LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week one of Lake County’s members of the House of Representatives will give an update on funding available through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) will hold a virtual press conference at noon Pacific Time on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
This event will be held over Zoom and interested participants must email Thompson’s office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in order to join. Interested participants will be notified via email with instructions on how to join.
The event will also be streamed on Facebook Live via Thompson’s page.
During the event, Thompson will highlight the importance of the state and local funding that was included in the American Rescue Plan.
Thompson will be joined by leaders from across the Fifth Congressional District that support this legislation.
The Fifth Congressional District includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
A residential structure fire on Thursday, February 11, 2021, in Nice, California, destroyed a home and sent two people to the hospital. Courtesy photo. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two people were injured in a Thursday night structure fire that destroyed a home in Nice.
The fire, at 3550 Lakeview Drive, was first dispatched at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, according to radio reports.
Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Dave Emmel told Lake County News that the home was a singlewide trailer.
Firefighters arriving on scene minutes after dispatch requested an ambulance for the first of two burn victims.
The first victim was a woman who was reported to be 70 years old and suffering from second- and third-degree burns over most of her body, Emmel said.
Due to the weather, an air ambulance couldn’t respond, based on radio traffic.
The woman and a second burn patient were transported to the hospital, Emmel said.
Emmel said firefighters knocked the fire down pretty quickly. The trailer, however, was a complete loss.
In addition to the singlewide trailer, a travel trailer next to it also was burned, Emmel said. No other nearby structures were damaged.
Firefighters at the scene also requested Pacific Gas and Electric send out a crew, as wires were down, according to scanner reports.
Besides the two people transported to the hospital, Emmel said the fire displaced one other person.
As to the cause of the fire, “We believe it was accidental,” Emmel said.
He said the source has so far been traced to a heater coming in contact with a couch.
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.
This artist's concept shows the planned flight path of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft during its final flyby of asteroid Bennu, scheduled for April 7. Credit: University of Arizona. On April 7, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will give asteroid Bennu one last glance before saying farewell.
Before departing for Earth on May 10, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will perform a final flyby of Bennu – capturing its last images of sample collection site Nightingale to look for transformations on Bennu’s surface after the Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event.
The OSIRIS-REx mission team recently completed a detailed safety analysis of a trajectory to observe sample site Nightingale from a distance of approximately 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers).
The spacecraft’s flight path is designed to keep OSIRIS-REx a safe distance from Bennu, while ensuring the science instruments can collect precise observations.
The single flyby will mimic one of the observation sequences conducted during the mission’s Detailed Survey phase in 2019.
OSIRIS-REx will image Bennu for a full 4.3-hour rotation to obtain high-resolution images of the asteroid’s northern and southern hemispheres and its equatorial region. The team will then compare these new images with the previous high-resolution imagery of Bennu obtained during 2019.
This final flyby of Bennu was not part of the original mission schedule, but the observation run will provide the team an opportunity to learn how the spacecraft’s contact with Bennu’s surface altered the sample site.
Bennu’s surface was considerably disturbed after the Touch-and-Go, or TAG, sample collection event, with the collector head sinking 1.6 feet (48.8 centimeters) into the asteroid’s surface while firing a pressurized charge of nitrogen gas. The spacecraft’s thrusters also mobilized a substantial amount of surface material during the back-away burn.
During this new mission phase, called the Post-TAG Observation phase, the spacecraft will perform five separate navigation maneuvers in order to return to the asteroid and position itself for the flyby.
OSIRIS-REx executed the first maneuver on Jan. 14, which acted as a braking burn and put the spacecraft on a trajectory to rendezvous with the asteroid one last time.
Since October’s sample collection event, the spacecraft has been slowly drifting away from the asteroid, and ended up approximately 1,635 miles (2,200 km) from Bennu.
After the braking burn, the spacecraft is now slowly approaching the asteroid and will perform a second approach maneuver on Mar. 6, when it is approximately 155 miles (250 km) from Bennu.
OSIRIS-REx will then execute three subsequent maneuvers, which are required to place the spacecraft on a precise trajectory for the final flyby on Apr. 7.
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to depart Bennu on May 10 and begin its two-year journey back to Earth. The spacecraft will deliver the samples of Bennu to the Utah Test and Training Range on Sep. 24, 2023.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing.
Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
For many in a relationship, the pressure to impress a partner can weigh heavily, and expensive gifts serve as a reminder of the relentless commercializationof the holiday. Meanwhile those still looking for love approach the day with trepidation – another reminder of their single status and the pressure to find a partner.
As a chivalric literary historian who has studied the origins of the holiday, I find this a shame. When the notion of Valentine’s Day as a day for romance emerged in the 1380s it was all about love as a natural life force – birds choosing their mates, the freedom to choose or refuse love and the arrival of springtime. But even then many people did not understand or value these things. In fact, that is why it was invented.
Their work supported principles still important for us today, notably the right to free choice in love and the right to refuse romantic advances.
Chaucer and Granson encountered one another in the service of Richard II of England and admired one another’s poetry. Their poems about Valentine’s Day show them operating as an international chivalric team to address pressing issues in the theory and practice of love, then and now.
In the poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” Chaucer presents Valentine’s Day as a day when birds gather to choose their mates under the supervision of nature. In the poem, presented as a dream, three rival eagles each express a lifelong commitment to a single female. Birds of lower social status and different temperament, waiting in line, quarrel about how to resolve the impasse so they, too, can select their mates.
In the scenario, two of the eagles must be disappointed – Valentine’s Day is no guarantee that all will find love. But in the end the wise female eagle obtains from the figure of Nature the right to take her time in deciding her mate. She chooses not to choose. It is a story of waiting to recognize one’s true love, knowing your own heart and having the right to choose your partner yourself.
Chaucer’s tale relates to an actual courtship that included three suitors and ended in the wedding of two 15-year-olds: Richard II and the princess Anne of Bohemia, in 1382.
Meanwhile, Granson promoted Valentine’s Day in his French poems as a day for human lovers to choose one another and pledge their love, as do the birds. Granson pledges his own undying love to a mysterious lady in his “Complaint to Saint Valentine.” There was no merchandise involved and no gifts were expected.
Free love
Chaucer and Granson’s celebration of love as a relationship between partners, a union of souls grounded in respect and the freedom of choice, contrasts with many of the traditions of the age in which they lived.
In this context, Chaucer and Granson reimagined the already existing Valentine’s Day festival to celebrate the potential beauty of love itself. In a world where forced and child marriages are still all too common, it is important to reflect on Chaucer and Granson’s visions. Their reinvention of the day opened the eyes of poets, knights, ladies and just plain folk to the need for respect and self-respect in courtship – and the value of partnerships entered into for love, not just for lust, power or money.
Servants of love, these two knightly poets shaped Valentine’s Day as a gift for future generations. Their chivalrous enterprise deserves to be celebrated as we pursue our own happiness.
The state of California is adjusting its COVID-19 vaccination priority tiers in order to allow for administering the vaccine more quickly to people under age 65 who have high-risk conditions or disabilities that make them more vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus.
Last month, the state added people age 65 and older to its priority tiers, with the governor announcing that age is to be a primary factor in determining eligibility going forward.
That raised concerns for Californians with disabilities and chronic health conditions who don’t meet the age requirements that they could be kept waiting for the vaccine.
On Friday, the state said it’s now going to give health care providers additional flexibility to vaccinate younger individuals who have underlying health conditions or high-risk disabilities, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said.
Effective March 15, health care providers will be able to use their clinical judgement to vaccinate people age 16 to 64 who are deemed to be at the very highest risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 as a direct result of pregnancy, cancer, chronic kidney disease (stage four and above), oxygen-dependent chronic pulmonary disease, oxygen dependent, Down syndrome, immunocompromised state from a solid organ transplant, sickle cell disease, heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies (excluding hypertension), severe obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5 percent.
Also allowed to receive vaccinations under this new rule are individuals who have developmental or other severe high-risk disabilities that make them likely to develop severe life-threatening illness or death from COVID-19 infection; individuals for whom acquiring COVID-19 would limit their ability to receive ongoing care or services vital to their well-being and survival; and those for whom providing adequate and timely COVID care will be particularly challenging as a result of their disability, according to the provider’s bulletin the state released to Lake County News.
Ghaly said about four to six million Californians are estimated to be in those groups.
That’s in addition to the 13 million individuals now eligible in the first tier, which includes Phase 1A, health care workers and residents of long term care facilities, and Phase 1B, workers in the food and agriculture, education and childcare, and emergency service sectors, and Californians age 65 and above.
State officials are focusing on saving lives, promoting equity and getting to the other side of the pandemic, Ghaly said.
As part of that process, the state realizes that certain individuals have additional risk factors based on various disabilities and conditions. “This is a recognition of that,” Ghaly said of the changes adding the new groups to the vaccination tiers.
The March 15 date allows for stakeholders, providers and other groups to make sure there are services and capacity so that the individuals in these new priority groups receive the vaccine, Ghaly explained.
“We believe this planning period is appropriate,” said Ghaly.
At the same time, Ghaly said the state is still dealing with the scarcity of vaccines.
While the state now can get a three-week vaccine outlook from its federal partners, Ghaly said he can’t say how soon the state will have enough vaccine to get vaccinations for the 13 million individuals now eligible and the up to six million more who will be added in March.
“Supply is the hardest piece,” he said.
Administration officials told reporters on Friday that the process for distributing the vaccine has been based on eligible populations. Early on, those amounts were specifically based on how many health care workers were in each county.
In the state’s conversations with the federal government, Ghaly said there are indications that the availability of vaccine from manufacturers could be going way up by late spring or early summer.
At the same time, Ghaly noted that in distributing the vaccine, “Equity is front of mind.”
He added, “Achieving equity is simply doing more for those who have been disproportionately impacted,” whether due to age, race or sexual orientation.
State to roll out third party administrator to oversee vaccination network
Also on Friday, administration officials discussed with reporters the introduction of a third party administrator who will be part of building a statewide vaccine administration network, a plan Gov. Gavin Newsom first announced last month.
Newsom’s office said the third party administrator will allocate vaccines directly to providers to maximize distribution efficiency.
The third party administrator will ensure that the state vaccine provider network includes appropriate access in disproportionately impacted communities and supplements this access with evening/extended hours, transportation services, translation services, home-bound services, mobile vaccine services and physical accessibility features at vaccination events, administration officials said.
Officials said that they will have individual conversations with county Public Health leadership about their challenges with vaccinations as well as where the process is working to help inform the third party administrator as they build out the state vaccine provider network.
Under the third party administrator, counties will have wide latitude to determine who receives the vaccine, administration officials said.
On Tuesday, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace convened the first meeting of the COVID-19 Ethics Ad Hoc Committee that he has assembled.
Lake County News asked Pace on Friday how that committee and its suggestions on prioritizing vaccinations would interact with the changes the state is implementing, including the introduction of the third party administrator.
“Still working on a lot of the specifics,” Pace responded in an email.
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. – Lake County’s Public Health officer reported that the COVID-19 situation appears to be improving locally, with changes planned for the county’s vaccination clinics and an ethics committee assembled to help address the equitable distribution of the vaccine.
“While we are seeing generally positive trends with regard to case rates and testing positivity in Lake County, COVID-19 remains widespread,” Dr. Gary Pace said Thursday.
As of Thursday, Lake County had 2,942 COVID-19 cases, with 36 deaths. Five Lake County residents currently are hospitalized because of the virus, Public Health reported.
The numbers of new cases in Lake County and across California have been declining in recent weeks as the impacts of the holiday surge start to diminish.
Statewide, there were more than 3,440,550 cases and nearly 46,000 deaths as of Thursday night, according to reports from Public Health departments in California’s 58 counties.
There is a new concern that has arisen since the start of the year: The coronavirus variant L452R, has also been identified in Lake County, as Lake County News first reported in January.
Pace told Lake County News that the state is doing surveillance testing on specimens from different areas around California, meaning that they randomly pick some specimens that are sent to Quest or another lab and conduct genomic sequencing.
In early January, Pace said the state sampled 40 specimens from Lake County and nine of them had L452R, known as the “California variant.”
“We don’t know the clinical significance of this yet,” Pace said.
Pace said L452R is considered a “variant of interest” as opposed to a “variant of concern,” which is how health officials refer to the variants found in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
The British variant, B117, has been found in the Bay Area, as has a Brazilian variant, according to recent news reports.
On Tuesday, Pace told the Board of Supervisors, “The variant gives me a little bit of anxiety.”
He is continuing to encourage people to be as careful as possible and not go back to normal life yet, noting, “This variant could change the equation in the next couple of weeks.”
Public Health changing to drive-thru vaccination clinics
With the emphasis in the coronavirus fight increasingly emphasizing vaccinations, Pace said Lake County Public Health is changing its vaccination clinics to drive-thru sites beginning next week.
The clinics will be held in Lakeport on Mondays and Tuesdays, and in Clearlake on Thursdays and Fridays, Pace said.
Pace said Public Health has been extremely fortunate to get a lot of community volunteer support to help run the vaccination sites, as his staff can’t do it all on their own.
With operations expanding, Pace said they will be calling all Medical Reserve Corps members and are inviting new volunteers as well. If you would like to sign up to volunteer, contact the Health Department at 707-263-1090 and ask to be connected with Dean.
“While we anticipate a greater number of people will ultimately be able to be served at these new outdoor locations (subject to vaccine availability), appointments are still required, and eligibility will be verified prior to administration of the vaccine,” Pace said.
Community members can visit the Public Health website to find if they are eligible under the current priority tiers and check on the availability of vaccination appointments. Links for the current state vaccination registration platform and appointment scheduling are available there.
When appointments are available, people eligible to be vaccinated that have trouble using the online platform are encouraged to call 707-993-4644 for assistance.
If you already received your first dose through one of the Public Health clinics, Public Health staff will contact you to confirm the date, time and location for your second dose appointment. These appointments are typically scheduled four weeks following the first dose. You will be notified five to seven days in advance. If you have not heard from Public Health at the expected interval, write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-263-8174.
Pace said that, due to changes in location and days of the vaccination sites, people may need to go to a different site than the one where they received their first dose, and possibly on a different day of the week.
Pace convenes COVID-19 Ethics Ad Hoc Committee
Pace said the state provides general vaccine priority guidance, and all counties use the same eligibility tiers. Age- and sector-based risk criteria must be balanced by an emphasis on reaching people in “disproportionately impacted communities, settings and populations.”
At the same time, he said the vaccine distribution must be both swift and equitable.
Lake County’s Latino and Native American communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and Pace said local data also has demonstrated that protecting agricultural workers must be an immediate point of emphasis. Ag workers are in tier Phase 1B and currently are eligible to receive the vaccine; vaccinations for that group started this week.
To assist in setting areas of Lake County-specific vaccination priority, Pace has established the COVID-19 Ethics Ad Hoc Committee.
Pace said the group includes strong advocates from the Latino and Native American communities, business and agriculture, hospital and primary care medicine, and an “at-large” representative.
The committee had its first meeting on Tuesday. So far, the names of its members have not been reported, and during this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the discussion suggested that those names may be kept confidential.
Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein told Lake County News that Pace will give the first report on the committee’s work at the next Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
Pace said requests for consideration by the committee should include the name or group making the request, the group or category of people recommended for reprioritization and the basis or justification for the request (not to exceed 200 words).
Requests can be submitted by contacting the Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator, or MHOAC, addressed to “Ethics Committee,” at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., via mail at MHOAC, attention COVID-19 Ethics Committee, 922 Bevins Court, Lakeport, CA 95453, or by phone, 707-263-8174.
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. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has four dogs looking for new families to love them.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of pit bull and Rottweiler.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
“Jack” is a young male Rottweiler mix in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14328. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Jack’
“Jack” is a young male Rottweiler mix.
He has a short red and black coat and a docked tail.
He is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14328.
This male pit bull terrier is in kennel No. 26, ID No. 14339. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier has a short brindle and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 26, ID No. 14339.
“Sargent Chunk” is a young male Rottweiler in kennel No. 28, ID No. 14303. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Sargent Chunk’
“Sargent Chunk” is a young male Rottweiler with a short red and black coat.
He is in kennel No. 28, ID No. 14303.
This male pit bull terrier mix is in kennel No. 30, ID No. 14338. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier mix has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 30, ID No. 14338.
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.
The map supports local communities in making data-driven decisions to safely open classrooms and helps ensure public transparency.
“As COVID-19 conditions continue to improve and vaccinations ramp up throughout the state, this map will provide local communities with accessible, up-to-date information on how districts in their communities and beyond are adapting to the pandemic, including safety planning and implementation,” said Gov. Newsom. “This map is one of many resources we have made available that will help school staff and families make informed decisions as we safely reopen our schools.”
The interactive map was developed in partnership with county offices of education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.
The map will display data from all school types – including school districts and charter and private schools – indicating status on reopening, safety planning and COVID-19 supports. Local communities and school staff will be able to leverage this tool when evaluating their reopening plans.
The Safe Schools Reopening Map will help clarify the planning and implementation of safe reopening.
The California Department of Public Health will be adding other key data to the map, including outbreaks reported in each school district and whether the school has partnered with the Valencia Branch Lab for COVID-19 testing.
To provide up-to-date information, schools will input their data every two weeks. Additional data – including student enrollment data – will be collected and displayed publicly, subject to legislative approval.
Since unveiling the Safe Schools for All Plan, the state has launched the Safe Schools for All Hub to serve as a one-stop shop for information about safe in-person instruction.
The governor’s 2021-22 State Budget proposes historic levels of funding for schools – nearly $90 billion, including $3.8 billion above the Prop 98 minimum – which builds on existing state and federal funds to support schools in responding to the pandemic.
The State Safe Schools Team has also:
– Issued updated guidance that consolidates requirements from Cal/OSHA and CDPH. – Provided direct technical assistance on key safety measures to hundreds of school leaders per week through an online portal. – Monitored and acted on feedback regarding school safety, which school staff and families can submit either via an online portal or a telephone hotline (with non-English options available). – Distributed an extra month of PPE and supplies to all public schools via county offices of education. – Onboarded over 800 schools in 41 counties to the state Valencia Branch Laboratory to support COVID-19 testing. The Lab continues to build supports tailored to schools, including dropboxes throughout the state to reduce logistical costs, an online platform that manages consent and data reporting, and certified support for testing students. – Published new COVID-19 testing resources for schools, including contact information for commercial laboratories and playbooks to support implementation.
The State Safe Schools Team will continue developing resources that support schools to plan and implement safe school reopenings, beginning with our youngest and most disproportionately impacted students.
On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission voted in support of a policy to protect customers who use landline phones during emergencies.
The decision requires companies providing wireline communications, including landline phone service and Internet service, to have 72 hours of backup power during power outages.
This new policy is meant to protect Californians in areas with high wildfire risk, including low-income people and the elderly, who are least likely to have cell phones during emergencies.
The Public Advocates Office, the independent consumer advocate at the California Public Utilities Commission, said it supports the CPUC’s decision on the policy.
However, the Public Advocates Office raised concerns that delayed timelines for implementing these requirements may impact some residential customers.
“These difficult times are making Californians more dependent than ever on our phones and the Internet for communications to telework, visit a doctor via telehealth, attend school via distance learning, and be in touch with loved ones,” said Elizabeth Echols, director of the Public Advocates Office.
“Everyone should be able to rely on their phones and Internet during power outages, regardless of where they live or what kind of phone technology they have,” Echols said. “That is why the Public Advocates Office will continue to advocate for holding telephone companies accountable so that everyone has access to essential communications services.”
The CPUC’s backup power requirement for wireline communications service providers must be met in eight months for three types of facilities in areas with high fire risk: 1) critical facilities such as hospitals and fire departments, 2) facilities providing service to wireless networks, and 3) facilities serving communities lacking sufficient wireless service coverage.
However, for all other facilities located in areas with high wildfire risk, the commission is delaying implementation of the backup power requirement for 18 months.
The Public Advocates Office urged the commission to require the 72-hour backup power requirements be in place by no later than October 2021 for all facilities in high fire threat areas to protect the public health and safety of Californians.
“We will continue to push for backup power so all communities can rely on their phone and Internet service, especially if they live in an area with high wildfire risk,” the Public Advocates Office said in a Thursday statement.
The Public Advocates Office recommendations can be found here.
Solar system distances to scale, showing the newly discovered planetoid, nicknamed "Farfarout," compared to other known solar system objects, including the previous record holder 2018 VG18 "Farout," also found by the same team. Credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa, Scott S. Sheppard (Carnegie Institution for Science) and Brooks Bays (University of Hawai’i). A team of astronomers, including associate professor Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University's Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, have confirmed a planetoid that is almost four times farther from the Sun than Pluto, making it the most distant object ever observed in our solar system.
The planetoid, which has been nicknamed "Farfarout," was first detected in 2018, and the team has now collected enough observations to pin down its orbit. The Minor Planet Center has now given it the official designation of 2018 AG37.
Farfarout's nickname distinguished it from the previous record holder "Farout," found by the same team of astronomers in 2018.
In addition to Trujillo, the discovery team includes Scott S. Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science and David Tholen from the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy, who have an ongoing survey to map the outer solar system beyond Pluto.
Farfarout will be given an official name (like Sedna and other similar objects) after its orbit is better determined over the next few years. It was discovered at the Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Maunakea in Hawai’i, and recovered using the Gemini North and Magellan telescopes in the past few years to determine its orbit based on its slow motion across the sky.
Farfarout's average distance from the Sun is 132 astronomical units (au); 1 au is the distance between the Earth and Sun. For comparison, Pluto is only 39 au from the Sun. The newly discovered object has a very elongated orbit that takes it out to 175 au at its most distant, and inside the orbit of Neptune, to around 27 au, when it is close to the Sun.
Farfarout's journey around the Sun takes about a thousand years, crossing the massive planet Neptune's orbit every time. This means Farfarout has likely experienced strong gravitational interactions with Neptune over the age of the solar system, and is the reason why it has such a large and elongated orbit.
"A single orbit of Farfarout around the Sun takes a millennium," said Tholen. "Because of this long orbital, it moves very slowly across the sky, requiring several years of observations to precisely determine its trajectory."
Farfarout is very faint, and based on its brightness and distance from the Sun, the team estimates its size to be about 400 kilometers across, putting it on the low end of being a dwarf planet, assuming it is an ice rich object.
"The discovery of Farfarout shows our increasing ability to map the outer solar system and observe farther and farther towards the fringes of our solar system," said Sheppard. "Only with the advancements in the last few years of large digital cameras on very large telescopes has it been possible to efficiently discover very distant objects like Farfarout. Even though some of these distant objects are quite large, being dwarf planet in size, they are very faint because of their extreme distances from the Sun. Farfarout is just the tip of the iceberg of solar system objects in the very distant solar system."
Because Neptune strongly interacts with Farfarout, Farfarout's orbit and movement cannot be used to determine if there is another unknown massive planet in the very distant solar system, since these interactions dominate Farfarout's orbital dynamics.
Only those objects whose orbits stay in the very distant solar system, well beyond Neptune's gravitational influence, can be used to probe for signs of an unknown massive planet. These include Sedna and 2012 VP113, which, although they are currently closer to the Sun than Farfarout (at around 80 AU), they never approach Neptune and thus would be strongly influenced by the possible Planet X instead.
"Farfarout's orbital dynamics can help us understand how Neptune formed and evolved, as Farfarout was likely thrown into the outer solar system by getting too close to Neptune in the distant past," said Trujillo. "Farfarout will likely strongly interact with Neptune again since their orbits continue to intersect."
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has nearly a dozen dogs in need of new and loving homes.
The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.
“Agatha.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Agatha’
“Agatha” is a female Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a short red and black coat.
She is dog No. 4603.
“Boog.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Boog’
“Boog” is a male Rottweiler with a short black coat.
He is dog No. 4609.
“Breeze.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Breeze’
“Breeze” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4445.
“Dorito.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Dorito’
“Dorito” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short white and gray coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 4576.
“Inky.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Inky’
“Inky” is a male German Shepherd mix with a long black coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 4324.
“Mommas.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mommas’
“Mommas” is a female American Pit Bull terrier mix with a white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4499.
“Nebula.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Nebula’
“Nebula” is a female shepherd mix puppy.
She has a medium-length gray and black coat.
Nebula is dog No. 4644.
“Rudolph.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Rudolph’
“Rudolph” is a male shepherd mix.
He has a short tan and black coat.
He is dog No. 4436.
“Scooter.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Scooter’
“Scooter” is a male shepherd mix puppy.
He has a medium-length tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4649.
“Tiabeanie.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Tiabeanie’
“Tiabeanie” is a female American Bully with a short black with white markings.
She is dog No. 4602.
“Toby.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Toby’
“Toby” is a friendly senior male boxer mix.
He has a short tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4389.
“Yule.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Yule’
“Yule” is a male husky with a black and white coat.
Yule is dog No. 4432.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
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On Thursday, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) voted to advance certain measures of the American Rescue Plan through the Ways and Means Committee.
Provisions under the jurisdiction of the committee will help boost the health care response to the pandemic and support workers, families and businesses that have been hit hard financially.
“The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented and continues to hurt working families and small businesses. We have to do everything we can to get people the help they need to stay afloat and save lives,” said Chairman Thompson. “That’s why I was proud to vote to advance key provisions that will support our district and communities across the nation.”
He continued, “This legislation will support families, so they are able to provide for their children and stay healthy, even if they’ve lost their job or their employer-sponsored health coverage. This also includes an additional $1,400 in Economic Impact Payments, to boost this round of relief to $2,000. It will also position our economy and our local businesses for a strong recovery. We have to act boldly now to help our families and businesses and I will do all I can to get this bill passed on the House floor in the coming weeks.”
The key measures that were considered in the markup in the Ways and Means Committee include:
– An additional Economic Impact Payment for working families; – An extension of the enhanced Federal unemployment insurance benefits; – Expanded tax credits that help working families, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Tax Credit; – A boost to health coverage affordability and accessibility; – Important protections for older Americans in nursing homes; – Aid for vulnerable children, workers and families that are struggling to make ends meet; and, – A boost to retirement security.
You can click here to read more about the provisions advanced through the Ways and Means Committee today and you can click here to read more about the American Rescue Plan.
Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
