Nightingale on whether he tried to alter the registration on his vehicle prior to the day of the crash. Zamora instructed Nightingale not to answer based in his Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate himself, and objected, with Hedstrom sustaining the objection.

During Langan's cross-examination, Nightingale said he wasn't in the “right state of mind,” a justification for leaving the scene. Langan pressed him on using controlled substances. Nightingale said he had a medical marijuana card. Zamora again objected to the line of questioning.

Hedstrom, in assessing Nightingale's statements and actions, said he didn't agree that Nightingale understood the Mezoui family's loss. “I don’t think he really knows the family's grief here. It's much greater than he can understand,” said Hedstrom, adding that there also was no way Nightingale could make it right.

While Nightingale maintained that he didn't know what to do, Hedstrom said, “I can't buy that,” explaining that he could have helped Mezoui by staying at the scene.

Not only did the family suffer an emotional loss, but also an “incredible” monetary loss, Hedstrom said.

Hedstrom said Nightingale had five misdemeanors from 1995 to 2010, the most serious ones being a driving under the influence charge in Sonoma County in 2007 that later was reduced to a lesser “wet reckless” charge and a DUI charge in 2009 for which he was placed on five years probation.

In June 2010 he admitted violating his probation while driving in January 2010 and was given three years probation, and this past February he admitted to those offenses and to violating his probation in two other cases by driving in August 2010.

Hedstrom denied Nightingale probation. “This court concludes that there is a likelihood that the defendant would be a danger to others if not in prison.”

Langan argued for the maximum term. “He's been admonished before, he's still doing it, and now the Mezoui family has paid the ultimate price for this,” adding that Nightingale needed punishment and deterrents.

Zamora argued that the suggestion that Nightingale's behavior was increasingly serious was “hard to swallow,” and wasn't backed up by the evidence. He said Nightingale could be helped and rehabilitated by the structure possible on probation, but since the judge was determining a prison term, he argued that all of the misdemeanor charges should be served concurrently, rather than consecutively.

In the end, Hedstrom ordered Nightingale to serve the upper term of four years in prison on the felony hit-and-run charge, with the misdemeanor charges each getting a year that he was ordered to serve concurrently, although much of that time was wiped out with time already served and other credits.

Nightingale also has been ordered to pay the Mezoui family more than $47,000 in restitution, which will be the subject of another hearing on May 17.

Hedstrom said the statute allows credit of up to one half of the sentence for good conduct, meaning Nightingale could be out of prison in about two years. He warned Nightingale that if he was released on parole and didn't follow the rules, he could be returned to prison for a “significant time.”

As he was being led out a side door to go back to the county jail, Nightingale told his family and friends, “See you in a few years.”

Afterward, Langan said it was the best outcome they could hope for given the evidence and the extent to which the law would allow them to go.

He said a witness driving behind Mezoui that day testified during the preliminary hearing that Mezoui was driving the speed limit – Nightingale, in his statements on Friday, alleged that Mezoui was driving 70 miles per hour – and that Nightingale had slowed or stopped before pulling out. Another witness claimed that Nightingale broke traction while taking off at the intersection.

Langan stated the circumstances of the case were “egregious.”

Jan Mezoui wasn't ultimately pleased with the outcome. “I don't feel like justice was served. I really don't,” she said, adding that never once did Nightingale say he was sorry for his part in the incident.

Zino Mezoui's sons, Zino Jr. and his brother, Sami, 21 – both resembling their father with their jet-black hair and good looks – are continuing their education. Jan Mezoui said they are good young men.

Zino Jr., said he is studying criminal justice and wants to be a police officer.

Reflecting on what he's endured following his father's death, he said, “I would hope that it would only strengthen my character.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 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.

The crash occurred shortly before 9 p.m. near the Marina Market on Highway 20, according to the California Highway Patrol which, along with Northshore Fire, responded to the scene.

Reports from the scene indicated that the motorcycle was struck from behind by a vehicle.

The man, who was reportedly down on the ground and blocking one lane of traffic, had a fractured left femur and was advising paramedics that he couldn't move his legs, according to radio traffic.

It also was reported that the injured man was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

The man was flown to an area hospital, officials reported.

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In 1950, the California Centennial Commission declared the historic Stone House to be the oldest building in Lake County. It is State Historical Monument No. 450. Courtesy photo.

SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Kelsey Creek Valley remains undisputedly the first area in Lake County to have been settled by those who were not the native Indians. Almost simultaneously, the first south county settlement by “gringos” was in Coyote Valley, now home to Hidden Valley Lake and, 10 miles or so southeast, Langtry (once Guenoc) Vineyards.

Salvador Vallejo, younger brother of General Mariano Vallejo, claimed the first Mexican land grant north of Mt. St. Helena in 1844.

Known as Rancho Lupyomi, it encompassed more than 70,000 acres that included all of Clear Lake and all of the fertile valleys on its shores – all that would become Upper Lake, Lakeport, Scotts Valley, Kelseyville, the Riviera, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake and Lower Lake. That claim was overruled in 1852.

About the same time, his brother-in-law, Jacob Primer Leese, was obtaining almost 30,000 acres and initiating a similar cattle-raising operation in the more southerly regions of Lake County, then still years away from being distinguished even as Napa County.

Gen. Vallejo was in charge of “el frontera del norte,” an area then stretching from San Jose to the border of the Oregon Territory and from the Pacific to the Mississippi.

In 1836, Vallejo was instructed to dismantle the missions and dispose of their holdings because the Mexican government could no longer afford to maintain them.

This meant that private ownership of land became possible. Huge tracts of land were granted to Mexican citizens essentially just for the asking. Vallejo himself claimed many thousands of acres, and was equally generous in obtaining land for his family and friends.

Leese obtained several grants, including 6,400 acres that years later would be home to San Bruno, Brisbane and Visitation Valley.

He traded that grant for Robert T. Ridley’s 8,242-acre Rancho Collayomi, home of Middletown, in 1845.

Weeks later he acquired the adjacent 21,200-acre Rancho Guenoc owned by George Roch.

Ridley – and probably Roch – had become a Mexican citizen, thus eligible for a land grant, by marrying into a Californio family.

Roch had promptly signed over a sizable grant in southern California the year before to the wealthy owner of adjacent property.

Leese sold both of his local ranchos to Capt. Archibald Alexander Ritchie for $14,000 in 1851.

A.A. Ritchie was an ambitious newcomer who arrived in Yerba Buena in mid-1848 after almost 30 years as a sea captain and as resident agent in Canton for a major shipping firm.

The boundaries of Rancho Collayomi and Rancho Guenoc are seen yet today on township maps. Roughly Y-shaped, Collayomi straddles Highway 29 north from around Bradford Road to Middletown, then east and west along Butts Canyon Road and Hwy 175. Guenoc extends from the mountains marking the northern boundary of Collayomi to the lower end of Spruce Grove Road, east to Detert Lake and west almost to Harbin Springs. Google image.

The legalities of property ownership had become remarkably muddled over the previous decade, as newcomers chose homesteads that were enclosed by huge land grants.

By 1851, so many fistfights, gunfights, lawsuits and killings had resulted that the U.S. Land Act decreed all titles must be validated in U.S. courts.

Ritchie claimed both grants in 1852, jointly with Paul S. Forbes.

Forbes may have never even visited California and is not apparently related to William Forbes, “father” of Lakeport. He was American Consul in Canton at the time Ritchie lived there.

There were a few squatters on the Lake County grants, who apparently created no trouble.

One was A.H. Butts, who later moved to Butts Canyon. Another was William H. Manlove, who became first sheriff of Lake County.

In the mountains west of the ranchos, John Cobb was setting up a homestead for his wife and children as early as 1853.

Until 1856, the only wagon trail into this area was the one carved by the military hauling their cannons toward the Bloody Island Massacre – over Howell Mountain, through Pope Valley and Butts Canyon, across the Rancho Guenoc and onto Lower Lake and Big Valley.

Only the hardiest made the trip; the earliest documented was the Hammack party who settled in Upper Lake in 1854.

In 1852, or perhaps earlier, Ritchie engaged young Robert Henry Sterling to settle on the Rancho Guenoc and act as manager of the two grants.

At 24, seaman Sterling had sailed around the world and taken part in numerous trips to China and throughout the West Indies.

He had just returned from a yearlong trip back home to Connecticut, where he had proposed to Lydia Jane Wheaton.

Sterling built an anomalous stone house, ready for his bride when she came ‘round The Horn and they were wed in May 1854.

She was accustomed to the security of large stone houses, the residences of prominent families, provisioned to serve as “safe houses” for everyone.

On July 9, 1856, Capt. A.A. Ritchie was found dead alongside his wagon. The probate dragged on into 1868.

A few parcels of Rancho Guenoc were leased to incoming settlers. The 1860 census tallied 131 residents in the village of Guenoc about a mile south of the stone house, where Hartmann Bridge today spans Putah Creek on Highway 29.

Finally, by 1870, the Ritchie family had started splitting the huge spreads into parcels for sale, and serious development of south Lake County got under way.

Meanwhile, around the lake, settlement had been increasing rapidly for 15 years.

Nina Bouska is a member of the Stone House Historical Society. Visit the group online at http://home.mchsi.com/~stonehouse/statement.htm .

For more information about the Lake County Sesquicentennial, visit www.lc150.org, join the celebration at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lake-County-Sesquicentennial/171845856177015 and follow it on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCo150 .

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The crash occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on Highway 175 in Cobb, the CHP said.

A Ford Focus and a Toyota Tercel collided near Cobb Mountain Elementary School, according to the CHP.

The report indicated that the roadway was blocked as medical personnel worked to extricate one subject.

Officials said the roadway was clear and most of the units cleared from the scene by about 5 p.m.

Information about those involved and the full extent of their injuries was not immediately available.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week the planning commissions for the city of Clearlake and the county of Lake will separately discuss proposed ordinances to govern medical marijuana dispensaries within their respective jurisdictions.

The first of the hearings will be in Clearlake on Tuesday at 6 p.m., when the Clearlake Planning Commission holds a public hearing at a special meeting in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

Currently, three dispensaries are operating in the city, having been grandfathered in under a moratorium on new dispensaries that city officials said will run out later this year.

Interim City Administrator Steve Albright and his staff have crafted a draft ordinance that proposes to grant no more than three dispensary licenses to facilities of no more than 1,200 square feet.

It requires that dispensary entrances be clearly visible from public rights of way. An earlier version of the ordinance required they not be located within 1,000 feet of a “youth-oriented facility” – elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, public park and “any establishment that advertises in a manner that identifies the establishment as catering to or providing services primarily intended for minors, or; where the individuals who regularly patronize, congregate or assemble are predominantly minors, including licensed daycare or preschool facilities.” However a revised version of the ordinance reduced that number to 600 feet.

The facilities will only dispense to qualified patients whose status they have confirmed, and may possess no more than 5 pounds of dried marijuana. The draft ordinance originally required that dispensaries have no more than 50 immature plants on site at all times, but that number was removed and there is no limit on the number of young plants as long as they are no more than 18 inches tall.

Annual third-party audits of the dispensaries also will be required.

The dispensaries also will be limited to maximum business hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. An earlier provision to require closures on state-observed legal holidays was removed.

Those wanting to operate dispensaries must apply and submit information including a California Department of Justice background resulting from a fingerprint submission and a written plan of how the facility will be operated.

Once a dispensary license application is filed, the police chief shall conduct a background check on the applicant and identified managers, supervisors, employees and volunteers. Within 60 days of that investigation's completion, the application will go before the city council for consideration.

An earlier version of the ordinance prohibited felony convictions or misdemeanor convictions involving moral turpitude for any applicant, agent, employee or manager. A revised version reduces that requirement to no felony convictions within 10 years, removing the misdemeanor convictions.

In considering the application, the council will consider a number of factors, including whether the facility will operate in conformity with the Compassionate Use Act, the Medical Marijuana Program, the ordinance and city code. Also up for consideration will be whether the dispensary location has significant crime issues and if there have been numerous calls for service in the area.

The proposed Clearlake ordinance can be viewed at Clearlake City Hall during normal office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

County ordinance would restrict facilities to certain zoning districts

The Lake County Planning Commission will take up the county's proposed ordinance during its meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 28, in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The county, which also has a moratorium on new dispensaries, has close to a dozen of them that have been allowed to remain in operation under a grandfathering rule.

Those facilities currently operating will have to apply for a permit within 120 days of the county ordinance passing. The current dispensaries will be given processing priority.

The proposed county ordinance requires that dispensaries be located in C3, the service commercial district; the commercial/manufacturing zoning district, M1; or M2, which is heavy industrial; and would limit the number of dispensaries to nine.

The dispensaries cannot be located within 1,000 feet of another dispensary or a school, or 500 feet from a park with playground equipment, drug or alcohol rehabilitation facility, day care or other youth-oriented facility, and not within 100 feet of a residential zoning district.

Like the city, the county ordinance would require background checks of applicants, prevent licensees from having felony or certain misdemeanor convictions, and require submission of plans for operation.

Permit holders also would be required to enter into a “compliance monitoring inspection agreement” with the Lake County Sheriff's Office for annual compliance monitoring at the permit holder's expense.

Under those inspections, the dispensaries will have to provide the sheriff's office with financial records; supply source locations, their legal status and the names of the growers; proof of not-for-profit status; and a current registry of employees.

The proposed county ordinance restricts dispensaries from having more than 15 pounds of processed marijuana on the premises at any time, and they can't have more than one and a half pounds of concentrated cannabis on the premises.

Dispensaries won't be allowed to be co-located with businesses selling alcohol, can't publicly display product or drug paraphernalia, and must try to make sure that the marijuana they distribute doesn't contain harmful pesticide levels.

The county's proposed operating hours for dispensaries are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with required security measures including cameras, alarms and outdoor lighting.

The document also proposes to prohibit operating a dispensary or a home delivery service from any location other than a permitted dispensary.

The ordinance can be obtained from the Community Development Department at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

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To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's deployment into space, astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., pointed Hubble's eye at an especially photogenic pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273. The larger of the spiral galaxies, known as UGC 1810, has a disk that is distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. This image is a composite of Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 data taken on December 17, 2010, with three separate filters that allow a broad range of wavelengths covering the ultraviolet, blue, and red portions of the spectrum.Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Riess (STScI/JHU), L. Macri (Texas A&M University), and Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).

To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's deployment into space, astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., pointed Hubble's eye at an especially photogenic pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273.

“For 21 years, Hubble has profoundly changed our view of the universe, allowing us to see deep into the past while opening our eyes to the majesty and wonders around us,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “I was privileged to pilot space shuttle Discovery as it deployed Hubble. After all this time, new Hubble images still inspire awe and are a testament to the extraordinary work of the many people behind the world's most famous observatory.”

Hubble was launched April 24, 1990, aboard Discovery's STS-31 mission. Hubble discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology.

“Hubble is America's gift to the world,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland said. “Its jaw-dropping images have rewritten the textbooks and inspired generations of schoolchildren to study math and science. It has been documenting the history of our universe for 21 years. Thanks to the daring of our brave astronauts, a successful servicing mission in 2009 gave Hubble new life. I look forward to Hubble's amazing images and inspiring discoveries for years to come.”

The newly released Hubble image shows a large spiral galaxy, known as UGC 1810, with a disk that is distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. A swath of blue jewel-like points across the top is the combined light from clusters of intensely bright and hot young blue stars. These massive stars glow fiercely in ultraviolet light.

The smaller, nearly edge-on companion shows distinct signs of intense star formation at its nucleus, perhaps triggered by the encounter with the companion galaxy.

Arp 273 lies in the constellation Andromeda and is roughly 300 million light-years away from Earth. The image shows a tenuous tidal bridge of material between the two galaxies that are separated from each other by tens of thousands of light-years.

A series of uncommon spiral patterns in the large galaxy are a tell-tale sign of interaction.

The large, outer arm appears partially as a ring, a feature seen when interacting galaxies actually pass through one another. This suggests the smaller companion dived deep, but off-center, through UGC 1810.

The inner set of spiral arms is highly warped out of the plane, with one of the arms going behind the bulge and coming back out the other side. How these two spiral patterns connect is not precisely known.

The larger galaxy in the UGC 1810 - UGC 1813 pair has a mass about five times that of the smaller galaxy.

In unequal pairs such as this, the relatively rapid passage of a companion galaxy produces the lopsided or asymmetric structure in the main spiral.

Also in such encounters, the starburst activity typically begins in the minor galaxies earlier than in the major galaxies. These effects could be because the smaller galaxies have consumed less of the gas present in their nuclei, from which new stars are born.

The interaction was imaged on Dec. 17, 2010, with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The picture is a composite of data taken with three separate filters on WFC3 that allow a broad range of wavelengths covering the ultraviolet, blue, and red portions of the spectrum.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope.

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. in Washington, D.C.

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Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday a corrections deputy completing required cell checks found the 29-year-old male inmate, whose name was not released, in the process of the suicide attempt, according to a report from Capt. Timothy Pearce of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Pearce said the corrections deputy summoned assistance and assessed the condition of the inmate, who had no pulse and was not breathing.

Life saving measures were immediately initiated and the fire department was notified, Peace said.

Upon their arrival, fire department personnel were able to detect a pulse. Peace said the inmate was then transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center. The inmate was subsequently transferred to St. Helena Hospital.

Pearce said the inmate's name is being withheld pending notification of family members.

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